JP5159474B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE, ITS CONTROL METHOD, PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for establishing communication and transmitting / receiving data by bringing devices close to each other.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a system using proximity wireless communication that performs communication within a communicable range of several centimeters to several tens of centimeters using an induced electric field has been developed. It has a high transfer rate and is dedicated to a short distance and is unlikely to affect other wireless systems, making it suitable for data communications that eliminate the need for cable connections between devices.

  For example, there is known a technique for wirelessly transmitting information in a card to a communication target device when a card with a built-in antenna is brought close to the communication target device (Patent Document 1).

In addition, not only a card but also a technology for performing data communication when a communication terminal such as a mobile phone is brought close to other devices is known.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-141537

  However, the operation in the conventional close proximity wireless communication is mainly a simple operation of bringing the communication partner closer to or away from the communication partner. Therefore, it is difficult to specify which data is transmitted from which device to which device.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to enable a user to reliably transmit data that the user wants to transmit by a simple operation in data transmission / reception processing in close proximity wireless communication.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a communication device according to the present invention displays proximity wireless communication means that performs non-contact communication by approaching an external device at a predetermined distance, and data stored in a storage medium. Communication with the external device is established, comprising display means, change means for changing data displayed on the display means, and instruction means for inputting a transmission instruction for instructing transmission of data to the external apparatus Sometimes when the data is already displayed on the display means, the proximity wireless communication means automatically transmits the data already displayed on the display means to the external device, and after the communication is established, When the data displayed on the display unit is changed by the changing unit, the close proximity wireless transfer unit is configured to display the data displayed on the display unit according to the transmission instruction input by the instruction unit. The and transmits to the external device.

  Also, the control method according to the present invention is a control method for a communication device having a proximity wireless communication means for performing non-contact communication by approaching an external device at a predetermined distance, and a storage medium of the communication device A display step for displaying the data stored in the display means, a change step for changing the data displayed on the display means, an instruction step for accepting a transmission instruction for instructing transmission of data to the external device, Automatically transmitting the data already displayed on the display means to the external device when data is already displayed on the display means when communication with the external device is established; and establishing the communication If the data to be displayed on the display means is changed in the changing step after that, the data is displayed on the display means in accordance with the transmission instruction input in the instruction step. The in and data comprising the step of transmitting to the external device.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when exchanging data by near field communication, it becomes possible to transmit the data which a user wants to transmit reliably by simple operation.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment when the proximity wireless communication according to the present invention is applied to a system including a digital camera which is a kind of imaging apparatus and a personal computer (PC) which is a kind of information processing apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. .

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a digital camera. Reference numeral 10 denotes a photographing lens, 12 denotes a shutter having a diaphragm function, 14 denotes an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the image sensor 14 into a digital signal.

  A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14, the A / D converter 16, and the D / A converter 26, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 based on the obtained calculation result. I do. Specifically, TTL (through-the-lens) AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing are performed.

  Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the image display memory 24, the D / A converter 26, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32.

  The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the image display memory 24 or the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly passed through the memory control circuit 22. It is.

  Reference numeral 24 denotes an image display memory, 26 denotes a D / A converter, 28 denotes an image display unit including a TFT LCD, and the image data for display written in the image display memory 24 passes through the D / A converter 26. Displayed by the image display unit 28.

  If the image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, the electronic viewfinder function can be realized.

  The image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the digital camera 100 can be significantly reduced. I can do it.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images.

  Thereby, even in the case of continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot, it is possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed.

  The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control means for controlling the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in cooperation with the flash 48.

  Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measuring control means for controlling the focusing of the photographing lens 10, reference numeral 44 denotes a zoom control means for controlling zooming of the photographing lens 10, and reference numeral 46 denotes a barrier control means for controlling the operation of the protection means 102 as a barrier.

  A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function.

  The exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement control means 42 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control means 40 and the distance measurement. Control is performed on the control means 42.

  Reference numeral 50 denotes a system control that executes various processes necessary in the present embodiment, such as a subject recognition process for a captured image, a process for collating a subject recognition result with management data, and a status data generation process, and also controls the entire digital camera 100. Circuit. A memory 52 stores constants, variables, programs, and the like for operating the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 54 denotes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display device or a speaker that displays an operation state, a message, and the like using characters, images, sounds, and the like in accordance with execution of a program in the system control circuit 50. These are installed in a single or a plurality of positions near the operation unit of the digital camera 100 so as to be visually recognized, and are configured by a combination of, for example, an LCD, an LED, and a sounding element.

  The display unit 54 has a part of its function installed in the optical viewfinder 104.

  Among the display contents of the display unit 54, what is displayed in the optical viewfinder 104 includes in-focus display, camera shake warning display, flash charge display, shutter speed display, aperture value display, exposure correction display, and the like.

  Reference numeral 56 denotes an electrically erasable / recordable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM. Management data managed in association with subject information and image transmission destination information in this embodiment is stored in this nonvolatile memory.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 68 and 70 are operation means for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50, and may be a single unit such as a switch, a dial, a touch panel, pointing by line-of-sight detection, a voice recognition device, or the like. Consists of multiple combinations.

  Here, a specific description of these operating means will be given. Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which can switch and set various function modes such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panoramic shooting mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, and PC connection mode.

  Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of a shutter button (not shown), and performs AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. Instruct to start operation.

  Reference numeral 64 denotes a shutter switch SW2, which is turned on when an operation of a shutter button (not shown) is completed, and an exposure process for writing a signal read from the image sensor 14 to the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. I do. A series of development processes using operations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, and a recording process in which image data is read from the memory 30, compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 32, and written to the external storage medium 93. The operation start of the process is instructed.

  An image display ON / OFF switch 66 can set ON / OFF of the image display unit 28 and can also set ON / OFF of the display mode of the present invention.

  With this function, when taking an image using the optical viewfinder 104, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit composed of a TFT LCD or the like. Use / non-use of the proposal display mode can be switched.

  Reference numeral 68 denotes a quick review ON / OFF switch, which sets a quick review function for automatically reproducing image data taken immediately after photographing.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit including various buttons, a touch panel, etc., which will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Switching and selection of image data to be displayed in the present embodiment are also performed using this operation unit.

  Reference numeral 80 denotes power supply control means, which is composed of a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit for switching energized blocks, and the like. The presence / absence of the battery, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level are detected, and the DC-DC converter is controlled based on the detection result and the instruction of the system control circuit 50. Supply to each part.

  Reference numeral 82 denotes a connector, 84 denotes a connector, and 86 denotes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like.

  Reference numeral 90 denotes a card controller that transmits / receives data to / from an external storage medium such as a memory card. Reference numeral 91 denotes an interface with an external storage medium such as a memory card. Reference numeral 92 denotes a connector for connecting to an external storage medium such as a memory card, and reference numeral 93 denotes an external storage medium such as a memory card. Reference numeral 98 denotes storage medium attachment / detachment detection means for detecting whether or not the external storage medium 93 is attached to the connector 92.

  Reference numeral 102 denotes protection means that is a barrier that prevents the imaging unit from being soiled or damaged by covering the imaging unit including the taking lens 10 of the digital camera 100.

  Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can take an image using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. In the optical viewfinder 104, some functions of the display unit 54, for example, a focus display, a camera shake warning display, a flash charge display, a shutter speed display, an aperture value display, an exposure correction display, and the like are installed.

  Reference numeral 110 denotes communication means for performing wireless communication with other devices, and the communication unit 110 will be described as including an interface including an antenna for performing close proximity wireless communication.

  The overall system configuration of the digital camera 100 has been described above. The control of the digital camera 100 may be executed by one piece of hardware such as the system control circuit 50, or the plurality of pieces of hardware function as one control unit while sharing the processing, thereby controlling the entire apparatus. May be realized.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external configuration of the digital camera 100. In the drawing, unnecessary components are omitted for explanation.

  The power button 251 is a button for starting and stopping the digital camera 100 or turning on / off the main power of the digital camera 100. The menu button 252 is a menu for setting various imaging conditions and for displaying the state of the digital camera 100 (the menu includes a plurality of items that can be selected and / or whose values can be changed. This is a button for displaying “Uru”. Here, the modes or items that can be set may include, for example, a shooting mode (for example, a program mode, an aperture priority mode, a shutter speed priority mode, etc. regarding exposure determination), a panoramic shooting mode, and the like. Furthermore, information code reading mode, playback mode, multi-screen playback / erase mode, PC connection mode (PC is a computer such as a personal computer), exposure compensation, flash setting, single / continuous switching, self-timer setting, etc. Can be included. Furthermore, recording image quality settings, date and time settings, protection of recorded images, and the like can be included. For example, when the menu button 252 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 causes the image display unit 28 to display a menu. The menu may be synthesized and displayed on the image being captured, or may be displayed alone (for example, displayed on a predetermined background color). When the menu button 252 is pressed again while the menu is displayed, the system control circuit 50 ends the display of the menu on the image display unit 28.

  The SET button 253 is pressed when determining or selecting a mode or item. When the SET button 253 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 sets the mode or item selected at that time. The display button 254 is used to select display / non-display of shooting information for a captured image and to switch whether the image display unit 28 functions as an electronic viewfinder.

  A left button 255, a right button 256, an up button 257, and a down button 258 (direction selection key) are options (for example, items and images) selected from a plurality of options such as a cursor or a highlight portion. Used to change Furthermore, it can also be used to change the position of an index that identifies the selected option, or to increase or decrease a numerical value (for example, a numerical value indicating a correction value or a date). Here, the left button 255, the right button 256, the up button 257, and the down button 258 select only one item from a plurality of items, and the user interface so that two or more items can be selected. Is preferably configured. For example, when the left button 255, the right button 256, the upper button 257, and the lower button 258 are operated while the SET button 253 is pressed, the system control circuit 50 displays two or more items specified by the operation. It may be configured to recognize that it has been selected.

  As described above, the shutter button 260 is, for example, half-pressed, and the system starts AF (auto focus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, EF (flash pre-flash) processing, and the like. The control circuit 50 is instructed. The system control circuit 50 can be instructed to shoot in the fully pressed state.

  The recording / playback switch 261 is used to switch the recording mode to the playback mode and the playback mode to the recording mode.

  The jump key 263 functions in the same manner as the direction selection key, and changes or selects an option (for example, an item or an image) selected from a plurality of options such as a cursor or a highlight portion. Used to change the position of the indicator that identifies the choice being made. The cursor movement by the jump key may be set earlier or larger than that by the direction selection key.

  Instead of the operation system as described above, a dial switch may be employed, or another operation system may be employed.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the PC 300 in the embodiment. In the figure, a PC 300 includes the following configuration including a CPU 301 that controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 302 that stores a BIOS and a boot program, and a RAM 303 that is used as a work area of the CPU 301.

  An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 304 stores in advance an OS (Operating System) 304a and the proximity wireless reception program 304b in the embodiment.

  In accordance with a command from the CPU 301, the display control unit 305 performs a drawing process on the built-in video memory and a process of outputting the image data stored in the video memory to the display device 306 as a video signal. The display device 306 is a CRT or a liquid crystal display device. The communication unit 307 is an interface for performing close proximity wireless communication with the PC 300 and includes an antenna.

  The digital camera 100 and the PC 300 in the embodiment have been described above. Next, proximity wireless communication in the embodiment will be described. The communication system in this embodiment transfers image data from the digital camera 100 to the PC 300. This will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an overview of close proximity wireless communication according to the present embodiment. The close proximity wireless communication referred to here is communication performed when devices come close to each other within a predetermined communicable range. The communicable range is usually performed at a short distance of several centimeters to several tens of centimeters depending on the frequency band. FIG. 14 shows an example in which the digital camera 100 and the PC 300 are in contact with each other. Of course, communication is possible even when the digital camera 100 and the PC 300 are not in contact with each other.

  When the communication unit 110 of the digital camera 100 and the communication unit 307 of the PC 300 approach a certain distance, an induced electromotive force is generated. The digital camera 100 and the PC 300 start processing for establishing communication with each other by detecting the electromotive force. Conversely, when the communication units are separated from each other within the communicable range, a sufficient electromotive force is not generated, and thus communication cannot be performed.

  Next, specific data communication processing in the present embodiment will be described. 4 to 6 are flowcharts showing processing executed by the digital camera 100 in the data communication processing according to the present embodiment. Note that the processing in this flowchart is realized by the system control circuit 50 controlling each unit in accordance with an input signal or a program.

  Note that the digital camera 100 in the present embodiment can transmit the image data displayed on the image display unit 28 to the PC 300 during communication. That is, after the user operates the digital camera 100 to display image data to be transmitted on the image display unit 28, the user can transmit desired image data to the PC 300 only by bringing the digital camera 100 close to the PC 300. . In the following description, the case where the digital camera 100 and the PC 300 are in proximity with the image data displayed on the image display unit 28 will be described.

  First, in step S401, the digital camera 100 determines whether another device, in this case, the PC 300 is within a communicable range, that is, whether it is close to the PC 300. If it is determined that it is within the communicable range, the process proceeds to step S402. If it is determined that it is within the communicable range, the process is repeated.

  Specific criteria for determination in step S401 will be described. When the communication unit 110 detects the induced electric field, the strength of the induced electric field is transmitted to the system control circuit 50. When the strength is greater than a predetermined value, the system control circuit 50 determines that the PC 300 is within the communicable range. . It should be noted that this step may be executed at regular intervals, or may be executed when a power-on operation or other predetermined operation is performed by an operation from the user.

  In step S402, the digital camera 100 starts a proximity wireless communication process and establishes communication with the PC 300.

  In step S403, the digital camera 100 acquires the image size information of the image displayed on the image display unit 28, and transmits it to the PC 300 via the communication unit 110 (step S403). At this time, information such as a file name for identifying image data displayed on the image display unit 28 is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56.

  When the PC 300 receives the image size information via the communication unit 307, the PC 300 compares the image size with the remaining capacity of the HDD 304 and determines whether image data can be received. Specifically, when the difference between the image size and the HDD 304 is larger than a predetermined value, it is determined that the image data can be received. When the difference between the image size and the HDD 304 is smaller than the predetermined value, the image data is received. Judge that it is not possible. After this determination, the PC 300 transmits a response indicating whether reception is possible via the communication unit 307 to the digital camera 100.

  In step S404, the digital camera 100 determines whether or not there is a response from the PC 300. If it is determined that there is a response, the process proceeds to step S405. If it is determined that there is no response, the process is repeated.

  In step S405, the digital camera 100 refers to the received response and determines whether the response of the PC 300 can be received. If reception is possible, the process proceeds to step S408. If reception is impossible, the process proceeds to step S406, a transmission failure screen 700 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the image display unit 28, and close proximity wireless communication is terminated in step S407 (step S407). At this time, on the transmission failure screen 700, the cause of the failure may be displayed as 701 at the same time.

  In step S <b> 408, the communication unit 110 reads the image data displayed on the image display unit 28 from the external storage medium 93 and starts transmission to the PC 300.

  Here, in the processing in this embodiment, the processing from step S403 to step S408 does not require any user operation, and is automatically executed by the digital camera 100.

  When the transmission is started, in step S409, the digital camera 100 acquires the amount of data already transmitted from the communication unit 110 and displays the transmission status on the image display unit 28. FIG. 8 shows a screen displaying a progress bar 801 as an example.

  In this embodiment, the user can change the image data displayed on the image display unit 28 by operating the operation unit 70 once the transfer of the image data is once started. . For example, every time the user presses the left button 255 or the right button 256, the digital camera 100 sequentially switches and displays the display image data.

  FIG. 9 shows a screen displayed when the image data to be displayed is changed from the state of FIG. At this time, the digital camera 100 displays a thumbnail 802 of the image data being transmitted together with a progress bar 801 to indicate which image data is currently being transmitted. As a result, the user can grasp the current transmission status even when the display image is switched. Instead of the thumbnail 802, the file name of the image data being transmitted may be displayed.

  In step S410, the digital camera 100 determines whether transmission of image data has been completed. Specifically, it is determined that the transmission has been completed by receiving from the PC 300 a reception completion notification indicating that the image data of the expected size has been received.

  In step S411, the digital camera 100 hides the progress bar 801 and the thumbnail 802 displayed on the image display unit 28, and the process proceeds to step S412.

  In step S412, the digital camera 100 determines whether display image data has been changed during communication. Specifically, the determination can be made by comparing the identification information of the image data stored in step S403 with the identification information of the image data currently stored in the image display unit 28 and confirming whether or not they are the same. . If it is determined that the display image data has been changed, the process proceeds to step S416. If it is determined that it has not been changed, the process proceeds to step S413.

  At step S416, image data different from the image data transmitted in steps S408 to S410 is displayed on the image display unit 28. However, the digital camera 100 in the present embodiment does not immediately transmit the image data being displayed, but displays a guidance for confirming whether to transmit the image data.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of guidance display. The guidance 1001 in FIG. 10 is for urging the user to press the SET button 253 for data transmission. The digital camera 100 displays this screen and enables the pressing of the SET button 253 to accept a transmission instruction.

  In step S413, the digital camera 100 determines whether or not a certain time has elapsed after the transmission of the image data. If it is determined that the time has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S416, and similarly the guidance shown in FIG. 10 is displayed. If it is determined that the time has not elapsed, the process proceeds to step S414.

  In step S417, the digital camera 100 determines whether the user has pressed the SET button 253 and issued a transmission instruction. If it is determined that the SET button 253 has been pressed, the process returns to step S403, and the process of transmitting the currently displayed image data to the PC 300 is started. If it is determined that the SET button 253 has not been pressed, the process proceeds to step S413.

  In step S414, the digital camera 100 determines whether or not the communication partner, here, the PC 300 is within the communicable range. If it is determined that the PC 300 is not already within the communicable range, the process ends in step S415. If it is determined that it is within the communicable range, the process returns to step S412.

  The above is the flow of processing. In step S416, the image data is not transmitted immediately during the display, but the guidance is once displayed to prompt the user operation for the following reason.

  That is, the image data displayed by the user operation before the communication is the image data that the user wants to transmit because the user confirms the contents and brings the image data close to the PC 300. Therefore, since the image data is automatically transmitted when they are close to each other, the user does not need to perform a transmission instruction operation, which is convenient.

  On the other hand, when the display image data is changed during communication, the user often first confirms the contents of the displayed image data and then determines whether the display image data should be transmitted. Therefore, if the image data being displayed is automatically transmitted simply by changing the display, image data not intended by the user may be transmitted to the PC 300 in some cases.

  In addition, a device such as the digital camera 100 often employs a display form in which image data is sequentially switched and displayed each time the operation unit 70 is operated once. In the case of such a display form, for example, when it is desired to transmit the images A and D among the images A to E, in order to display the image D after transmitting the image A, the images B and C are displayed. The image D needs to be displayed. Even in such a case, if the image data being displayed is automatically transmitted, the image B and the image C may also be transmitted.

  In order to prevent such a situation, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment automatically transmits image data that has already been displayed when communication is established, but when the display image data is changed during communication, The changed image data is not sent without the user's consent.

  In addition, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment can display not only one image data on the image display unit 28 but also a so-called multi-display that displays a plurality of reduced image data (thumbnail) on one screen. is there. In the multi-display state, the user can operate the operation unit 70 to select a desired thumbnail. The digital camera 100 sets the selected thumbnail to the selected state.

  FIG. 12 shows an example of multi-display. As shown in FIG. 12, a thumbnail 1201, a thumbnail 1202, and a thumbnail 1203 are displayed on one screen. In FIG. 12, the thumbnail 1201 is in a selected state, and is highlighted with a thick frame so that it can be distinguished from a thumbnail that is not in the selected state.

  Hereinafter, a flow when devices are brought close to each other in a multi-display state will be described with reference to FIG. In this flowchart, it is assumed that the image display unit 28 is in a multi-display state, and one of the displayed thumbnails is selected (hereinafter, the selected thumbnail is “selected”). Image ").

  Since the processing until the digital camera 100 and the PC 300 start the close proximity wireless communication is the same as that in FIG. 4, the description here is omitted. Hereinafter, the processing after step S1101 will be described.

  In step 1101, the digital camera 100 acquires image size information of image data corresponding to the selected image from among the thumbnails displayed in multiple on the image display unit 28, and transmits the image size information to the PC 300 via the communication unit 110.

  The processing in steps S1102 and S1103 is the same as the processing in steps S404 and S405 in FIG. 5 and will not be described here.

  If it is determined in step S1103 that the PC 300 is receivable, the digital camera 100 reads image data corresponding to the selected image from the external storage medium 93 in step S1106, and starts transmission to the PC 300. In this state, the thumbnail selection state can be changed in response to the user operating the operation unit 70.

  Since the processes in steps S1104 and S1105 are the same as those in steps S406 and S407 in FIG. 5, they will not be described here.

  When the transmission is started, in step S1108, the digital camera 100 acquires the transmitted data amount from the communication unit 110, and displays the transmission status on the image display unit 28. FIG. 13 shows a screen displaying a progress bar 1204 as an example. Further, as in the case of FIG. 8, a thumbnail 1205 of the image data being transmitted is also displayed.

  In step S1108, as in FIG. 5, the digital camera 100 determines whether or not transmission is complete. If it is determined that transmission is complete, the transmission status is hidden in step S809.

  The post-transmission process is a process in which the image data being displayed in the process of FIG. 6 is replaced with the image data corresponding to the selected thumbnail, and will not be described in detail here.

  In the case of multi-display, a plurality of image data can be selected. In this case, the identification information of the image data in the selected state is stored in the nonvolatile memory 56, and it is determined in step S412 whether or not new image data is in the selected state.

  As described above, according to the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, the image data being displayed can be automatically transmitted to the PC 300 simply by bringing the image data close to the PC 300 in a state where the image data is displayed. As a result, the user can select and send a favorite image with a simple operation.

  Further, according to the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to change the display image and the selected image during communication and data transmission, and to continuously transmit image data corresponding to them. It was possible. Therefore, the user can check other image data even during transmission of the image data.

  Furthermore, according to the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment, even if the display image and the selection image are switched during communication, the transfer is not automatically performed and the user's confirmation is required. This makes it possible to prevent data unintended by the user from being transmitted.

  The processing for transmitting a display image or a selection image by proximity wireless communication has been described above. In the above embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that another image can be displayed and selected during transmission. However, when transmission is in progress, other images cannot be selected and transmission is completed. It is also possible to control the selection.

  In the present embodiment, an image capturing apparatus such as a digital camera has been described as an example of a device that transmits data. However, the present invention can also be applied to a so-called image viewer or a mobile phone. Further, although a PC has been described as an example of a device that receives data, the present invention can also be applied to a television or a recorder having a storage medium.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by programming the functions of the digital camera or the PC according to the above-described embodiment, writing in advance on a recording medium such as a ROM, and reading the program by mounting the ROM on the digital camera. Needless to say.

  In this case, the state read from the ROM and executed realizes the functions according to the above-described embodiment, and the program and the ROM storing the program also constitute the present invention.

  Note that the program for realizing the functions of the digital camera according to the above-described embodiment may be provided in a form stored in a recording medium. As the storage medium, for example, a semiconductor medium (ROM, nonvolatile memory, etc.), an optical medium (DVD, MO, MD, CD, etc.), and a magnetic medium (magnetic tape, flexible disk, etc.) can be used. Or you may make it receive supply of a program by receiving the program mentioned above stored in the memory | storage device via communication networks, such as a network, from a server computer.

It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of PC in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the data transmission process in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the data transmission process in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the data transmission process in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the data transmission process in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the screen displayed on the digital camera in embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the near field communication in embodiment.

Claims (9)

A communication device,
Proximity wireless communication means for performing contactless communication by approaching a predetermined distance with an external device;
Display means for displaying data stored in the storage medium;
Changing means for changing data displayed on the display means;
An instruction means for inputting a transmission instruction for instructing transmission of data to the external device;
If data is already displayed on the display means when communication with the external device is established, the proximity wireless communication means automatically transmits the data already displayed on the display means to the external device And
When the data displayed on the display unit is changed by the changing unit after the communication is established, the close proximity wireless communication unit is displayed on the display unit according to the transmission instruction input by the instruction unit. The communication apparatus transmits the data to the external apparatus.   The display unit displays a screen that prompts an input of a transmission instruction by the instruction unit when the data displayed on the display unit is changed by the changing unit after the communication is established. The communication apparatus as described in.   3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing unit is capable of changing data displayed on the display unit even during transmission of data by the close proximity wireless communication unit. .   When the data to be displayed on the display means is changed by the changing means during the data transmission by the close proximity wireless communication means, the changed data and the information indicating the data being transmitted are displayed on the display means. The communication apparatus according to claim 3.   The communication apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the information indicating the data being transmitted is a thumbnail corresponding to the data being transmitted. The display means is capable of multi-display that displays a plurality of data on one screen,
A selection means for selecting any of the plurality of data displayed in a multi-display;
If data has already been selected by the selection means when communication with the external device is established, the proximity wireless communication means automatically transmits the already selected data to the external device,
When new data is selected by the changing unit after the communication is established, the close proximity wireless communication unit sends the selected data to the external device according to a transmission instruction input by the instruction unit. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device transmits the data to the communication device.   2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the changing unit does not change the data to be displayed during the transmission of data by the close proximity wireless communication unit. A method of controlling a communication device having proximity wireless communication means for performing non-contact communication by approaching an external device at a predetermined distance,
A display step of displaying data stored in a storage medium of the communication device on a display means;
A change step of changing data displayed on the display means;
An instruction step for accepting a transmission instruction for instructing transmission of data to the external device;
Automatically transmitting the data already displayed on the display means to the external device if data is already displayed on the display means when communication with the external device is established;
When the data displayed on the display unit is changed in the changing step after the communication is established, the data displayed on the display unit is changed to the external device according to the transmission instruction input in the instruction step. A control method comprising the step of: On the computer,
A method of controlling a communication device having proximity wireless communication means for performing non-contact communication by approaching an external device at a predetermined distance,
A display step of displaying data stored in a storage medium of the communication device on a display means;
A change step of changing data displayed on the display means;
An instruction step for accepting a transmission instruction for instructing transmission of data to the external device;
Automatically transmitting the data already displayed on the display means to the external device if data is already displayed on the display means when communication with the external device is established;
When the data displayed on the display unit is changed in the changing step after the communication is established, the data displayed on the display unit is changed to the external device according to the transmission instruction input in the instruction step. A computer-readable program for executing a control method comprising the step of:

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