JP4198136B2 - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a portable information terminal that transmits or receives image data.

At present, a portable information terminal such as a mobile phone or a personal handyphone system (PHS) employs a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) on its display screen, and can display a clear color image. Using this function, image data captured by a digital camera is transmitted to the terminal and displayed on the display screen, and further, the image is transmitted to the outside using the wireless communication function of the terminal. It is being
By the way, when transmitting image data from a digital camera to a portable information terminal, it is preferable that the existing terminals of the portable information terminal can be used to interconnect with fewer signal lines. For example, it is convenient to use an earphone / microphone terminal of a terminal, but in this case, since the number of usable signal lines is limited to about 2 to 3, EIA (Electronic Industries In general, serial communication according to the standard “RS-232C” defined by the Association) is used. In this serial communication, a predetermined command is transmitted / received between the portable information terminal and the digital camera at the start of communication, and image data is transmitted / received after confirming that communication with each other is possible (handshake operation). In addition, information for identifying the start and end is added to each byte of data transmitted and received individually.

However, in the case of serial communication, as described above, since the command is transmitted and received by the handshake operation at the start of communication, there is a problem that transmission of image data cannot be started quickly. Further, since the data transmitted and received between the portable information terminal and the digital camera is added with identification information in units of 1 byte as described above, for example, within 1 byte (= 8 bits) of each data to be transmitted. In the case where 2 bits are added as identification information, the amount of information of the data itself that can be transmitted in 1 byte is only 6 bits, and there is a problem that the data itself cannot be transmitted and received efficiently.
In addition, parallel communication is also known in which the communication speed can be increased as compared with serial communication by increasing the number of signal lines for data to be transmitted and received. However, in parallel communication, it is necessary to increase the number of signal lines of connection terminals of devices such as the above portable information terminals and digital cameras that are required to be small, light, and low in cost, and the cost of the terminals increases accordingly. There is a problem and it is not preferable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a portable information terminal capable of transmitting and receiving image data easily, quickly and efficiently, and in particular transmitting and receiving image data using serial communication. Objective.

In order to solve the above problems, a portable information terminal according to the present invention includes a terminal-side output unit that outputs a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of image data to a digital camera, and the transmission request signal by the terminal-side output unit. According to the output of the receiving means for receiving the image data transmitted from the digital camera, the terminal side detecting means for detecting a transmission preparation signal indicating the image data transmittable state notified from the digital camera, A control unit that controls on / off of power supplied to the digital camera; and a wireless communication unit that has a communication function for performing transmission / reception through wireless communication and detects an incoming call; After detecting the transmission preparation signal by the detection means, a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the image data is output to the digital camera, The receiving means receives the image data transmitted from the digital camera in response to the output of the transmission request signal by the terminal side output means, and the transmission request signal is predetermined when receiving the image data. The reception means stops receiving the image data, and after the transmission preparation signal is detected by the terminal-side detection means, the terminal-side output means transmits the transmission to the digital camera. outputs the request signal, receives the image data from the digital camera by the receiving unit, when an incoming from the wireless communication unit during the reception of the image data by said receiving means is detected, the reception of the image data Is stopped, and the control unit performs control to turn off the power supplied to the digital camera.

In the invention, it is preferable that the predetermined period is a period in which the digital camera captures and stores an image.

The present invention further includes terminal-side detection means for detecting a transmission preparation signal indicating a state in which image data can be transmitted notified from a digital camera capable of capturing image data at a predetermined interval, and the terminal-side output means includes: After the transmission preparation signal is detected by the terminal side detection means, a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the image data is output to the digital camera, and the reception means is used to output the transmission request signal by the terminal side output means. Accordingly, the image data transmitted from the digital camera is received, and when the transmission request signal is interrupted for the predetermined interval or more when receiving the image data, It is characterized by canceling reception.

In the present invention, the image data received by the receiving unit from the digital camera when the transmission request signal is output from the terminal-side output unit to the digital camera after the reception of the image data is stopped. The data is new one image unit.

In the present invention, when the terminal-side detection unit detects the transmission preparation signal after the reception unit stops receiving the image data, the terminal-side output unit sends the transmission request signal to the digital camera. And receiving means for receiving new data of one image unit from the digital camera.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the receiving means detects an abnormality at the time of receiving the image data based on a reception abnormality determining signal included in the received image data.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the portable information terminal (mobile phone) detects a state in which image data notified from the digital camera can be transmitted, and the image data transmitted from the digital camera based on the notification. Is received by the portable information terminal, it is not necessary to send and receive predetermined commands and confirm transmission start (handshake) with each other as in the prior art, and image data can be quickly transmitted to the portable information terminal. . Further, after the transmission request signal of the portable information terminal is interrupted for a period longer than a predetermined period, transmission / reception of image data can be resumed normally.

According to the present invention, transmission / reception of image data can be resumed normally after the transmission request signal of the portable information terminal is interrupted for a period longer than the image update interval of the digital camera.

Further , according to the present invention, when image data is not received, power is not supplied to the digital camera, so that waste of power can be prevented.

According to the present invention, since the portable information terminal detects an abnormality at the time of image data reception based on a reception abnormality determination signal (header information) included in the received image data, the abnormally received image data is carried by the portable information terminal. It is possible to prevent errors that are acquired or displayed on the information terminal.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Here, a cellular phone will be described as an example of the portable information terminal according to the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile phone and a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, the cellular phone 30 displays image data received from the digital camera 50 via a predetermined signal line so that it can be stored and viewed as appropriate. On the other hand, the digital camera 50 is operated by the power supplied from the mobile phone 30 and transmits the captured image data to the mobile phone 30 via a predetermined signal line. Further, the cellular phone 30 and the digital camera 50 are connected by signal lines L1a to L1c. The power line L1a for supplying power from the cellular phone information terminal 30 to the digital camera 50, and the image data from the cellular phone 30 to the digital camera 50 are transmitted. A data request signal line L1b for outputting a transmission request signal and a data output signal line L1c for outputting (transmitting) a transmission preparation signal and image data from the digital camera 50 to the mobile phone 30 are included. The signal lines L1a to L1c are connected to, for example, the earphone microphone connection terminal J1 of the mobile phone 30.

Next, the configuration of the mobile phone 30 will be described.
The telephone control unit 2 has a function (terminal side detection means) for detecting a transmission preparation signal indicating a state in which image data output from the digital camera 50 can be transmitted via the data output signal line L1c, and a data request signal line L1b. A function of outputting a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of image data to the digital camera 50 (terminal side output means), and a function of receiving image data transmitted from the digital camera 50 via the data output signal line L1c ( Receiving means). The telephone controller 2 controls on / off of power supplied to the digital camera 50 via the power line L1a. Further, each part of the mobile phone 30 is controlled. The telephone control unit 2 is constituted by, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) and executes a program for realizing the functions of the telephone control unit 2 stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like. By doing so, the function is realized.

  The memory 4 stores information corresponding to each function of the mobile phone 30, and stores, for example, a telephone number by the telephone book function and image data received from the digital camera 50 based on the operation of the telephone control unit 2.

  The display unit 6 displays the operation status of each function of the mobile phone 30. For example, the display unit 6 displays the telephone number and radio wave state of the caller at the time of incoming call, the remaining battery level, or the image data received from the digital camera 50. Display appropriately so that it can be viewed.

  The power supply unit 8 supplies power to each unit of the digital camera 50, and on / off of power supply is controlled based on the operation of the telephone control unit 2.

  The operation unit 10 is operated by the user to execute each function of the mobile phone 30 when using the telephone function or receiving image data from the digital camera 50, and selects keys and functions for inputting numbers and characters. A menu key or the like (not shown) is provided. The wireless communication unit 70 constitutes a telephone function of the mobile phone 30 and includes a wireless unit 70a for performing transmission / reception by wireless communication, a speaker 70b for talking, and a microphone 70c. In the above configuration, the wireless communication unit 70 is the same as the configuration of the conventional mobile phone, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

Next, the configuration of the digital camera 50 will be described.
The camera control unit 22 outputs a transmission preparation signal indicating a state in which image data can be transmitted to the mobile phone 30 via the data output signal line L1c (camera side output means), and the data request signal line L1b. A function of detecting a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of image data from the mobile phone 30 (camera side detection means), and a function of transmitting image data to the mobile phone 30 via the data output signal line L1c (transmission means); Is provided. In addition, each part of the digital camera 50 is controlled. The camera control unit 22 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) and executes a program for realizing the functions of the camera control unit 22 stored in advance in a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like. By doing so, the function is realized.

  The memory 24 is a memory that sequentially stores image data picked up by the digital camera 50. The image data is sequentially stored, for example, in units of one image. The imaging unit 26 constitutes an imaging function of the digital camera 50 and includes, for example, a lens and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) (not shown), and images a subject based on the operation of the camera control unit 22. An image captured by the image capturing unit 26 is processed by the camera control unit 22 and stored in the memory 24 as image data. The digital camera 50 automatically captures an image with the imaging unit 26 at a predetermined cycle based on the operation of the camera control unit 22 and stores the image data in the memory 24. The image data is updated.

  Next, an operation for transmitting image data from the digital camera 50 to the mobile phone 30 will be described. FIG. 2 is a timing chart when image data is transmitted from the digital camera 50 to the mobile phone 30. Here, the image data S1 includes an image data body of one image of the digital camera, a header and an end marker described later. In this figure, when a prescribed power supply voltage P [V] is supplied from the mobile phone 30 to the digital camera 50 via the power supply line L1a (time t0), the digital camera 50 starts operating, and the camera control unit 22 outputs data. The signal line L1c is changed from the high impedance (Hiz) state to the “H” (high) state. As a result, the digital camera 50 notifies the mobile phone 30 that it is preparing to transmit image data. At this time, the camera control unit 22 initializes each unit of the digital camera 50 and then performs the first image processing (including processing for writing image data for one image in the memory 24) captured by the imaging unit 26 (including processing for writing image data for one image in the memory 24). Time M0). During the time M0, the data output signal line L1c (1) is held in the “H” state. When the above process ends, the camera control unit 22 sets the data output signal line L1c to the “L” (low, “transmission preparation signal”) state (time t1). As a result, the mobile phone 30 is notified that the image data transmission preparation has been completed.

  The telephone control unit 2 detects the “L” state of the data output signal line L1c, and receives a clock signal (“transmission request signal” corresponding to the number of bits of a predetermined signal, for example, the data of the image data S1 from the data request signal line L1b. ] C1 is sequentially output to the digital camera 50 (time t2). The data request signal line L1b is constantly in the “L” state when the telephone control unit 2 does not output the clock signal C1.

  In response to the clock signal C1, the camera control unit 22 sequentially reads the image data S1 stored in the memory 24 and outputs it to the data output signal line L1c. When the output of the image data S1 for one image is completed, the camera control unit 22 sets the data output signal line L1c to the “H” state again (time t3), and notifies the mobile phone 30 that it is preparing to transmit image data. At this time, the camera control unit 22 performs second image processing (including processing for writing image data for one image in the memory 24) captured by the imaging unit 26 (time M1). When the above process ends, the camera control unit 22 sets the data output signal line L1c to the “L” state (time t4). As a result, the mobile phone 30 is notified that the image data transmission preparation has been completed. Thereafter, the processing from time t1 to time t4 is repeated, and image data is transmitted and received as appropriate. As described above, the camera control unit 22 transmits image data in units of one image, and the image data is transmitted from the telephone control unit 2 after the transmission preparation signal (the “L” state of the data output signal line L1c) is output. Is output according to the output of.

  The telephone control unit 2 sequentially receives the image data output to the data output signal L1c, writes it to the memory 4, and when image data for one image is written to the memory 4, the image data can be viewed on the display unit 6. indicate. When the reception of the image data of the digital camera 50 is to be stopped, the telephone control unit 2 stops supplying the specified power supply voltage P [V] to the digital camera 50 (time tx), and the operation of the digital camera 50 is stopped. Stop to prevent image data from being sent. By doing so, the mobile phone 30 does not supply power to the digital camera when it does not receive image data, so that it is possible to prevent the battery (power supply) of the mobile phone 30 from being wasted.

  On the other hand, for example, when the mobile phone 30 receives an incoming call while receiving image data, the telephone control unit 2 preferentially performs the incoming call processing, so the output of the clock signal C2 is temporarily interrupted (ΔMa, ΔMb), and the clock signal C2 is divided into clock signals C2a to C2c and output. At this time, the camera control unit 22 interrupts the output of the image data S2 in response to the interruption of the clock signal C2 (ΔMa, ΔMb). When the output of the clock signal C2 following the clock signal (C2a) immediately before the interruption is resumed from the telephone control unit 2 (C2b, C2c), the camera control unit 22 correspondingly outputs data (S2a) output immediately before the interruption. Subsequently, the image data S2 is sequentially output (S2b, S2c). As a result, even when the telephone control unit 2 temporarily stops the output of the clock signal C2 by performing processing other than the acquisition of the image data, the interrupted image data S2 is continued by restarting the output of the clock signal C2. Can be received.

  When the camera control unit 22 updates (overwrites) the image data in the memory 24 to the image data of the latest captured image at a predetermined interval (for example, every 2 seconds), the interruption period (ΔMa) of the output of the clock signal C2 , ΔMb) becomes longer than the update interval of the image data, the image data in the memory 24 is updated to the latest image data during that period. Therefore, there arises a problem that the image data output from the camera control unit 22 differs from the image before the interruption of the clock signal in response to the resumption of the output of the clock signal C2 by the telephone control unit 2. Therefore, in such a case, the camera control unit 22 changes the state of the data output signal line L1c “H” to notify the mobile phone 30 that it is preparing to transmit image data. On the other hand, the telephone control unit 2 detects the signal in preparation for transmission, and stops the process of resuming reception of the interrupted image data S2 (resuming output of the clock signal C2). When the telephone control unit 22 detects a signal indicating the state in which image data can be transmitted from the camera control unit 22 (the “L” state of the data output signal line L1c) again, the time t1 to the time t4 described above. The normal image data receiving operation shown in FIG. Thereby, after the clock signal of the cellular phone 30 is interrupted for a period longer than the image update interval of the digital camera 50, transmission / reception of image data can be resumed normally.

  Here, the configuration of the image data (frame) will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, the image data S1 includes an image data body 400b of one image captured by the digital camera 50, a header 400a including the attribute of the one image, and an end marker 400c indicating the tail of the image data S1.

  Next, the relationship between the output of the clock signal and the output timing of the image data will be described with reference to FIG. In this figure, each bit data S1 [0], S1 [1],..., S1 [n] (n is an arbitrary integer) constituting the image data S1 is the rising time t2 [0] of the clock signal C1. (T2 [0] = t2), t2 [1],..., T2 [n]. The time M2 is the time from the rising time t2 [n] of the clock signal C1 to the output of each bit data S1 [n] of the image data S1, and the time M3 is the width and time of the “H” period of the clock signal C1. M4 (M5) indicates the time (frequency) of one cycle of the clock signal C1. Further, the clock signal C1 usually has a constant cycle, but the cycle may change from time M4 to time M5 depending on the processing state of the telephone control unit 2. In such a case, the output timing of the bit data S1 [n] of the image data S1 also changes accordingly (S1 [1] to S1 [2]).

Here, the configuration of the header 400a is as shown in FIG. For example, the header 400a includes items “dummy” and “image data start recognition” for detecting data abnormality at the time of reception, which will be described later, and items “image width” and “image height” indicating attributes of the image data body. ”And so on. Then, unless the clock signal from the telephone control unit 2 is interrupted, the camera control unit 22 transmits the data of each item of the header 400a as image data S1 (FIG. 3) in a lump. In this way, the handshake operation (operation for transmitting / receiving a command for confirming a communicable state between the transmission side and the reception side before starting transmission / reception of data) that has been conventionally performed for each item of the header is summarized. This can be performed once and the time required for the handshake operation is shortened.
Further, the telephone control unit 2 compares the “dummy” or “image data start recognition” data in the item of the header 400a of the received image data S1 with a predetermined value so that the image data S1 is received. Abnormalities can be detected. For example, if the value of the received “dummy” data is “552A” (hexadecimal), it will be a fixed value “AA55” (hexadecimal), and thus an abnormality is detected.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a 2-byte data value of the end marker 400c. In this figure, the end marker has data value “FFD9” (hexadecimal) and is data indicating the tail of the image data S1.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the output order of the image data S1. In this figure, the image data body 400b is sequentially transmitted following the header 400c, and finally the end marker 400c is transmitted.

  The digital camera may be integrated by directly attaching 50 to the external terminal of the mobile phone 30. In this case, a cable for connection is not necessary, which is convenient.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Although a mobile phone has been described as an example of a portable information terminal in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, any terminal that can be connected to a digital camera, such as a portable personal computer or an electronic notebook, may be used.

  In this embodiment, the case where a clock signal for requesting transmission of image data is output from the portable information terminal to the digital camera has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, after notifying the portable information terminal of a state in which image data can be transmitted from the digital camera, the image data may be appropriately transmitted from the digital camera. This eliminates the need for data request signal lines between the portable information terminal and the digital camera, further facilitates interconnection, and reduces the number of connector and cable signal lines for the connection, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost. Can be reduced.

  The contents of the header and end marker constituting the image data (frame) can be changed as appropriate according to the type, function, and carrying of the digital camera or portable information terminal.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the mobile telephone and digital camera by one embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a timing chart when image data is transmitted from the digital camera 50 to the mobile phone 30. It is a timing diagram of the clock signal output to the data request signal line L1b and the image data output to the data output signal line L1c. It is the figure which showed the outline | summary of the structure of image data S1. It is the figure which showed an example of each item which comprises the header 400a. It is the figure which showed an example of the value of 2 bytes of data of the end marker 400c. It is the figure which showed an example of the output order of the image data main body 400b in image data S1.

Explanation of symbols

2 Terminal control unit (terminal side detection unit, reception unit, terminal side output unit) 22 Camera control unit (camera side output unit, transmission unit, camera side detection unit) 30 Mobile phone (portable information terminal) 50 Digital camera S1, S2 Image data 400a Header (Reception abnormality determination signal)

Claims (6)

Terminal-side output means for outputting a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of image data to the digital camera;
Terminal-side detection means for detecting a transmission preparation signal indicating the image data transmittable state notified from the digital camera;
Receiving means for receiving the image data transmitted from the digital camera in response to the output of the transmission request signal by the terminal side output means;
A control unit for controlling on / off of the power supplied to the digital camera ;
A wireless communication unit having a communication function for transmitting and receiving by wireless communication and detecting an incoming call;
With
The terminal side output means outputs a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the image data to the digital camera after detection of the transmission preparation signal by the terminal side detection means,
The receiving means receives the image data transmitted from the digital camera in response to the output of the transmission request signal by the terminal side output means,
When receiving the image data, if the transmission request signal is interrupted for a predetermined period or longer, the receiving unit stops receiving the image data, and the terminal side detection unit detects the transmission preparation signal. After that, the terminal side output means outputs the transmission request signal to the digital camera,
Receiving image data from the digital camera by the receiving means;
When an incoming call is detected from the wireless communication unit while the image data is being received by the receiving unit, the reception of the image data is stopped, and the control unit performs an off control of power supplied to the digital camera. A portable information terminal characterized by that. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined period is a period in which the digital camera captures and stores an image. Comprising a terminal-side detection means for detecting a transmission preparation signal indicating an image data transmission possible state notified from a digital camera capable of imaging image data at a predetermined interval;
The terminal side output means outputs a transmission request signal for requesting transmission of the image data to the digital camera after detection of the transmission preparation signal by the terminal side detection means,
The receiving means receives the image data transmitted from the digital camera in response to the output of the transmission request signal by the terminal side output means,
3. The reception of the image data by the reception unit is stopped when the transmission request signal is interrupted for the predetermined interval or more when receiving the image data. The portable information terminal described. After the reception of the image data is stopped, the image data received by the receiving unit from the digital camera when the transmission request signal is output from the terminal side output unit to the digital camera is a new image unit. It is data, The portable information terminal as described in any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. After the reception unit stops receiving the image data, when the terminal side detection unit detects the transmission preparation signal, the terminal side output unit outputs the transmission request signal to the digital camera, and the reception unit The mobile information terminal according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mobile station receives new image data from the digital camera. The said receiving means detects the abnormality at the time of the said image data reception based on the reception abnormality determination signal contained in the received image data, The any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Mobile information terminal.

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