JP2003283900A - Digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital camera whereby a user can make photographing without caring about the storage capacity of the camera. <P>SOLUTION: When the user loads a wireless LAN card 18 to a card slot 14 of the camera 10 and a camera type discrimination section 20 detects the loading of the wireless LAN card 18, the camera transfers image data obtained by photographing to a file server 32. That is, a network control section 24 transfers the image data to the file server 32 and stores the data therein via a wireless LAN card 18, an access point 28, and the Internet 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital camera which converts an image incident through a lens system into digital image data by an image sensor and stores the image data, and more particularly to a digital camera having a communication function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a digital camera which converts an image incident through a lens system into digital image data by an image pickup device and stores the image data. This digital camera is usually equipped with a display so that the photographed image can be viewed on the spot and many of them can record a moving image. In addition, it has many functions that conventional film cameras do not have, such as unnecessary images can be deleted on the spot, and there are some that have sufficiently high resolution, and they are becoming widely used.

This digital camera usually has a card slot into which a removable memory card is inserted, and image data is recorded in this memory card. The storage capacity of this memory card has become quite large, such as several hundred megabytes, and the number of images that can be stored is also increasing.

[0004]

However, if a large amount of high-quality images are to be stored, it is unavoidable that the memory card will run out of capacity. In such a case, a plurality of memory cards will be used. Must have.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera capable of solving the problem of storage capacity.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a digital camera for converting an image incident through a lens system into digital image data by an image sensor and storing the image data, and at least a memory card for storing the image data. And a card slot into which a communication card capable of communicating with the outside through a communication line can be mounted, a type detection unit that detects the type of the card mounted in this card slot, and this type determination unit is a card slot. When it is detected that the communication card is connected, a communication means for communicating with a predetermined file server via a communication line is provided, and the image data is transmitted to the file server by the communication means. Is characterized by.

The communication means may be able to receive the image data held by the file server, for example.

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the memory card but also the communication card can be mounted in the card slot of the digital camera. Then, when the type of the card mounted in the card slot is detected and the communication card is mounted, the image data obtained by photographing is transmitted to the file server via the communication line. Therefore, the image data can be stored in the file server. It is easy to increase the storage capacity of the file server so that it cannot be compared with a memory card or the like, and the user can shoot without worrying about the storage capacity of the memory card.

Further, in addition to the information for specifying the file server, directory information in the file server necessary for managing files in the file server is acquired in advance, and the directory information is attached when transmitting image data. Is preferred.

As a result, in communication with the file server side, it is not necessary to receive the directory information from the file server side every time, and communication traffic can be improved.

Further, the communication means has means for judging whether or not it is a communicable area, and if there is image data to be transmitted within the communicable area, the image data is automatically transferred to the file server. It is preferable to send.

As described above, by automatically transmitting the image data, it is possible to transfer the image data to the file server without any trouble for the user.

Further, in the case of automatically transmitting the image data, the image data for display to be displayed on the display of the digital camera is held in the internal memory so that the transmitted image can be displayed. Is preferred. As a result, the digital camera can also check the transmitted image that has been transferred to the file server. Further, it is preferable to obtain the transmitted image data from the file server for the transmitted image. by this,
Any transmitted image data can be displayed on the camera.

Further, it is preferable to display that the image has been transmitted, indicating that the image has been transmitted. This makes it possible to confirm that the transmission has been completed.

Further, when a memory card is inserted in the card slot, it is preferable to record the image data in this memory card. This allows the memory card to be used as a normal digital camera.

Further, it is preferable that the communication card is equipped with a data cache memory, and image data to be transmitted is once registered in the data cache memory and then transmitted.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration using the digital camera according to the embodiment. The camera 10
Like a normal one, it has a lens, a shutter, a CCD image pickup device, a display, etc., and converts light incident through the lens into digital image data by the CCD image pickup device and displays it on the display. Then, by operating the shutter, the image data at that time is saved as one frame of image data. It is also possible to display the saved image data and delete the data. The digital camera 10 is provided with a camera control unit 12, and the camera control unit 12 controls the operation as such a normal camera.

The camera 10 includes a card slot 14
Is provided, and an ATA card 16 as a memory card for data storage and a wireless LAN card 18 as a communication card can be mounted therein. In addition, as these cards, a known format such as CompactFlash (registered trademark) can be used.

A card type determination unit 20 is provided in the camera body, and the card type determination unit 20 determines the type of the card inserted (mounted) in the card slot 14. That is, when a card is loaded in the card slot 14, the card type determination unit 20 communicates with the loaded card and determines the card type. This is done by reading the data at the predetermined address of the card.

Further, the camera 10 is provided with a file system control unit 22, and the card is an ATA card 1.
If it is 6, this file system control unit 22
Controls writing and reading of data to and from the ATA card 16. That is, the image data obtained by shooting is
The file system control unit 22 automatically assigns a file name, sequentially stores the file name in an empty address in the ATA card 16, and controls the reading of the data when the reading of an arbitrary file is designated.

On the other hand, a network control unit 24 and a file server information holding unit 26 are provided in the camera 10, and the wireless LAN card 18 is used for the card slot 14.
If it is attached to the wireless LAN card 18, the network control unit 24 controls the wireless LAN card 18 to perform wireless communication. That is, the wireless LAN card 18 is provided with a transmission / reception unit and an antenna, and wireless communication is performed according to a predetermined protocol. In the example of this embodiment, the network control unit 24 performs communication using TCP / IP. That is, in this example, the access point 28 and the wireless LA
A wireless LAN is configured with N18.
Internal communication takes place.

The access point 28 is also connected to the file server 32 via the Internet 30.
Then, a predetermined area in the file server 32 is allocated as a storage area for the image data of the camera 10.

Further, in the file server information holding unit 26 in the camera 10, the IP address of the file server,
In addition to the port number, the number of files for its own storage area in the file server, directory information such as existing file names, etc. are stored.

First, when the ATA card 16 is inserted into the card slot 14, the card type determination section 20 detects it, and the ATA card 16 is inserted like an ordinary digital camera.
Using the card as a memory, image data obtained by shooting is written in the ATA card 16. In this case, the camera 10 is the same as a normal digital camera.

Next, when the wireless LAN card 18 is inserted into the card slot 14, the camera 10 communicates with the file server 32 and uses the file server 32 as a storage location for image data.

That is, the firmware of the camera 10 is provided with the network control unit 24 such as TCP / IP which is an internet protocol, and the device driver of the wireless network media is provided in the lower layer thereof to enable the communication by the wireless LAN card 18. I am trying.

Here, in this system, the access points 28 are installed at various places in the same manner as the PHS and the like. Then, when the camera 10 with the wireless LAN card 18 mounted therein is brought into the communication area of the access point 28, the camera 10 detects this. That is,
When the main switch of the camera 10 or a separately provided communication switch is turned on, the network control unit 24 periodically attempts communication to access the access point 2
It is detected whether the communication area 8 has been entered. Even if the switch is turned on, it is preferable not to perform this detection if there is no file to be transmitted.

When it is detected that the camera has entered the communication area, the camera 10 communicates with the file server 32 via the Internet 30. In this case, first, the camera sends its own ID and the like, causes the file server 32 to recognize itself, and obtains directory information about its own area in the file server 32. Then, this directory information is stored in the file server information holding unit 26.

Thus, at the time of transmitting / receiving the image data, the transmission of the directory information from the file server 32 is omitted, the image data and the directory information such as the file name are transmitted from the camera 10 side, and the directory information is transmitted between them. Will be updated. As a result, the transmission of the directory information from the file server 32 side becomes unnecessary and the amount of communication can be reduced.

In addition, each time the image data is transmitted, the directory information is independently updated in both the camera 10 and the file server 32 based on the same rule, and during normal image data communication, the directory information is updated. You can choose not to send the information. The file server 32 can also be operated from a personal computer or the like, and can be downloaded or deleted. Therefore, if the directory information is changed instead of being operated from the camera 10, when the communication with the camera 10 is started, the file server 32
May automatically transmit the directory information to the camera 10.

It is preferable that the camera 10 or the wireless LAN card 18 be provided with a memory capable of storing a certain number of image data. by this,
Even when the camera 10 is not in the communication area of the access point 28, the captured image data can be stored, and when the camera 10 enters the communication area, the image data can be transmitted to the file server 32. . And by automatically transferring such files,
The user can transfer the captured image data to the file server 32 without performing any operation. In the present embodiment, one image data is 1
It is stored as a file. In the case of a moving image, 1
One continuous moving image is stored as one file.

Further, when the images are taken in the communication area, the obtained image data may be transmitted each time, or may be transmitted collectively when a predetermined number of sheets are accumulated.

In this way, the camera 10 of this embodiment is
Has a communication function when the wireless LAN card 18 is mounted. Therefore, the image data obtained by photographing can be transmitted to the file server 32 via the Internet 30, and the file server 32 can be used as a storage unit of the image data. Therefore, it is possible to prepare a sufficiently large storage capacity, and by possessing a wireless LAN card, a large number of images can be taken without considering the storage capacity. Further, it is preferable that the camera 10 be able to acquire the already transmitted image data from the file server 32 when the wireless LAN card 18 is attached. As a result, it becomes possible to display the image once transmitted and deleted in the camera 10.

Further, if the image data is transmitted from the camera 10, the camera 10 loses the photographed image and cannot display it. Therefore, the camera 10
Image data to be displayed on the display of the camera 10 may be left in the internal memory or the memory in the wireless LAN card 18. The captured image data is
Depending on the settings, the jpeg file is 100k bytes ~
Although it is about 1 Mbyte, the image data necessary for displaying on the 2-inch display in the camera 10 is about 20 kbytes, and about 20 Mbytes for 1000 sheets, which is almost no problem. Further, even in the case of a moving image file, it is preferable to leave one or several pieces of image data for display. Then, the remaining image data can be deleted and edited so that the problem of the capacity is almost eliminated.

As described above, the wireless LAN card 1
8 and if the image data can be stored therein, the transmission data may be cached in the memory in the card, and the cached image data may be transmitted. As a result, the processing at the time of communication can be speeded up.

In the above example, the wireless LAN card 18 is used as the communication card, but it is also preferable to use a communication card having a telephone function with a built-in PHS, a mobile phone or the like. This enables communication with the file server 32 in service areas such as PHS and mobile phones.

Next, the processing in the system of this embodiment will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

When the power of the camera body 10 is turned on, the process starts, and it is first determined whether or not a card is inserted (Card Insert?) (S11).
No card was inserted (NO in S11)
In this case, the message "Please insert the card" is displayed (S12), and the process returns to the determination of S11. S11
If the answer is YES, the inserted card is ATA
It is determined whether or not it is a card (ATA CARD?) (S1)
3). If the determination in S13 is YES, the type of inserted card is the ATA card 16 (CARD_
It is determined that TYPE = ATA) (S14). Also, S1
In the case of NO in the judgment of 3, the wireless LAN card (WLA
N CARD? ) Is determined (S15), and if the determination is YES, the card type is the wireless LAN card 18
(CARD_TYPE = WLAN) (S16). The processing of S11 to S16 is performed by the card type determination unit 20.

If it is determined in S14 that the card type is the ATA card 16, the ATA card 16
The directory information such as the file name and recording date and time stored in is read from (S17). This makes it possible to take a picture with the camera. Next, the normal shooting task is executed (S18). That is, the user performs normal shooting. This normal shooting task is controlled by the camera control unit 12.

When the process of S18 is performed, it is then determined whether the card is the ATA card 16 (S19). If YES in this determination, it is determined that the inserted card is the ATA card 16 (S19). In this case, the card is the ATA card 16, and this determination is YES, and the image data (shooting content) obtained by shooting and the directory information are written in the ATA card 16 (S20). Then, it is determined whether or not the photographing is completed (S2
1) If NO, the process returns to S18. If YES, it is again determined whether the card is the ATA card 16 (S
22) In this case, since it is the ATA card 16 as described above, it is determined to be YES, and the process ends. Note that S1
The file system control unit 22 performs the two processes S7 and S20.

If it is determined in S16 that the insertion card is the wireless LAN card 18, then it is determined whether the camera is in the communication area (S23).
If it is within the communication area, the determination is YES, and based on the IP address and port number of the file server 32, the file server 32 is connected to the file server 32 by normal Internet connection (S24). Upon receiving this connection, the file server 32
The camera 10 (user) is authenticated with the user ID and password sent from the camera 10 (S25). And
It is determined whether this authentication has succeeded (S26).

When the authentication in S26 is successful (the determination result is YES), the directory information is read from the file server information holding unit 26 (S27). And S
Moving to 18, a normal shooting is performed. Further, when it is determined that the area is out of the area in S23 (determination NO), the process proceeds to the normal shooting in S18 without performing the connection process with the server. In any case, since the card is the wireless LAN card 18, the determination in S19 is NO, it is determined whether or not it is within the communication area (S28), and if it is within the area (determination Y
ES) The recording directory information such as the photographed content and the file name is transmitted to the file server 32 (S29).
The file server 32 receives this and updates the information retention (S30), whereby the captured content (image data) is recorded in the file server 32. And
Then, the process proceeds to S21 to determine whether the shooting is completed. Further, even if it is determined in S28 that the digital camera 10 is out of the communication area (determination NO), the result of the determination as to whether or not there is an empty memory inside the camera (for example, the memory of the wireless LAN card 18 or another local memory) (S31) If there is a free memory, the process proceeds to the end of shooting in S21.

After the photographing is completed (YES in S21), it is again determined whether or not the card is an ATA card (S22). Since the wireless LAN card 18 is used here, it is determined to be NO. When the determination is NO, the camera
The network unit is set to the reception mode, the power is turned off in other cases (S32), and it is continuously determined whether or not the camera 10 is in the communication area until the camera 10 moves into the communication area (S3).
3). If it is determined to be within the area (YES), the network control unit 24 transmits the captured content and the recording directory information to the file server 32 (S34). Upon receiving these, the file server 32 updates the information holding unit (S35) and ends the process.

In the flowchart of FIG. 2, S
In other words, in the processes of 32 to S35, the determination of whether or not the card of S22 is an ATA card is performed in the normal shooting (S1
8) After that, the process is necessary only when the camera 10 is out of the communication area in the determination of S28. Therefore, in the determination of S28, only when the camera 10 is out of the communication area, S3
The process is shifted to 2 and the process is terminated otherwise, or in S34, the network control unit 24 causes the server 32 to end.
When the captured content and the recording directory information are transmitted to the server, the server 32 determines whether the content or the like is the same as the content or the like already held, and if they are the same, the information holding unit is not updated. Good.

If it is determined in S28 that the communication area is out of the communication area (determination NO), and it is determined in S31 that there is no free memory (determination NO), the processing ends. However, before the end, a check process is provided to confirm whether or not the data in the memory can be overwritten with the imaging content and the storage directory information obtained in the normal imaging task (S18). If the overwriting is permitted, the process proceeds to S21. If the transfer is not made and it is not permitted, it is possible to take a procedure such as ending the processing after displaying that the imaging content is lost.

Here, S23, S24, S described above
26, S27, S28, S29, S31, S32 to S3
The process 4 is performed by the network control unit 24.

If NO (authentication unsuccessful) in the determination as to whether the authentication is successful in S26, an unauthorized user is displayed (S36), and the process ends.

In this way, the type of card is determined,
When the card is the ATA card 16, this is used for storing image data. On the other hand, the card is a wireless LAN
In the case of the card 18, the wireless LAN card 18 is used to store the image data in the file server 32.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Not only memory cards but also communication cards can be installed in the card slots of digital cameras. Then, when the type of the card mounted in the card slot is detected and the communication card is mounted, the image data obtained by photographing is transmitted to the file server via the communication line. Therefore, the image data can be stored in the file server. It is easy to make the storage capacity of the file server so large that it cannot be compared with that of a memory card or the like, and the user can shoot without worrying about the storage capacity of the memory card or the like.

Further, by obtaining the directory information in the file server in advance and attaching the directory information when transmitting the image data, the directory information is received every time from the file server side in the communication with the file server side. It eliminates the need and can improve communication traffic.

Further, when the image data is in the communicable area and there is image data to be transmitted, the image data is automatically transmitted, so that the image data can be transferred to the file server without any trouble for the user. .

Further, by holding the image data for display to be displayed on the display of the digital camera in the internal memory, it is possible to check the transmitted image transferred to the file server by the digital camera alone. You can

Further, it is possible to confirm that the transmission has been completed by displaying that the image has been transmitted, indicating that the image has been transmitted.

When a memory card is inserted in the card slot, the image data can be recorded in this memory card so that the memory card can be used as a normal digital camera.

Further, by temporarily caching the image data, it is possible to speed up the processing at the time of data transmission.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire system including a digital camera according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 cameras, 12 camera control unit, 14 card slots, 16 ATA cards, 18 wireless LAN cards,
20 card type determination unit, 22 file system control unit, 24 network control unit, 26 file server information holding unit, 28 access point, 30 Internet, 32 file server.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) // H04N 101: 00 H04N 5/91 J (72) Inventor Hiroki Miura 2-chome, Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka No. 5 No. 5 Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC12 AC42 AC54 5C052 AA17 AB09 CC01 DD02 EE08 GA02 GA08 GB01 GB09 GE08 5C053 FA08 FA27 JA21 KA04 LA02 LA15 5C062 AA01 AA06 AA29 AA37 AC10 AC38 AC38 AB42 AB35 AB42 AE01 AF00

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A digital camera for converting an image incident through a lens system into digital image data by an image sensor and storing the image data, wherein the memory card stores at least the image data.
A card slot into which a communication card that can communicate with the outside via a communication line can be mounted, a type detection unit that detects the type of the card mounted in this card slot, and this type determination unit is a communication card in the card slot. A digital camera which has a communication means for communicating with a predetermined file server via a communication line when the connection is detected, and which transmits image data to the file server by the communication means. 2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein in addition to the information for specifying the file server, directory information in the file server necessary for managing files in the file server is acquired in advance, and an image is obtained. A digital camera that attaches directory information when sending data. 3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit has a determination unit for determining whether or not the communication area is available, the communication area is within the communication area, and there is image data to be transmitted. Is a digital camera that automatically sends image data to a file server. 4. The digital camera according to claim 3, wherein when image data is automatically transmitted, image data for display to be displayed on a display of the digital camera is held in an internal memory and transmitted. A digital camera that can display already-transmitted image data from the file server. 5. The digital camera according to claim 3, wherein the transmitted image is displayed on the transmitted image. 6. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein when a memory card is inserted in the card slot, image data is recorded on the memory card. 7. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the communication card includes a data cache memory, and image data to be transmitted is temporarily registered in the data cache memory. A digital camera that is then sent.