Digital camera with communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail

• US 8,099,468 B2
• Filed: 06/29/2007
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nikon Corporation
• Inventors: Iwasawa, Aki, Ohmura, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Neurauter, George
• Application Number:
  US12/308,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20100030860A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,663 Days
• Field of Search: 709/206, 348/207.99, 348/231.3
• US Class Current: 709/206
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2183 the stored images being distributed among a plurality of different locations, e.g. among a plurality of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0065 Converting image data to a format usable by the connected apparatus or vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/00 Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
• 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

Abstract

A digital camera comprises an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a photographic subject and acquires image data, a communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail data including image data, a recording control unit that records the image data acquired by the image-capturing unit as photographed image data upon a recording medium, an email for sending creation unit that creates an email for sending, to which is attached an image based upon the photographed image data recorded upon the recording medium, an email address setting unit that sets an email address as the destination of the email for sending, and an upper limit setting unit that sets an upper limit of data amount or an upper limit of the number of images, for the image to be sent, according to the email address that is set by the email address setting unit.

Claims

1. A digital camera, comprising:

an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a photographic subject and acquires image data;

a communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail data including image data;

a recording control unit that records the image data acquired by the image-capturing unit as photographed image data upon a non-transitory recording medium;

an email for sending creation unit that creates an email for sending, for causing the communication unit to send the electronic mail data, to which is attached an image to be sent based upon the photographed image data recorded upon the recording medium;

an email address setting unit that sets an email address as the destination of the email for sending that has been created by the email for sending creation unit; and

an upper limit setting unit that sets an upper limit of data amount or an upper limit of the number of images, for the image to be sent that is attached to the email for sending, according to the email address that is set by the email address setting unit;

wherein

the email for sending creation unit creates an email for sending to which an image to be sent is attached, based upon image data that is generated by deleting private information including at least one of photographic date information and camera information from the photographed image data including the private information, according to the email address that is set by the email address setting unit.

2. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the upper limit setting unit further sets an upper limit of data amount for each single image to be sent that is attached to the email for sending, according to the email address that is set by the email address setting unit.

3. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein:

the email for sending creation unit creates the email for sending as a reply email in reply to a received email that is based upon the electronic mail data received by the communication unit; and

the upper limit setting unit sets the upper limit of a data amount for the image to be sent that is attached to the email for sending created as the reply email, according to a data amount of an image that is attached to the received email.

4. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein, if a user designates the images to be sent of which the number exceeds the upper limit of the number of images that is set by the upper limit setting unit, the email for sending creation unit creates two or more emails for sending to which the images to be sent that is less than or equal to the upper limit of the number of images are attached respectively.

5. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein, if the same email address is set to a plurality of emails for sending by the email address setting unit, the email for sending creation unit performs consolidation by combining together the plurality of emails for sending into one email for sending.

6. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the email for sending creation unit determines a file name of the image to be sent, according to the email address that is set by the email address setting unit.

7. A digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the email address setting unit sets, as an email address for destination of the email for sending, an email address for distribution that is for distributing images to other people and an email address for saving that is for a user to save images.

8. A digital camera according to claim 7, further comprising a warning unit that issues a warning, if a camera address that is stored in advance is set as the email address for saving by the email address setting unit.

9. A digital camera, comprising:

an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a photographic subject and acquires image data;

a communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail data including image data;

a recording control unit that records the image data acquired by the image-capturing unit as photographed image data upon a non-transitory recording medium and records the image data included in the electronic mail data received by the communication unit as received image data upon the recording medium;

a display unit that has a rectangular shape with a vertical side and a horizontal side, the horizontal side being longer than the vertical side; and

a replay unit that replays a photographed image upon the display unit based upon the photographed image data, which is recorded upon the recording medium by the recording control unit, and a received image based upon the received image data, which is recorded upon the recording medium by the recording control unit;

wherein;

the replay unit replays the photographed image and the received image distinguishably; and

,

if the electronic mail data received by the communication unit has been created by a portable telephone, the replay unit replays the received image upon the display unit based upon the image data that is included in the electronic mail data, with its vertical dimension being longer than its horizontal dimension.

10. A digital camera, comprising:

an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a photographic subject and acquires image data;

a communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail data including image data;

a recording control unit that records the image data acquired by the image-capturing unit as photographed image data upon a non-transitory recording medium and records the image data included in the electronic mail data received by the communication unit as received image data upon the recording medium;

a folder creation unit that creates a plurality of folders according to email addresses of the senders of the electronic mail data received by the communication unit; and

a reply email creation unit that creates a reply email to which is attached a reply image based upon the photographed image data, which is recorded upon the recording medium, in reply to a received email based upon the electronic mail data received by the communication unit;

wherein;

the recording control unit distributes the received image data among the folders created by the folder creation unit and records the received image data upon the recording medium, and

if electronic mail data for the reply email created by the reply email creation unit is sent by the communication unit, the recording control unit records received image data of a received email to which the reply email is sent in reply and photographed image data corresponding to the reply image in mutual correspondence upon the recording medium.

11. A digital camera, comprising:

an image-capturing unit that captures an image of a photographic subject and acquires image data;

a communication unit for sending and receiving electronic mail data including image data;

a battery detection unit that detects remaining amount in a battery;

a memory detection unit that detects remaining capacity of a memory; and

a control unit that permits or prohibits reception and sending of the electronic mail data by the communication unit according to the remaining amount in the battery, which is detected by the battery detection unit, or the remaining capacity of the memory, which is detected by the memory detection unit;

wherein,

when the remaining amount in the battery detected by the battery detection unit is less than a predetermined battery amount, the control unit permits sending of the electronic mail data by the communication unit to a specific recipient and prohibits sending of the electronic mail data by the communication unit to other recipients except the specific recipient.

12. A digital camera according to claim 11, wherein the control unit further changes an interval for sending and receiving the electronic mail data by the communication unit according to the remaining amount in the battery detected by the battery detection unit.

13. A digital camera according to claim 11, further comprising a mode setting unit that sets a photographic mode for capturing the image of the photographic subject by the image-capturing unit, wherein,

when the photographic mode is set by the mode setting unit, the control unit prohibits reception and sending of the electronic mail data by the communication unit.

14. A digital camera according to claim 13, further comprising:

an illumination unit that is illuminated when the digital camera is in focus, the digital camera is accessing to a memory, or power supply of the digital camera is turned on; and

a notification unit that, if there is an email of which electronic mail data has not yet been received by the communication unit, notifies existence of the email by illuminating the illumination unit;

wherein,

when the photographic mode is set by the mode setting unit, the notification unit does not notify the existence of the email without illuminating the illumination unit, even if there is the email of which electronic mail data has not yet been received.