JP5647318B2 - Information processing apparatus, information processing apparatus control method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a control method for the information processing apparatus, and a program.

  As a method of transferring data from a digital device that holds data to a computer that is an external control device, there is a method in which the digital device transfers data of a specified size from the computer side. In this case, the digital device is equipped with mass storage and PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) protocol functions. On the other hand, in a digital apparatus that is a data transmission source, a DMA controller (DMAC) is used to directly transfer data between an internal memory and a transfer I / O device without using a CPU. The DMA controller is a dedicated controller for data transfer for realizing DMA (Direct Memory Access). In the DMA controller, data transfer is performed by designating continuous memory area addresses.

  Therefore, when transferring a plurality of discontinuous memory areas, the plurality of memory areas are integrated into another single memory area before the DMA transfer, or the DMA transfer is executed, or each continuous memory area is sequentially assigned. DMA transfer is executed multiple times. In the former case, sufficient memory resources must be secured in the digital device that is the data transfer source, and processing time for memory integration is required. In the latter case, it is necessary to use the CPU of the digital device after transferring to one of the continuous memory areas and before transferring to the next memory area, which places a burden on the CPU. A technique is known in which the DMA controller can address a plurality of continuous memory areas, thereby reducing the number of executions of DMA transfer, reducing the CPU load, and improving transfer efficiency ( Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-6116

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to improve the DMA controller mounted on the digital device itself to a dedicated controller, and it cannot be applied to a digital device including a DMA controller that cannot specify a plurality of continuous memory area addresses. .

  In order to perform DMA transfer by designating a plurality of memory areas, it is necessary to develop a plurality of data memories as transfer destinations on a RAM in the digital device. Therefore, for example, when data is read from a recording medium such as a memory card in the digital device and transferred to a computer connected to the digital device, the data must be read from the recording medium and developed on the RAM of the digital device. At that time, it is not effective when there is a restriction on the RAM capacity of the digital device.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to realize efficient data transfer by utilizing the size of the memory area.

In order to solve at least one of the above-described problems, the present invention provides an information processing apparatus that separately acquires data from a connected data transfer apparatus,
Transmitting means for designating an acquisition size and transmitting a data acquisition request to the data transfer device;
First receiving means for receiving divided data divided into a size specified in the data acquisition request;
A second receiving means for receiving, from the data transfer device, the size of the data to be divided and acquired next each time the divided data is received by the first receiving means;
The data size received by the second receiving means is based on the boundary of the memory area of the data transfer device including the data to be divided and acquired next,
The transmission means designates the acquisition size based on the size of data received by the second reception means.

  According to the present invention, efficient data transfer can be realized by using the size of the memory area.

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data transfer system and a hardware configuration of an external control processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the imaging apparatus 200 according to the embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a memory usage state of the imaging apparatus 200. 5 is a flowchart of conventional data transfer processing in the external control processing apparatus 100. 5 is a flowchart of conventional data transfer processing in the imaging apparatus 200. 5 is a flowchart of data transfer processing in the external control processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart of data division processing in the imaging apparatus 200 according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of data division processing in the imaging apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of data division processing in the imaging apparatus 200 according to the third embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of data transfer processing in the external control processing apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, description will be made using an imaging apparatus having a transfer communication function as the transfer-side digital apparatus. However, the dimensions, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components exemplified in the present embodiment should be changed as appropriate according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. It is not limited to the illustration.

[Embodiment 1]
Next, a configuration example of the data transfer system according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, a system is constructed by directly connecting an external control device 100, which is an information processing device such as a personal computer, and a data transfer device 200 that performs data transfer to the external control device 100. . The data transfer device 200 transfers content data such as an image file to the external control device 100. In the present embodiment, the data transfer device is described as an imaging device such as a digital camera, but a specific example of the data transfer device is not limited to this. For example, in addition to a digital camera, an information processing device (terminal) that can be connected to an external control device such as a personal computer and transfer content data can be used. Such information processing apparatuses include, for example, a mobile phone, a portable media player, a PDA, and a notebook PC. The connection between the external control device 100 and the imaging device 200 uses a wired interface for data transfer such as USB, IEEE 1394, HDMI (registered trademark), or a wireless interface such as IEEE 802.11x or infrared. be able to.

  Next, an example of a hardware configuration of an information processing apparatus (personal computer) as an external control apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1B, a CPU 101 executes an OS, application program, and the like stored in an HD (hard disk) 103, and performs control to temporarily store information, data, and the like necessary for executing the program in a RAM 102. . The RAM 102 functions as a main memory, work area, and the like for the CPU 101. The HD 103 stores an application program, a driver program, an OS, a control program, a processing program for executing processing corresponding to the present embodiment, and the like.

  The display 104 is a display unit for displaying commands input from the operation unit 109, information acquired from the outside, and the like. A network interface (hereinafter referred to as I / F) 105 is a communication interface for connecting to the network 11. The ROM 106 stores programs such as basic I / O programs.

  The external storage drive 107 can load a program or the like stored in the medium 108 into the computer system. A medium 108 as a recording medium stores a predetermined program and related data. The operation unit 109 is a user interface for an operator of the apparatus to input an instruction, and includes a keyboard and a mouse. The system bus 110 controls the flow of data in the apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the imaging apparatus 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, the configuration and operation of each unit will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 211 controls the overall operation of the imaging apparatus 200 according to a program stored in advance in the program storage unit 212.

  A light beam L from the subject is received by the image sensor 215 via the photographing lens 213 and the diaphragm 214. The image sensor 215 is an element that converts received light into an electrical signal, and includes a fixed image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS device. The sensor control unit 216 performs clock control for timing control for reading data from the image sensor 215. The A / D converter 217 converts the input analog signal into a digital output signal. The digitally converted image signal is guided to the image processing circuit 218, where image processing such as contour compensation, gamma correction, and white balance correction is performed and output to the memory control unit 219.

  The memory control unit 219 stores the image signal generated by the image processing circuit 218 in the external recording medium 221 such as a memory card via the external recording medium I / F circuit 220. Also, management of the memory usage of the internal storage device (RAM) 222 provided in the imaging apparatus 200 is performed. The photometric sensor 225 is a device that measures the amount of light obtained through the lens 213, and an appropriate exposure value is determined by the exposure determining unit 223 based on the amount of light obtained by the photometric sensor 225. Thereby, the control unit 211 controls the control of the sensor sensitivity of the image sensor 215, the lens aperture control by the aperture 214, and the time for opening the shutter for supplying light to the image sensor 215 by the shutter device 227. .

  The distance measuring sensor 226 is composed of a known licensor such as a CCD or CMOS corresponding to the side distance point, and outputs it to the control unit 211 as a distance measuring point deviation signal corresponding to the distance to the subject. The AF mode control unit 224 is a device that controls a mode for automatically determining the focus in the camera, and is a device that controls manual focus, one-shot autofocus, AI autofocus, AI servo autofocus, and the like. The strobe control device 237 is a device that controls a strobe built in the camera and an external strobe. This is because when the control unit 211 determines that the exposure at the set value set by the aperture 214 or the shutter device 227 is under, the flash is automatically emitted, or the flash operation is controlled by the user operation. It is a device for performing.

  The first external display device 228 is a liquid crystal element that mainly displays various settings relating to shooting such as exposure control and the number of shots that can be taken. The second external display device 229 is a liquid crystal element that mainly displays various setting information related to image processing. The third external display device 230 is a color liquid crystal element capable of reproducing a captured image, displaying information about the captured image obtained from the imaging element, and various detailed setting states of the imaging apparatus.

  The photographing switches include a photographing preparation switch (SW1) 231a and a photographing switch (SW2) 231b. The first information input unit 232 is used to input various types of shooting setting information and to input horizontal information of an image to be reproduced during normal reproduction. The second information input unit 233 is used to input various types of shooting setting information and to input vertical information of an image to be reproduced during normal reproduction. The mode setting units 234, 235, and 236 are used to set various shooting setting modes, and include a shooting mode selection button 234, an AF mode selection button 235, and a photometry mode selection button 236.

  The external device connection I / F 238 is an I / F for performing a physical connection with the storage medium on the data receiving side, and includes a DMA controller 238a for transferring data to the external device. Transmission / reception of data, image files, and the like with the external control device 100 is performed through this I / F. In this embodiment, the USB connection I / F is used. However, in the present invention, the connection with the external control device 100 can be used without any other serial connection represented by USB, wired or wireless. The transfer processing unit 247 creates a communication protocol and communication data when performing communication with the external control device 100.

  The memory partition information generation unit 246 generates memory partition information for the memory control unit 219 to manage the internal storage device 222. The memory division information is information for managing address information of each area when one data (image file) is stored in a plurality of memory areas. The memory division information includes information for identifying data (data name, data ID, etc.), address information of the memory area in which data is divided and stored in the internal storage device 222, and memory area for reconfiguring data. Connection information and the like can be included.

  Digital system setting selection units 239 to 244 are used to perform various settings and selections. It is mainly used to select various settings related to the shooting function and data transfer processing corresponding to the third external display device 230, and whether or not the shot image is encrypted. The menu button 239 is used when displaying the setting menu of the imaging device on the third external display device 230. The select button 240 is used for various selections when the setting menu of the imaging device 200 is displayed on the third external display device 230 by pressing the menu button 239. The cancel button 241 is used when canceling various settings. The Info button 242 is used when displaying detailed information of data. The data erasure button 243 is used when erasing data. The image playback button 244 is used to display an image file read from the external recording medium 221 on the third external display device 230. The rotation button 245 is used to rotate the image file displayed on the third external display device 230 by the image playback button 244 by the image processing circuit 218, display the image file again on the third external display device 230, and store the image file in the external recording medium 221. Used for.

  The hardware configuration is not limited to the above. For example, the control operation in the external control device 100 or the imaging device 200 may be performed by one hardware, or may be controlled as a whole by a plurality of hardware sharing the processing.

  Next, a method of using the RAM 222 when shooting is performed by the imaging apparatus 200 will be described. FIG. 3A shows a usage state of the RAM 222 of the imaging device 200 before photographing. A hatched area 301 represents a memory area that is currently used, and a blank area 302 represents a memory area that is not currently used. When shooting is performed in the imaging apparatus 200, the light beam L from the subject is received by the imaging device 215 through the shooting lens 213 and the diaphragm 224. The sensor control unit 216 performs clock control to control the timing of reading data from the image sensor 215, and the A / D converter 217 converts the analog output from the image sensor 215 into a digital output signal. The digitally converted image signal is guided to the image processing circuit 218, where image processing such as contour compensation, gamma correction, and white balance correction is performed and output to the memory control unit 219. The memory control unit 219 expands the image file in the currently unused area 301 on the RAM 222. In the present embodiment, when a captured image cannot be expanded in one continuous memory area, the image file is expanded into a plurality of discontinuous memory areas.

  FIG. 3B shows a usage state of the RAM 222 when the captured image file is divided into a plurality of data and expanded into a plurality of discontinuous memory areas on the RAM 222 of the imaging device 200. A hatched area 301 represents a currently used memory area, and a blank area 302 represents a currently unused memory area. An area 303 described as image 1 (1) to image 1 (4) represents an area in which a captured image file is divided and developed. The memory control unit 219 has a management function for handling the image file divided and expanded as one image file, and provides a memory area including data at a desired position for the image file expanded in the RAM 222.

  In addition, when an image file stored in the external recording medium 221 of the imaging apparatus 200 is read and developed in the RAM 222, the memory control unit 219 secures a memory area for the image file size in the currently unused memory area. If the image file size cannot be secured as one continuous memory area at this time, the image file is divided into a plurality of data and stored in a plurality of discontinuous memory areas. When a plurality of discontinuous memory areas are secured, the image file is read from the external recording medium 221 via the external recording medium I / F circuit 220 as in the above-described development of the captured image file to the RAM 222, and each of the RAM 222 Expanded into the memory area.

  Next, the flow of image file transfer from the imaging device 200 to the external control device 100 when the data transfer technology of the present invention is not used will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of processing when the external control device 100 acquires from the imaging device 200 a single image file divided into a plurality of data units constituting the image file.

  When the data acquisition operation is performed on the external control device 100 side, first, in S401, the offset amount for specifying the data acquisition position, which is information for the CPU 101 to acquire the entire image file, and one time are obtained. Initialize the acquisition size. Since the entire image file is acquired, the offset value is 0, and the size of one acquisition is an arbitrary value (Ddef) determined on the external control device 100 side. Here, the acquisition size is an arbitrary fixed size. Data acquisition is repeated from S403 to S405 until data acquisition for one image file is completed in the next S402.

  In step S <b> 403, the CPU 101 issues a data acquisition request to the imaging apparatus 200 with the current offset value and the division size Ddef specified. In S404, data corresponding to the value specified in S403 is transferred from the imaging apparatus 200, and is received via the I / F 105. In step S <b> 405, the CPU 101 increments the offset value corresponding to the completion of acquisition in order to change the parameter used in the next division acquisition in step S <b> 403. The operations from S403 to S405 are repeated until acquisition of one image file is completed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the imaging apparatus 200 when a data acquisition request is received from the external control apparatus 100 in S403 of FIG. In S <b> 501, the control unit 211 receives a data acquisition request from the external control device 100 via the external device connection I / F 238 in S <b> 501. In subsequent S502, the processing from S503 to S506 is repeated until the data transfer corresponding to the designated acquisition size is completed.

  In step S <b> 503, the control unit 211 of the imaging apparatus 200 determines whether data to be transferred is contained in one memory area based on the offset value and the acquisition size in the image file designated by the external control apparatus 100. If it is within one memory area (“NO” in S503), the process proceeds to S506. In S506, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset and the transfer size designated by the external control device 100, and the DMA controller 238a performs the DMA transfer.

  On the other hand, when it does not fit in one memory area (“YES” in S503), the process proceeds to S504. In S504, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset and the size up to the end of the memory area including the memory address, and the DMA controller 238a performs the DMA transfer. In S505, the memory control unit 219 updates the transfer completion size by the size transferred in S504 or S506. The processes from S503 to S506 are repeated until the data transfer for the acquisition size Ddef designated from the external control device 100 is completed.

  Thus, when the transfer technique of the present invention is not used, if the transfer target data specified by the acquisition size and the offset value specified from the external control device 100 spans a plurality of discontinuous memory areas, The following problems occur: First, a calculation process using the control unit 211 and the memory control unit 219 of the imaging apparatus 200 occurs in order to execute the transfer by DMA a plurality of times, and a load is applied. Second, processing time in software occurs from the preceding DMA transfer to the next DMA transfer when data transfer is performed after receiving the acquisition request, and the transfer processing time becomes long.

  The present invention solves such problems. Hereinafter, when the transfer technique of the present invention is used, the flow of data transfer from the imaging apparatus 200 to the external control apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing when the external control device 100 side acquires one image file from the imaging device 200 by dividing it into several times. When the file acquisition operation is performed on the external control device 100 side, first, in S601, the offset value for specifying the position (acquisition position) in the file of the data to be acquired by the CPU 101 and the initial acquisition size of one time are obtained. To do. Since the entire image file is acquired here, the initial value of the offset value is 0, and the initial value of the acquisition size is an arbitrary value (Ddef) determined on the external control device 100 side.

  The divisional acquisition of data from S603 to S607 is repeated until acquisition of data for one image file is completed in the next S602. In step S <b> 603, the CPU 101 issues a data acquisition request to the imaging apparatus 200 specifying the current offset value and acquisition size specified. In S604, data corresponding to the offset value and acquisition size specified in S603 is transferred from the imaging apparatus 200, and is received via the I / F 105. In S605, the acquisition size (notification size) to be specified at the time of the next data acquisition request transmission is notified from the imaging device 200 based on the memory division information managed in the imaging device. This notification method will be described later in the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S606, the CPU 101 increments the offset value by the amount of data that has been acquired in order to change the offset value when the next data acquisition is performed in step S603. In S607, the notification size from the imaging apparatus 200 is set in S605 as the acquisition size in the data acquisition request to be transmitted next. The operations from S603 to S607 are repeated until acquisition of one entire image file is completed.

  FIG. 7 shows a flow when the data acquisition request is received in S603 in the flowchart of FIG. 6 in the imaging apparatus 200, which will be described next. In the imaging apparatus 200, the control unit 211 receives a data acquisition request from the external control apparatus 100 via the external apparatus connection I / F 238 in S701. In subsequent S702, the processing from S703 to S706 is repeated until the data transfer corresponding to the acquisition size included in the data acquisition request is completed.

  In step S <b> 703, the control unit 211 determines whether the data to be transferred is within one memory area based on the offset value specified from the external control device 100 and the acquisition size according to the memory division information managed by the memory control unit 219. . If it is within one memory area (“NO” in S703), the process proceeds to S706. In S706, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset and the transfer size designated by the external control device 100, and the DMA controller 238a performs the DMA transfer. If it does not fit within one memory area (“YES” in S703), the process proceeds to S704. In S704, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset and the size of the memory area including the memory address, and the DMA controller 238a performs the DMA transfer.

  In S705, the memory control unit 219 updates the transfer completion size by the size transferred in S704 or S706. The processes from S703 to S706 are repeated until the data transfer for the acquisition size designated from the external control device 100 is completed. When data transfer for the acquired size from the external control device 100 is completed, the process proceeds to S707. In S707, the memory control unit 219 calculates the size up to the end of the next memory area in a plurality of discontinuous memory areas in which the image file in the imaging apparatus 200 is divided and developed into a plurality of data. In step S708, the calculated size is notified from the control unit 211 to the external control apparatus 100 via the external apparatus connection I / F 238. The reception by this notification corresponds to S605 in the flowchart of FIG. When acquiring the next data from the external control device 100, an acquisition request is generated by designating the size notified in S708 as the divided acquisition size. In the second and subsequent data acquisition requests notified in S708, the size notified immediately before transmission of the data acquisition request from the external control device 100 becomes the acquisition size specified by the external control device 100. Therefore, data transfer is not performed across a plurality of discontinuous memory areas.

  According to the above embodiment, it is possible to reduce the DMA transfer execution count to 1 when data transfer is performed after receiving an acquisition request from the external control device 100. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the processing load by reducing the time for the arithmetic processing using the control unit 211 and the memory control unit 219 of the imaging apparatus 200. Also, since the processing time in software when data transfer is performed after receiving an acquisition request can be shortened, the transfer time can be shortened.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, Embodiment 2 will be described. Since the system configuration, the external control device, and the imaging device in the present embodiment are the same as those described in FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof is omitted. In the first embodiment, when an image file is developed in a plurality of discontinuous memory areas in the internal storage device 222 of the imaging apparatus 200, the following situation may occur depending on the size of each memory area. For example, since the division size is too small, the number of communication transactions with the external control device 100 increases, and it is assumed that the transfer time cannot be shortened and a sufficient effect cannot be obtained. Further, when the division size is too large, there is a case where it is not possible to meet the demand for acquisition by division from the external control device 100. The present embodiment enables the effects of the present invention to be exhibited even in such a situation.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing on the imaging apparatus 200 side in the present embodiment. In the imaging apparatus 200, the control unit 211 receives a data acquisition request from the external control apparatus 100 via the external apparatus connection I / F 238 in S801. In subsequent S802, the processing from S803 to S806 is repeated until the data transfer for the designated acquisition size is completed.

  In S803, according to the memory partition information managed by the memory control unit 219 by the control unit 211, the data to be transferred from the offset value and the acquisition size specified in the data acquisition request from the external control device 100 fits in one memory area. Judge whether it is. If it is within one memory area (“NO” in S803), the process proceeds to S806.

  In S806, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset value and the acquisition size designated from the external control device 100, and the DMA controller 238a performs DMA transfer. If it does not fit in one memory area (“YES” in S803), the process proceeds to S804. In S804, the memory controller 219 designates the memory address corresponding to the designated offset value and the size of the memory area including the memory address, and the DMA controller 238a performs the DMA transfer.

  In S805, the memory control unit 219 updates the transfer completion size by the size transferred in S804 or S806. The above processing from S803 to S806 is repeated until the data transfer for the acquisition size designated from the external control device 100 is completed. When data transfer for the acquired size from the external control device 100 is completed, the process proceeds to S807. In S807, the memory control unit 219 calculates the size up to the end of the next memory area in a plurality of discontinuous memory areas where the image file in the imaging apparatus 200 is expanded. In step S <b> 808, the memory control unit 219 determines whether the calculated size is appropriate as the next acquisition size from the external control device 100. The memory control unit 219 holds a lower limit threshold (THmin) at which a sufficient transfer rate cannot be obtained, and an upper limit threshold (THmax) at which a sufficient effect for division acquisition from the external control device 100 cannot be obtained. Make a comparison. When the calculated size Dcal takes a value within a predetermined range between the upper limit threshold and the lower limit threshold, it is determined as an appropriate size. On the other hand, if the value falls outside the predetermined range and exceeds the upper limit or falls below the lower limit, the size is corrected as inappropriate.

  The following method can be considered as a method for setting the lower threshold. For example, the transfer time required when a certain data size (for example, Dn) is DMA-transferred in a plurality of times without correcting the acquisition size by the method of FIG. 7, and the processing of the control unit 211 and the like generated as a result of the correction Compare the processing time by. As a result of this comparison, the value of Dn corresponding to the boundary where the processing time is shorter than the transfer time is narrowed down, and this value is set as the lower limit threshold value. In addition, as an upper threshold setting method, Ddef which is an acquisition size designated as an initial value by the external control device 100 can be used.

  When it is determined that the size is appropriate (“YES” in S808), the process proceeds to S809. In step S809, the size calculated in step S807 is notified from the control unit 211 to the external control apparatus 100 via the external apparatus connection I / F 238. The reception by this notification corresponds to S605 in the flowchart of FIG. On the other hand, when it is determined that the size is not appropriate (“NO” in S808), the process proceeds to S810. In step S <b> 810, the memory control unit 219 recalculates the acquisition size and notifies the external control device 100 to set the next division acquisition size. The reception by this notification corresponds to S605 in the flowchart of FIG. Thus, when acquiring the next data from the external control device 100, the size notified in S809 or S810 is designated as the acquisition size and an acquisition request is made.

  As a recalculation method, for example, when the size acquired in S807 is below the lower limit, the sizes up to the end of the memory area after that memory area can be added in order until the size reaches the lower limit threshold THmin. For example, in the situation of FIG. 2B, if the size of the image 1 (3) is below the lower limit threshold THmin, the data size of the image 1 (4) is added to recalculate the acquisition size. As a result, when the value becomes equal to or higher than the lower limit threshold THmin, the value is set to an appropriate value. If the image 1 (4) is not sufficient, the subsequent image 1 (5) is added and recalculated. If the size acquired in S807 exceeds the upper limit, it can be corrected to a size that matches Ddef that is the acquisition size first notified from the external control device 100 in S801.

  According to this embodiment, even when an image file is developed using a plurality of discontinuous memory areas on the internal storage device 222 of the imaging apparatus 200, the transfer efficiency is maximized according to the division size of the memory area. The processing load can be reduced while realizing a suitable transfer method.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, as a third exemplary embodiment, a case where an image captured in the imaging apparatus 200 is transferred to the external control apparatus 100 connected to the imaging apparatus 200 will be described. Since the system configuration, the external control device, and the imaging device in the present embodiment are the same as those described in FIGS. 1 and 2, the description thereof is omitted.

  First, a case where an acquisition request for captured images is made to the external control device 100 connected to the imaging device 200 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. First, the imaging apparatus 200 performs imaging using the imaging element 215 in S901. In the subsequent S902, the memory control unit 219 divides the image file generated by photographing into a plurality of data, and expands it into a plurality of discontinuous memory areas on the internal storage device 222 as a RAM. The state of data storage at this time is as shown in FIG. At this time, the memory division information generation unit 246 generates memory division information for the image file stored in the internal storage device 222. In subsequent S <b> 903, the control unit 211 notifies the external control device 100 connected to the imaging device 200 of this memory division information via the external device connection I / F 238. The notified information is memory division information for one photographed image file. In step S <b> 904, the control unit 211 transmits a data acquisition request to the external control apparatus 100 via the external apparatus connection I / F 238 so that the external control apparatus 100 acquires an image file.

  Next, the flow of image file acquisition in the external control device 100 when a notification of memory division size information of a captured image is received according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The present embodiment is characterized in that the memory control information is acquired before the external control device 100 starts transmitting a data acquisition request, and the acquisition size is specified using this.

  First, in step S <b> 1001, in the external control device 100, the CPU 101 receives memory division information of a captured image from the imaging device 200 via the I / F 105. The received memory division information is stored in the RAM 102 in the external control device 100. In step S <b> 1002, the CPU 101 receives a data acquisition request from the imaging apparatus 200 via the I / F 105. Thereafter, in S1003 to S1008, a captured image is acquired from the imaging apparatus 200.

  First, in step S <b> 1003, the CPU 101 initializes an offset value for specifying a data acquisition position that is information for acquiring one entire image file and a single acquisition size. Initialization of data offset value and one acquisition size, which is information for acquiring data, is performed. Since the entire image file is acquired, the offset value is 0, and the first acquisition size is a value according to the size of the first memory area of the memory division information received in S1001.

  In subsequent S1004, the divisional acquisition of data from S1005 to S1008 is repeated until acquisition of one image file is completed. In step S <b> 1005, the CPU 101 issues a data acquisition request including the set offset value and acquisition size to the imaging apparatus 200. In S1006, data corresponding to the information specified in S1005 is transferred from the imaging apparatus 200, so the CPU 101 receives the data via the I / F 105 and stores it in the RAM 102. In step S1007, the CPU 101 returns to step S1005 and increments the offset value by the amount of data acquired in step S1006 in order to change the parameter used when acquiring the next data. In step S1008, the CPU 101 sets an acquisition size based on the size of the memory area to be read next, in accordance with the memory division information notified from the imaging apparatus 200 in step S1001. In this way, the operations from S1005 to S1008 are repeated until acquisition of data from all the memory areas described in the memory division information is completed.

  In this embodiment as well, the processing in steps S808 to S810 in FIG. 8 may be performed on the external control device 100 side to correct the size when the memory area is too small or too large. Further, the timing at which the above processing is executed is not limited to the time of image generation by shooting. For example, when the data transfer device 200 is not an imaging device such as a digital camera, the processing may be executed when a new image file or the like is stored in the external recording medium 221.

  In the present embodiment described above, the imaging device 200 notifies the external control device 100 of the development status of the image file in the internal storage device 222 as memory division information, and the external control device 100 uses the memory division information to perform DMA. Transfer instructions can be given. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce a processing load on the imaging apparatus side while realizing a transfer method most suitable for transfer efficiency according to the division size of the memory area.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (8)

An information processing device that acquires and divides data from a connected data transfer device,
Transmitting means for designating an acquisition size and transmitting a data acquisition request to the data transfer device;
First receiving means for receiving divided data divided into a size specified in the data acquisition request;
A second receiving means for receiving, from the data transfer device, the size of the data to be divided and acquired next each time the divided data is received by the first receiving means;
The data size received by the second receiving means is based on the boundary of the memory area of the data transfer device including the data to be divided and acquired next,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit specifies the acquisition size based on a size of data received by the second receiving unit. An information processing device that acquires and divides data from a connected data transfer device,
First receiving means for receiving memory division information indicating how the data is divided and recorded in the memory of the data transfer device;
Transmitting means for designating an acquisition size and transmitting a data acquisition request to the data transfer device;
Second receiving means for receiving the divided data divided into the size specified in the data acquisition request,
The transmission means specifies, as the acquisition size, a size based on a boundary of a memory area of the data transfer device including data to be divided and acquired next according to the memory division information received by the first reception means. A characteristic information processing apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data acquisition request further includes an offset value.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is a mobile phone.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data transfer apparatus is an imaging apparatus. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information processing apparatus is connected to the data transfer apparatus via a wireless interface . A method of controlling an information processing apparatus for separately acquiring data from a connected data transfer apparatus,
A transmitting step of transmitting a data acquisition request specifying an acquisition size to the data transfer device;
A first receiving step in which the first receiving means receives the divided data divided into the size specified in the data acquisition request;
A second receiving step for receiving, from the data transfer device, the size of data to be divided and acquired next, each time the second receiving means receives the divided data in the first receiving step;
The data size received in the second receiving step is based on the boundary of the memory area of the data transfer device including the data to be divided and acquired next,
In the transmitting step, the acquisition size is designated based on the size of the data received in the second receiving step.   The program for functioning a computer as each means of the information processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6.

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