JP6746428B2 - IMAGING DEVICE, IMAGING DEVICE CONTROL METHOD, AND PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a communication device capable of communicating with another device via wireless communication.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a technique is known in which a smart device including a mobile phone is connected via a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or Bluetooth (registered trademark) and an image in a digital camera is easily transferred to the smart device (for example, patents). Reference 1).

JP, 2005-88789, A

In a digital camera having a wireless communication function, a communication control unit that controls wireless communication and a main control unit that controls the function of the camera are separated, and a unit that controls wireless communication even when the power of the digital camera is turned off. There are things that continue to supply power to. In such a camera, since the power of the digital camera can be turned on remotely, communication can be performed only by operating the smart device even when the digital camera is left in the bag.

However, just because a digital camera and a smart device are connected does not necessarily mean that the wireless function of the digital camera is desired to be used. Even at the time of connection, it is preferable not to turn on the power of the main control unit of the digital camera if the timing is not desired by the user.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to realize power supply control that is more in line with the user's intention.

In order to solve the above problems, an imaging apparatus of the present invention has a short-range wireless communication unit that communicates according to a first communication standard that is a short-range wireless communication standard, and consumes more power than the short-range wireless communication unit. Wireless communication means for performing wireless communication according to a second communication standard, a power supply, main control means for controlling the operation of the imaging device, and sub-control means different from the main control means, and the main control means When connecting to an external device via the short-range wireless communication unit in the first state in which electric power from the power source is supplied to the sub-control unit and the short-range wireless communication unit, the sub-control unit transmits a communication event. The external device is notified via the short-range wireless communication unit in a second state in which the main control unit is notified and power is supplied to the sub-control unit and the short-range wireless communication unit but no power is supplied to the main control unit. When connecting with the sub-control unit, the sub-control unit does not notify the main control unit of the communication event and activates from the external device while the sub-control unit is connected to the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit. When requested, even in the second state, the sub-control unit prompts the transition to the first state by controlling to notify the main control unit of the communication event, When a communication conforming to the second communication standard is requested from the external device via the distance wireless communication unit, the main control unit communicates via the wireless communication unit according to the second communication standard. It is characterized by controlling to perform.

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize the control of the power supply more in line with the user's intention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram and a schematic view showing the configuration of the digital camera according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram and an external view showing the configuration of the smart device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of SPI communication between the main-control part and sub-control part of the digital camera in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication sequence for notifying the sub control unit of a change in the power supply state of the main control unit of the digital camera in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a communication sequence between a digital camera and a smart device at the time of BLE connection/disconnection in the first embodiment. It is a figure of the example which shows the BLE connection state in the display part of the digital camera in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of user operation of a smart device in a 1st embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which starts a digital camera from a smart device using BLE in a 1st embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of a sub control unit of the digital camera according to the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The embodiment described below is an example of a means for realizing the present invention, and may be appropriately modified or changed depending on the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. It is also possible to combine the respective embodiments as appropriate.

[First Embodiment]
<Structure of digital camera 100>
FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a digital camera 100 which is an example of the communication device of the present embodiment. Although a digital camera is described here as an example of the communication device, the communication device is not limited to this. For example, the communication device may be an information processing device such as a portable media player, a so-called tablet device, or a personal computer.

The main control unit 101 controls each unit of the digital camera 100 according to an input signal and a program described later. Note that instead of the control unit 101 controlling the entire device, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire device.

The image pickup unit 102 includes, for example, an optical lens unit, an optical system for controlling aperture, zoom, focus, and the like, and an image pickup device for converting light (image) introduced through the optical lens unit into an electric image signal. Composed. As the image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) is generally used. Under the control of the control unit 101, the image pickup unit 102 converts the subject light imaged by the lens included in the image pickup unit 102 into an electric signal by an image pickup element, performs noise reduction processing, and the like, and digitally images the digital data. Output as data. In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, the image data is recorded on the recording medium 107 in accordance with the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) standard.

The non-volatile memory 103 is an electrically erasable/recordable non-volatile memory, and stores a program, which will be described later, executed by the control unit 101.

The work memory 104 is used as a buffer memory that temporarily holds the image data captured by the image capturing unit 102, an image display memory of the display unit 106, a work area of the control unit 101, and the like.

The operation unit 105 is used by the user to receive an instruction for the digital camera 100 from the user. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, a power button for a user to instruct ON/OFF of a main power supply including power supply from a power management unit 108 of the digital camera 100, which will be described later, to the main control unit 101. It also includes 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 a communication unit 111 described later. A touch panel formed on the display unit 106, which will be described later, is also included in the operation unit 105. The release switch has SW1 and SW2. When the release switch is in a so-called half-pressed state, SW1 is turned on. As a result, an instruction for preparing for shooting such as AF (auto focus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (flash pre-flash) processing is received. Further, the release switch is in a so-called fully-pressed state, so that SW2 is turned on. As a result, an instruction to take a picture is accepted.

Under the control of the main control unit 101, the display unit 106 displays a viewfinder image at the time of shooting, displays image data of the shot image, displays characters for interactive operation, and the like. The display unit 106 does not necessarily have to be built in the digital camera 100. The digital camera 100 can be connected to the internal or external display unit 106, and may have at least a display control function for controlling the display of the display unit 106.

The recording medium 107 can record the image data output from the imaging unit 102. The recording medium 107 may be configured to be removable from the digital camera 100, or may be built in the digital camera 100. That is, the digital camera 100 may have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 107.

The power management unit 108 is a unit for supplying electric power for operating the digital camera 100. In addition to supplying power to the entire digital camera 100, the power management unit 108 can supply power only to the sub-control unit 116 and short-range wireless communication unit 112 described below. Hereinafter, a state in which electric power is supplied to the entire digital camera 100 is called a power-on state. A state in which power is supplied only to the sub-control unit 116 and the short-range wireless communication unit 112 is called a standby state. Further, a state in which power supply to the entire digital camera 100 is cut off is called a power-off state. In the standby state, the power supply to the main control unit 101 is cut off, so that nothing is displayed on the display unit 106. In addition, it is not possible to take an image. Instead, the digital camera 100 can wait for a signal from the smart device 200 with extremely low power consumption.

The communication unit 111 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The digital camera 100 of this embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the communication unit 111. For example, the image data generated by the imaging unit 102 can be transmitted to the external device via the communication unit 111. In addition, in the present embodiment, the communication unit 111 includes an interface for communicating with an external device by a so-called wireless LAN according to the IEEE 802.11 standard. The main control unit 101 realizes wireless communication with an external device by controlling the communication unit 111.

The short-range wireless communication unit 112 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication, a modulation/demodulation circuit for processing a wireless signal, and a communication controller. The short-range wireless communication unit 112 outputs a modulated wireless signal from an antenna and demodulates a wireless signal received by the antenna, thereby performing short-range wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth (registered trademark)). To realize. In this embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication adopts Bluetooth 4.0 (registered trademark) Low Energy version 4.0 (hereinafter referred to as BLE), which has low power consumption. The BLE communication has a narrower communicable range than the wireless LAN communication (that is, the communicable distance is short). Moreover, 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 digital camera 100 of this embodiment can exchange data with an external device via the short-range wireless communication unit 112. For example, when a command to shoot is received from an external device, the imaging unit 102 is controlled to perform a shooting operation, and when a command to exchange data by wireless LAN communication is received, the communication 111 is controlled to perform wireless LAN communication. To start. Further, since the short-distance wireless communication unit 112 can operate in the standby state described above, when the digital camera power ON command is received from the external device in the standby state, the entire digital camera 100 is transmitted via the sub-control unit 116 described later. It is possible to start the power supply of.

The sub control unit 116 is a device that controls the short-range wireless communication unit 112 and controls short-range wireless communication with an external device. It is connected to the main control unit 101 via an internal interface, and can send and receive data to and from the main control unit 101. In this embodiment, an SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) is adopted as an internal interface with the main control unit 101. The SPI is usually composed of four signal lines of SCK (Serial Clock), MISO (MasterInSlaveOut), MOSI (MasterOutSlaveIn), and SS (SlaveSelect). In the present embodiment, the main control unit 101 is Master and the sub control unit 116 is Slave. Further, in the digital camera 100 of this embodiment, a signal line SREQ (Serial Request) for instructing the sub controller 116 to start communication from the main controller 101 is added. This SREQ line is connected not only to the main control unit 101 but also to the power supply management unit 108, and the power supply management unit 108 has a configuration to start power supply to the main control unit 101 when detecting ASSERT of the SREQ line. When a command to turn on the power of the digital camera 100 is received from the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit 112, the power management unit 108 is controlled by ASSERTing the SREQ line to control the entire digital camera 100. Power supply can be started. The sub-control unit work memory 117 is used by the sub-control unit 116 to store the power supply state of the main control unit 101.

Next, the appearance of the digital camera 100 will be described. FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C are diagrams showing an example of the external appearance of the digital camera 100. The release switch 105a, the play button 105b, the direction key 105c, and the touch panel 105d are operation members included in the operation unit 105 described above. Further, an image obtained as a result of the image pickup by the image pickup unit 102 is displayed on the display unit 106.

The above is the description of the digital camera 100.

<About the configuration of the smart device 200>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the smart device 200 which is an example of the information processing apparatus of this embodiment. The smart device includes mobile phones such as smartphones and so-called tablet devices. Although a smart device is described here as an example of the information processing apparatus, the information processing apparatus is not limited to this. For example, the information processing device may be a digital camera or printer with a wireless function, a television, a personal computer, a mobile phone, or the like.

The control unit 201 controls each unit of the smart device 200 according to an input signal and a program described later. Note that instead of the control unit 201 controlling the entire device, a plurality of hardware may share the processing to control the entire device.

The imaging unit 202 converts the subject light imaged by the lens included in the imaging unit 202 into an electric signal, performs noise reduction processing, and outputs digital data as image data. The captured image data is stored in the buffer memory, and then the control unit 201 performs a predetermined calculation and records it on the recording medium 210.

The non-volatile memory 203 is a non-volatile memory that can be electrically erased and recorded. The non-volatile memory 203 stores an OS (operating system) which is basic software executed by the control unit 201 and an application which realizes an applied function in cooperation with the OS. Further, in the present embodiment, the nonvolatile memory 203 stores an application (hereinafter referred to as an application) for communicating with the digital camera 100.

The work memory 204 is used as an image display memory of the display unit 206, a work area of the control unit 201, and the like.

The operation unit 205 is used to receive an instruction for the smart device 200 from the user. The operation unit 205 includes, for example, a power button for the user to instruct power ON/OFF of the smart device 200 and an operation member such as a touch panel formed on the display unit 206.

The display unit 206 displays image data, displays characters for interactive operation, and the like. The display unit 206 does not necessarily have to be included in the smart device 200. The smart device 200 can be connected to the display unit 206 and has at least a display control function for controlling the display of the display unit 206.

The recording medium 207 can record the image data output from the imaging unit 202. The recording medium 207 may be configured to be attachable to and detachable from the smart device 200, or may be built in the smart device 200. That is, the smart device 200 may have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 207.

The communication unit 211 is an interface for connecting to an external device. The smart device 200 of the present embodiment can exchange data with the digital camera 100 via the communication unit 211. In the present embodiment, the communication unit 211 is an antenna, and the control unit 101 can be connected to the digital camera 100 via the antenna. In connection with the digital camera 100, it may be directly connected or may be connected via an access point. As a protocol for communicating data, for example, PTP/IP (Picture Transfer Protocol over Internet Protocol) through a wireless LAN can be used. The communication with the digital camera 100 is not limited to this.

The short-range wireless communication unit 212 includes, for example, an antenna for wireless communication, a modulation/demodulation circuit for processing a wireless signal, and a communication controller. The short-range wireless communication unit 212 outputs a modulated wireless signal from an antenna and demodulates a wireless signal received by the antenna, thereby performing short-range wireless communication in accordance with the IEEE802.15 standard (so-called Bluetooth (registered trademark)). To realize. In this embodiment, Bluetooth (registered trademark) communication employs version 4.0 (hereinafter, BLE) of Bluetooth (registered trademark) Low Energy, which has low power consumption like the configuration of the digital camera 100 described above.

In the near field communication with the digital camera 100 in the present embodiment, it is necessary to first connect to the near field communication unit 112 of the digital camera 100 by an operation for 1:1 connection in the near field communication called pairing. There is. In the pairing operation, for example, the digital camera 100 serves as a BLE Peripheral device, and periodically transmits a signal called "Advertise" to the surroundings by using the short-range wireless communication unit 112. Then, the smart device 200 operates as the Central, and performs the Scan operation using the short-range wireless communication unit 212, thereby discovering the digital camera 100 by receiving the Advertise from the digital camera 100. When the digital camera 100 is found, the smart device 200 establishes a short-range wireless communication connection by requesting participation through the Initiate operation.

Note that the term pairing is sometimes used only for Bluetooth connection with encryption, but in the present invention, 1:1 connection using short-range wireless communication regardless of whether encryption is used or not. The operation for is called pairing.

The public network connection unit 213 is an interface used when performing public wireless communication. The smart device 200 can communicate with other devices via the public network connection unit 213. At this time, the control unit 201 realizes a call by inputting and outputting a voice signal via the microphone 214 and the speaker 215. In the present embodiment, the public network connection unit 213 is an antenna, and the control unit 101 can connect to the public network via the antenna. Note that the connection unit 211 and the public network connection unit 213 can also be used by one antenna.

Next, the appearance of the smart device 200 will be described. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of the smart device 100. The power button 205a, the home button 205b, and the touch panel 205c are operation members included in the operation unit 205 described above. When the home button 205b is pressed by the user, the application being executed can be interrupted and a home screen for selecting another application can be displayed on the display unit 206.

The above is the description of the smart device 200.

The behaviors of the main control unit 101, the sub control unit 116, and the smart device 200 when a BLE communication event occurs via the short-range wireless communication unit 112 of the digital camera 100 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9.

<Internal communication sequence between main control unit and sub control unit of digital camera>
First, with reference to FIG. 3A, an example of a flow of performing data transfer by SPI communication from the sub control unit 116 to the main control unit 101 when the power of the digital camera 100 is ON will be described.

When starting communication with the main control unit 101, the sub control unit 116 first sets the SREQ port to ASSERT in step S301. When the main control unit 101 detects ASSERT of the SREQ signal, the main control unit 101 determines whether or not the data reception by the SPI is possible, and if so, the SS port is ASSERTed in step S302. When the sub control unit 116 detects an ASSERT of the SS port, it prepares for data transmission to the main control unit 101, and then at step S303, causes the SREQ port to be DEASSERT. When the main control unit 101 detects DEASSERT of the SREQ port, it generates a clock signal of the SCK port in step S304 and receives data using the MISO port. When the data reception is completed, the main control unit 101 sets the SS port to DEASSERT in step S305, and ends the SPI communication.

Next, with reference to FIG. 3B, an example of a flow of performing data transfer from the sub control unit 116 to the main control unit 101 by SPI communication when the digital camera 100 is in the standby state will be described.

Similar to step S301 in FIG. 3A, when starting communication with the main control unit 101, the sub control unit 116 first sets the SREQ port to ASSERT in step S311. When the SREQ port is ASSERTed, the power management unit 108 connected to the SREQ port activates the main control unit 101 in step S312. Here, for the power management unit 108 to activate the main control unit 101, the SREQ port and the activation port of the main control unit 101 may be linked in terms of hardware. Alternatively, the power management unit 108 may determine the ASSERT detection of the SREQ port and operate the activation port of the main control unit 101. When the main control unit 101 is activated in step S312, it determines whether data can be received by SPI as in step S302 in FIG. 3A. If it is determined that the data can be received by SPI, the SS port is asserted in step S313. ..

Thereafter, as in steps S303 to S305 in FIG. 3A, in steps S314 to S316, the sub control unit 116 transfers data to the main control unit 101 by SPI communication.

Finally, an example of the flow of data transfer from the main control unit 101 to the sub control unit 116 by SPI communication will be described with reference to FIG.

When starting communication with the sub control unit 116, the main control unit 101 first causes the SS port to ASSERT in step S321. When the sub control unit 116 detects the ASSERT of the SS port, it determines whether or not the data reception by the SPI is possible, and if so, the SREQ port is ASSERTed in step S322. When the main control unit 101 detects ASSERT of the SREQ port, the main control unit 101 generates a clock signal of the SCK port in step S323, and transmits data using the MOSI port. When the data transmission is completed, the main control unit 101 sets the SS port to DEASSERT in step S324. When the sub control unit 116 detects the DEASSERT of the SS port, the sub control unit 116 processes the data transmitted from the main control unit 101, causes the SREQ port to be DEASSERT in step S325, and ends the SPI communication.

<Flow when changing the status of the digital camera>
Next, referring to FIG. 4, the main control unit 101 and the sub control unit 116 when the state of the digital camera 100 is changed from the power-on state to the standby state and from the standby state to the power-on state by a user operation on the operation unit 105. The flow of communication between them will be described.

FIG. 4A is a flow of communication between the main control unit 101 and the sub control unit 116 when the digital camera 100 is changed from the standby state to the power ON state by the user operating the operation unit 105 or the like. When power supply is started by a user operation of the operation unit 105 or the like in step S401, the main control unit 101 executes a startup process in step S402. After that, in step S403, the main control unit 101 transmits the main control unit power supply state transition notification to the sub control unit 116 by the SPI communication shown in FIG. 3C. When the sub control unit 116 receives the main control unit power supply state transition notification from the main control unit 101, the main control unit 101 sends the power to the sub control unit working memory 117 in step S404, that is, the digital camera 100. It is stored that the power is on.

FIG. 4B is a flow of communication between the main control unit 101 and the sub control unit 116 when the digital camera 100 is changed from the power-on state to the standby state by the user operating the operation unit 105 or the like. When the main control unit 101 is instructed to enter the standby state by a user operation of the operation unit 105 or the like in step S411, the main control unit 101 uses the SPI communication illustrated in FIG. 3C to the sub control unit 116 in step S412. , Main control unit power non-supply state transition notification is transmitted. When the sub control unit 116 receives the main control unit power non-supply state transition notification from the main control unit 101, the main control unit 101 instructs the sub control unit work memory 117 in the power non-supply state, that is, the digital state in step S413. The fact that the camera 100 is in the standby state is stored. After transmitting the main control unit power non-supply state transition notification to the sub control unit 116, the main control unit 101 executes the withdrawal process in step S414 and ends.

<Flow when connecting/disconnecting BLE communication>
Next, with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6, and FIG. 7, a description will be given of the flow when the BLE communication between the short-range wireless communication unit 112 of the digital camera 100 and the short-range wireless communication unit 212 of the smart device 200 is disconnected/reconnected. I do.

FIG. 5A shows a flow of disconnecting and reconnecting the BLE communication with the smart device 200 when the power of the digital camera 100 is ON.

First, the flow when disconnecting BLE communication between the digital camera 100 and the smart device 200 will be described. In a state where BLE communication is established between the digital camera 100 and the smart device 200, the user uses the operation unit 205 of the smart device 200 in step S501 to BLE the digital camera 100 as shown in FIG. 7B. Perform the operation to disconnect the communication. In response to this operation, in S502, the control unit 201 of the smart device 200 controls the short-range wireless communication unit 212 and transmits a BLE communication disconnection request to the digital camera 100. The sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 receives a BLE communication disconnection request from the smart device 200 via the short-range wireless communication unit 112. In response to this, in step S503, a response to disconnect BLE communication is transmitted to the smart device 200 via the short-range wireless communication unit 112 to disconnect BLE communication. When the BLE communication with the smart device is disconnected, the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 reads the power of the main control unit 101 from the sub control unit work memory 117 in step S504. The power supply state of the main control unit 101 read here is the information stored in the sub control unit work memory 117 by the method described with reference to FIGS. When the sub control unit 116 determines that the main control unit 101 is in the power supply state in step S504, the sub control unit 116 transmits the BLE disconnection notification to the main control unit 101 by the SPI communication illustrated in FIG. 3A in step S505. When the main control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 receives the BLE disconnection notification from the sub control unit 116, in step S506, the display unit 106 displays a BLE unconnected state as shown in FIG. 6A. When the sub control unit 116 transmits the BLE disconnection notification to the main control unit 101, the sub control unit 116 transmits an Advertise packet in step S507.

Next, a flow when BLE communication is reconnected between the digital camera 100 and the smart device 200 will be described. In step S511, the user uses the operation unit 205 of the smart device 200 to perform an operation of reconnecting the BLE communication with the digital camera 100 as illustrated in FIG. 7C. In response to this operation, in step S511, the control unit 201 of the smart device 200 controls the short-range wireless communication unit 212 and transmits a reconnection request for BLE communication to the digital camera 100. When the sub-control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 receives the BLE communication reconnection request from the smart device 200 via the short-range wireless communication unit 112, the sub-control unit working memory 117 sends power to the main control unit 101 in step S513. Read the supply status. When the sub control unit 116 determines that the main control unit 101 is in the power supply state, the sub control unit 116 transmits the BLE reconnection notification to the main control unit 101 by the SPI communication illustrated in FIG. 3A in step S514. To do. When the main control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 receives the BLE reconnection notification from the sub control unit 116, in step S515, the display unit 106 displays the BLE connection state as shown in FIG. 6B.

Next, a flow of disconnecting/reconnecting the BLE communication with the smart device 200 when the digital camera 100 is in the standby state will be described with reference to FIG.

In steps S521 to S523, as in steps S501 to S503 of FIG. 5A, the user uses the operation unit 205 of the smart device 200 to perform an operation of disconnecting the BLE communication with the digital camera 100 to perform BLE communication. It is the flow of cutting. After that, in step S524, the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 reads the power supply state of the main control unit 101 from the sub control unit work memory 117. When the sub control unit 116 determines that the main control unit 101 is in the power non-supply state in step S524, unlike the case of FIG. 5A, the sub control unit 116 does not perform the SPI communication to the main control unit, and in step S525, sends the Advertise packet. Send.

Next, a flow when BLE communication is reconnected between the digital camera 100 and the smart device 200 will be described. In steps S531 to S532, the user performs an operation of reconnecting the BLE communication with the digital camera 100 using the operation unit 205 of the smart device 200, and the BLE communication is reconnected.

After that, in step S533, the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 reads the power supply state of the main control unit 101 from the sub control unit work memory 117. When the sub control unit 116 determines in step S53 that the main control unit 101 is in the power non-supply state, unlike the case of FIG. 5A, the SPI control to the main control unit is not performed.

<Flow of camera startup by BLE communication>
FIG. 8 shows an example of the flow when the digital camera 100 is activated from the standby state to the power-on state by BLE communication from the smart device 200.

This sequence diagram starts when the digital camera 100 and the smart device 200 in the standby state are connected by BLE. In step S801, the user uses the operation unit 205 of the smart device 200 to perform an operation for transitioning the digital camera 100 to the power-on state, as shown in FIG. 7D. In response to this, the control unit 201 of the smart device 200 transmits a command for activating the digital camera 100 to the power-on state on the BLE communication to the digital camera 100 in step S802. Upon receiving the command from the smart device 200, the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 determines a wireless communication event in step S803. When the sub-control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 determines that the wireless communication event is a command for transitioning the main control unit 101 to the power supply state, the sub-control unit 116 causes the SREQ port to be ASSERT in step S804 so that the main control unit 101 is in the power supply state. Transition to. Here, the method of transitioning the main control unit 101 to the power supply state may be realized by a circuit configuration in which ASSERT of the SREQ port and ASSERT of the activation port of the main control unit 101 are interlocked. Alternatively, the power management unit 108 may determine the ASSERT of the SREQ port in step S804, and in step S805, the activation port of the main control unit 101 may be ASSERT. Upon activation, the main control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 executes initialization processing in step S806, and checks whether the SREQ port is ASSERT in the initialization processing. When the main control unit 101 detects in step S806 that the SREQ port is ASSERTed, the main control unit 101 transmits data from the sub control unit 116 by SPI communication by the method shown in steps S313 to S16 of FIG. 3B in step S807. To receive. Finally, in step S808, the main control unit 101 notifies the sub control unit 116 that the power supply state has been reached by the SPI communication method shown in FIG.

<Flowchart of sub-control unit of digital camera>
Finally, the flow of processing of the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

This flowchart starts when the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 detects from the short-range wireless communication unit 112 that a wireless communication event regarding BLE communication has occurred.

In step S901, the sub-control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 confirms/analyzes the generated wireless communication event, and determines whether the wireless communication event generated in step S902 is BLE communication connection or disconnection. When it is determined in step S902 that the wireless communication event generated by the sub control unit 116 of the digital camera 100 is not the connection or disconnection of the BLE communication, the process proceeds to step S903, and the main control unit 101 is notified by SPI communication. On the other hand, in step S902, when it is determined that the generated wireless communication event is the connection or disconnection of the BLE communication, the process proceeds to step S904, and the information about the power supply state of the main control unit 101 from the sub control unit work memory 117. Read out. In step S905, the sub control unit 116 determines the power supply state of the main control unit 101. If the sub control unit 116 determines that the power supply state of the main control unit 101 is the power supply state, the process proceeds to step S906, and BLE is connected to the main control unit 101. Or, give notice of disconnection. When the main control unit 101 determines in step S905 that the power is not supplied, the process ends without doing anything.

In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment described above, when a wireless communication event occurs in the standby state, whether or not to start supplying power to the main control unit 101 is switched based on the type of communication event. This makes it possible to suppress unnecessary power consumption.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. It can also be realized by the processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

Claims (11)

An imaging device,
Short-distance wireless communication means for communicating according to the first communication standard, which is a short-distance wireless communication standard,
A wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication according to a second communication standard that consumes more power than the short-range wireless communication unit,
Power supply,
Main control means for controlling the operation of the imaging device,
A sub-control means different from the main control means,
When connecting to an external device via the short-range wireless communication unit in the first state in which the power from the power source is supplied to the main control unit, the sub-control unit, and the short-range wireless communication unit, the sub-control unit Notifies the main control means of a communication event,
When connecting to the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit in a second state in which power is supplied to the sub-control unit and the short-range wireless communication unit and power is not supplied to the main control unit, the sub-control The means does not notify the communication event to the main control means,
When activation is requested from the external device while connecting to the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit, the sub-control unit may perform the communication event even in the second state. Prompts the transition to the first state by controlling to notify the main control means,
When the external device requests communication according to the second communication standard via the short-range wireless communication unit, the main control unit conforms to the second communication standard via the wireless communication unit. An imaging device characterized by controlling to perform communication. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication according to the second communication standard required by the external apparatus is communication for browsing image data picked up by the image pickup apparatus. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus receives an image pickup instruction from the external apparatus via the short-range wireless communication unit. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus has a third state in which power is not supplied to both the sub control unit and the main control unit. Further having display means,
The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the second state, the display on the display unit is not performed. A short-range wireless communication unit that communicates according to a first communication standard that is a short-range wireless communication standard, a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication according to a second communication standard that consumes more power than the short-range wireless communication unit, and a power supply. A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus, comprising: a main control unit that controls the operation of the image pickup apparatus; and a sub-control unit that is different from the main control unit.
When connecting to an external device via the short-range wireless communication unit in the first state in which the power from the power source is supplied to the main control unit, the sub-control unit, and the short-range wireless communication unit, the sub-control unit Control to notify the main control means of a communication event,
When connecting to the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit in a second state in which power is supplied to the sub-control unit and the short-range wireless communication unit and power is not supplied to the main control unit, the sub-control Means for controlling not to notify the main control means of the communication event,
When a request for activation is made from the external device while connecting to the external device via the short-range wireless communication means, the sub-control means causes the communication event to occur even in the second state. Prompts the transition to the first state by controlling to notify the main control means,
When the external device requests communication according to the second communication standard via the short-range wireless communication means, the main control means conforms to the second communication standard via the wireless communication means. A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus, characterized by controlling to perform communication. 7. The control of the image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the communication according to the second communication standard required by the external apparatus is communication for browsing image data picked up by the image pickup apparatus. Method. The method according to claim 6, wherein the imaging device receives an imaging instruction from the external device via the short-range wireless communication unit. 9. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image pickup apparatus has a third state in which power is not supplied to both the sub control unit and the main control unit. .. The imaging device further includes a display unit,
10. The method for controlling an image pickup apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display on the display unit is not performed in the second state. Computer, according to claim 1 or to function as each unit of the communication apparatus according to any one of 5, the computer readable program.

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