JP4413607B2 - Wireless communication terminal - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a wireless communication terminal such as a cellular phone.

In recent years, it has become common to include a camera module in a mobile phone as a wireless communication terminal. Then, an image photographed by a mobile phone equipped with a camera module is transmitted (distributed) to a third party via wireless communication.
On the other hand, there is a demand to remotely control the photographing operation of the mobile phone provided with the above-described camera module, for example, for photographing a subject existing in a place where a person cannot reside.
As a technique for realizing such remote control, a technique related to a mobile phone terminal that performs camera photographing in response to a photographing request by wireless communication has been proposed (see Patent Document 1 below).
JP 2003-143261 A

By the way, the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 is intended for one-to-one remote control between a user who gives a shooting instruction and a user who receives a shooting instruction, and there are a plurality of users who receive a shooting instruction. It is not intended for remote control of shooting. Therefore, when the subject acts in a wide range, only one user cannot catch the subject in a timely manner, and there is a possibility of missing a photo opportunity.
Therefore, the management center as the information processing apparatus selects one of a plurality of users and transmits a shooting instruction (shooting request) according to the location where the subject exists, and the selected user performs shooting. An imaging management system that automatically transmits acquired image data to a management center is desired. At this time, it is desirable from the viewpoint of information sharing that the management center distributes the received image data to users other than the user who has taken the image.
For example, in the case where a plurality of police officers possessing a mobile phone with a camera function perform photographing in response to a photographing request by wireless communication from the management center, they are in a place closest to the place of the suspect who is the subject of photographing. It is desirable that the police officer photograph the suspect, and the management center distribute the image obtained by the photographing to other police officers so that the suspect's image can be shared, in order to facilitate the investigation.

On the other hand, a user who takes a picture in response to a shooting instruction does not always have sufficient time to check the preview screen and accurately capture the subject.
For example, when the police officer photographs a suspect or the like in response to a photographing instruction, it does not always take sufficient time to check the preview screen or the like and accurately capture the suspect. Therefore, when there is a high possibility that a certain level of shooting quality can be secured, such as when the suspect who is the subject is near the front of the police officer, it is possible to take a photo opportunity by performing continuous shooting without checking the preview screen. It is necessary not to miss. Even when shooting without confirming the preview screen, continuous shooting can be used to select an image from a plurality of images according to the shooting quality at the management center or the like.
Therefore, there is a demand for a technique capable of continuous shooting by a simple operation in order to remove a shooting mode switching time (such as a continuous shooting mode from a still image shooting mode) by operating a menu button or the like.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its object is to provide a viable wireless communication terminal end the continuous shooting by a simple operation.

This onset bright aspect to achieve the above object, an input unit including a photographing key, in response to the operation of the photographing key, and an image pickup means for performing a still image or a continuous shooting at the same shooting mode, the radio A wireless communication means for receiving a photographing request for activating the imaging means from a communication network connected by the wireless communication means, and a predetermined time after the imaging means is activated based on the photographing request received by the wireless communication means. until elapsed, storage means for storing the press count of the photographing key, after the elapse of the predetermined time, number of times stored in the storage means, and control means for causing the continuous shooting before Symbol imaging means A wireless communication terminal.

Preferably, the wireless communication terminal includes display means, and the control means displays the number of times the photographing key is pressed on the display means.

Preferably, the wireless communication terminal further includes notification means, and the control means rings the notification means when the shooting key is not operated for a predetermined time after receiving the shooting request.

According to the wireless communication terminal of the present invention, since continuous shooting can be executed with a simple operation, a complicated operation is not necessary, which is convenient.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a wireless communication terminal and a photographing management system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a photographing management system according to the present invention. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating an example of the appearance of the mobile phone 10 as a wireless communication terminal according to the present invention, in which FIG. 2A is a front view and FIG. 2B is a back view. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of main circuits of the mobile phone 10.
As shown in FIG. 1, a photographing management system according to the present invention includes a plurality of mobile telephones (mobile telephones 10, 11, and 12 illustrated in FIG. 1) and a management center 20 as an information processing apparatus in this embodiment. It is configured with. The mobile phone 10 and the management center 20 perform wireless communication via the communication network 900.
In the photographing management system according to the present embodiment, the management center 20 manages the position information of each mobile phone 10, 11, 12 based on the position information calculated by each mobile phone 10, 11, 12 every predetermined time. However, if each mobile phone 10, 11, 12 does not calculate the location information, the management center 20 replaces the location information of each mobile phone 10, 11, 12 with the communication network 900. Obtained from the station server 30.
Note that a plurality of mobile phones (mobile phones 10, 11, and 12 shown in FIG. 1) constituting the photographing management system are all the same mobile phones as the mobile phone 10 described below.

Hereinafter, each component of the mobile phone 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 2A, a transmitting / receiving antenna 101a, a display unit 105, a key input unit 104, a microphone 106b, and a speaker 106a are arranged on the front surface of the main body case 100 of the mobile phone 10. Yes.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, an objective lens included in the imaging unit 103 is disposed on the back surface of the main body case 100 of the mobile phone 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 10 includes a communication processing unit 101 including a transmission / reception antenna 101a, a memory 102, an imaging unit 103, a key input unit 104, a display unit 105, a speaker 106a, and a microphone 106b. The audio processing unit 106 and a control unit 109 as control means are provided.

In order to perform wireless communication using radio waves, the communication processing unit 101 modulates various types of information such as image data, audio information, and e-mail processed by the control unit 109 and transmits them to a base station (not shown) using the transmission / reception antenna 101a. To do.
Further, the communication processing unit 101 demodulates various information such as image data, audio information, and e-mail transmitted from the base station by radio and received by the transmission / reception antenna 101a and outputs the demodulated information to the control unit 109.
The memory 102 includes a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and stores image data acquired and compressed by the imaging unit 103.

The imaging unit 103 includes an objective lens for capturing a subject image and an imaging processing circuit for converting the subject image into an electrical signal.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the objective lens is arranged on the back surface of the main body case 100 of the mobile phone 10 so that the other party can take a picture when viewed from the user, and an optical image of the subject is placed on the image sensor in the image processing circuit. Is imaged.
The imaging processing circuit converts an object image formed by the objective lens into an electric signal.
Specifically, the imaging processing circuit includes an imaging element, and an image of the subject is captured by a plurality of light receiving elements arranged in units of pixels on a two-dimensional plane of the imaging element. At that time, the color information is separated into the three primary colors of light and taken in through the color filter on the light receiving element. Then, the luminance value of each pixel is converted into a voltage, sequentially converted into digital data by an A / D converter, and supplied to the control unit 109.
As the imaging device, a CCD type and a CMOS type are known as known techniques, and any of them may be applied.

The key input unit 104 has an end (end call) / power key, a start (call) key, a plurality of numeric keys corresponding to numbers, etc., and when these keys are operated by the user, Input information is output to the control unit 109.
In addition, a shooting key for performing shooting in a shooting mode described later is assigned to one of the plurality of numeric keys.

The display unit 105 has a display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays a telephone number, various messages, text data, and the like input for a call function.
In the shooting mode, the image of the subject obtained by the imaging unit 103 is displayed on the display unit 105. Further, in the shooting mode, the value of the shooting number counter corresponding to the number of times the user has pressed the shooting key is displayed on the display unit 105.

The audio processing unit 106 includes an audio processing circuit, and is connected to a speaker 106a that outputs audio for a call function and a microphone 106b that inputs audio.
The sound processing unit 106 performs predetermined processing on the sound collected by the microphone 106 b and supplies the processed sound to the control unit 109.
The audio processing unit 106 performs predetermined processing on the audio information supplied from the control unit 109 and outputs the audio information from the speaker 106a.

The control unit 109 is configured mainly with a microcomputer and controls the entire mobile phone 10. For example, the control unit 109 responds to control of wireless transmission / reception of various types of information in the communication processing unit 101, processing of voice information for the voice processing unit 106, display control of information on the display unit 105, and input information of the key input unit 104. Processing, access control to the memory 102, and the like.
The control unit 109 operates in two control modes, a wireless communication mode and a shooting mode.
The wireless communication mode is a mode in which wireless communication is possible, and the control unit 109 causes the display unit 105 to display a standard screen (so-called standby screen) immediately after power activation. In the wireless communication mode, a call operation can be performed by operating the key input unit 104.
The shooting mode is a mode for shooting a subject at a position facing the user.
In the shooting mode, the control unit 109 controls the display unit 105 to display the image data supplied from the imaging unit 103.

The user can voluntarily shift the control mode from the wireless communication mode to the shooting mode by a predetermined operation on the key input unit 104, but when receiving a shooting request from the management center 20, the control unit 109 The control mode is forcibly shifted from the wireless communication mode to the shooting mode.
In the shooting mode, a predetermined key of the key input unit 104 serves as a shooting key. The control unit 109 updates (counts up) the internal shooting number counter according to the number of times the user presses (operates) the shooting key, and performs continuous shooting for the value of the shooting number counter. 103 is instructed. After the shooting is performed, the shooting number counter is reset.
In the shooting mode, when there is no operation of the shooting key for a predetermined time, the control unit 109 controls the sound processing unit 106 to sound an alarm sound.

The control unit 109 has a GPS positioning function. That is, the position information of the mobile phone 10 is calculated every predetermined time, and the calculated position information is transmitted to the management center 20 through the communication processing unit 101.
In order to realize the GPS positioning function, the control unit 109 includes a GPS positioning unit and a GPS control unit.
The GPS positioning unit receives radio waves flying from at least three GPS satellites. The radio wave from each GPS satellite includes accurate position information of the satellite and time information when the radio wave is emitted. The GPS control unit calculates the latitude and longitude at which the mobile phone 10 is located based on the received signal received from each GPS satellite by the GPS positioning unit.
Then, the control unit 109 controls the communication processing unit 101 to transmit the calculated position information (latitude, longitude) to the management center 20.

  In the present embodiment, since the management center 20 needs to manage the position information of the mobile phone 10 on the management center 20 side in order to select the mobile phone that is the subject of photographing request, as described above, the mobile phone 10 is configured to transmit its own location information to the management center 20 every predetermined time, but the management center 20 can also acquire the location information of the mobile phone 10 from an exchange server or the like. The GPS positioning function described above is not necessary for the control unit 109.

  Heretofore, each component of the mobile phone 10 has been described. In the overall configuration of the photographing management system shown in FIG. 1, the mobile phones 11 and 12 which are other mobile phones have the same configuration as the mobile phone 10 described above.

  Next, the configuration of the management center 20 as the information processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the following description, only the wireless communication with the mobile phone 10 may be mentioned, but the management center 20 is wireless with other mobile phones (mobile phones 11 and 12) similarly to the mobile phone 10. Communicate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the management center 20 includes a communication processing unit 201 including a transmission / reception antenna 201a, a memory 202 including a location database 202a, an input unit 204, and a control unit 209.
In order to perform wireless communication using radio waves, the communication processing unit 201 modulates various information such as image data and text data processed by the control unit 209 and transmits the modulated information to a base station (not shown) by the transmission / reception antenna 201a.
The communication processing unit 201 performs wireless communication with the mobile phone 10.
That is, information such as image data and text data transmitted by radio from the base station and received by the transmission / reception antenna 201a is demodulated and output to the control unit 209. Furthermore, the imaging request output from the control unit 209 is demodulated and transmitted from the transmission / reception antenna 201a to the mobile phone 10 through the base station.

The memory 202 includes a volatile memory such as an EEPROM. In the memory 202, there is a location database 202a for managing location information for each user.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of data stored in the position database 202a.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the location database 202a, location information is stored in association with each mobile phone user (owner), and data associated with each owner such as a telephone number and an e-mail address is stored. Stored for each owner. The position information (latitude and longitude) in the position database 202a is sequentially updated by the control unit 209.
The image data received by the management center 20 from the mobile phone 10 is sequentially stored in the memory 202.

The input unit 204 is input means that includes a keyboard and the like.
The administrator of the management center 20 operates the input unit 204 in order to update information registered in the location database 202a (for example, the owner and telephone number shown in FIG. 5).
Further, the administrator of the management center 20 inputs specific position information (specific position information) through the input unit 204.
The specific position information is the position of the subject managed by the management center 20. Based on information acquired by the manager of the management center 20, the manager knows the approximate position of the subject, and inputs the subject's location information to the input unit 204 as specific location information.
As will be described later, based on the specific position information input through the input unit 204, the control unit 209 determines a mobile phone that is the target of the imaging request.

The control unit 209 is configured mainly with a microcomputer, and controls the entire management center 20. For example, the control unit 209 performs transmission / reception control of various types of information in the communication processing unit 201, processing according to input information of the input unit 204, access control to the memory 202, and the like.
The control unit 209 updates the location information of each mobile phone stored in the location database 202a based on the location information received by the communication processing unit 201 from the mobile phones 10, 11, 12 every predetermined time.
The control unit 209 refers to the specific position information input from the administrator of the management center 20 by the input unit 204 with the position information of each mobile phone managed in the position database 202a, and corresponds to the position information closest to the specific position information. A mobile phone to be selected is selected, and the communication processing unit 201 is controlled to transmit a photographing request.

As a method of selecting the mobile phone corresponding to the location information closest to the specific location information, the mobile phone is based on the latitude and longitude of the specific location information input by the input unit 204 and the location information of each mobile phone managed in the location database 202a. The mobile phone with the shortest straight line distance may be selected, or if the action range (area) is determined for each owner of the mobile phone in advance, the identification input by the input unit 204 You may make it select the owner's mobile telephone in charge of the area | region where position information is included.
The specific position information is not limited to the case where the specific position information is input by the administrator of the management center 20 from the input unit 204, but the specific position information is stored in the memory 202 in advance, and the control unit 209 stores the specific position information in the memory 202. The information may be referred to the position information of each mobile phone managed in the position database 202a.

Heretofore, each component of the management center 20 has been described.
Next, the processing operation of the imaging management system in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic flowchart of the photographing management system. In the following description, for example, for each police officer who owns the mobile phone 10 and the management center 20 is closest to the location where the suspect who is the subject of the photographing request exists, the suspect An example of requesting the shooting will be described.

Step ST1:
When the manager of the management center 20 grasps that the suspect is at a position close to one of the police officers, he inputs the suspect's position information (specific position information) to the input unit 204. The control unit 209 selects a mobile phone corresponding to the position information closest to the input specific position information.
That is, the control unit 209 refers to the input specific location information with the location information of each mobile phone managed in the location database 202a, and selects the mobile phone corresponding to the location information closest to the specific location information.
Note that when the imaging management system is activated, the control unit 209 may be configured to automatically perform the above-described selection operation of the mobile phone based on the specific position information stored in the memory 202 in advance.
Step ST2:
The control unit 209 controls the communication processing unit 201 to transmit a photographing request to the selected mobile phone 10.

Steps ST3 and ST4:
The user of the mobile phone 10 performs continuous shooting based on the received shooting request. Image data acquired by photographing is transmitted to the management center 20.
Here, continuous shooting is performed when each police officer takes a picture of a suspect, etc. in response to a shooting instruction, so that sufficient time is taken to accurately capture the suspect by checking the preview screen. If there is a high possibility that a certain level of shooting quality can be secured, such as when the suspect who is the subject is near the front of the police officer, continuous shooting can be performed without checking the preview screen. This is because it is necessary not to miss a photo opportunity. By performing continuous shooting, even when shooting without checking the preview screen, the management center 20 that is the transmission destination of the image data selects an image from a plurality of continuously shot images according to the shooting quality. It becomes possible to select.
The operation of the mobile phone 10 in this step will be described later using the flowchart shown in FIG.
Step ST5:
The management center 20 stores the image data of the suspect received from the mobile phone 10 in the memory 202.
Step ST6:
The management center 20 transmits (distributes) the suspect's image data stored in the memory 202 to other registered mobile phones (for example, the mobile phones 11 and 12 shown in FIG. 1).
Thereby, since a police officer who possesses a mobile phone other than the mobile phone 10 can also visually recognize the image data of the suspect, the progress of the investigation can be expected.

Next, the operation of the mobile phone 10 in steps ST3 and ST4 will be described in association with the flowchart shown in FIG.
In step ST2 shown in FIG. 6, when a photographing request is received from the management center 20 (step ST10), the control unit 109 of the mobile phone 10 forcibly shifts the control mode from the wireless communication mode to the photographing mode (step ST11). .

When shifting to the shooting mode, the control unit 109 starts a timer (step ST12). The timer is managed for the counting operation of the shooting number counter described later and for the sounding of an alarm sound when the shooting key is not operated.
During the timer operation, the number of times the photographing key is pressed (operated) is counted, and the photographing number counter managed by the control unit 109 is updated (steps ST13 and ST14).
Note that the control unit 109 controls the display unit 105 to always display the value of the photographing number counter. As a result, the user (police officer) can visually recognize the number of times the user has pressed the shooting key, so that the user can adjust the number of times the user has pressed the shooting key.
When the predetermined time elapses and the timer expires (step ST15), if the number-of-shooting counter is not 0 (step ST16), the imaging unit 103 performs the continuous shooting for the number-of-shooting counter. Is controlled (step ST17). That is, the imaging processing circuit of the imaging unit 103 photoelectrically converts the optical image of the suspect who is captured from the objective lens, and sequentially generates image data at a predetermined time interval by the number of times of the number of times of photographing counter. , Output to the control unit 109.

The control unit 109 compresses the image data generated by the imaging unit 103 and stores it in the memory 102 (step ST18), and then controls the communication processing unit 101 to transmit the image data stored in the memory 102 to the management center 20. (Step ST19). At that time, the photographing number counter is reset.
In step ST16, when the value of the shooting number counter is 0, that is, when the shooting key is not pressed (operated) even once during the timer operation, the user notices that the shooting request has been received. In order to urge the user to perform shooting, the control unit 109 controls the audio processing unit 106 to sound an alarm sound (step ST20).
The sounding of the alarm sound is continued until a predetermined key of the key input unit 104 is pressed (step ST21). When the predetermined key is pressed, the control unit 109 stops the sounding of the alarm sound, and the step The timer shown in ST12 is started.

As described above, according to the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment, the communication processing unit 101 that performs wireless communication, the imaging unit 103 that performs continuous shooting, the key input unit 104 including a shooting key, The control unit 109 includes a display unit 105 that displays image data, a memory 102 that stores image data, and a control unit 109 that has a wireless communication mode for performing wireless communication as a control mode and an imaging mode for performing camera shooting. In the imaging mode, the imaging unit 103 is controlled to perform continuous shooting for the number of times the shooting key is pressed when the shooting key is pressed.
Further, the control unit 109 is configured so that the display unit 105 displays the number of times the photographing key is pressed.

Therefore, even when there is not enough time to accurately capture the subject by checking the display unit 105, there is a high possibility that a certain level of shooting quality can be ensured, such as when the subject is near the front of the user. Has the advantage that the possibility of missing a photo opportunity is low because continuous shooting for the number of times of pressing can be performed simply by pressing the shooting key.
Further, since the number of times the photographing key is pressed is displayed on the display unit, the user can visually recognize this and adjust the number of times the photographing key should be pressed, which is convenient.

  According to the photographing management system according to the present embodiment, the management center 20 and the plurality of mobile phones 10 are configured, and the mobile phone 10 calculates its own position information calculated by the GPS positioning function of the control unit 109 at predetermined time intervals. To the management center 20, the management center 20 transmits and receives data by wireless communication with each mobile phone, a memory 202 including a location database for managing location information of each mobile phone, and a control unit 209, the control unit 209 selects the mobile phone closest to the shooting target position, transmits a shooting request to the selected mobile phone, and receives the shooting request. The cellular phone 10 uses the control mode as the shooting mode, performs continuous shooting according to the number of times the user presses the shooting key, and then manages the acquired image data. Transmitted to the center 20, control center 20, and constitutes the image data transmitted to deliver to other users.

  Therefore, the management center 20 can acquire the shooting data remotely by wireless communication according to the position of the shooting target (subject), which is convenient.

  The mobile phone 10 that has received the shooting request shifts the control mode from the wireless communication mode to the shooting mode, so that the user does not have to change the control mode voluntarily by operating the key input unit 104 and immediately takes a picture. Since this is a possible state, the possibility of missing a photo opportunity is low, and a complicated operation for switching the shooting mode is not required.

  In addition, since the mobile phone 10 according to the present embodiment sounds an alarm sound when the photographing key is not pressed once after a predetermined time has elapsed after receiving the photographing request, the user is surely photographed. It is possible. For example, even when the user does not notice that a shooting request has been received, it is possible to notice that the shooting operation is performed by an alarm sound.

  The management center 20 manages the position information of each mobile phone and updates the position information to be managed based on the position information received from each mobile phone every predetermined time. The most suitable mobile phone can be selected and a shooting request can be transmitted. Therefore, it is possible to acquire an image of the subject related to the photographing request at an early stage.

Since the management center 20 distributes the image data to other users after receiving the image data of the subject related to the photographing request, the image data can be shared among a plurality of users at an early stage.
Therefore, for example, when the imaging management system of this embodiment is constructed between a plurality of police officers as users who possess mobile phones and a management center that performs wireless communication with the plurality of police officers, The center selects a mobile phone held by a police officer who is closest to the location of the suspect who is the subject of photography, sends a photography request to the selected mobile phone, and is selected according to the photography request. The police officer holding the mobile phone takes a picture of the suspect, the image data obtained by the photography is sent to the management center, and the management center distributes the sent image to other police officers. This image can be shared among all police officers, and the progress of the investigation can be expected.

It is a figure which shows the whole imaging | photography management system structure. It is the figure which illustrated an example of the external appearance of a mobile telephone, (a) shows the external view of a front, (b) shows the external view of a back surface, respectively. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a mobile phone. It is a block diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of the management center. It is a figure which shows an example of the position database of a management center. It is the figure which illustrated the processing procedure of a mobile telephone and a management center. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a mobile telephone.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 11, 12 ... Mobile phone 100 ... Main body case 101 ... Communication processing part 101a ... Transmission / reception antenna 102 ... Memory 103 ... Imaging part 104 ... Key input part 105 ... Display part 106 ... Audio | voice processing part 106a ... Speaker 106b ... Microphone 109 ... Control unit 20 ... Management center 201 ... Communication processing unit 201a ... Transmission / reception antenna 202 ... Memory 202a ... Location database 204 ... Input unit 209 ... Control unit 30 ... Exchange server 900 ... Communication network

Claims (3)

Input means including a shooting key;
In accordance with the operation of the shooting key, an imaging unit that performs still image shooting or continuous shooting shooting in the same shooting mode ;
Wireless communication means for receiving a photographing request for starting the imaging means from a wirelessly connected communication network;
Storage means for storing the number of times the photographing key is pressed until a predetermined time elapses after the imaging means is activated based on the photographing request received by the wireless communication means ;
Wireless communication terminal, characterized in that it comprises after the elapse of the predetermined time, number of times stored in the storage means, and control means for causing the continuous shooting before Symbol imaging means. Having a display means;
The control means includes
The wireless communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the number of times the photographing key is pressed is displayed on the display means. It further has a notification means,
The control means includes
3. The wireless communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the shooting key is not operated for a predetermined time after receiving the shooting request, the notification unit is sounded.

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