Image capturing system, image capturing device, and image capturing method

• US 8,023,817 B2
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Ohzeki, Yukihiro, Kashiwa, Kotaro, Marukawa, Kazuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Blackman; Rochelle-Ann J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith; Linda B
• Application Number:
  US11/596,086
• Publication Number:
  US 20070274705A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,321 Days
• Field of Search: 396/310, 396/322, 396/325, 396/439, 396/332, 396/335, 348/262, 348/157
• US Class Current: 396/325
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/66 Remote control of cameras or camera parts, e.g. by remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/662 by using master/slave camera arrangements for affecting the control of camera image capture, e.g. placing the camera in a desirable condition to capture a desired image
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums
• 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 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

To enable satisfactory simultaneous and widely varied pictures to be obtained, for example, by allowing a common user to obtain an overall picture while the common user performing desired image capturing, or the like. A first image capturing device image-captures a subject to record this image, and also transmits a trigger signal to a second image capturing device. The second image capturing device image-captures an image to record this image in accordance with the trigger signal. Thus, the first and second image capturing devices enable both of an overall image and a zoomed image to be obtained with simultaneous timing.

Claims

1. An image capturing system comprising a first image capturing device and at least one second image capturing device(s);

wherein said first image capturing device includes

first image-capturing recording means for performing image capturing to record a common image of a scene,

transmission means for transmitting a trigger signal, to execute image capture or recording of a local image of an object in a zoomed-in state within the scene, to each said at least one second image capturing device(s), and

first control means for controlling recording of the image-captured common image at said first image-capturing recording means, and transmission of the trigger signal from said transmission means when a shutter program performs automatic shutter control;

and wherein each of said at least one second image capturing device(s) includes

shutter operation unit operated by a user in order to capture the local image,

second image-capturing recording means for performing image capturing to record the local image,

reception means for receiving the trigger signal from said first image capturing device, and

second control means for controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute at least image capturing or recording of the image-captured local image in response to one of (a) receiving the trigger signal from said first image capturing device at said reception means and (b) operation of the shutter operation unit by the user,

wherein said first image-capturing recording means and said second image-capturing recording means capture the local and common images simultaneously when the trigger signal is received.

2. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image capturing device further comprises identifying information storing means for storing apparatus identifying information;

wherein said first control means controls said transmission means to transmit the apparatus identifying information stored in said identifying information storing means along with said trigger signal;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the apparatus identifying information received at said reception means along with the image-captured local image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of the image-captured local image based on the trigger signal received at said reception means.

3. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image capturing device further comprises meta-data generating means for generating meta data relating to the image-captured common image;

wherein said first control means controls said transmission means to transmit the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means along with said trigger signal;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data received at said reception means along with the image-captured local image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of the image-captured local image based on the trigger signal received at said reception means.

4. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image capturing device(s) further comprises meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means along with the image-captured local image thereof at the time of controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of the image-captured local image based on a trigger signal received at said reception means.

5. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first control means controls said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the image-captured common image, controls said transmission means to execute transmission of the trigger signal, and controls said transmission means to also transmit the image-captured common image recorded at said first image-capturing recording means;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to record the image-captured local image received at said reception means.

6. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said image capturing device further includes a meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

wherein said first control means, when controlling said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the image-captured common image, controls said first image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means by associating the meta data with the image-captured common image thereof;

wherein said first control means controls said transmission means to transmit the image-captured common image recorded at said first image-capturing means, and the meta data recorded so as to be associated with the image-captured common image thereof;

wherein said second image capturing device(s) further includes a meta-data generating means for generating meta data;

wherein said second control means, when controlling said second image-capturing recording means to execute image capturing or recording of the image-captured local image, controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute recording of the meta data generated at said meta-data generating means of second image capturing device(s) so as to be associated with the image-captured local image thereof;

and wherein said second control means, when the image-captured common image is received at said reception means, collates the meta data received along with the image-captured common image, and the meta data recorded in said second image-capturing recording means, and controls said second image-capturing recording means to record the image-captured common image received at said reception means so as to be associated with the specific image-captured local image recorded in said second image-capturing recording means.

7. The image capturing system according to claim 1 wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured common images as still images;

and wherein said first control means controls said first image-capturing recording means to perform still-image recording of the image-captured common image, and controls said transmission means to execute transmission of the trigger signal, with the timing specified by an operation or an operation program.

8. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured common images as moving images;

and wherein said first control means controls said first image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of the image-captured common image during the period specified by a first operation, and also controls said transmission means to transmit the trigger signal with the timing specified by a second operation or an operation program.

9. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured common images as moving and still images;

and wherein said first control means controls said first image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of the image-captured common image during the period specified by a first operation, controls said first image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of the image-captured common image, and controls said transmission means to transmit the trigger signal with the timing specified by a second operation or an operation program.

10. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured local images as still images;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of the image-captured local image in response to receiving the trigger signal at said reception means.

11. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured local images as moving images;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of the image-captured local image in response to receiving the trigger signal at said reception means.

12. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record the image-captured local images as moving and still images;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute moving-image recording of the image-captured local image during the period specified by an operation, and also controls said second image-capturing recording means to execute still-image recording of the image-captured local image in response to receiving the trigger signal at said reception means.

13. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein one or both of said first and second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record an image-captured image signal in a recording medium.

14. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein one of said first and second image-capturing recording means are configured so as to record subject light as an image-captured image on a silver-salt film.

15. The image capturing system according to claim 1, wherein said first control means transmits a standby instruction prior to transmitting the trigger signal from said transmission means;

and wherein said second control means controls said second image-capturing recording means to stand by in a recordable state in response to receiving the standby instruction at said reception means.

16. The image capturing system according to claim 3, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.

17. The image capturing system according to claim 4, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.

18. The image capturing system according to claim 6, wherein said meta data includes any one of point-in-time information, positional information, and recording address information.