JP2006251953A - Image retrieving device, image retrieving method, and computer program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To narrow down the OR of a plurality of retrieval conditions once. <P>SOLUTION: In a field FL2 for input, rectangular areas YY where respective years included in a period from a predetermined year to another predetermined year are described are sequentially arrayed from the left direction to the right direction, and 12 buttons MM where the respective years from "January" to "December" are described are attached to each region YY. Each of the buttons MM is clicked so that the pertinent year can be designated as retrieval conditions. Each of the buttons MM can be clicked for each year. When one button MM is clicked in a state that a check box CB of "the inter-linkage of the designated month over a plurality of years" is turned on, the month designated by the clicked button MM1 is set over all the years. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for searching for an image file having date information.

  In recent years, electronic still cameras, so-called digital cameras, have been developed and are in widespread use. Since digital cameras have advantages such as ease of photography and economy, the number of photographs taken tends to be large. On the other hand, information indicating the shooting date and time is added to an image file of a photograph taken by a digital camera. Therefore, conventionally, a method has been proposed in which when searching for a target object from a large number of photographs, an “year” and a “month” are designated and an image file is narrowed down by shooting date and time.

  There exists the following patent document 1 as an example of the said method. According to the technique described in Patent Document 1, the year and month are graduated on a one-dimensional coordinate axis, such as “month and month”, and for example, from June 2001 to August 2001 can be performed by operating the mouse. The search condition is specified as described above (example of FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-331258 A

  However, in the above conventional technique, the operator can designate the search condition only for one period from what month of what year to what month of what year. For this reason, there has been a problem that the logical sum of a plurality of search conditions cannot be narrowed down at once.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to make it possible to narrow down the logical sum of a plurality of search conditions at once.

  As means for solving at least a part of the problems described above, the following configuration is adopted.

The image search apparatus of the present invention
An image search apparatus for searching a desired image file using the date information as a search item from a plurality of image files having date information,
Display control means for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale specifying year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month,
Search condition setting means for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator for the time axis displayed on the display device,
The search condition setting means includes:
A designation means for causing the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
And a determination unit that extracts a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designation unit and determines the plurality of extracted periods as the search condition. Yes.

  According to the image search device having the above configuration, a plurality of periods are extracted from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designation unit, and the plurality of extracted periods are determined as the search conditions. Can do. Accordingly, since a logical sum of a plurality of search conditions can be obtained, an image can be narrowed down at once by the logical sum.

  The determination unit may include a designation limiting unit that limits designation by the designation unit to once per year on the time axis.

  According to this configuration, since one search condition can be specified for each year, a search condition with a cycle of one year, for example, a search condition such as a photograph taken in a sea bath or a photograph when skiing is performed. Since it is possible to prohibit the specification of useless search conditions when setting, the operability when specifying search conditions is excellent.

  In addition, the determination means causes the operator to specify that the months for each year are specified at once, and stores whether or not to specify the months for each year according to the specified result. Means and the batch designation necessity storage means, and when the batch designation is stored, the corresponding month in the range designated by the designation means is designated for all other years. It is good also as a structure provided with the month batch determination part which determines the said search conditions.

  According to this configuration, the operator can search for image files obtained during the predetermined period of all years by designating a predetermined period of the year. Therefore, even if the time is ambiguous for the operator, the desired data can be easily found without knowing the year if the time is known. For example, it is useful when you remember the most of the moon but want to forget some years, such as when you want to look for a photo taken at that beach.

  In the image search apparatus having a configuration in which designation by the designation unit is limited to once per year, the designation unit adds a mark that moves on the time axis according to a movement instruction from an operator for each year on the time axis. It is good also as a structure provided only with one.

  According to this configuration, since the operator can know at a glance that a plurality of periods cannot be specified in one year, the operability is excellent.

  The image file may be an Exif format file having an image data portion representing an image and an attached data portion for storing the date information.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to use a highly versatile Exif format image file, which is excellent in convenience.

The image search method of the present invention includes:
An image search method for searching a desired image file using the date information as a search item from a plurality of image files having date information,
A display control process for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale defining year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month,
A search condition setting step for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator with respect to the time axis displayed on the display device,
The search condition setting process includes
A designated step for causing the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
And a determination step of extracting a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designated step and determining the plurality of extracted periods as the search conditions. Yes.

The computer program of the present invention is:
A computer program for searching a desired image file by using the date information as a search item from among a plurality of image files having date information,
A display control function for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale defining the year and month, which is the AND condition of the year and month,
A search condition setting function for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator with respect to a time axis displayed on the display device is realized in a computer.
The search condition setting function is:
A designation function that allows the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
And a determination function for extracting a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on the designation by the designation unit and determining the plurality of extracted periods as the search condition. Yes.

  According to the image search method and the computer program of the present invention, as in the image search apparatus of the present invention, since a logical sum of a plurality of search conditions can be obtained, it is possible to narrow down images at once with the logical sum. There is an effect.

  The recording medium of the present invention is characterized by a computer-readable recording medium that records the computer program of the present invention. This recording medium has the same operations and effects as the computer program of the present invention.

  The present invention includes other aspects as follows. The 1st aspect is an aspect as a program supply apparatus which supplies the computer program of this invention via a communication path. In this first aspect, the above-described method and apparatus are realized by placing a computer program on a server or the like on a computer network, downloading a necessary program to a computer via a communication path, and executing the program. Can do.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on examples. This embodiment will be described in the following order.
A. Device configuration:
B. Computer processing:
C. Action / Effect Other embodiments:

A. Device configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a computer system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The computer system of this embodiment mainly includes a personal computer 10 constituting the image search apparatus of the present invention, and includes a display 20, a keyboard 22, and a mouse 24 as peripheral devices. Furthermore, a digital camera 26 and a printer 28 are connected to the personal computer 10.

  The personal computer 10 includes a memory 13, a hard disk drive 14, an input control unit 15, a display control unit 16, and the like connected to each other by a bus 12 around a CPU 11 as a central processing unit. The memory 13 stores various data and becomes a work area of the CPU 11. The hard disk drive 14 stores a computer program Pr as image search device software. The hard disk drive 14 stores a large number of image files Fp of photographic images (color photographic images) taken by the digital camera 26.

  The image file Fp obtained by photographing with the digital camera 26 is usually in the Exif format, which is an image file format standard for digital cameras. Exif file specifications are defined by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of an image file Fp in the Exif format. As shown in the figure, the image file Fp includes an image data storage area 30 for storing image data, and an attached data storage area 32 for storing various attached data related to the stored image data. The image data storage area 30 stores JPEG format image data. In the attached data storage area 32, various pieces of shooting information including date information Dt indicating the shooting date and time when the photograph image was taken, and thumbnail images Ds of the image data stored in the image data storage area 30 are attached data. Stored.

  Although an Exif format image file is used as the image file here, the format of the image file according to the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the image file may be in any format as long as it can include image data and date information. The date information can also be the date and time of creation of the image file, the date and time of correction of the image file, etc., instead of the shooting date and time as described above. The information can be replaced with any information.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the input control unit 15 is a control unit that captures input operations from the keyboard 22 and the mouse 24 and captures image data from the digital camera 26. The display control unit 16 is a control unit that controls signal output to the display 20.

  The computer program Pr is originally stored in a CD-ROM (not shown) as a recording medium, and is installed in the hard disk drive 14 from the CD-ROM by starting a predetermined installation program. is there. When the CPU 11 executes this computer program Pr, various constituent requirements of the image search apparatus of the present invention are realized.

  In FIG. 1, various constituent requirements are indicated by functional blocks implemented in the CPU 11. The CPU 11 can search for a desired image file from the plurality of image files Fp stored in the hard disk drive 14 by executing the computer program Pr. This search is performed using the date information Dt provided in the image file Fp as a search item. The search condition regarding this search item is determined by the search condition setting unit 42. The display control unit 40 displays a time axis, which will be described later, and the search condition setting unit 42 sets the search condition based on an operation performed by the operator using the mouse 24 on the time axis. The search condition setting unit 42 includes a designation unit 42a and a determination unit 42b. The function of each part 40, 42, 42a, 42b will be described in detail later.

  This computer program Pr is actually an application program for DTP (Desk Top Publishing), and the display control unit 40, the search condition setting unit 42, the designating unit 42a, and the determining unit 42b described above are determined by predetermined modules therein. Each function is realized in the personal computer 10.

  The computer program Pr is provided as a configuration stored in another portable recording medium (portable recording medium) such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, and an IC card in place of the CD-ROM. It can be. Further, the computer program Pr can be provided via a network from a specific server connected to an external network. The network may be the Internet or a computer program obtained by downloading from a specific homepage. Alternatively, it may be a computer program supplied in the form of an email attachment.

B. Computer processing:
The control process according to the computer program Pr will be described in detail below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main routine of this control process. This main routine is started when an instruction to start the computer program Pr is given. As shown in the figure, when the process is started, the CPU 11 first executes an image file fetching routine for fetching a photographic image from the digital camera 26 (step S100).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the image file fetching routine. As shown in the figure, when the process shifts to this routine, the CPU 11 first performs a process of taking in one image file Fp of a photographic image taken from the digital camera 26 (step S110). The captured image file Fp is stored in the hard disk drive 14. Next, the CPU 11 performs processing for registering the captured image file Fp in the search table TBL prepared in the memory 13 (step S120).

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the data structure of the search table TBL. As shown in the figure, the search table TBL is composed of two data items T1 and T2 of “year / month information” and “file name”. More specifically, in step S120, the CPU 11 reads the date information Dt from the attached data storage area 32 of the image file Fp captured in step S110, and stores the “year” and “month” data constituting the date information Dt. The data item T1 of the “year / month information” of the new record data in the search table TBL is transferred, and the file name of the image file Fp is transferred to the data item T2 of the “file name” of the new record data. .

  Returning to FIG. 4, after executing step S120, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the image file Fp captured from the digital camera 26 in step S110 is the final one. Then, the process returns to step S110 to capture the next image file Fp. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S130 that the image file Fp captured from the digital camera 26 is final, the CPU 11 exits to “RETURN” and temporarily ends this image file capture routine.

  According to the image file fetching routine having the above configuration, the search table TBL storing the date information and the file names for all the image files Fp fetched from the digital camera 26 to the hard disk drive 14 is created. Each time the computer program Pr is started and a new image file Fp is captured, “year / month information” and “file name” for the captured image file Fp are newly added to the search table TBL. Will be.

  Returning to FIG. 3, after executing step S100, the CPU 11 advances the process to step S210. The process of step S100 is, so to speak, preparation for image search, and after step S210, image search corresponding to the main part of the present invention is performed. The image search is input by the operator from a plurality of image files Fp taken in from the digital camera 26 and managed by the computer program Pr, that is, a plurality of image files Fp registered in the search table TBL in step S100. The desired image file Fp that matches the set search condition is searched for. Details will be described below.

  In step S210, the CPU 11 first executes a process of displaying the application window WD on the display 20. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the application window WD. The application window WD constitutes a graphical user interface (GUI). As shown in the figure, the toolbar FL1, the input field FL2 for inputting search conditions, and the search input from the input field FL2 And an image list display field FL3 for displaying a list of images narrowed down by the search under the condition.

  The toolbar FL1 is provided with three types of buttons BT1, BT2, and BT3 of [Viewer], [Modify], and [Output]. The function of each button BT1 to BT3 will be described later. In addition, a check box CB for “linking a specified month with a plurality of years” is provided between the input field FL2 and the image list display field FL3. The function of this check box CB will also be described later.

  As described above, the input field FL2 is used for inputting the search condition. In the horizontal direction, an arrangement of year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month, such as “how many months” is arranged. Yes. Specifically, rectangular areas YY in which each year included in a period from a predetermined year to another predetermined year is described are arranged in order from left to right. Each area YY includes “January” Twelve buttons MM indicating each month up to “December” are respectively attached. In this embodiment, each button MM from January 2002 to December 2004 is shown in the figure. By clicking the scroll buttons BT4 and BT5 with the mouse 24, the buttons MM are displayed from January 1995. A button MM for each year in the period up to December 2010 can appear in the input field FL2. As described above, only “Month” is indicated on the button MM. However, since the button MM is attached to the “Year” area, it is possible to select the year and month AND conditions by simply clicking one button MM. A certain year and month can be specified. For this reason, this button MM is referred to as a “year / month button” as necessary. The arrangement of the area YY and the button MM corresponds to the “time axis” of the present invention, and each area YY and each button MM corresponds to a scale marked on the time axis.

  In the lower column CC of each year and month button MM, a bar graph indicating the number of photographs of the corresponding year (the year and month satisfying the AND condition of the year indicated by the area YY and the month indicated by the button MM) is displayed. . Specifically, the image files Fp registered in the search table TBL are classified by month starting from January 1995, and how many files are in each year (month and year, month and year AND condition). Whether the image file Fp is registered or not is calculated and displayed as a bar graph. Here, the bar graph is the height at which 100 cells fill the cell. For example, in the figure, the column CC for July 2002 indicates that the number of photos is 100 or more, and the column CC for April 2002 indicates that the number of photos is approximately 50. ing.

  Note that, as described above, the calculated number of sheets may be expressed by the color density instead of the configuration in which the calculated number is displayed as a bar graph. That is, the column CC is thin when the calculated number is small, and the column CC is darkly colored when the calculated number is large, and the density and the calculated number are directly proportional to each other. Further, in the configuration in which the calculated number is expressed by the bar graph or the calculated number is expressed by the density, when the mouse cursor is moved to each column CC (on-cursor state), a control box for displaying the calculated number in numbers appears. It can also be configured.

  The operator can set the year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month, as a search condition by operating the mouse 24 and specifying the button MM displayed in the input field FL2. The example shown in FIG. 7 is a case where the button MM (MM1) in July 2002 is clicked with the mouse, and the background color of the clicked button MM is changed from white to a predetermined color, for example, yellow (in the drawing, The background color changes (shown with mesh). As a result, July 2002 is set as a search condition.

  Note that it is also possible to specify a plurality of consecutive years in a lump instead of one year. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of collectively specifying a plurality of consecutive years. After clicking one button MM (in the example shown, “July” button MM1) and moving the mouse 24, the mouse cursor MC is moved to another button MM (in the example shown, “September”). By moving to the top of the button MM2 and clicking the button MM after the movement while pressing the “Shift” key of the keyboard 22, the period from the first clicked to the next clicked month (illustration) In the example, designation from July to September can be performed collectively. As a result, the search conditions from July 2002 to September 2002 are set.

  A plurality of buttons MM can be clicked one by one with a mouse operation. FIG. 9 shows the case where each button MM (MM1, MM3) of “July 2002” and “February 2003” is clicked in order, and the logical sum of the designated year and month is the search condition. Will be set as. That is, “July 2002” and “February 2003” are set as search conditions. The operation of clicking a plurality of buttons MM as described above is performed in a state where the check box CB of “link the specified month with a plurality of years” is not clicked (off state), and the designated button MM is changed every year. This is limited to the case where the number is one or less.

  When two or more buttons MM are clicked one by one in one year, the last clicked button MM is selected, and only that year and month is set as a search condition. It has become. For example, when the buttons MM are clicked in this order, such as “July 2002” and “September 2002”, “September 2002” is set as a search condition. That is, in this embodiment, it is forbidden to specify a plurality of non-consecutive months in one year, and when specifying a plurality of non-consecutive months, it is essential that they are different years. Note that when two or more buttons MM are clicked in one year, an error message may be displayed in the application window WD.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing changes in the input field FL2 in a state where the check box CB of “Synchronize specified months with multiple years” is clicked (ON state). As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the check box CB of “Synchronize specified months with multiple years” is on, and one button MM (in the example shown, button MM1 for July 2002) is displayed. When the button is clicked, as shown in FIG. 10B, the corresponding month of the year and month designated by the clicked button MM1 is set for all years. That is, in the year from 1995 to 2010, the corresponding month of the designated month (in the example shown, the designated month is “July 2002”, so the month is “July Is set as a search condition. Subsequently, when another button MM is clicked, the search condition set by clicking the previous button is once cleared, and all the corresponding months of the year and month specified by the clicked button MM are displayed. It will be set as a search condition over the years.

  Even when a plurality of consecutive years are designated at once using the “Shift” key, when the check box CB of “link the designated month with a plurality of years” is on, The corresponding month of the year and month designated in a lump is set for all years.

  According to this computer program Pr, an image search process is performed using the search conditions specified from the input field FL2. The search target is a plurality of image files Fp taken from the digital camera 26 and under the control of the computer program Pr, that is, image files Fp registered in the search table TBL by the image file fetching routine.

  In the image list display field FL3 shown in FIG. 6, a thumbnail image Ds (read from the attached data storage area 32 of each image file Fp) for the image file Fp narrowed down by the search process is displayed.

  Note that a “cancel all designations” button BT6 is provided between the input field FL2 and the image list display field FL3. When the “cancel all designations” button BT6 is clicked, all designations previously made are cancelled, the button MM provided in the input field FL2 returns to the white background color, and the image list is displayed. In the display field FL3, no thumbnail image is displayed.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the processing after step S <b> 220 following step S <b> 210 realizes the change in the display of the application window WD described above together with the execution of the search processing, and will be described in detail below. In step S210, the above-described application window WD is displayed. At this point, the input field FL2 is in a state where no search condition is specified, and the image list display field FL3 has one thumbnail image. Is not displayed.

  After execution of step S210, the CPU 11 determines whether or not an end command for ending this computer program Pr has been received (step S220). This end command is issued by an operation by the operator using the mouse 24, and is issued, for example, when the [Close] button BT9 (see FIG. 6) provided on the title bar TB is clicked.

  If it is determined in step S220 that an end command has not been received, the CPU 11 advances the process to step S230 to determine whether an operation for specifying a search condition has been performed. The “operation for designating search conditions” is an operation using the mouse 24 for the input field FL2 described above, an operation of clicking one button MM, and a plurality of consecutive operations using the “Shift” key described above. For example, an operation for selecting the buttons MM at once is applicable. In step S230, it is determined whether any of these operations has been performed.

  If it is determined in step S230 that an operation for specifying a search condition has been performed, the CPU 11 advances the process to step S240 to specify the search condition storage memory area SM (see FIG. 1) by the operation. Period (when a plurality of continuous buttons MM are selected at once using the “Shift” key as described above, it is a plurality of consecutive years, and if the operation is to click one button MM, A process for determining whether or not there is a search condition that matches the year). Specifically, when the button MM is clicked in this order, such as “July 2002” and “September 2002”, the memory area SM will be described later when the latter is clicked. In step 280, since the search condition “September 2002” is stored, it is determined that there is a search condition that matches the year. Searches that match the year even if some of the search conditions entered later are included, such as “July 2002” and “December 2002 to January 2003”. It is determined that the condition exists.

  If it is determined in step S240 that there is a search condition that matches the year, the search condition storage memory area SM is once cleared (step S250). After execution of step S250, the process proceeds to step S260. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S240 that there is no search condition matching the year, step S250 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S260.

  In step S260, the CPU 11 determines whether or not the check box CB of “link the specified month in a plurality of years” is in an on state. A process for setting the corresponding month of the year / month period as a search condition for all years is performed (step S270). Specifically, the setting as the search condition is stored in the memory area SM for storing the search condition, and the corresponding month in all years is transferred to the memory area SM (stored first). Will be erased and newly stored). The check box CB is turned on / off by a click operation by the operator. The operation is received by another routine, and the operation result is stored in the memory 13. The determination in step S260 is performed based on the stored content. It is done using.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S260 that the check box CB of “link the specified month in multiple years” is not in the on state, that is, in the off state, the period of the year and month designated by the operation is Processing to be added to the memory area SM for storing search conditions is performed. That is, a process of adding a period of the newly designated year and month (taking the logical sum) to the search conditions stored so far is performed (step S280).

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9 in a state where the check box CB of “Synchronize specified months in multiple years” is not clicked (OFF state), “July in 2002” and “February in 2003” ”Button MM (MM1, MM3) is clicked in order, that is, when the designation is made so that the first designation and the subsequent designation are not the same year, the designated year is determined in step S280. The logical sum of months is set as a search condition. That is, “July 2002” and “February 2003” are set as search conditions.

  For example, in a state where the check box CB “linked with specified months in multiple years” is clicked (ON state), as illustrated in FIG. 10, a button MM (MM1) “July 2002” is displayed. When clicked, in step S270, all the corresponding months (July in the illustrated example) of the designated year for each year from 1995 to 2010 are set as search conditions. .

  After executing step S270 or S280, the CPU 11 executes a search process for searching for an image file using the search conditions obtained in step S270 or S280 (step S290). Specifically, the search is performed in the following procedure using the image file Fp registered in the search table TBL as the search target. For the data item T1 of “year / month information” in the search table TBL, it is sequentially determined whether or not the search condition is satisfied, and stored in the data item T2 of “file name” in the record determined to satisfy the search condition. The extracted data is extracted in order. Then, the image file Fp specified by the extracted “file name” data is sequentially called as a search result.

  After execution of step S290, the CPU 11 performs processing for displaying the image file Fp called in step S290 in the image list display field FL3 of the application window WD (step S292). Thereafter, the CPU 11 returns the process to step S220, and repeatedly executes the processes after step S220. Also, if it is determined in step S230 that the operation for specifying the search condition has not been performed, the process is returned to step S220.

  If it is determined in step S220 that an end command has been received, the CPU 11 advances the process to step S295, closes the application window WD, and then exits to “return” to end the image search routine once. To do.

  As a result of executing the image search routine having the above configuration, an image file Fp satisfying the search condition input from the input field FL2 is searched from among the plurality of image files Fp registered in the search table TBL. The thumbnail image of the output image file Fp is displayed in the image list display field FL3.

  The operator selects one of the thumbnail images displayed in the image list display field FL3 by clicking on the desired thumbnail image, and then selects [Viewer], [Modify], Click one of the three types of [Output] buttons BT1 to BT3. By clicking the [Viewer] button BT1, the selected image can be enlarged and displayed. By clicking the [Modify] button BT2, a menu related to image modification is displayed, and the selected image can be modified by a desired modification method. By clicking the [Output] button BT3, the selected image can be output to the outside.

  The display control unit 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to the CPU 11 and step S100 executed by the CPU 11. The search condition setting unit 42 corresponds to steps S220 to S292 executed by the CPU 11, the mouse 24, and the CPU 11. In particular, the designation unit 42a corresponds to the mouse 24 and step S230, and the determination unit 42b corresponds to step S270 or S280. To do.

C. Operation / Effect According to the present embodiment configured as described above, the operator can specify the search condition by performing input to the input field FL2 using the mouse 24. In particular, by clicking the buttons MM in the input field FL2 in order (or clicking while pressing the “Shift” key), it is possible to specify a plurality of periods for the year and month. The logical sum of the conditions can be taken, and the image can be narrowed down at once by the logical sum.

  Further, in this embodiment, the operator clicks the check box CB of “Synchronize specified months with a plurality of years” and designates a predetermined period of one year for the input field FL2. Thus, it is possible to search for image files obtained during the predetermined period of all years. Therefore, even if the time is ambiguous for the operator, the desired data can be easily found without knowing the year if the time is known. For example, it is useful when you remember the most of the moon but want to forget some years, such as when you want to look for a photo taken at that beach.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the image files Fp registered in the search table TBL are classified by year and month, which are AND conditions of year and month, and how many image files exist in each year and month are obtained. In addition, the lower column CC of each year / month button MM provided in the input field FL2 is configured to display the obtained number of sheets as a bar graph, so that the operator views the lower column CC. Just know how many image files you want to search, and it is very convenient for operation.

D. Other embodiments:
The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the following modifications are possible.

(1) In the embodiment described above, the input field FL2 has the time axis and its scale formed by arranging the year and month buttons MM in the horizontal direction. However, the time axis and its scale need to be limited to such a design. However, various forms can be used as long as it is possible to specify the year and month which are AND conditions of the year and month. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an application window WD10 having an input field FL12 with the time axis as the vertical direction. As shown in the figure, the input field FL12 is arranged in the vertical direction in the order of year and month. Specifically, each year included in the period from a given year to another given year is displayed on the leftmost side, and each year from “January” to “December” is indented for each year. The month is indicated, and the indication of each month is a button. In the example shown in the figure, the check box CB10 of “Synchronize a specified month with a plurality of years” is turned on and “March 2002” is clicked. As a result, March for all years is set as a search condition. According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first example can be obtained.

(2) FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an application window WD20 including an input field FL22 according to another embodiment. As shown in the figure, the input field FL22 is provided with a time axis in the horizontal direction on which a scale SC for defining the year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month, is written, such as “how many months”. Yes. Specifically, the scales SC are laid out at predetermined intervals from the left to the right, and each year is composed of 12 scales SC. Further, only one slide mark MK is provided for each year on the time axis. The slide mark MK can be moved on the time axis by dragging with the mouse 24, and the year and month are designated by the scale SC indicated by the slide mark MK. Each slide mark MK can only move within each year provided in advance, and cannot move to another year. Further, in the case where the check box CB20 of “link the specified month for a plurality of years” is on, when one slide mark MK is moved, the other slide mark MK is also linked to the same month. It has become. According to this embodiment, the same effect as that of the first example can be obtained.

(3) In the input field FL22 in the first embodiment, an area YY in which the year is written is used as a button, and when this button is clicked, all months of the corresponding year are set as search conditions at once. It can also be set as the structure made.

(4) In the above embodiment, the image file taken from the digital camera 26 and stored in the hard disk drive 14 is temporarily registered in the search table TBL, and the search is performed using the search table TBL. However, instead of this, the image file stored in the hard disk drive 14 may be directly searched without creating the search table TBL. Further, the storage medium for storing the image file to be searched need not be limited to the hard disk drive 14, but may be another storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a memory 13.

(5) In the above embodiment, the image file to be searched is taken by the digital camera 26. However, instead of this, the image data of a silver halide photograph acquired using a color scanner or the like may be used. Good. In short, any image file having date information may be used. For example, it may be imported from outside via a network. Further, it is not always necessary to use color image data, and can be applied to monochrome image data.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the computer system to which one Example of this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the image file Fp of an Exif format. It is a flowchart which shows the routine of the control processing according to the computer program Pr. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the image file taking-in routine performed by step S100 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of table TBL for a search. It is explanatory drawing which shows the application window WD. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example when one button MM of the year and month is designated in the input field FL2. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example when the button MM of several continuous years in the input field FL2 is designated collectively. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example when the several button MM is clicked one by one by mouse operation in the input field FL2. It is explanatory drawing which shows the change of the input field FL2 when the check box CB of "link a designated month in multiple years" is in an ON state. It is explanatory drawing which shows application window WD10 provided with the field for input FL12 which made the time axis the vertical direction. It is explanatory drawing which shows application window WD20 provided with the field for input FL22 of other embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Personal computer 11 ... CPU
12 ... Bus 13 ... Memory 14 ... Hard disk drive 15 ... Input control unit 16 ... Display control unit 20 ... Display 22 ... Keyboard 24 ... Mouse 26 ... Digital Camera 28 ... Printer 30 ... Image data storage area 32 ... Attached data storage area 40 ... Display control section 42 ... Search condition setting section 42a ... Designation section 42b ... Determination section Dt ... Date information Ds ... Thumbnail image WD ... Application window FL1 ... Toolbar FL2 ... Input field YY ... Area MM ... Button CC ... Bottom BT4, BT5 .. Scroll button CB ... Check box for "Synchronize specified months with multiple years" FL3 ... Image list display field Fp ... Image file Pr ... Computer program TBL ... Search table SM. .. Memory area for storing search conditions W D10 ... application window FL12 ... input field CB10 ... check box WD20 ... application window FL22 ... input field MK ... slide mark CB20 ... check box

Claims (10)

An image search apparatus for searching a desired image file using the date information as a search item from a plurality of image files having date information,
Display control means for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale specifying year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month,
Search condition setting means for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator for the time axis displayed on the display device,
The search condition setting means includes:
A designation means for causing the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
An image search apparatus comprising: a determination unit that extracts a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designation unit and determines the plurality of extracted periods as the search condition. The image search device according to claim 1,
The determining means includes
An image search apparatus comprising: a designation limiting unit that limits designation by the designation unit to once per year on the time axis. The image search device according to claim 1, wherein:
The determining means includes
Batch designation necessity storage means for causing the operator to designate that the months for each year are collectively designated, and for storing whether or not the months for each year are designated collectively according to the designation result;
When the batch designation necessity storage means stores that the batch designation is performed, the search condition is assumed that the corresponding month in the range designated by the designation means is also designated for all other years. An image retrieval apparatus comprising: a month batch determination means for determining The image search device according to claim 2 or 3,
The designation means is:
An image search apparatus comprising only one mark for each year on the time axis that moves on the time axis in accordance with a movement instruction from an operator.   5. The image search apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image file is an Exif format file having an image data portion representing an image and an attached data portion for storing the date information. An image search method for searching a desired image file using the date information as a search item from a plurality of image files having date information,
A display control process for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale defining year and month, which is an AND condition of the year and month,
A search condition setting step for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator with respect to the time axis displayed on the display device,
The search condition setting process includes
A designated step for causing the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
An image search method comprising: a determination step of extracting a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designation step, and determining the plurality of extracted periods as the search conditions. A computer program for searching a desired image file by using the date information as a search item from among a plurality of image files having date information,
A display control function for displaying on the display device one time axis on which a scale defining the year and month, which is the AND condition of the year and month,
A search condition setting function for setting a search condition related to the search item based on an operation using an input device by an operator with respect to a time axis displayed on the display device is realized in a computer.
The search condition setting function is:
A designation function that allows the operator to designate a range on the scale marked on the time axis;
A computer program comprising: a determination function that extracts a plurality of periods from the year and month specified by the time axis based on designation by the designation unit, and determines the extracted plurality of periods as the search condition. A computer program according to claim 7,
The decision function is
A computer program comprising a designation restriction function for restricting designation by the designation function to once per year on the time axis. A computer program according to claim 7 or 8,
The decision function is
A batch designation necessity storage function for allowing the operator to designate batch of months for each year, and storing whether or not batch designation of months for each year according to the designation result;
When it is stored that the batch designation is performed by the batch designation necessity storage function, the search condition is that the corresponding month in the range designated by the designation function is designated for all other years. A computer program having a monthly collective decision function for making decisions.   10. A computer-readable recording medium on which the computer program according to claim 7 is recorded.

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