KR20080051470A - Method of controlling digital image processing apparatus for convenient setting of white balance - Google Patents

Abstract

A control method for conveniently setting a white balance in a digital image processing apparatus is provided to allow a user to set the white balance conveniently without using an additional reference color auxiliary device. A digital camera processor displays condition icons for setting a white balance(S501). When a user-setup condition icon is activated among the condition icons, a gradation rate of red, green, and blue colors in a screen picture corresponding to an input position signal from a user is set up as a white balance in the user-setup condition(S503-S519). Icons of an auto white balance condition, a sunlight condition, a cloudy weather condition, a fluorescent lamp condition, an incandescent lamp condition, and the user-setup condition are displayed.

Description

Method of controlling digital image processing apparatus for convenient setting of white balance

1 is a perspective view showing the front and top appearance of a digital camera as a digital image processing apparatus to which the control method according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a rear shape of the digital camera of FIG. 1.

3 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of the digital camera of FIG. 1.

4 is a flow chart showing the main algorithm of the digital camera processor of FIG.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an algorithm of a white balance setting mode included in the setting mode of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining that when an icon of a user-setting condition is activated by performing the steps S509 to S513 of FIG. 5, an input position signal is generated when the user contacts the "A" area.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining that the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the area "A" of FIG. 6 are set to white balance in a user-setting condition.

 <Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1 ... digital camera, 11 ... self-timer lamp,

12 ... flash, 13 ... shutter release button,

15 ... function buttons, 16 ... ASR mode buttons,

17 ... power button, 19 ... flash-light sensor,

20 ... lens section, 22 ... camera-status lamp,

23 ... special-effect buttons, 24 ... camera strap,

25 ... earphone connection, MIC ... microphone,

SP ... speakers, 35 ... display panels,

36 ... + /-buttons, 39 ... Zoom / 9 split / volume buttons,

42 ... play / print button, 43 ... mode button,

OPS ... optical system, OEC ... photoelectric converter, M _Z ... zoom motor, M _F ... focus motor,

M _A ... aperture motor, 501 ... analog-to-digital converter,

502 timing circuit, 503 real time clock,

504 ... DRAM, 505 ... EEPROM, 506 ... memory card interface, 507 ... digital camera processor, 508 ... RS232C interface, 509 ... video filter, 21a ... USB connection, 21b ... RS232C connection, 21c ... video output, 510 ... lens driver, 511 ... flash controller, 512 ... microcontroller, INP ... user input, LAMP ... light emitter, 513 ... audio processor, 514 ... LCD driver, 62 ... flash memory.

The present invention relates to a control method of a digital image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a control method of a digital image processing apparatus that performs white balance setting by a user's operation in a white balance setting mode. .

As a typical digital image processing apparatus, for example, a digital camera of US Pat. No. 6,097,431 (name of the method and system for reviewing and navigating among images on an image capture unit) is mentioned.

In the conventional digital image processing apparatus as described above, as condition icons for setting the white balance, an icon of an automatic white-balance condition, a sunlight condition, a cloudy weather condition, a fluorescent lamp condition, an incandescent lamp condition, and a user-set condition may be used. Can be mentioned. For example, when the user ends the white balance setting while activating the icon of the solar condition, the white balance data suitable for the solar condition is stored.

Meanwhile, when a separate button, for example, a shutter release button is pressed while the icon of the user-setting condition is activated, the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the entire screen area of the current preview image are displayed. It is set as the white balance in the user-setting condition. Accordingly, the user can set the white balance in the user-setting condition by photographing auxiliary means of the desired reference color, for example, white paper or the like.

According to the conventional digital image processing apparatus as described above, when the white balance is set by the user-setting condition, the user has to use the auxiliary means of the desired reference color.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a control method of a digital image processing apparatus that allows a user to conveniently set white balance without using a separate reference color auxiliary means in setting white balance according to a user-setting condition. To provide.

The present invention for achieving the above object, the control method of the digital image processing apparatus to perform the white balance setting by the user's operation in the white balance setting mode, comprising the steps (a) and (b).

In step (a), condition icons for white balance setting are displayed. In the step (b), when the icon of the user-setting condition is activated among the condition icons, the gradation ratio of red, green, and blue in the screen area corresponding to the input position signal from the user is set to the user-setting. The white balance under the condition is set.

According to the control method of the digital image processing apparatus of the present invention, by designating a screen area of a reference color desired by a user, the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the designated screen area are white balance in the user-set condition. Is set to.

For example, when the display panel of the digital image processing apparatus is a touch screen type, the user may set a white balance in a user-setting condition by contacting a finger or a stylus pen with a screen area of a desired reference color. Accordingly, the user can conveniently set the white balance without using an auxiliary means of a separate reference color.

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

Referring to FIG. 1, in front and above of a digital camera 1 as a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention, a self-timer lamp 11, a flash 12, a shutter release button 13, and an ASR (Advanced Shake) are provided. Reduction mode button 16, power button 17, lens unit 20, microphone MIC, and speaker SP.

In the self-timer mode, the self-timer lamp 11 operates for a set time from the time when the shutter release button 13 is pressed to the time at which the image starts to be captured. In addition, the self-timer lamp 11 generates auxiliary light according to the user's selection.

The ASR mode button 16 is used to compensate for camera shake. The ASR mode button 16 is also used as a lock button. For example, when the ASR mode button 16 is pressed for less than 1 second, the image stabilization function is performed, and when the ASR mode button 16 is pressed for 1 second or more, the lock function in the playback mode is performed.

The shutter release button 13 has a two-stage structure. That is, when the user operates the wide-angle zoom button 39 _W and the tele-zoom button 39 _T , and presses the shutter release button 13 only one step, the SH1 signal from the shutter release button 13 is turned on. And the second stage is pressed, the SH2 signal from the shutter release button 13 is turned on. In the still image shooting mode and the moving image shooting mode, the image is captured after the SH2 signal is pressed. In the continuous shooting mode, images are captured continuously while the SH1 signal is on.

2, behind the digital camera 1 according to the present invention, the function buttons 15, the camera-status lamp 22, the special-effects button 23, the camera strap 24, the earphone There is a connection 25, a display panel 35, a +/- button 36, a zoom / 9 split / volume button 39, a play / printer button 42, and a mode button 43.

The function buttons 15 are used by the user to perform specific functions of the digital camera 1, are used as direction-shift buttons of the activation cursor on the menu screen of the display panel 35, and are played back in the playback mode. It is used to switch files and recording media.

The camera-state lamp 22 is used to show various operating states of the camera. Special-effect button 23 is used to provide special effects to the image to be photographed.

In the present embodiment, the display panel 35 adopts a touch screen method. The +/- button 36 is used to adjust the shutter speed for night scene photography and the like.

The zoom / 9split / volume button 39 is used to perform a zooming operation in shooting or playback mode, to display nine pictures in a single playback mode, or to adjust the volume of audio. Used for

The play / printer button 42 is used for switching between the play mode and the preview mode or for direct output to the printer.

The mode button 43 is used to select a PMP (Portable Media Player) mode or various shooting modes.

3 shows the overall configuration of the digital camera 1 of FIG. Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the overall configuration and operation of the digital camera 1 of Figure 1 will be described.

The optical system OPS including the lens unit and the filter unit optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens, a focus lens, and a compensation lens. When the user presses the zoom / split / volume button 39 included in the user input unit INP in the preview mode or the video shooting mode, a corresponding signal is input to the microcontroller 512. Accordingly, as the microcontroller 512 controls the lens driver 510, the zoom motor M _Z is driven to move the zoom lens.

Meanwhile, in the auto focusing mode, the focus motor M _F is driven by the main controller embedded in the digital camera processor 507 controlling the driving unit 510 through the microcontroller 512. As a result, the focus lens is moved, and in this process, the position of the focus lens where the high frequency component of the image signal is the largest, for example, the number of driving steps of the focus motor M _F is set. Reference numeral M _A denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown).

A photoelectric conversion unit (OEC) of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from an optical system (OPS) into an electrical analog signal. Here, the digital camera processor 507 controls the timing circuit 502 to control the operations of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-digital converter 501. The CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) element 501 as an analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, and adjusts the amplitude. After that, it is converted into a digital signal.

The real time clock 503 provides time information to the digital camera processor 507. The digital camera processor 507 processes the digital signal from the CDS-ADC element 501 to generate a digital video signal classified into luminance and chroma signals.

The self-timer lamp 11 and the camera-status lamp 22 are provided in the light emitting portion LAMP driven by the microcontroller 512 according to control signals from the digital camera processor 507 incorporating the main controller. Etc. are included.

The user input unit INP includes a shutter release button 13, function buttons 15, an ASR mode button 16, a power button 17, a special-effect button 23, a +/- button 36, Zoom / 9 split / volume buttons 39, playback / printer buttons 42, mode buttons 43, and the like are included.

A digital video signal from the digital camera processor 507 is temporarily stored in a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 504. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 505 stores algorithms necessary for the operation of the digital camera processor 507. In the memory card interface (MCI) 506, a user's memory card is detached. The flash memory FM stores setting data necessary for the operation of the digital camera processor 507. In the memory card interface 506, a plurality of memory cards are detached as recording media of a user.

The digital image signal from the digital camera processor 507 is input to the LCD driver 514, whereby an image is displayed on the display panel 35.

In the interface unit 21, the digital video signal from the digital camera processor 507 can be transmitted by serial communication via a universal serial bus (USB) connection 21a or an RS232C interface 508 and its connection 21b. It may be transmitted as a video signal through the video filter 509 and the video output unit 21c.

The audio processor 513 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital camera processor 507 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the digital camera processor 507 to the speaker SP.

On the other hand, the microcontroller 512 drives the flash 12 by controlling the operation of the flash controller 511 according to the signal from the flash-light amount sensor 19.

4 shows the main algorithm of the digital camera processor 507 of FIG. A main algorithm of the digital camera processor 507 of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 as follows.

When operating power is applied to the digital camera 1, the digital camera processor 507 executes initialization (step S1). When this initialization step S1 is executed, the digital camera processor 507 performs a preview mode (step S2). In this preview mode, the input image is displayed on the display panel 35.

Next, when the SH1 signal, which is the first-stage signal from the shutter release button 13, is On (step S3), the digital camera processor 507 performs a shooting mode (step S4).

Next, when signals corresponding to the setting mode are input among the input signals from the user input unit INP (step S5), the setting mode for setting the operating conditions according to the input signals from the user input unit INP is performed. (Step S6).

On the other hand, if no end signal is generated (step S7), the digital camera processor 507 determines whether a conversion signal to any other mode has been generated (step S8).

If no conversion signal to any other mode is generated in step S8, the digital camera processor 507 repeats step S2 and subsequent steps. If a conversion signal to any other mode is generated in step S8, the digital camera processor 507 repeatedly performs step S2 and subsequent steps after performing the mode (step S9).

FIG. 5 shows an algorithm of the white balance setting mode included in the setting mode (step S5) of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a view for explaining that when the icon 606 of the user-setting condition is activated by performing the steps S509 to S513 of FIG. 5, the user contacts the area “A” to generate an input position signal. to be. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining that the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the area "A" of FIG. 6 are set to white balance in a user-setting condition. In FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, reference numeral 35 denotes a touch screen display panel 35.

An algorithm of the white balance setting mode will now be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

First, the digital camera processor 507 of FIG. 3 displays the condition icons 601 to 606 for setting the white balance on the display panel 35 (step S501).

For example, an icon 601 for an automatic white-balance condition, an icon 602 for a sunlight condition, an icon 603 for a cloudy weather condition, an icon 604 for a fluorescent light condition, an icon 605 for an incandescent light condition, and The icon 606 of the user-setting condition is displayed.

Next, the digital camera processor 507 activates the icon (one of 601 to 606) of the white balance condition currently being applied (step S503).

Next, the digital camera processor 507 displays the main screen 35 _MS according to the white balance currently set (step S505).

In addition, the digital camera processor 507 displays the sub-screen 35 _SS in accordance with the automatic white balance (step S507). Accordingly, the user compares the main screen 35 _MS with the sub screen 35 _SS to display the screen of the currently set white balance (step S505) or the screen of the white balance currently activated (step below). S513 and S521) can be compared with the screen of the automatic white balance. Accordingly, the user can quickly find the desired white balance condition.

Next, when a direction signal is generated by the user operating the function buttons (15 in FIG. 2) (step S509), the digital camera processor 507 displays the direction from the user among the displayed condition icons 601 to 606. FIG. The condition icon according to the signal is activated (step S511). In addition, the digital camera processor 507 displays the main screen 35 _MS according to the white balance of the activated condition icons 601 to 606 (step S513).

Next, the digital camera processor 507 determines whether the icon 606 of the user-setting condition is activated (step S515).

If the icon 606 of the user-setting condition is activated, the digital camera processor 507 determines whether an input position signal from the user has been generated (step S517).

Once the input position signal from the user has been generated, the digital camera processor 507 sets the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the screen area (A in FIG. 6) corresponding to the input position signal from the user. Set to white balance at (step S519).

For example, the user can set the white balance in the user-set condition by contacting the finger or the stylus pen with the screen area A of the desired reference color. Accordingly, the user can conveniently set the white balance without using an auxiliary means of a separate reference color.

Next, the digital camera processor 507 displays the main screen 35 _MS in accordance with the white balance in the user-setting condition (step S521).

Next, the digital camera processor 507 determines whether an end signal has been generated from the user (step S523). In the present embodiment, the end signal is generated by the user pressing the +/- button (36 in FIG. 2).

If no end signal is generated from the user in step S523, the digital camera processor 507 repeats the step S509 and subsequent steps.

If the end signal is generated from the user in step S523, the digital camera processor 507 completes the white balance setting by storing the white balance data of the activated condition icons 601 to 606 (step S525). In this step S525, even if the white balance setting is newly changed, the white balance data previously stored is stored in the memory so that it can be read again later and used.

As described above, according to the control method of the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention, by specifying the screen area of the reference color desired by the user, the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the designated screen area are user-set. The white balance under the condition is set.

For example, when the display panel of the digital image processing apparatus is a touch screen type, the user may set a white balance in a user-setting condition by contacting a finger or a stylus pen with a screen area of a desired reference color. Accordingly, the user can conveniently set the white balance without using an auxiliary means of a separate reference color.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but may be modified and improved by those skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims (8)

A control method of a digital image processing apparatus which performs white balance setting by a user's operation in a white balance setting mode, (a) displaying condition icons for white balance setting; And (b) When the icon of the user-setting condition is activated among the condition icons, the gray scale ratio of red, green, and blue in the screen area corresponding to the input position signal from the user is set to white in the user-setting condition. Control method of digital image processing apparatus including setting to balance. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (a), A method of controlling a digital image processing apparatus, wherein icons of automatic white-balance conditions, sunlight conditions, cloudy weather conditions, fluorescent conditions, incandescent conditions, and the user-set conditions are displayed. The method of claim 1, wherein in step (b), When the display panel of the digital image processing apparatus is a touch screen type, digital image processing in which the gradation ratios of red, green, and blue in the screen area of the portion touched by the user are set to the white balance under the user-set condition. Control method of the device. The method of claim 3, wherein in step (b), And a condition icon according to a direction signal from a user among the condition icons displayed in step (a). The method of claim 4, wherein in step (b), A control method of a digital image processing apparatus in which a main screen is displayed according to the white balance of an activated condition icon. The method of claim 5, wherein in step (b), A control method of a digital image processing apparatus in which an auxiliary screen is displayed according to the automatic white balance. The method of claim 6, wherein in step (b), When the end signal of the white balance setting mode is generated by a user's operation, the white balance setting is completed by storing the white balance data of the activated condition icon. The method of claim 7, wherein in step (b), The control method of the digital image processing apparatus, even if the white balance setting is newly changed, the previously stored white balance data is stored in the memory so that it can be read and used again later.

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