JP4597008B2 - Image display system, image display apparatus, control method thereof, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display system that wirelessly receives and displays image data from an imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera, and a control method thereof, and further relates to an image processing device, an illumination device, and a control method thereof. .

  A memory card storing images taken with a digital camera can be directly mounted, or image information stored in the memory card can be read via an interface such as a USB and stored in a storage device such as a hard disk. Video decks and televisions that can display images read from a memory card on a television screen are commercially available.

  Such an apparatus requires time and effort such as attaching and detaching a memory card and connecting a USB cable. Therefore, as an imaging apparatus that can easily transmit and receive image information without using a cable, wirelessly transmits image information. Digital cameras that make this possible are on the market.

Regarding such wireless transmission / reception of image data, Patent Document 1 discloses wireless data communication that performs a connection procedure after performing docking by short-range wireless communication, and then enables a desired wireless connection. An establishment method has been proposed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228688 describes a photographing apparatus that detects whether or not the photographing apparatus is in a wireless communicable area and transmits image data only when the photographing apparatus is in the wireless communicable area.
Patent registration 03422683 JP 2004-260306 A

  Considering the situation of using a digital camera for home use, for example, a television receiver that can receive image information from a digital camera wirelessly is installed in the living room, and automatically when the digital camera is brought into the living room. Assume that the image data is set to be transmitted from the digital camera to the television receiver. In such a case, there is a problem that image data is transmitted from the camera to the television against the user's intention, and the user cannot determine whether the image data is being transmitted.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

  A feature of the present invention is to provide an image display system that can easily determine whether or not an imaging device is installed in an area where wireless communication is possible, a control method thereof, an image processing device, an illumination device, and a control method thereof. .

  Another feature of the present invention is to provide an image display system and its control method, an image supply device and its control method, an image processing apparatus and a lighting device and its control method that can easily determine the situation during wireless communication. It is in.

  Another feature of the present invention is that an image display system, a control method therefor, an image supply device, and an image display system that allow a user to easily designate a processing method of image data in the display device after image data is transmitted from the imaging device to the display device An object of the present invention is to provide a control method, an image processing device, an illumination device, and a control method thereof.

An image display system according to an aspect of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
An image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
An image display device for displaying an image based on image information supplied from the image supply device;
Illumination equipment for illuminating wirelessly communicable areas by the image supply device,
Control means for controlling transmission of image information from the image supply device to the image display device when detecting that the image supply device is present in the wireless communicable area ;
The illumination device further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the image display device so as to be identifiable .

An image display system control method according to an aspect of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
An image supply device that can transmit image information wirelessly, an image display device that displays an image based on the image information supplied from the image supply device, and a wirelessly communicable area by the image supply device are illuminated so as to be identifiable A control method of an image display system having a lighting device,
A detection step of detecting that the image supply device is placed in the wirelessly communicable area, and a wireless communication with the image supply device when it is detected in the detection step that the image supply device is present in the wirelessly communicable area. Establishing communication, and
A control step of controlling image communication between the image display device and the image supply device in response to establishment of wireless communication with the image supply device ;
The illumination device further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the image display device so as to be identifiable .

An image processing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention has the following configuration. That is,
Communication means for communicating with an image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
Illumination control means for controlling an illumination device for illuminating wirelessly communicable areas by the image supply device;
Receiving means for receiving image data from the image supply device that has entered the wireless communicable area via the communication means ;
The illumination control device further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the communication unit so as to be identifiable .

An image processing apparatus control method according to an aspect of the present invention includes the following steps. That is,
A communication step of communicating with an image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
A lighting control step of controlling a lighting device for illuminating a wirelessly communicable area by the image supply device; and
Receiving image data from the image supply device that has entered the wireless communicable area, and
The illumination control device further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the communication unit so as to be identifiable .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the imaging device is installed in an area where wireless communication is possible.

  Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that a situation during wireless communication can be easily determined.

  In addition, according to the present invention, after image data is transmitted from the imaging device to the display device, there is an effect that the user can easily instruct a processing method of the image data in the display device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. .

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the present embodiment, and here represents a living room.

  In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a display panel (hereinafter referred to as a display) which is a television receiver. Reference numeral 102 denotes a set top box (STB) including a terrestrial and BS / CS tuner function, and an image is displayed on the display 101 based on a video signal output from the STB 102. Reference numeral 103 denotes a lighting device according to this embodiment, which irradiates an area 105 in which wireless communication with the digital camera 104 is possible. Reference numeral 106 denotes a normal lighting device.

  Here, the lighting device 103 includes first wireless communication means (ZigBee), and uses different channels (for example, channel 1 (CH1) and channel 5 (CH5)) between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102. Wireless communication. This first wireless communication means (ZigBee) is compliant with IEEE802.15.4, and has the advantages of low power consumption and low cost network construction. The digital camera 104 includes a first wireless communication unit (ZigBee) that performs wireless communication with the lighting device 103 and a second wireless communication unit (WLAN) that performs wireless communication with the STB 102 (for example, 802.11 WLAN). I have. Furthermore, the STB 102 includes a second wireless communication unit (WLAN) that performs wireless communication with the digital camera 104 and a first wireless communication unit (ZigBee) that performs communication with the lighting device 103. Here, the STB 102 and the lighting device 103 have been described as communicating wirelessly, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the STB 102 and the lighting device 103 are connected by wire or integrated. It may be formed.

  Here, channel 1 is used for communication between the lighting device 103 and the digital camera 104. This channel 1 is used for the purpose of communicating information (ESSID, WEP key, etc.) for the digital camera 104 to start communication with the STB 102 via the wireless LAN. Note that directivity is provided and electric field strength is limited so that the communicable area is limited to a part of the living room. On the other hand, the channel 2 is configured to perform wireless communication with a wider range of devices such as the STB 102 and the switch of the lighting device 103.

  Here, for example, when a person enters the living room and turns on the power of the television receiver and the STB 102 or turns on the lighting device 106, the lighting device 103 is changed according to the power-on of the display 101, 102 or the lighting device 106. Turn on. Then, an area 105 where wireless communication with the digital camera 104 is possible is irradiated. Therefore, when the digital camera 104 is turned on and the digital camera 104 is placed in the area 105, wireless communication between the digital camera 104 and the lighting device 103 becomes possible. The lighting device 103 that has confirmed that the digital camera 104 is placed in the area 105 and wireless communication is possible notifies the STB 102 that the digital camera 104 exists.

  Accordingly, when a communication request from the STB 102 to the digital camera 104 via the second wireless communication means is generated, the communication request is notified from the STB 102 to the digital camera 104 via the lighting device 103. As a result, when wireless communication is established between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 via the second wireless communication means, the digital camera 104 stores data in the storage unit such as a memory card from the digital camera 104 to the STB 102 according to the request of the STB 102. Transmitted image information is transmitted.

  The lighting device 103 is in a state of waiting for establishment of a wireless communication connection with the digital camera 104, during connection establishment, during transfer of image information from the digital camera 104 to the STB 102, and in a state in which connection with the digital camera 104 is disabled. Change the form of lighting. Examples of the form of illumination include forms such as changing the color of the illumination, blinking display, changing the blinking cycle, changing the brightness of the illumination, and turning off the illumination. Therefore, the user can easily determine whether image information is being transferred from the digital camera 104 to the STB 102 or the connection between the digital camera 104 and the lighting device 103 has been established based on the lighting mode of the lighting device 103. Can be recognized.

  The lighting device 103 may be turned on in conjunction with lighting of another lighting device 106, or may be linked to the power-on of the STB 102, or may be linked to the power-on of the television. . Further, the time during which the lighting device 103 is turned on may be limited to a predetermined time (for example, several minutes).

  Further, the STB 102 and the television receiver may be integrated, or the lighting device 103, the STB 102, and the television receiver (display) may be integrally formed.

  In addition, after the wireless communication between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 is established, the wireless communication with the STB 102 can be continued even if the digital camera 104 goes out of the area 105 where wireless communication with the lighting device 103 is possible. Anyway.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital camera 104 according to this embodiment.

  The camera control unit 11 controls the overall operation of the camera 104. Physically, it includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a control program executed by the CPU, and a RAM that temporarily stores various data when the CPU executes control processing. The control target in the camera control unit 11 is image capturing in the image capturing unit 12 based on a trigger such as a shutter from the input unit 13, transmitting captured image data to the STB 102 via wireless, and wireless communication with the illumination device 103. Communication, power supply monitoring, etc.

  The imaging unit 12 includes an imaging device (CCD) and an image buffer memory. The captured image is stored in a temporary buffer memory and then stored in a storage medium 20 such as a memory card under the control of the camera control unit 11. . Alternatively, it can be transmitted to the outside of the camera 104 via a wired or wireless control unit. The input unit 13 includes switches, buttons, and the like operated by the user, and is used to perform operations such as operation using a UI, power supply, shutter, and camera zoom. The battery 14 supplies power to the entire camera 104. In some cases, power may be supplied to the outside via the connector 17, or power may be supplied from the outside. The power monitoring unit 15 measures the battery capacity of the battery 14 and notifies the camera control unit 11 of it.

  The wired communication unit 16 serves as a controller for the connector 17 and also monitors the connection status of the connector, and notifies the camera control unit 11 of the monitoring result. The connector 17 is configured by a plurality of connection terminals, and transmits and receives image data to and from other terminals (for example, a PC or a printer). The connector 17 includes a power line and the like.

  The wireless communication units 18 and 19 have a function related to wireless communication, receive a signal received from the camera control unit 11, modulate the signal into an RF signal, and transmit the signal. The received RF signal is demodulated and passed to the camera control unit 11. Here, the wireless communication unit 18 performs wireless communication (first wireless communication unit) with the lighting device 103, and the wireless communication unit 19 performs wireless communication (second wireless communication unit) with the STB 102. Do.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of STB 102 and lighting device 103 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the configuration of the STB 102 will be described. The MPU 301 controls the overall operation of the STB 102. The graphic controller 302 generates characters and graphics to be superimposed on the video displayed on the display 101 and outputs them to the multi-screen control unit 312. A hard disk (HD) 303 stores images received from the digital camera 104, recorded videos, and the like. The infrared interface 304 receives the infrared signal from the remote controller 316, generates a signal corresponding to the infrared signal, and notifies the MPU 301 of the signal. The memory 305 provides a work area (RAM) for temporarily storing various data during the control operation of the MPU 301 and includes an area (ROM) for storing a program executed by the MPU 301 in a nonvolatile manner. Reference numeral 306 constitutes the second wireless communication means described above, and controls wireless communication in the WLAN. Reference numeral 307 constitutes the first wireless communication means described above, and controls wireless communication with ZigBee. The BS / CS digital tuner 308 extracts a synchronized video signal from the signal received by the BS / CS antenna 315. This signal is descrambled and decoded by the decoder 311, converted into a video signal, and sent to the multi-screen control unit 312. The terrestrial tuner 309 extracts a synchronized video signal from the signal received by the antenna 314. This signal is decoded by the NTSC decoder 3110 and sent to the multi-screen control unit 312. The multi-screen control unit 312 outputs the various video signals described above to the display interface 313 and displays them on the display 101.

  Next, the configuration of the lighting device 103 will be described.

  The CPU 320 controls the operation of the lighting device 103 according to the program stored in the memory 320a. Reference numeral 323 denotes a light source for illumination, and the light source 323 can change its emission color or blink under the control of the CPU 320. Reference numerals 321 and 322 constitute the first wireless communication means described above, and control wireless communication with ZigBee. One of these is used for communication with the STB 102, and the other is used for communication with the digital camera 104.

  Next, the operation of each device will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB 102 according to the present embodiment. A program for executing this processing is stored in the memory 305 and executed under the control of the MPU 301.

  This process is started when the STB 102 is turned on. First, in step S1, a camera detection process for detecting whether or not the digital camera 104 is present in the wireless communicable area 105 is started with respect to the lighting device 103. To instruct. Next, in step S2, the lighting device 103 is instructed to light up in blue. In step S3, the digital camera 104 is detected by the lighting device 103. Therefore, while the process for detecting the digital camera 104 is being executed, the light emission color of the lighting device 103 is blue. While the light emission color of the lighting device 103 is blue, the user can easily recognize that the digital camera 104 is performing processing for detecting whether or not the wireless communication area 105 exists.

  When the camera 104 is detected in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4, and the lighting apparatus 103 is requested to communicate with the digital camera 104 by the second wireless communication means (WLAN). In step S5, the lighting apparatus 103 is instructed to be lit in yellow.

  As a result, the lighting device 103 sends an instruction to the digital camera 104 to perform wireless communication with the STB 102 by the second wireless communication means (WLAN). When the wireless communication by the second wireless communication means (WLAN) is established between the STB 102 and the digital camera 104 in this way, the process proceeds from step S6 to step S7, and the detection process of the digital camera 104 for the lighting device 103 is ended. Notify This is because the digital camera 104 does not necessarily have to exist in the area 105 capable of wireless communication with the lighting device 103 after the WLAN communication with the digital camera 104 is started. In step S8, the lighting apparatus 103 is instructed to perform blinking display in orange. As a result, when the lighting device 103 changes from yellow to orange and blinks, it can be recognized that wireless communication has been established between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102.

  In step S9, image data is requested from the digital camera 104 via the WLAN. Thereby, in step S 10, transmission of image data from the digital camera 104 is started, and the received image data is stored in the HDD 303. At this time, image data may be transferred to the display 101 and displayed on the display 101 as necessary. When the reception of the image data is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S11 to instruct the illumination device 103 to stop the blinking of the illumination.

  In this way, establishment of wireless communication between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 via the lighting device 103, lighting control of the lighting device 103, and reception of image information from the digital camera 104 by another wireless communication are all automatically performed. Can be done automatically.

  Furthermore, since the wireless communication connection between these devices and the transfer status of the image information can be grasped by the illumination color and illumination form of the illumination device 103, it is convenient for the user.

  Next, operation | movement of the illuminating device 103 which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the lighting apparatus 103 according to the present embodiment. The flowchart is stored in the memory 320 a of the CPU 320 that executes this process, and is executed under the control of the CPU 320.

  First, in step S21, when a camera detection request is received from the STB 102, the process proceeds to step S22, and detection of the digital camera 104 is started. Next, in step S23, it is checked whether or not the digital camera 104 is placed in the wireless communicable area 105 and wireless communication with the digital camera 104 is possible. When wireless communication with the digital camera 104 becomes possible, the process advances to step S24 to notify the STB 102 that the digital camera 104 has been detected. In step S25, it is checked whether a camera detection end instruction has been sent from the STB 102. If a camera detection end instruction has not been sent, the process proceeds to step S26 to check whether the digital camera 104 has been detected. If the camera cannot be detected, the process proceeds to step S27, the STB 102 is notified that the camera 104 cannot be detected, and the process returns to step S23. If an instruction to end camera detection is received in step S25, the process proceeds to step S30, and the detection process of the digital camera 104 is not executed thereafter.

  If the camera 104 can be detected in step S26, the process proceeds to step S28 to check whether data is received from the digital camera 104. When data is received, the process proceeds to step S29, and the STB 102 is notified. This is for causing data exchange between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 in a state where direct wireless communication between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 is not established. In step S30, it is checked whether data from the STB 102 has been received. When the data is received, the process proceeds to step S31, and control of the lighting device 103 (change of illumination color, blinking, brightness change, extinction, etc.) or data transmission to the digital camera 104 (for example, wireless communication request by WLAN) is performed. Go to step S25.

  In this way, lighting device 103 according to the present embodiment can notify the wireless communication status by changing the color of the lighting in accordance with an instruction from STB 102.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 104 according to this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital camera 104 according to the present embodiment. The flowchart is stored in the camera control unit 11 that executes this process, and is executed under the control of the CPU of the camera control unit 11. .

  First, in step S41, the wireless communication unit 18 is activated to perform wireless communication with the lighting device 103. Next, when it is placed in the area 105 where wireless communication with the lighting device 103 is possible in step S42, wireless communication with the lighting device 103 becomes possible. When the digital camera 104 enters the illumination area 105 and the irradiation light from the illumination device 104 is detected, the process proceeds to step S43 to establish wireless communication with the illumination device 103. In step S44, it waits to receive a connection request by WLAN from the STB 102 via the lighting device 103. When the connection request in the WLAN is received, the process proceeds to step S45, and wireless communication with the STB 102 by the WLAN is started. In step S46, when wireless communication with the STB 102 is established, the process proceeds to step S47, and the image information stored in the storage medium 20 is read and transmitted to the STB 102 in accordance with a request from the STB 102. When the transmission of the image information in step S47 is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S48, and wireless communication by WLAN is stopped.

  Note that the display unit 22 of the digital camera 104 according to this embodiment displays messages such as “establishing connection”, “executing data transfer” during connection establishment with the lighting device 103 or during transfer execution. May be displayed.

  Further, at this time, by synchronizing the light color or blinking cycle of the lighting device 103 with the display on the display unit 22, the user can clearly indicate that the device is operating in conjunction with the lighting device 103. good. Further, the lighting color of the lighting device 103 may be changed or blinked from the digital camera. For example, when the digital camera receives a WLAN connection request in step S44 of FIG. 6 and the remaining battery capacity is low, it is determined that connection by WLAN is not possible. If it is determined that the connection is impossible, an error may be notified to the user by instructing the illumination to make the emission color blink red.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image data stored in the digital camera 104 is automatically transmitted to the STB 102 only by placing the digital camera 104 in an area where wireless communication with the lighting device 103 is possible. can do. The transmitted image can be displayed on the display panel (display) 101.

  At this time, the transmission status of the image data between the digital camera 104 and the STB 102 and the establishment of wireless communication are clearly indicated by the illumination by the illumination device 103, so that the user can easily grasp the state of each device. it can.

[Other Embodiments]
Since it is difficult to give directivity to the wireless antenna, IrDA (IrBUS), for example, may be used instead of ZigBee of the first wireless communication means. IrBUS has high directivity because it uses infrared rays. In addition, since the communication distance is 6 to 8 m, the distance to the floor can be covered even when installed on the ceiling of the living room. In this case, the wireless communication connection procedure and the like can be performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, all the image information stored in the storage medium 20 of the digital camera 104 is transmitted to the STB 102 for display, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an index (including attribute information such as a file name and shooting date / time) of an image stored in the storage medium 20 is transmitted from the digital camera 104 and displayed on the display 101. Then, the user may select image data to be displayed using the remote controller 316, request only the selected image information from the camera 104, transmit it to the STB 102, and display it.

  In this embodiment, the lighting device starts detecting the camera in response to the camera detection instruction from the STB 102, and the wireless communication between the digital camera and the STB is requested from the digital camera via the lighting device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lighting device may always detect the camera, or the wireless communication between the digital camera and the STB is executed based on an image transfer request from either after the wireless connection is detected. Also good.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment described above, when the digital camera 104 enters the area 105 in which wireless communication is possible, the image information stored in the storage unit of the digital camera 104 is transmitted to the STB 102, and the STB 102 receives the image data. It was stored in the HDD 303. After that, it may be displayed on the display 101 as necessary, but in order to do so, the user needs to perform operations such as setting the processing method of the image data after transmission on the STB 102 or the display 101 in advance. is there. In the second embodiment, the processing method of image data transmitted by the user can be easily specified.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement of lighting devices and digital cameras in the display system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

  In the figure, 401 indicates a lighting device, and 406 indicates a digital camera. Here, similarly to the lighting device 103 according to Embodiment 1, the lighting device 401 irradiates an area where wireless communication with the digital camera 406 is possible. However, the lighting apparatus 401 according to the second embodiment includes two light sources 402 and 403, and an irradiation area by the light source 402 is indicated by 404 and an illumination area by the light source 403 is indicated by 405.

  The lighting device 401 includes wireless communication means (ZigBee), and can perform wireless communication between the digital camera 406 and the STB 102 using different channels, as in the case of the first embodiment. The channel used for communication with the digital camera 406 is configured so that the communication area is limited to a part of the living room. Both the illumination area 404 and the illumination area 405 are included in an area where the digital camera 406 can wirelessly communicate with the illumination device 401 and the STB 102.

  The illumination device 401 controls the light sources 402 and 403 to be lit with different illumination colors in a state of waiting for establishment of a wireless communication connection with the digital camera 406.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the digital camera 406 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Parts common to the configuration of FIG. 2 showing the configuration of the digital camera 104 according to Embodiment 1 are denoted by the same symbols, and the description thereof is omitted.

  The optical sensor 23 is provided in the upper part of the casing of the digital camera 406 and detects light emitted from the illumination device 401. Here, it is assumed that the illuminated illumination color (light source color) is recognized.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the lighting apparatus 401 according to the second embodiment, and the same parts as those in the lighting apparatus 103 (FIG. 3) according to the first embodiment are indicated by the same symbols.

  As described above, the lighting device 401 includes the light source 402 and the light source 403, and each of the light sources 402 and 403 can emit light of different colors under the control of the CPU 320, or perform different flashing light emission. It is possible.

  The configuration of STB 102 according to the second embodiment is substantially the same as the configuration of STB 102 according to the first embodiment (FIG. 3).

  Next, the operation of each device will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the STB 102 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. A program for executing this processing is stored in the memory 305 and is executed under the control of the MPU 301.

  This process is started when the STB 102 is turned on. First, in step S51, a camera detection process for detecting whether the digital camera 406 is placed in the wireless communicable area 404 or 405 with respect to the lighting device 401 is started. To instruct. Next, in step S52, the light source 402 of the lighting device 401 is instructed to be lit in blue, and in step S53, the light source 403 of the lighting device 401 is instructed to be lit in yellow. In step S54, the lighting apparatus 401 waits for the digital camera 406 to be detected.

  In the second embodiment, the light emission color of the lighting device 401 is set to two colors of blue and yellow, and when the user places the digital camera 406 in the blue irradiation area 404, the image data received from the digital camera 406 is stored in the HDD 303. To do. On the other hand, when the user places the digital camera 406 in the yellow irradiation area 405, the image data received from the digital camera 406 is associated with the display 101 as a slide show. As described above, the processing method of the image data from the camera 406 can be designated depending on which of the irradiation regions 404 and 405 of the emission colors different from each other is placed.

  Thus, for example, when a television program is being viewed on the display 101, only the light source 402 is lit in blue. As a result, it is possible to inform the user that the image data can only be stored at present and the display 101 cannot be used to display the image.

  Next, when the camera 406 is detected in step S54, the process proceeds to step S55, and the lighting apparatus 401 is requested to perform communication with the digital camera 406 by the second wireless communication means (WLAN).

  In the second embodiment, the digital camera 406 recognizes the color of the illuminated illumination light by the optical sensor 23 and transmits the recognized color information to the STB 102 via the illumination device 401. Thereby, the STB 102 determines the processing method of the image data based on the received color information. The correspondence between the illumination color and the application to be activated can be set in advance for the STB 102 by the user.

  When wireless communication by the second wireless communication means (WLAN) is established between the STB 102 and the digital camera 406 in this way, the process proceeds from step S56 to step S57, and the color information recognized by the digital camera 406 is received via the lighting device 401. . In step S58, the lighting apparatus 401 is notified to end the detection process of the digital camera 406. Next, in step S59, the color information of the illuminated light is checked. If it is blue, the process proceeds to step S60, and the lighting device 401 is instructed to blink the light source 402. As a result, the user can recognize that wireless communication by WLAN is established between the digital camera 406 and the STB 102 and that the image data is ready to be stored in the HDD 303. At this time, in order to indicate that the slide show cannot be executed, the lighting apparatus 401 is instructed to stop the lighting of the light source 403 (yellow) in step S61. In step S62, the STB 102 requests image data from the digital camera 406 via the WLAN. As a result, transmission of image data from the digital camera 406 to the STB 102 is started in step S63, and the received image data is stored in the HDD 303.

  On the other hand, if the color information is yellow in step S59, the process proceeds to step S64 to instruct the lighting device 401 to blink the light source 403. As a result, the user can recognize that wireless communication by WLAN has been established between the digital camera 406 and the STB 102 and that a slide show operation for image data has been prepared. At this time, in order to indicate that the image data is not stored in the HDD 303, the lighting apparatus 401 is instructed to stop the lighting of the light source 402 (blue) in step S65. In step S66, the STB 102 requests image data from the digital camera 406 via the WLAN. As a result, transmission of image data from the digital camera 406 is started in step S67. The STB 102 executes a slide show using the received image data using the display 101.

  When the storage operation of the image data in the HDD 303 or the slide show operation in step S67 is completed in step S63, the process proceeds to step S68 to instruct the lighting device 401 to stop the blinking of the light source. In step S69, the lighting device 401 is started to detect whether or not the digital camera 406 is placed in the wireless communicable area. However, at this time, the light source 402 and the light source 403 are turned off. In step S70, if the digital camera 406 is placed in the wireless communicable area, the process waits for the digital camera 406 to be removed from the wireless communicable area. When the digital camera 406 is removed from the wireless communicable area, an exit event of the digital camera 406 is received from the lighting device 401 in step S70. Thus, the process returns to step S52, the light source 402 is lit in blue, the light source 403 is lit in yellow, and the detection operation of the digital camera 406 in step S54 is restarted.

  Thus, after the reception of the image data from the camera 406 is completed, the next operation is not shifted until the digital camera 406 is removed from the wireless communicable area. This is to prevent the image data transmission operation from being repeated when the digital camera 406 continues to be placed in the wireless communicable area.

  In this manner, the image data processing method in the STB 102 after image data is transmitted from the digital camera 406 to the STB 102 can be easily switched according to the irradiation area where the digital camera 406 is placed. For this reason, when the user places the digital camera 406 in the illumination area, a special operation such as pressing a button of the camera or setting with a menu becomes unnecessary. Further, since the place where the digital camera 406 is placed can be identified according to the illumination color, it is convenient for the user.

  For example, when the digital camera 406 is placed in the blue irradiation area, only untransferred image data is transferred to the STB 102, and when it is placed in the yellow irradiation area, all image data may be transferred. good. As described above, the processing method of the image data transmitted from the digital camera 406 to the STB 102 can be switched in accordance with the illumination color of the irradiation area. For example, when the digital camera 406 is placed in the blue irradiation area, all image data is automatically transmitted to the STB 102. When the digital camera 406 is placed in the yellow irradiation area, only the image data selected by the user is transmitted to the STB 102. You may make it do. In this manner, the image supply procedure can be switched according to the illumination color.

  Next, operation | movement of the illuminating device 401 which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the lighting apparatus 401 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The flowchart is stored in the memory 320a of the CPU 320 that executes this process, and is executed under the control of the CPU 320.

  First, in step S81, when a camera detection request from the STB 102 is received, the process proceeds to step S82, and detection of the digital camera 406 is started. Next, in step S83, it is checked whether the digital camera 406 is placed in the wireless communicable area and wireless communication is enabled between the digital camera 406 and the lighting device 401. When wireless communication is possible, the process proceeds to step S86, and the STB 102 is notified that the digital camera 406 has been detected. On the other hand, at the same time as checking whether or not wireless communication with the digital camera 406 is possible, it is checked whether or not data from the STB 102 is received in step S84. If data is received, it will progress to step S85 and will control the illumination apparatus 401 according to it (a change of illumination color, lighting of the light sources 402 and 403, blinking, a brightness change, light extinction, etc.).

  After step S86, it is checked whether a camera detection end instruction is sent from the STB 102. If a camera detection end instruction is sent, the process proceeds to step S88, and thereafter, the detection process of the digital camera 406 is not executed. If the camera detection end has not been sent, the process proceeds to step S89 to check whether data has been received from the digital camera 406. When data is received, the process proceeds to step S90, and the STB 102 is notified. In this way, the illumination color irradiated by the digital camera 406 is recognized, and the recognized color information is transmitted to the STB 102 via the illumination device 401. If data has not been received from the digital camera 406 in step S89, the process proceeds to step S91 to check whether data has been received from the STB. When the data is received, the process proceeds to step S92, and the illumination device 401 is controlled accordingly (changing the illumination color, turning on and blinking the light sources 402 and 403, changing the brightness, turning off, etc.) or transmitting data to the digital camera 406 (for example, WLAN). Wireless communication request).

  If no data is received from the STB 102 in step S91, the process proceeds to step S93 to check whether an instruction to start camera exit detection has been sent. As described above, this camera detection start instruction is issued when the STB 102 receives image data from the digital camera 406 and stores it in the HDD 303 or finishes executing the slide show. This is performed for the purpose of checking whether the digital camera 406 has been removed from the wireless communicable area once after the image data reception operation is completed in the STB 102.

  If there is an instruction to start camera detection in step S93, the process proceeds to step S94, and detection of the digital camera 406 is started. Next, in step S95, it is checked whether or not the digital camera 406 is placed in the wireless communicable area. If the digital camera 406 is removed from the wireless communicable area, the process proceeds to step S96, and the digital camera 406 has left the wireless communicable area. Is notified to the STB 102. Thereafter, the process returns to step S81 again, and shifts to a waiting state for receiving a digital camera detection request from the STB.

  Next, the operation of the digital camera 406 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital camera 406 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which is stored in the camera control unit 11 that executes this process, and under the control of the CPU of the camera control unit 11. Executed.

  First, in step S101, the wireless communication unit 18 is activated to perform wireless communication with the lighting device 401. Next, in step S <b> 102, it is determined whether or not the wireless communication with the lighting device 401 is enabled by being placed in an area where the wireless communication with the lighting device 401 is possible. Here, when wireless communication with the lighting device 401 becomes possible, the process proceeds to step S103, and detection of the illumination color (light source color) emitted from the lighting device 401 is started by the optical sensor 23 of the digital camera 406. Here, blue light is recognized when the digital camera 406 is placed in the blue illumination area 404, and yellow light is recognized when the digital camera 406 is placed in the yellow illumination area 405. Next, in step S104, if the light source color is successfully recognized, the process proceeds to step S105, where wireless communication with the lighting device 401 is established. Thereafter, in step S105, when an illumination color information acquisition request is received from the STB 102 via the illumination device 401, the color information of the illumination color recognized in step S104 is transmitted to the STB 102 via the illumination device 401. In step S106, it waits to receive a connection request by WLAN from the STB 102 via the lighting device 401. When the connection request in the WLAN is received, the process proceeds to step S107, and wireless communication with the STB 102 by the WLAN is started. In step S108, when wireless communication with the STB 102 is established, the process proceeds to step S109. In accordance with a request from the STB 102, the image data stored in the storage medium 20 is read and transmitted to the STB 102. When the transmission of the image data in step S109 is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S110, and wireless communication by WLAN is stopped.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, by transmitting the illumination color information recognized by the digital camera 406 to the STB 102, the STB 102 can switch the image data processing method according to the illumination color. .

  In addition, only when the light source color is successfully recognized in step S104, a connection request by the WLAN from the STB 102 can be accepted. For this reason, it is possible to cope with a case where the wireless communication area of the digital camera 406 becomes wider than the irradiation areas 404 and 405 of the lighting device 401 due to the problem that it is difficult to impart directivity to the wireless antenna. That is, since the digital camera 406 is surely placed in the illumination area, wireless communication between the digital camera 406 and the STB 102 by the WLAN can be started, and an operation as intended by the user can be realized.

  In addition to the configuration of the second embodiment, the irradiation region 404 by the light source 402 and the irradiation region 405 by the light source 403 may partially overlap in FIG. In this case, when the digital camera 406 is placed in a region where the irradiation region 404 and the irradiation region 405 overlap, the optical sensor 23 of the digital camera recognizes two types of light colors, blue and yellow. In that case, both the storage of the image data in the HDD 303 and the slide show operation using the display may be performed, or different processing (for example, index display using thumbnail images, etc.) may be performed. ) May be executed.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the color of the light irradiating the digital camera 406 is detected by the optical sensor 23, and the image data processing method in the STB 102 is switched according to the color information. As another embodiment, the illumination device 401 is detected using the imaging unit 12 of the digital camera 406, and the light source color of the light source corresponding to the irradiation area where the digital camera 406 is placed is detected. Also good.

  As another embodiment, the illumination area where the digital camera 406 is placed using the imaging unit 12 of the digital camera 406 so that the illumination areas of the light source 402 and the light source 403 of the lighting device 401 are different from each other. The shape of the light-emitting area of the light source corresponding to may be detected. At this time, the STB 102 switches the image data processing method based on the recognized irradiation area shape information.

  As another embodiment, the light emission periods of the light source 402 and the light source 403 of the lighting device 401 may be different from each other. For example, the light source 402 emits blue light with a 1 Hz cycle, and the light source 403 emits yellow light with a 0.7 Hz cycle. At this time, the user determines in which irradiation area the digital camera 406 should be placed according to the color of the irradiation area. When the digital camera 406 recognizes a 1 Hz blink signal or 0.7 Hz blink signal from the light source, the recognized light emission period information is transmitted to the STB 102 via the lighting device 401. Thereby, the STB 102 switches the image data processing method based on the light emission period information.

  In another embodiment, the light emitted from the light source 402 and the light source 403 of the lighting device 401 is imaged at a height where the digital camera 406 is placed, and the shape of the irradiated light or the pattern shape is further changed. They may be different from each other. The STB 102 switches the image data processing method on the basis of the recognized irradiation light shape or pattern shape information.

  In the above embodiment, the illumination means corresponding to the illumination form such as the color and shape of the illumination is prepared, but a plurality of types of illumination forms may be provided by one illumination means. That is, light may be emitted while switching between a plurality of colors such as blue and red with a single illumination means. Alternatively, a plurality of different mask shapes may be provided together with the illumination means, and illumination with a plurality of types of irradiation shapes may be provided with one illumination means. Further, the blinking cycle of the illumination means may be lengthened or shortened or switched.

  In this embodiment, while the digital camera 406 and the STB 102 store image data in the HDD 303 or during a slide show operation of image data, the image data is transferred from another digital camera to the STB 102. I was unable to. On the other hand, image data may be transferred between a plurality of digital cameras and the STB 102 at the same time. In this case, for example, after the first digital camera is placed in the blue irradiation area and starts transferring image data, the lighting device 401 turns on a new light source and is adjacent to the irradiation areas 404 and 405. A blue illumination area is generated. In this way, a second digital camera may be placed in that area to indicate to the user that image data can be transferred simultaneously.

  In the second embodiment, the STB 102 determines the image data processing method from the color information received from the digital camera 406. As another embodiment, the digital camera 406 may determine a processing method of image data based on color information, and send a message regarding the processing method to the STB 102. In another embodiment, the lighting device 401 may determine a method for processing image data from color information. That is, color information may be received from the digital camera 406, and a message regarding a processing method may be transmitted to the STB 102 according to the color information.

  Further, the transmission destination of the image data transmitted by the digital camera 406 is not limited to the STB 102 but may be a printer provided with wireless communication means. In this case, when the printer is turned on, the illumination device 401 uses another light source to generate a green irradiation area adjacent to the irradiation areas 404 and 405. Then, the user may place the digital camera 406 in the green irradiation area to transmit image data from the digital camera 406 to the printer for printing.

  Further, the irradiation areas 404 and 405 are configured such that the irradiation light forms an image, and the processing method of the image data when the digital camera 406 is placed in the irradiation area is displayed as characters by the image formation image or by an icon. Or may be displayed. Thereby, the user can more easily recognize the processing method of the image data when the digital camera is placed in the irradiation area.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device.

  The present invention can also be achieved by supplying a software program that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments directly or remotely to a system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program. Including the case where it is achieved. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, the form does not need to be a program. Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the present invention includes a computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention. In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.

The storage medium for supplying the program is, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, There are DVDs (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.
As another program supply method, the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function can be downloaded to a storage medium such as a hard disk via the Internet using a browser of a client computer. .
It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the claims of the present invention.

Further, the program of the present invention may be encrypted and stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed to users.
In this case, a user who satisfies a predetermined condition is allowed to download key information to be decrypted from a homepage via the Internet, execute the encrypted program by using the key information, and install it on the computer. It can also be realized.

  Further, the functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by an OS running on the computer based on the read program instruction, performing part or all of the actual processing.

  Furthermore, after the above-described program is written in the memory provided in the function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instructions of the program. The function of the above-described embodiment is also realized by this processing.

As described above, the present embodiment has the following effects.
(1) Since the wireless communicable area of the digital camera is indicated by illumination, it is possible to avoid the start of wireless communication against the user's intention.
(2) The communication status such as during communication and waiting for connection can be easily grasped.
(3) Since the installation location of the digital camera can be set according to the illumination area of the illumination device, restrictions on the installation location of the camera can be reduced.
(4) The lighting device is not limited to the ceiling, but has a high degree of freedom such as using a lighting rail, or being able to be held on a wall or desk, or in any position with a clip.
(5) A lighting device with a wireless function can be manufactured at low cost, and if a plurality of lighting devices are provided, a plurality of wireless communicable areas can be set.
(6) If the wireless communication setting of the digital camera is set so that the wireless LAN communication means is automatically activated when entering the wireless communicable area, the image information is stored in the STB 102 with less user operation. Can be transferred to.
(7) The user can easily instruct the transmission image data designation such as the processing method of the image data after transmission and which image data to transmit among the image data held in the image supply device.
(8) By displaying the image data processing method after transmission with characters or icons, the user can more easily recognize the image data processing method when the digital camera is placed in the irradiation area. be able to.
(9) When entering the communication area, the wireless LAN communication means is automatically activated to transfer the image file. In other words, it is not necessary to keep communication means with high power consumption such as a wireless LAN in an always operating state. By making communication means with low power consumption such as ZigBee and IrBUS always in an operating state, it is possible to automatically start wireless image file transfer with low power consumption.

It is a figure explaining this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of STB and lighting equipment concerning this Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of STB which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the illuminating device which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital camera which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a figure explaining arrangement | positioning of the illuminating device and digital camera in the display system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram explaining the structure of the illuminating device which concerns on this Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of STB which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the illuminating device which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the digital camera which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Claims (20)

An image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
An image display device for displaying an image based on image information supplied from the image supply device;
Illumination equipment for illuminating wirelessly communicable areas by the image supply device,
When detecting that said image supply device is present in the wireless communicable region, and a control unit for controlling transmission from the image supply device of the image information to the image display device,
The illumination apparatus further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the image display device so as to be identifiable . The lighting device further includes
Wireless communication means for performing wireless communication with the image supply device;
2. The image display system according to claim 1, further comprising means for instructing start of wireless communication between the image supply device and the image display device based on a signal from the wireless communication means.   The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is installed in a room and is turned on in response to a lighting operation for another lighting device in the room.   The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is installed indoors and is turned on when the image display device is powered on. Means for receiving information sent when the image supply device is in the illumination area of the lighting device and recognizing that the image supply device is in the illumination area;
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a unit that permits transmission of image information from the image supply device to the image display device when the image supply device is recognized to be in the irradiation region. Image display system. The image display system according to claim 5 , wherein the illumination device further switches the illumination method so as to be identifiable according to whether or not the image supply device is in the irradiation area. An image supply device that can transmit image information wirelessly, an image display device that displays an image based on the image information supplied from the image supply device, and a wirelessly communicable area by the image supply device are illuminated so as to be identifiable A control method of an image display system having a lighting device,
A detection step of detecting that the image supply device is placed in the wirelessly communicable area, and a wireless communication with the image supply device when it is detected in the detection step that the image supply device is present in the wirelessly communicable area. Establishing communication, and
A control step of controlling image communication between the image display device and the image supply device in response to establishment of wireless communication with the image supply device ;
The illumination device further illuminates the communication status between the image supply device and the image display device so as to be identifiable . The image display system according to claim 7 , further comprising a step of lighting the lighting device in response to a lighting operation to another lighting device in the room, wherein the lighting device is installed indoors. Control method. The method of controlling an image display system according to claim 7 , further comprising a step of lighting the illumination device in response to power-on of the image display device, the illumination device being installed indoors. Receiving information sent when the image supply device is in the illumination area of the lighting device and recognizing that the image supply device is in the illumination area;
8. The method according to claim 7 , further comprising: permitting transmission of image information from the image supply device to the image display device when the image supply device is recognized as being in the irradiation region. Method for controlling the image display system. The method of controlling an image display system according to claim 10 , wherein the illumination device further switches the illumination method so as to be identifiable according to whether or not the image supply device is in the irradiation area. Communication means for communicating with an image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
Illumination control means for controlling an illumination device for illuminating wirelessly communicable areas by the image supply device;
Receiving means for receiving image data from the image supply device that has entered the wireless communicable area via the communication means ;
The illumination control apparatus further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the communication unit so as to be identifiable . Furthermore, a detection unit that detects that the image supply device has entered the wireless communicable area, and a request for requesting the image supply device to transmit image data in accordance with a detection result of the detection unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 12 , further comprising: means. Means for receiving information sent when the image supply device is in the illumination area of the lighting device and recognizing that the image supply device is in the illumination area;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 13 , further comprising a request unit that requests the image supply device to transmit image data when the image supply device is recognized to be in the irradiation area. . The image processing apparatus according to claim 12 , further comprising a display unit that displays received image data. A communication step of communicating with an image supply device capable of transmitting image information wirelessly;
A lighting control step of controlling a lighting device for illuminating a wirelessly communicable area by the image supply device; and
Receiving image data from the image supply device that has entered the wireless communicable area, and
The illumination control device further illuminates the communication state between the image supply device and the communication unit so as to be identifiable . And a detection step of detecting that the image supply device has entered the wireless communicable area;
  17. The method of controlling an image processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a requesting step of requesting the image supply device to transmit image data in accordance with a detection result of the detecting step. And receiving information sent when the image supply device is in the illumination area of the lighting device and recognizing that the image supply device is in the illumination area;
18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising a step of requesting the image supply device to transmit image data when it is recognized that the image supply device is in the irradiation area . A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method for an image display system according to any one of claims 7 to 11 . A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the control method for an image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 18.

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