JP7039333B2 - Information processing equipment and information processing methods and programs - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates, in particular, to information processing devices, information processing methods and programs suitable for use in performing processing using a plurality of applications.

Conventionally, an information processing device such as a smartphone can realize various functions by installing an OS and a plurality of applications and operating using each application. For example, a camera connection application can be used to connect to a camera and capture images from the camera to a smartphone. In such a case, it is considered convenient for the user who mainly uses the camera to operate the camera, select an image, and transmit the image from the camera to the smartphone (hereinafter referred to as PUSH transmission). On the other hand, users who mainly use smartphones think that it is convenient to operate the smartphone, select an image while looking at the image in the camera, and receive it from the camera to the smartphone (hereinafter referred to as PULL transmission). Be done. There is also a function to automatically send the captured image from the camera to the smartphone at the timing when the photo is taken with the camera (hereinafter referred to as "automatic shooting transmission"). (See Patent Document 1)

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2017-117208

The information processing device can also edit an image using, for example, an image editing application. A plurality of applications installed in an information processing device such as these may support different data formats.

For example, the image data format supported by the image editing application is only the RAW format. On the other hand, the application for camera connection can support JPEG format as well as RAW format. In this case, if the camera sends a JPEG format image and the camera connection application captures the JPEG format image on the smartphone, the image editing application cannot perform the editing process, and the captured image is displayed. It will be wasted.

Therefore, in the present invention, when a plurality of applications installed in the information processing device are used to import data from the external device to the information processing device and execute processing on the imported data, useless data acquisition is performed. The purpose is to prevent processing.

In order to solve the above problems, one of the inventions according to the present application operates according to the first application and requests the activation of the second application, and in response to the request, the second application. A receiving means for receiving from the external device the data selected according to the operation for the external device among the data held by the external device by starting the application and operating according to the second application, and the above. Based on the first acquisition means for acquiring the data format supported by the first application and the data format acquired by the acquisition means, the external device does not transmit the data selected according to the operation for the external device. As described above, the external device is provided with the transmission control means required for the device.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of applications installed in an information processing device are used to import data from an external device to the information processing device and execute processing on the imported data, useless data acquisition is performed. It is possible to prevent processing. Therefore, usability can be improved and the load on communication and storage capacity can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows schematically the connection form of the image pickup apparatus 100 and the communication apparatus 200 in embodiment of this invention, and has shown the image transmission method. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition example of the communication apparatus 200 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the software configuration example of the communication apparatus 200 in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware composition example of the image pickup apparatus 100 in embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the processing when Wright-app is activated from the Read-app by the CPU 201 of the communication apparatus 200 in 1st Embodiment of this invention, and PUSH transmission is performed from an external device. It is a figure which shows the structure example of the data sharing place and the data list in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen of the Ready-app in the embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen of Write-app in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the GUI of the image pickup apparatus 100 in 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the processing when Wright-app is activated from the Read-app by the CPU 201 of the communication apparatus 200 in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and PUSH transmission is performed from an external device. A process in which a PUSH transmission is performed from an external device according to a third embodiment of the present invention, an image is captured in the communication device 200 by the Write-app, and then the Read-app is started from the Write-app by the CPU 201 of the communication device 200. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen of Write-app in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be exemplified in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the components described in this embodiment are merely examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to them.

(First Embodiment)
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the user operates a communication device to start a data acquisition application from an image editing application and cooperate with each other, and controls data transmission by the image pickup device based on a data format compatible with the image editing application. An example will be described. As the "starting" of the application in the present embodiment, there are cases where an unstarted application is started and a case where the application running in the background is moved to the foreground to be in the active state.

(System configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a connection mode between the image pickup device 100 and the communication device 200 in the present embodiment, and showing a method of transmitting an image from the image pickup device 100 to the communication device 200.

The connection form may be a form in which the image pickup device 100 and the communication device 200 participate in a wireless LAN network formed by an external AP, which is an example of an external relay device, or the image pickup device 100 and the communication device may be connected without going through the external AP. It may be in the form of directly connecting to the 200. In the case of direct connection, the image pickup device 100 operates as a simple AP to form a wireless LAN network. In this case, when the image pickup apparatus 100 operates as a simple AP, it starts periodical transmission of the beacon signal. The communication device 200 detects the beacon signal, participates in the wireless LAN network formed by the image pickup device 100, establishes communication through mutual device discovery, device capability acquisition, and the like, and is in a state where data can be transmitted and received.

In this embodiment, there are three types of methods for transmitting an image. In FIG. 1A, the user operates the image pickup device 100 to select an image to be transmitted from the images in the image pickup device 100, and instructs the communication device 200 to transmit the selected image. This is called "camera operation transmission" and is one of the PUSH transmissions of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1B, when the user operates the image pickup device 100 or the communication device 200 to turn on the automatic shooting transmission setting of the image pickup device 100, the image pickup device automatically transmits the image to the communication device 200 at the time of shooting. To send. This is called "shooting automatic transmission" and is one of the PUSH transmissions of the present embodiment. In FIG. 1 (c), the user operates the communication device 200 to acquire the attribute information of the image held in the image pickup device 100, and instructs the image pickup device 100 to transmit the image corresponding to the selected attribute information. do. This is referred to as "communication device operation transmission", and is one of the Pull image transmissions of the present embodiment. The user can selectively use these three image transmission methods properly.

However, these image transmission methods do not allow simultaneous operations, and only one of them can be used. The "camera operation transmission" of FIG. 1A is realized by operating only the image pickup device 100, and while the image pickup device 100 is operating for image transmission, the communication device is operated. A screen for preventing this from being performed is displayed on the communication device 200. Similarly, the “automatic shooting transmission” of FIG. 1B is realized by operating only the image pickup device 100, and while the image pickup device 100 takes a picture and the shot image is automatically transmitted, the communication device 200 is used. The image reception screen is displayed on the communication device 200 so that the operation of is not performed. Further, in the "communication device operation transmission" of FIG. 1 (c), it is assumed that only the communication device 200 is operated and realized, and while the operation for image transmission is being performed by the communication device 200, the process is in progress. A screen that prevents the image pickup device 100 from being operated is displayed on the image pickup apparatus 100.

Further, in the present embodiment, the function that can be operated by the communication device 200 may be other than the image transmission function. The "remote shooting function" that allows you to remotely control the shooting of the connected image pickup device 100 by operating the communication device 200, and the "camera setting" that allows you to remotely change the time setting of the image pickup device 100 itself by operating the communication device 200. It may provide "function" and the like. However, while the operation is being executed by the communication device 200 such as these, it is assumed that the "camera operation transmission" cannot be executed, and a screen indicating that is displayed on the image pickup apparatus 100.

(Communication equipment configuration)
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration example of the communication device 200 according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 2, the CPU 201 controls the processing of the entire communication device 200. Various control programs, data, and the like executed by the CPU 201 are stored in the ROM 202. The RAM 203 has a work area of the CPU 201, a data save area at the time of error processing, a control program load area, and the like. The HDD (hard disk drive) 204 stores an OS (operating system), various applications, and control programs, contents, and data executed in the communication device 200.

The input device 205 is composed of various buttons such as a button for switching ON / OFF of the power supply. The BMU (bit move unit) 206 transfers data between memories (for example, between VRAM 207 and another memory) or data transfer between the memory and each I / O device (for example, NETI / F209). To control. Image data for display on the display device 211 is drawn on the VRAM 207. The image data drawn on the VRAM 207 is transferred to the display device 211 according to a predetermined rule, whereby the image is displayed on the display device 211. Further, the display device 211 is equipped with a touch panel, and when the user touches the display surface of the display device 211, an instruction related to the icon displayed at the position is input. The NETI / F209 communicates with the image pickup apparatus 100 and the like via the network 103. Bus 212 includes an address bus, a data bus and a control bus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a software configuration example of the communication device 200 according to the present embodiment.

A predetermined OS 301 is mounted on the communication device 200, and a data acquisition application (hereinafter, Write-app) 302 and an image editing application (hereinafter, Read-app) 303 are installed. The CPU 201 of the communication device 200 starts the OS 301 to perform basic processing performed by the communication device 200, as well as a process of linking installed applications and a process of recording data in the HDD 204 or the like. Further, the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 activates the Write-app 302 and performs a process of capturing an image from, for example, the image pickup device 100 via the NETI / F209. Further, the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 activates the Read-app 303 to perform processing on the captured image and instructing the printing device to print the image. Here, Write-app 302 is an input application and can be said to be an output application. It should be noted that the communication device 200 can install a plurality of Read-app 303s, and in the present embodiment, one of them will be described as an example.

(Configuration of image pickup device)
FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the image pickup apparatus 100, which is an example of the external apparatus of the present embodiment. Although the image pickup device is described here as an example of the external device, the external device is not limited to this. For example, the external device may be a portable media player, a so-called tablet device, an information processing device such as a personal computer, or the like.

The control unit 401 controls each unit of the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the input signal and a program described later. Instead of the control unit 401 controlling the entire device, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire device.

The image pickup unit 402 is, for example, an optical lens unit, an optical system for controlling aperture, zoom, focus, etc., and an image pickup element for converting light (video) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electrical image signal. It is composed. As the image pickup device, CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is generally used. The image pickup unit 402 is controlled by the control unit 401 to convert the subject light imaged by the lens included in the image pickup unit 402 into an electric signal by the image pickup element, perform noise reduction processing, and obtain digital data as an image. Output as data. In the image pickup apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the image data is recorded on the recording medium 410 according to the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) standard.

The non-volatile memory 403 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and recorded, and stores a program or the like described later executed by the control unit 401.

The work memory 404 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily holding image data captured by the image pickup unit 402, an image display memory of the display unit 406, a work area of the control unit 401, and the like.

The operation unit 405 is used for the user to receive an instruction to the image pickup apparatus 100 from the user. The operation unit 405 includes, for example, a power button for instructing the user to turn on / off the power of the image pickup apparatus 100, a release switch for instructing shooting, and a reproduction button for instructing reproduction of image data. Further, it includes an operation member such as a dedicated connection button for starting communication with an external device via the communication unit 411 described later. The operation unit 405 also includes a touch panel formed on the display unit 406, which will be described later. The release switch has SW1 and SW2. When the release switch is in the so-called half-pressed state, SW1 is turned on. As a result, instructions for preparing for shooting such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing are received. Further, when the release switch is in the so-called fully pressed state, SW2 is turned on. As a result, instructions for taking a picture are received.

The display unit 406 displays the viewfinder image at the time of shooting, displays the shot image data, displays characters for interactive operation, and the like. The display unit 406 does not necessarily have to be built in the image pickup apparatus 100. The image pickup apparatus 100 may be connected to the internal or external display unit 406, and may have at least a display control function for controlling the display of the display unit 406.

The recording medium 410 can record the image data output from the image pickup unit 402. The recording medium 410 may be configured to be detachable from the image pickup device 100, or may be built in the image pickup device 100. That is, the image pickup apparatus 100 may have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 410.

The communication unit 411 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The image pickup apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the communication unit 411. For example, the image data generated by the image pickup unit 402 can be transmitted to an external device via the communication unit 411. Further, the image pickup by the image pickup unit 402 can be controlled from an external device via the communication unit 411. In this embodiment, the communication unit 411 includes an interface for communicating with an external device by a so-called wireless LAN according to the standard of 802.11. The control unit 401 realizes wireless communication with an external device by controlling the communication unit 411.

The proximity radio communication unit 412 is composed of, for example, an antenna for radio communication, a modulation / demodulation circuit, and a communication controller for processing radio signals. The proximity radio communication unit 412 outputs the modulated radio signal from the antenna and demodulates the radio signal received by the antenna to perform short-range radio communication in accordance with the IEEE802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth®). Realize. In the present embodiment, Bluetooth communication adopts version 4.0 (hereinafter referred to as BLE) of Bluetooth Low Energy, which has low power consumption. This BLE communication has a narrower communicable range (that is, a shorter communicable distance) than the wireless LAN communication. Further, the communication speed of BLE communication is slower than that of wireless LAN communication. On the other hand, BLE communication consumes less power than wireless LAN communication. The image pickup apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the proximity wireless communication unit 412. For example, the image pickup by the image pickup unit 402 can be controlled from an external device via the communication unit 411. However, since the communication speed is slow, the image data generated by the image pickup unit 402 is not transmitted.

The communication unit 411 of the image pickup apparatus 100 in the present embodiment has an AP mode that operates as an access point in the infrastructure mode and a CL mode that operates as a client in the infrastructure mode. Then, by operating the communication unit 411 in the CL mode, the image pickup apparatus 100 in the present embodiment can operate as a CL device in the infrastructure mode. When the image pickup device 100 operates as a CL device, it is possible to participate in the network formed by the AP device by connecting to a peripheral AP device. Further, by operating the communication unit 411 in the AP mode, the image pickup apparatus 100 in the present embodiment operates as a simple AP (hereinafter referred to as a simple AP) which is a kind of AP but has more limited functions. Is also possible. When the image pickup device 100 operates as a simple AP, the image pickup device 100 forms a network by itself. The devices around the image pickup device 100 can recognize the image pickup device 100 as an AP device and participate in the network formed by the image pickup device 100. It is assumed that the program for operating the image pickup apparatus 100 as described above is held in the non-volatile memory 403.

Although the image pickup apparatus 100 in this embodiment is a kind of AP, it is a simple AP that does not have a gateway function for transferring data received from a CL device to an Internet provider or the like. Therefore, even if data is received from another device participating in the network formed by the own machine, it is not transferred to a network such as the Internet.

Next, the appearance of the image pickup apparatus 100 will be described. 4 (b) and 4 (c) are views showing an example of the appearance of the image pickup apparatus 100. The release switch 405a, the play button 405b, the direction key 405c, and the touch panel 405d are operation members included in the above-mentioned operation unit 405. Further, the image obtained as a result of imaging by the imaging unit 402 is displayed on the display unit 406. Further, the image pickup apparatus 100 of the present embodiment has an antenna portion of the proximity wireless communication unit 412 on the side surface of the camera housing. Proximity wireless communication can be established with other devices by bringing the proximity wireless communication units 412 close to each other at a certain distance. As a result, communication is possible without contact via a cable or the like, and communication partners can be limited according to the user's intention.

(Processing procedure for communication equipment)
Next, the processing procedure of the communication device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. In the present embodiment, when the Write-app is started from the Read-app by the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 and cooperates with each other, the data is sent to the image pickup apparatus 100 according to the data format that the CPU 201 can handle in the Read-app. An example of performing transmission control of the above will be described.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining the processing procedure of the present embodiment. The process described below is realized by the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 starting OS301, Write-app302, and Read-appp303, operating in accordance with these as appropriate, and controlling each part.

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, T501 to T509 will be described as a linkage start phase, T510 to T520 as a connection phase, T521 to T529 as an image storage phase, and T530 to T533 as a linkage end phase. do.

First, the cooperation start phase of T501 to T509 will be described.

In the T501, the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 receives the Ready-app activation request by the user's operation.

Subsequently, in T502, in response to the activation request in T501, the CPU 201 starts the Read-app to start the process. When the CPU 201 starts the Read-app, the display device 211 displays the screen as shown in FIG. 7A. On the screen shown in FIG. 7A, the user selects the editing content to be executed via the touch panel of the display device 211.

For example, when "process photo" is selected, the screen shown in FIG. 7B is displayed on the display device 211, and when "print photo" is selected, the display device 211 displays FIG. 7 The screen shown in (c) is displayed. When "Send Photograph" is selected, the screen shown in FIG. 7D is displayed on the display device 211. On the screens shown in FIGS. 7 (b) to 7 (d), an image to be edited can be selected from the images stored in the HDD 204 or the like. On the other hand, if you want to edit an image that is not held by the communication device 200, you can import the image from an external device by selecting the "Add photo from Lite-app" button 702. The process shown in T506 of FIG. 5 is a process of detecting that the "Add photo from Write-app" button 702 is selected by the user, and the process shown in T507 is started by this detection.

In T503 of FIG. 5, the CPU 201 refers to the data sharing location 500 and determines whether or not there is a format list indicating the data format supported by the Read-app. If the Read-app format list exists, the Read-app format list stored in the shared location 500 is compared with the information indicating the compatible data formats set in the Read-app. , Determine if there is a change. The information indicating the format set in the Read-app is not only stored in the HDD 204 when the Read-app is installed, but also received from the outside via the Internet or the like when the version of the Read-app is upgraded. Will be updated.

Here, the data sharing location 500 and the format list will be described in detail.

First, the data sharing location is a predetermined storage area that can be read and written by each application, and will be described with reference to FIG. 6A. FIG. 6A shows an example of a directory configuration in HDD 204. In FIG. 6A, the data sharing location folder is 601. In the present embodiment, the format list 602 of each linked application such as Read-app and Write-app is written directly under this. The shared folder 601 and the format list 602 can be read and written from linked applications such as Read-app and Lite-app. Further, each linked application stores the file path of the format list 602 (/ root / a / share / format in the example of FIG. 6), and each linked application stores the file path destination when the linked application is started. Refer to the file in format list 602. Then, it is compared with the latest compatible data format set for each linked application, and if there is a difference, it is determined that there is a change.

The above is the description of the data sharing location 500.

Subsequently, the format list will be described with reference to FIG. 6 (b). FIG. 6B shows an example of the format list 602. The format list is composed of an array 652 of the data formats corresponding to the application ID 651. The application ID 651 is an application-specific ID recorded in the HDD 204 when the application is installed in the communication device 200. For example, the data formats supported by the application 653 having the application ID of 0x41 are the JPEG format and the MP4 format, and the other data formats are not supported. The above is the explanation about the format list. In the present embodiment, the format list describes the case where each application (for example, Read-app) indicates the "supported" data format, but the format list may indicate the data format that each application does not support. good.

Returning to the description of the sequence in FIG. 5 again.

Then, in T503, when the CPU 201 does not have the Read-app format list 602 in the data sharing location 500, or the Read-app format list 602 exists and it is determined that there is a change, the CPU 201 executes T504 and T505. do.

In T504, the CPU 201 generates a format list based on the available data formats set in the Read-app. In T505, the format list generated in T504 is associated with the unique ID of Read-app and written to the data sharing location 500.

At this time, if it is determined in T503 that the Read-app format list 602 does not exist in the data sharing location 500, the list generated in T504 is associated with the unique ID of Read-app and writing is executed. On the other hand, in T503, when the format list 602 exists in the data sharing location 500 and it is determined that there is a change, the existing format list associated with the unique ID of the Read-app is used as the format list generated by T504. Overwrite and save with.

In T506, the CPU 201 detects that the user has pressed the linkage button displayed on the Read-app. In the example shown in FIG. 7 (b), the "add photo button from Write-app" 702 corresponds to the link button.

In T507, the CPU 201 detects that the user has pressed the cooperation button, and transmits a Write-app startup request by Read-app to the OS. At this time, the start-up request includes the Ready-app application ID as information indicating the request source for cooperation, and the CPU 201 stores the received Read-app application ID in the RAM 203. In T508, the CPU 201 receives a Write-app startup request from the OS. In this embodiment, the start request includes the Ready-app application ID in the start request, but the start request is not limited to this. For example, the application ID of Read-app is stored in a temporary location of HDD 204 as information indicating the request source of cooperation, and the path to the storage destination is included in the startup request of Write-app and sent to the OS. May be good. Then, the CPU 201 stores the Ready-app application ID acquired according to the path in the RAM 203.

Subsequently, in T509, the CPU 201 activates Write-app. When started, the screen of Write-app shown in FIG. 8A is displayed. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the Write-app is started for the purpose of cooperation according to the request from the Read-app, the CPU 201 shifts the Write-app to the cooperation mode. If the Write-app is already started and is operating in the background, the CPU 201 switches the Write-app to the operation in the foreground and operates it in the cooperation mode. Then, while the Write-app is operating in the cooperation mode, the status bar 801 is displayed so as to indicate to the user. When the Write-app operates in the linked mode, the Write-app aims to prioritize the operation of capturing the image in the image pickup device 100, and therefore, as shown in FIG. 8A, is connected to the image pickup device 100. It is limited only to the guide function for performing the image and the image list function in the image pickup apparatus 100. On the other hand, in the activation in the normal mode in which the user simply activates the Write-app, all the functions shown in FIG. 8A can be used, and the UI display is adjusted accordingly. When it is detected that the user presses the release button 802, the CPU 201 cancels the Write-app cooperation mode and shifts to the normal mode operation.

The above is the cooperation start phase.

Subsequently, the connection phase of T510 to T520 will be described.

In T510, when the image pickup device 100 sets the communication mode to ON in response to the user operating the image pickup device 100, the image pickup device 100 activates the access point in T511.

Subsequently, in T512, the communication device 200 connects to the access point of the image pickup device 100 in response to the user operating the communication device 200.

In T513, the CPU 201 receives a notification from the OS that the image pickup apparatus 100 has been detected in the Write-app, and in T514, transmits a connection request to the image pickup apparatus 100.

At T515, the image pickup device 100 authenticates the communication device 200, and the connection between the image pickup device 100 and the communication device 200 is established.

At T516, the CPU 201 determines whether the Write-app is in cooperation with the Read-app. If it is determined that the CPU 201 is not in cooperation, the processes from T517 to T518 are not performed.

If Write-app is linked with Read-app, in T517, CPU201 reads the application ID of Read-app acquired in T508 from RAM 203, and refers to the format list of the data sharing location 500 based on the application ID. do. The CPU 201 acquires the corresponding data format corresponding to the Read-app from the format list and stores it in the RAM 203.

In T518, the CPU 201 determines whether there is a data format that the image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission (in this embodiment, the RAW format is used as an example) in the data format that the Read-app acquired in T517 can support. Here, if the CPU 201 determines that the RAW format is one of the data formats supported by the Read-app, the process proceeds to T519. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no RAW format, the process proceeds to T521. The data format that the image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission is made readable from the Write-app and stored in advance in the RAM 203. Alternatively, the data format transmitted by the image pickup apparatus 100 by PUSH transmission may be made readable from the Write-app and stored in the RAM 203 in advance. Then, among the data formats supported by Read-app, it may be determined by T518 whether or not there is a data format that is not included in the data format transmitted by the image pickup apparatus 100 by PUSH transmission.

If there is a RAW format as a data format compatible with Read-app, in T519, the CPU 201 issues a prohibition request for PUSH transmission (camera operation transmission and automatic shooting transmission in this embodiment) via NETI / F209 to the image pickup device 100. Send to. Then, when the control unit 401 of the image pickup apparatus 100 receives the prohibition request from the communication device 200, the control unit 401 does not accept the operation for performing the PUSH transmission, or displays a dialog to that effect on the display unit 406. In this way, the control unit 401 of the image pickup device 100 prevents the image in the image pickup device 100 from being transmitted to the communication device 200 by PUSH transmission.

At T520, the CPU 201 receives the response from the image pickup device 100 via the NETI / F209. When the CPU 201 performs the processing of T519 and T520, it is assumed that the subsequent processing is not performed.

Further, when the release button 802 shown in FIG. 8A is pressed by the user after that, the CPU 201 transmits a PUSH transmission prohibition release request to the image pickup apparatus 100. Then, when the control unit 401 of the image pickup device 100 receives the prohibition release request from the communication device 200, the control unit 401 resumes accepting the operation for performing PUSH transmission and transmits the image in the image pickup device 100 to the communication device 200 by PUSH transmission. It can be so.

The above is the connection phase. Although the case where the processing of T517 is performed when the connection with the image pickup apparatus 100 is completed has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be performed when the Write-app of T509 is started.

Subsequently, the image storage phase of T521 to T529 will be described.

In T521, the user operates the image pickup device 100 to select an image to be transmitted from the images in the image pickup device 100, and then instructs PUSH transmission. The image pickup apparatus 100 transmits a request for PUSH transmission to the communication device 200 in response to a user's instruction.

At T522, the CPU 201 receives the PUSH transmission request from the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209. This PUSH transmission request includes list information indicating information about the original image selected by the user on the image pickup apparatus 100 in T521. The CPU 201 makes this list information readable from the Write-app as a list of images to be saved and saves it in the RAM 203.

Upon receiving the PUSH transmission request from the image pickup device 100, in T523, the CPU 201 requests the attribute information corresponding to the captured image (original image) based on the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 via the NETI / F209 image pickup device. Send to 100. In the present embodiment, the case of a thumbnail image will be described as the attribute information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a file name.

Further, the formats of the original image and the data of the attribute information may be different from the same case. For example, when the original image and the thumbnail image are the same PEG format still image file, or when the original image is an MP4 format video file and the attribute information is a PEG format still image file extracted from the video file. There is. In the present embodiment, at least the data format of the attribute information of the original image can be supported by Write-app regardless of whether the data format of the original image can be supported by Read-app.

In T524, the CPU 201 receives a thumbnail image and information indicating the data format of the original image corresponding to each thumbnail image from the image pickup apparatus 100 via NETI / F209, and stores the information in the HDD 204.

In T525, the thumbnail image stored in the HDD 204 is read out and displayed on the display device 211. At this time, the GUI shown in FIG. 8B is displayed on the Write-app. FIG. 12B shows that each time the thumbnail image is read, it is added to the screen in order and displayed on the display device 211, and the original image corresponding to the thumbnail image has not yet been received from the image pickup device 100. Therefore, the progress bar 806 shows 0%.

In T526, the CPU 201 transmits a request for the original image to the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209 based on the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 in the T522.

In T527, the CPU 201 receives the original image from the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209 based on the storage schedule image list received in T522. At this time, the CPU 201 controls to switch the display from the screen of FIG. 8 (b) to the screen as shown in FIG. 8 (c). Then, the progress bar 807 is controlled to be updated and displayed according to the progress of receiving the original image from the image pickup apparatus 100. Here, the thumbnail image has a lower resolution than the original image, and the data size is small. Then, when the original image having a larger data size than the thumbnail image is captured from the image pickup device 100, only the original image selected by the user in the image pickup device 100 in a format compatible with the Read-app is received. did. As a result, it is possible to prevent the reception of useless data that is not processed by the Read-app, and it is possible to reduce the communication load.

When the reception of the original image is completed, in T528, the CPU 201 performs the saving process of the original image by Write-app. That is, the CPU 201 saves the file of the original image received in T527 in the HDD 204 or the like, and gives the image ID to the newly saved original image in T529. The image ID will be described as a code associated with the file path of the save destination of the original image. The image ID may be the file path of the save destination.

The processing from the request for the original image at T526 to the reception processing of the original image at T527, the storage processing of the original image at T528, and the issuance of the image ID for the original image at T529 are stored in the RAM 203 at T522. It is repeated for the number of saved image list to be saved. During this series of image storage processes, the CPU 201 displays the storage progress screen shown in FIG. 8C on the display device 211.

The above is the image storage phase.

Next, the cooperation end phase of T530 to T533 will be described.

As described in T523 to T529, when the saving process of all the original images corresponding to the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 in T522 is completed, the CPU 201 displays the saving completion screen shown in FIG. 8 (d). Displayed on the device 211. When it is detected that the user presses the close button 804, the CPU 201 returns to the screen display of FIG. 8A without executing the image ID list generation process described later. This makes it possible to stop sharing the captured original image with the Read-app this time.

On the other hand, when the user detects that the button 805 for returning to the Read-app is pressed on the save completion screen shown in FIG. 8 (d), the CPU 201 starts the process of the T530. At T530, the CPU 201 performs an image ID list generation process. Specifically, first, in Write-app, an image ID list in which the image ID of the original image saved in T528 is associated with the save destination is generated, made readable by the OS, and stored in the HDD 204. As a result, in T533 described later, the Read-app can acquire the image ID list from the OS, and the original image can be acquired according to the image ID list and used for the Read-app process.

In T531, the CPU 201 transmits a Read-app startup request by Write-app to the OS. Further, the CPU 201 causes Write-app to cancel the cooperation mode at this timing, and switches to the normal mode for operation. Specifically, the CPU 201 releases the restriction on the functions that can be used, updates the functions restricted in FIG. 8A to a selectable display, and returns to the normal mode state.

Subsequently, in T532, the CPU 201 makes a start request from the OS to the Read-app to start the Read-app. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 5, since the Read-app is still running in the background even after the processing of the T507, the CPU 201 switches the Read-app to the operation in the foreground in the processing of the T532. .. After the processing of T507 is performed, the CPU 201 may temporarily stop the start of the Read-app and restart the Read-app in response to the start request of the T532.

Then, in T533, the CPU 201 receives the image ID list generated by Write-app in T530 by Read-app via the OS.

The CPU 201 acquires the original image from the HDD 204 based on the image ID list acquired in the Read-app, adds it to the list display screen of the Read-app, and displays it. For example, when "Add photo from Write-app" is selected on the screen shown in FIG. 7B and linked with Write-app, the image is captured by Write-app as a new image in the image list display area 701. The original image acquired from the device 100 is additionally displayed.

As described above, when the Write-app is called from the Read-app by the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 and is started, the PUSH transmission by the image pickup apparatus 100 is performed by the CPU 201 according to the data format supported by the Read-app. I tried to control the possibility. As a result, it is not necessary to perform unnecessary processing such as sending / receiving or saving images in a data format that Read-app cannot support.

In the present embodiment, the RAW format is taken as an example of the data format that the Read-app can support, and the PUSH transmission by the image pickup apparatus 100 is prohibited, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as a data format compatible with Read-app, it can be similarly applied to a moving image data format such as an MP4 format, an AVI format, and a MOV format.

(UI of the image pickup device 100)
Next, the UI of the image pickup apparatus 100 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the connection between the image pickup device 100 and the communication device 200 is established at T515 in FIG. 5, the display unit 406 of the image pickup device 100 displays an image selection screen for performing PUSH transmission as shown in FIG. 9A. To. However, when the T519 receives a request for prohibiting PUSH transmission from the communication device 200 via the communication unit 411, the control unit 401 blacks out the display unit 406 and selects an image for PUSH transmission by the user. Don't let me do it. At this time, when the user operates the image pickup device 100 or the like, the control unit 401 displays an error on the display unit 406 as shown in FIG. 9B, which does not accept the user's operation. On the other hand, when the user operates the display unit 406 in T521 to select an image, the control unit 401 displays a screen showing a state in which the image to be PUSH transmitted is selected, as shown in FIG. 9 (c). Display at 406. Then, when the PUSH transmission is instructed by the user's operation, the control unit 401 displays the progress display of the image transmission as shown in FIG. 9D on the display unit 406, and when the image transmission is completed, FIG. 9A. The display is updated as shown in.

The above is the description of the GUI of the image pickup apparatus 100.

(Second embodiment)
Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the communication device 200 is operated to start the data acquisition application from the image editing application and cooperate with each other. The data format supported by the image editing application in the data acquisition application and the connected image pickup device. An example of controlling data transmission of the image pickup apparatus 100 based on 100 models will be described. As the "starting" of the application in the present embodiment, there are cases where an unstarted application is started and a case where the application running in the background is moved to the foreground to be in the active state.

(Processing procedure for communication equipment)
The processing procedure of the communication device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 10. In the present embodiment, when Write-app is started from Read-app by CPU 201 of the communication device 200 and cooperates with each other, a format compatible with Read-app by CPU 201 and a model of the connected image pickup device 100 are used. An example of determining and controlling the data transmission of the image pickup apparatus 100 will be described.

The process shown in FIG. 10 is continuously executed after the same process as the process of T501 to T518 in FIG. 5 is executed.

In T1005, the model of the image pickup apparatus 100 connected to the communication device 200 is acquired. Here, the model of the image pickup apparatus 100 is a model ID acquired from the image pickup apparatus 100 when the connection is established at T515. The acquired model ID is stored in the RAM 203 as readable by the CPU 201.

In the T1006, the CPU 201 is based on the data format that the Read-app referred to in T517 can support and the model of the image pickup device 100 identified in T1005, and the image pickup device 100 of the model can support the Read-app. Determines whether to transmit the image in the data format by PUSH transmission. If it is determined by T1006 that the transmission is not performed, the process proceeds to T1007. The data format that is not transmitted by PUSH transmission is readable from the Write-app for each model of the image pickup apparatus 100 and is stored in advance in the RAM 203. Then, if the data format supported by Read-app includes a data format that the model of the connected image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission, the process proceeds to T1007. Alternatively, the data format to be transmitted by PUSH transmission is made readable from the Write-app for each model of the image pickup device 100 and stored in the RAM 203, and the image pickup device 100 is connected to the data format compatible with the Read-app. If the model is not included in the data format transmitted by PUSH transmission, the process may proceed to T1007.

In the T1007, the CPU 201 transmits a PUSH transmission prohibition request to the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209. Then, when the control unit 401 of the image pickup apparatus 100 receives the prohibition request from the communication device 200, the control unit 401 does not accept the operation for performing the PUSH transmission, or displays a dialog to that effect on the display unit 406. In these ways, the image in the image pickup apparatus 100 cannot be transmitted to the communication device 200 by PUSH transmission.

In T1008, the CPU 201 receives the response from the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209.

The above is based on the data format supported by the Read-app and the model of the connected image pickup device 100 when the Read-app is linked by the CPU 201 of the communication device 200, and the PUSH by the image pickup device 100 is performed. This is an explanation of the process for controlling the possibility of transmission.

Although the case where the processing of the T1003 is performed at the timing when the connection with the image pickup apparatus 100 is completed is described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it may be the timing when the Write-app of T509 is started.

Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the model ID is used for identifying the model of the connected image pickup apparatus 100 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other information may be used as long as the model of the image pickup apparatus 100 can be specified, such as the MAC address of the image pickup apparatus 100 or a character string indicating the name of the model.

Further, in the present embodiment, the communication device 200 receives the information identifying the model of the image pickup device 100 from the image pickup device 100, and the data format is transmitted or not transmitted by the PUSH transmission associated with the model of the image pickup device 100. The case of reading has been described. Not limited to this, the communication device 200 may receive the data format itself transmitted or not transmitted by the image pickup device 100 by the image pickup device 100 from the image pickup device 100.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the user operates the communication device 200 to activate Write-app. Then, an example will be described in which a user operates an image pickup device 100 to transmit an image stored in the image pickup device 100 to a communication device 200, and after completion, activates another application to cooperate with the image pickup device 100. As the "starting" of the application in the present embodiment, there are cases where an unstarted application is started and a case where the application running in the background is moved to the foreground to be in the active state.

(Processing procedure for communication equipment)
The processing procedure of the communication device 200 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. In the present embodiment, the user operates the communication device 200 to activate Write-app. Then, a process in which the user operates the image pickup apparatus 100 to perform PUSH transmission, and after the transmission process is completed, another application is started and linked will be described.

In the following, for the sake of simplicity, T1101 to T1108 will be described as a connection phase, T1109 to T1117 as an image storage phase, and T1118 to T1124 as a cooperation start phase.

First, the connection phases of T1101 to T1108 will be described.

In T1101, the CPU 201 of the communication device 200 receives the write-app activation request by the user's operation.

Subsequently, in T1102, in response to the start request in T1101, the CPU 201 starts the Write-app to start the process. When the CPU 201 starts Write-app, the display device 211 displays a screen as shown in FIG. 12 (a).

In T1103, when the image pickup device 100 sets the communication mode to ON in response to the user operating the image pickup device 100, the image pickup device 100 is activated as an access point in T1104.

Subsequently, in T1105, the communication device 200 connects to the access point of the image pickup device 100 in response to the user operating the communication device 200.

In T1106, the CPU 201 receives a notification from the OS that the image pickup apparatus 100 has been detected in the Write-app, and in T1107, transmits a connection request to the image pickup apparatus 100.

At T1108, the image pickup device 100 authenticates the communication device 200, and the connection between the image pickup device 100 and the communication device 200 is established.

The above is the connection phase.

Subsequently, the image storage phase of T1109 to T1117 will be described.

In T1109, the user operates the image pickup device 100 to select an image to be transmitted from the images in the image pickup device 100, and then instructs PUSH transmission. The image pickup apparatus 100 transmits a request for PUSH transmission to the communication device 200 in response to a user's instruction.

In T1110, the CPU 201 receives the PUSH transmission request from the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209. This PUSH transmission request includes list information indicating information about the original image selected by the user on the image pickup apparatus 100 in T1109. In T1111, the CPU 201 makes the list information readable from the Write-app as a list of images to be saved and saves it in the RAM 203.

Upon receiving the PUSH transmission request from the image pickup device 100, in T1111, the CPU 201 requests the attribute information corresponding to the captured image (original image) based on the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 via the NETI / F209 image pickup device. Send to 100. In the present embodiment, the case of a thumbnail image will be described as the attribute information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a file name.

Further, the data formats of the original image and the attribute information may be different from the same case. For example, when the original image and the thumbnail image are the same PEG format still image file, or when the original image is an MP4 format video file and the attribute information is a PEG format still image file extracted from the video file. There is. In the present embodiment, at least the data format of the attribute information of the original image can be supported by Write-app regardless of whether the data format of the original image can be supported by Read-app.

In T1112, the CPU 201 receives the thumbnail image and the information indicating the data format of the original image corresponding to each thumbnail image from the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209, and stores the information in the HDD 204. Here, the thumbnail image has a lower resolution than the original image, and the data size is small.

In T1113, the thumbnail image stored in the HDD 204 is read out and displayed on the display device 211. At this time, the GUI shown in FIG. 12B is displayed on the Write-app. FIG. 12B shows that each time the thumbnail image is read, it is added to the screen in order and displayed on the display device 211, and the original image corresponding to the thumbnail image has not yet been received from the image pickup device 100. Therefore, the progress bar 1206 shows 0%.

In T1114, the CPU 201 transmits a request for the original image to the image pickup apparatus 100 via the NETI / F209 based on the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 in the T521.

In T1115, the CPU 201 receives the original image requested in T524 from the image pickup apparatus 100 via NETI / F209. Here, it is assumed that the original image is in the data format transmitted by the image pickup apparatus 100 by PUSH transmission, and in the present embodiment, it is in the JPEG format.

When the reception of the original image is completed, in T1116, the CPU 201 performs the saving process of the original image by Write-app. That is, the CPU 201 saves the file of the original image received in T1115 in the HDD 204 or the like, and gives the image ID to the newly saved original image in T1117. The image ID will be described as a code associated with the file path of the save destination of the original image. The image ID may be the file path of the save destination.

The processing from the request for the original image in T1114 to the processing for receiving the original image in T1115, the processing for saving the original image in T1116, and the issuance of the image ID for the original image in T1117 are stored in the RAM 203 in T1110. It is repeated for the number of saved image list to be saved. During this series of image storage processes, the CPU 201 displays the storage progress screen shown in FIG. 12B on the display device 211.

The above is the image storage phase.

Subsequently, the cooperation start phase of T1118 to T1124 will be described.

As described in T1111 to T1117, when the saving process of all the original images corresponding to the storage schedule image list stored in the RAM 203 in T1110 is completed, the CPU 201 displays the saving completion screen shown in FIG. 12 (c). Displayed on the device 211. When it is detected that the user has pressed the close button 1202, the CPU 201 returns to the screen display of FIG. 12A without executing the image ID list generation process described later.

On the other hand, when it is detected that the user has pressed the button 1202 for sharing an image to another application on the save completion screen shown in FIG. 12 (c), the CPU 201 accepts an instruction for cooperation with another application of T1118. Subsequent processing is performed. At T1119, the CPU 201 performs an image ID list generation process. Specifically, first, in Write-app, an image ID list associated with the image ID of the original image saved in T1115 and the save destination is generated, made readable by the OS, and stored in the HDD 204. As a result, in T1124 described later, the Read-app can acquire the image ID list from the OS, and the original image can be acquired according to the image ID list and used for the Read-app process.

In T1120, the CPU 201 refers to the data sharing location 500 and acquires a format list indicating the data format corresponding to each Read-app.

In T1121, the CPU 201 displays the cooperation destination list 1203 as shown in FIG. 12D on the display device 211. At this time, among the data formats corresponding to each Read-app acquired by T1120, the Read-app corresponding to the data format that the image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission (in this embodiment, the RAW format is used as an example). Is not displayed in the cooperation destination list 1203. That is, in the cooperation destination list 1203, an application corresponding only to the data format transmitted by the image pickup apparatus 100 by PUSH transmission is displayed.

In T1122, the CPU 201 selects Read-app in response to the user's operation on the cooperation destination list 1203. In T1123, the CPU 201 makes a start request to the Read-app selected in T1122 by the OS to start the Read-app and cooperate with each other.

Then, in T1124, the CPU 201 receives the image ID list generated by Write-app in T529 by Read-app via the OS.

After that, the CPU 201 acquires the original image from the HDD 204 based on the image ID list acquired in the Read-app, adds it to the list display screen of the Read-app, and displays it.

In the present embodiment, the RAW format has been described as an example as a data format that the image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, instead of the RAW format, a moving image data format such as MP4 can be similarly applied. Further, in the present embodiment, the CPU 201 hides the application corresponding to the data format that the image pickup apparatus 100 does not transmit by PUSH transmission in the cooperation destination list, but the present invention is not limited to this and cannot be selected. It may be displayed in such a state.

(Other embodiments)
In each of the above-described embodiments, the example in which the Write-app is an application used by the communication device 200 to capture an image from the image pickup device 100 has been described, but the Write-app can also be used for other applications. Can be applied. For example, as Write-app, an application for searching an image from a database or an application for performing a shooting process may be applied. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the data to be handled is image data, but the data is not limited to image data and may be other data such as audio data.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the communication device 200 has been described as an example, but the device is not particularly limited as long as it is a device in which an application can be installed. For example, the communication device 200 can be similarly applied to a mobile phone, a tablet, a personal computer (PC), or the like. Further, when Read-app and Write-app are applications that do not require a communication function, they do not necessarily have to have a communication function and can be widely implemented by an information processing device.

The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Claims (12)

A requesting means that operates according to the first application and requests the launch of the second application,
By activating the second application in response to the request and operating according to the second application, among the data held by the external device, the data selected according to the operation for the external device is selected. The receiving means for receiving from the external device and
The first acquisition means for acquiring the data format supported by the first application, and
Information characterized by comprising a transmission control means that requests the external device not to transmit data selected according to an operation on the external device based on the data format acquired by the acquisition means. Processing equipment. The transmission control means makes the request if the data format acquired by the acquisition means is selected according to the operation for the external device and is not included in the data format of the data transmitted from the external device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1. The transmission control means does not make the request if the data format acquired by the acquisition means is selected according to the operation for the external device and is included in the data format of the data transmitted from the external device. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Further provided with a second acquisition means for acquiring the model of the external device,
The information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the transmission control means further makes the request based on the model of the external device. One of claims 1 to 4, further comprising means for writing information indicating a data format compatible with the first application into a predetermined storage area readable and writable by the second application. The information processing device described in the section. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a communication means that operates according to the second application and establishes communication with the external device. By operating according to the second application capable of requesting the activation of the first application, among the data held by the external device, the data selected according to the operation for the external device is selected from the external device. The receiving means to receive and
The first acquisition means for acquiring the data format supported by the first application, and
A selection means that controls to select one of a plurality of first applications based on the data format of the data received by the receiving means.
An information processing apparatus comprising: a requesting means for requesting activation of a first application selected by the selection means by the second application. 7. The selection means is characterized in that the data format acquired by the acquisition means is controlled so as not to select a first application that is not included in the data format of the data received by the reception means. The information processing device described in. The information according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising means for writing information indicating a data format compatible with the first application into a predetermined storage area readable and writable by the second application. Processing equipment. A step that operates according to the first application and requests the launch of the second application,
By activating the second application in response to the request and operating according to the second application, among the data held by the external device, the data selected according to the operation for the external device is selected. The step of receiving from the external device and
The step of acquiring the data format supported by the first application, and
A control method for an information processing device, which comprises a step of requesting the external device not to transmit data selected according to an operation for the external device based on the acquired data format. .. By operating according to the second application capable of requesting the activation of the first application, among the data held by the external device, the data selected according to the operation for the external device is selected from the external device. Steps to receive and
The step of acquiring the data format supported by the first application, and
A step of controlling to select one of a plurality of first applications based on the data format of the received data, and
A method for controlling an information processing apparatus, comprising the step of requesting the activation of the selected first application by the second application. A program that causes a computer to function as each means of the information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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