JP2003085573A - Image editing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image editing system capable of moving the device easily, reproducing the editing content and operating even if the image editing system is not provided with a storage device of large capacity except a digital input device. SOLUTION: This image editing system is provided with a digital image input device 10 storing a digital image, an image editing device 20 with an image editing function, connecting parts 11, 23 connecting the digital image input device 10 with the image editing device 20 and an image editing application 24. The data required for the image editing process is preserved in the digital image input device 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image editing system, and more particularly to an image editing system which performs image editing processing using a game machine or the like and returns the result to the original digital image input device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional digital image input device, a device having an editing function called "image editing system system with photographing function" of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-331495 has been devised. The present invention discloses an image editing system system in which an image capturing unit and an image reproducing unit are combined. This system inputs an image captured by an image reproducing unit to the image reproducing unit and performs an image editing process.

[0003]

Since the above-mentioned system edits by the image input device itself, there is a problem in that the system itself must have a high image editing processing capability, which is costly. In addition, there is a problem that the services of the image editing system cannot be provided only by the camera having the editing function.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the apparatus can be easily moved, the edited contents can be reproduced, and the apparatus can operate even if the mass storage device is not provided other than the digital input device. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an image editing system.

[0005]

(1) The invention according to claim 1 is a digital image input device for storing a digital image, an image editing device having an image editing function, and a connecting portion for connecting these devices. And an image editing application, and data required for image editing processing is stored in the digital image input device.

Here, the image editing function is a function of adding information such as image layout, or a function of grouping images. Image grouping is a grouping that uses image recognition technology, etc., or an interface that allows the user to assist editing.
What the user does.

The connection between the devices means that at least one of them can operate or edit the electronic file information held by another device. With this configuration,
It is possible to provide a system that is easy to move and can reproduce edited contents. Further, it is possible to provide an image editing system which operates without having a mass storage device other than the digital image input device. Also, the same edit can be easily output on a personal computer or a print shop.

(2) The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that a digital still camera or a digital video camera is used as the digital image input device. Here, the digital still camera is a device having a function of acquiring a still image, and includes an information terminal such as a portable telephone if it has the same function. Further, the digital video camera is a device having a function of acquiring a moving image, and includes an information terminal such as a portable telephone if the function is provided.

According to this structure, a high-quality still image can be easily edited by using the digital still camera as the digital image input device. Further, by using a digital video camera, moving images can be processed.

(3) According to a third aspect of the present invention, the digital image input device has a communication function and can receive an image output or image display service by transmitting the editing information and the image information. It is characterized by having done.

According to this structure, by having the communication function, the edited contents can be sent to the output service center through the communication network, and the output management and the storage service can be easily received.

(4) The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the storage method is a storage method according to a predetermined configuration. With this configuration, editing can be easily reproduced.

(5) The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the storage location is managed by a directory tree structure as the storage rule. Here, managing with a directory tree structure means categorizing images and managing the images by directory. It is possible to manage the edited contents for each directory as well. Categorization refers to classification by image content, image capture date, etc., and may be manual or automatic.

According to this structure, the rule of the saving method is managed by the directory tree structure of the saving location, so that the editing can be reproduced easily and the image editing can be performed without changing the image file itself. Management of history etc. becomes easy.

(6) The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, as a rule of the saving method, a method of attaching edited contents to a part of an image file is used. With this configuration, it is easy to reproduce the edited contents by attaching the edited contents to a part of the image file, and by integrating the edited contents with the image file, it becomes impossible to reproduce due to an operation error by the user. Is less.

(7) The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the digital image input device has a function of searching or editing an electronic album in the device. Here, the electronic album is an image browsing application having an image editing function and a search function.

According to this structure, it is possible to provide a highly functional electronic album having high portability.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows an example in which the device 1 and the device 2 are connected by a signal line. The device 1 is a digital still camera 10 as a digital image input device, and the device 2 is a game machine 20 as an image editing device having an image editing function. In the digital still camera 10, 11 is an external connection interface for connecting to the outside, 12 is an image pickup unit for picking up an image of a subject, and 13 is a nonvolatile RAM for storing the image picked up by the image pickup unit 12. The nonvolatile RAM 13 is connected to the external connection interface 11.

In the game machine 20, 21 is a CPU for controlling the overall operation, 22 is a memory for storing the calculation result by the CPU 21, and 23 is an external connection interface connected to the CPU 21. The external connection interface 23 is connected to the external connection interface 11 on the digital still camera 10 side via a connection cable 1. 24 is an electronic album application RO
It is M. As the application ROM 24, for example, a CD-ROM is used, and the image editing operation can be performed by reading the application in the CD-ROM by the CPU 21.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide a system which can be easily moved and reproduce the edited contents.
In addition, the mass storage device is a digital still camera 1
It is possible to provide an image editing system that operates even if it has nothing other than zero. Also, the same edit can be easily output on a personal computer or a print shop.

By using a digital still camera as the digital image input device, a high quality still image can be easily edited. If a digital video camera is used as the digital image input device, moving images can be processed. The outline of the operation of the system configured as above will be described below.

An image is picked up by the digital still camera 10 in advance and stored in the non-volatile RAM 13. Specifically, the imaging unit 12 captures an image of a subject, and the nonvolatile R
It is stored in AM13. In this case, the image storage format may be a bitmap format or a compression format (JPEG
Etc.).

First, the application ROM 24 is set to C
The game machine 20 is downloaded to the PU 21 so that the game machine 20 operates as an image edit processing device. Then, the image stored in the nonvolatile RAM 13 of the digital still camera 10 is transferred to the game machine 20 side via the external connection interface 11 and the connection cable 1. Here, by making the method of storing the image in the non-volatile RAM 13 of the digital still camera 10 follow a predetermined configuration, the reproduction of the editing becomes easy.

On the game machine 20 side, an image from the digital still camera 10 is received via the external connection interface 23. The CPU 21 performs predetermined image editing processing on the image input from the external connection interface 23, and stores the result in the memory 22. In this way, when the image editing processing of the plurality of images stored in the digital still camera 10 is completed, the image edited processing images stored in the memory 22 are transferred to the digital still camera 10 via the connection cable 1. Forward. The transferred image is stored in the non-volatile memory 13.

According to the present invention, even if the digital still camera 10 side does not have an editing function, image editing processing is performed using the editing function of the game machine 20 side, and the result is returned to the digital still camera 10 side again. Can be returned.
Also, the game machine 20 side downloads the necessary software from the CD-ROM each time and uses it, so the memory capacity does not increase.

The operation sequence of the present invention will be described below. (Procedure 1) An application is launched on the game machine 20. The startup method at that time is the same as that of normal game software.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the starting method of the present invention.
The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 25 is a monitor TV, 20 is a game console, and 26 is a game console.
Is a controller connected to the game machine 20. 24
Is an application CD-ROM. Reference numeral 10 is a digital still camera. The game machine 20 and the digital still camera 10 are connected via a connection cable 1. In the system thus configured, the game machine 20 is started by inserting the CD-ROM 24 into the device, connecting the digital still camera 10 or the like. (Procedure 2) As a default setting, a display prompting the user to specify the number of images to be acquired (the number of images to be displayed) is displayed on the television monitor 25. (Procedure 3) Shows a user interface for changing the number of displayed images. When the user changes the number of displayed images by operating the controller, the number of displayed images is displayed again.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when the number of displayed images is designated. The controller 26 is operated to input the number of images to be displayed. When the predetermined number is decided, click the OK button. (Procedure 4) When an interface prompting image acquisition and a transfer permission button are displayed and the user presses the button by operating the controller, the image files captured by the digital still camera 10 by the number specified in step 3 are displayed. The data is transferred from the newest one to the memory space of the game machine 20 (specifically, the memory 22). If there are not a specified number of image files on the digital still camera 10 side, all the number of image files are transferred. In the following description, it is assumed that two sheets are designated. (Procedure 5) The file headers of the two images (image 1 and image 2) are detected, and the shooting date / time is read. (Procedure 6) The image is reduced and displayed on the television monitor 25 in a predetermined format. At this time, if the designated sound is also recorded, that sound is also output. (Procedure 7) The user operates the controller 26 to display the image 1 and the image 2 on the television monitor 25. At the same time, the date is also displayed.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when an image is acquired. In the figure, an image 1 and an image 2 and buttons for editing processing are arranged. Since the shooting date is described in the image 1 and the image 2, it is possible to know when the image was taken. The user refers to the image displayed on the television monitor 25 and performs a necessary image editing process.

Buttons for image editing processing are as follows. 25a is a position change button, 25b is a size change button, 25c is a background change button, 25d is a button for adding characters, 25e is a music change button, and 25f is an edit end button. (Procedure 8) By operating the controller 26, editing is performed using the buttons 25a to 25e. For example, when the user changes the size and position of each image using the buttons 25a and 25b, the change result is displayed on the television monitor 25. (Procedure 9) The user clicks the button 25d for adding characters to set the character string input mode, and writes the title, comment, etc. by operating the controller 26.
The title and comment character strings written by the user are displayed on the television monitor 25. (Procedure 10) When the user clicks the music change button 25e, some music titles are displayed. Therefore, by selecting a favorite music, the selected sound can be output. When changing the background image, the background change button 25c can be clicked to select a desired background.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen at the end of editing. The sizes and positions of Images 1 and 2 have been changed, and the character string "High School Entrance Ceremony Part 3" has been entered. (Procedure 11) When the user clicks the edit end button 25f, all the edited contents (image layout, etc.) are transferred to the non-volatile RAM 13 on the digital still camera 10 side. At this time, the image file and directory are DCF
It is saved in a format conforming to (Camera File System Standard). Make sure that the files needed to reproduce edits other than images are also placed in the same directory.

According to the present invention, the digital still camera 10 has a communication function and can receive the image output or image display service by transmitting the editing information and the image information. According to this, by providing the communication function, the edited contents can be sent to the output service center via the communication network, and the output management and the storage service can be easily received.

Further, according to the present invention, the storage location can be managed by a directory tree structure as a rule for storing digital information. According to this, by managing the rules of the saving method by managing the saving location in a directory tree structure, it is easy to reproduce the edit and manage the edit history of the image without the need to change the image file itself. It will be easy.

Further, according to the present invention, as described above,
The edited contents can be attached to a part of the image file. According to this, by attaching the edited contents to a part of the image file, the editing can be easily reproduced, and by integrating with the image file, there is less trouble that the reproduction cannot be performed due to a user's operation error. Become.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of connection with a personal computer. The same parts as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 10 is a digital still camera, and 14 is a memory card mounted in the digital still camera 10. The capacity of the memory card 14 determines the number of images that can be stored at one time. Reference numeral 20A is a personal computer connected to the digital still camera 10 via a connection cable 1. A printer 30 is connected to the personal computer 20A.

In the system thus constructed,
The image captured by the digital still camera 10 is stored in the memory card 14. And the memory card 14
The image stored in is read out and the connection cable 1
Is transferred to the personal computer 20A via. The personal computer 20
Image editing software is preinstalled in A.
Therefore, the position of the personal computer 20A is changed as described above,
Image editing processing (image processing) such as size change, background change, and character addition can be performed.

The image for which the image editing process has been completed is printed by the printer 3.
You can print it out with 0. Further, the image data subjected to the image editing processing by the personal computer 20A is returned to the digital still camera 10 side via the connection cable 1. As a result, the image data that has undergone the image editing process is stored in the memory card 14. As described above, according to the present invention, even if the digital still camera 10 side does not have an image editing function, the image editing process is performed by the personal computer 20A,
This is convenient because the edited image data can be returned again.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram when an order is placed from the print shop. When the digital still camera 10 or a memory card mounted on the digital still camera is brought into the print shop 40, the image information reader 41 in the print shop 40 reads the image data and the printer 42 prints it out. As explained in FIG.
If the stored image is the image after the editing process is completed, the printed out image is preferable. Then, the print image 42 is passed to the user. The user pays for the print.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the digital still camera side has no image editing capability has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. If the digital still camera side is provided with an electronic album search function or an edit function, a highly portable electronic album with high portability can be provided.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a digital still camera or a digital video camera is used as the digital image input device is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any image data may be used as long as the image data can be obtained and stored by some means. In this case, when a digital video camera is used, moving images can be handled.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the files necessary for reproduction of editing are managed by placing them in the same directory as the image file.
Alternatively, the same information may be attached to the footer portion.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where a game machine or a personal computer is used as an image editing apparatus is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any device may be used as long as the device can download the application software and edit the image.

[0043]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the following effects occur. (1) According to the first aspect of the invention, it is possible to provide a system that is easy to move and can reproduce edited contents.
Further, it is possible to provide an image editing system which operates without having a mass storage device other than the digital image input device. Also, the same edit can be easily output on a personal computer or a print shop.

(2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, a high-quality still image can be easily edited by using a digital still camera as the digital image input device. Also, by using a digital video camera,
Can process videos.

(3) According to the third aspect of the present invention, by having the communication function, the edited contents can be sent to the output service center via the communication network, and the output management and the storage service can be easily received.

(4) According to the invention described in claim 4, the reproduction of the editing becomes easy. (5) According to the invention described in claim 5, by managing the saving method rules in a directory tree structure for the saving location, it is easy to reproduce the edit and without changing the image file itself. It also becomes easy to manage the editing history of images.

(6) According to the sixth aspect of the invention, by attaching the edited contents to a part of the image file, the editing can be reproduced easily, and the edited contents are integrated with the image file. There is less trouble that the reproduction cannot be performed due to the operation mistake of.

(7) According to the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to provide a highly functional electronic album having high portability. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image editing system in which the device can be easily moved, the edited contents can be reproduced, and which operates even if the mass storage device is not provided for other than the digital input device. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a starting method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when a display number is designated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen when an image is acquired.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen at the end of editing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of connection with a personal computer.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram at the time of ordering from a print shop.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 connection cable 10 Digital still camera 11 External connection interface 12 Imaging unit 13 Non-volatile RAM 20 game consoles 21 CPU 22 memory 23 External connection interface 24 Album application ROM

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A digital image input device for storing a digital image, an image editing device having an image editing function, a connecting portion for connecting these devices, and an image editing application, which are necessary for an image editing process. An image editing system, wherein various data are stored in the digital image input device. 2. The image editing system according to claim 1, wherein a digital still camera or a digital video camera is used as the digital image input device. 3. In the digital image input device,
The image editing system according to claim 1, wherein the image editing system has a communication function and can receive an image output or image display service by transmitting the editing information and the image information. 4. The image editing system according to claim 1, wherein the saving method is a saving method according to a predetermined configuration. 5. The image editing system according to claim 4, wherein the storage rule is managed in a directory tree structure as the storage rule. 6. The image editing system according to claim 4, wherein a method of attaching edited contents to a part of an image file is used as a rule of the saving method. 7. The image editing system according to claim 1, wherein the digital image input device has a search function or an editing function of the image editing system in the device.