JP4228994B2 - Image management apparatus, image management method, and image management program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image management apparatus, an image management method, and an image management program, and more particularly to an apparatus, a method, and a program for informing the arrival of an image storage expiration date.

  Conventionally, various techniques for deleting unnecessary image data from stored image data have been developed. For example, according to Patent Document 1, the time limit management means of the center server that stores images and accepts orders receives the storage time limit recorded in the image file stored in the low resolution image database and the date acquired by the clock function. The expiration date is determined by comparing with the date. If the expiration date has expired, the image is deleted.

According to Patent Document 2, the confirmation means confirms the storage period of the image data stored in the first recording medium, and when the storage period has passed, the image data has the same file name and the same format. The character image data is generated by the character image generation means. The character image represented by the character image data indicates that the image data has been deleted. The image data from the first recording medium is compressed by the compression means, and the compressed image data is recorded on the second recording medium. Then, the image data is deleted from the first recording medium. Character data is displayed when there is access to the deleted image data.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-203360 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-312209

  By the way, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, images are automatically deleted with the expiration of the storage deadline, but after a considerable month and day since shooting, image data is required suddenly at birthdays, weddings, class meetings, etc. If this happens, it cannot be handled because the image has been deleted. SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image management apparatus, an image management method, and an image management program that efficiently keep only images that a user likes.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an image management apparatus that manages a storage time limit of image data, a setting unit that sets a storage time limit of image data, and a storage time limit of the image data has arrived. A notification unit for notifying the arrival of the storage period of the image data based on the determination result, a specification unit for receiving a specification of whether to erase the image data for which the storage period has arrived, An image management apparatus comprising: an update unit that updates a storage period of image data that has not been designated for erasure.

  According to the present invention, when there is no instruction to delete an image file whose storage period has expired, the storage period of the image file is updated and it is determined that the storage period has arrived. For this reason, even if it is not necessary to review each of the image files saved by the user, only the image files that the user likes continue to be saved with the update of the expiration date, and the image files that the user likes Can only be kept efficiently. Note that the storage period is, for example, a predetermined number of days calculated from the time of photographing, a predetermined number of days calculated from the time of image storage, the birthday of the next year, the beginning of the next month, and the like.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the setting unit sets the storage deadline as a storage period, and the notification unit stores image data by determining whether or not the storage period has elapsed from the start of a predetermined timing. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not a time limit has arrived.

  The storage period can be set by the storage period, for example, when a predetermined number of days have passed since the photographing.

  In the invention according to claim 3, the designation unit accepts designation of whether or not to print an image corresponding to the image data for which the retention period has passed, and the update unit determines the retention period of the image data designated for printing. An image management apparatus according to claim 2 for performing update setting.

  According to the present invention, when there is an instruction to print an image corresponding to an image file whose storage period has expired, the storage period of the image file is updated, and it is determined that the storage period has arrived. That is, the retention period of the image file to be printed that the user likes can be updated.

  The invention according to claim 4 provides the image management apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the update unit updates and sets a period equal to or longer than a currently set retention period.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to set a long retention period for an image file to be printed that the user likes.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image management apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, wherein the predetermined time measurement is started when the image data is stored.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the elapse of the storage period from the storage date and time of the image file stored in the personal computer or the like as a starting point, and more accurately notify the storage expiration date.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image management apparatus according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, wherein the predetermined timing is started when an image is taken.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the elapse of the storage period from the shooting date and time of the image file shot and generated by the digital camera as a starting point, and more accurately notify the storage deadline.

  The invention according to claim 7 is an image management method for managing a storage time limit of image data, a setting step of setting a storage time limit of image data, and determining whether or not the storage time limit of the image data has arrived, An informing step for notifying the arrival of the storage period of the image data based on the determination result, a specifying step for accepting designation of whether or not to erase the image data for which the storage period has expired, and the erasing were not designated An image management method including an update step for updating a storage period of image data.

  The above steps can be executed by a personal computer or a digital camera.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an image management program for managing a storage time limit of image data, a setting step for setting a storage time limit of image data, and whether or not the storage time limit of the image data has arrived, An informing step for notifying the arrival of the storage period of the image data based on the determination result, a specifying step for accepting designation of whether or not to erase the image data for which the storage period has expired, and the erasing were not designated An image management program for causing a computer to execute an update step for updating a storage period of image data is provided.

  This image management program may be supplied by being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-R or DVD, or may be supplied via a network such as the Internet.

  According to the present invention, when there is no instruction to delete an image file whose storage period has expired, the storage period of the image file is updated and it is determined that the storage period has arrived. For this reason, even if it is not necessary to review each of the image files saved by the user, only the image files that the user likes continue to be saved with the update of the expiration date, and the image files that the user likes Can only be stored efficiently.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Schematic configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an image management apparatus 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The image management apparatus 1 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10, a timer 11 that outputs the current time to the CPU 10, an operation unit 12 such as a keyboard and a mouse that accept various operations, a display unit 13 such as a liquid crystal display, A semiconductor memory that stores image data, a program executed by the CPU 10, and the like, and a storage unit 14 including a hard disk unit are provided. On the other hand, the digital camera 2 includes an imaging unit 21 including an imaging element and a storage unit 22 such as a semiconductor memory, and image data captured, generated, and output by the imaging unit 21 is stored in the storage unit 22. Image data in the storage unit 22 is input to the storage unit 14 via a USB port (not shown). The image management apparatus 1 can be composed of a personal computer used by each user.

  The image management apparatus 1 may be connected to an external storage device 3 such as an external hard disk unit or a media reader / writer (RW) 15 that reads and records data from a recording medium 4 such as a DVD or CD-R. Instead of inputting image data from the digital camera 2 to the storage unit 14, a mode in which a silver halide print photograph or a negative / positive film is scanned with the scanner 5 and converted into image data, and the image data is input to the storage unit 14 is also possible. Is possible.

[Process flow]
The flow of image management processing executed by the CPU 10 will be described below based on the flowchart of FIG. This processing starts when image data input from the digital camera 2 or the scanner 5 is stored in the storage unit 14.

  In S1, for each image data stored in the storage unit 14, a predetermined storage period is set as a default storage period. The retention period to be set may be any period as long as it is after the current date and time. However, in this embodiment, as an example, the predetermined retention period is set as the expiration of the predetermined retention period T, and the default retention period The predetermined storage period T is set to the storage period T0 (for example, 90 days). The storage period T0 is stored in advance in the storage unit 14, and may be changed by the operation unit 12. In S2, the saved time of the image data is acquired from the time stamp of each image data, and this time is stored in the storage unit 14 as the time measurement start time of each image data. The time when each image data is stored may be acquired from the timer 11 and used as the time measurement start time.

  In S <b> 3, the current time output from the timer 11 is compared with the set storage time limit, and it is determined whether or not the storage time limit has been reached for each image data stored in the storage unit 14. In this embodiment, as an example, whether or not the storage time limit of each image data has been reached is determined based on whether or not a predetermined storage period T has elapsed from the time measurement start time of each image data. However, it is also possible to determine the expiration date by a method as will be described later. If the storage time limit has arrived, the process proceeds to S4, and if not, the above determination is repeated.

  In S4, an image corresponding to image data whose storage deadline has arrived (hereinafter also referred to as expired image data) is displayed on the display unit 13 to notify that the storage deadline of the image data has come. Then, an instruction to select whether or not to delete the image data corresponding to the displayed image is received by operating the operation unit 12. This instruction can be performed for each expired image data. In S5, for each expired image data, it is determined whether an instruction to delete the expired image data has been issued. If no instruction to erase is given, the process proceeds to S6. When an instruction to erase is given, the image management process is terminated, but the process of erasing the image data instructed to be erased from the storage unit 14 or copying to the external storage device 3 or the recording medium 4 is performed. May be.

  In S <b> 6, an instruction as to whether or not to print the displayed image is received from the operation unit 12. If an instruction to print is issued, the process proceeds to S7. If an instruction to print is not issued, the process proceeds to S9. This instruction can be performed for each displayed image. In S7, image data corresponding to an image for which a print instruction has been issued is output to various printers such as a TA (Thermo-Autochrome) printer or an inkjet printer (not shown) and printed.

  If no printer is connected to the image management apparatus 1, the process proceeds to S8 instead of S6 at "Y" in S5. Alternatively, in S6, an instruction as to whether or not to continue saving of expired image data is accepted instead of an instruction as to whether or not printing is to be performed, and if an instruction to continue saving is received, the process proceeds to S8 to continue saving. If no instruction is given, the process may proceed to S9.

  In S8, the predetermined storage period is updated and set, and the process returns to S2. The update expiration date may be any expiration date as long as it is after the currently set retention date, such as the next year's birthday or the first day of the next month. In this embodiment, as an example, a predetermined storage period T of image data corresponding to an image for which a print instruction has been issued is updated to a storage period T1, and the process returns to S2. In particular, a period longer than the currently set storage period T may be updated and set. For example, a period twice as long as the currently set storage period T (if the storage period T is 90 days, 180 days may be updated) may be automatically set. In this way, it is possible to set a longer storage period for the image file to be printed that the user likes.

  In S <b> 9, an instruction as to whether or not to permanently save the image data corresponding to the displayed image is received from the operation unit 12. This instruction can be performed for each expired image data. If an instruction to permanently store is instructed, the process proceeds to S11. If an instruction to permanently store is not instructed, the process proceeds to S10. In S10, designation of the storage period is accepted from the operation unit 12, and the storage period specified as the predetermined storage period is updated and set. In the present embodiment, as an example, designation of the retention period T2 is received from the operation unit 12, and the predetermined retention period T is set to the designated retention period T2 and stored in the storage unit 14. The storage period T2 that can be specified may be an arbitrary value unlike T1. In S11, the expired image data instructed to be permanently stored is copied from the storage unit 14 to the external storage device 3 or the recording medium 4, and this process is terminated.

  An image management program for causing the CPU 10 to execute the above-described steps S1 to S11 is stored in the storage unit 14. The image management program may be supplied by being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-R or DVD, or may be supplied via a network such as the Internet.

  Through the above processing, every time a predetermined storage period arrives, it is notified that the storage period of the image file has been reached, and an instruction whether or not to delete the expired image file is accepted (S4), and the expired image file is deleted. If there is an instruction, the determination of the expiration of the storage period ends. On the other hand, if there is no instruction to delete the expired image file, the storage period of the expired image file is updated (S8 or S10) and the determination of the expiration of the storage period is continued. (S3). For this reason, even if the user does not review the image files stored one by one, only the image files that the user likes continue to be stored in the storage unit 14 due to the update of the storage period, or are stored in the external storage device 3 or the recording medium 4. It is stored (S11). That is, it is possible to efficiently accumulate only the image files that the user likes.

  Further, when there is an instruction to print an image (“Y” in S6), the storage deadline is updated for the image data corresponding to the image (S8), and the user subsequently determines whether the storage deadline has arrived (S3). The image file corresponding to the image printed by is continuously stored in the storage unit 14.

<Other embodiments>
(1) The determination of the storage expiration date in S3 of the image management process is not based on the passage of the storage period T from the storage of each image file, but a predetermined date and time set by the operation unit 12 (for example, the user's Based on whether or not a birthday or the first day of every month has arrived. In this way, it is not necessary to execute the above-described processing steps S2 to S11 for each image file and determine the lapse of the period T, and the storage expiration date for all the image files stored in the storage unit 14 is summarized. The processing load of the CPU 10 is reduced.

  (2) The above-described image management process can also be executed by a digital camera having a configuration as shown in FIG. However, the imaging unit 21 directly outputs the image file to the storage unit 14, and the storage unit 14 stores the output image data. As the recording medium 4, smart media, compact flash, or the like is used. The time measurement start time in S2 is preferably the shooting date and time recorded in the header portion of the image file. Since the shooting date / time is an accurate generation date / time of the image file by the imaging unit 21, it is possible to more accurately notify the storage expiration date.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image management apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Flow chart showing the flow of image management processing 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital camera according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

10: CPU, 11: timer, 14: storage unit, 21: imaging unit

Claims (8)

A setting section for setting the storage period of image data;
A central processing unit for determining whether or not the storage period of the image data has arrived;
A designation unit for accepting designation as to whether or not to print an image corresponding to the image data determined to have reached the storage deadline by the central processing unit ;
An update unit for updating a storage period of image data for which designation of printing has been accepted by the designation unit;
An image management apparatus comprising: The setting unit sets the storage period by a storage period,
The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the central processing unit determines whether or not the storage period of the image data has expired by determining whether or not the storage period has elapsed since the start of a predetermined timing.   The image management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the update unit updates and sets a period longer than a currently set retention period.   The image management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined timing is a time when the image data is stored or taken. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification unit that notifies image data determined to have reached a storage deadline by the central processing unit. A setting step for setting the storage period of the image data in the storage device;
A determination step of determining whether or not the storage time limit of the image data has arrived by comparing the current time output from the timer and the storage time limit of the image data set in the storage device;
A designation step for accepting from the controller device whether or not to print an image corresponding to the image data determined to have reached the storage deadline;
An update step of updating the storage period of the image data for which the designation of printing is accepted among the storage periods of the image data set in the storage device;
An image management method executed by a computer.   The image management method according to claim 6, wherein the computer executes a notification step of notifying the arrival of the storage period of the image data by displaying the image data determined to have reached the storage period on a display device.   An image management program for causing a computer to execute the image management method according to claim 6.

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