JP4670634B2 - Image reproducing apparatus, calendar display method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus such as a digital camera having a calendar display function, and a calendar display technique.

Some digital cameras display a reduced image of a recorded image that is recorded during reproduction for each period (year / month / day) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when a plurality of images are captured on the same day, reduced images of a plurality of recorded images are displayed in association with the same date on the calendar at the time of reproduction, and the image is difficult to see. was there.

  In order to solve such a problem, management data is created from a recorded image recorded at the time of reproduction using a reduced image of the first image or any one image taken on that day, and the management data In some cases, calendar display is performed using a reduced image (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 11-215457 A JP 2004-260710 A

  In the techniques described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, a reduced image is generated from a reduced image of a recorded image, and the reduced image is displayed by associating the date of the recorded image (hereinafter, main image) with the date of the calendar. Since the calendar is created, if the main image is deleted, the reduced image corresponding to the main image is also deleted. Therefore, when displaying the calendar, there is a problem that some of the reduced images corresponding to the date of the calendar cannot be displayed. there were. In other words, since the image displayed on the calendar disappears, there is a problem that the calendar does not function as a past record. There was also a demand to keep past information as a simple diary.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and displays an image reproduction apparatus with a calendar display function, a calendar display method, and a program for displaying a reduced image corresponding to the calendar date even when the main image is deleted. The purpose is to provide

In order to solve the above problems, in the invention described in claim 1, a recording memory in which a plurality of images and reduced images respectively associated with the images are recorded, and an image taken out from the recording memory is reproduced and displayed. an image reproduction control unit, and deletes the image designating means for designating an image to be deleted among the images recorded in the prior type recording memory, designated by the deletion image specifying means among a plurality of images recorded in the recording memory An image deletion control means for deleting only the image, and when the image is deleted by the image deletion control means, the reduced image associated with the deleted image is the reduced image taken out from the recording memory as the calendar date. when the calendar display mode for association with display of reduced images to be displayed in association with the calendar dates, cut from the recording memory of the reduced image A deletion prohibiting means for prohibiting, in the calendar display mode, an image reproducing device provided with a calendar display control means for displaying in association with the reduced image extracted from the recording memory the date of the calendar, the recording memory is And a plurality of image files storing information associating the image with the reduced image, a reduced image associated with the deleted image, and an image file storing the image information. Providing equipment.
Thus, even if the main image (referred to as a recorded image corresponding to the reduced image) is deleted, the reduced image associated with the main image remains in the recording memory. The reduced image associated with this main image will not be deleted at the same time, and the reduced image displayed in association with the date in the calendar display mode will be displayed on the calendar as before. The calendar can serve as a past record, and the user can recall past scenes and the like by looking at the reduced image and the calendar date. That is, past image information can be left as a simple diary.
Further, when the main image is reduced, an image file in which a reduced image corresponding to the main image is stored instead of the main image is generated. Therefore, in the calendar display mode, the image file is reduced even if the main image is deleted. Images can be taken out and displayed in association with dates.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the image deletion control means deletes the image file recorded in the recording memory, the reduced image associated with the image file is displayed in the calendar display mode in the calendar date. When the reduced image is displayed in association with the image file, the reduced image is stored in place of the image stored in the image file to be deleted, and the reduced image is stored from the image information of the reduced image stored in the image file. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image is deleted.
As a result, when the main image is reduced, an image file in which a reduced image corresponding to the main image is stored instead of the main image is generated. Therefore, in the calendar display mode, even if the main image is deleted, the image file is deleted. A reduced image can be taken out and displayed in association with the date. In addition, when displaying a reduced image to reproduce a desired image during normal image reproduction, if the reduced image is displayed based on the image information of the reduced image, the reduced image from which the main image has been deleted. Since the image is not displayed, there is no need to select a reduced image from which the main image has been deleted and select again when selecting an image in normal image reproduction.

Further, in the invention according to claim 3, a calendar display method in an image reproducing device provided with a recording memory, which records the reduced image corresponding to a plurality of images and each image on the recording memory A step of designating an image to be deleted among recorded images, a step of deleting only an image designated to be deleted among a plurality of images recorded in the recording memory, and a step of deleting the image designated for deletion When the reduced image associated with the image to be deleted is a reduced image displayed in association with the calendar date in the calendar display mode for displaying the reduced image extracted from the recording memory in association with the calendar date, A step of prohibiting deletion of the reduced image from the recording memory, and a reduction image taken out from the recording memory in the calendar display mode; And displaying in association with the calendar dates and the recording memory, image and a plurality of image files stored as information for associating the the reduced image, a reduced image that was associated with the deleted images the image And a step of recording an image file storing information . A calendar display method is provided.
As a result, even if the main image is deleted, the reduced image associated with the main image remains in the recording memory. Therefore, when the main image is deleted as in the prior art, the reduced image associated with the main image is also displayed. Since the thumbnail image that has been displayed in association with the date in the calendar display mode is displayed on the calendar as before, the calendar can function as a past record without being deleted. . That is, past image information can be left as a simple diary.
Further, when the main image is reduced, an image file in which a reduced image corresponding to the main image is stored instead of the main image is generated. Therefore, in the calendar display mode, the image file is reduced even if the main image is deleted. Images can be taken out and displayed in association with dates.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4, the plurality of images and computer image reproducing device provided with a recording memory, which records the association was reduced image to each image, and is recorded in the recording memory A function for designating an image to be deleted among images, a function for deleting only an image designated for deletion among a plurality of images recorded in the recording memory, and a deletion when the image designated for deletion is deleted. When the reduced image associated with the image to be displayed is a reduced image displayed in association with the calendar date in the calendar display mode in which the reduced image taken out from the recording memory is displayed in association with the calendar date, the reduced image is displayed. A function that prohibits deletion from the recording memory, and in the calendar display mode, the reduced image extracted from the recording memory is associated with the calendar date. And displaying, on the recording memory, image and a plurality of image file storing information that associates its reduced image, the image file stored reduced image that was associated with the deleted images the image information And a program for executing the recording function .
As a result, even if the image reproducing apparatus deletes the main image (which means an image corresponding to the reduced image), the reduced image associated with the main image remains in the recording memory. If is deleted, the reduced image associated with the main image will not be deleted at the same time, and the reduced image displayed in association with the date in the calendar display mode can be displayed on the calendar as before. .
Further, when the main image is reduced, an image file in which a reduced image corresponding to the main image is stored instead of the main image is generated. Therefore, in the calendar display mode, the image file is reduced even if the main image is deleted. Images can be taken out and displayed in association with dates.

  According to the present invention, even if the recorded image is deleted, the reduced image associated with the recorded image remains in the recording memory, and when the recorded image is deleted as in the prior art, the reduced image associated with the deleted recorded image is stored. Since the image display device can display the reduced image including the reduced image of the deleted recorded image in association with the date of the calendar, the displayed calendar can be displayed in the past. It can serve as a record. That is, past image information can be left as a simple diary.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an appearance of a digital camera as an embodiment of an imaging apparatus according to the present invention. Here, the appearance of mainly a front surface (FIG. 1A) and a rear surface (FIG. 1B) is shown. . The digital camera 100 has an imaging lens (lens group) 2 on the front side as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the back of the digital camera 100 has a mode dial 3, a liquid crystal monitor screen 4, a cursor key 5, a SET key 6, a zoom button 7 (W button 7-1, T button 7- 2) A menu key 10 or the like is provided. A shutter key 8 and a power button 9 are provided on the upper surface. Although not shown in the figure, a USB terminal connection portion used when connecting to an external device such as a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) or a modem and a USB cable is provided on the side portion.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the electronic circuit configuration of the digital camera shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the digital camera 100 is focused by moving the zoom lens 11-1 and the focus lens 12-2 for moving the zoom lens 12-1 and performing the optical zoom operation in the photographing mode which is the basic mode. An AF driving unit 11-2 that performs the operation, a lens optical system 12 that constitutes the imaging lens 2 including the zoom lens 12-1 and the focus lens 12-2, a CCD 13 that is an imaging device, a timing generator (TG) 14, and a vertical Driver 15, sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, A / D converter 17, color process circuit 18, DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller 19, DRAM interface (I / F) 20, DRAM 21, control unit 22, VRAM Controller 23, VRAM 24, digital video encoder 25, display unit 26, JPEG times 27, a storage memory 28, a key input unit 30 and a USB interface (I / F) 31,.

  In the monitoring state in the photographing mode, when there is an optical zoom instruction, the zoom drive unit 11-1 drives a zoom lens drive motor (not shown) based on a control signal from the control unit 50 to move the zoom lens 12-1 to the optical axis. , The magnification of the image formed on the CCD 13 itself is changed.

The AF drive unit 11-2 drives a focus lens drive motor (not shown) to move the focus lens 12-2.
Then, a CCD 13 which is an image pickup device disposed behind the photographing optical axis of the optical system 12 constituting the image pickup lens 2 is scanned and driven by a timing generator (TG) 14 and a vertical driver 15 to form an image at regular intervals. A photoelectric conversion output corresponding to the optical image is output for one frame.

  The CCD 13 is a solid-state imaging device that captures a two-dimensional image of a subject, and typically captures an image of several tens of frames per second. The imaging element is not limited to a CCD, and may be a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor).

  The photoelectric conversion output is appropriately gain-adjusted for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog value signal, sampled and held by a sample hold circuit (S / H) 16, and digital data by an A / D converter 17. Color process processing including image interpolation processing and γ correction processing is performed in the color processing circuit 18 to generate a luminance signal Y and color difference signals Cb and Cr, and the DMA (Direct Memory Access). ) Is output to the controller 19.

  The DMA controller 19 uses the luminance signal Y and the color difference signals Cb and Cr output from the color process circuit 18 by using the composite synchronization signal, the memory write enable signal, and the clock signal from the color process circuit 18 as well as a DRAM interface. DMA transfer is performed via the (I / F) 20 to the DRAM 21 used as a buffer memory.

  The control unit 22 controls the overall control operation of the digital camera 100, and stores an operation program executed by the CPU or MPU (hereinafter referred to as CPU) and the CPU including calendar image display operation control as will be described later. After the DMA transfer of the luminance and chrominance signals to the DRAM 21 is completed, the luminance and chrominance signals are transferred from the DRAM 21 via the DRAM interface 20. Read and write to the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23.

  The control unit 22 also extracts a processing program and menu data corresponding to each mode stored in a program storage memory such as a flash memory in response to the status signal from the key input unit 30, and Execution control of each function, for example, calendar image display control according to the present invention, zoom display operation control during electronic zoom, zoom lens operation control during optical zoom, through display, automatic focusing, shooting, recording, and It performs execution control such as playback and display of recorded images, display control of a function selection menu when selecting a function, display control of a setting screen, and the like.

  The digital video encoder 25 periodically reads the luminance and color difference signals from the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23, generates a video signal based on these data, and outputs the video signal to the display unit 26.

  As described above, the display unit 26 functions as a monitor display unit (electronic finder) in the shooting mode. By performing display based on the video signal from the digital video encoder 25, the display unit 26 receives from the VRAM controller 23 at that time. An image based on the stored image information is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 in real time.

  In response to the focus instruction, the controller 22 immediately stops the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 after the completion of the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals for one frame that are being fetched from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 at that time. Transition to saved state.

  In this stored recording state, the control unit 22 transmits the luminance and color difference signals for one frame written in the DRAM 21 through the DRAM interface 20 to each of Y, Cb, and Cr components of 8 pixels × 8 pixels horizontally. Are read in units called basic blocks and written into a JPEG (Joint Photograph Cording Experts Group) circuit 27. The JPEG circuit 27 uses ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform), a Huffman code which is an entropy coding system. Data compression is performed by processing such as conversion. The obtained code data is read out from the JPEG circuit 27 as a data file of one image, and is recorded and stored in the storage memory 28. In addition, the controller 22 activates the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 again with the completion of the compression processing of the luminance and color difference signals for one frame and the writing of all the compressed data to the storage memory 28.

  In the playback mode, which is the basic mode, the control unit 22 selectively reads out the image data recorded in the storage memory 28, and is compressed by a procedure completely opposite to the procedure of data compression in the image shooting mode by the JPEG circuit 27. The expanded image data is decompressed, the decompressed image data is expanded and stored in the VRAM 24 via the VRAM controller 23, and then periodically read out from the VRAM 24 to generate a video signal based on the image data. The display unit 26 reproduces and outputs.

The JPEG circuit 27 supports a plurality of compression ratios, and a mode for storing data corresponding to the compression ratio includes a mode corresponding to a high resolution (generally called high definition, fine, normal, etc.) with a low compression ratio. There is a low-resolution (commonly called economy) mode with a high compression rate.
It also supports high to low pixel counts. For example, there are recording pixel sizes called SXGA (1600 × 1200), XGA (1024 × 786), SVGA (800 × 600), VGA (640 × 480), QVGA (320 × 240) and the like.

  The storage memory 28 includes a recording medium such as a built-in memory (flash memory), a hard disk, or a removable memory card, and stores and records image data, photographing information, and the like. FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the recording area of the storage memory 28, and FIG. 4 shows a format of the image file.

  The key input unit 30 includes the mode dial 3, the cursor key 5, the SET key 6, the zoom button 7 (W button 7-1, T button 7-2), the shutter key 8, the power button 9, and the menu key 10 described above. , And a key processing unit (not shown) that generates an operation signal of the operated key and sends it to the control unit 22 when the key is operated.

  The mode dial 3 is used to select a shooting mode and a playback mode. The user operates the mode dial 3 to select (still image) normal shooting mode, macro shooting mode, continuous shooting mode, rapid shooting mode,..., Movie shooting mode,. A playback mode such as a video playback mode or a display mode such as a calendar display mode can be selected. The calendar display mode may be selected by selecting a calendar display menu or a calendar display icon displayed when the playback mode is selected, instead of an operation by mode dial.

  The cursor key 5 is a key operated when pointing (designating) a menu or icon displayed on the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 with the cursor when setting a mode or selecting a menu. Can be moved to. The SET key 6 is a key that is pressed when the item displayed by the cursor key 5 is selected or set or confirmed.

  The zoom button 7 is used for zoom operation. In the case of optical zoom, the angle of view actually changes corresponding to the operation of the zoom button 7 (W button 7-1 or T button 7-2), and the liquid crystal monitor screen 4 Displays a wide (wide angle) image or a tele (telephoto) image. In the case of the electronic zoom, the image from the optical system 12 is displayed by enlarging / reducing the image by digital zoom processing in response to the operation of the zoom button 7.

  The shutter key 8 performs a release operation at the time of shooting, has a stroke of two steps, and performs auto focus (AF) and automatic exposure (AE) by the first step operation (half-pressed state). And a shooting instruction signal for performing a shooting process in the second-stage operation (fully pressed state).

  When the menu key 10 is operated, a selection menu or icon that can be processed at that time is displayed when the menu key 10 is pressed.

  The USB interface (I / F) 31 transmits image data to the external device such as an external image processing device, an image recording device, an image display device, and an image printing device from the digital camera 100 via a USB cable, and transmits control data. It is an interface for giving and receiving.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the image file in the storage memory 28. FIG. 3A shows the format of the entire Exif compressed file. In an Exif (Exchange Image File Format) compressed file 40, thumbnail images, shooting information, and the like are embedded based on the JPEG image data format. Reference numeral 41 denotes file identification information such as a file number, reference numeral 42 denotes thumbnail image information, Reference numerals 43 to 47 denote photographing information of the main image, and reference numeral 48 denotes the main image (compressed data).
FIG. 3B shows details of the APP1 marker 42 portion of the Exif compressed file 40. Exif information 42-3 to 42-7 and thumbnail information (JPEG thumbnail (JPEG Thumbnail)) 42-8 are recorded in the APP 1 marker 42. FIG. 3C shows details of the AJPEG thumbnail 42-8, and thumbnails (data) are recorded in the thumbnail compressed data column 42-8-6 of the JPEG thumbnail information column 42-8. The thumbnail is created by reducing the main image to a size of horizontal 160 × longitudinal 1200 dots.

  When a reduced image is generated from an image recorded in the storage memory 28 (hereinafter referred to as a recorded image) and displayed in the date field in the calendar, the Exif information 42-in the APP1 marker 42 (FIG. 3B) is displayed. The shooting date and time and the shooting information are acquired from 3 to 42-7, and the thumbnails in the thumbnail compression data column 42-8-6 (FIG. 3C) are expanded (or reduced) to fit the size of the calendar date column. To display in the corresponding date column. In addition, when performing normal reproduction display that is not displayed on the calendar, the shooting date and time and the shooting information are similarly acquired from the Exif information 42-3 to 42-7 in the APP 1 marker 42, and then the main image of the thumbnail is acquired. Data is extracted from the main image column 48 of the corresponding Exif compressed file (FIG. 4A), expanded to the screen size, and displayed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the image file according to the present invention when the calendar thumbnail main image is deleted, and FIG. 4A is an Exif compressed file when the main image is deleted. The overall format is shown. The Exif compressed file 50 is embedded with thumbnail images, shooting information, and the like based on the JPEG image data format. Reference numeral 51 denotes file identification information such as a file number, reference numeral 52 denotes thumbnail image information, and reference numerals 53 to 57 denote thumbnail images. The shooting information, reference numeral 58 denotes thumbnail image data. FIG. 4B shows details of the APP1 marker 52 portion of the Exif compressed file 50. Only thumbnail information is recorded in the APP1 marker 52.

  In the description of each embodiment, the image file format is an Exif compressed file, but the image file format is not limited to an Exif compressed file. For example, an EPS file (Encapsulated Post Script File) may be used. In this case, the reduced image is generated from a preview image that is a low-resolution bipmap image added to the EPS file instead of a thumbnail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the entire operation of the digital camera according to the present invention. This flowchart is for explaining a program for causing the digital camera 100 to realize the zoom display function of the present invention.
The processing shown below is basically explained by an example in which the control unit 22 executes in accordance with a program stored in advance in a program memory such as a flash memory, but it is not necessary to store all functions in the program memory. Alternatively, a part or all of them may be received via a network. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. In the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, the still image shooting mode is described as an example of the shooting mode and the still image playback mode is described as the playback mode. However, the shooting mode and the playback mode to which the present invention can be applied are not limited thereto.

  In FIG. 5, after the power is turned on, the user operates the mode dial 3 to select a shooting mode, a playback mode, a calendar display mode, and the like, so the control unit 22 examines a signal from the key input unit 30 and “shoots” If "mode" is selected, the process proceeds to step S2. If "playback mode" is selected, the process proceeds to step S8. If "calendar display mode" is selected, the process proceeds to step S16. If the “output (transmission) mode” is selected, the process proceeds to step S17. If any other mode is selected, the process proceeds to a process corresponding to the selected mode (step S1).

  When the shooting mode is selected in step S1, the control unit 22 performs an AE process with a focal length corresponding to the zoom value at that time after initial setting (step S2), and obtains a subject image from the optical system 12. Based on this, image data is acquired from the CCCD 13, and an image with the number of pixels thinned out is displayed on the display unit 26 (step S3). When the zoom button 7 is operated, zoom processing is performed (step S4), and the shutter key 8 When the automatic focusing process is completed, the focus position is locked and the process proceeds to step S7 (step S6). When the shutter key 8 is fully pressed, Immediately after that, the path from the CCD 13 to the DRAM 21 is stopped, and switching to the CCD driving system at the time of actual photographing, which is different from that at the time of through image acquisition, is executed to obtain image data. Interrupt, performs image compression processing by the JPEG circuit 27, and records an image file composed of the compressed data in the storage memory 28, and ends the imaging processing of one frame. The image is formatted according to a DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) structure and Exif (step S7).

  When the playback mode is selected in step S1, the control unit 22 sequentially reads thumbnail images (data) from the storage memory 28, and displays a list on the liquid crystal monitor 5 of the display unit 26 to select images to be played back to the user. When the user selects an image to be reproduced (step S9), the control unit 22 checks whether or not there is an Exif compressed file corresponding to the selected thumbnail image (step S10), and the corresponding Exif compressed file is found. If there is, the control unit 22 extracts the image data (compressed image data) from the Exif compressed file, performs an expansion process, displays an image of the screen size on the image monitor 5 of the display unit 26, and proceeds to step S13 ( In step S11), when there is no corresponding Exif compressed file, the control unit 22 blocks the selected thumbnail image. And display a notification message indicating that there is no main image at a predetermined position (for example, at the top) of the screen (for example, “No main image”) and return to step S9 (step S12). .

  Since the user can press the menu key 10 to display a menu or icon for deleting a reproduced image or outputting (sending to a printing apparatus or the like) or the like and then select a desired process with the cursor key 5, the control unit 22 The signal from the key input unit 30 is examined. When “Delete” is selected, the process proceeds to Step S14. When “Output” is selected, the process proceeds to Step S15. When “End” is selected, the reproduction process is performed. The process ends (the description is omitted here when other processing is selected) (step S13).

  When “Delete” is selected, the control unit 22 generates the Exif compressed file fields 41 to 47 of the image as the fields 51 to 57, and the thumbnail compressed data instead of the compressed data of the main image is displayed in the field 57. The recorded Exif compressed file 50 (FIG. 4) is generated and recorded in the storage memory 28, and the process returns to step S13. As a result, the Exif compressed file 50 has a thumbnail but no main image, and thus the main image is deleted. As shown in FIG. 4B, the thumbnail information fields 52-1 to 52-6 are generated for the APPI marker 52, but the JPEG thumbnail field is not generated (step S14).

  When “output” is selected, the control unit 22 outputs (sends) the image data (compressed image data) extracted from the Exif compressed file in step S12 to the external device via the USB interface 31, and the transmission is performed. When finished, the process returns to step S13 (step S15).

  If the calendar display mode is selected in step S1, the process proceeds to a calendar display process as shown in FIG. 6 (or FIG. 10) (step S16).

  When the output mode to the external display device is selected in step S1, the control unit 22 reads out thumbnails (data) from the storage memory 28, decompresses them, and performs a plurality of thumbnail images on the liquid crystal monitor 5 of the display unit 26. The user is prompted to select an image to be output (step S17), and when the user selects an image to be output (step S18), the control unit 22 determines whether there is an Exif compressed file corresponding to the selected thumbnail. (Step S19), and if there is no corresponding Exif compressed file, the selected thumbnail image is displayed in a discriminative manner, for example, by blinking, and a notification message that there is no main image at a predetermined position (for example, at the top) of the screen. For example, “This image has been deleted and cannot be sent”) is displayed to prompt you to select the next image. When the processing ends (step S20) and there is a corresponding Exif compressed file, the control unit 22 reads the image data (compressed image data) from the Exif compressed file storage memory, and passes the USB interface 31 via the USB cable. When the transmission ends, the output processing for one screen is terminated (step S21).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the calendar display operation, which corresponds to the detailed operation in step S16 of the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG. 7 shows a calendar display example. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 70 indicates a monthly calendar, reference numeral 72 indicates the year and month of the displayed monthly calendar, and reference numerals 72-1, 72-2, 72-3, 72-4 are displayed in the date column corresponding to the shooting date. A reduced image is shown.

  In FIG. 6, when the calendar display mode is selected, the control unit 22 acquires the current year and month, generates a calendar 70 with the acquired year and month as the display year and month, displays the calendar 70 on the display unit 26 (step S <b> 6). T1), the first Exif compressed file recorded in the image file recording area of the storage memory 28 is opened, 64 Kbytes of data (that is, data for one Exif compressed file) is read from the beginning, and 64 Kbytes When the data reading is completed, the Exif compressed file is closed (step T2), and the shooting date and time is acquired from the Exif information (step T3).

  Next, the control unit 22 determines whether there is a thumbnail from the format of the APP1 marker. If there is a thumbnail, the process proceeds to step T6, and if not, the process proceeds to step T5. Whether or not there is a thumbnail is determined by whether the format of the APP1 marker has a JPEG thumbnail field 42-8 as shown in FIG. 3B or no JPEG thumbnail field as shown in FIG. 4B. Can be judged by format. That is, if the format includes the JPEG thumbnail field in the APP1 marker, it can be determined that there is a thumbnail. If the format does not include the JPEG thumbnail field, it can be determined that there is no thumbnail (step T4).

  If there is no thumbnail, the compressed data of the main image is expanded to the size of the date field of the calendar 70 and displayed in the date field corresponding to the date acquired in step T3 in the date field of the calendar 70. (Step T5).

  If there is a thumbnail, the thumbnail compression image is expanded to the size of the date field of the calendar 70 and displayed in the date field corresponding to the date acquired in step T3 in the date field of the calendar 70 (step T6). Whether there is a next Exif compressed file recorded in the image file recording area of the storage memory 28 is checked. If there is, the process proceeds to step T8, and if not, the process proceeds to step T10 (step T7).

  If there is a next Exif compressed file, the Exif compressed file is opened, 64 Kbytes of data are read from the head, and when the 64 Kbytes of data are read, the Exif compressed file is closed and the process returns to Step T3. (Step T8).

  If there is no next Exif compressed file in step T5, a reduced image is displayed in the date field corresponding to the date on which the recorded image was taken, among the date fields of the acquired month calendar 70. Therefore, the control unit 22 displays an icon indicating “next calendar display”, “main image display”, “reduced image deletion”, or “end” at a predetermined position (for example, the lower row) of the calendar 70. Alternatively, a message is displayed, prompting the user to select, examining the signal from the key input unit 30, and if “next calendar display” is selected, the process proceeds to step T10, and if “main image display” is selected. Proceeding to step T11, if "Delete reduced image" is selected, the process proceeds to step T18. If "Exit" is selected, the displayed calendar is deleted and the calendar display process is terminated (step S18). -Up T9).

  If “next calendar display” is selected in step T9, the user operates the cursor key 5 to the right (→) to advance the calendar display month by month, and the cursor key 5 to the left (←). Since the calendar display date can be returned one month at a time, the control unit 22 examines the signal from the key input unit 30 and counts the number of right or left operations of the cursor key 5 until the SET key 6 is pressed. When the SET key 6 is pressed, addition / subtraction is performed on the current calendar display date to obtain a new display date, and the process returns to step T1 (step T10).

  When “main image display” is selected in step T9, the user designates the date field in which the reduced image is displayed with the cursor key 5, so the control unit 22 examines the signal from the key input unit 30, When the user selects / designates a reduced image displayed in the calendar date field (step T11), it is checked whether there is an Exif compressed file corresponding to the reduced image displayed in the selected date field (step T11). T12) If there is no corresponding Exif compressed file, the reduced image displayed in the selected date field is displayed in a discriminatory manner, for example, by blinking, and there is no actual image at a predetermined position (for example, at the top) of the calendar 70. Is displayed (for example, “There is no main image of this reduced image”), prompts the user to select the next image, and returns to Step T11 (Step T13). When there is an Exif compressed file corresponding to the reduced image, the control unit 22 reads the main image data (compressed image data) from the Exif compressed file, performs expansion processing, and displays the screen size on the image monitor 5 of the display unit 26. Is displayed in a window (step T14).

  The user can select a desired process by using the cursor key 5 after pressing the menu key 10 to display a menu or icon such as deletion or output (transmission to a printing apparatus) of the main image, and the like. Examines the signal from the key input unit 30. When the menu key 10 is pressed and "Delete" is selected, the process proceeds to Step T16. When "Output" is selected, the process proceeds to Step T17, and "End" is selected. When it is selected, the reproduction process is terminated (the description is omitted here when other processes are selected) (step T15).

  When “Delete” is selected, the control unit 22 generates the Exif compressed file fields 41 to 47 of the image as the fields 51 to 57, and the Exif compressed file 50 in which the thumbnail compressed data is recorded in the field 57 (FIG. 4). ) And recorded in the storage memory, the window displaying the main image is cleared, and the process returns to step T9. As a result, since the Exif compressed file 50 has thumbnails but no main images, the main images are deleted (step T16).

  When “output” is selected, the control unit 22 outputs (sends) the image data (compressed image data) extracted from the Exif compressed file in step T14 to the external device via the USB interface 31, and the output is performed. When finished, the process returns to step T9 (step T17).

  When “Delete Reduced Image” is selected in Step T9, the user designates the date field in which the reduced image is displayed with the cursor key 5, so that the control unit 22 records the main image corresponding to the reduced image. The Exif compressed file that has been deleted is deleted, and the process returns to step T9. That is, when the reduced image is deleted, the corresponding thumbnail is also deleted (step T18).

  As shown in step S14 in the flowchart in FIG. 5 and step T16 in the flowchart in FIG. 6, only the thumbnail is recorded in the Exif compressed file 50 instead of the main image. Remains, and the reduced image of the deleted main image can also be displayed in a calendar. In addition, since the thumbnail has an extremely small size (compressed size) compared to the main image, even if the thumbnail is left when the main image is deleted, the influence on the storage capacity of the memory is small.

  Further, as shown in steps S11 and S12 of the flowchart of FIG. 5 and steps T13 and T14 of the flowchart of FIG. 6, different displays are performed depending on whether or not the main image exists, so that the user displays a reduced image. However, since it is understood that the image is a reduced image without the main image, there is no need to issue an output instruction or the like.

  Further, as shown in steps S19 to S21 in the flowchart in FIG. 5 and step T17 in the flowchart in FIG. 6, an image in which the main image does not remain is not output to an external device such as a printing device. It is not necessary to discriminate an image file that does not have a main image, and it is possible to prevent mistakes such as a mistake in image files that are caused by the presence of an image file that does not have a main image and a main image.

<Modification>
In the description of the above embodiment, when displaying a calendar image, the presence or absence of thumbnails is checked for all image files recorded in the storage memory 28, and the thumbnail (or main image) of the image whose calendar date and shooting date / time match is enlarged. Or, it is reduced and displayed in the calendar date field, but by providing a calendar directory, when the calendar is displayed, only the sub-directory of the month is examined, and the date of the calendar and the shooting date / time match. The thumbnail (or the main image) can be enlarged or reduced and displayed in the date field of the calendar.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a recording area of the storage memory 28. The storage memory 28 records a management data recording area 28-1 for recording area management data for managing a recording area allocated to the storage memory, and records a directory. Directory recording area 28-2 for recording, image recording area 28-3 for recording image files, and other area 28-4 for recording various data. Further, the directory recording area 28-2 has a structure as shown in FIG. In the directory recording area 28-2, in addition to the recorded image directory and the calendar directory 90, other subdirectories according to the purpose of the user can be created.
In many cases, a plurality of images are taken on the same day, but the image files to be recorded in the subdirectories 91-1, 91-2,... Of the calendar directory 90 in FIG. As described in Patent Document 2, it is desirable to limit the images for each date to one file per day (for example, the first image of the day, or one image selected arbitrarily).

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a directory. Below “DCIM” indicated by reference numeral 91 is a directory in which recorded images are recorded. In this embodiment, “CALEND” indicated by reference numeral 92 is a calendar directory. . In FIG. 10, reference numerals 92-1, 92-2,... Are subdirectories provided under the calendar directory “CALEND”. The directory names of the subdirectories 91-1, 91-2,... Are directory names representing the year and month (in the example shown, “200509” in the subdirectory 91-1 means September 2005). With this configuration, when displaying a calendar, as shown in FIG. 11, only images included in a directory having a directory name corresponding to the calendar year to be displayed can be searched, and a corresponding reduced image can be displayed. .

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the calendar display operation according to this modification, and corresponds to the detailed operation of step S18 in the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 10, when the calendar display mode is selected, the control unit 22 acquires the current year and month (generates a calendar with the year and month acquired in step as the display year and month, and the calendar of the acquired display year and month. 70 is displayed on the display unit 26 (step U1), and the calendar subdirectory name of the calendar directory “CALEND” in the directory storage area 28-2 of the storage memory 28 is searched by the display date of the calendar, and the hit sub Images (compressed data) recorded in the directory are sequentially taken out (step U2), subjected to sequential decompression processing, then reduced to the size of the date field of the calendar 70 and displayed in the corresponding date field (step). U3).

  The reduced images of the recorded images are displayed in all the date fields corresponding to the date on which the recorded image was photographed among the date fields of the month calendar 70 of the display year and month acquired in the calendar 70 by the operation of the above steps U1 to U3. Therefore, the control unit 22 displays an icon indicating “next calendar display”, “main image display”, “reduced image deletion”, or “end” at a predetermined position (for example, the lower row) of the calendar 70. Alternatively, a message is displayed to prompt the user to select, and when the signal from the key input unit 30 is examined and “next calendar display” is selected, the process proceeds to step U5, and when “main image display” is selected. Proceeding to step U6, if "Delete reduced image" is selected, the process proceeds to step U11. If "End" is selected, the displayed calendar is deleted and the calendar display process is terminated ( Step U4).

  When “next calendar display” is selected, the user operates the cursor key 5 to the right (→) to advance the calendar display month by month, and operates the cursor key 5 to the left (←) to display the calendar. Since the display date can be returned one month at a time, the control unit 22 examines the signal from the key input unit 30, counts the number of right or left operations of the cursor key 5 until the SET key 6 is pressed, When 6 is pressed, addition / subtraction is performed on the display date of the current calendar to obtain a new display date, and the process returns to step U1 (step U5).

  When “main image display” is selected, the user designates the date field in which the reduced image is displayed with the cursor key 5, so the control unit 22 examines the signal from the key input unit 30 and the user reduces the size. When the date column displaying the image is selected, the image file corresponding to the reduced image displayed in the selected date column is extracted from the subdirectory having the subdirectory name corresponding to the display date (step U6). Then, the compressed image data taken out from the image file is expanded, and a screen-size image is displayed in a window on the image monitor 5 of the display unit 26 (step U7).

  The user can select a desired process with the cursor key 5 after pressing the menu key 10 to display a menu or icon for deleting the main image, and the control unit 22 examines a signal from the key input unit 30. When the menu key 10 is pressed and “Delete Main Image” is selected, the process returns to Step U4. When “End” is selected, the playback process is terminated (if other processes are selected, this step Then, the description is omitted) (step U8).

  When “Delete Main Image” is selected, the control unit 22 displays a calendar directory “CALEND” 92 (FIG. 9) in which the name of the image file including the displayed image (in this example, the image number) is recorded. The image file name (= image number) is obtained from the sub-directory of (1) (step U9), and the image file name (image number) matching the file name (image number) is deleted from the directory “DCIM” 91. Then, the window displaying the main image is cleared and the process returns to step U4 (step U10).

  When “Delete reduced image” is selected, the control unit 22 deletes the image file from the subdirectory of the calendar directory “CALEND” 92 in which the image file including the displayed image is recorded, and the main image. Is cleared and the process returns to step U4 (step U11).

  As shown in FIG. 9 above, the calendar directory subdirectory name is the same as the calendar year (display month), so the calendar directory subdirectory name is displayed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. An image related to the calendar displayed by simply searching by month, that is, an image whose shooting date is the same as the display date of the calendar can be extracted from the storage memory. In other words, since it is not necessary to search all stored files, a reduced file can be displayed on the calendar instantly. In addition, the configuration of the program is simplified as shown in FIG.

  As mentioned above, although several Example of this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to said each Example, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible. For example, the term image reproduction device can be applied to a digital camera, a camera-equipped mobile phone, an image recording device having an image reproduction function, an information device, and the like.

It is a figure which shows an example of an external appearance structure of a digital camera. It is a figure which shows one Example of the electronic circuit structure of the digital camera shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows one Example of the format of an image file. It is a figure which shows one Example of the format of the image file concerning this invention when the main image of the thumbnail for calendars is deleted. It is a flowchart which shows the outline | summary of the whole operation | movement of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of the calendar display operation | movement concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a calendar. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the recording area of a preservation | save memory. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the directory for calendar | calenders. It is a flowchart which shows one Example of the calendar display operation | movement concerning the modification of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

5 Cursor (Deleted image designation means)
22 control unit (image deletion control means, image reproduction control means, image output control means, calendar display control means)
27 JPEG circuit (image reproduction means)
28 Storage memory (recording memory)
70 Calendar 71 Display date 91, 92 Directory 91-1 Subdirectory 100 Digital camera (image display device)

Claims (4)

A recording memory that records a plurality of images and reduced images respectively associated with the images;
Image reproduction control means for reproducing and displaying the image taken out from the recording memory ;
And delete the image designating means for designating an image to be deleted among the images recorded in the prior type recording memory,
Image deletion control means for deleting only the image designated by the deletion image designation means among the plurality of images recorded in the recording memory;
When an image is deleted by the image deletion control means , the calendar date in the calendar display mode in which the reduced image associated with the deleted image is displayed in association with the calendar date of the reduced image extracted from the recording memory. the case of the reduced image to be displayed in association, the deletion prohibiting means for prohibiting the removal from the recording memory of the reduced image,
In the calendar display mode, calendar display control means for displaying the reduced image taken out from the recording memory in association with the calendar date;
An image playback device comprising:
The recording memory includes a plurality of image files that store information that associates an image with the reduced image, a reduced image that is associated with the deleted image, and an image file that stores the image information.
Image reproducing apparatus according to this and features. When the image deletion control means deletes the image file recorded in the recording memory, the reduced image associated with the image file is displayed in association with the calendar date in the calendar display mode. In this case, the reduced image is stored in place of the image stored in the image file to be deleted, and the reduced image is deleted from the image information of the reduced image stored in the image file. Item 2. The image playback device according to Item 1 . A calendar display method in an image reproducing device provided with a recording by the recording memory and reduced image associated with each of the plurality of images and each image,
Designating an image to be deleted among images recorded in the recording memory;
Deleting only the image designated for deletion among the plurality of images recorded in the recording memory;
When the image designated for deletion is deleted, the reduced image associated with the deleted image is displayed on the calendar date in the calendar display mode in which the reduced image extracted from the recording memory is displayed in association with the calendar date. Prohibiting deletion of the reduced image from the recording memory when the reduced image is displayed in association;
In a calendar display mode, displaying a reduced image extracted from the recording memory in association with a calendar date;
Recording a plurality of image files storing information associating the image with the reduced image in the recording memory, a reduced image associated with the deleted image, and an image file storing the image information;
A calendar display method characterized by comprising: The computer of the image reproducing device provided with a recording by the recording memory and reduced image associated with each of the plurality of images and each image,
A function for designating an image to be deleted among images recorded in the recording memory;
A function of deleting only images designated for deletion among a plurality of images recorded in the recording memory;
When the image designated for deletion is deleted, the reduced image associated with the deleted image is displayed on the calendar date in the calendar display mode in which the reduced image extracted from the recording memory is displayed in association with the calendar date. A function for prohibiting deletion of the reduced image from the recording memory when the image is displayed in association with the reduced image;
In the calendar display mode, a function of displaying the reduced image taken out from the recording memory in association with the date of the calendar;
A plurality of image files storing information associating the image with the reduced image in the recording memory, a function of recording a reduced image associated with the deleted image and an image file storing the image information;
A program that executes

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