IMAGE TRANSMISSION APPARATUS, IMAGE TRANSMISSION METHOD, PROGRAM, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20140354840A1
• Filed: 08/14/2014
• Published: 12/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kitagawa, Eiichiro
• Granted Patent: US 10,038,843 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/211.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33323 transmission mode only, e.g. speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/001 Sharing resources, e.g. processing power or memory, with a connected apparatus or enhancing the capability of the still picture apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0039 Connection via a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0058 Docking-station, cradle or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0075 by a user operated remote control device, e.g. receiving instructions from a user via a computer terminal or mobile telephone handset
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33342 of transmission mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/632 for displaying or modifying preview images prior to image capturing, e.g. variety of image resolutions or capturing parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/667 Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes

Abstract

At least one exemplary embodiment is directed to an image transmission apparatus connected to an image pickup apparatus and configured to transmit an image picked up by the image pickup apparatus to a plurality of client terminals via a network. The image transmission apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set a transmission processing mode for transmitting a still image picked up by the image pickup apparatus and a real-time image picked up by the image pickup apparatus and having a resolution lower than that of the still image according to an instruction issued from one of the plurality of client terminals, and a control unit configured to control an instruction to the image pickup apparatus and a transmission processing for the still image and the real-time image according to the transmission processing mode set by the setting unit.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a capturing unit;

a transmitting unit configured to transmit image data obtained by capturing by the capturing unit to a client terminal;

a receiving unit configured to receive an instruction from the client terminal;

a capturing controlling unit configured to, in a case where the receiving unit receives a still image capturing instruction during the transmission of the image data by the transmitting unit, control the capturing unit for acquiring a high resolution still image having higher resolution than the image data which is transmitted by the transmitting unit before receiving of the still image capturing instruction; and

a transmitting controlling unit configured to execute a first control to the transmitting unit such that a low resolution still image corresponding to the high resolution still image is displayed on the client terminal, and execute a second control to the transmitting unit such that the high resolution still image corresponding the low resolution still image is transmitted to the client terminal according to reception of an acquiring instruction transmitted from the client terminal.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a generating unit configured to generate the low resolution still image from the high resolution still image acquired by the capturing unit.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits live image data as the image data before receiving the still image capturing instruction, and interrupts the transmission of the live image data in response to reception of the still image capturing instruction.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transmitting unit resumes the transmission of the live image in response to completion of transmission of the low resolution still image to the client terminal.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a notifying unit configured to notify the client terminal of the interruption of the transmission of the live image.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit transmits the high resolution still image data in response to reception of the still image capturing instruction in a case where the receiving unit receives the still image capturing instruction while the transmitting unit does not transmit the image data to the client terminal.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transmitting unit interrupts the transmission of the image data to the client terminal and transmits the high resolution still image data to the client terminal in a case where the receiving unit receives a high resolution still image acquiring instruction during the transmission of the image data to the client terminal.

8. A client terminal comprising:

a receiving unit configured to receive image data from an image processing apparatus comprising an image capturing unit;

a transmitting unit configured to transmit an instruction to the image processing apparatus;

a capturing controlling unit configured to transmit a still image capturing instruction during the transmission of the image data by the image processing apparatus such that the image capturing unit of the image processing apparatus executes still image capturing; and

a display unit configured to acquire a low resolution still image corresponding to a high resolution still image obtained based on the still image capturing instruction, and display the low resolution still image; and

an acquiring unit configured to acquire the high resolution still image after the reception of the image data from the image processing apparatus.

9. The client terminal according to claim 8, wherein the transmitting unit transmits a high resolution still image acquiring instruction to the image processing apparatus, and the acquiring unit acquires the high resolution still image transmitted from the image processing apparatus based on the high resolution still image acquiring instruction.

10. An image processing method for an image processing apparatus comprising a capturing unit, the method comprising:

transmitting image data obtained by capturing by the capturing unit to a client terminal;

receiving an instruction from the client terminal;

executing, in a case where in the receiving step a still image capturing instruction is received during the transmission of the image data in the transmitting step, controlling the capturing unit for acquiring a high resolution still image having higher resolution than the image data which is transmitted in the transmitting step before receiving of the still image capturing instruction;

executing a first control for transmitting such that a low resolution still image corresponding to the high resolution still image is displayed on the client terminal; and

executing a second control for transmitting such that the high resolution still image corresponding the low resolution still image is transmitted to the client terminal according to reception of an acquiring instruction transmitted from the client terminal.

11. The image processing method according to claim 10, further comprising generating the low resolution still image from the high resolution still image acquired by the capturing unit.

12. The image processing method according to claim 10, wherein in the transmitting step live image data is transmitted as the image data before receiving the still image capturing instruction, and the transmission of the live image data is interrupted in response to reception of the still image capturing instruction.

13. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a method of an image processing apparatus, the method comprising:

transmitting image data obtained by capturing by a capturing unit to a client terminal;

receiving an instruction from the client terminal;

executing, in a case where in the receiving step a still image capturing instruction is received during the transmission of the image data in the transmitting step, controlling the capturing unit for acquiring a high resolution still image having higher resolution than the image data which is transmitted in the transmitting step before receiving of the still image capturing instruction;

executing a first control for transmitting such that a low resolution still image corresponding to the high resolution still image is displayed on the client terminal; and

executing a second control for transmitting such that the high resolution still image corresponding the low resolution still image is transmitted to the client terminal according to reception of an acquiring instruction transmitted from the client terminal.

14. The medium according to claim 13, further comprising generating the low resolution still image from the high resolution still image acquired by the capturing unit.

15. The medium according to claim 13, wherein in the transmitting step live image data is transmitted as the image data before receiving the still image capturing instruction, and the transmission of the live image data is interrupted in response to reception of the still image capturing instruction.

16. A control method for a client terminal, the method comprising:

receiving image data from an image processing apparatus comprising an image capturing unit;

transmitting a still image capturing instruction during the transmission of the image data by the image processing apparatus such that the image capturing unit of the image processing apparatus executes still image capturing;

first acquiring a low resolution still image corresponding to a high resolution still image obtained based on the still image capturing instruction;

displaying the low resolution still image acquired in the first acquiring step; and

second acquiring the high resolution still image after the reception of the image data from the image processing apparatus.

17. The control method according to claim 16, wherein in the transmitting step a high resolution still image acquiring instruction is transmitted to the image processing apparatus, and

in the second acquiring step the high resolution still image transmitted from the image processing apparatus is acquired based on the high resolution still image acquiring instruction.

18. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a method of a client terminal, the method comprising:

receiving image data from an image processing apparatus comprising an image capturing unit;

transmitting a still image capturing instruction during the transmission of the image data by the image processing apparatus such that the image capturing unit of the image processing apparatus executes still image capturing;

first acquiring a low resolution still image corresponding to a high resolution still image obtained based on the still image capturing instruction;

displaying the low resolution still image acquired in the first acquiring step; and

second acquiring the high resolution still image after the reception of the image data from the image processing apparatus.

19. The medium according to claim 18, wherein in the transmitting step a high resolution still image acquiring instruction is transmitted to the image processing apparatus, and

in the second acquiring step the high resolution still image transmitted from the image processing apparatus is acquired based on the high resolution still image acquiring instruction.