JP4614396B2 - Imaging apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera, and more particularly to a technique for transferring an image file between a plurality of cameras connected via a network or the like.

  Conventionally, a digital still camera has an interface means such as a USB to communicate with a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), and the digital still camera can transfer files with a PC and output image data to a printer. there were. Further, an example of using this to perform file transfer from a master camera to a slave camera is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-134527.

  In recent years, wired and wireless interfaces have been realized, and these interfaces may be applied to cameras. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-143032 discloses a small wireless interface device that can be mounted on a camera, and by using this device, the camera can realize a wireless communication function.

  In the situation where a digital camera such as a digital still camera or a digital camcorder has the interface as described above, when several users who own the digital camera gather, the users are stored in digital cameras owned by other users. It is conceivable to exchange image files between digital cameras in hopes of acquiring image files and moving image files.

For example, multiple people with digital cameras gather together to form a group. And the group goes on a trip. At the end of the trip, the image file taken by each member in the group is copied to the respective digital camera. This allows the group members to receive all image files related to the trip, even if they were taken by others.
JP 2000-134527 A JP 2001-143032 A

  However, in this situation, each camera has a large number of image files, so even if the user wants to copy a file from another person's camera, the user wants to retrieve a large number of files. It is difficult to find from inside. Also, as the number of cameras gathered increases, the total number of files increases and the problem becomes more serious.

  Some image files stored in the camera do not want to be shown to others. When the camera is connected to the network, there arises a problem that these files are copied and viewed by others.

  Furthermore, the image file may include the photographer's intention such as a print mark, and if another user copies it to his or her camera, the file not intended by the user will remain designated for printing. A problem arises that the user prints an unintended file when printing is performed.

  Also, in such a situation, if the camera is copied several times, a situation may occur where the copied file is copied again, for example, there are multiple files with the same content but only different file names. End up. In this case, the user owns a file that should not be necessary, which causes inconvenience in file management.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to realize file copying from an imaging device to another imaging device with a simple operation in a state where a plurality of imaging devices are gathered. That is.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an imaging device according to the present invention includes an imaging unit that generates an image, a file storage unit that generates a file including the image and the flag, and stores the file. Communication means for transmitting the file to and from another imaging device, and when the file is transferred between the imaging devices using the communication means, the file is designated for printing in the flag. If the print mark indicating that the print mark is included, the print mark is returned to the initial value.

  The image pickup apparatus according to the present invention also includes an image pickup unit that generates an image, a file storage unit that generates a file including the image and a flag, and stores the file, and transmission of the file between the other image pickup apparatuses. And when the file is transferred between the imaging devices using the communication unit, the flag includes a write protect flag that prohibits overwriting or erasing of the file. The write protect flag is reset to the initial value.

  The image pickup apparatus control method according to the present invention includes an image pickup unit that generates an image, a file storage unit that generates a file including the image and the flag, and stores the file, and the other image pickup apparatus. An image pickup apparatus control method for controlling an image pickup apparatus comprising a communication means for transmitting a file, wherein when the file is transferred between the image pickup apparatuses using the communication means, the flag When a print mark indicating that the file is designated for printing is included, the print mark is returned to the initial value.

  The image pickup apparatus control method according to the present invention includes an image pickup unit that generates an image, a file storage unit that generates a file including the image and the flag, and stores the file, and the other image pickup apparatus. An image pickup apparatus control method for controlling an image pickup apparatus comprising a communication means for transmitting a file, wherein when the file is transferred between the image pickup apparatuses using the communication means, the flag When a write protect flag for prohibiting overwriting or erasing of a file is included, the value of the write protect flag is returned to the initial value.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize file copying from an imaging device to another imaging device with a simple operation in a state where a plurality of imaging devices are gathered.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a digital still camera, and is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the digital still camera and its surrounding environment.

  First, the configuration of the digital still camera will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a digital still camera. The digital still camera 1 is controlled by a system controller 17. The system controller 17 controls the digital still camera by executing a control program written in the ROM 7. The switch group 15 includes shutter switches and operation switches used for setting the camera. The operation switches include a cross key, an Enter switch, and the like. It is possible to make settings for the camera and to select a file to be transferred during file transfer. A memory card slot 14 connects the memory card 13 and the camera system. The memory card 13 is a recording device for storing image data files and the like.

  An interface circuit 10 includes a wired communication unit such as USB or LAN, a wireless communication unit, and the like, and enables a network to be formed by a camera and a PC, a camera and a camera, or a plurality of cameras. Here, the description will be continued assuming that the interface circuit is constituted by wireless communication means. The interface circuit 10 has an antenna 11 for performing wireless communication.

  Reference numeral 6 denotes a display that displays a captured image, a menu screen for the user, and the like, and further operates as a viewfinder by displaying an image obtained from the image sensor in real time. In particular, when transferring a file with another camera, a file thumbnail screen and a user interface menu are displayed. By using this and the switch group 15, the user can select a file to be transferred. A real-time clock 20 measures the time of the digital still camera.

  Next, the photographing operation of the digital still camera will be described.

  Here, it is assumed that the user instructs the camera to take a picture using a shutter switch included in the switch group 15. As a result, the camera drives the image sensor 3 and converts the subject image formed on the image sensor into an electrical signal. The imaging circuit 4 performs correlated double sampling processing on the electrical signal output from the imaging device 3 and further converts it into digital image data. The image processing circuit 5 performs conversion to luminance color difference image data, gamma processing, and the like on the digital image data, and further compresses the digital image data. The system controller controls the bus 2 and temporarily transfers the compressed image data to the RAM 8. Further, the image data is transferred to the memory card 13 and stored (file stored) as a file.

  The camera has a function of adding a keyword to a file to be shot. The user sets a keyword added to a file generated by shooting in advance before shooting. The camera adds the keyword to the image file generated each time the image is taken until the keyword is changed.

  At this time, the camera adds a keyword and shooting date and time set in advance by the user to the file to be saved, gives a predetermined file name, and saves it in the memory card 13.

  The user can set a write protect flag, a print mark flag, a copy prohibition flag, and a reproduction prohibition flag for a file stored in the memory card 13 after shooting.

  The write protect flag is present to prevent erroneous erasure of the file, and the camera system cannot erase or overwrite the file in which this flag exists. The print mark flag is a flag for designating a file to be printed to the camera when the camera is connected to the printer. The copy prohibition flag is a flag for prohibiting file copying between cameras or between a camera and a PC. The reproduction prohibition flag is a flag for prohibiting display of an image included in this file on the display of the camera.

  At this time, the camera A displays a menu on the display according to the operation of the switch group 15 from the user, and the user performs various settings for the file by operating the switch group 15 while viewing the menu.

  Next, a file transfer operation between cameras will be described.

  In the following description, the digital still camera 1 is referred to as camera A. Reference numeral 18 denotes a digital still camera, which will be referred to as camera B in the following description. Reference numeral 19 denotes a digital still camera, which will be referred to as camera C in the following description. Camera B and camera C are cameras having the same configuration as camera A.

  Camera A, camera B, and camera C each have a wireless interface. The wireless interface is realized using a standardized wireless interface protocol such as Bluetooth. Since Bluetooth is disclosed as a standardized interface, it will not be described here.

  A camera using a wireless interface recognizes the camera and forms a network when the distance from the other camera is within a predetermined distance. Communication between cameras is performed by one camera in the network, but the camera user can use communication between cameras without being aware of it.

  Here, the camera A, the camera B, and the camera C approach each other within a predetermined distance, and thereby a network is configured. Furthermore, it is assumed that the user of the camera A switches the camera A to the file exchange mode.

  A function for copying a file from another camera to the camera will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the user operates the switch group 15 of the camera A to change the camera A to the file transfer mode, the camera A starts processing in the file exchange mode from step S201 in FIG.

  Here, a file already exists in camera A as shown in FIG. 4, a file exists in camera B as shown in FIG. 5, and a file exists in camera C as shown in FIG. The explanation will be given.

  The camera also has a function for registering a user name, and the registered user name is used at the time of file transfer. The registration of the user name proceeds to the user name setting mode using the menu, and is performed by operating the menu displayed on the display and the switch group 15. Here, description will be made assuming that user A is not registered in camera A, user B is in camera B, and user name is not registered in camera C.

  The camera A first confirms the camera existing on the network and acquires file information in the existing camera. In step S202, the camera A recognizes one of the cameras existing on the network. Here, it is assumed that the camera B is recognized as the first camera. Camera A advances the process to step S208. The process performed in step S208 is shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, the process starting from step S301 is a process executed by the camera A, and the process starting from step S311 is a process executed by the camera that is the communication partner of the camera A, here the camera B.

  In step S301, the camera A starts a file information acquisition process. In step S303, the file request and the search condition are transmitted to the camera B.

  When the camera B receives the file request from the camera A, the communication interface in the camera B issues an interrupt signal to the system controller 17. Thereby, the camera B interrupts the processing that has been performed so far, and starts the file information transmission processing started from step S311. At this time, the search condition received together with the file request by the communication interface is read from the interface by the system controller and stored in the RAM.

  In step S <b> 312, the system controller in the camera B selects the first file A0001.jpg from the files existing on the memory card 13 in the camera B, and reads the information into the RAM 8. In step S313, it is checked whether the copy prohibition flag and the reproduction prohibition flag are TRUE or FALSE in the file information. If either the copy prohibition flag or the reproduction prohibition flag is TRUE, the process proceeds to step S319. As a result, a file whose copy prohibition flag or reproduction prohibition flag is TRUE is not transferred to the camera A. For example, since the first file A0001.jpg to be copied from the camera B has a copy prohibition flag of TRUE, the camera B advances the process to step S319, and information regarding this file is not transmitted to the camera A.

  On the other hand, if the copy prohibition flag and the reproduction prohibition flag are both FALSE, the camera B advances the process to step S314. In step S314, the information of the file being referred to is compared with the search condition already received from the camera A, and it is confirmed whether or not the file satisfies the search condition received from the camera A.

  As the search condition, the location information is used in the case of a camera capable of recording location information in a file by providing a date and time range, a keyword, GPS, and the like.

  Further, the file search will be described later, but it can also be performed at the time of file copying. However, if the search condition is known in advance, specifying the search condition here reduces the amount of data communicated between the cameras, thereby reducing the time required for communication and improving the usability of the camera. Here, it is assumed that the search condition is designated as all files. Thereby, the camera B always advances the process to step S315.

  Next, the camera B transmits file information to the camera A in step S315.

  On the other hand, when the camera A transmits a file request in step S303, the process proceeds to step S304 and waits for the file information from camera B to be transferred. Here, when the camera B transfers the file information in step S315, the camera A receives this, advances the processing to step S305, analyzes the received file information, and determines whether the file indicated by the file information is an image file. to decide.

  At this time, the camera B determines whether or not the file corresponding to the transmitted file information is an image file. If it is an image file, the process proceeds to step S317, and a request for a thumbnail image is received from the camera A. Wait to be sent.

  If the result of step S305 is an image file, camera A advances the process to step S306 and issues a thumbnail image request to camera B.

  Upon receiving the thumbnail image request from camera A, camera B advances the process to 318 and transmits the thumbnail image to camera A.

  At this time, the camera A receives the thumbnail image from the camera B in step S307.

  When the camera B transmits the thumbnail image, the process proceeds to step S319, and it is determined whether transmission of all file information has been completed. If not completed, the process proceeds to step S320, the value of the file counter is incremented by 1, and status information indicating that there is still file information to be sent is transmitted to camera A in step S322, and the process returns to step S312. . By the branch of step S319 and the loop from step S312 to step S322, the camera B performs the above processing on all the files, and when this is finished, the camera B advances the processing to step S321 in step S319, A status indicating that the file information transfer has been completed is transmitted, the process proceeds to step S323, and the file information transmission process is terminated.

  In addition, camera A receives the status transmitted from camera B in step S308. In step S309, the camera A determines the status value. If the status indicates that there is file information to be sent from the camera B, the camera A advances the process to step S304 and receives the file information of the next file. On the other hand, if the status indicates that the file information transfer has ended, the process proceeds to step S310, and the file information acquisition process ends.

  Through the above processing, information about a file that satisfies a predetermined condition and that is not designated for copy prohibition and a thumbnail image are transferred to the camera A.

  That is, among the files existing in camera B, A0002.jpg has a copy prohibition flag of TRUE, and A0003.jpg has a display prohibition flag of TRUE, so that the file information of this file is transferred to camera A in step S314. Instead, the information of the other files and the thumbnail image are transferred to the camera A.

  Next, the camera A advances the processing to step S209 in FIG.

  The process performed in step S209 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In step S701, the camera A starts file information display processing. First, in step S702, the camera A displays a user interface screen on the display.

  A user interface screen is shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 1001 denotes an area for displaying the first recognized camera on the network, that is, the user name of the camera B, and reference numeral 1002 denotes a display area for displaying the file information of the camera B and a thumbnail image. When there is a file that cannot be displayed here, the user can scroll the area by operating the switch group 15 and check these files. ing. Similarly, reference numeral 1003 denotes a user name display area of the second camera recognized on the network, that is, camera C, and reference numeral 1004 denotes file information and thumbnail screen display area of camera C.

  Further, a user name of the camera A is displayed in 1005, and file information and a thumbnail image of the camera A are displayed in 1008.

The file information and thumbnail display areas 1002, 1004, and 1008 are displayed in different colors in consideration of visibility. At the same time, the color displayed on 1002 is displayed on the display of camera B, and the color displayed on 1004 is displayed on the display of camera C. Camera A facilitates understanding of the relationship between the camera, the file, and the user. The user name of the camera B is displayed. Here, userB, which is the user name of camera B, is displayed in 1003.

  Next, in step S704, the camera A selects the first file from the list of acquired file information. In step S710, a file duplication check is performed.

  The overlap check will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, when the duplication check is started in step S1601, the camera A combines the user registration name of the camera in which the target file exists and the target file name to generate a new file name in step S1602. This file name is generated according to the same rule as the file name generated when the file is copied later. In step S1603, the camera A checks whether a file having the same file name as the generated file name exists in the memory card 13. As a result, if it is determined that the same file name exists, the camera A proceeds to step S1607, and if it is determined that it does not exist, the camera A proceeds to step S1604. As a result, duplicate files are excluded from the copy candidate files, and the camera A is prevented from copying a file that has been copied from another camera in the past.

  Further, the camera A advances the process to step S1604. The processing from step S1604 is processing for confirming that the same file does not overlap among copy candidate files acquired from a plurality of cameras. Here, A0004.jpg existing in the camera B in the past is copied to the camera C and exists with the file name userB_A0004.jpg. The file information acquired by camera A from camera B and camera C includes both A0004.jpg in camera B and userB_A0004.jpg in camera C. In fact, these two files are the same image file. . Camera A prevents copying duplicate files in this way by the following process.

  In step S1604, the camera A analyzes the file name, and confirms the user registration name included in the file name and the file name before copying. Here, userB_A0004.jpg in camera C is analyzed as an A0004.jpg file copied from camera B. Then, it is investigated whether or not A0004.jpg exists in the camera B, and if it exists, the check is ended as being duplicated. As a result, userB A0004.jpg is not copied, and only A0004.jpg existing in camera B is copied.

  When multiple user registration names are included, for example, when a file copied from camera C to camera B is further copied to camera A, the file name after copying is userB_userC_A000x.jpg. The camera that has taken the image, that is, the camera C is specified, and a file duplication check is performed using this.

  If the user registration name does not exist in the file name, the process advances to step S1605. If the user registration name exists in the file name, the user registration name is further compared with the user registration name of the camera from which the file is transferred. If the results match, the camera A advances the process to step S1606, and determines whether a file having the same file name as the file name before copying exists in the camera having the user registration name. As a result, if it is determined that the same file exists, the camera A advances the process to step S1607, and sets the return value to be duplicated, and ends the duplication check process. If no file having the same file name exists, the camera A advances the process to step S1605, sets the return value to be no duplication, and ends the duplication check process.

  In this embodiment, the copy source camera name is entered as a character string indicating copy in the file name, but this is not performed, and a history file is generated as a result of copying every time file copying is performed. A method of recording the camera identifier, the original file name, and the file name after copying is also conceivable. When copying a file, it is possible to check the duplication by comparing the file name on the copy source camera and the identifier of the copy source camera with the history file.

  Further, as a method for preventing duplicate copy, the following method is also conceivable.

  When file copying is performed, the file name of the copied file includes a character string that identifies the copy source camera and a character string that indicates the file name in the copy source camera. Therefore, it can be specified that this file has been generated by copying in the past. Therefore, at the time of file copying, if it is specified that the file to be copied is a file generated by past copying, this file is not copied. Such a configuration can also prevent duplicate copying of files. However, if the file generated by shooting does not exist in any camera on the network, the file generated by copying is not copied even though it is not duplicated.

  As a result of the duplication check, if there is duplication, the camera A advances the processing to step S703 through processing step S711 and selects the next file. If there is no overlap, the camera A advances the process to step S705.

  If there is no duplication of the file, the camera A displays the file information regarding the file selected in step S705 on 1002. At this time, camera A adds user B, which is the user name of the camera, to the beginning of the file name. This indicates to the user of camera A that this file is a copy of the file taken by userB when selected or after copying. It also prevents duplicate file names from being copied. The file information includes a keyword registered by the user of the camera B, and the camera A displays it in the file information display area as file information.

  Further, a thumbnail image of this file is displayed in step S705. If this file is not an image file, an icon indicating that is displayed.

  In step S706, the camera A determines whether it is possible to further display file information on the display screen. If there is an area for displaying file information on the screen, the process returns to step S704 to display information of the next file. When the file information is displayed as much as possible on the screen by this loop, the camera A ends the file information display process in step S707. Thereby, the camera A advances the process from step S209 to step S203 in FIG.

  When camera A completes the acquisition of file information from camera B, the process proceeds to step S203, camera C is recognized as the second camera, and the process proceeds to step S210. Step S210 is a process in which camera C is designated as an argument in the file information acquisition process of FIG. 3 called in step S208. Accordingly, the camera A acquires a list of files existing in the camera C of FIG.

  Next, the camera A advances the process to step S211, and displays file information related to the camera C on the display. Step S211 is achieved by calling the file information display process described in FIG. As a result, the camera A displays the user name registered in the camera C in the area 1003 displaying the user name of the camera C on the display. However, the user name of the camera C is not registered. In such a case, that is, when the user name is not registered in the recognized camera, the camera A uniquely names the camera C. For example, unknown1. Alternatively, the IP address of the camera C may be acquired and used as the user name. By acquiring the IP address, the camera can be specified later.

  Here, the name of the camera C is unknown1. Furthermore, the file information acquired from the camera C is displayed in the display area 1004, and step S211 is ended.

  Camera A further proceeds to step S204 to search for the next camera. Here, since there are only two cameras on the same network except for camera A, camera A proceeds to step S205. Here, the camera confirmation process is performed for three cameras, but of course, the confirmation process may be continued as long as seven or eight cameras are found on the network.

  FIG. 12 shows a list of files in the camera B recognized by the camera A and FIG. 13 shows a list of files in the camera C recognized by the camera A.

  Next, in step S205, the camera A displays a list of image files existing in the memory card 13 of the camera A on the display.

  FIG. 14 shows the contents of step S205.

  Camera A starts displaying file information in step S1501. First, the user interface is displayed in step S1502, and the user name of camera A is displayed in step S1503. However, the item displayed here is for the purpose of indicating that the information displayed in this area is that of camera A, so the user's own file such as my camera instead of the user name It is also possible to show that Next, in step S1504, the camera A acquires file information existing in the memory card 13 of the camera A. The file is repeated for each file. If the file display prohibition flag is TRUE, the camera A returns the process to step S1504 in step S1505. If the display prohibition flag is FALSE, the process advances to step S1506 to display file information on the display. In step S1507, a thumbnail image is displayed.

  Next, the camera advances the process to step S1508 to determine whether there is an empty area in the display area of the display. When there is no free area, camera A determines this in step S1508, advances the process to step S1509, and ends the file information display.

  Next, camera A prompts the user to select a file in step S206.

  FIG. 8 shows the contents of the file selection processing step S206.

  Camera A starts file selection processing in step S801. In step S802, a selection screen as to whether or not to search for a file again is displayed to the user. If the user selects Yes, the camera A advances the process to step S807 and displays a search condition input menu on the display. When the user inputs a search condition, only files satisfying the condition are selected from the already acquired information and redisplayed on the display. For example, if keyword = travel is input as a search condition here, camera A selects only information related to the file whose keyword is “travel” from the information related to the files in camera B and camera C that have already been acquired. Redisplay this on the display.

  Next, the camera A advances the processing to step S803, and displays that the file can be selected on the display, thereby prompting the user to select a file to be copied. The user selects a file by operating the switch group 15. It is also possible to select all files. In this case, all the files previously searched according to the search condition are selected as files to be copied. In step S804, the camera A displays a copy button on the display to prompt the user to copy the selected file.

  When the user operates the copy button by operating the switch group 15, the camera A advances the process to step S806 and ends the file selection process.

  Next, the camera A proceeds to step S207 in FIG. 2, and starts file copy processing.

  The file copy process will be described with reference to FIG.

  When the camera A starts file copy in step S901, first, in step S902, the camera A requests the copy source camera to transmit the file selected by the above selection process. When the copy source camera starts transmitting the file, the camera A temporarily stores the received file in the RAM 8. Next, the camera A changes the print mark present in the header portion of this file to FALSE. In step S904, the write protect flag is also changed to FALSE. These flags are set by the intention of the owner of the copy source camera, and do not necessarily match the intention of the owner of the copy destination camera. Therefore, the camera A returns these flags to the initial state.

  Next, camera A corrects the time of this file in step S905. The difference between the clock built in camera B and the clock built in camera A is obtained. This value is added to the time recorded in the file. As a result, the time series of the image file that originally existed in the camera A and the file obtained by copying from the camera B are in the correct state, and the file display order is different when the file is displayed in time series when viewing the file. Regardless of this, it becomes possible to display the images correctly in time order.

  Next, the camera A records the file modified in step S906 on the memory card. Further, the process proceeds to step S907, and it is determined whether all the selected files have been copied. By this loop, the process is executed until all the selected files are copied, and when this is completed, the file copy process is terminated in step S908.

  When the above copying operation is completed, the file shown in FIG. 11 exists in the memory card 13 of the camera A.

  As described above, according to the apparatus of the above-described embodiment, an imaging unit that generates a digital image, a recording unit that generates a file including the digital image and records the file on a recording medium, a plurality of cameras, Communication means for transmitting the file between, a display means for displaying information, a switch group for inputting an instruction to the camera, and a camera identifier storage means for storing a character string for identifying the camera The display means can display an identifier for identifying the camera and information about the file held by the camera regarding the files held by a plurality of cameras connected by the communication means, and the display means operates the switch group. Display means that a predetermined file has been selected, and has means for transferring the selected file using the communication means. When multiple cameras are connected and the user of the camera copies files from other cameras, the files in the other cameras are classified and displayed for each camera on the camera that they own. It is possible to select a file to be copied according to the search condition. Therefore, even when a large number of image files exist in each camera, it becomes easy for the user to find a file that the user wants to acquire from the camera of another person from among the large number of files.

  Furthermore, by obtaining a reduced image of the image included in the file together with the file information from the connected camera and displaying it, the user can determine the desired file using the image. Finding a desired file from another person's camera is even easier.

  Also, when the identifier of the camera connected by the communication means is not set, a unique character string is generated as the identifier, displayed on the display means, and further for the file copied at the time of file copying By having a means for generating a file name including the character string, it becomes possible to identify the camera in which the copied file originally existed.

  In addition, the display means can display a color image, and has means for displaying the color of the display area for each camera in a different color when displaying file information, so which image can be displayed by which camera during file copying. It is possible to determine whether or not the image has been shot, and file copying can be performed more easily.

  Also, a first clock is provided, the time difference between the clock owned by each connected camera and the first clock is obtained, the time difference is added to the time information owned by the file when copying the file, and this value is newly added. By providing means for recording time information owned by the file, even if file copying is performed between multiple cameras set at different times, the time stamp of the file is recorded at the time when the image was actually shot. By making corrections, it is possible to correctly arrange the image files in the order in which the images were taken when the image files were referenced in time series.

  In addition, it is possible to duplicate a file from a plurality of cameras connected by communication means and record it in the recording means. If the same file is searched from the duplication candidate files and the same file exists, it is the same. By duplicating only one file in the file and recording it in the recording means, it becomes possible to prevent duplicate copying of the same image file as the image file originally existing in the recording means. .

  In addition, as a file name of a file copied at the time of file copying, a means for generating a file name including a character string specifying the original file name and a character string specifying the copy source camera is provided. It is possible to identify the camera that originally existed and to check for duplication of files when copying.

  Identify the file name in the copy source camera and the recording means held by the copy source from the character string included in the file name, and use this information to duplicate the files that have already been copied or files to be copied By including a means for prohibiting copying, it is possible to include a file including the same image among copy candidates, and it is possible to prevent duplicate copying of the same image.

  Also, an imaging unit that generates a digital image, a recording unit that generates a file including the digital image and records the file on a recording medium, and a communication unit that communicates the image file and information with another camera. Provided with a means for receiving a search condition in advance from a camera connected to the communication means by communication and transmitting information on a file satisfying the search condition to the camera connected to the communication means, thereby providing a file from the connected camera. When acquiring information, it is possible to select and acquire only the information related to the necessary files, which not only facilitates file selection but also improves the operability of the camera by reducing unnecessary communication time. Can be made.

  Further, means for storing a keyword is used to add a keyword set before photographing to the file, and to search the file using the keyword as a search condition at the time of file information communication. By connecting the camera and the camera, it is possible to search for an image file by a specific keyword such as “travel” when acquiring file information before copying a file from another camera. As a result, not only the file selection is facilitated, but also the file information communicated between the cameras is minimized so that unnecessary communication time can be reduced and the operability of the camera can be improved.

  Also, an imaging unit that generates a digital image, a recording unit that generates a file including the digital image and records the file on a recording medium, and a communication unit that communicates the image file and information with another camera. Information received from a camera connected to the communication means in advance through a communication and information relating to a predetermined search condition is searched from the information relating to the file. With the means for copying the file related to the camera from the connected camera, it is possible to further select and copy a desired image from the acquired file information.

  In addition, it has keyword storage means for storing keywords, and has means for allowing keywords set before shooting to be added to the file, so that files can be selected using keywords set by the user. This makes it possible to copy files between cameras more easily.

  Also, an imaging means for generating a digital image, a recording means for generating a file including the digital image and a flag and recording the file on a recording medium, and a communication means for transmitting the file between the other cameras. And when the flag includes information on display prohibition for the purpose of preventing the image included in the file from being displayed or copy prohibition for the purpose of prohibiting the copy of the file, information related to the file is communicated By providing the means for prohibiting the image file, even when the camera is connected to the network, it is possible to prevent the image file that is not desired to be seen by others from being copied or viewed by others.

  Also, when a communication request is received from another camera, there is a means for prohibiting transmission of information about the file to another camera when the file display prohibition or copy prohibition flag is true. This prevents information about image files that you don't want others to see even if your camera is connected to the network, and prevents such files from being copied or viewed by others. Can be prevented.

  An imaging means for generating a digital image, a recording means for generating a file including the digital image and a flag and recording the file on a recording medium, and a communication means for transmitting the file between other cameras, Means for returning a print mark to an initial value when the flag includes a print mark indicating that the file is designated for printing when transferring a file between cameras using the communication means; Because the print mark included in the image file is restored to the initial state when copying, even if the file is copied, the file that is not intended by the user remains designated for printing, and the user cannot select the file that is not intended when printing. The problem of printing can be solved.

  Also, an imaging means for generating a digital image, a recording means for generating a file including the digital image and a flag and recording the file on a recording medium, and a communication means for transmitting the file between the other cameras. When the file is transferred between the cameras using the communication means, if the flag includes a write protect flag that prohibits overwriting or erasing the file, the value of the write protect flag is initialized. By providing a means to return to the value, the write protection included in the image file is returned to the initial state at the time of copying. Therefore, even when the file is copied, the copied file remains designated as write protected. Can solve the problem that files cannot be easily deleted. That.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, an object of each embodiment is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) on which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

  When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

It is the schematic of the digital camera and its surrounding environment in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of operation | movement of the file exchange mode in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the file information acquisition operation | movement in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the files which exist in the camera A before file copy in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the files which exist in the camera B in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the files which exist in the camera C in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the file information display operation | movement in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation | movement of the file selection process in embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart of an operation of a copy process in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the user interface screen in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the files which exist in the camera A after file copy in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the file selected according to conditions among the files which exist in the camera B in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the list of the files selected by conditions among the files which exist in the camera C in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation | movement of the file information display process in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the operation | movement of the duplication file check process in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Still Camera 2 System Bus 3 Imaging Device 4 Imaging Circuit 5 Image Processing 6 Display 7 ROM
8 RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Interface 11 Antenna 13 Memory card 14 Memory card slot 15 Switch group 16 I / O port 17 System controller 18 Digital camera 19 Digital camera 20 Real time clock

Claims (4)

Imaging means for generating an image;
File storage means for generating a file including the image and flag and storing the file;
Communication means for transmitting the file to and from another imaging device,
When transferring a file between imaging devices using the communication means, if the flag includes a print mark indicating that the file is designated for printing, the print mark is returned to the initial value. An imaging device that is characterized. Imaging means for generating an image;
File storage means for generating a file including the image and flag and storing the file;
Communication means for transmitting the file to and from another imaging device,
When transferring a file between imaging devices using the communication means, if the flag includes a write protect flag that prohibits overwriting or erasing the file, the value of the write protect flag is initialized. An imaging apparatus characterized by returning to a value. An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that generates an image; a file storage unit that generates and stores a file including the image and a flag; and a communication unit that transmits the file to and from another imaging apparatus. A control method of an imaging apparatus for controlling,
When transferring a file between imaging devices using the communication means, if the flag includes a print mark indicating that the file is designated for printing, the print mark is returned to the initial value. A control method for an imaging apparatus. An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that generates an image; a file storage unit that generates and stores a file including the image and a flag; and a communication unit that transmits the file to and from another imaging apparatus. A control method of an imaging apparatus for controlling,
When transferring a file between imaging devices using the communication means, if the flag includes a write protect flag that prohibits overwriting or erasing the file, the value of the write protect flag is initialized. A method for controlling an imaging apparatus, characterized by returning to a value.

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