JP2006244051A - Display device and display control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device capable of retrieving and displaying a small image in a prescribed range without receiving restriction by a division point of a date such as a month or a year. <P>SOLUTION: A camera displays a temporal axis a1 wherein squares associated with imaged images are arranged side by side, and exhibits an image retrieval screen displayed with a display period window a3 slidable and expandable/reducible on the temporal axis. When an arbitrary period is set by selectively sliding or expanding/reducing the display period window on the temporal axis astride periods having different dates, each image a5 in the period is list-displayed with a display size according to the set period in an image display window a4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a display control technique for image retrieval suitable for application to an electronic device such as a digital camera or a PDA (personal digital assistant).

  In recent years, digital cameras that capture a subject image using a semiconductor image sensor such as a charge coupled device (CCD) have been widely used. Recording media for image storage that are built in or detachably contained in this type of camera have been increasing in scale. With the increase in capacity, the number of images that can be recorded on a recording medium has become enormous. For example, on a 500 MB recording medium, about 1000 images can be recorded if it is a still image with a medium shooting quality. When the number of images that can be stored increases, the problem is image retrieval.

  As a typical technique for image retrieval, there is a method of displaying a group image composed of so-called thumbnail images in order. Normally, considering the area of the LCD display on the back of the camera, a total of 9 images, 3 vertically and 3 horizontally, are displayed together in the order of shooting on one screen, and the images displayed by operating the operation buttons are switched sequentially. The desired image is searched.

  The display order of the thumbnail images is generally the shooting order, but the display area is specified on the graph indicated by the shooting date and time, and the images belonging to the specified range are displayed as thumbnails. In this way, proposals have been made so that target image data can be searched quickly (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, a search display has been proposed in which a thumbnail image is attached and displayed on the shooting date of a calendar-like screen for each month.
JP 2001-134578 A

  By the way, although a method of searching for a desired image by displaying a plurality of thumbnail images in a specific range using a shooting date and time as a clue is certainly effective, in a graph such as Patent Document 1, a range that spans time is specified. I can't. Similarly, in a calendar style display, it is not good to specify a range that crosses the moon. On the other hand, in actual shooting, it is not uncommon for the end of the month and the beginning of the next month to be the same event, for example, overnight travel.

  That is, as a display method for searching for a specific image from captured images or comparing a plurality of adjacent images, it is one of the parameters for determining the order of images, for example, by separating the shooting date of the month or year. A method is desired in which the display range is not limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a display device and a display capable of searching and displaying a small image within a predetermined range without being restricted by a date separator such as a month or a year. An object is to provide a control method.

  In order to achieve the above object, a display device according to the present invention includes an object display means for displaying a time axis object representing a time axis, and an arbitrary range on the time axis represented by the time axis object. It comprises an operation means that can be selected over different periods, and an image display means for displaying a list of images belonging to an arbitrary range on the time axis selected by the operation means.

  Further, the display control method of the present invention displays a time axis object representing a time axis in which the length of each period is set according to the number of images belonging to each, and is on the time axis represented by the time axis object. An arbitrary range is selected while allowing a period of different date and time to be crossed, and the display size of each image belonging to the range is determined according to the selected range on the selected time axis. The image is displayed in a list by size.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device and a display control method capable of searching and displaying a small image within a predetermined range without being restricted by a date and time separator such as month or year.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The “first object” in the claims consists of a “time-axis object”, the “second object” consists of a “display period window”, and the “separation according to the number of images” starts from the “section”. Become. FIG. 1 is a rear view of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a display surface of an LCD (liquid crystal display) with a touch panel is disposed as a display unit 2 on the back of the camera 1, and an XY including a mode dial 3, an up / down key 4a, and a left / right key 4b. Operation members such as the operation key 4 and the OK key 5 are arranged. A release button 6 is provided on the upper surface.

  The mode dial 3 is for setting the operation mode of the camera 1. The camera 1 has a shooting mode for shooting an image and a playback mode for playing back the shot image, and can be set to a desired operation mode by operating the mode dial 3.

  The XY operation key 4 is selected from a plurality of options arranged in the vertical direction on the display unit 2 (up / down key 4a), or is selected from a plurality of options arranged in the horizontal direction. For selecting (left / right key 4b). The OK key 5 is for confirming selection of an option in a state selected by the XY operation key 4. The release button 6 is used to give an instruction to record the image data of the subject image displayed on the display unit 2 as a so-called through image.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the camera 1.

  When subject light that has passed through the lens 11 enters the image sensor 12, a subject image is formed on the imaging surface. Various controls such as exposure and reading of the image pickup device 12 are performed by the image pickup processing unit 13, and the image pickup processing unit 13 generates ISO sensitivity setting, auto white balance, luminance / color signal generation for the image signal of the image pickup device 12. Then, gamma processing or the like is performed and converted into a color image signal of a predetermined format. This color image signal is transferred to the display control unit 14 via the system bus, and is displayed on the LCD 14b of the display unit 2 on the back as a through image.

  Further, the color image signal output from the imaging processing unit 13 is taken into the buffer memory 15 when the release button 6 is pressed, and is subjected to compression coding by the image processing unit 16 to the captured image in the image storage memory 17. As recorded. The captured image recorded in the image storage memory 17 is read by the image processing unit 16 at the time of reproduction, subjected to decompression decoding, supplied to the display processing unit 14, and displayed on the LCD 14b.

  The operation of the camera 1 as described above is integrally controlled by the CPU 18, and the ROM 19 stores a program describing the control procedure of the CPU 18, various setting values passed as arguments to the program, and an image search screen described later. The time axis displayed on the screen and the image data of the display period window are stored. Further, control signals from the operation unit 20 and the touch panel unit 21 are supplied to the CPU 18. The operation unit 20 detects and notifies the operation of the mode dial 3, the XY operation key 4, the OK key 5, the release button 6, and the like, and the touch panel unit 21 touches the display surface of the display unit 2 with, for example, a pen tip. In this case, the contact is detected and the coordinates are notified. The CPU 18 also executes drive control of the power supply 22 that supplies power for operation to each unit.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an image search screen displayed in the playback mode. In this camera 1, an image search screen for quickly searching for a target image is prepared. As shown in the figure, an object (a1) indicating a time axis is displayed on the image search screen. In this time axis, one vertically long section is assigned to n images, and the sections are arranged from left to right in order of shooting date and time of each corresponding image. That is, for this time axis, for example, the length per unit period such as one year or one month is determined by the number of captured images in each period (not fixed length). The date guide (a2) is displayed. In the example shown in the figure, an image corresponding to a section where “2000” is displayed as a guide immediately above it is the first image taken in 2000, and similarly, “2001”, “2002”, The image corresponding to the section displayed as a guide is a first image taken in each year. In this example, since the number of images taken in 2001 is larger than the number of images taken in 2000, the time axis of 2001 is longer than that of 2000. .

  A display period window (a3) is displayed on the time axis. This display period window is an object for the user to select an arbitrary period on the time axis by width, and is selected in this display period window in the image display window (a4) for displaying a list of images. Each image (a5) existing within the specified period is displayed in a list. The display window is slidable on the time axis (a1) to the left and right, and is extendable. When the display window is slid or expanded, the images displayed in the list in the image display window are switched. . Here, the operation of the display period window will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, it is assumed that the display period window (a3) on the time axis (a1) is in the state shown in FIG. The object (b1) at the left end of the display period window indicates the start point of the selection period, and the object (b2) at the right end indicates the end point of the selection period. That is, the width (b3) of the display period window between the two objects (b1, b2) is the period of the image displayed in the image display window.

  For example, when the object (b1) at the left end is slid rightward from the state of FIG. (A) to the state of FIG. (B) by touching and moving the display area with the pen tip, the entire display period window is displayed. As a result, the selection period is shortened in such a manner that only the starting point of the selection period so far has moved backward in time. On the other hand, when the object (b2) at the right end is slid to the left from the state of FIG. (B) to the state of FIG. (C), the entire display period window is further reduced, and only the end point of the selection period until then is displayed. The selection period is shortened by moving forward in time. Although not shown, conversely, when the left end object (b1) is slid to the left side or the right end object (b2) is slid to the right side, the display period window is moved in that direction. The selection period is expanded by being extended.

  When the object (b4) in the center of the display period window is touched with the pen tip and slid to the left and right, the entire display period window can be moved to the left and right while maintaining the width. For example, when the center object (b4) is slid to the right from the state of FIG. (C), the display period window shifts to the state of FIG. (D). That is, the user can arbitrarily set the selection period by sliding the objects at the right end, the center, and the left end of the display period window displayed on the time axis. Further, since the sections constituting the time axis are merely arranged in order of the shooting date and time of the corresponding images, for example, an image near the last column in 2000 and an image near the front row in 2001 are mixed. As described above, the selection period can be set across the periods on the time axis.

  When displaying this image search screen, it is also possible to set the start point and end point of the time axis itself. For example, when captured images from 1995 to 2004 are recorded in the image storage memory 17, not all of them must be always searched for by the image search screen. Only an image can be set as a search target on the image search screen. This setting is retained by the CPU 18 even after the power is turned off. When the power is turned on next time, the setting at the time of power off is adopted as a default. In addition, the time axis on which the start point and end point are set in this way is not necessarily displayed all at once on the image search screen. If a long time axis is specified, a display that slides on the time axis is displayed. The time axis is also scrolled according to the operation of the period window. More specifically, for example, when the display period window placed at the left end on the time axis with the start point hidden outside the display area is further slid to the left side, the time axis itself is time-dependent. Scroll back to.

  Further, although not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each section constituting the time axis is colored with a representative color in n images corresponding to each section. The representative color can be selected by, for example, a method of setting the color that occupies the largest area in the images (such as sky blue in a landscape image). Any of these rules may be applied because the coloring is for auxiliary purposes only.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the relationship between the setting of the selection period by the display period window and the display size of the image within the selection period will be described.

  Now, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that 72 images of 6 (rows) × 12 (columns) are displayed in the image display window. That is, there are 72 images taken within the period selected by the display period window. From this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the display period window is operated to narrow the selection period, and within the period after the display period window is operated, 8 (2 (row) × 4 (column)) are displayed. Assume that an image exists. When displaying these eight images in the image display window, the CPU 18 increases the display size of each image as compared with the case of displaying 72 images. That is, the display size of each image in the image display window is not fixed, and is enlarged or reduced to an appropriate size according to the selection period set by the display period window.

  Next, with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 7 and 8, an operation procedure related to image search in the playback mode of the camera 1 will be described. FIG. 7 shows the flow of the main operation of the image search in the playback mode.

  When performing an image search in the playback mode, the CPU 18 first executes a time axis display process whose detailed procedure is shown in FIG. 8 (step A1). In the time axis display process, the display control unit 14 is controlled to display a screen for selecting whether to use the previous power-off setting as a default as the time axis range (step B1). If it is detected from the control signal from the operation unit 20 that the default has been selected (YES in step B1), the CPU 18 reproduces the setting when the power is turned off (step B2).

  On the other hand, when it is detected by the control signal from the operation unit 20 that the default has not been selected (NO in step B1), the CPU 18 should display a screen for selecting whether or not to specify the range. The display control unit 14 is controlled (step B3). When the control signal from the operation unit 20 detects that the range is selected (YES in step B3), the CPU 18 displays the display control unit 14 to display a screen for specifying the range. In addition to the control, the range designation by the user is accepted based on the control signal from the operation unit 20 in response to this display (step B4). If no default is selected and no range is specified, the entire period from the earliest shooting date to the last shooting date is set.

  When one of the ranges is determined, the CPU 18 reads an image recorded in the image storage memory 17 to obtain shooting date / time information that is attached information of each image file, and based on the shooting date / time information, the time axis The image (axis image) of (a1) is created (step B5), and the display control unit 14 is controlled to display the created axis image (step B6).

  When the display processing of the time axis (a1) ends, the CPU 18 now accepts designation of an arbitrary period on the time axis by the display period window based on the control signal from the touch panel unit 21 (step A2). Then, according to the designation, the display size of each image is determined (Step A3), the image is read from the image storage memory 17 (Step A4), and the read image is determined with the previously determined display size. A list is displayed in the image display window (a4) (step A5).

  By the way, although it has already been explained that each section constituting the time axis corresponds to n images, the number of images associated with each section is determined by setting the time axis. It is possible to optimize by the number of images existing within the range. An example of this optimization will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the time axis is displayed from before 2000 to the second half of 2004, and 10 images are associated with each section according to the relationship with the total number of images in that period. Yes. From this state, first, the time axis (a1) to be displayed is set to a period from before 2001 to immediately after 2003 as shown in FIG. 9B, and the time interval is shortened as a whole. Suppose you reset it. Then, according to this setting, the number of images associated with each section is calculated and optimized to, for example, five. Subsequently, it is assumed that the time axis (a1) to be displayed is set within about 2001 as shown in FIG. 9C, and the time interval is set to be shortened as a whole.

  In this case, since the start point and the end point of the newly set range are both within the same year 2001, the date guide display changes from the year display to the month display. The number of images associated with is calculated and, for example, optimized to two.

  As described above, the camera 1 can search and display a small image in a predetermined range without being restricted by a date / time separator such as a month or a year simply by sliding or expanding or contracting a display period window on the time axis. Realize that.

  In addition, although the example in which the reference of the display range on the image search screen is based on the time axis based on the shooting date / time has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the attached information of the image file other than the shooting date / time may be used as a reference. Is possible. For example, GPS (global positioning system) data indicating a shooting location attached to an image file can be used as a reference, and the axis can be a latitude or longitude value instead of the time axis.

  In the above description, an example in which the display period window (a3) is changed by a direct operation on the touch panel 21 has been described. However, even when the display unit 2 is a display unit without a touch panel, an XY operation is performed. The above function is realized by changing the display period window by operating the key 4 or the like.

  Further, although the camera has been described as an example here, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control method of the present invention can be applied to various electronic devices such as a PDA, a personal computer, and a mobile phone. .

  In addition, a case where the software program for executing the above function is supplied to the CPU 18 and the CPU 18 realizes the function of the above-described embodiment by operating according to the supplied program is also included in the scope of the present invention. . That is, the software program itself realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program itself constitutes the present invention.

  These programs may be stored in the form of a recording medium other than the above-described ROM 19 and read from there and executed. Furthermore, the program may be stored in a recording medium that is detachable from the camera 1. As a recording medium, in addition to a floppy disk (registered trademark) and a CD-ROM, an optical recording medium such as a DVD, a magnetic recording medium such as an MD, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory such as an IC card, and the like can be used.

  Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or a RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the camera 1 via the communication network. Alternatively, it goes without saying that such a program is included in the embodiment of the present invention even when the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized in cooperation with other application software or the like.

  That is, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

1 is a rear view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the camera of the embodiment The figure which shows the image search screen displayed at the time of the playback mode of the camera of the embodiment The figure for demonstrating operation of the display period window of the camera of the embodiment 1st figure for demonstrating the relationship between the setting of the selection period by the display period window of the camera of the embodiment, and the display size of the image in the selection period 2nd figure for demonstrating the relationship between the setting of the selection period by the display period window of the camera of the embodiment, and the display size of the image in the selection period The flowchart which shows the flow of the main operation | movement of the image search at the time of the playback mode of the camera of the embodiment 7 is a flowchart showing a detailed procedure of time axis display processing (on the image search screen in the playback mode) of the camera of the embodiment. The figure for demonstrating optimization of the number of the images matched with each square which comprises the time axis (on the image search screen at the time of reproduction mode) of the camera of the embodiment

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Digital camera, 2 ... Display part, 3 ... Mode dial, 4 ... XY operation key, 4a ... Up / down key, 4b ... Left / right key, 5 ... OK key, 6 ... Release button, 11 ... Lens, 12 ... Image sensor, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Imaging processing part, 14 ... Display control part, 14a ... LCD, 15 ... Buffer memory, 16 ... Image processing part, 17 ... Image storage memory, 18 ... CPU, 19 ... ROM, 20 ... Operation part, 21 ... Touch panel part 22 ... Power supply.

Claims (13)

A first object representing a time axis in which the length of each period is set according to the number of images belonging to each, and a first object representing the time axis are slidable and extendable on the time axis. Object display means for displaying a second object for selecting an arbitrary range;
An operation means for sliding or expanding / contracting the second object displayed on the first object so that a range over a period with different dates and times on the time axis can be selected.
Image display means for displaying a list of images belonging to an arbitrary range on the time axis selected by sliding or expanding / contracting the second object on the first object by the operation means. Characteristic display device. An object display means for displaying a time axis object representing the time axis;
An operation means capable of selecting an arbitrary range on the time axis represented by the time axis object over a different period of time,
An image display means for displaying a list of images belonging to an arbitrary range on the time axis selected by the operation means.   3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the object display means sets the length of each period on the time axis represented by the time axis object according to the number of images belonging to each.   The image display means determines a display size of each image belonging to the selected range in accordance with an arbitrary range on the selected time axis, and displays a list of the images with the determined size. The display device according to claim 2 or 3.   The display device according to claim 2, wherein the object display unit sets a break according to the number of images on a time axis represented by the time axis object.   The display device according to claim 5, wherein the object display means attaches a representative color of an image belonging to each section specified for each set section. The object display means further displays a range object that is slidable and extendable on a time axis object representing the time axis, and for selecting an arbitrary range on the time axis,
The operation means slides or expands / contracts the range object displayed on the time axis object so as to select a range that spans different time periods on the time axis. The display device according to 4, 5, or 6. Object display means for displaying an image sequence object representing a sequence of images arranged in an order based on the attached information;
An operation means capable of selecting an arbitrary range on the image sequence represented by the image sequence object by mixing different attached information;
Image display means for determining a display size of each image belonging to the range according to an arbitrary range on the image sequence selected by the operation means, and displaying a list of the images at the determined size. A display device characterized by that.   9. The display device according to claim 8, wherein the object display means arranges the images in the image sequence represented by the image sequence object in order of photographing date and time. Display the time axis object representing the time axis set according to the number of images belonging to each period,
An arbitrary range on the time axis represented by the time axis object is selected while allowing a different period of time and date to be crossed,
A display control method comprising: determining a display size of each image belonging to the selected range in accordance with an arbitrary range on the selected time axis, and displaying the images in a list with the determined size. In a program for causing a computer to execute a display control method for controlling display on a display unit,
The display control method includes:
Display the time axis object representing the time axis set according to the number of images belonging to each period,
An arbitrary range on the time axis represented by the time axis object is selected while allowing a different period of time and date to be crossed,
A program for determining a display size of each image belonging to the selected range in accordance with an arbitrary range on the selected time axis, and displaying the images in a list with the determined size. In a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute a display control method for controlling display on a display unit,
The display control method includes:
Display the time axis object representing the time axis set according to the number of images belonging to each period,
An arbitrary range on the time axis represented by the time axis object is selected while allowing a different period of time and date to be crossed,
According to an arbitrary range on the selected time axis, a display size of each image belonging to the range is determined, and the image is displayed in a list with the determined size. . A first object representing a time axis in which the length of each period is set according to the number of images belonging to each, and a first object representing the time axis are slidable and extendable on the time axis. Object display means for displaying a second object for selecting an arbitrary range;
An operation means for sliding or expanding / contracting the second object displayed on the first object so that a range over a period with different dates and times on the time axis can be selected.
Image display means for displaying a list of images belonging to an arbitrary range on the time axis selected by sliding or expanding / contracting the second object on the first object by the operation means. Features a camera.

Images