Portable electronic apparatus, image processing method, photographic apparatus, and computer readable recording medium

• US 6,961,087 B1
• Filed: 04/29/1998
• Issued: 11/01/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yoshida, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): MOE, AUNG SOE
• Application Number:
  US09/069,419
• Time in Patent Office: 2,743 Days
• Field of Search: 3482311-2313, 3482315-2319, 348/231.99, 348/14.12, 348/552, 348/207.99, 348/211.2, 348/211.14, 358/906, 358/909.1, 386/117, 386/118, 386/125, 386/107, 382/232, 382/239, 455/566, 711/156, 711/159
• US Class Current: 348/231.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/50 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/7921 for more than one processing mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding

Abstract

Even when a remaining amount of an image memory built in a digital camera is decreased, the photographing can be further continued while reserving a photographed image. An image which is obtained from an image input unit including image pickup means is accumulated into an image memory. When a remaining amount calculating unit detects that the remaining amount of the image memory is small, an image record discriminating unit compares it with an image size in a photograph mode at that time which is obtained from an image size table, thereby discriminating whether the continuation of the photographing can be performed or not. When the photographing is impossible, an image selecting unit selects an old image, an image in which the number of colors is small, or the like on the basis of management data regarding the photographed images in a memory managing table. The selected image is transmitted by a PHS communication by a data transmitting apparatus. After it was transmitted, the image is erased from the image memory.

Claims

1. An electronic apparatus comprising:

an image pickup device that photographs an object and outputting an image signal;

a memory control device that allows said image signal to be stored into an image memory device;

a comparing device that compares remaining capacity of said image memory device with a size of another image signal to be photographed in a photographing mode of said image pickup device, wherein the photographing mode of said image pickup device specifies the size of the another image signal;

a selecting device that automatically selects one of image signals stored in said image memory device when said comparing device decides that the photographing of the another image signal is impossible in the photographing mode of said image pickup device because a required amount of said image memory device for the photographing in said photographing mode is not available; and

a communicating device that automatically transmits the image signal stored in said image memory device when a predetermined condition is satisfied so as to enable a new image signal to be stored into said image memory device.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image selecting device that selects an image signal from said image memory device on the basis of a predetermined selecting condition, and wherein said communicating device transmits said selected image signal.

3. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined selecting condition is a condition to select an old one of said stored image signals, and further comprising a managing device that manages photographing times of said image signals for the purpose of said condition.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined selecting condition is a condition to select an image signal in which an accessing frequency is small from said stored image signals, and further comprising a managing device that manages accessing frequencies of said image signals.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined selecting condition is a condition to select an image signal in which the number of colors is small from said stored image signals, and further comprising a managing device that manages the numbers of colors of said image signals.

6. An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said predetermined selecting condition is a condition to select an image signal in which the number of colors is large from said stored image signals, and further comprising a managing device that manages the numbers of colors of said image signals.

7. An apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a marking device that adds a mark to the image signal which is outputted from said image pickup device, and wherein said predetermined selecting condition relates to the presence or absence of said marking.

8. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said communicating device is a wireless communicating device.

9. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

storing a photographed image signal photographed by an image pickup device into an image memory device;

comparing remaining capacity of said image memory device with a size of another image signal to be photographed in a photographing mode of said image pickup device, wherein said photographing mode of said image pickup device specifies size of the another image signal to be photographed;

automatically selecting the photographed image signal when a photographing of the another image signal is decided to be impossible in the photographing mode of said image pickup device because a required amount of said image memory device for the photographing in said photographing mode is not available in the comparing step; and

automatically transmitting the selected photographed image signal stored in said image memory device so as to enable the new image signal to be stored into said image memory device.

10. A computer readable recording medium in which a program to execute a procedure by the computer has been recorded, wherein said procedure comprises the steps of:

storing a photographed image signal photographed by an image pickup device into an image memory device;

comparing remaining capacity of said image memory device with a size of another image signal to be photographed in a photographing mode of said image pickup device, wherein said photographing mode of said image pickup device specifies size of the another image signal to be photographed;

automatically selecting the photographed image signal when a photographing of the another image signal is decided to be impossible in the photographing mode of said image pickup device because a required amount of said image memory device for the photographing in said photographing mode is not available in the comparing step; and

automatically transmitting the selected photographed image signal stored in said image memory device so as to enable the new image signal to be stored into said image memory device.

11. A computer readable recording medium in which a program to execute by the computer has been recorded, wherein said program comprises the steps of:

storing a first image signal photographed by image pickup means in a first photographing mode of said image pickup means into image memory means;

detecting a required amount of said image memory means necessary to store a second image signal to be photographed based on information specified in a second photographing mode of said image pickup means;

discriminating whether the photographing of the second image signal by said image pickup means can be performed in the second photographing mode or not on the basis of said detected required amount;

automatically selecting the first image signal on the basis of a predetermined selecting condition from said image memory means when a result of said discrimination indicates that the photographing of the second image signal is impossible because the required amount is not available in said image memory means; and

transmitting said selected first image signal.

12. A computer readable recording medium in which a program to execute by the computer has been recorded, wherein said program comprises the steps of:

storing a first image signal photographed by image pickup means in a first photographing mode of said image pickup means into image memory means;

detecting a required amount of said image memory means necessary to store a second image signal to be photographed based on information specified in a second photographing mode of said image pickup means;

discriminating whether the photographing of the second image signal by said image pickup means can be performed in the second photographing mode or not on the basis of said detected required amount;

automatically selecting the first image signal on the basis of a predetermined selecting condition from said image memory means when a result of said discrimination indicates that the photographing of the second image signal is impossible because the required amount is not available in said image memory means; and

processing said selected first image signal and supplying the processed image signal to said image memory means.

13. A computer readable recording medium according to claim 12, wherein said program further comprises the steps of:

storing a photograph mode of a photographing apparatus;

storing a size of image which is photographed in said photograph mode; and

discriminating the image based on whether the size of image is large or small.