JPH07336723A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently retrieve plural images recorded on a recording medium. CONSTITUTION:An electronic still camera 1 uses a reproduction system 22 to reproduce an electric signal obtained by picking up the image of an object with an image pickup lens 10 in the case of image pickup as a visual image and image data represented by the electric signal are fed to a compounding section 30. Thus, image data are compression-coded and stored in an image data storage area 52 of a memory card 50 and image retrieval information such as a luminance and hue representing a characteristic of an image is generated by a luminance hue statistic processing section 32 in parallel and the information is stored in a management data storage area 510 of the memory card 50. In the case of retrieval, the image retrieval information is read out of the memory card 50 and stores it once in an auxiliary memory 38 and the stored image retrieval information is displayed on a display section 40. In this case, the operator selects a required image based on the image retrieval information displayed on the display section 40 and the selected image is read out of the memory card 50 and reproduced by a reproduction system 22 as a visual image.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus capable of recording a plurality of images and efficiently searching the recorded plurality of images.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an image is recorded on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk, an IC memory card, an optical disk, many images are recorded on one recording medium.

When searching for a specific image from such a large number of recorded images, for example, the video signals recorded on a recording medium are read one by one, and the images are displayed on a video monitor. The operator sees and selects a specific image. As described above, when a large number of video signals are sequentially read from the recording medium, for example, it takes a considerable time to read the signals from the optical disk, so that a waiting time occurs in displaying each image, and the search by checking the images is performed at high speed. Could not be done in.

[0004]

In order to reduce such a reading time, for example, there is a method in which a directory, that is, a title is added to each image and recorded, and the image is read and searched. However, depending on the image, it is difficult to give a title that represents the characteristics of the image, and even if the title is given in such a case, only the person who gives the title can often understand, and the operator Since it cannot be searched without looking at the image itself, it lacks versatility.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and enables an operator to efficiently check a plurality of images recorded on a recording medium by checking the images one by one. An object is to provide an image recording device for recording and reproducing.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the second image data converted from the first image data consisting of the primary color signals of one screen representing the subject image is recorded in the image data storage area of the recording medium. In the image recording apparatus having a recording means for storing the image data, the apparatus includes first processing means for converting the first image data into third image data composed of luminance and color difference signals, and the third image data for a plurality of blocks. Split into
A compression unit that two-dimensionally orthogonally transforms the divided image data of each block and outputs the transform coefficient of each block, and the transform coefficient of each block is input from the compressing unit, and the first or among the transform coefficients of each block is input. Extract the second transform coefficient,
The first conversion coefficient is used to generate the first management data for retrieval that represents the luminance characteristic of one screen of the subject image, and the second conversion coefficient that is used for the retrieval that represents the hue characteristic of one screen of the subject image. It has a second processing means for generating the second management data and a control means for controlling the first and second processing means and the compression means, and the control means controls the recording means to generate the second management data. The first or second management data is stored in a predetermined management data storage area of the recording medium.

According to the present invention, further, read-out means for reading data from the recording medium under the control of the control means,
Storage means for storing the first or second management data of the data read from the recording medium under the control of the control means, and the first or first storage area stored in the storage means under the control of the control means. The second control data is read out, the first or second read management data is visually displayed, and the operation means for instructing the retrieval of the second image data stored in the storage medium. Refers to the first or second management data stored in the storage means based on the instruction of the operating means, specifies the second image data stored in the recording medium by reference, and controls the reading means to specify. The read second image data is read from the recording medium.

[0008]

According to the image recording apparatus of the present invention, at the time of photographing, the second image data of one screen representing the subject image is recorded in the predetermined image data storage area of the recording medium, and
Predetermined management data storage of a recording medium by generating first management data for retrieval that represents the feature of brightness of one screen of the subject image and / or second management data for retrieval that represents the feature of hue. Store in the area. When searching the second image data stored in the recording medium, the first and / or second management data stored in the recording medium is first read and stored according to an instruction from the operating means. The first and / or second management data stored in the storage means and further stored in the storage means are read out and displayed on the display means. Looking at the displayed contents, the operator gives an instruction indicating the required characteristics of the image by the operating means, and based on the instruction, the control means uses the first and / or second management data stored in the storage means. The second image data stored in the recording medium is identified by reference. Then, the second image data specified by the reproduction instruction of the operating means is read from the recording medium, and the reproducing means reproduces the read second image data.

[0009]

Embodiments of the image recording / reproducing apparatus according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an electronic still camera to which the image recording / reproducing apparatus of the present invention is applied. This electronic still camera 1 reproduces an electric signal obtained by picking up an image of a subject by the imaging lens 10 as a visible image in the reproduction system 22 at the time of photographing, and also compresses and expands the image data represented by this electric signal. The image data is compressed and encoded by the image data storage area 520 of the memory card 50 and stored in the image data storage area 520 of the memory card 50. In parallel with this, the brightness / hue statistical processing section 32 expresses the characteristics of the image such as brightness and hue. The image search information of (1) is generated and stored in the management data storage area 510 of the memory card 50. At the time of search, this apparatus reads the image search information from the memory card 50, temporarily stores it in the auxiliary memory 38, and displays the stored image search information on the display unit 40. At that time, based on the image search information displayed on the display unit 40, the operator selects a required image, reads the selected image from the memory card 50, and reproduces it as a visible image in the reproduction system 22. is there. The memory card 50 stores the digitized image data transmitted from the main body of the electronic still camera 1 in a state in which it can be stored and stored, and outputs an image signal to the electronic still camera 1 as a host device in response to a request. It is a semiconductor memory device capable of

The image pickup lens 10 is an image pickup device for picking up an optical image of a subject.
An image is formed on the imaging surface of the (CCD) 12. The image pickup device 12 is a solid-state image pickup device that converts an image formed by the image pickup lens 10 into an electric signal and outputs the electric signal. The image pickup device 12 outputs the converted RGB pixel signal to the output 100 to which the image pickup system 14 is connected. The image pickup system 14 performs preprocessing such as amplification, white balance adjustment and gradation correction on the RGB image signal input to the input 100, and outputs the processed image signal to the analog / digital (A / D) connected to the output 102.
Output to the converter 16, and the analog-to-digital converter 16 converts the analog RGB image signal appearing at the input 102 into image data represented by a digital value. The analog-digital converter 16 outputs the digitized RGB image data to the output 104 to which the YC processing block 18 is connected,
The YC processing block 18 converts the RGB image data appearing at the input 104 into the data format of the luminance signal data Y and the color difference signal data C _r , C _b . The output 106 of the YC processing block 18 is
Connected to the digital / analog (D / A) converter 20, the digital / analog converter 20 converts the image data input to the input 106 into an image signal represented by an analog value,
The converted image signal is output to the output 108 to which the reproduction system 22 is connected. The reproduction system 22 converts the image signal input to the input 108 into a video signal for display, outputs the video signal obtained by the conversion to a display device such as a monitor device, and displays the image represented by the video signal. Display it.

On the other hand, the selector 28 is a functional unit that controls the image data transmission path under the control of a main control unit 26, which will be described later, and transfers the image data to a desired circuit. The image data converted into a predetermined data format in the YC processing block 18 is input via the connection line 110, and the input image data is connected to the connection line 11
2 to the memory 34. Memory 34 input 112
Is a frame memory for storing the image data appearing in the above, and the memory 34 outputs the stored image data under the control of the main control unit 26 to the output 112 and connects it to the output 114 via the selector 28. The data is transferred to the compression / expansion unit 30 described later. The compression / expansion unit 30 receives the control of the main control unit 26 and performs compression processing such as two-dimensional orthogonal transformation, quantization, and Huffman coding on the image data input to the input 114. The compression / decompression unit 30 also performs decompression processing such as Huffman decoding, inverse quantization, and orthogonal inverse transformation on the Huffman-encoded image data input from the memory card 50 to the input 114. This will be described later. The compression / expansion unit 30 further outputs the compressed image data to the interface (I / F) 36 connected to the output 118 via the selector 28. interface
Reference numeral 36 denotes a connector for connecting the electronic still camera 1 and the memory card 50.
The control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 is transferred to the memory card 50 under the control signal supplied from the main control unit 26, and the data such as the image data output from the selector 28 is detachably attached to the memory card 50. Data such as image data output from the memory card 50 is transferred to the selector 28 and an auxiliary memory 38 described later. The interface 36 also transfers data such as management data output from first and second search information generators 42 and 43 described below to the memory card 50 under the control signal supplied from the main control unit 26, In addition, under the control signal supplied from the main control unit 26, the memory card
Data such as management data output from 50 is an auxiliary memory
Transfer to 38.

Next, the internal structure of the compression / expansion unit 30 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. The compression / expansion unit 30 serves as a compression system and the blocking unit 210 and two-dimensional orthogonality. It includes a conversion unit 220, a quantization unit 230, and a Huffman coding unit 240, and also, as a decompression system, a Huffman decoding unit.
250, an inverse quantization unit 260, and an orthogonal inverse transformation unit 270.

The details of each part will be described. The blocking part 21
0 includes a frame buffer, and the image data for one image having a pixel number of 720 in the horizontal direction and 480 in the vertical direction, which is input from the memory 34 to this frame buffer, is divided into a plurality of blocks, for example, each of 8x8 pixels. Divide into blocks and output. Two-dimensional orthogonal transformation unit 220
Is a circuit for two-dimensionally orthogonally transforming image data for each block. As the two-dimensional orthogonal transform, known orthogonal transform such as discrete cosine transform and Hadamard transform is used. The image data for each block, which has been subjected to the two-dimensional orthogonal transformation, is arranged vertically and horizontally so as to be changed from low-order data to high-order data and is sequentially output. The DC component data is output first. That is, the image data resulting from the two-dimensional orthogonal transformation, that is, the transformation coefficient, is a DC component in block units.
DC and AC components AC are sent to the quantization unit 230 and a luminance / hue statistical processing unit 32, which will be described later, in the order of low to high frequency components.

Quantizer 230 quantizes and truncates the transform coefficient at the time of quantization. The quantization is performed by dividing the transform coefficient by a quantization step value corresponding to the quantization coefficient. The coefficient truncation is to compare the quantized coefficient with a predetermined threshold value, and round off the portion below the threshold value. The quantized coefficient is obtained based on the total value of the activities for each block, that is, the total activity. The data quantized by the quantizer 230 is zigzag-scanned in the order of low-frequency to high-frequency AC components in block units and supplied to the Huffman encoder 240. The Huffman coding unit 240 codes the transform coefficient input from the quantization unit 230. Since the AC component of the conversion coefficient is often continuous with zeros, a continuous amount of zero-value data, that is, a run length of zeros and a non-zero amplitude are obtained, and these are two-dimensionally Huffman-encoded. The encoding unit 240 sends the encoded image data for each block to the memory card 50 via the signal line 116, the selector 28, the signal line 118, and the interface 36.
The memory card 50 stores the sent encoded image data for each block in a predetermined image data storage area under a write control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36. A fixed length conversion unit is provided after the Huffman coding unit 240, variable length data from the coding unit 240 is converted into fixed length data, and the fixed length data is stored in a predetermined image data storage area of the memory card 50. You may accumulate.

On the other hand, the decoding unit 250 receives the read control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36 from the memory card 50 to the interface 36 and the signal line 11.
8, a circuit for Huffman decoding the encoded data read via the selector 28 and the signal line 114 for each encoded data. The Huffman-decoded data is supplied to the inverse quantization circuit 260. The inverse quantization unit 260 multiplies the decoded data by the same coefficient as the quantized coefficient when quantized, and inversely quantizes the decoded data. The inversely quantized data are supplied to the orthogonal inverse transform unit 27, respectively.
Supplied to 0. The orthogonal inverse transform unit 270 is a transform inverse circuit that reproduces image data by an algorithm reverse to the algorithm of the orthogonal transform in the two-dimensional orthogonal transform unit 220. The restored data inversely converted by the orthogonal inverse converter 270 is sent to the digital-analog converter 20 via the signal line 116, the selector 28, and the signal line 120. The digital / analog converter 20 converts the image data input to the input 120 into an image signal represented by an analog value, and outputs the converted image signal to the output 108 to which the reproduction system 22 is connected. The reproduction system 22 converts the image signal input to the input 108 into a video signal for display, outputs the video signal obtained by the conversion to a display device such as a monitor device, and displays an image represented by the video signal. Is displayed. In this case, the display device advantageously displays the image selected by the operator during the search.

Next, the internal structure of the luminance / hue statistical processing unit 32 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
The DC coefficient extracting unit 310 and the luminance data statistical processing unit 320, and the DC coefficient extracting unit 33 for Y, C _r , C _b as a hue system.
0, the matrix circuit 340, and the hue data extraction unit 350
And a hue data statistical processing unit 360.

The Y DC coefficient extraction unit 310 is a DC conversion coefficient of Y _, C _{r, and} C _b of each block of one screen sent from the two-dimensional orthogonal transformation unit 220 via the signal line 130, and a low frequency. It is a Y extraction circuit for extracting the DC conversion coefficient of Y of each block of one screen from the AC conversion coefficients of Y 1 _, C _{r, and} C _b in the order of high frequency component from the component. The output of the Y extraction circuit 310 is connected to the input of the luminance data statistical processing section 320. Although not shown, the luminance data statistical processing unit 320 includes a first comparison circuit that extracts the minimum and maximum values from the Y DC conversion coefficient data of each block on one screen, and the Y comparison on one screen. DC
It has a first arithmetic circuit for calculating the average value of the conversion coefficients and a second arithmetic circuit for calculating the standard deviation of the DC conversion coefficients of Y in one screen. The first comparison circuit is for Y in one screen.
Once the DC conversion coefficient values are accumulated, the DC conversion coefficient values of the respective accumulated blocks are compared, the minimum and maximum values are extracted from this comparison, and the Y of the extracted minimum and maximum values is displayed.
The data of the DC conversion coefficient is output to the signal line 132. The first arithmetic circuit is an arithmetic circuit for obtaining the average value of the DC conversion coefficients of Y in one screen, and in the present embodiment, the total number of blocks of one screen accumulated, that is, the DC of Y of 5400 blocks. This is an arithmetic circuit that adds all transform coefficient values and divides the value by the total number of blocks, 5400. 1 obtained by this first arithmetic circuit
The average value μ of the DC conversion coefficient of Y on the screen is also output to the signal line 132. The second arithmetic circuit is an arithmetic circuit that calculates the standard deviation σ of the DC conversion coefficient of Y in one screen, and is shown below.
Equation (1) may be used.

[0018]

[Equation 1] In the above equation, K is the total number of blocks in one screen, 5400 in this embodiment, y _i is the DC conversion coefficient value of Y in each block in one screen, and μ is 1 determined by the first arithmetic circuit. On screen Y
This is the average value of the DC conversion coefficient. The formula after 1 / K is to subtract the average value μ of the DC conversion coefficient of Y from the DC conversion coefficient value of Y of each block, and add the absolute values of each block obtained by this subtraction We are seeking the summation value. In this embodiment, the standard deviation σ is the sum total value of all the blocks.
It is the value obtained by dividing by 5400. The standard deviation σ of one screen obtained in this way is also output to the signal line 132.
One screen of Y output from the brightness data statistical processing unit 320
The control data such as the minimum value, maximum value, average value μ and standard deviation σ of the DC conversion coefficient are signal line 132, selector 28, signal line
118, and memory card through interface 36
Sent to 50. The memory card 50 stores the sent one-screen management data in a predetermined management data storage area under a write control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36. In this case, since the management data in this embodiment is quantized by 8 bits for one pixel, it takes a value of 256 levels from 0 to 255. Although the Y DC conversion coefficient is used in this embodiment as described above, a predetermined Y AC conversion coefficient may be used. Further, the luminance data statistical processing unit 320 may be provided with an arithmetic circuit that squares the standard deviation σ to calculate the variance S.

[0019] Y · C _r · C _b of the DC coefficient extracting unit 330 of each block of one frame from the two-dimensional orthogonal transform unit 220 is sent via a signal line 130 _Y, C _r, the C _b From the DC conversion coefficients and the AC conversion coefficients of Y _, C _{r, and} C _{b in} order from low frequency components to high frequency components, extract the DC conversion coefficients of Y _, C _{r, and} C _b of each block on one screen. It is a Y _, C _r, C _b extraction circuit. This Y _, C _r, C
The output of the _b extraction circuit 330 is connected to the input of the matrix circuit 340. Although not shown, the matrix circuit 340 does not include DC conversion coefficients E _Y, EC _r, E of Y _, C _r, C _b of each block.
C _b once R, G, DC transform coefficients B E _R, E _G, a first conversion circuit for converting the E _B, R of the converted blocks, G, DC transform coefficient value of B E _R , E _G , and E _B are chromaticity coordinate values (x,
y, Y) second conversion circuit and this chromaticity coordinate value (x,
and a third conversion circuit for converting (y, Y) into (H, V, C) using a predetermined conversion table. Here, H represents hue Hue, which is one of the three attributes of human color perception, similarly V represents brightness Value, and similarly C represents color depth Chroma.

The first conversion circuit includes Y _, C _{r and} C _{b of} each block.
DC conversion coefficient E _Y, EC _r, EC _b of R, G, B once DC conversion coefficient value
It has a circuit to convert to E _R , E _G , and E _B.
Equations (2), (3) and (4) may be used.

E _Y = 0.334 E _R + 0.585E _G + 0.081E _B. ． ． ． (2) EC _r = 0.666E _R -0.585E _G -0.081E _B. ． ． ． (3) EC _b = 0.334 E _R -0.585E _G + 0.919E _B. ． ． ． (4) Calculated by the first conversion circuit using such a formula
E _R , E _G , and E _B are supplied to the next second conversion circuit. The second conversion circuit converts the DC conversion coefficient values E _R , E _G , and E _B into chromaticity coordinate values (x, y,
It has a circuit to convert to Y)
Equations (5), (6) and (7) may be used.

[0022]

[Equation 2] x = X / (X + Y + Z). ． ． ． (6) y = Y / (X + Y + Z). ． ． ． (7) The chromaticity coordinate values (x, y, Y) calculated by the second conversion circuit using such an equation are supplied to the next third conversion circuit. The third conversion circuit converts the chromaticity coordinate values (x, y, Y) into (H, V, C) values using a predetermined conversion table. The converted data indicating the H, V, and C values of each block are supplied to the hue data extraction unit 350. The hue data extraction unit 350 is an H selection circuit that extracts H data representing a hue from the H, V, and C data of each block supplied from the third conversion circuit. The H data output from the H selection circuit 350 is sent to the next hue data statistical processing unit 360.

Although not shown, the hue data statistical processing section 360 includes a second comparison circuit for extracting the minimum and maximum values from the hue H data of one screen and the average value of the hue H data of one screen. And a fourth arithmetic circuit for calculating the standard deviation of the DC conversion coefficient of Y 1 of the hue H data in one screen. The second comparison circuit temporarily stores the hue H data in one screen, compares the hue H data of each of the stored blocks, extracts the minimum and maximum values from this comparison, and extracts the extracted minimum and maximum values. The hue H data indicating the maximum value is output to the signal line 134. The third arithmetic circuit is an arithmetic circuit for obtaining an average value of hue H data in one screen, and in the present embodiment, the total number of blocks of one screen accumulated, that is, the hue H data of 5400 blocks are all In addition, it is an arithmetic circuit that divides that value by the total number of blocks, 5400. The average value μ _H of H data of one screen obtained by the third arithmetic circuit is also output on the signal line 134. The fourth arithmetic circuit is an arithmetic circuit for calculating the standard deviation σ _H of H data in one screen, and may use the following equation (8).

[0024]

[Equation 3] In the above equation, K is the total number of blocks in one screen, 5400 in this embodiment, H _i is the value of H data of each block in one screen, and μ _H is one screen obtained by the third arithmetic circuit. Is the average value of the H data. In the formula after 1 / K, the average value μ _H of H data is subtracted from the H data of each block, and the absolute values of each block obtained by this subtraction are all added to obtain the total value of all blocks. . In this embodiment, the standard deviation σ _H is a value obtained by dividing by the total sum value 5400 of all the blocks. Standard deviation σ _{H of} one screen obtained in this way
Is also output to the signal line 134 by the fourth arithmetic circuit. The management data such as the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ _H, and the standard deviation σ _H of the H data of one screen output from the hue data statistical processing unit 360 are the signal line 134, the selector 28, the signal line 11
8 and memory card 50 through interface 36
Sent to. The memory card 50 stores the sent one-screen management data in a predetermined management data storage area under a write control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36. In this case as well, like the luminance data, the hue management data in this embodiment takes a value of 256 levels from 0 to 255 because one pixel is quantized with 8 bits.

As described above, in the present embodiment, Y _, C _r, C
_Although the DC conversion coefficient of _b has been used, a predetermined AC conversion coefficient of Y 1 _, C _{r, and} C _b may be used. Further, it is provided with a circuit for calculating the variance S _H by squaring the standard deviation sigma _H hue data statistical processing unit 360. Further, a circuit for extracting V and C data of each block supplied from the matrix circuit 340 is provided in the hue data extraction unit 350, and the hue data statistical processing unit 360 further has the minimum value of V and C data of one screen. ,Maximum value,
A circuit for calculating management data such as the average value μ _H and the standard deviation σ _H may be provided. As a result, the V and C management data may be stored in a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50. FIG. 6 shows the measured values of the average and variance of the luminance and hue of the four types of captured images 610, 620, 630 and 640 when the apparatus of this embodiment is used.

Returning to FIG. 1, the first search information generator 42
Is a first character generation circuit and a first character control circuit for controlling it.
And a main control unit based on the operation of the operation unit 24.
A control signal is received from 26 via a control line 122, and the control signal generates character data representing, for example, the date at the time of shooting, screen size, etc., and the generated character data is sent to the interface 36 via the signal line 124. Output. In this case, the control signal output from the main control unit 26 via the control line 122 is the shooting button of the operation unit 24 in this embodiment.
When the pressure of 410 is detected, the main control unit 26 automatically generates it. Therefore, the management data thus obtained is automatically stored in a predetermined management data storage area under the write control signal supplied from the main controller 26 via the interface 36. Next, the second search information generator 44
Is a second character generation circuit and a second character control circuit for controlling it.
Control circuit. The generator 44 receives a control signal from the main control unit 26 based on the operation of the operation unit 24 via the control line 126, and based on the control signal, for example, a character representing a user name, a title, a search keyword, etc. of the captured image. Data is generated and the generated character data is output to the interface 36 via the signal line 128. In this case, the control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the control line 126 is detected by the main control unit 26 by detecting the pressing of, for example, the kana character key 448 in the selection button 440 of the operation unit 24 and Correspondingly, the main controller 26 is generated. Further, the management data thus obtained is stored in a predetermined management data storage area under a write control signal supplied from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36.

The auxiliary memory 38 is a memory for accumulating the management data read out from a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50 and appearing on the signal line 132 under the control of the main control section 26. The memory 38 receives the control signal 134 from the main controller 26 and outputs the stored management data to the output 136. The output 136 of the auxiliary memory 38 is connected to the input of the display 40. The display unit 40 controls the control signal 13 of the main control unit 26.
In this embodiment, for example, the date at the time of shooting, the screen size, the user name of the shot image, the title, the search keyword, the minimum value, the maximum value, and the average of the DC conversion coefficients of Y are output on the basis of The management data such as the value μ, the standard deviation σ, the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ _H , and the standard deviation σ _{H of the} hue are visually displayed.

The operation unit 24 is a functional unit for instructing shooting, image search, search information input, image selection, and image reproduction. The switch configuration of the operation unit 24 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. The operation unit 24 includes a shooting button 410, a search button 420, and a playback button 430.
And a selection button group 440. Selection button group 44
0 is, for example, the blue button 442 that specifies a bluish image
And a bright button 444 for designating a bright image, a contrast button 446 for designating a high-contrast image, a kana character button group 448, and an alphanumeric button group 450. When the shooting button 410 is pressed, the main control unit 26 detects the pressing, causes the subject to be imaged and the captured image data to be compressed, and stores the compressed data in a predetermined image data storage area of the memory card 50. Along with
Date of shooting, screen size, user name of captured image, title, search keyword, minimum value, maximum value, average value μ, standard deviation σ of DC conversion coefficient of Y, and minimum value, maximum value, average of hue Management data such as the value μ _H and standard deviation σ _{H is} stored in a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50. Also, by pressing the search button 420, the main control
26 detects the pressing, reads the management data from the predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50, and outputs the auxiliary memory.
38, and the stored management data is displayed on the display unit 40.
Make the visible display. By pressing the play button 430,
The main control unit 26 detects the pressing, and a selection button group described later.
The image specified by 440 is read from the memory card 50, and the reproduction system 22 is caused to reproduce the specified image.

For example, in the operation, first, the search button 42
Press 0 and then select button group 440 blue button
When 442 is pressed, the main control unit 26 detects both pressings, thereby referring to the management data stored in the auxiliary memory 38, and extracting data showing a bluish image from the management data, Based on the extracted data, a bluish image is read from the memory card 50, and the read image is reproduced in the reproduction system 22. As the management data representing a bluish image, for example, the above-described average value μ _H of H data may be used. If you have multiple bluish images,
For example, the memory card 50 may be read out in the order of addresses and reproduced by the reproducing system 22 sequentially. Similarly, when the bright button 444 is pressed after the search button 420 is pressed, the main control unit 26 similarly extracts data indicating a bright image from the management data of the auxiliary memory 38, and based on the extracted data. Then, the bright image is read from the memory card 50, and the read image is played back on the playback system 22. As the management data representing a bright image, for example, Y
The average value μ of the DC conversion coefficient may be used. Similarly, when the contrast button 446 is pressed after the search button 420 is pressed, the main control unit 26 extracts data indicating a high-contrast image from the management data in the auxiliary memory 38, and extracts the extracted data. Based on the above, the image with high contrast is read from the memory card 50, and the read image is reproduced in the reproduction system 22. As the management data representing an image with high contrast, for example, data having a large difference between the minimum value and the maximum value of the DC conversion coefficient of Y described above may be used.

In further operation, the kana character button group 44
The 8 and the alphanumeric button group 450 are used when the operator stores management data such as the user name, title, and search keyword of the captured image in a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50. In that case, for example, it is not necessary to press the search button 420 in advance. Also, Kana character buttons
For the 448 and English / numeric button group 450, the operator can
It is also used to specify the necessary image management data while looking at the management data visually displayed. In that case, for example, the search button 420 is pressed in advance, the management data is specified, and then the search button 420 is pressed again. For example, use the character button group 448 to specify brightness or average,
Then, by using the number button group 450, a number indicating the average value of the required image is designated, and when the search button 420 is pressed at the end, the image showing the average value is searched by the main control unit. When the reproduction button 430 is pressed, the reproduction system 22 reproduces the image corresponding to the number.

In addition to the blue button as an operation button,
Buttons for specifying red, green, etc. may be provided, buttons for brightness and contrast may be specified in multiple stages, and numerical values may be used to specify numerical values for management data. You may provide the button which gives width. When such a button is provided on the operation unit 24, the main control unit 26 may be provided with a control function corresponding to it.

The main control unit 26 is a control circuit for controlling and managing the above-mentioned functional units. Particularly, in the present invention, the main controller
26 is a feature of one screen in the luminance / hue statistical processing unit 32, for example, the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ of the DC conversion coefficient of Y,
Standard deviation σ, and the minimum, maximum, and average values of hue μ
_It has a function of generating management data such as _{H 2} and standard deviation σ _H, and generating a control signal for storing the management data in a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50. Further, the main control unit 26 reads management data from a predetermined management data storage area of the memory card 50 based on the search instruction notified from the operation unit 24, stores the management data in the auxiliary memory 38, and stores the stored management data. Has a function of generating respective control signals for making the display unit 40. Further, the main control unit 26 refers to the management data accumulated in the auxiliary memory 38 based on the search image information notified from the operation unit 24, and the image data based on the management data is stored in the memory card 50.
Of the image data storage area, and has a function of generating control signals for reproducing the read image data in the reproduction system 22.

As shown in FIG. 5, the memory card 50 has a management data storage area 510, which is a logical division of the storage area of the memory card 50, and an image data storage area 520. The management area 510 is an area in which information for managing the image data stored in the image data storage area 520 is stored. Further, the management data storage area 510 is
Areas 511 to 513, which are classified into three areas and store respective management data, are arranged.

In the area 511, the photographing button 410 of the operation unit 24
When the button is pressed, the information such as the date at the time of photographing and the screen size generated by the first search information generator 42 is automatically accumulated. In the area 512, the kana character button 448 of the operation unit 24
2nd search information generator 4 by pressing the English / numeric button 450
Information such as the user name, title, and search keyword of the captured image generated in 2 is stored. Further, in the area 513, particularly in the present embodiment, the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ, the standard deviation σ, etc. of the DC conversion coefficient of Y indicating the characteristics of the captured image,
And hue minimum, maximum, average μ _H , standard deviation σ
Information such as _H is accumulated. Image data storage area
In the case of the present embodiment, 520 stores photographed image data.

The operation will be described. First, the operation of mounting the memory card 50 on the electronic still camera 1 and accumulating the image data of the subject imaged by the photographer and the management data representing the characteristics of the image of the subject in a predetermined storage area of the memory card 50. Will be described.

When the photographer presses the photographing button 410, the optical image of the subject is passed through the image pickup lens 10 to the image pickup device 12
The image is formed on the image pickup surface of the
The RGB pixel signals are converted into pixel signals and output to the image pickup system 14.The RGB pixel signals are subjected to preprocessing such as amplification, white balance adjustment and gradation correction in the image pickup system 14, and the preprocessed RGB pixel signals are analog signals. It is output to the digital converter 16. The pre-processed analog RGB image signal is converted into image data represented by a digital value by the analog / digital converter 16 and output to the YC processing block 18, and the YC processing block 18 outputs the luminance signal data Y and the color difference. Signal data
The data is converted into the data formats of C _r and C _b and output to the digital / analog converter 20. These signals are converted into image signals represented by analog values by the digital / analog converter 20 and output to the reproduction system 22. The reproduction system 22 converts the input image signal into a video signal for display, and displays the video signal on a display device such as a monitor device.

On the other hand, Y output from the YC processing block 18,
The C _r and C _b image data are transferred to the memory 34 via the selector 28 under the control of the main control unit 26. The Y, C _r , and C _b image data stored in the memory 34 is transferred to the compression / expansion unit 30 via the selector 28 under the control of the main control unit 26. Compression / expansion section
The Y, C _r , and C _b image data input to 30 are subjected to two-dimensional orthogonal transformation under the control of the main control unit 26 by the compression system of the compression / expansion unit 30,
Compression processing such as quantization and Huffman coding is applied,
The compressed image data is transferred to the memory card 50 via the selector 28 and the interface 36. The transferred compressed image data is stored in a predetermined image data storage area 520 of the memory card 50 under the control of the main control unit 26.

On the other hand, the Y _, C _{r, and} C _b DC conversion coefficients of each imaged block of the screen, and the Y _, C _{r, and} C _b AC conversion coefficients in order from the low frequency component to the high frequency component. There has been sent to the DC coefficient extracting unit 310 and the Y-C _r - C _b of the DC coefficient extracting unit 330 of the Y luminance and hue statistical processing unit 32 from the two-dimensional orthogonal transform unit 220 of the compression and expansion unit 30. The DC conversion coefficients of Y _, C _{r, and} C _b of each block sent to the DC coefficient extraction unit of Y 310 and the AC conversion coefficients of Y _, C _{r, and} C _b of low to high frequency components are extracted by the extraction unit. Only the DC conversion coefficient of Y of each block of one screen is extracted by 310, and the extracted data is processed by the luminance data statistical processing unit.
The DC conversion coefficient of Y of each block sent to the 320 is managed by the processing unit 320 such as the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ and the standard deviation σ of the DC conversion coefficient of Y representing the brightness of one screen. Data is calculated and generated, and the generated management data is transferred to the memory card via the selector 28 and the interface 36.
Sent to 50. The management data sent to the memory card 50 is stored in a predetermined management data storage area 513 of the memory card 50 under the write control signal sent from the main controller 26 via the interface 36.

Further, Y · C _r · C _b of each block sent to the DC coefficient extracting unit 330 of the _Y, C _r, C _b of the high frequency components from the DC coefficient and low frequency components of the _Y, C _{r ,} C _b AC conversion coefficients are calculated by the extraction unit 330 for Y _, C _{r, and} C _b of each block of one screen.
DC conversion coefficient extraction is performed, Y of each extracted block _,
The DC conversion coefficients of C _{r and} C _b are sent to the matrix circuit 340. Each block sent to the matrix circuit 340
The DC conversion coefficients of Y _, C _{r, and} C _b are calculated by the circuit 340 for each block.
DC conversion coefficients E _Y, EC _{r, and} EC _{b of} Y _, C _{r, and} C _b are converted to chromaticity coordinate values (x, y, Y) in the XYZ color space, and further converted chromaticity coordinate values. (x, y, Y) using the given conversion table
(H, V, C) and sends the converted data indicating the H, V, and C values of each block to the hue data extraction unit 350. Regarding the data indicating the H, V and C values of each block sent to the hue data extraction unit 350, only the H data representing the hue is extracted by the extraction unit 350, and the extracted H data is extracted.
The data is sent to the hue data statistical processing unit 360. The H data of each block sent to the hue data statistical processing unit 360 is management data such as the minimum value, the maximum value, the average value μ _H , and the standard deviation σ _{H of the} H data representing the hue of one screen by the processing unit 360. The generated management data is stored in the memory card via the selector 28 and the interface 36.
Sent to 50. The management data sent to the memory card 50 is stored under the predetermined control data of the memory card 50 under the write control signal sent from the main control unit 26 via the interface 36, like the brightness management data. region
Accumulated in 513. The operation up to this point is the shooting operation.

Next, a memory card is attached to the electronic still camera 1.
50 is installed, and the memory card 50
The management data such as brightness or hue representing the characteristics of the image pickup screen stored in is referred to, the necessary image pickup screen is searched, and the image pickup screen selected by this search is reproduced.
The operation reproduced in 22 will be described.

When the operator presses the search button 420 of the operation section 24 and the main control section 26 detects it, it is read from the management data storage area 510 of the memory card 50 by the control of the main control section 26. Are stored in the auxiliary memory 38. Further, the management data stored in the auxiliary memory 38 is read from the auxiliary memory 38 by the control of the main control unit 26 and sent to the display unit 40, and the sent management data is displayed by the display unit 40.
Is displayed at. Next, the operator selects a necessary captured image while looking at the management data displayed on the display unit 40. For example, when the blue button 442 is pressed by the operator, the main control unit 26 detects the pressing, and the management data stored in the auxiliary memory 38, for example, the data indicating the average value of the hue is referred to by the operation. Data showing a bluish image is extracted from the data. Next, when the operator presses the play button 430 of the operation unit 24, it is pressed by the main control unit.
When detected by 26, the compressed data of a bluish image is read from the image data storage area of the memory card 50 by the control of the main control unit 26, and the read compressed data is further transmitted via the interface 36 and the selector 28. The data is transferred to the compression / expansion unit 30. The compressed data input to the compression / decompression unit 30 is subjected to decompression processing such as Huffman decoding, inverse quantization and orthogonal inverse transformation under the control of the main control unit 26, and the decompressed image data is passed through the selector 28. digital·
It is transferred to the analog converter 20. The image data input to the converter 20 is converted into an image signal represented by an analog value by the converter 20 and output to the reproduction system 22. Playback system 22
Converts the input image signal into a video signal for display and displays the video signal on a display device such as a monitor device. In this case, when the data showing a bluish image is, for example, the average value of hues in FIG. 6, that is, 34.87,
The captured image 640 is displayed on the display device of the reproduction system 22.

When the operator presses the bright button 444 instead of the blue button 442, basically, the blue button 44 is pressed.
The same operation is performed as when 2 was pressed. However, in this case, for example, data indicating the average value μ of the YDC conversion coefficient is referred to as the management data representing the bright image. In this case, when the data representing the bright image is, for example, the average value of the luminance in FIG. 6, that is, 88.13, the captured image 63
0 is displayed on the display device of the reproduction system 22. Furthermore, instead of the blue button 442, the operator
Blue button 442 and light button 444 when 446 is pressed
The same operation as when is pressed is performed. However, in this case, for example, data having a large difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the YDC conversion coefficient is referred to as management data representing an image having a high contrast, and an image corresponding to that is displayed on the display device of the reproduction system 22.

Further, when the operator wants to directly specify the management data by a numerical value or the like, the operator can specify the necessary management data while observing the management data visually displayed on the display section 40. In that case, for example, first use the buttons in the character button group 448 to specify brightness and average, then use the buttons in the numeric button group 450 to specify the number that indicates the average value of the required image, and finally When the search button 420 is pressed, the main control unit 26 searches for an image showing the average value. After that, the reproduction button 430 is pressed, and the reproduction system 22 reproduces the image corresponding to the numeral.

As described above, in the present embodiment, at the time of shooting, the image data obtained by shooting the image of the subject is compression-encoded and stored in the image data storage area 520 of the memory card 50, and in parallel with this. The brightness / hue statistical processing unit 32 can generate management data such as brightness and hue representing the characteristics of the image and store the management data in the management data storage area 513 of the memory card 50. At the time of search, the management data can be read from the memory card 50, temporarily stored in the auxiliary memory 38, and the stored management data can be displayed on the display unit 40. At that time, the operator can refer to the management data displayed on the display unit 40 to select and designate a necessary image.
When the operator gives an instruction for reproduction, the specified image can be read out from the memory card 50 and made visible by the reproduction system 22. Therefore, the present device can store management data such as brightness and hue representing the characteristics of the image of the subject in the storage device such as the memory card 50, and can read the management data and display the management data visually. The image showing the feature can be selected from among these, and the selected image can be visually displayed.

[0045]

As described above, according to the image storing / reproducing apparatus of the present invention, the image data of the image of the subject is stored in the memory card.
It is possible to effectively store the management data such as the brightness and the hue that represent the characteristics of the image of the subject in the management data storage area 510 of the memory card 50 at the same time as storing the management data in the image data storage area 520 of the memory card 50. Further, the operator can effectively read the management data, visually display it, select an image showing the required characteristics by viewing it, and visually display the selected image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an electronic still camera to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a compression / expansion unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a luminance / hue statistical processing unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a push button of the operation unit shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of management of the memory card shown in FIG. 1 and storage contents of an image data area.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of management data of captured images measured by the same embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electronic still camera (main body) 10 Imaging lens 12 Solid-state imaging device (CCD) 14 Imaging system 16 Analog-to-digital converter (A / D) 18 YC processing block 20 Digital-to-analog converter (D / A) 22 Playback system 24 Operation unit 26 Main control unit 28 Selector 30 Compression / expansion unit 32 Luminance / hue statistical processing unit 34 Memory 36 Interface (I / F) 38 Auxiliary memory 40 Display unit 42 First search information generator 44 Second search information generator 50 Memory card 210 Blocking unit 220 Two-dimensional orthogonal transformation unit 230 Quantization unit 240 Huffman coding unit 250 Huffman decoding unit 260 Inverse quantization unit 270 Orthogonal inverse transformation unit 310 DC coefficient extraction unit of Y 320 Luminance data statistical processing unit 330 Y / C _r / C _b DC coefficient extraction unit 340 Matrix circuit 350 Hue data extraction unit 360 Hue data statistical processing unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location H04N 5/765 5/781 G06F 15/66 330 B 7734-5C H04N 5/781 510 L

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus having recording means for recording, in an image data storage area of a recording medium, second image data converted from first image data consisting of primary color signals of one screen representing a subject image. The apparatus includes first processing means for converting the first image data into third image data composed of luminance and color difference signals, dividing the third image data into a plurality of blocks, and dividing the divided image data into a plurality of blocks. A compression unit that two-dimensionally orthogonally transforms the image data of each block and outputs the transform coefficient of each block, and the transform coefficient of each block is input from the compressing unit, and the first or The second conversion coefficient is extracted, the first management data for retrieval that represents the feature of the brightness of one screen of the subject image is generated from the first conversion coefficient, and the subject image is calculated from the second conversion coefficient. Of 1 It has a second processing means for generating the second management data for retrieval that represents the characteristics of the hue of the screen, and a control means for controlling the first and second processing means and the compression means. An image recording apparatus, characterized in that the recording means is controlled to store the generated first or second management data in a predetermined management data storage area of the recording medium. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a reading unit that reads data from the recording medium under the control of the control unit, and a control of the control unit. A storage unit that stores first or second management data of the data read from the recording medium, and a first or second management data stored in the storage unit under the control of the control unit. The control unit includes a display unit that reads out and visually displays the read first or second management data, and an operation unit that gives an instruction to search for the second image data stored in the storage medium. , Referring to the first or second management data stored in the storage means based on an instruction from the operating means, and specifying the second image data stored in the recording medium by the reference. Image recording apparatus, characterized in that read from the recording medium the second image data the specific controls said reading means. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first processing means extracts a luminance signal Y, a color difference signal RY, and a color difference signal BY from the first image data representing red R, green G, and blue B. And a block converting unit that divides the third image data into a plurality of blocks, and a two-dimensional orthogonal transform of the divided image data of each block. And outputs the first and second DC components for each block by the two-dimensional orthogonal transformation and the transformation coefficient of the AC component 2
A dimensional orthogonal transformation means, wherein the second processing means inputs the transformation coefficient of each block from the compression means, and extracts the transformation coefficient of the first DC component from the transformation coefficient of each block. The first extraction means, the second extraction means for inputting the conversion coefficient of each block from the compression means, and extracting the conversion coefficient of the second DC component from the conversion coefficient of each block; First conversion data generating means for inputting the first conversion coefficient of the direct current component from the extracting means and generating first management data; and inputting a conversion coefficient for the second direct current component from the second extracting means. And an image recording device including a second management data generation unit that generates second management data. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the conversion coefficient of the first DC component is a conversion coefficient of the DC component of the luminance signal Y of each block, and the second DC component. The image recording apparatus is characterized in that the conversion coefficients of the components are the conversion coefficient of the DC component of the luminance signal Y of each block and the conversion coefficient of the DC components of the color difference signals RY and BY. 5. The image recording device according to claim 3, wherein the first management data includes information on an average value corresponding to a conversion coefficient of a DC component of the luminance signal Y of each block, and The second management data is characterized in that it includes information on an average value corresponding to the conversion coefficient of the DC component of the luminance signal Y of each block and the conversion coefficient of the DC components of the color difference signals RY and BY. Image recording device. 6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the apparatus further includes second image data compression-encoded from third image data representing the luminance signal Y, the color difference signal RY, and the color difference signal BY. And a third processing unit for converting into the image data storage area of the recording medium, wherein the control unit controls the recording unit to store the compression-encoded second image data in the image data storage area of the recording medium. Image recording device. 7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the compression coding format is a Huffman compression coding format. 8. The image recording device according to claim 6, wherein the device further expands the compression-encoded second image data from the storage medium, and outputs the luminance signal Y, the color difference signal RY, and the color difference signal. B-
A fourth processing unit for converting into fourth image data representing Y, and a reproducing unit for converting the fourth image data into a visible image, wherein the control unit controls the reading unit to The compression-encoded second image data is read from the recording medium, the fourth processing means is further controlled to convert the read second image data into fourth image data, and the converted second image data is converted. An image recording apparatus, wherein the image data of No. 4 is reproduced by the reproducing means.