KR19990053708A - Wireless information exchange device of digital still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wireless information exchange apparatus of a digital still camera, wherein a mode setting switch for outputting a signal for setting a mode of a camera function including a wireless reception mode and a wireless transmission mode, and image information of a subject to be transmitted are selected. An information selection switch for outputting a signal to be output; an information transmission switch for outputting a signal for outputting image information about a stored subject; an image information for storing photographed image information and color characteristic information of a DSC; and Selecting a subject image to be transmitted according to an operation signal of the information selection switch, the color characteristic storage means and the information transmission mode are set, and wirelessly outputting the selected subject image and color characteristic information to the outside, and setting the information receiving mode. Storing the image information and color characteristics of the image information received in the Control means for controlling to be stored in the means, image display means for displaying the photographed / photographed subject image information, and image information of the subject stored in the image information and color characteristic storage means to the outside, or from outside It includes wireless transmission and reception means for receiving the image information signal transmitted wirelessly, it is possible to exchange information wirelessly without the need for an external device such as a computer, so that the transmission operation is easy and the effect of advanced cameras is possible. have.

Description

Wireless information exchange device of digital still camera

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital still camera (hereinafter referred to as a DSC). In particular, the present invention transmits information of a subject photographed without using an external interface device to a device to be wirelessly transmitted, and wirelessly from an external device. The present invention relates to a wireless information exchange device of a digital still camera capable of receiving a signal.

In general, DSC converts photographed subject information into digital image information and stores it in an internal memory and a portable memory card.

Therefore, the user was able to edit and confirm digital image information of a subject stored in the memory card by inserting and using the DSC memory card in a personal computer (PC).

Furthermore, the user connected the PC to a printer or another DSC to print out the information of the subject as a print or to transmit the subject information to another DSC.

However, the user needs an interface device such as a PC in order to output the information of the photographed subject or transmit the information to another DSC.

In other words, in order to output the information of the subject to the printer, the user inserts a memory card in which the photographed subject information is stored into the PC, connects the PC to the printer, turns on the connected printer, and then prints to the PC. You must have a process to give orders.

In addition, in order to transfer the photographed subject information to another DSC, the user inserts a memory card of the DSC into a PC, connects the PC to another DSC, keeps another connected DSC on, and then performs a transfer operation. You must have a process to do.

In order to perform one process as described above, the user has a disadvantage in that stress is accumulated by having a complicated execution step.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the disadvantages of the prior art, by transmitting the image information of the photographed subject to the outside by using light, to provide a wireless information exchange device of the DSC to enable information transmission without connecting to an external device do.

1 is a block diagram of a wireless information exchange apparatus of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention,

2 (a) and 2 (b) are block diagrams showing an information exchange state using a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are diagrams illustrating a state of mounting a transmitter / receiver in a wireless information exchange apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an operation flowchart of a wireless information exchange apparatus of a digital still camera according to an embodiment of the present invention,

5 is a flowchart of an operation of exchanging wireless information between a digital still camera and a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention as a means for achieving the above technical problem

A mode setting switch for outputting a signal for setting a camera function mode including a wireless transmission mode and a wireless reception mode by a user;

An information selection switch for outputting a signal for selecting image information of a subject to be transmitted by the user;

An information transmission switch for outputting a signal for causing the image information on the stored subject to be externally output by the user;

Image information and color characteristic storage means for storing photographed image information and color characteristic information of DSC;

After setting the information transmission mode according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode setting switch, select the subject image to be transmitted among the subject images read from the image information and the color characteristic storage means according to the operation signal of the information selection switch, When the operation signal of the information transmission switch is input, the selected subject image and color characteristic information are wirelessly output to the outside, or the information reception mode is set according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode setting switch to receive a signal input from the outside. Control means for controlling the received information to be stored in the image information and color characteristic storage means;

Image display means for displaying, as an image, subject image information stored in the image information and color characteristic information storage means in accordance with a drive signal output to the control means;

And wireless transmission / reception means for driving in accordance with a control signal output from the control means to wirelessly transmit the image information and the image information of the subject stored in the color characteristic storage means to the outside, or to receive the image information signal transmitted from the outside. It is done by

Another configuration of the present invention for solving the above technical problem,

A method of controlling a digital still camera having a wireless transceiver capable of converting and transmitting image information into light and receiving an optical signal for image information.

During wireless transmission, setting a wireless transmission mode;

Selecting image information to be transmitted;

And converting the digital signal for the selected image information and color characteristics into an optical signal and outputting the optical signal.

Setting a wireless reception mode upon wireless reception;

Receiving image information and color characteristic information from an external device;

Performing color matching using the received color characteristics and the color characteristics stored therein;

And converting the received image information into a digital signal according to color matching and storing the same.

By the above-described configuration, a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a wireless information exchange apparatus of a DSC according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus for exchanging wireless information in a DSC according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a mode selection switch S1 for outputting an electrical signal operated by a user to set a functional mode of a camera; ,

A release switch S2 which is operated by a user and outputs an electrical signal for wirelessly transmitting image information of the subject to the outside;

An image display switch S3 for outputting an electrical signal for displaying images of all the subjects operated by the user to the user's eyes,

An image selection switch S4 for outputting an electrical signal for selecting the subject image information to be operated and operated by the user;

An imaging unit 1 for converting and outputting an optical signal of an image of an image of an image formed into an electrical signal;

An image processor (2) which receives a signal output from the imaging unit (1) and processes the signal into a digital image signal;

An image information and color characteristic storage unit 3 for storing a file of digital image information output from the image processing unit 2 and color characteristic information according to camera characteristics;

The image processing switch 2 controls the image processing unit 2 and sets a corresponding camera function mode according to the operation signal of the mode selection switch S1, and the information display mode of the camera function mode is set in the state of the image display switch S3. Control the image information and the image stored in the color characteristic storage unit 3 to appear according to an operation signal, select a predetermined image to be transmitted according to the operation signal of the information selection switch S4, and operate the release switch S2. A control unit 4 for controlling wirelessly transmitting the selected image according to the signal,

An image display unit 5 representing a subject to be photographed and an image stored in the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3 according to a control signal output from the control unit 4;

It includes a wireless transceiver 6 for driving according to the control signal output from the control unit 4 converts the selected image and color characteristic information signal into an infrared signal, transmits it to the outside, and receives an infrared signal input from the outside. Is done.

The wireless transceiver 6 includes a wireless transmitter 61 for outputting infrared rays and a wireless receiver 62 for receiving infrared rays from the outside.

Therefore, the wireless receiver 62 of the wireless transceiver 6 converts an infrared signal input from an external device into a digital video signal and outputs the digital video signal to the controller 4.

Here, the control unit 4 is to shoot in accordance with the operation signal of the release switch (S2) in the normal shooting mode.

The control unit 4 sets a reception mode according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode selection switch S1, and at this time, the control unit 4 sets an ICC (International Color Charge) among the digital image signals input from the wireless transmission / reception unit 6. A color matching is performed using the extracted ICC, the extracted ICC and the ICC stored in the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3, and the image information received according to the color matching is used for the image information and the color characteristic information storage unit. (3) and appear on the image display section (5).

The file of the color characteristic information stored in the image information and the color characteristic storage section 3 has different color specifications for each manufacturer producing the DSC, so that the same color can be seen in detail in R (red), G (green), Since the color combination and luminance of B (blue) are different, it means a file for color change in accordance with the International Color Change (hereinafter referred to as ICC).

Hereinafter, the operation of exchanging information between digital still cameras according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the operation of outputting information from the digital still camera to the printer according to the second embodiment will be described.

Therefore, the printer 300 has a second wireless transceiver 600 that performs the same operation as the wireless transceiver 6, the second wireless transceiver 600 and the second wireless transmitter 610, A second wireless receiver 620 is included.

Hereinafter, a wireless information exchange apparatus of a DSC according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached FIGS.

First of all, for the sake of understanding, the process of photographing a subject and storing a photographed subject is described.

The user points the DSC toward the subject for shooting.

Then, the light incident from the subject is formed by a photographing lens (not shown), and the optical signal on the subject formed by the imaging unit 1 is converted into an electrical signal.

The image processing unit 2 converts the electrical signal converted by the imaging unit 1 into a digital image signal under the control of the control unit 4 and outputs the converted digital signal to the control unit 4.

The control section 4 controls the image display section 5 so that the digital video signal appears as an image, and the image display section 5 thus displays the digital video signal as an image.

At this time, when the user operates the release switch S2, the control unit 4 transmits information about the image of the subject displayed on the image display unit 5 according to the operation signal of the release switch S2. It is stored in the color characteristic storage unit 3 (S100, S200).

Therefore, the user can store a lot of image information in the image information and color characteristic storage section 3 by repeating the above process.

1 to 3, the operation of transmitting the image information stored in the first DSC 100 to the second DSC 200 in accordance with the object of the present invention will be described.

A user selects a transmission mode by operating the mode selection switch S1 to transmit predetermined image information among the image information stored in the image information and the color characteristic information storage unit 3 to the second DSC 200.

At this time, the controller 4 is in a state of setting a general shooting mode.

Thus, when the control unit 4 receives the operation signal of the mode selection switch S1 for the transmission mode selection, the controller 4 switches to the normal photographing mode and sets the transmission mode (S300 and S400).

When the transmission mode is set as described above, the user operates the image display switch S3 to confirm the image information stored in the image information color characteristic information storage section 3.

Then, the control unit 4 outputs a control signal to the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3 according to the operation signal of the image display switch S3, and stores the image stored in the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3. After reading the information, a drive signal is output to the image display section 5 so that the image information appears as an image.

The image display unit 5 is driven in accordance with a control signal of the control unit 4 to display the image information as an image, whereby nine different images are displayed at the same time.

Here, the number of images displayed on the image display unit 5 can be changed by the producer, and a file name corresponding to image information can be displayed instead of the image.

When the information on the captured image is displayed on the image display section 5, the user operates the information selection switch S4 so that one or more images to be transmitted are selected from the images displayed on the image display section 5. .

Then, the controller 4 determines the operation signal of the information selection switch S4 and reads the image information and the corresponding image information stored in the color characteristic storage unit 3 (S500 and S600).

Then, when the user operates the release switch S2 so that the selected image information is output to the outside, the control unit 4 according to the operation signal of the release switch S2, the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3 Image information and color characteristic information, that is, an ICC file, are output to the wireless transmitter 61 of the wireless transceiver 6 (S700).

The color characteristic information is included in the image information.

Here, the producer may set a switch having a function of outputting the selected image information to an external switch other than the release switch S2.

The wireless transmitter 61 outputs infrared rays. The wireless transmitter 61 converts an image information signal and an ICC file output from the controller 4 into an infrared signal and outputs the infrared signal to the second DSC 100 (S800 and S900).

Since the second DSC 200 is the same model as the first DSC of the present invention, the components constituting the second DSC are assigned the same numbers as the components of the first DSC 100.

Therefore, the wireless transceiver 62 of the second DSC 200 receives the infrared signal output from the wireless receiver 61 of the first DSC, thereby converting the received infrared signal into a digital image signal ( S30, S40).

Here, the second DSC 100 is in a state of setting the wireless reception mode as a user outputs a wireless reception mode setting signal by operating the mode selection switch S1 (S10 and S20).

The control unit 4 of the second DSC 200 extracts the ICC file from the converted digital image signal, and then determines whether the information of the received ICC file is the same as the information of the self-stored ICC file. After color matching is performed using the input ICC file information and the self-stored ICC file information, image information received according to the color matching is stored in the image information and the color characteristic storage unit 3 (S50 to S). S70).

As described above, the wireless information exchange device of the DSC of the present invention enables wireless information exchange.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, 2nd Example using the radio switching apparatus of the DSC of this invention is demonstrated.

Here, information exchange between the DSC of the present invention and a printer equipped with the wireless transceiver of the present invention will be described.

First, the user operates the mode selection switch S1 to output the stored image information to the printer 300 so that the same printer mode as the printer mode to be transmitted is set (S300 and S400).

Then, the same photographing operation as that of the first embodiment is performed so that a plurality of image information is stored in the image information and color characteristic storage unit 3, and a user selects the DSC 100 in a state in which the image information to be transmitted is selected. When the release switch S2 is pressed toward 300, the release switch S1 operates to output an operation signal to the controller 4 (S500 to S700).

At this time, the user is in a state in which the printer mode is converted to the image receiving mode and set in order to receive the image information of the DSC (100) to the printer (300).

The controller 4 outputs the image information selected according to the operation signal of the release switch S2 to the wireless transmitter 61 (S800 and S900).

Then, the wireless transmitter 1 converts the selected image information and the ICC file into an infrared signal and outputs the infrared signal to the wireless receiver 620 of the wireless transceiver 60 of the printer 300.

The following is an information exchange operation of the printer, and the reception operation of the printer 300 is the same as the reception operation of the second DSC 200 described above.

The wireless receiving unit 620 of the printer 300 receives the image information output from the DSC 100 and the infrared signal according to the ICC file and converts it into a digital signal.

Then, the printer 300 compares the stored ICC file with the received ICC file of the DSC 100 and performs color matching.

The present invention outputs the stored digital image information as an optical signal to be received by an external device, so that information can be exchanged wirelessly without the need for an external device such as a computer, so that the transmission operation is simple and the camera can be advanced. It is effective.

Claims (9)

A mode setting switch for outputting a signal for setting a camera function mode including a wireless transmission mode and a wireless reception mode by a user; An information selection switch for outputting a signal for selecting image information of a subject to be transmitted by the user; An information transmission switch for outputting a signal for causing the image information on the stored subject to be externally output by the user; Image information and color characteristic storage means for storing photographed image information and color characteristic information of DSC; After setting the information transmission mode according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode setting switch, select the subject image to be transmitted among the subject images read from the image information and the color characteristic storage means according to the operation signal of the information selection switch, When the operation signal of the information transmission switch is input, the selected subject image and color characteristic information are wirelessly output to the outside, or the information reception mode is set according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode setting switch to receive a signal input from the outside. Control means for controlling the received information to be stored in the image information and color characteristic storage means; Image display means for displaying, as an image, subject image information stored in the image information and color characteristic information storage means in accordance with a drive signal output to the control means; And wireless transmission / reception means for driving in accordance with a control signal output from the control means to wirelessly transmit the image information and the image information of the subject stored in the color characteristic storage means to the outside, or to receive the image information signal transmitted from the outside. Wireless information exchange device of a digital still camera. The color characteristic information of the image information and the color characteristic storage means, Different manufacturers of digital still cameras have different color regulations, and even if they are the same color in detail, the combination of red, green, and blue colors and luminance are different. Wireless information exchange device of a digital still camera, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless transmission and reception means, The digital information camera wireless information exchange apparatus, characterized by not only changing the digital image information output from the control means into an infrared signal, but also converting an infrared signal input from the outside into a digital image signal. The method of claim 3, wherein the control means, The reception mode is set according to a predetermined signal among the operation signals of the mode setting switch. At this time, the color characteristic information is extracted from the digital image information input from the wireless transmission / reception means, and the color characteristic and the image information and color characteristic storage means are extracted. And digital image information received according to color matching performed by color matching using stored color characteristics in the image information and color characteristic storing means. The method of claim 1, Wireless transmission / reception means for converting a digital image signal into an optical signal and outputting it to an external device, or converting an optical signal received from the external device into a digital image signal; Memory means for storing color characteristic information; Operation control means for extracting a color characteristic signal of an external device from the digital image signal received by the wireless transmission and reception means and performing color matching using the color characteristic of the extracted external device and the color characteristic stored in the memory means; And wireless information exchange with a printer comprising a printer output means for printing a color-matched image in accordance with a control signal of said operation control means. In a wireless information exchange method, a digital still camera having a wireless transceiver capable of converting image information into light and transmitting the optical signal and receiving an optical signal for the image information, During wireless transmission, setting a wireless transmission mode; Selecting image information to be transmitted; And converting the digital signal for the selected image information and color characteristics into an optical signal and outputting the optical signal. Setting a wireless reception mode upon wireless reception; Receiving image information and color characteristic information from an external device; Performing color matching using the received color characteristics and the color characteristics stored therein; And converting image information received according to color matching into a digital signal and storing the same. According to claim 6, In the wireless transmission, the step of setting the wireless transmission mode, And setting a printer mode when outputting image information to a printer. A printer control method capable of converting a digital image signal into an optical signal and transmitting or converting a received optical signal into a digital image signal, thereby enabling wireless information exchange with a digital still camera capable of wireless information exchange. Setting a wireless reception mode; Receiving image information and color characteristic information from an external device; Performing color matching using the received color characteristics and the color characteristics stored therein; And converting the image information received according to color matching into a digital signal and printing the same. The method of claim 8, The converting and printing the image information into a digital signal, And converting the digital image signal into an optical signal and outputting the same with the digital still camera of the present invention.