Digital Camera Patent AbstractA digital camera and a printer are directly connected to each other,
and a printing progress situation is displayed on a display unit
of the digital camera while an image taken by the digital camera
is being printed. Further, when a printing mode is changed to a
photographing mode while the printing is being performed, the image
being taken is displayed on the entire display unit, and the printing
progress situation is superposed and displayed on a predetermined
area of the display unit on which the image being taken is displayed.
Digital Camera Patent ClaimsWhat is claimed is:
1. A digital camera comprising: a photographing unit that takes
an image in a photographing mode; a display unit that displays the
taken image; an output unit that outputs the taken image to a printer
unit in a printing mode; and a control unit that controls to display
a printing progress situation of the printer unit on said display
unit in the printing mode, wherein, when said control unit controls
to display the printing progress situation of the printer unit on
said display unit in the printing mode, said control unit controls,
in response to an instruction by a user to shift an operation mode
to the photographing mode, to display the taken image supplied from
said photographing unit and information indicating the printing
progress situation in the photographing mode so that the information
indicating the printing progress situation and the taken image taken
in the photographing mode are displayed together in such a manner
that the taken image is displayed in a larger size and the information
indicating the printing progress situation is displayed in a smaller
size, and when a printing operation of the printer unit ends, said
control unit controls to maintain the photographing mode shifted
from the printing mode, and then stop displaying the information
indicating the printing progress situation so that the image taken
in the maintained photographing mode is displayed.
2. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital camera
is connected to the printer unit by a cable.
3. A digital camera comprising: a photographing unit that takes
an image in a photographing mode; a storage unit that stores the
taken image; a display unit that displays the taken image, wherein,
in a reproduction mode, the taken image stored in said storage unit
is read and displayed on said display unit; an output unit that
outputs the taken image to a printer unit in a printing mode; and
a control unit that controls to display a printing progress situation
of the printer unit on said display unit in the printing mode, wherein,
when said control unit controls to display the printing progress
situation of the printer unit on said display unit in the printing
mode, said control unit controls, in response to an instruction
by a user to shift an operation mode to the reproduction mode, to
display on said display unit the taken image read from said storage
unit and information indicating the printing progress situation
in the reproduction mode so that the information indicating the
printing progress situation and the taken image read out from said
storage unit in the reproduction mode are displayed together in
such a manner that the taken image is displayed in a larger size
and the information indicating the printing progress situation is
displayed in a smaller size, and when a printing operation of the
printer unit ends, said control unit controls to maintain the reproduction
mode shifted from the printing mode, and then stop displaying the
information indicating the printing progress situation so that the
taken image read out from said storage unit in the maintained reproduction
mode is displayed.
4. A digital camera according to claim 3, wherein the digital camera
is connected to the printer unit by a cable.
5. A control method for a digital camera, comprising: a photographing
step of taking an image in a photographing mode by a photographing
unit; a display step of displaying the taken image on a display
unit of the digital camera; an output step of outputting the taken
image to a printer unit in a printing mode; and a control step of
controlling to display a printing progress situation of the printer
unit on the display unit in the printing mode, wherein, when said
control unit controls to display the printing progress situation
of the printer unit on the display unit in the printing mode, said
control step is adapted to control, in response to an instruction
by a user to shift an operation mode to the photographing mode,
to display the taken image supplied from the photographing unit
and information indicating the printing progress situation in the
photographing mode so that the information indicating the printing
progress situation and the taken image taken in the photographing
mode are displayed together in such a manner that the taken image
is displayed in a larger size and the information indicating the
printing progress situation is displayed in a smaller size, and
when a printing operation of the printer unit ends, said control
step is adapted to control to maintain the photographing mode shifted
from the printing mode, and then stop displaying the information
indicating the printing progress situation so that the image taken
in the maintained reproduction mode is displayed.
6. A control method according to claim 5, wherein the digital camera
is connected to the printer unit by a cable.
7. A control method for a digital camera, comprising: a photographing
step of taking an image in a photographing mode; a storage step
of storing the taken image in a storage unit; a display step of
displaying the taken image on a display unit of the digital camera,
wherein, in a reproduction mode, the taken image stored in the storage
unit is read and displayed on the display unit; an output step of
outputting the taken image to a printer unit in a printing mode;
and a control step of controlling to display a printing progress
situation of the printer unit on the display unit in the printing
mode, wherein, when said control step controls to display the printing
progress situation of the printer unit on the display unit in the
printing mode, said control step is adapted to control, in response
to an instruction by a user to shift an operation mode to the reproduction
mode, to display on the display unit the taken image read from the
storage unit and information indicating the printing progress situation
in the reproduction mode so that the information indicating the
printing progress situation and the taken image read out from the
storage unit in the reproduction mode are displayed together in
such a manner that the taken image is displayed in a larger size
and the information indicating the printing progress situation is
displayed in a smaller size, and when a printing operation of the
printer unit ends, said control step is adapted to control to maintain
the reproduction mode shifted from the printing mode, and then stop
displaying the information indicating the printing progress situation
so that the taken image read out from the storage unit in the maintained
reproduction mode is displayed.
8. A control method according to claim 7, wherein the digital camera
is connected to the printer unit by a cable. Digital Camera Patent DescriptionBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera, and more particularly
to a display control technique for a display unit of the digital
camera.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, a direct printing method of directly connecting
a digital camera to a printer by using a cable and causing the printer
to print out an image taken by the digital camera has begun to spread.
In such a conventional direct printing method, an image display
unit of the digital camera can not be used while the image is being
printed out.
For this reason, in the conventional direct printing method, if
a user selects a printing mode and starts printing, he can not grasp
or see a printing situation, e.g., which image is being printed,
how the printing is progressing, or the like, thus causing inconvenience.
Further, while the printing is being performed, it is impossible
to concurrently perform a photographing operation by causing the
display unit to act as an electronic finder, and it is also impossible
to concurrently perform a reproduction operation by causing the
display unit to reproduce a taken image, thus causing more inconvenience.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera
and its control method which eliminate such drawbacks as above.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital
camera and its control method which can effectively use a display
unit of the digital camera in a case where an image taken by the
digital camera is being printed in a direct printing method.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a digital
camera and its control method which cause a display unit to display
at least a printing progress situation of a printer.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become
apparent from the following description and the attached drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a digital
camera to which the present invention is applied;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process in a printing mode;
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a first image example showing
a printing progress situation;
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second image example showing
the printing progress situation;
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a third image example showing
a printing progress situation;
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing image display control in a case
where the printing mode and a photographing mode are competitive;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image display example in the case
where the printing mode and the photographing mode are competitive;
and
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image display example in a case
where the printing mode and a reproduction mode are competitive.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention
will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a digital
camera 20 to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1,
numeral 21 denotes an operation mode selection unit which can select,
as an operation mode, a photographing mode to perform photographing
and take an image, a reproduction mode to reproduce a taken image,
a printing mode to perform image printing, and the like. It should
be noted that, since the operation mode selection unit 21 is not
especially limited, a mode dial, a mode determination switch, or
the like, capable of selecting the operation mode may be used as
the operation mode selection unit 21.
Numeral 22 denotes an image pickup unit which has a lens, a CCD
(charge-coupled device), a diaphragm, and the like. Numeral 23 denotes
an image processing unit which develops, compresses, decompresses
and rotates the taken image, and creates thumbnail images. Numeral
24 denotes a display control unit which controls an image display
operation of an image display unit 27. The display control unit
24 controls the image display operation to display an image according
to the operation mode selected by the operation mode selection unit
21.
Numeral 25 denotes a transfer control unit which transfers image
data being the printing target to the printer 30 when the digital
camera 20 and a printer 30 are directly connected to each other
by a cable 29 and thus the image taken by the digital camera 20
is directly printed by the printer 30. Numeral 26 denotes an image
recording medium on which the image data taken by the image pickup
unit 22 and subjected to the image process by the image processing
unit 23 is always or temporarily stored. The image recording medium
26 is not limited to a type built in the digital camera 20 but may
be a type detachably mounted to the digital camera 20.
The image display unit 27 which is composed of a liquid crystal
display and the like is used as an electronic finder or the like.
As described later, an image representing a printing progress situation
(called a printing progress situation image hereinafter) of the
printer 30, a reproduction of the image recorded on the image recording
medium 26, and the like are displayed on the image display unit
27. Numeral 28 denotes an operation mode monitor unit which monitors
start/stop of the operation mode.
It should be noted that the operations of the above components
of the digital camera 20 are controlled by a CPU (central processing
unit) 31 on the basis of programs preset in a ROM (read-only memory)
32. At this time, the CPU 31 uses a RAM (random-access memory) 33,
or the like, as a working area.
Next, a process in the printing mode will be explained with reference
to a flow chart shown in FIG. 2.
If the printing mode is selected by the operation mode selection
unit 21 such as the mode dial or the like (step S101), the CPU 31
first causes the image display unit 27 to display a selection screen
on which images being the printing targets (called printing target
images) are displayed together with their respective photographing
image file names, whereby a user selects the printing target image
on the selection screen 27 (step S102). How to select the printing
target screen is not limited to the above, but is arbitrary. That
is, the user can select the plural printing target images at a time.
After the printing target image was selected, a printing start
is instructed by user's key operations (step S103). The CPU 31 reads
image data of the selected printing target image from the image
recording medium 26 and transfers the read image data to the RAM
33 (step S104). The image data is converted by the image processing
unit 23 to have a data format suitable for the printer 30 (step
S105). At this time, the image processing unit 23 keeps storing
the image data read from the image recording medium 26 in the RAM
33 and also stores the image data subjected to the data format conversion
in another area of the RAM 33. Here, the image data subjected to
the data format conversion may be sequentially transferred to the
transfer control unit 25.
Next, the CPU 31 transfers the image data subjected to the data
format conversion to the printer 30 (step S106). Then, the CPU 31
causes the image display unit 27 to display the printing progress
situation image of the printer 30 (step S107). It should be noted
that the display of the printing progress situation will be explained
later in detail.
Next, it is judged by the CPU 31 whether or not printing of one
image has reached its end (step S108). If judged that the printing
does not end, the flow returns to the step S106 to continue the
transfer of the image data and the display of the printing progress
situation image. Conversely, if judged in the step S108 that the
printing of the one image has reached its end, such a fact is displayed
on the image display unit 27 (step S109). For example, a message
"printing of first image ends" or a message "printing
of XX image ends" is displayed on the image display unit 27.
Next, it is judged whether or not a next image selected as the
printing target (called a next printing target image) exists (step
S110). If judged that the next printing target image exists, the
flow returns to the step S104 to read image data of the next printing
target image and transfer the read image data to the RAM 33. Conversely,
if judged in the step S110 that the next printing target image does
not exist, a fact that the printing of all the images selected as
the printing targets ends is displayed on the image display unit
27 (step S111). For example, a message "all printing ends"
is displayed. After then, the process ends.
Next, control for display of the printing progress situation image
will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.
In an example of FIG. 3, the printing target image data transferred
from the transfer control unit 25 to the printer 30 are displayed
sequentially from the head. In this case, the CPU 31 monitors the
data transfer situation by the transfer control unit 25, and based
on such the monitoring the display control unit 24 causes the image
display unit 27 to sequentially display the image data before the
data format conversion within the RAM 33 respectively corresponding
to the data already subjected to the data transfer.
In an example of FIG. 4, the CPU 31 causes the image display unit
27 to display, with low chroma, all the image data before the data
format conversion at the same time as the printing start. Then,
the CPU 31 monitors the data transfer situation by the transfer
control unit 25, and thus sequentially changes the chroma of the
image data before the data format conversion corresponding to the
data already subjected to the data transfer into ordinary chroma.
Namely, the printing progress situation is displayed in the method
same as a Progressive JPEG (Joint Photographic Expert Group) method.
In an example of FIG. 5, a bar graph display area E is provided
on the image display unit 27 such that the area E overlaps the printing
target image. Thus, a bar graph in the bar graph display area E
is elongated according to a data transfer quantity of the transfer
control unit 25.
It should be noted that the printing progress situation may not
be represented by the bar graph. Namely, a ratio of the image to
which the printing ended may be displayed by character information
such as "15%". Further, such the character information
may be displayed together with the bar graph. On the other hand,
a ratio of the image to which the printing does not end may be displayed
by character information such as "the remainder is 15%".
Also, a time necessary to end the printing may be displayed, e.g.,
"the remainder is 3 minutes and 30 seconds". Further,
the printing target image may not be displayed, and instead a file
name may be displayed as character information.
As described above, since the printing progress situation image
is displayed when the printing mode is selected, the user can surely
see and grasp which image is being printed (in the cases of FIGS.
3 and 4), how the printing ended (in the cases of FIGS. 3 to 5),
and the like. Thus, the user can easily determine what to do next
with the digital camera, whereby the convenience of the digital
camera improves.
Next, a display process in a case where the printing mode and the
photographing mode are competitive will be explained with reference
to FIG. 6.
When a printing operation in the printing mode is started (step
S21), it is judged by the CPU 31 whether or not the photographing
mode is started (step S22). If judged that the photographing mode
is not started, then it is judged whether or not the printing mode
ends (step S23). If judged that the printing mode ends, the process
ends. Conversely, if judged that the printing mode does not end,
only the printing progress situation image is displayed on the image
display unit 27 (step S24) (see images G1 and G2 in FIG. 7), and
the flow returns to the step S21.
On the other hand, if judged in step S22 that the photographing
mode is started, then it is judged whether or not the photographing
mode or the printing mode ends (step S25). If judged that the photographing
mode or the printing mode does not end, an electronic finder image
(i.e., a through image during photographing by an image pickup element)
and the printing progress situation image are concurrently or simultaneously
displayed on the image display unit 27 (step S26) (see images G3
and G4 in FIG. 7), and the flow returns to the step S25.
On the other hand, if judged in the step S25 that the photographing
mode or the printing mode ends, then it is judged which of the photographing
mode and the printing mode ends (step S27). If judged that the photographing
mode ends, only the printing progress situation image is displayed
on the image display unit 27 (step S28) (see the images G1 and G2
in FIG. 7), and then it is judged whether or not the printing mode
ends (step S29). If judged that the printing mode does not end,
the flow returns to the step S28 to continue the display of only
the printing progress situation image, while if judged that the
printing mode ends, the process ends.
On the other hand, if judged in the step S27 that the printing
mode ends, only the electronic finder image is displayed on the
image display unit 27 (step S30) (see an image G5 in FIG. 7), and
then it is judged whether or not the photographing mode ends (step
S31). If judged that the photographing mode does not end, the flow
returns to the step S30 to continue the display of only the electronic
finder image, while if judged that the photographing mode ends,
the process ends.
In the example of FIG. 7, when the printing progress situation
image or the electronic finder image is solely displayed, such the
sole image is displayed enlargedly on the entire display screen
of the image display unit 27. On the other hand, when both the printing
progress situation image and the electronic finder image are concurrently
displayed on the image display unit 27, the printing progress situation
image is superposed on the predetermined area of the electronic
finder image, whereby the display screen of the limited area on
the image display unit 27 is effectively used.
Besides, when both the printing progress situation image and the
electronic finder image are concurrently displayed, the printing
progress situation image is displayed in the manner shown in FIG.
4. Namely, the printing progress situation is displayed small, such
as a thumbnail image, in Progressive JPEG method, while the electronic
finder image is displayed enlargedly on the entire display screen
of the image display unit 27. The reason why the electronic finder
image is displayed enlargedly is to enable the user to smoothly
perform the photographing operation.
However, the present invention is not limited to such display method.
For example, the printing progress situation image may be displayed
gradually from its part to which the printing has ended as shown
in FIG. 3, or may be displayed with the bar graph as shown in FIG.
5. Also, when the image is displayed gradually from its part to
which the printing has ended as shown in FIG. 3, it is preferable
to display such image as a thumbnail image.
Further, when both the printing progress situation image and the
electronic finder image are concurrently displayed, it is possible
not to superpose these images but separately display them respectively
in mutually different display areas on the image display unit 27.
In this case, it is desirable to enable the user to smoothly perform
the photographing operation by widening the display area of the
electronic finder image more than the display area of the image
of the printing progress situation.
Thus, by concurrently displaying both the printing progress situation
image and the electronic finder image, the user can save time. Further,
he can smoothly perform the photographing operation, and the like,
while confirming the printing progress situation and the image intended
to be photographed.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in a case where the image is reproduced,
instead of the electronic finder image, a reproduced image can be
displayed together with the printing progress situation image on
the image display unit 27. In this case, the image display control
only has to be performed according to the procedure same as the
procedure shown in FIG. 6.
Further, the present invention is applicable not only to the case
where the printing mode and the photographing mode or the reproduction
mode are competitive but also to a case where the printing mode
and other operation modes are competitive.
Further, the present invention is applicable to a digital camera
in which a digital camera unit and a printer unit are unitarily
composed.
As explained above, in the digital camera which includes the display
unit for displaying the taken or photographed image and has the
function to print the taken or photographed image with the directly
connected printer, the display control unit for causing the display
unit to display at least the printing progress situation of the
printer is provided, whereby the display unit of the digital camera
can be effectively used while the image taken or photographed by
the digital camera is being printed in a direct printing method.
As many apparently and widely different embodiments can be made
without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention,
it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited
to the above embodiment except as defined in the appended claims. |