JP2002218388A - Image data processor, camera, image data processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To readily grasp the contents of a plurality of image data. SOLUTION: A digital camera decides on a typical image among a plurality of image data, based on information corresponding to images stored by image data. Determining the typical image is based on the number of persons contained in the image data or the reproduction time of the image data in the past. The digital camera selectively reproduces only a typical image among a plurality of image data, according to a user's request.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image data processing device, a camera, an image data processing method, and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to an image data processing device having a function of determining a representative image from a plurality of image data, a camera, an image data processing method, and a program for causing a computer to realize such a function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many image data processing apparatuses, such as digital cameras, that handle image data are known. Such an image data processing device can store a plurality of image data on a computer-readable recording medium, and can read and reproduce the stored image data from the recording medium at the request of the user.

When a user wants to know the contents of image data stored in a recording medium, the user reproduces the image data stored in the recording medium using an image data processing device. In this case, for example, the user reproduces the image data in the order in which the image data is stored on the recording medium, or randomly selects and reproduces the stored image data.

[0004]

However, if the image data is simply reproduced in the order in which the image data is stored, or the image data selected at random is reproduced, the user needs to know what image data is stored in the recording medium. In some cases, it is necessary to reproduce a large amount of image data until it is determined that the image data is stored. In particular, when the capacity of the recording medium is large or when the resolution of the recorded image is low, the number of pieces of image data recorded on the recording medium increases, so that the above-described problem is remarkable.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image data processing device, a camera, an image data processing method, and a program which can solve the above-mentioned problems.
This object is achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

[0006]

That is, an image data processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention provides an image data processing apparatus which stores image correspondence information stored in a predetermined storage medium for each image data from a plurality of image data. A representative image determining unit that determines a representative image based on the image data, and a representative image reproducing unit that selectively reproduces the representative image from a plurality of image data.

The representative image determining section may determine the representative image based on the number of persons included in the image data, or may determine the representative image based on information regarding the sharpness of an image reproduced from the image data. May be determined. The representative image determination unit may determine the representative image based on the date or time when the image data was generated, or determine when the first image data was generated and when the second image data was generated. Whether or not the first image data is set as the representative image may be determined based on the time difference at the time of the execution. Further, the representative image determining unit may determine the representative image based on the time at which the image data was reproduced in the past, or the representative image determining unit may determine a surrounding image when the image in the image data is being reproduced. The representative image may be determined based on the volume.

[0008] The image data processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention may further include an image classification unit for classifying a plurality of image data into a plurality of groups. In this case, it is preferable that the representative image determination unit determines the representative image for each of the plurality of groups.

Further, the image data processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a first evaluation point calculation unit for calculating a first evaluation point for each of a plurality of image data based on a first evaluation criterion. A second evaluation point calculation unit that calculates a second evaluation point for each of the plurality of image data based on a second evaluation criterion different from the first evaluation criterion. In this case, it is preferable that the representative image determination unit determines the representative image based on the first evaluation point and the second evaluation point.

[0010] A camera according to a second aspect of the present invention includes an image pickup section for picking up an image of a subject, a data storage section capable of storing a plurality of image data output by the image pickup section, and a data storage section for storing image data stored in the data storage section. A representative image determining unit that determines a representative image from among them, and a representative image reproducing unit that selectively reproduces a representative image from image data stored in a data storage unit are provided.

An image data processing method according to a third aspect of the present invention includes a representative image determining step of determining a representative image from a plurality of image data based on image correspondence information stored for each image data. And a representative image reproducing step of selectively reproducing a representative image from a plurality of image data.

A program according to a fourth aspect of the present invention comprises:
A representative image determination function for determining a representative image based on image correspondence information stored for each image data from a plurality of image data, and a representative image for selectively reproducing the representative image from the plurality of image data A program for causing a computer to realize the playback function is recorded. The program according to the fourth aspect of the present invention may be stored in a computer-readable recording medium.

The above summary of the present invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these features may also constitute the present invention.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the present invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention and have the features described in the embodiments. Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a digital camera 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Digital camera 10
Mainly include the imaging unit 20, the imaging control unit 40, the processing unit 60, the display unit 100, and the operation unit 1.
10 and a microphone 120.

The imaging unit 20 includes a mechanism member and an electric member related to photographing and image formation. Imaging unit 20
First, a photographing lens 22 for capturing and processing images,
An aperture 24, a shutter 26, an optical LPF (low-pass filter) 28, a CCD 30, and an image signal processing unit 32 are included. The taking lens 22 includes a focus lens, a zoom lens, and the like. With this configuration, the subject image is
Image on the light receiving surface of. Charges are accumulated in each sensor element (not shown) of the CCD 30 according to the amount of light of the formed subject image (hereinafter, the charges are referred to as “accumulated charges”). The accumulated charge is read out to a shift register (not shown) by a read gate pulse, and is sequentially read out as a voltage signal by a register transfer pulse.

Since the digital camera 10 generally has an electronic shutter function, a mechanical shutter such as the shutter 26 is not essential. In order to realize the electronic shutter function, the CCD 30 is provided with a shutter drain via a shutter gate. When the shutter gate is driven, accumulated charges are swept out to the shutter drain. By controlling the shutter gate, the time for accumulating the electric charges in each sensor element, that is, the shutter speed can be controlled.

A voltage signal output from the CCD 30, that is, an analog signal is color-separated into R, G, and B components by an image signal processing unit 32, and a white balance is adjusted first.
Subsequently, the imaging signal processing unit 32 performs gamma correction, sequentially A / D converts the R, G, and B signals at necessary timing, and obtains digital image data (hereinafter, simply referred to as “digital image data”) obtained as a result. ) Is output to the processing unit 60. A between the CCD 30 and the imaging signal processing unit 32
A / D converter is arranged, and the imaging signal processing unit 32
The white balance and gamma correction may be performed on the output signal of the CCD 30 after the D conversion.

The image pickup unit 20 further includes a finder 3
4 and a strobe 36. The finder 34 may be equipped with an LCD (not shown). In this case, various information from the main CPU 62 and the like described later can be displayed in the finder 34. The strobe 36 functions by emitting light when energy stored in a capacitor (not shown) is supplied to the discharge tube 36a.

The imaging control unit 40 includes a zoom driving unit 4
2. It has a focus drive unit 44, an aperture drive unit 46, a shutter drive unit 48, an imaging system CPU 50 that controls them, a distance measurement sensor 52, and a photometry sensor 54. The driving units such as the zoom driving unit 42 each have a driving unit such as a stepping motor. When a release switch 114 described later is pressed, the distance measurement sensor 52 measures the distance to the subject, and the photometry sensor 54 measures the brightness of the subject. Data of the measured distance (hereinafter, simply referred to as “distance measurement data”) and data of subject luminance (hereinafter, simply, “photometry data”) are sent to the imaging system CPU 50. Imaging system CPU 50
Controls the zoom drive unit 42 and the focus drive unit 44 to adjust the zoom magnification and focus of the photographing lens 22 based on the photographing information such as the zoom magnification designated by the user. Note that the imaging system CPU 50 may perform photometry using image information captured by the CCD 30, and may control the focus driving unit 44 so that the subject is focused.

The image pickup system CPU 50 controls the R of one image frame.
The aperture value and the shutter speed are determined based on the integrated value of the digital signal of GB, that is, the AE information. According to the determined values, the aperture driving unit 46 and the shutter driving unit 48 adjust the aperture amount and open and close the shutter 26, respectively.

The imaging CPU 50 also controls the emission of the strobe light 36 based on the photometric data, and at the same time adjusts the aperture of the aperture 24. When the user instructs the capture of an image, the CCD 30 starts to accumulate electric charges, and the accumulated electric charges are output to the imaging signal processing unit 32 after a lapse of a shutter time calculated from the photometric data.

The processing unit 60 includes the digital camera 10
The main C that controls the whole, especially the processing unit 60 itself
PU 62 and memory control unit 6 controlled by PU 62
4, a YC processing unit 70, an optional device control unit 74, a compression / decompression processing unit 78, and a communication I / F unit 80. Main C
The PU 62 is connected to the imaging CPU 5 by serial communication or the like.
Necessary information is exchanged with 0. Main CPU6
The second operation clock is provided from a clock generator 88. The clock generator 88 also provides clocks having different frequencies to the imaging system CPU 50 and the display unit 100, respectively.

The main CPU 62 is provided with a character generator 84 and a timer 86. The timer 86 is backed up by a battery and always counts the date and time.
From this count value, information about the shooting date and time and other time information are given to the main CPU 62. The character generation unit 84 generates character information such as a shooting date and time and a title, and the character information is appropriately combined with the captured image.

The memory control unit 64 includes a nonvolatile memory 66
And the main memory 68. Non-volatile memory 66
Is composed of an EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable ROM), a flash memory, etc., and stores data to be retained even when the power of the digital camera 10 is off, such as setting information by a user and adjustment values at the time of shipment. ing. The non-volatile memory 66 may have a main CP
A boot program or a system program of U62 may be stored. On the other hand, the main memory 68 generally has a D
It is composed of a relatively inexpensive and large-capacity memory like a RAM. The main memory 68 has a function as a frame memory for storing data output from the imaging unit 20, a function as a system memory for loading various programs, and a function as a work area. The non-volatile memory 66 and the main memory 68
Data is exchanged with each unit inside and outside the unit 0 via the main bus 82.

The YC processing unit 70 performs YC conversion on the digital image data, and outputs a luminance signal Y and a color difference (chroma) signal B-
Generate Y, RY. The luminance signal and the color difference signal are temporarily stored in the main memory 68 by the memory control unit 64.
The compression / decompression processing unit 78 sequentially reads out the luminance signal and the color difference signal from the main memory 68 and compresses them. The data thus compressed (hereinafter simply referred to as “compressed data”) is written to a memory card, which is a type of the optional device 76, via the optional device control section 74.

The processing unit 60 further includes an encoder 72
With. The encoder 72 receives a luminance signal and a color difference signal, converts them into a video signal (NTSC or PAL signal), and outputs the video signal from a video output terminal 90. When a video signal is generated from data recorded in the optional device 76, the data is first supplied to the compression / decompression processing unit 78 via the optional device control unit 74. Subsequently, the data subjected to the necessary expansion processing by the compression / expansion processing unit 78 is converted into a video signal by the encoder 72.

The optional device control unit 74 generates a necessary signal between the main bus 82 and the optional device 76, performs logical conversion, or converts voltage according to the signal specifications recognized by the optional device 76 and the bus specifications of the main bus 82. And so on. The digital camera 10 may include, for example, a PCM as an optional device 76 in addition to the memory card described above.
A standard CIA-compliant standard I / O card may be supported. In that case, the optional device control unit 74
It may be constituted by an IA bus control LSI or the like. In the present embodiment, the option device 76 is an example of a recording medium that can store a computer-readable program.

The communication I / F unit 80 is a digital camera 10
Communication specifications supported by, for example, USB, RS-23
It performs control such as protocol conversion according to specifications such as 2C and Ethernet (registered trademark). The communication I / F unit 80 includes a driver IC as necessary, and communicates with an external device including a network via a connector 92. In addition to such standard specifications, data may be exchanged with an external device such as a printer, a karaoke machine, a game machine, or the like by a unique I / F.

The display unit 100 includes an LCD monitor 10
2 and an LCD panel 104. These are the LCD driver monitor driver 106, panel driver 10
8 respectively. LCD monitor 102
Is provided on the back of the camera with a size of, for example, about 2 inches, and displays a current shooting / playback mode, a shooting / playback zoom magnification, a remaining battery level, a date / time, a screen for mode setting, a subject image, and the like. . The LCD panel 104 is, for example, a small black-and-white LCD provided on the upper surface of the camera and has
/ NORMAL / BASIC etc.), information such as strobe light emission / non-light emission, standard number of recordable images, number of pixels, battery capacity, etc. are simply displayed.

The operation unit 110 includes mechanisms and electrical members necessary for the user to set or instruct the operation and mode of the digital camera 10. The power switch 112 determines whether the power of the digital camera 10 is turned on or off. The release switch 114 has a two-stage pressing structure of half pressing and full pressing. As an example, AF and AE are locked by pressing halfway, captured images are taken by pressing fully, and are recorded in the main memory 68, the optional device 76, etc. after necessary signal processing, data compression, and the like. The operation unit 110 may receive a setting using a rotary mode dial, a cross key, or the like in addition to these switches, and these are collectively referred to as a function setting unit 116 in FIG. Examples of operations or functions that can be specified by the operation unit 110 include “file format”, “special effects”, “printing”, “determine / save”, and “display switching”. The zoom switch 118 determines a zoom magnification. The microphone 120 detects the volume around the digital camera 10 and outputs the volume to the main CPU 62.

The main operation of the above configuration is as follows. First, the power switch 11 of the digital camera 10
2 is turned on, and power is supplied to each part of the camera. The main CPU 62 determines whether the digital camera 10 is in the shooting mode or the playback mode by reading the state of the function setting unit 116.

When the camera is in the shooting mode, the main C
The PU 62 monitors the half-pressed state of the release switch 114. When the half-pressed state is detected, the main CPU 62
Obtains photometry data and distance measurement data from the photometry sensor 54 and the distance measurement sensor 52, respectively. The imaging control unit 40 operates based on the obtained data, and the focus, aperture, and the like of the photographing lens 22 are adjusted. Once the adjustment is complete,
Characters such as "standby" are displayed on the LCD monitor 102 to inform the user of the fact, and then the state of the release switch 114 being fully pressed is monitored. Release switch 1
When the shutter 14 is fully pressed, the shutter 26 is closed after a predetermined shutter time, and the accumulated charges in the CCD 30 are swept out to the imaging signal processing unit 32. The digital image data generated as a result of the processing by the imaging signal processing unit 32 is output to the main bus 82. The digital image data is temporarily stored in the main memory 68, and then processed by the YC processing unit 70 and the compression / decompression processing unit 78.
Is recorded in the option device 76 via the. The recorded image is displayed on the LCD monitor 102 in a frozen state for a while, so that the user can know the captured image. Thus, a series of photographing operations is completed.

On the other hand, when the digital camera 10 is in the reproduction mode, the main CPU 62 reads out the last photographed image from the main memory 68 via the memory control unit 64,
This is displayed on the LCD monitor 102 of the display unit 100. In this state, when the user instructs “forward” or “reverse” in the function setting unit 116, images taken before and after the currently displayed image are read and displayed on the LCD monitor 102.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing main functions of the digital camera 10. Digital camera 10
Is an imaging unit 20 that shoots a subject and outputs image data.
2 and a data storage unit 210 capable of storing image data output by the imaging unit 202. The digital camera 10 also receives a compression ratio setting unit 206 that receives a setting of a compression ratio of image data stored in the data storage unit 210 from a user.
And a data writing unit 204 that writes image data output by the imaging unit 202 to the data storage unit 210.

When the image capturing section 202 outputs the image data, the data writing section 204 compresses the image data at the compression rate set by the compression rate setting section 206 and stores the compressed image data in the data storage section 210. To be stored. Further, the data writing unit 204 stores the compression ratio of the image data in the data storage unit 210 in association with the image data.

In the case of this embodiment, the data writing unit 204
Compresses image data using an irreversible method such as JPEG. For this reason, the sharpness of an image obtained by reproducing the compressed image data changes depending on the compression ratio of the image data. Therefore, data writing unit 204
In the present embodiment, the compression ratio written in the data storage unit 210 is also an index indicating the sharpness of an image reproduced from the image data.

The data writing unit 204 further includes a date or time when the image data is generated (hereinafter referred to as a generation time).
Is written in the data storage unit 210 in association with the image data. In the case of the present embodiment, the data writing unit 204 acquires the date and time output by the timer 86 when the imaging unit 202 captures an object, and stores the acquired date and time in the data storage unit 210 as the generation time. I do.

In addition to the above, the digital camera 10 reproduces an image from the image data stored in the data storage unit 210 in response to a user request, and displays the reproduced image on an LCD.
An image reproducing unit 208 for displaying the image on the monitor 102 is provided.

The digital camera 10 has a classification unit 216 for classifying a plurality of image data stored in the data storage unit 210 into a plurality of groups, and a classification result storage unit 220 for storing the classification results of the classification unit 216. And In the case of the present embodiment, the classification unit 216 classifies the image data, for example, by date when the image data was generated, based on the generation time stored in the data storage unit 210 in association with each image data.

The digital camera 10 further includes an evaluation section 212 for determining an evaluation point for each image data stored in the data storage section 210, and an evaluation file 214 for storing the evaluation points determined by the evaluation section 212 for each image data. And
In addition, the digital camera 10 includes a representative image determination unit 218 that determines a representative image from a plurality of pieces of image data stored in the data storage unit 210 based on the evaluation points determined by the evaluation unit 212.

The representative image determining unit 218 may determine, for example, image data whose evaluation point is equal to or more than a predetermined value as a representative image. In addition, the representative image determination unit 218 stores the data
Of the image data stored in 0, the image data with the highest evaluation score may be determined as the representative image. Alternatively, among the image data stored in the data storage unit 210, the representative image determination unit 218 may determine a predetermined number of image data in descending order of evaluation points as the representative image. Furthermore, the representative image determination unit 218 may determine one or more representative images for each group classified by the classification unit 216. In the case of the present embodiment, the representative image determination unit 218
Defines the image data with the highest evaluation score as the representative image for each group classified by the classification unit 216.

In this embodiment, the image pickup unit 202
Is mainly realized by the imaging unit 20, and the compression ratio setting unit 206 is realized by the function setting unit 116, for example. Further, the data storage unit 210 stores the option device 76
Is realized by: Further, the evaluation file 214 and the classification result storage unit 220 are realized by any one of the nonvolatile memory 66, the main memory 68, and the optional device 72. Further, the image reproducing unit 208 and the data writing unit 20
4. Evaluation unit 212, representative image determination unit 218, classification unit 21
6, and the classification result storage unit 220 is mainly a main CPU.
62 is realized by controlling the processing unit 60 based on a program stored in the main memory 68 or the non-volatile memory 66. The main CPU 62
May be stored in the non-volatile memory 66 in advance. Alternatively, the program to be executed by the main CPU 62 may be installed in the main memory 68 or the nonvolatile memory 66 from a recording medium such as the optional device 76.

FIG. 3 shows information stored in the data storage unit 210. The data storage unit 210 stores image data,
The compression ratio of the image data and the image data generation time are stored in association with each other. The data storage unit 210 also associates a reproduction time indicating a time at which the image data was reproduced in the past with volume information relating to a volume detected by the microphone 120 when the image data is being reproduced, with the image data. Stored. further,
In the data storage unit 210, a representative image flag indicating whether or not the associated image data is a representative image is stored in association with each image data. The representative image flag is set by the representative image determination unit 218. In the case of the present embodiment, the representative image determination unit 218 sets only the representative image flag of the image data determined as the representative image. The image data stored in the data storage unit 210,
The compression ratio, the generation time, the reproduction time, and the volume are examples of image correspondence information stored in a predetermined memory for each image data.

FIG. 4 shows information stored in the classification result storage section 220. The classification result storage unit 220 stores the classification unit 21
6 stores the result of classifying a plurality of image data stored in the data storage unit 210 into a plurality of groups. In the case of the present embodiment, the file name of each image data is stored in the classification result storage unit 220 in association with identification information for identifying a group into which the image data is classified.

FIG. 5 shows an example of information stored in the evaluation file 214. The evaluation file 214 includes the evaluation unit 2
The evaluation points determined by 12 are stored in association with the image data. In the case of the present embodiment, the evaluation file 214 stores a plurality of evaluation points obtained based on different criteria and a total score of the plurality of evaluation points for each image data. In the present embodiment, the representative image determining unit 218 determines a representative image based on the total points of the evaluation points stored in the evaluation file 214. That is, in the present embodiment,
A representative image is determined in consideration of a plurality of criteria.

In the example shown in FIG.
In addition, a number-of-persons criterion-evaluation score determined by the evaluation unit 212 based on the number of people included in the image data, and a data storage unit 21
A compression ratio reference-evaluation point determined by the evaluation unit 212 based on the compression ratio of the image data stored in 0 is stored.

The evaluation file 214 includes an evaluation unit 212 based on the time difference between the generation time of the image data to be evaluated and the generation time of the image data generated immediately before or immediately after the image data. Is stored. Further, the evaluation file 214 includes a reproduction time reference-evaluation point determined by the evaluation unit 212 based on the time when the image data was reproduced in the past, and the surroundings of the digital camera 10 when the image in the image data is being reproduced. Volume determined by the evaluation unit 212 based on the volume at
The evaluation points are stored.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing functions of the image reproducing unit 208. The image reproducing unit 208 includes a representative image reproducing unit 240 that selectively reproduces image data for which a representative image flag is set from the image data stored in the data storage unit 210. That is, the representative image reproducing unit 240 reproduces only the representative image. In the case of the present embodiment, the representative image reproducing unit 240 is, for example, the function setting unit 11
The representative image designated by the user via the terminal 6 is reproduced.

The image reproducing section 208 further has an arbitrary image reproducing section 242 for reproducing arbitrary image data belonging to the same group as the representative image designated by the user in the representative image reproducing section 240 in response to a request from the user. .

The image reproducing unit 208 measures the time when the image data stored in the data storage unit 210 is reproduced, and records the result in the data storage unit 210 in association with the reproduced image data. It has a time recording unit 244. That is, each time the representative image reproducing unit 240 and the arbitrary image reproducing unit 242 reproduce image data, the reproduction time recording unit 244 uses the time information output by the timer 86 to record the time at which the image data was reproduced. Time. When the reproduction of the image data ends, the reproduction time recording unit 244
The measured time is added to the reproduction time of the data storage unit 210 corresponding to the reproduced image data.

The image reproducing unit 208 includes a data storage unit 210
Volume recording unit 24 that records the volume detected by the microphone 120 when the image data stored in the data storage is reproduced in the data storage unit 210 in association with the reproduced image data.
6. In the present embodiment, the volume recording unit 246 calculates the maximum value of the volume detected by the microphone 120 while the representative image reproducing unit 240 or the arbitrary image reproducing unit 242 reproduces the image data. After the reproduction of the image data is completed, the volume recording unit 246 adds the calculated maximum value of the volume to the volume information of the data storage unit 210 corresponding to the reproduced image data.

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the functions of the evaluation unit 212. The evaluation unit 212 includes the data storage unit 21
It has a number-of-people criterion evaluation unit 282 that determines a number-of-people criterion-evaluation point for the image data stored in 0 and stores it in the evaluation file 214. The number of people evaluation unit 282 is, for example,
The number of persons included in the image data is determined from the number of areas having a hue that matches the face color of the person in the image reproduced from the image data. Furthermore, the number-of-persons-based evaluation unit 282
Is a value obtained by multiplying the obtained number of people by a predetermined positive coefficient, for example, 10 as the number of people-based evaluation point. In this case, the more people included in the image data, the higher the evaluation score of the image data. Therefore, in this embodiment,
Image data with a large number of people included in the image data, such as a group photo, is likely to be the representative image.

The evaluation section 212 further includes a data storage section 2
A compression ratio criterion-evaluation unit 284 for determining a compression ratio criterion-evaluation point of image data corresponding to the compression ratio stored in the evaluation file 214 based on the compression ratio stored in the evaluation file 214. In the case of the present embodiment, the evaluation point determined by the compression ratio criterion-evaluation unit 284 takes the maximum value when the compression ratio is 0, and decreases as the compression ratio increases. That is, the compression ratio reference-evaluation unit 284 gives a higher evaluation score to image data having a lower compression ratio and higher sharpness of a reproduced image. Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is a high possibility that image data for which the user has set a low compression ratio in order to obtain a sharp image will be the representative image.

The evaluation section 212 further includes a data storage section 2
10 has a generation interval criterion-evaluation unit 286 that determines a generation interval criterion evaluation point based on the generation time stored in 10 and stores it in the evaluation file 214. In the present embodiment, the generation interval criterion-evaluation unit 286 determines, for each image data stored in the data storage unit 210, the image data (hereinafter, referred to as first image data) and the image data immediately before the first image data. Alternatively, a difference in the generation time from the second image data generated immediately after (hereinafter referred to as a generation interval) is obtained. Next, the generation interval criterion-evaluation unit 286 determines the generation interval criterion-evaluation point of the first image data based on the obtained generation interval.

In the case of the present embodiment, the generation interval reference / evaluation unit 286 sets a predetermined positive value to the evaluation point of the first image data when the generation interval is a predetermined reference time, for example, 10 seconds or less. And On the other hand, when the generation interval exceeds the reference time, the generation interval reference-evaluation unit 286 sets the evaluation point of the first image data to 0. That is, the generation interval reference-evaluation unit 286 gives a high evaluation point to the image data generated by continuously performing imaging in a short time. Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is a high possibility that the image data obtained as a result of the continuous shooting becomes the representative image.

The evaluation section 212 further includes a data storage section 2
Based on the playback time stored in 10, a playback time reference-evaluation point of image data corresponding to the playback time is determined,
Playback time criterion stored in evaluation file 214—evaluation unit 2
88. In the case of the present embodiment, the reproduction time reference-evaluation unit 288 obtains a reproduction time reference-evaluation point by multiplying the reproduction time indicated in the reproduction time information by a positive coefficient. That is, the reproduction time reference-evaluation unit 288 gives a higher evaluation score to image data having a long reproduction time in the past. Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is a high possibility that the image data that the user is interested in for a long time or repeatedly played back becomes the representative image.

The evaluation section 212 further includes a data storage section 2
10 has a volume reference-evaluation unit 290 which determines a volume reference-evaluation point of image data corresponding to the volume information based on the volume information stored in the storage 10 and stores the same in the evaluation file 214. In the case of the present embodiment, the volume reference-evaluation unit 290
A value obtained by multiplying the volume indicated by the volume information by a positive coefficient is defined as a volume reference-evaluation point. Therefore, in this embodiment,
For example, when the user cheers to see the reproduced image and the volume recorded in the volume information increases, the evaluation score of the image data increases, and the image data may be selected as the representative image. Get higher.

The evaluation section 212 further has a total point calculation section 292 for obtaining the total points of the evaluation points recorded in the evaluation file 214 for each image file and storing the total points in the evaluation file 214. Each time one of the five evaluation units from the number-of-peers evaluation unit 282 to the volume-based evaluation unit 290 rewrites the data of the evaluation file 214, the total score calculation unit 292 obtains the total score of the rewritten image data. cure.

As described above, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, a large number of persons are included in the plurality of image data stored in the data storage unit 210 or reproduced in the past. Image data that is expected to be important to the user, such as a long time, is determined as a representative image. Then, the digital camera 10 stores the data in the data storage unit 2.
Only the representative image can be selectively reproduced from the image data stored in. Therefore, the user can reproduce only important image data from the plurality of image data as needed, and can quickly know what image data is stored in the data storage unit 210.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above embodiment. It should be noted that such modified or improved embodiments may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0062]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a representative image can be selectively reproduced from a plurality of image data, so that the user can easily grasp the contents of the plurality of image data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a digital camera 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating main functions of the digital camera 10.

FIG. 3 shows information stored in a data storage unit 210.

FIG. 4 shows information stored in a classification result storage unit 220.

FIG. 5 shows an example of information stored in an evaluation file 214.

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of functions of an image reproducing unit 208.

FIG. 7 shows a functional block diagram of functions of an evaluation unit 212.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 digital camera 20 imaging unit 40 imaging control unit 60 processing unit 62 main CPU 64 memory control unit 66 non-volatile memory 68 main memory 76 optional device 86 timer 100 display unit 102 LCD monitor 110 operation unit 202 imaging unit 212 evaluation unit 218 representative image Decision unit 240 Representative image playback unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C022 AA13 AC03 AC13 AC42 AC69 5C052 AA17 AB03 AC08 CC01 DD02 DD04 GA02 GA03 GA06 GA09 GB06 GC05 GE06 GE08 GF04 5C053 FA09 FA14 GA11 GB36 HA29 JA21 KA04 LA01 LA06 LA11 LA14

Claims (12)

[Claims] A representative image determination unit that determines a representative image from a plurality of image data based on image correspondence information stored for each of the image data; and a representative image from the plurality of image data. And a representative image reproducing unit for selectively reproducing the image data. 2. The image data processing device according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determining unit determines the representative image based on the number of people included in the image data. 3. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determination unit determines the representative image based on information regarding sharpness of an image reproduced from the image data. 4. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determination unit determines the representative image based on a date or a time when the image data was generated. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determination unit determines the first image data based on a time difference between when the first image data is generated and when the second image data is generated. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein it is determined whether or not to be the representative image. 6. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determining unit determines the representative image based on a time when the image data was reproduced in the past. 7. The image data according to claim 1, wherein the representative image determination unit determines the representative image based on a surrounding volume when an image in the image data is being reproduced. Processing equipment. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an image classifying unit configured to classify the plurality of image data into a plurality of groups, wherein the representative image determining unit determines the representative image for each of the plurality of groups. 2. The image data processing device according to 1. 9. A first evaluation point calculation unit for calculating a first evaluation point for each of the plurality of image data based on a first evaluation criterion, a second evaluation criterion different from the first evaluation criterion And a second evaluation point calculation unit that calculates a second evaluation point for each of the plurality of image data based on the first evaluation point and the second evaluation point. The image data processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the representative image is determined based on a point. 10. An imaging unit for imaging a subject, a data storage unit capable of storing a plurality of image data output by the imaging unit, and a representative image is determined from the image data stored in the data storage unit. A camera comprising: a representative image determining unit; and a representative image reproducing unit that selectively reproduces the representative image from the image data stored in the data storage unit. 11. A representative image determining step of determining a representative image from a plurality of image data based on image correspondence information stored for each of the image data, and the representative image from the plurality of image data. And a representative image reproducing step of selectively reproducing the image data. 12. A representative image determining function of determining a representative image from a plurality of image data based on image correspondence information stored for each image data, and a representative image determining function from the plurality of image data. And a program for causing a computer to implement a representative image playback function for selectively playing back images.