Digital Camera Patent Abstract
A system and method utilize a digital camera-ready printer which
can print directly from a variety of conventional digital cameras
on the market. The digital camera-ready printer includes a camera
interface that can link with a digital camera in different modes
to transfer frames of digital image data from the digital cameras
to the digital camera-ready printer. Preferably, the camera interface
includes a hot shoe receptor to establish a convenient hot shoe
link between the digital camera and the digital camera-ready printer.
The digital camera-ready printer includes a processor that can identify
the coupled digital camera in order to instruct the digital camera
to transmit the frames of digital image data. The processor can
also convert the format of the digital image data to a predetermined
image file format. The processor of the digital camera-ready printer
along with a display device allows a user to edit and manipulate
an electronic image represented by a single frame of digital image
data prior to printing. Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An electronic imaging and printing system comprising: a printer
housing; an input port configured to receive frames of digital image
data from a variety of digital cameras, said frames being representative
of images, said input port being attached to said printer housing;
internal memory having an input connected to said input port to
receive and store said frames of digital image data; processor means
located within said printer housing for selectively editing and
manipulating a selected frame of digital image data to provide an
edited frame of digital image data, said processor means being enabled
to execute a plurality of image modifications including at least
two of image cropping, image rotation, luminance manipulation, zoom
factor adjustment, and color adjustment; display means that is responsive
to said processor means for visually displaying said edited frame
of digital image data, said display means being connected to the
exterior of said printer housing; printer driver means that is responsive
to said processor means for converting said edited frame of digital
image data to print data; and printing means having a supply of
print-forming material and being compatible with said printer driver
means for printing an image in response to receiving said print
data, said printing means being supported by said printer housing.
2. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 further
comprising means for selectively reconfiguring said processor means
based upon a selection of a particular digital camera that is coupled
to said frames of digital image data.
3. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 2 further
comprising means for inputting computer software to configure said
processing means for compatibility with said variety of digital
cameras from which said input port is capable of receiving said
frames of digital image data.
4. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 3 wherein
said means for inputting said computer software is a floppy disk
drive.
5. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 further
comprising a user interface that is manipulable to allow the execution
of said plurality of image modifications.
6. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 wherein
said input port is a hot shoe receptor for receiving said frames
of digital image data from any one of said variety of digital cameras
having a hot shoe connector.
7. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 further
comprising a connector cable having a first end connected to said
input port and a second end configured for connection to any one
of said variety of digital cameras.
8. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 wherein
said input port is a cableless infrared or radio frequency port
for receiving said frames of digital image data from any one of
said variety of digital cameras with a cableless transmission capability.
9. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 wherein
said input port is a memory card port.
10. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 1 wherein
said display means includes a liquid crystal display.
11. An electronic imaging and printing system comprising: a printer
housing; an input port attached to said printer housing and designed
to receive frames of digital image data from a plurality of digital
cameras, said frames being representative of images; internal memory
having an input connected to said input port to receive and store
said frames of digital image data, said internal memory having stored
programming for processing any of a plurality of different image
file formats; a digital signal processor coupled to said internal
memory to process said frames of digital image data regardless of
original image file format of said frames of digital image data,
a display that is responsive to said digital signal processor to
display said frames of digital image data, said display being connected
to the exterior of said printer housing; a printer driver associated
with said digital signal processor to convert said frames of digital
image data to print data; and a printing mechanism having a supply
of print-forming material and being responsive to said print data
to deposit said print-forming material onto a surface, said printing
mechanism being supported by said printer housing.
12. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 11 wherein
said input port is a hot shoe receptor that is configured to be
physically connected to any one of said plurality of digital cameras
having a hot shoe connector for receiving said frames of digital
image data.
13. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 11 wherein
said input port is a cableless infrared or radio frequency port
that is compatible with receiving said frames of digital image data
directly from any one of said plurality of digital cameras having
a cableless transmitter.
14. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 11 further
comprising a floppy disk drive attached to said printer housing
to input computer software in order to configure said digital signal
processor to be compatible with said plurality of digital cameras
from which said input port is capable of receiving said frames of
digital image data.
15. The electronic imaging and printing system of claim 11 wherein
said printing mechanism includes an inkjet cartridge having a supply
of ink.
16. A method of editing and printing an image that is captured
by any digital camera from a variety of digital cameras utilizing
a digital camera-ready printer comprising the steps of: receiving
a frame of digital image data representing said image from said
any digital camera by said digital camera-ready printer; converting
said frame of digital image data to a particular image file format
within said digital camera-ready printer; displaying an electronic
image representative of said frame of digital image data on a display
device located on said digital camera-ready printer; editing and
manipulating said electronic image by inputting commands via a user
interface located on said digital camera-ready printer; and depositing
print-forming material onto a surface utilizing said digital camera-ready
printer to produce a printed image representative of said electronic
image.
17. The method of claim 16 further comprising a step of internally
identifying said any digital camera as a source of said frame of
digital image data.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising a step of sending
a signal to said any digital camera instructing said any digital
camera to transmit said frame of image data prior to said step of
receiving said frame of digital image data.
19. The method of claim 16 further comprising a step of physically
attaching said any digital camera to said digital camera-ready printer
to form a hot shoe connection prior to said step of receiving said
frames of digital image data.
20. The method of claim 16 further comprising a step of attaching
a memory card that had previously been detached from said any digital
camera to said digital camera-ready printer prior to said step of
receiving said frame of digital image data.
21. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of receiving said frame
of digital image data involves receiving said frame of digital image
data in the form of an infrared or a radio frequency signal.
Digital Camera Patent Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates generally to printers and more particularly
to a photo printer in an electronic imaging and printing system.
BACKGROUND ART
A digital camera captures an image of a particular subject using
an imaging system that includes an optical lens and a photosensor
array, such as a charged coupled device (CCD). The imaging system
"captures" a set, or frame, of digital image data that
represents a particular subject at the time that the frame is captured.
Each frame of digital image data is typically stored in a memory
of the digital camera for subsequent viewing on a display or downloading
to a computer system for editing and printing. Depending on the
manufacturer of the digital camera, the frames of digital image
data is stored in a particular file format from a number of potential
file formats, such as JPEG, TIFF, and BMP.
One of the advantages of using the digital camera over a photographic
camera is that the images captured by the digital camera can be
edited and manipulated by a user in various manners. Conventionally,
the editing is accomplished using a host computer. The host computer
receives the digital image data from the digital camera. After the
digital image data is received, the host computer can display a
frame of digital image data as an electronic image on a monitor.
The host computer can then be utilized to edit and manipulate the
electronic image using photo-manipulation software. For example,
the software may allow the user to adjust color balance and luminance,
to change zoom factors, to adjust the orientation, and to crop the
electronic image. The host computer can also print the electronic
image using a conventional general-purpose printer or a special-purpose
photography printer, such as the HP PhotoSmart Photo Printer, if
the printer is attached to the host computer.
Another approach to printing the digital image data is to have
a printer that is directly coupled to the digital camera. U.S. Pat.
No. 4,074,324 to Barrett describes an instant electronic camera
that is directly connected to a mechanical scanning printer. A concern
with the Barrett invention is that the electronic image captured
by the instant electronic camera cannot be edited and manipulated
by a user.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,347 to Bell describes an electronic
camera that is directly connected to a database/picture printer.
The electronic camera of Bell includes many display windows on the
opposite side of a lens assembly for viewing digitally captured
images prior to printing or downloading. However, the concern relating
to the lack of editing ability of the Barrett invention also exists
with the Bell invention.
Still another approach to printing the digitally captured image
is to have a printer that is incorporated into the digital camera
or is attached physically to the camera housing of the digital camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,937,676 to Finelli et al. (hereinafter Finelli)
describes an electronic camera system with a detachable printer.
The detachable printer of Finelli utilizes a self-developing film
that is exposed according to the digital image data. Again, the
Finelli system does not allow the user to edit the electronic image.
In addition, the detachable printer is a dedicated printer. That
is, the detachable printer of Finelli cannot be used with any other
type of digital camera.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,409 to Maeda et al. (hereinafter Maeda) describes
a still video camera having a printer. In one embodiment, the printer
is incorporated into the still video camera. In this embodiment,
a television set is utilized to view the digitally captured images.
In another embodiment, the printer is a detachable unit. Similar
to the printer of Finelli, the detachable printer unit of Maeda
is a dedicated printer. Furthermore, consistent with the aforementioned
prior art, both embodiments of Maeda do not have editing capabilities.
While the known systems for printing digitally captured images
operate well for their intended purpose, an efficient and inexpensive
system for editing and printing digitally captured images is desired.
What is needed is a non-dedicated printer having editing capabilities
that could function without the assistance of a host computer.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A system and method utilize a digital camera-ready printer as a
stand-alone device that can print directly from any one of a variety
of conventional commercially available digital cameras. The digital
camera-ready printer includes a camera interface that can link with
a digital camera in different modes to transfer frames of digital
image data from a camera to the digital camera-ready printer.
The camera interface can include a cable port, a memory card port,
and a cableless port. Using the cable port, a cable such as a serial
cable can be utilized to transfer frames of digital image data from
the digital camera. Alternatively, the frames of digital image data
can be transferred by exchanging a detachable memory card. There
are digital cameras that are equipped to store frames of digital
image data in such a detachable memory card. The memory card can
be inserted into the memory card port of the digital camera-ready
printer in order to transfer the frames of digital image data to
the digital camera-ready printer. In the preferred embodiment, the
camera interface includes an infrared port to establish a cableless
link between the digital camera and the digital camera-ready printer.
In the most preferred embodiment, the camera interface includes
a hot shoe receptor to link the digital camera-ready printer to
the digital camera. A hot shoe connection allows a convenient and
cost-efficient link between the digital camera-ready printer and
the digital camera.
Preferably, the frames of digital image data can be transferred
to an internal memory of the digital camera-ready printer without
any intervention on the part of the digital camera-ready printer.
However, if necessary, the digital camera-ready printer is configured
to identify the coupled digital camera in order to initiate transfer
of the frames of digital image data. Depending on the identification
of the digital camera, the digital camera-ready printer is able
to send a signal directing the digital camera to transmit the digital
image data.
Contained within the digital camera-ready printer is a processor
which is configured (e.g., programmed) to convert the original image
file format of the digital image data into a predetermined format,
for example, a JPEG. The processor also has the ability to edit
and manipulate an electronic image represented by a frame of digital
image data. A user interface and a display device integrated onto
the digital camera-ready printer allow a user to view the electronic
image and input the desired commands for editing and manipulating
the electronic image. In a preferred embodiment, the display device
includes a thumbnail display feature. The thumbnail display feature
allows the user to view a number of electronic images, simultaneously,
and facilitates a convenient means for the user to select a particular
image for editing and/or printing. The editing and manipulating
functions may include image cropping, image rotation, luminance
alteration, zoom factor adjustment, and color adjustment. In the
preferred embodiment, the display device is a liquid display device
(LCD). In the most preferred embodiment, the display device is a
4 in..times.4 in. (10.16 cm.times.10.16 cm) color LCD which provides
a high resolution electronic image.
A printer driver is contained within the digital camera-ready printer
to drive a printing mechanism in order to print a hard copy of the
image on a recording medium. Preferably, the digital camera-ready
printer utilizes color inkjet technology for the printing operation.
In the preferred embodiment, the resolution of the printing mechanism
is of photographic quality with 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) or greater.
The method according to the invention includes steps of capturing
an image represented by a frame of digital image data and storing
the digital image data in the internal memory or the detachable
memory card. The steps of capturing and storing can be repeated
to acquire additional images. After capturing and storing, the next
step involves receiving the frame of digital image data by the digital
camera-ready printer through the camera interface of the digital
camera-ready printer. If necessary, the digital camera-ready printer
identifies the coupled digital camera in order to instruct the digital
camera to transmit the frame of digital image data. The frame of
digital image data is then converted to a predetermined image file
format if the file format of the image data is different from the
predetermined image file format utilized by the digital camera-ready
printer. Next, the frame of digital image data is displayed as an
image on a display device, allowing a user to view changes as an
electronic image is edited. The final step according to the method
is printing the electronic image onto a recording medium.
An advantage of the present invention is that a host computer is
not needed to interface between the digital camera and the digital
camera-ready printer in order to edit and manipulate the electronic
image. Thus, the digital camera-ready printer enables an inexpensive
method to edit and print electronic images captured by the digital
cameras.
Another advantage of the invention is that the absence of the host
computer simplifies the printing procedures, because the user does
not need to learn a sophisticated photo-manipulation program in
order to view and edit the captured electronic images.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the digital
camera-ready printer is not dedicated to a particular type of digital
camera, so that the user has the ability to print from a variety
of digital cameras on the market. That is, the printer is not manufacturer-specific.
Still another advantage of the present invention is that the digital
camera-ready printer eliminates the need for a cable. An exchange
of a memory card or a link utilizing the infrared, radio frequency,
or the hot shoe connection allows a convenient method to transfer
digital image data from a digital camera to the digital camera-ready
printer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a digital camera-ready printer having
a capability of linking to one of several types of digital cameras
in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustration of the digital camera-ready printer and
a digital camera linked by cableless connection in accordance with
the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a perspective illustration of the digital camera-ready
printer in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the components of the digital camera-ready
printer in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of editing and printing an
image that is captured by a digital camera without the use of a
host computer in accordance with the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 illustrates a digital camera-ready printer 10 capable of
linking to any or all of several commercially available digital
cameras 12, 14, 16, and 17. Each of the digital cameras 12, 14,
16, and 17 represents a different type of digital camera or a digital
camera from a different vendor. Although only the four types of
digital cameras 12, 14, 16, and 17 are shown, the digital camera-ready
printer 10 is not limited to linking with only the three types of
digital cameras 12, 14, 16, and 17 shown in FIG. 1.
The digital cameras 12, 14, 16, and 17 are linked to the digital
camera-ready printer 10 by communication links 18, 20, 22, and 23,
respectively. The communication links 18, 20, 22, and 23 are schematic
representations of the different types of links that are possible
with the digital camera-ready printer 10 to transfer frames of digital
image data captured by the digital cameras 12, 14, 16, or 17 to
the digital camera-ready printer 10. The communication link 18 is
a connection using a conventional communication cable, such as a
serial cable, between the digital camera 12 and the digital camera-ready
printer 10. The communication link 20 is an indirect link. The indirect
link can be an exchange of a memory card (not shown) that is removable
from the digital camera 14 and then inserted into the digital camera-ready
printer 10. The communication link 22 represents the preferred link,
a cableless link such as an infrared or a radio frequency connection,
between the digital camera 16 and the digital camera-ready printer
10. Lastly, the communication link 23 represents the most preferred
link between the digital camera and the digital camera-ready printer
10. The communication link 23 is a hot shoe connection.
The communication links 18, 20, 22, and 23 are means to transfer
frames of digital image data from any one of the digital cameras
12, 14, 16, and 17 to the digital camera-ready printer 10. The type
of link utilized by the digital camera-ready printer 10 is not crucial
to the invention. Although only the four communication links 18,
20, 22, and 23 are described herein, alternative communication links
are possible without deviating from the present invention.
With reference to FIG. 2, the digital camera-ready printer 10 that
is either linked to the digital camera 16 by the cableless communication
link 22, or linked to the digital camera 17 by the hot shoe communication
link 23 is shown. The communication links 22 and 23 are the same
links that were discussed in reference to FIG. 1. As shown in FIG.
2, the digital camera 16 has a cableless port 26 for transmitting
the digital image data by either infrared or radio frequency waves.
For reception of the digital image data in the form of either infrared
or radio frequency waves, the digital camera-ready printer 10 includes
a cableless port 28. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a hot shoe connector
29 located on the housing of the digital camera 17. The hot shoe
connector 29 includes conventional electrical contacts. A hot shoe
receptor 31 on the digital camera-ready printer 10 provides the
corresponding electrical contacts necessary to establish the hot
shoe connection.
The cableless communication link 22 is the preferred connection
to link the digital camera 16 and the digital camera-ready printer
10. However, the hot shoe communication link 23 is the most preferred
connection for the digital camera-ready printer. To transfer the
digital image data from the digital camera 16 to the digital camera-ready
printer 10 utilizing the cableless communication link 22, a user
places the digital camera 16 adjacent to the digital camera-ready
printer 10 such that the cableless ports 26 and 28 are in data communication
with each other. In order to utilize the hot shoe communication
link 23 for the transfer, the user attaches the digital camera 17
to the digital camera-ready printer 10 such that the hot shoe connector
29 is in contact with the hot shoe receptor 31.
Unlike the communication links 18 and 20, the use of the cableless
communication links 22 and 23 requires no additional components
such as a cable or a memory card. Also shown in FIG. 2 is a memory
card port 30. The memory card port 30 is utilized when the link
involves the exchange of the memory card as discussed in reference
to the communication link 20 in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 3, a perspective view of the digital camera-ready
printer 10 is shown. Situated on the top of the digital camera-ready
printer 10 is a display device 32. Preferably, the display device
32 is a 4 in..times.4 in. (10.16 cm.times.10.16 cm) color liquid
crystal display (LCD), with the resolution of the display device
32 being dependent upon the number of pixels in the display device
32. The display device 32 allows the user to view an image represented
by a frame of digital image data that was transferred or downloaded
into the digital camera-ready printer 10 from any one of the digital
cameras 12, 14, 16, and 17 (shown in FIG. 1). Next to the display
device 32 is a user interface 34. After the electronic image is
visually displayed on the display device 32, the user may edit and
manipulate the electronic image by utilizing the user interface
34 prior to printing.
The editing and manipulating may include adjusting the luminance,
rotating the image, changing zoom factors, and cropping the electronic
image. If the display device 32 in the digital camera-ready printer
10 is a color LCD, the editing and manipulating may further include
adjusting the color of the electronic image.
The user interface 34 may include buttons for editing and manipulating
the electronic image, as well as buttons for controlling non-editing
functions of the digital camera-ready printer 10. The non-editing
buttons may include an on/off button, a get image button, a receiving
image button, a print button, a feed paper button, and an online
button. The user interface 34 may also include various light indicators
for power on, paper jam, ready for printing, printing, and other
information concerning the status of the digital camera-ready printer
10.
Turning now to FIG. 4, a block diagram of the components of the
digital camera-ready printer 10 is shown. When applicable, same
reference numerals are used for the same components illustrated
in FIGS. 2 and 3. A communication link 36 is operatively connected
to a camera interface 40. The communication link 36 represents the
three types of links described above that are possible for transferring
frames of digital image data to the digital camera-ready printer
10 from any conventional digital camera. The camera interface 40
can include a cable port 42, a memory card port 44, a cableless
port 46, and a hot shoe port 47. Depending on the type of link that
is utilized for transferring the frames of digital image data, one
of the three ports 42, 44, 46, and 47 receives the frames of digital
image data.
The camera interface 40 is coupled to memory 48 for storing the
frames of digital image data. The memory 48 can be a conventional
dynamic random access memory. The memory 48 may have a capacity
of ten or more megabytes for storing dozens of electronic images
represented by the frames of digital image data. However, the capacity
of the memory 48 is not crucial to the invention as long as at least
one image can be stored for displaying, editing and/or printing.
A processor 50 is shown which is operatively connected to all other
components of the digital camera-ready printer 10, including the
memory 48. The processor 50 is connected to the display device 32,
the user interface 34, a printer driver 52, and a printing mechanism
54. The processor 50 receives the digital image data from the camera
interface 40. The processor 50 can be configured to convert the
frames of digital image data into a particular file format, such
as JPEG. If JPEG is utilized, the processor 50 will convert all
digital image data not in JPEG format received by the camera interface
40 into JPEG format for displaying, editing and/or printing. Other
image file formats that can be utilized by the digital camera-ready
printer 10 include TIFF, GIF, BMP, and FlashPix formats.
As stated above in reference to FIG. 3, the display device 32 can
be an LCD, preferably, a color LCD. In one embodiment, the display
device 32 displays one image at a time for editing and printing.
In another embodiment, the display device 32 includes a feature
to display numerous images in a thumbnail image format. The advantage
of such a feature is that the user is able to view a number of images
and select a particular image of interest for displaying, editing,
and/or printing.
During the printing operation of the digital camera-ready printer,
the printer driver 52 converts a selected frame of digital image
data to be printed into print data in order to drive the printing
mechanism 54 for printing the selected image onto a recording medium.
The recording medium can be an ordinary paper, an inkjet paper,
or a photographic paper. Photographic paper is a special paper with
a glossy finish. An example of such paper is the HP Glossy Photographic
Paper.
The printing mechanism 54 may be a dot-matrix printing mechanism,
an inkjet printing mechanism, or a laserjet printing mechanism.
Although the laserjet printing mechanism is superior to the inkjet
mechanism in respect to speed and quality, the cost-efficient inkjet
printing mechanism is preferred to lower the cost to manufacture
the digital camera-ready printer 10.
Printing using inkjet technology is well known in the arts and
will only be briefly discussed herein. For general color inkjet
printing, an inkjet cartridge is utilized that typically contains
four jets connected to four ink reservoirs. Each reservoir contains
either cyan, magenta, yellow, or black ink. However, photo quality
inkjet printing may include more color inks. For example, the cyan
and magenta inks can each be divided into separate light and dark
inks. The effect is to yield a more realistic photo picture. In
operation, the inkjet cartridge moves horizontally along the recording
medium and sequentially deposits ink, a dot at a time, onto the
recording medium.
In the preferred embodiment, the resolution of the printing mechanism
54 is of photographic quality with 600 dots-per-inch (dpi) or greater.
However, the resolution is not crucial to the invention.
In operation, the digital camera-ready printer 10 is linked to
any digital camera by the communication link 36. The communication
link 36 may involve exchanging a memory card, a cable connection,
a cableless connection, or a hot shoe connection. If a memory card
is utilized, the memory card is detached from the digital camera
and inserted into the memory card port 44. After the memory card
has been inserted, frames of digital image data stored in the memory
card can be transferred and stored in the memory 48. In the preferred
embodiment, the memory card can function as an addition memory of
the digital camera-ready printer 10 such that the image data does
not have to be transferred to the memory 48.
In a situation where the cable, cableless, or hot shoe connection
is utilized, the frames are downloaded through the cable port 42
or the cableless port 46. If the digital camera has a feature enabling
the digital camera to transmit the frame of digital image data without
any instruction from the receiving device, i.e. the digital camera-ready
printer 10, the image data is transferred to the digital camera-ready
printer 10 without any intervention from the digital camera-ready
printer 10. On the other hand, if the digital camera does not have
such feature, the digital camera-ready printer 10 will initiate
a signal instructing the digital camera to transmit the frames of
digital image data. Preferably, the digital camera-ready printer
10 can be configured to identify and interface with any digital
camera on the market. The configuration of the digital camera-ready
printer 10 can be achieved by use of a computer software that allows
the digital camera-ready printer 10 to identify the digital camera
that is coupled to the digital camera-ready printer 10. In the preferred
embodiment, the digital camera-ready printer 10 includes a floppy
disk drive (not shown) to download the appropriate computer software
required to interface with any digital camera. The frames of digital
image data received through the cable port 42 or the cableless port
46 are transferred and stored in the memory 48.
After the frames of digital image data have been stored in the
memory 48 or the memory card has been inserted into the memory card
port 44, a user can input a command on the user interface 34 to
view a frame of digital image data. In the preferred embodiment,
the user can direct the digital camera-ready printer 10 to display
a number of thumbnail images on the display device 32 in order for
the user to select a particular image. The command by the user will
initiate the processor 50 to read one frame of digital image data
for a single image display or numerous frames of digital image data
for a thumbnail display. Since the processor 50 needs to read frames
of digital image data regardless of the file format, the processor
50 will convert all digital image data not in the predetermined
file format, such as JPEG.
The displayed image on the display device 32 can be edited and
manipulated by the user through the user interface 34. The editing
and manipulating functions may include image cropping, image rotation,
luminance manipulation, zoom factor adjustment, and color adjustment.
In order to print a selected image, the user inputs a print command
on the user interface 34. The command prompts the processor 50 to
operate in conjunction with the print driver 52 to convert the frame
of digital image data representing the selected image to print data.
The print data is supplied to the printing mechanism 54, where the
printing mechanism 54 prints the selected image onto a recording
medium. The digital camera-ready printer 10 is then ready to display
and print another image. The method according to the present invention
will be described with references to FIGS. 4 and 5. An image is
captured as a frame of digital image data at step 510 by directing
a digital camera at the images of interest and activating the capture
function of the digital camera. The digital camera can be any one
of a variety of digital cameras on the market. At step 520, the
digital camera stores the frame of digital image data in a memory
of the digital camera. Typically, the digital camera has an internal
memory for storing the digital image data. If the digital camera
utilizes a memory card system, the digital image data may be stored
in a memory card instead of the internal memory. Steps 510 and 520
can be repeated to capture and store additional images.
Transmitting the digital image data from the camera to the digital
camera-ready printer 10 is accomplished during step 530. As discussed
in reference to FIG. 1, the means of transferring the digital image
data can be implemented in various manners. If the communication
link 18 is utilized, the digital image data is transferred through
a cable. However, if the communication link 20 is utilized, the
digital image data is transferred by detaching the memory card from
the camera and physically inserting the memory card into the memory
card port 44 shown in FIG. 2 of the digital camera-ready printer
10. If the communication link 22 is used, the digital image data
is transferred through a cableless connection in the form of infrared
or radio frequency waves. Lastly, if the communication link 23 is
utilized, the digital image data is transferred through a hot shoe
connection from the digital camera to the digital camera-ready printer
10. The camera interface 40 shown in FIG. 4 receives the transmitted
digital image data either through the cable port 42, the memory
card port 44, or the cableless port 46.
In a situation in which the cable, cableless, or hot shoe connection
is utilized, the digital camera-ready printer 10 may need to communicate
with the coupled digital camera to instruct the digital camera to
transmit the digital image data. Preferably, the digital camera-ready
printer 10 can be configured to identify and interface with any
digital camera on the market. The instruction to the digital camera
can be accomplished by sending a signal from the digital camera-ready
printer 10, directing the digital camera to begin transmitting the
stored digital image data.
At step 540, the digital image data is converted by the processor
50 to a predetermined image file format, such as JPEG, if the digital
image data was stored in a different format. Displaying an electronic
image represented by a selected frame of digital image data occurs
at step 550. During an optional step 560, the user edits and manipulates
the electronic image as desired. Finally at step 570, the digital
camera-ready printer 10 prints the electronic image onto a recording
medium.
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