JP2002051248A - Camera, image transmission method, and image transmission / reception method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Problem] To create an e-mail using a camera and a portable information terminal. A camera is provided with a PCMCIA interface,
The camera was connected to a mobile information terminal such as a mobile phone or PHS using a PC card, and the camera captured text information such as the destination e-mail address and message input from the mobile information terminal to create an e-mail and shoot Send the image as an e-mail attachment to multiple remote locations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a camera and an image transmission / reception method using the camera and a portable information terminal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a camera is repeatedly photographed, and the photographed image is stored in a recording medium such as a tape, a disk, or a smart media. And IEEE139
The data was transferred to a relatively large desktop PC hard disk by cable communication such as 4 or wireless communication such as IrDA.

As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-121147, a camera can be directly mounted on a PC card, or inserted into a PCMCIA slot mounted on a notebook personal computer, and a PC
There is a method to save images by sending video signals directly to the PC hard disk through the MCIA interface. In addition, products equipped with a camera function on notebook PCs and handheld PCs, and those that can send images by e-mail etc. by connecting a network cable, a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or PHS, etc. have been commercialized, There is a method in which a photographed image is transmitted to a desktop PC at home by e-mail or the like so that the recording medium can be effectively used.

[0004]

However, in the method of exchanging recording media, it is necessary to carry several recording media, and in the method of using USB, IEEE1394, IrDA, or the method of mounting a camera on a PC card, Because you need a PC, you have to carry it with you. Also, with PCs and personal digital assistants equipped with a camera function, it is difficult to increase the size of the camera due to the main use and structure of the personal computer and personal digital assistant. There is a problem that an image cannot be obtained.

Further, if the camera is to be provided with a communication function or a character input function for creating a mail, the size of the camera is increased and the cost is increased.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a camera capable of easily transmitting a high-resolution still image or a moving image captured by a camera with text information and transmitting the image from a portable terminal by e-mail, and an image transmission method and an image transmission / reception method. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a PCMCIA interface is provided in a camera, a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a PHS is connected to the camera with a PC card, and the camera receives an input from the portable information terminal. An electronic mail is created by providing a means for reading character information such as the received electronic mail address and message of the transmission destination, and the captured image is transmitted as an attached file of the electronic mail to a remote place at multiple points.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes an image processing unit which compresses input video to generate compressed still image data or moving image data, and 12 denotes a compressed still image or moving image data generated by the image processing unit 11 on a tape or the like. DV
D, recording means for recording on smart media, etc., 13 is an e-mail creating section for generating an e-mail with attached still image compression data or moving image compression data stored in the recording means 12, and 14 is a PCMCIA interface Govern
The PCMCIA I / F unit 15 is a character information capturing unit that captures character information from the signal received from the PCMCIA I / F unit 14. A character information memory buffer unit for holding an address, 17 is a user I / F unit that includes display means such as an LCD and input means such as keys, and a user I / F unit that controls an interface with a user, and 18 is a control unit that controls each unit of 11 to 17. , 1 is a camera provided with 11-18, 2 is a PCMCIA standard card at one end, and a mobile phone or
A PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable that is a connector compatible with the external connection terminal of a portable information terminal such as a PHS, and 31 is an external connection I / F that controls the interface with the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2. Unit, 32 is a memory buffer unit for temporarily storing a destination e-mail address or message, and e-mail to be transmitted, 33 is a data transmission unit for taking out e-mail from the memory buffer unit 32 and transmitting it wirelessly, and 34 is a key or touch panel A user input device having an input means such as a user interface for controlling an interface with a user; 35, an input operation receiving unit for converting an input signal from the user input device 34 into character information and sending it to the memory buffer unit 32; The control part which controls each part of, 3 is 3
This is a portable information terminal having 1 to 36, such as a mobile phone and a PHS.

FIG. 2 shows a transfer sequence between the camera 1 and the portable information terminal 3 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Mobile information terminal 3
Figure 3 shows the flow chart of the operation when the destination e-mail address and the message cannot be transferred. Figure 4 shows the flow chart of the operation when the e-mail cannot be sent. As shown in FIG. Email sending is
The process is started when the user sends an e-mail transmission request to the camera 1. First, the camera 1 sends a destination e-mail address and a message transfer request. Mobile information terminal 3
Sends a transfer enable / disable notification based on the destination e-mail address and whether the message is held. If possible, send a destination e-mail address and message, and send a transfer completion notification after transfer is completed. At this time, if a transfer error occurs, camera 1 sends a retransmission request. When the transfer impossible notification is sent, the camera 1 notifies the user that the transfer is impossible.

When the camera 1 receives the destination e-mail address and the message, it creates an e-mail and sends an e-mail transmission preparation request. The details of the e-mail creation will be described later. The portable information terminal 3 sends a transmission enable notification or a transmission disable notification depending on whether or not the mobile terminal is in the transmission enabled state. When the camera 1 receives the transmission enable notification, the camera 1 transmits an e-mail, and the portable information terminal 3 transmits the received e-mail to the server. Further, when the camera 1 receives the transmission disable notification, it reports an error to the user.

The operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

First, a destination electronic mail address and a message are stored in the memory buffer unit 32 of the portable information terminal 3 in advance by the method described below. The user instructs the user input device 34 of the portable information terminal 3 to input a destination e-mail address, and the user input device 34 sends an input instruction of the destination e-mail address from the user to the control unit 36. The input operation of the user is converted into an input operation signal, which is an electric signal, and sent to the input operation receiving unit 35. The control unit 36 reads the character information from the input operation signal to the input operation receiving unit 35,
And the input operation receiving unit 35 transmits the input operation signal.
Convert to character information such as ASCII format and memory buffer 3
Send to 2 and save the destination e-mail address by retaining the character information. The user saves the message in the memory buffer 32 in the same procedure.

When creating and sending an e-mail, the user performs a predetermined input for creating an e-mail to the user I / F section 17 of the camera 1, for example, an operation such as pressing an e-mail creation button. Then, the user I / F unit 17 recognizes that it is an instruction to create an e-mail from the input operation of the user and sends an e-mail creation request to the control unit 18, and the control unit 18 Sends all destination e-mail addresses and message transfer requests held in the PCMCIA I / F unit 14 and sends them to the PCMCIA I / F unit.
14 converts the transfer request into a communication signal through the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2 and sends it.

A case where the portable information terminal 3 does not hold a destination electronic mail address and a message will be described.
The external connection I / F unit 31 receives the communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2, extracts all destination e-mail addresses and message transfer requests, and sends them to the control unit 36. Since there is no destination e-mail address and message at 32, a transfer impossible notification is generated and sent to the external connection I / F unit 31, and the external connection I / F unit 31 sends the transfer impossible notification to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal. Convert to communication signal in connector cable and convert to PC
Send to MCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2. PCMCIA
The I / F unit 14 receives the communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2, extracts the destination e-mail address and the message indicating that the message cannot be transferred, and
And the control unit 18 instructs the user I / F unit 17 to display a message prompting the user to input a destination e-mail address and a message. The above is the portable information terminal 3
Is an operation when the destination e-mail address and the message are not held.

A case where the portable information terminal 3 holds a destination electronic mail address and a message will be described. External connection I / F section 31 is PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable
The communication signal is received from 2, and all the destination e-mail addresses and message transfer requests are extracted and sent to the control unit 36, and the control unit 36 sends all the destination e-mail addresses and Instructs the memory buffer unit 32 to send the character information of the message to the external connection I / F unit 31, and the memory buffer unit 32 externally connects the character information including all the destination e-mail addresses and messages held by itself to the external connection. Send to I / F 31
The external connection I / F unit 31 converts the character information into a communication signal in the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable and sends it to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2.

The PCMCIA I / F unit 14 receives a communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2, generates a signal including character information, and sends the signal to the character information capturing unit 15, and the character information capturing unit 15 transmits the character information signal. All the destination e-mail addresses and messages are read out from and converted into a format to be stored in the memory buffer unit 16, the converted character information is stored in the character information memory buffer unit 16, and the control unit 18 holds While instructing the character information memory buffer unit 16 to send character information including all destination e-mail addresses and messages to the user I / F unit 17, the stored still image compressed data, moving image compressed data, and moving image One frame or one of these images can be uniquely specified. For example, a signal containing image information such as date and shooting time is sent to the user I / F unit 18. The character information memory buffer unit 16 instructs the recording unit 12 to store signals including all destination e-mail addresses and the character information of the message, and the recording unit 12 transmits the image information to the user I / F.
The user I / F unit 17 sends all e-mail destination addresses, messages, and images based on the character information received from the character information memory buffer unit 16 and the image information received from the recording unit 12. Information is displayed in a user-friendly manner such as a list display or scroll display, and the user is prompted to select a destination e-mail address and message, and image information, and the user can select one or more destination e-mail addresses and one message. When one or more image information items have been selected, the user I / F unit 17 sends the destination e-mail address and message selected by the user, and the selection information including the image information to the control unit 18, and the control unit 18 Sends the selection information and the e-mail creation instruction to the e-mail creation section 13, while sending an e-mail transmission preparation request.
Send to PCMCIA I / F unit 14. The e-mail creating unit 13 specifies the transmission destination e-mail address and the source e-mail address held by the message and character information memory buffer unit 16 specified by the user from the character information memory buffer unit 16 by the user. The compressed still image data or the compressed moving image data to be transmitted is extracted from the recording unit 12, and an e-mail with the compressed still image data or the compressed moving image data as an attached file is created. PCMCIA I / F department that received the e-mail transmission preparation request
14 converts the e-mail transmission preparation request into a communication signal in the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable and sends it to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2.

The external connection I / F unit 31 of the portable information terminal 3 is a PCMCIA
-When a communication signal is received from the portable information terminal connector cable 2, an e-mail transmission preparation request is taken out and sent to the control unit 36, and the control unit 36 sends an e-mail to the memory buffer unit 32 so as to send an e-mail to the memory buffer unit 32. / F
While instructing the data transmission unit 33 to transmit the e-mail in the memory buffer unit 32, and sends a transmission enable notification to the external connection I / F unit 31, and the external connection I / F unit 31 can transmit. The notification is converted into a communication signal in the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable and sent to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2. When the portable information terminal 3 is in a transmission-disabled state, for example, when the portable information terminal 3 is out of the communication range, the control unit 36 sends a transmission-disabled notification to the external connection I / F unit 31, and sends a transmission-disabled notice. The signal is converted into a communication signal in the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable and sent to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2.

The PCMCIA I / F unit 14 receives a communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2, extracts a transmission enable notification or a transmission disable notification, sends it to the control unit 18, and the control unit 18 disables transmission. When the notification is received, the user I / F unit 17 is instructed to notify the user that the transmission is not possible, and the user I / F unit indicates to the user that the transmission is impossible by a screen display or the like. When the control unit 18 receives the transmission enable notification, the control unit 18 instructs the e-mail creation unit 13 to send the created e-mail, and the e-mail creation unit 13 sends the e-mail to the PCMCIA I / F unit.
The PCMCIA I / F unit 14 converts the communication signal into a communication signal in the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable and sends the signal to the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2.

The external connection I / F unit 31 receives a communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2 and sends an e-mail to the memory buffer unit 32, and the data transmission unit 33 takes out the e-mail from the memory buffer unit 32, The data is converted into a format for wireless transmission and wirelessly transmitted to a remote e-mail server.

As described above, in this embodiment, character information such as a destination e-mail address and a message is created using a user input device such as a key of a portable information terminal or a touch panel, and the information is stored in a PC card by a camera. By using and capturing, character information can be freely created without adding a new user input device to the camera. If this is used, a high-resolution image can be wirelessly transmitted from a camera as an e-mail to a remote place, and the recording medium can be used effectively.

The transmission of an image has been described above. At the time of receiving an image, the portable information terminal 3 first receives an e-mail attached with the image, and captures the image via the PCMCIA I / F unit 14. The captured image is processed by the image processing unit
If the data has been compressed by 11, a process such as decompression may be performed and displayed on display means (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an image transmission system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is different from FIG. 1 in that the character information from the character information
It is also sent to the unit 17 that the output destination of the character information of the input operation receiving unit 34 is not the memory buffer unit 32 but the external connection I / F unit 31 and the external connection I / F unit 31 The point is to output information.

A transfer sequence between the camera 1 and the portable information terminal 3 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is shown. The process is started when the user sends an e-mail transmission request to the camera 1. First, the camera 1 notifies the user to input characters from the portable information terminal 3 and sends a request for sequential transfer of character information, and the portable information terminal 3 prepares for sequentially transferring character information input by the user. . When the user starts inputting the character information, the portable information terminal 3 sequentially sends the character information, and when the user performs an operation of terminating the character input, the portable information terminal 3 sends a notice of the end of the character input, and the camera 1 sends the e-mail. Create and send e-mail transmission preparation request. Portable information terminal
3 prepares for e-mail transmission, and sends a transmission enable notification or a transmission disable notification depending on whether or not transmission is possible. When the camera 1 receives the transmission enable notification, the camera 1 transmits an e-mail, and the portable information terminal 3 transmits the received e-mail to the server. When the camera 1 receives the transmission impossible notification, it reports an error to the user. FIG. 6 shows an operation flow chart of the image transmission system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The operation according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The user is the user I / F section of camera 1.
A predetermined input operation for creating an e-mail is performed on 17, and an e-mail creation request is sent to the control unit 18 as in the first embodiment, and the control unit 18 receives a character input request from the user input device 35. Instruction to be displayed is user I / F
PCMCIA and sends a request for the sequential transfer of character information
Send to I / F section 14. When receiving a command for instructing a character input request, the user I / F unit 17 sends a user input device to the user.
From 35, a message prompting the user to input a destination e-mail address and a message is displayed. When the PCMCIA I / F unit 14 receives the sequential transfer request of the character information, it converts it into a communication signal by the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2 and sends it.

The external connection I / F unit 31 receives a communication signal from the PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 2, extracts a sequential transfer request for character information, sends it to the control unit 36, and the control unit 36 sends the input operation reception unit 35 It instructs the input character information to be sent to the external connection I / F unit 31.

When the user sequentially performs an input operation on the user input device 34, the input operation accepting unit 35 directly outputs the external connection I / O.
The character information is sequentially transmitted to the character information capturing unit 15 in the same manner as in the first embodiment except that the character information is transmitted to the F unit 31, and the character information capturing unit 15 captures the character information and sequentially stores the character information memory buffer. The same character information is sent to the user I / F unit 16 and the user I / F unit 17, respectively.The user I / F unit 17 converts the character information received from the character information capturing unit 15 into a format that can be understood by the user, and displays it. The mail address and the message are sequentially input from the user input device 35. When the user finishes inputting the destination e-mail address and the message from the user input device 35, the user I / F unit 17 can uniquely specify the compressed still image data or the compressed moving image data extracted from the recording unit 12 or the same. The image information is converted and displayed in a format that can be understood by the user, and the user selects compressed still image data or compressed moving image data to be transmitted. When the user selects an image, the user I / F unit 17 sends selection information of the image to be transmitted to the control unit 18, and the control unit 18 transmits the selection information of the image to be transmitted and the e-mail sent from the user I / F unit 17. The creation instruction is sent to the email creation unit 13, and the email creation unit 13 creates and sends an email in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, character information such as a destination e-mail address and a message is sequentially displayed on the camera by using a user input device such as a key or a touch panel of the portable information terminal, and the user can display the camera. By inputting characters by using the portable information terminal while watching, it is possible to freely create character information without adding a new user input device to the camera. If this is used, a high-resolution image can be wirelessly transmitted from a camera as an e-mail to a remote place, and the recording medium can be used effectively.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, a mobile phone or PHS used for wireless communication can be used without adding a new input device to a camera or connecting a dedicated input device such as a keyboard to the camera. Character information can be easily input by using an input device of a portable information terminal such as an electronic device, and a high-resolution image can be easily transmitted as an e-mail.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image transmission system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an image transmission system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an operation procedure when the portable information terminal has no destination e-mail address and no message in the image transmission system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation procedure in a case where e-mail cannot be transmitted in the image transmission system according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation procedure when electronic mail can be transmitted in the image transmission system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation procedure when electronic mail can be transmitted in the image transmission system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ・ ・ ・ Camera 11 ・ ・ ・ Image processing unit 12 ・ ・ ・ Recording means 13 ・ ・ ・ E-mail creation unit 14 ・ ・ ・ PCMCIA I / F unit 15 ・ ・ ・ Character information import unit 16 ・ ・ ・ Character information memory Buffer unit 17 ・ ・ ・ User I / F unit 18 ・ ・ ・ Control unit 2 ・ ・ ・ PCMCIA-portable information terminal connector cable 3 ・ ・ ・ Portable information terminal 31 ・ ・ ・ External connection I / F unit 32 ・ ・ ・ Memory Buffer unit 33 ・ ・ ・ Data transmission unit 34 ・ ・ ・ User input device 35 ・ ・ ・ Input operation reception unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 5/232 H04B 7/26 109M 5/765 H04N 5/91 L (72) Inventor Naoki Yamamoto Yokohama, Kanagawa 292 Yoshida-cho, Itotsuka-ku F-term (reference) 5C022 AC01 AC69 5C053 GB12 JA16 KA03 LA01 LA14 5K036 DD33 DD48 JJ04 JJ07 JJ13 5K067 AA34 BB04 DD51 EE02 FF02 KK15 NN KK15K NN21 PP05

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A camera for recording a photographed image as digital image information on a recording medium, comprising: interface means for a portable information terminal; character information capturing means for capturing character information from the portable information terminal through the interface means; A character information memory for storing character information captured by the character information capturing means; a display means for displaying an image stored in the recording medium; and a digital image data stored in the recording medium as an attached file. An electronic mail creating means for creating an electronic mail from the character information held in the information memory, wherein the electronic mail created by the electronic mail creating means can be transmitted by a portable information terminal connected via the interface means; A camera characterized in that: 2. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said display means displays the character information captured by said character information capturing means. 3. The camera according to claim 1, wherein an image attached to the electronic mail received by the portable information terminal is taken in via the interface means and displayed on the display means. 4. The camera according to claim 1, wherein said interface means is PCMCIA. 5. The character information taking means according to claim 1, wherein said character information taking means converts the character information inputted from a user input means of said portable information terminal into said character information.
The camera according to claim 4, wherein the camera is sequentially taken out via a PCMCIA interface. 6. The camera according to claim 1, wherein the portable information terminal is a PHS or a mobile phone. 7. An image transmission method for transmitting an image using a portable information terminal and a camera for recording a photographed image on a recording medium as digital image information, wherein the portable information terminal transmits character information to the camera. The captured character information is stored in the character information memory of the camera, and the digital image data stored in the recording medium by the camera is converted into an electronic file from the character information stored in the character information memory as an attached file. An image transmission method, comprising: creating an e-mail; and transmitting the created e-mail by the portable information terminal. 8. The image transmitting method according to claim 7, wherein the captured character information is displayed on a display unit of the camera. 9. An image transmission / reception method for transmitting / receiving an image using a portable information terminal and a camera for recording a photographed image on a recording medium as digital image information. Character information is taken into the camera from a terminal, the taken character information is held in the character information memory of the camera, and the digital image data stored in the recording medium by the camera is attached to the character information memory as an attached file. An e-mail is created from the held character information, and the created e-mail is transmitted by the portable information terminal. When receiving an image, the e-mail is received by the portable information terminal, and the attached image And transmitting the image to the camera, and displaying an image on display means of the camera.