JP2001103420A - Image printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image printer that does not waste time or the cost related to print, even when a set image is in existence among images which are to be printed. SOLUTION: This image printer is provided with an image selection means 71 that selects at least one still image recorded on a recording medium, print means (50, 51) that prints out the still image selected by the image selection means, and a control means 60 that controls the print means so as to print out a specific image in the selected set image, when the still image selected by the selection means includes a set image that is a set of still images having mutual relations.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus for printing an electronic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in order to print an electronic image taken by an electronic camera, an image printing apparatus has been widely used. An electronic image taken by an electronic camera is usually recorded on a recording medium, and when this electronic image is printed by an image recording device,
A desired electronic image is selected from the electronic images recorded on the recording medium and printed. Here, the image recorded on the recording medium can be transmitted from an external terminal of the electronic camera to the image printing apparatus, or the recording medium can be directly mounted on the image printing apparatus and read out, and printed by the image printing apparatus. become.

In recent years, electronic cameras have become capable of shooting not only still images but also a series of still images shot continuously and a plurality of still images shot moving images (such a plurality of still images). A collection of still images is hereinafter referred to as a “set image”). The image printing apparatus includes, as print modes, a mode for printing specified frames, an all-frame print mode for printing all frames recorded on a medium,
Alternatively, an index print mode for confirming the contents of the recording medium is provided. Here, when all-frame printing is performed on a medium on which both a normal image and a combined image are recorded, conventionally, all the frames of the combined image have been printed. Similarly, when the index print is executed, all of the set images are index-printed. Therefore, conventionally, the time and cost for printing are wasted.

[0004]

As described above, if all frame printing or index printing is performed on a recording medium in which a normal image and a combined image are mixed, all still images are printed. There is a problem that such time and cost are wasted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an image printing apparatus which does not waste time and cost for printing even when a set image is included in an image to be printed. The purpose is to provide.

[0006]

According to the present invention, the following means have been taken in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0007] An image printing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an image selecting means for selecting at least one still image recorded on a recording medium; a printing means for printing the still image selected by the image selecting means; When the still image selected in step (1) includes a set image as a set of mutually related still images, the printing unit prints a specific image in the selected set image. And control means for controlling the When an instruction to print an image including a combined image is issued, only a specific image is printed instead of all the images of the designated combined image, so that printing is saved. Therefore, useless printing can be prevented. Here, the combined image is one of a series of a plurality of still images shot continuously and a plurality of still images shot of a moving image. That is, the combined image may be a combined image generated during continuous shooting, or may be a combined image of a still image captured as a moving image (for example, a combined image using motion JPEG).

In the above-described image printing apparatus, preferred embodiments are as follows.

(1) The specific image is a still image that is firstly shot in the set of images. Since only the first image of the set image is printed, it is possible to easily infer what kind of image the set image is.

(2) The control means displays at the time of printing the combined image that any one of a series of a plurality of still images continuously shot and a plurality of still images shot as a moving image is displayed. By adding such a display, it is possible to easily determine whether the displayed image is a still image or a combined image.

(3) The specific image is a multi-display image in which reduced images of a plurality of still images in the combined image are displayed. Since a plurality of images are displayed at the same time, it is possible to easily determine that the images are a combined image, and also to grasp a change in the image due to the lapse of time.

(4) The specific image is a composite image of a plurality of group images including at least the first and last still images of the group images. Even when the number of combined images is large, the first and last images are reliably printed, so that it is easy to determine that they are combined images.

(5) The selecting means selects all the still images recorded on the recording medium. Even if the selection means selects all the still images recorded on the recording medium, it is possible to prevent the user from printing a large amount of undesired moving images.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image printing apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as a “printer”) according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline when the printer of FIG. 1 is connected to a television monitor.

In FIG. 2, a card slot 21 is provided on the front of the printer main body 1, and a removable card memory 2 such as a smart media or a compact flash is provided.
Is detachably mounted. Normally, in the printer main body 1, the image information from the removable card memory 2 is read and printed. Image information read from the removable card memory 2 inserted in the card slot 21 is temporarily stored in the image buffer memory 25 via the card interface (I / F) 22. The image buffer memory 25 is a working memory for temporarily storing data such as temporary image information for image processing. Here, the image recorded in the removable card memory 2 is usually compressed by JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or the like. Therefore, when the image recorded in the removable card memory 2 is compressed and recorded, it is expanded by the decompression circuit 30, converted into uncompressed image information, and temporarily stored in the image buffer memory 25 again. Is done. Also,
Image information recorded in the removable card memory 2 is converted from a digital image signal into a video signal that can be displayed on the television monitor 4 by a video display circuit 41, and is converted via a television monitor interface (I / F) 42 and a video cable 43. The image information recorded on the removable card memory 2 can be easily confirmed.

The image information expanded by the expansion circuit 30 and stored again in the image buffer memory 25 is sent to the head drive circuit 50. The head driving circuit 50 sends out a signal for controlling the printer head 51 so that the printer head 51 prints a predetermined image according to the image information.

The control microcomputer 60 controls each section of the printer main body 1 and performs the following control in addition to the control of each operation described above. The status of various status sensors 61,
For example, the status of the installation / removal of the removable card memory 2, the feeding of the printer head, the remaining amount of ink, and the like are detected, and the status is output to the control microcomputer 60. Is displayed on the LCD 72 or necessary control is instructed to the driving means 62 such as various motors. Driving means 62 such as various motors drives the printer head 51 and the like according to instructions from the control microcomputer 60.

The operation panel 70 is attached to the front of the printer main body 1 and has, in addition to the display LCD 27, operation means 71 for inputting an instruction from a user.
This instruction is also displayed on the display means 72.

An external interface (I / F) 80 is provided in the printer main body 1, and data can be transmitted / received to / from an external device via an external interface (I / F) connector 81. . The external interface (I / F) 80 may receive an image from an external device (a personal computer, a large-capacity external storage device, an electronic camera, or the like) and print the image.

The operation of the printer according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer according to the present invention. In the following description, a case where image information is read from the removable card memory 2 will be described.

First, the state sensor 61 detects whether or not the removable card memory 2 is mounted in the card slot 21.
If the removable card memory 2 is not mounted, the process is not continued, and the process ends (step S1). If the removable card memory 2 is mounted (step S1) and the print instruction is all-frame printing for printing all image information in the removable card memory 2 (step S2),
All frames of the still image excluding the combined image are printed (step S3). Here, the “combined image” refers to a collection of still images, for example, a collection of a plurality of still images by continuous shooting, a moving image by Motion JPEG (Motion JPEG), and the like. Then, print processing of a set image, which will be described in detail later, is performed for all the set images (step S4), and thereafter, when the removable card memory 2 is removed, the process ends (step S5).

In step S2, if it is not the instruction to print all frames, a still image or a combined image to be printed is selected (step S6). If the image is a still image, normal printing is performed (step S7). In the case of (1), printing of a set image, which will be described in detail later, is performed (step S
8). In step S6, when printing is not performed (for example, when only the image is confirmed), the process proceeds to step S5.

In the flowchart of FIG. 3, an example of print processing of a set image is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A is an example in which the leading image of the set image is displayed as a representative image. In this case, it is difficult to determine whether this image is a mere still image or the first image of a set of images, and as shown in the figure, identification characters (for example, “moving image”, “continuous shooting”, It is preferable that characters such as "combination image" are printed together with the image. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing printing by a multi-image in which a set image is used as an index of a plurality of still images, and it is possible to clearly determine that the set image is a set image. In this case, from the first image I0,
The images are displayed as images I1, images I2,... In accordance with the time series in which the images were taken. In the example of FIG.
The ninth image I0 to the image I8 from the head of the combined image are printed as one index image.
In (b) of FIG. 4, the image is printed so as to be recognized as a combined image by the multi image using the index image.
In such printing, the final image of the combined image may not be printed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), by printing the first image and the last image of the combined image, it is not possible to know the change due to the movement of the fine image, but how the captured image finally changed. So you can see
There is an advantage that it is easy to determine whether the image is necessary.

As described above, according to the present invention, when printing, it is determined whether the image is a combination image or a still image. In the case of a combination image, a special print process for the combination image is performed. Unlike the related art, it is not necessary to print all the still images included in the set image, and it is possible to print only necessary images, thereby preventing useless printing.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the image display is performed using the television monitor. However, a display for image display (LCD for image display or the like) may be provided in the printer body.

Further, in the flowchart of FIG. 3, a still image is first printed after a full-frame print instruction, and then a combined image is printed. However, printing may be performed in the order of file creation. . In this case, before performing the printing process, it may be determined whether the image to be printed is a still image or a combined image each time.

Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

In the image printing apparatus of the present invention, when an instruction to print an image including a set image is issued, only a specific image is printed instead of all the images of the specified set image, so that printing is saved. Therefore, useless printing can be prevented. Here, the combined image may be a combined image generated at the time of continuous shooting, or a combined image of a still image captured as a moving image (for example, a combined image by motion JPEG).
It may be.

Further, since only the first image of the set image is printed, it is possible to easily infer what kind of image the set image is. Further, by adding a display indicating that the displayed image is a combined image, it is possible to easily determine whether the displayed image is a still image or a combined image.

Further, since a plurality of images are displayed at the same time, it is possible to easily determine that the images are a set image,
Changes in the image due to the passage of time can also be captured.
Even when the number of combined images is large, the first and last images are reliably printed, so that it is easy to determine that they are combined images.

Even when the selecting means selects all the still images recorded on the recording medium, it is possible to prevent the user from printing a large amount of moving images that the user does not want.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a case where the printer of FIG. 1 is connected to a television monitor.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of print processing of a set image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer body, 2 ... Removable card memory, 21 ... Card slot, 22 ... Card interface (I / F), 25 ... Image buffer memory, 30 ... Decompression circuit, 4 ... TV monitor, 41 ... Video display circuit, 42 ... TV monitor interface (I / F), 43: video cable, 50: head drive circuit, 51: printer head, 60: control microcomputer, 61: status sensor, 62: drive means, 70: operation panel, 72: display means LCD, 71 operating means, 80 external interface (I / F), 81 external interface (I / F) connector.

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C087 AB01 AB05 BB10 BD06 BD07 CB03 CB13 CB20 DA02 5C052 AA17 AB04 DD02 EE02 EE03 EE08 FA02 FA03 FA04 FB01 FC01 FC08 FD07 FD08 FD09 FD10 FE04 5C053 FA08 FA27 KA25 LA03 AA02 AA16 AA19 AA22 CA02 CA10 9A001 BB03 HH28 JJ35 KK42

Claims (7)

[Claims] An image selection unit that selects at least one still image recorded on a recording medium; a printing unit that prints the still image selected by the image selection unit; and a still image selected by the selection unit When a set image that is a set of mutually related still images is included, a control unit that controls the printing unit so as to print a specific image in the selected set image. An image printing apparatus comprising: 2. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the set image is one of a series of still images continuously shot and a plurality of still images shot as a moving image. 3. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image is a still image that is first photographed in the set of images. 4. The image printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays at the time of printing the combined image any one of a series of a plurality of still images continuously shot and a plurality of still images shot a moving image. 5. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image is a multi-display image in which reduced images of a plurality of still images in the combined image are displayed. Printing device. 6. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image is a composite image of a plurality of group images including at least first and last still images of the group images. An image printing apparatus, characterized in that: 7. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said selecting means selects all still images recorded on a recording medium.