JP2008219425A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor for writing back the image file management information on an internal memory into a recording medium when determined that a defective image file is erased. <P>SOLUTION: When it is determined that no erasure operation is performed, it is determined whether a recovery operation is performed or not. At the first file erasure processing in a reproduction mode, a file management area in the recording medium is saved into the internal memory such as an SDRAM. At the second or subsequent file erasure, in the reproduction mode, it is determined whether the image file to be erased is defective or not. When it is determined that the image file is not defective, the image file in the recording medium is erased. At the recovery operation, the file management information saved to the internal memory is written back into the recording medium. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for performing an image erasing operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, digital cameras that capture an image of a subject with an image sensor such as a CCD sensor and convert it into digital image data and record the digital image data on a recording medium such as a memory card have rapidly spread. In such a digital camera, by performing an image display operation, an image recorded on a recording medium can be displayed on a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). By performing an image erasing operation in that state, an image can be displayed. Can be erased from the recording medium.

  In the conventional digital camera, when the free capacity of the recording medium is reduced, it becomes necessary to delete unnecessary files and increase the free capacity. Normally, when the free space is reduced in this way, files that can be deleted are selected from the files in the recording medium, and the selected files are erased all at once. This type of file erasing includes a method of erasing by designating files to be erased one by one, or a method of erasing all files under the directory file by designating them in directory file units. A related technique will be disclosed next.

  Patent Document 1 has a digital processing circuit that creates a plurality of types of images having different image capacities as one captured image file and records it on a memory card. The digital processing circuit stores a memory when an image erasing operation is performed. One or a plurality of types of images are deleted from a plurality of types of images constituting the captured image file recorded on the card. Then, if the memory card does not have enough space to record the shot image file, erase the image that made up the shot image file along with the erased image according to the image erase operation, and then create Record the captured image file on the memory card. There has been proposed a digital camera capable of displaying and printing an image having the same contents as the erased image after performing the image erasing operation.

  In Patent Document 2, an image history management file is formed on a recording medium, and at the time of erasing a captured image recorded on the recording medium, the recording area information occupied by the erasure target image in the recording medium and the recording area are recorded. Data including final access information indicating the final access type is registered in the image history management file as management information of the erased image, and when writing to the recording area occurs, the final access information is corrected and erased from the recording medium. When the recovery of the recorded image is instructed and there is a request to recover the erased image on the recording medium, only the erased image whose final access type is erased in the image history management file is presented as a recoverable image. An electronic camera device that can show erasable images that can be restored before the restoration process, and that allows selected images to be restored It has been.

  Patent Document 3 inputs image information from an external device, reads a document image, stores the input image information and the read image information, prints the stored image information on a recording medium, and starts printing. The stored image information can be erased without printing, and if image information that is incorrect or consequently does not need to be printed out is stored, the image information can be erased without printing out. An image forming apparatus that is expensive and does not cause useless printout (useless copy) has been proposed.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-151867, when pressing the release button, detects a lack of storage capacity in image storage, together with a command key for ordering image candidates to be deleted from a predetermined point of view in the order of effectiveness. When the command key is displayed on the display unit, the display order of the multi-image is changed to the order of image candidates to be deleted from a predetermined point of view indicated by the command key. The image pickup apparatus and the image deletion method are proposed in which an image can be deleted and an image can be continuously taken and an image that is generally considered unnecessary can be searched with a simple operation. In addition, it has means for detecting defective image files such as camera shake, defocusing, and underexposure.

In general, erasure of a file is not performed by actively performing data clear processing on a recording medium, but is realized by setting information in the file management area to an erased state. That is, management is performed so that new data can be written into the recording area in the erased state. Therefore, even if the file has been erased, the actual data continues to exist without being erased unless new data is overwritten in the file area. Therefore, it is possible in some cases to restore the erased file by using a data management tool of a personal computer or sending a recording medium to the camera manufacturer.
JP 2006-217254 A JP 2002-135711 A JP-A-11-45031 JP 2002-369125 A

  However, in the conventional file erasing method described above, when erasing a large number of files, it takes time to erase all the files to be erased, and there is a problem that the more files to be erased, the more troublesome.

  In addition, it is troublesome for the user to perform special processing on the recording medium on the personal computer or to send the recording medium to the manufacturer in order to restore the file that has been mistakenly erased.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and by a simple operation, the image file other than the defective image can be quickly restored to the recording medium while the defective image file remains in the erased state. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method that improve operability.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 includes a storage unit that records acquired image data as an image file on a recording medium, and image file information of the image file recorded on the recording medium. Image file information acquisition means to be acquired, defective image determination means capable of determining at least one of camera shake, defocus, and underexposure of the image file recorded on the recording medium, and an image determined to be a defective image file Defective image file information recording means for storing file information on the internal memory, erasing means for erasing the image file in the recording medium, and when an erasing operation is performed under predetermined conditions, Image file management information duplicating means for duplicating image file management information on the internal memory, and the image file erased from the recording medium If the erased image file is determined to be a defective image file when a request for restoration of the erased image file is made, the internal The image processing apparatus is characterized in that the image file information of the defective image file of the image file management information duplicated on the memory is erased and the image file management information on the internal memory is written back into the recording medium.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect, the image processing apparatus further includes a reproduction unit that reproduces a desired image file when the reproduction mode is selected, and the predetermined condition is switched to the reproduction mode. Thereafter, it responds to the first file erasing operation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when the file erasing operation is performed, the erasing unit erases all files that satisfy a specific condition from the recording medium. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the specific condition is the same date as the file on which the file erasing operation is first performed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the specific condition is the same extension as that of the file on which the file erasing operation is first performed.

  The invention according to claim 6 is a storage step of recording the acquired image data as an image file on a recording medium, and an image file information acquisition step of acquiring image file information of the image file recorded on the recording medium; The image file recorded on the recording medium has a defective image determination process capable of determining at least one of camera shake, defocus, and underexposure, and information on the image file determined to be a defective image file is stored in the internal memory. A defective image file information recording step for storing; an erasing step for erasing the image file in the recording medium; and an image file management information in the recording medium when the erasing operation is performed under a predetermined condition. An image file management information duplicating process to be duplicated above, and an erased image file for restoring the image file erased from the recording medium. If the erased image file was determined to be a bad image file when a request for restoration of the erased image file was made, the image was copied to the internal memory. The image processing method is characterized in that the image file information of the defective image file in the image file management information is erased and the image file management information in the internal memory is written back into the recording medium.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method according to the sixth aspect, the image processing method further includes a reproduction step of reproducing a desired image file when the reproduction mode is selected, and the predetermined condition is switched to the reproduction mode. Thereafter, it responds to the first file erasing operation.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the image processing method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein in the erasing step, when the file erasing operation is performed, all files corresponding to a specific condition are erased from the recording medium. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method according to the eighth aspect, the specific condition is the same date as the file on which the file erasing operation is first performed.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the specific condition is the same extension as that of a file first subjected to a file erasing operation.

  According to the present invention, when the erased image file is requested to be restored, if the erased image file is an image file determined to be a defective image file, the image file copied on the internal memory It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for deleting image file information of a defective image file in management information and writing back image file management information in an internal memory into the recording medium.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is not limited to this, and can be applied without departing from the scope. In this embodiment, the image processing apparatus is handled as a digital camera according to an embodiment.

  The digital camera device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a digital camera device of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the memory card 109 in the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of data stored in the directory entry area 204 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the image data file area 205 in the present embodiment.

  A digital camera device shown in FIG. 1 includes a lens 101, a mechanical mechanism 102 including autofocus, a CCD 103, a CDS circuit 104, an A / D converter 105, a digital signal processing circuit 106, a compression / decompression circuit 107, a DRAM 108, and a memory card 109. LCD 110, driver 111, SG 112, CPU 113, operation unit 114, strobe 115, microphone 116, AMP / FILTER 117, D / A converter 118, audio data compression / decompression circuit 119, A / D converter 120, AMP / FILTER 121, The OSD 122 and a DC / DC converter 125 which is a power supply unit, a battery 126, an AC adapter 127, and the like are included. The CPU 113 has a RAM 123 and is connected to various components via a CPUBUS 124.

  The lens unit includes a lens 101, a mechanical mechanism 102 including an autofocus (AF) / aperture / filter unit, and the like. A mechanical shutter of the mechanical mechanism 102 performs simultaneous exposure of two fields. A CCD (charge coupled device) 103 converts an image input via the lens unit into an electrical signal (analog image data). A CDS (correlated double sampling) circuit 104 reduces noise of an electric signal output from the CCD 103. The A / D converter 105 converts analog image data input from the CCD 103 via the CDS circuit 104 into digital image data. That is, the output signal of the CCD 103 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 105 through the CDS circuit 104 at an optimum sampling frequency (for example, an integer multiple of the subcarrier frequency of the NTSC signal).

  The digital signal processing unit 106 divides the image data input from the A / D converter 105 into luminance data and color difference data, and performs various processing, correction, and data processing for image compression / decompression. The image compression / decompression circuit 107 conforms to JPEG, and compresses image data by orthogonal transform and Huffman coding. The image compression / decompression circuit 107 decompresses the image data by performing Huffman decoding / inverse orthogonal transform.

  On the other hand, the audio is converted into an electric signal by an audio-electric signal conversion element such as the microphone 116 to become audio data, amplified by the AMP / FILTER 117 and cut off to a necessary band, and then a predetermined band by the D / A converter 118. It is converted into digital audio data at a sampling frequency that is at least twice the sampling frequency. Further, the digital audio data is subjected to compression / encoding processing by the data compression / decompression unit 119.

  The DRAM 108 temporarily stores the compressed image data. The compressed image data is recorded on the memory card 109 as an image data file, and the compressed audio data is recorded as an audio data file.

  In addition, an image corresponding to the image data recorded on the memory card 109 is displayed on the LCD 110. In addition, the LCD 110 displays a set state of the digital camera device, for example, a set mode display or an error display.

  The operation unit 114 includes operation keys for externally performing function selection, shooting instruction, and other various settings. As the operation key, for example, a “divided display instruction” key for instructing division display of a plurality of pieces of image data stored in the memory card 109, and one of the divided image data is displayed in a cursor (identification display). ) To turn on / off the display of the state of the set digital camera device, etc. There is a “display ON / OFF” key for instructing.

  The CPU 113 controls the operation of each unit of the digital camera device according to a control program stored in a ROM (not shown) in response to an instruction from the operation unit 114 or an external operation instruction such as a remote controller (not shown). For example, the CPU 113 performs control of recording operation of image data and audio data to the memory card 109, control of reproduction operation of image data and audio data recorded on the memory card 109, and the like.

  In FIG. 1, a battery 126 and an AC adapter 127 are connected to the power supply unit and the DC / DC converter 125.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the memory card 109 described above. This format is the same as the DOS format for personal computers. As shown in FIG. 2, the memory card 109 has an attribute area 201 for storing card attribute information such as device type, access speed, storage capacity, etc., a boot selector area 202, a FAT area 203, a directory entry area 204, The image data file storage area 205 stores an image data file, and an audio data file storage area 206 stores an audio data file.

  In the boot selector area 202, parameters necessary for reading and writing data from the memory card 109, that is, a FAT (file allocation table), a directory entry, and the like are recorded.

  In the FAT area 203, a FAT entry, which is information indicating a state in which data of each file is recorded, is written. The position on the memory where the data is recorded is indicated by a cluster number which is the number of the data writing unit.

  In the directory entry area 204, as shown in FIG. 3, the file name of the recorded data, file attributes, reserved area, creation / update time, creation / update date, physical location of the corresponding file or subdirectory entry (FAT start) Number) and information about the size of the file. As the file name, when the corresponding file is a data file, a file name including an extension which is one of the attribute information of the file is recorded.

  The configuration of the image data file area 205 is as shown in FIG. 4, and each image data file (for example, RIMG0001.JPG, RIMG0002.JPG, RIMG0003.JPG, RIMG0004.JPG,...) Is sequentially fixed in length. It is written with data. The image data file includes an image header, main image data, and thumbnail images corresponding to the image data, as shown in the figure. In the image header, file attribute, individual standard name, standard version, related information of the image data main body, related information of the thumbnail image, recording mode, and the like are recorded.

  Next, the image data recording operation of the digital camera will be described. First, a subject image input via the lens 101 is converted into an electrical signal (analog image data) by the CCD 103, and then input to the A / D converter 105 via the CDS 104, and the analog image data is converted into digital image data. Converted. The converted digital image data is signal-processed by the digital signal processing circuit 106 and stored in the DRAM 108 via the CPU bus 124. The digital image data stored in the DEAM 108 is input to the compression / decompression circuit 107 via the CPU bus 124, subjected to compression processing, and stored in the DRAM 108 again. When the compression process is completed, the CPU 113 records the compressed image data stored in the DRAM 108 as an image data file in a predetermined form on the memory card 109 via the CPU bus 124. Also, in this case, thumbnail images created by thinning out some of the pixels of the compressed image data at certain intervals are also recorded as the same image data file.

  Next, the image data reproduction operation of the digital camera will be described. When the image data file of the memory card 109 to be reproduced is designated by the operation of the operation unit 114, the compressed image data of the designated image data file is read out and stored in the DRAM 108. The image data stored in the DRAM 108 is input to the compression / decompression circuit 107 via the CPU bus 124, decompressed, and stored in the DRAM 108 again. Image data stored in the DRAM 108 and decompressed is input to the digital signal processing circuit 106 via the CPU bus 124, converted into a video signal, and displayed on the LCD 110.

  Next, the image data erasing operation of the digital camera will be described. When the image data file of the memory card 109 to be erased is designated by the operation of the operation unit 114, the recording area used by the designated image data file is rewritten with the file management information (FAT area) in an unused state (usually, The file name in the directory entry area is deleted. This deletion of the file name does not actually delete all the data of the file name, but by changing the first character of the file name to the hexadecimal code “E5”, the corresponding image data file Indicates that the item is deleted.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is a first flowchart showing a control operation in the digital camera of this embodiment.

(First embodiment)
The user selects an image file to be deleted (step S501). Deletion of the selected image file and predetermined conditions of the deleted image file are held in the RAM memory (step S502). The predetermined condition held here is the shooting date of the erased image file (other than date information, for example, the extension of the erased image file is considered).

  Next, the image file recorded in the recording medium is searched, and the file information of the image file is acquired (step S503). Specifically, the file directory entry area in the recording medium is inspected sequentially from the top to the back, and the inspection result is stored in the RAM memory.

  Next, a comparison is made as to whether or not the file information of the image file searched in the process of step S503 matches a predetermined condition of the image file deleted first, in this embodiment, the shooting date or the extension of the image file. This is performed (step S503).

  If the comparisons match (step S504 / YES), the image file that matches the predetermined condition is deleted (step S505). If the comparison does not match (step S504 / NO), the process of step 505 is skipped and the process proceeds to step S506.

  In the process of step S506, it is determined whether or not all files in the recording medium have been searched (step S506). If all file searches have been completed (step S506 / YES), all processing ends. If all the file searches have not been completed (step S506 / NO), the process returns to step 503.

  According to the present embodiment, since all the files that meet the predetermined condition are erased from the recording medium by a single file erasing operation, it is possible to improve convenience and operability without requiring cumbersome file selection. I can plan.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a second flowchart showing the control operation in the digital camera of this embodiment.

(Second Embodiment)
By a user operation, a file number is designated and a reproduction request is made (step S601). A reproduction process is performed on the image file corresponding to the designated file number (step S602). As a result, the reproduced image is displayed on a display device such as an LCD. After the display, it is determined whether an update operation has been performed (step S603). If it is determined that an update operation has been performed (step S603 / Yes), the file number is updated (step S603). After the file number is updated, the process returns to step S602. As a result, the reproduced image displayed on the display device such as the LCD is updated. If it is determined that an update operation has not been performed (step S603 / NO), it is determined whether an erase operation has been performed (step S605).

  If it is determined that an erasing operation has been performed (step S605 / Yes), it is determined using a flag or the like whether or not the previous file erasing is the first file erasing process after entering the reproduction mode (step S606). ). When it is determined that the erasing operation has not been performed (step S605 / NO), it is determined whether or not the restoration operation has been performed (step S612).

  If it is the first file erasing process after entering the playback mode (step S606 / Yes), the file management area (FAT area and directory entry area) in the recording medium is saved in an internal memory such as SDRAM. (Step S607). If it is not the first file deletion after entering the playback mode (step S606 / NO), and after the processing of step S607, the image file to be deleted has at least one problem such as camera shake, blurring, underexposure, etc. It is determined whether the file is an image file (step S608).

  If it is determined that the image file to be erased is a defective image file (step S608 / Yes), the image file information determined to be a defective image file in the file management information saved in the internal memory is erased ( Step S609). When it is determined that the image file to be erased is not a defective image file (step S608 / Yes), or after the process of step S509, the image file in the recording medium is erased (step S610). After erasure, the file number is updated (step S611). When the update process is completed, the process returns to step S602.

  When the restoration operation is performed (step S612 / Yes), the file management information saved in the internal memory is written back to the recording medium (step S613). That is, the information in the file management area formed in the recording medium is overwritten with the file management information saved in the internal memory. If the restoration operation has not been performed (step S612 / NO), the process returns to step S603.

  As described above, the file management information at the time before entering the playback mode and before the first erasing operation is returned to the recording medium from the internal memory by the erasing file restoration operation after the erasing operation, and the recording medium is unnecessary. It is possible to quickly restore an image file that has been deleted by mistake without restoring the defective image file.

  According to the present embodiment, the image file management information of the erased image file other than the defective image file is written back from the internal memory to the recording medium while the defective image file remains in the erased state by a simple file restoration operation. For this reason, it is possible to quickly restore an image file such as erroneous erasure without restoring troublesome image files without needing troublesome file selection, and it is possible to improve convenience and operability.

  Further, by a simple file restoration operation, the image file management information of the erased image file other than the defective image file is written back from the internal memory to the recording medium while the defective image file remains in the erased state. For this reason, it is possible to quickly restore an image file such as erroneous erasure without restoring troublesome image files without needing troublesome file selection, and it is possible to improve convenience and operability.

  Furthermore, since all the files corresponding to the predetermined condition are erased from the recording medium by a single file erasing operation, it is possible to improve convenience and operability without requiring troublesome file selection.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the digital camera in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of the memory card 109 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the directory entry area | region 204 in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the image data file area | region 205 in this embodiment. It is a 1st flowchart which shows the control operation in the digital camera of this embodiment. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the control operation in the digital camera of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 Lens 102 Mechanical mechanism 103 CCD 103
104 CDS circuit 105 A / D converter 106 Digital signal processing circuit 107 Compression / decompression circuit 108 DRAM
109 Memory card 110 LCD
111 Driver 112 SG
113 CPU
114 Operation Unit 115 Strobe 116 Microphone 117 AMP / FILTER
118 D / A converter 119 Audio data compression / decompression circuit 120 A / D converter 121 AMP / FILTER
122 OSD
123 RAM
124 CPUBUS
125 DC / DC converter 126 Battery 127 AC adapter

Claims (10)

Storage means for recording the acquired image data as an image file on a recording medium;
Image file information acquisition means for acquiring image file information of the image file recorded on the recording medium;
A defective image determination means capable of determining at least one of camera shake, defocus, and underexposure of the image file recorded on the recording medium;
A defective image file information recording means for storing information of an image file determined to be a defective image file on an internal memory;
Erasing means for erasing the image file in the recording medium;
Image file management information duplicating means for duplicating image file management information in the recording medium on the internal memory when an erasing operation is performed under a predetermined condition;
Erasing image file restoration means for restoring the image file erased from the recording medium,
If the erased image file is determined to be a bad image file when the erased image file is requested to be restored, the bad image file in the image file management information copied to the internal memory An image processing apparatus, wherein the image file information is erased and the image file management information in the internal memory is written back into the recording medium.   2. The reproduction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising reproduction means for reproducing a desired image file when the reproduction mode is selected, wherein the predetermined condition responds to an initial file erasing operation after switching to the reproduction mode. Image processing apparatus.   3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the file erasing operation is performed, the erasing unit erases all files that satisfy a specific condition from the recording medium.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the specific condition is the same date as a file on which a file erasing operation is first performed.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the specific condition is the same extension as that of a file on which a file erasing operation is first performed. A storage step of recording the acquired image data as an image file on a recording medium;
An image file information acquisition step of acquiring image file information of the image file recorded on the recording medium;
A defective image determination step in which at least one of the image file recorded on the recording medium is determined to be camera shake, defocus, or underexposure;
A defective image file information recording step for storing information of an image file determined to be a defective image file on an internal memory;
An erasing step of erasing the image file in the recording medium;
An image file management information duplication step of duplicating the image file management information in the recording medium on the internal memory when an erasing operation is performed under a predetermined condition;
An erased image file restoration step for restoring the image file erased from the recording medium,
If the erased image file is determined to be a bad image file when the erased image file is requested to be restored, the bad image file in the image file management information copied to the internal memory An image processing method characterized in that the image file information is erased and the image file management information in the internal memory is written back into the recording medium.   7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a playback step of playing back a desired image file when the playback mode is selected, wherein the predetermined condition is a response to a first file erasing operation after switching to the playback mode. Image processing method.   8. The image processing method according to claim 6, wherein, in the erasing step, when the file erasing operation is performed, all files corresponding to a specific condition are erased from the recording medium.   The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein the specific condition is the same date as a file on which a file erasing operation is first performed.   The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein the specific condition is the same extension as that of a file on which a file erasing operation is first performed.

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