JP2003199016A - Imaging apparatus and method therefor recording medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce burden due to thumbnail image generating process when recording an input image, and thereby reduce time for recording the image. <P>SOLUTION: A horizontal bandlimiting filter unit 112 limits a horizontal bandwidth of the input image data. A horizontal direction pixel skipping process unit 113 removes some pixel data from the input image data so as to reduce the number of horizontal pixels of the image data, and creates a thumbnail preparation image data. A vertical bandlimiting filter unit 115 limits a vertical bandwidth of the thumbnail preparation image data. A RAM control unit 116A controls output of the image data stored in a RAM 116 in accordance with a Valid signal so that the input image data is output when the valid signal is at high level, while the thumbnail preparation image data is output when the valid signal is at low level. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and method, a recording medium, and a program, and more particularly, at the same time as photographing, a thumbnail preparatory image in which the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the photographed image is reduced is generated to generate the photographed image. The present invention relates to an imaging device and method, a recording medium, and a program that reduce the load of thumbnail image generation processing during recording and can shorten the image recording time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Digital still cameras and video cameras and PDAs having digital still camera functions
In a portable information terminal device represented by, for example, image data corresponding to a captured image is recorded as digital data. Exif (Ex
changeable Image File Format) is available.

Exif is a JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industr
y Development Association) standard, which is an image file format standard for digital still cameras.Exif format files are JPEG (Joint Photogra
phic Experts Group) format file with TIFF
(Tagged Image File Format) format header is embedded. This format uses the JPEG data stream as it is and uses the data segment APP1 prepared for the application to embed unique information in a method in accordance with the JPEG specifications.
It can be recognized as a normal JPEG file even by applications that do not support. TIFF is used to store information, and various information such as basic information about images and thumbnail images are stored according to the rules of TIFF.

In a conventional digital camera or the like, when photographed image data is recorded in the Exif format, a pixel number conversion circuit or the like reduces the number of pixels of the photographed image at the time of recording the image data to create and record a thumbnail image. Was there.

[0005]

However, in recent years,
CCD (Charge Coupled Dev) mounted on digital cameras
With the increase in the resolution of cameras such as ice), the above-mentioned method has a problem that the load required for the thumbnail image data creation processing becomes large and the image data recording time becomes long.

The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and is to reduce the load of thumbnail image generation processing at the time of recording a captured image and shorten the image recording time.

[0007]

An image pickup apparatus of the present invention is generated by a first generation unit that generates a reduction preparation image that is a basis of a reduced image of a captured image of a subject, and the first generation unit. And a second generation unit that generates a reduced image from the reduced preparation image. The first generation unit thins the captured image data corresponding to the captured image at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to prepare for reduction. A second image data thinning means for generating reduced preparation image data corresponding to the image; and an addition means for adding the reduction preparation image data generated by the first image data thinning means to the captured image data. Generating means for extracting the reduction preparation image data from the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the addition means, and the reduction preparation image data extracted by the extraction means, As a unit element, a second to generate the reduced image data corresponding to the thinned by the reduced image at a predetermined interval
Image data thinning-out means.

According to the effective pixel area information indicating the effective pixel area of the photographed image, the adding means causes the image corresponding to the photographed image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added to laterally align the photographed image and the reduction preparation image. The reduction preparation image data can be added to the captured image data so as to form an arrayed image.

The first image data thinning means can thin the photographed image data in units of pixels so as to reduce the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the photographed image corresponding to the photographed image data.

The second image data thinning means thins the reduction preparation image data in units of pixels so as to reduce the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the reduction preparation image corresponding to the reduction preparation image data. You can

According to the image pickup method of the present invention, a reduction preparation image which is a source of a reduction image of a photographed image of a subject is generated, and a reduction preparation image generated by the processing of the first generation step. Second, which produces a reduced image
And a captured image data corresponding to the captured image in units of pixels.
A first image data thinning step of thinning out at a predetermined interval to generate reduced preparation image data corresponding to the reduction preparation image, and the reduction preparation image data generated by the processing of the first image data thinning step is used as captured image data. The second generation step includes an addition step of adding, and an extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data from the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the processing of the addition step, and an extraction step of the extraction step. A second image data thinning step of thinning the reduced preparation image data thus generated at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image.

The recording medium program of the present invention includes a first generation step for generating a reduction preparation image which is a basis of a reduced image of a photographed image of a subject, and the reduction generated by the processing of the first generation step. A second generation step of generating a reduced image from the prepared image, wherein the first generated step thins out the photographed image data corresponding to the photographed image at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to obtain a reduced prepared image. A first image data thinning step of generating corresponding reduction preparation image data; and an addition step of adding the reduction preparation image data generated by the processing of the first image data thinning step to the captured image data. The generation step of the extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data from the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the processing of the addition step. And a second image data thinning step of thinning the reduction preparation image data extracted by the processing of the extraction step at a predetermined interval in units of pixels to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image. Is characterized by.

According to the program of the present invention, a first preparation step for generating a reduction preparation image which is a basis of a reduced image of a photographed image of a subject, and a reduction preparation image generated by the processing of the first generation step. And a second generation step of generating a reduced image, wherein the first generation step thins the photographed image data corresponding to the photographed image at a predetermined interval in units of pixels, and reduces the image corresponding to the reduction preparation image. A second generation step including a first image data thinning step for generating the preparation image data, and an addition step for adding the reduced preparation image data generated by the processing of the first image data thinning step to the captured image data. Is the extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data from the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the processing of the addition step, and the extraction step. The reduced preparation image data extracted by the processing in step, in units of pixel, to realize the second image data thinning step of generating reduced image data corresponding to the thinned by the reduced image at a predetermined interval in the computer.

An image pickup apparatus and method of the present invention, a recording medium,
In addition, in the program, in the captured image data corresponding to the captured image, the image data in pixel units included in the captured image data is thinned out at a predetermined interval, the reduction preparation image data is added to the captured image data, and the reduction is performed. Reduction preparation image data is extracted from the captured image data to which the preparation image data is added, and in the extracted reduction preparation image data, the image data in pixel units included in the reduction preparation image data is thinned out at predetermined intervals. Get burned.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration example of an image pickup apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a control unit 11 of an image pickup apparatus 1 such as a digital camera is a CPU (Central Processing Uni
t), ROM (Read Only Memory), and RAM (Random Ac)
A microcomputer including a cess memory) and the like are included to control each unit of the image pickup apparatus 1 to execute a process related to photographing of a subject. The operation unit 12 is configured by a shutter button or the like that is instructed by the user of the imaging device 1 to record a still image, and supplies an instruction from the user to the control unit 11. The RAM 14 is a storage device that uses a semiconductor element, and is controlled by the memory control unit 15 to temporarily hold the created captured image data and the like.

The control unit 11, the RAM 14, and the memory control unit 15 are connected via a bus 20 and can supply and acquire control information and various data from the control unit 11. it can.

In FIG. 1, light from a subject (not shown) passes through a lens portion 21 and is a primary color in which red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color filters are arranged in a mosaic pattern on the front surface. CCD or CMO with filter (not shown)
The light enters the camera unit 22 made of S (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) or the like and is photoelectrically converted. In addition,
In addition to the filters mentioned above, the filters mounted on the front surface of the CCD or CMOS are, for example, complementary color systems in which yellow (Ye), cyan (Cy), magenta (Mg), and green (G) filters are arranged in a mosaic pattern. It may be a filter or the like.

The camera unit 22 outputs a video signal photoelectrically converted in the light receiving unit by a raster scan method, and the output video signal is a CDS (Correlated Double Samplin).
g circuit) circuit, AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuit, and A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion circuit.

The analog signal processing unit 23 removes noise from the video signal and adjusts the gain, and then converts the input analog signal into a digital signal in the built-in A / D conversion circuit, and the digital signal processing unit 24. Output to.

The digital signal processing section 24 applies gamma processing, color separation processing, red, and
From RGB consisting of green and blue signals, color space conversion processing etc. to YUV consisting of luminance signal (Y), green to red color difference signal (U), and green to blue color difference signal (V), etc., The digital signal is supplied to the thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 as captured image data including a luminance signal (hereinafter, referred to as Y signal) and a chroma signal (hereinafter, referred to as C signal).

The thumbnail preparation image creating section 25 creates thumbnail preparation image data, which is image data for creating thumbnail image data, from photographed image data when a still image is recorded. The thumbnail preparation image data is an image corresponding to the image in which the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the captured image is reduced, and is the image data of the previous stage of the thumbnail image data. The thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 adds the created thumbnail preparation image data to the captured image data, and via the bus 20, the pixel number converting unit 31 and
It is supplied to the JPEG compression unit 41.

The pixel number conversion unit 31 extracts thumbnail preparation image data from the supplied photographed image data and processes it to create thumbnail image data. The pixel number conversion unit 31 transfers the created thumbnail image data to the bus 20.
And is supplied to the JPEG compression unit 41 and the NTSC encoder 51 via.

The JPEG compression unit 41 compresses the photographed image data supplied from the thumbnail preparatory image creation unit 25 and the thumbnail image data supplied from the pixel number conversion unit 31 by the JPEG method, and the compressed image data via the bus 20. , RAM1
Store in 4.

Further, the NTSC encoder 51 converts the video signal of the captured image data supplied from the thumbnail preparatory image creating section 25 into the NTSC system and supplies it to the monitor 52 to display the corresponding captured image.

The JPEG-format photographed image data, thumbnail image data, and the like stored in the RAM 14 are external data represented by a memory stick (registered trademark) or the like via the bus 20 and the recording medium interface 61 as Exif-format data. It is recorded on the recording medium 62.

A drive 71 is connected to the bus 20 as required, and the magnetic disk 81 and the optical disk 8 are connected.
2, a magneto-optical disk 83, a semiconductor memory 84, or the like is mounted as appropriate, and the computer program read therefrom is installed in the RAM 14 or the RAM built in the control unit 11 as necessary.

Next, the basic operation of the image pickup apparatus 1 thus constructed will be described.

The user of the image pickup apparatus 1 does not operate the shutter button or the like of the operation section 12 to instruct the image pickup, and in the image pickup apparatus 1 in the standby state, the control section 11 controls the camera.
Controls each part in EE (Electric to Electric) image mode.

In this case, the light incident on the camera section 22 via the lens section 21 is photoelectrically converted and supplied to the analog signal processing section 23. This analog video signal is converted into a digital signal by the A / D conversion circuit after the unnecessary noise signal is removed by the CDS circuit and the gain is adjusted by the AGC circuit inside the analog signal processing unit 23, and the digital signal processing is performed. Is supplied to the section 24. The digital signal processing unit 24 performs gamma processing, color separation processing, color space conversion processing, and the like on the video signal that has been converted into a digital signal, and is supplied to the thumbnail preparation image creation unit 25 as captured image data.

The thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 supplies the supplied photographed image data as it is to the NTSC encoder 51. At that time, the thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 does not create the thumbnail preparation image from the captured image data. NT
The captured image data supplied to the SC encoder 51 has its video signal converted into the NTSC system and supplied to the monitor 52 to display the corresponding image.

In this camera EE image mode, when the user of the image pickup apparatus 1 operates the shutter button or the like of the operation unit 12, the control unit 11 controls each unit as a camera still image mode (capture mode) for capturing a still image. To do.

When the operation unit 12 is operated to instruct the photographing of the subject, the light from the subject is incident on the light receiving unit such as a CCD incorporated in the camera unit 22 via the lens unit 21. The camera unit 22 photoelectrically converts incident light, outputs an analog video signal by a raster scan method, and supplies the analog video signal to the analog signal processing unit 23. The analog video signal is converted into a digital signal after the unnecessary noise signal is removed and the gain is adjusted inside the analog signal processing unit 23, and is supplied to the digital signal processing unit 24. The digital signal processing unit 24 performs gamma processing, color separation processing, color space conversion processing, and the like on the digitalized video signal,
As the captured image data, the thumbnail preparation image creation unit 25
Supply to.

The thumbnail preparation image creating section 25 creates thumbnail preparation image data, which is image data for creating thumbnail image data, from the supplied photographed image data. The thumbnail preparation image corresponding to the thumbnail preparation image data is an image in which the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the captured image corresponding to the captured image data is reduced to the number of pixels of the thumbnail image. Is the same.

The details of the procedure of the thumbnail preparation image creation processing will be described later with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 adds the created thumbnail preparation image data to the original photographed image data and supplies it to the pixel number conversion unit 31 and the JPEG compression unit 41.

When the thumbnail preparation image data is extracted from the acquired image data, the pixel number conversion unit 31 reduces the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image corresponding to the extracted thumbnail preparation image data to convert the thumbnail image. To generate. The pixel number conversion unit 31, which has generated the thumbnail image, converts the corresponding thumbnail image data into the JPEG compression unit 4
1 and NTSC encoder 51.

The JPEG compression section 41 compresses the acquired photographed image data and thumbnail image data by the JPEG method and stores them in the RAM 14 as JPEG format data. Also, the NTSC encoder 51 supplied with the thumbnail image data changes the video signal of the thumbnail image data to NTSC.
Image signal is converted into a signal of the system and supplied to the monitor 52.
The image corresponding to the thumbnail image data, which is the still image captured by, is displayed.

The RAM 14 is controlled by the memory controller 15 and stores the JPEG-format photographed image data, thumbnail image data, and information relating to these image data stored as Exif-format data in the recording medium interface 61.
It is supplied to and stored in the external recording medium 62 such as a semiconductor memory or a magneto-optical disk via the.

In the above description, the thumbnail preparation image creating section 25 has been described so as not to create the thumbnail preparation image from the captured image data in the camera EE image mode.
Not limited to this, the thumbnail preparation image creation unit 25 may always create the thumbnail preparation image regardless of the mode.

Next, the thumbnail preparation image creating section 25 will be described.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the thumbnail preparation image creating section 25 of FIG.

In FIG. 2, each unit of the thumbnail preparation image creating unit 25 is controlled by the control unit 11 to execute various processes. The thumbnail preparatory image creation unit 25 receives the captured image data supplied by the digital signal processing unit 24 of FIG.
Input from A and 101B. In addition, an effective pixel area identification signal (hereinafter, referred to as Valid signal) that is included in the captured image data and indicates an effective pixel area of the captured image data is
It is input from the input terminal 101C. The Valid signal is a high level signal when the pixel of the captured image corresponding to the video signal included in the captured image data is a pixel in the effective pixel area, and is a low level signal in other areas. That is, the Valid signal is a signal for determining the valid period of the signal processing based on its value.

The Y signal, C signal, and Valid signal input from the input terminals 101A to 101C are supplied to the color difference signal synchronization unit 111 and RAM 116. The color difference signal synchronization unit 111 separates the input C signal into a Cr signal including color difference signals of R and Y components of the video signal and a Cb signal including color difference signals of B and Y components of the video signal. Then, it is supplied to the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112. At this time, the color difference signal synchronization unit 111 delays the phases of the Y signal and the Valid signal in order to match the phases of the Cr signal and the Cb signal. Phase delayed Y signal and Val
The id signal is supplied to the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112 together with the Cr signal and the Cb signal.

The horizontal band limiting filter unit 112 performs filtering processing using, for example, an IIR (Infinite Impulse Response) filter to limit the horizontal band of the Y signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal. An example of an IIR filter that band-limits the Y signal is shown below.

[0046] (1-lpfyh) x ysep + lpfyh x yhf = ysep + lpfyh x (yhf-ysep) (1) However, ysep: Input Y signal yhf: Output Y signal lpfyh: IIR filter coefficient (1/8 to 7/8)

The IIR filter coefficient lpfyh of the Y signal is set by a parameter setting register (not shown), and the coefficient can be set between 1/8 and 7/8 according to the number of pixels of the main image. it can. When lpfyh = 0, the IIR filter stops its operation. The IIR filter that limits the bands of the Cb signal and the Cr signal has the same configuration as the case of the Y signal described above.

When the band of the video signal is restricted in the horizontal direction of the captured image, the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112 horizontally thins out the Y signal, Cb signal, Cr signal and Valid signal which are the video signals. It is supplied to the unit 113. The horizontal thinning processing unit 113 uses the Y signal, Cb
The signal and the Cr signal are controlled to perform a process of thinning out the data from the Y signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal so that the number of pixels in the corresponding captured image in the horizontal direction is reduced. The Y signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal, which are the image data of the captured image, are signals in which the pixel-by-pixel information of the captured image is output by the raster scan method. , Cb signal, and Cr signal, data is thinned out at a predetermined interval so as to thin out only pixels in a predetermined column arranged vertically among all pixels forming a captured image.

When the horizontal thinning processing is completed, the horizontal thinning processing section 113 supplies the Y signal to the vertical band limiting filter section 115, the Cb signal and the Cr signal to the color difference signal multiplexing section 114, and the Valid signal. The signal is supplied to the RAM 116.

The color difference signal multiplexing unit 114 receives the input Cb
The C signal is generated by multiplexing the signal and the Cr signal. The generated C signal is supplied to the vertical band limiting filter unit 115.

The vertical band limiting filter unit 115 performs a filtering process on the vertical band of the input Y signal and C signal using, for example, an IIR filter, and
The vertical band of the signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal is limited. An example of an IIR filter that band-limits the Y signal is shown below.

(1-lpfv) × yht + lpfv × rdram = yht + lpfv × (rdram−yht) (2) where yht: input Y signal rdram: radram signal feedback from RAM 116 lpfv: IIR filter coefficient (1 / 8 to 7/8)

The IIR filter for limiting the band of the C signal has the same structure as that of the Y signal described above. The IIR filter coefficient lpfv is common to the Y signal and the C signal and is set by a parameter setting register (not shown), and the coefficient is set between 1/8 and 7/8 according to the number of pixels of the main image. can do. If lpfv = 0, the IIR filter stops its operation.

The Y signal and the C signal, which have been IIR filtered in the vertical direction, are configured to have a high-order 8 bits and a low-order 8 bits, respectively, and a 16-bit bus signal (wd
RAM signal) is supplied to the RAM 116. Wdram
The signal is subjected to a predetermined process in the RAM 116, and then, as an rdram signal, the vertical band limiting filter unit 11
It is fed back to 5. In addition, the RAM 116 has an internal R
The RAM control unit 116A is provided with the AM control unit 116A.
Controls the output of the Y signal and the C signal stored in the RAM 116 based on the Valid signal. That is, Valid
If the signal is at high level and is in the effective pixel area, RA
The M control unit 116A has input terminals 101A and 101B.
The Y signal and the C signal of the captured image data supplied from the output terminal 121A are output as a 16-bit bus configuration as described above. Also, the RAM control unit 1
16A, when the Valid signal is at the Low level and is not in the effective pixel region, the Y signal and the C of the thumbnail preparation image data supplied from the vertical band limiting filter unit 115.
The signal is a 16-bit bus configuration as described above,
It is output through the output terminal 121A. Also during this time Va
The lid signal is output via the output terminal 121B.

In the above example, the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112 and the vertical band limiting filter block 1 are provided.
In the description of 15, the IIR filter is used as the filter, but the filter is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a FIR (Finite Impulse Response) filter.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The thumbnail preparation image creation processing in the thumbnail preparation image creation unit 25 will be described.

First, in step S1, the control unit 1
1 controls the color difference signal synchronization unit 111 to control the input terminal 1
The C signal input to the thumbnail preparatory image creation unit 25 via 01A and 101B is divided into a Cb component and a Cr component. Then, in step S2, the control unit 11
The Y signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal output from the color difference signal synchronization unit 111 are applied to the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112.
To the horizontal band limiting filter unit 112.
Limits the horizontal frequency band of signals, Cb signals, and Cr signals.

Then, the control unit proceeds to step S3,
The Y signal, the Cb signal, and the Cr signal whose frequency bands in the horizontal direction are limited are input to the horizontal thinning processing unit 113 so that the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the captured image is reduced.
The Y signal, Cb signal, and Cr signal data are thinned out at predetermined intervals to reduce the amount of information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a thumbnail preparation image is created.

The horizontal thinning-out processing unit 113, as shown in FIG. 4A, corresponds to the Y signal and C corresponding to the photographed image 201.
By thinning out the signals at predetermined intervals, as shown in FIG. 4B, a part of the pixel rows of the pixel rows aligned in the vertical direction of the captured image 201 is deleted, and as shown in FIG.
A thumbnail preparatory image 202 in which the number of horizontal pixels of 01 is converted into a predetermined number of pixels is created. At this time, the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the thumbnail preparation image 202 is a predetermined number of pixels as the number of pixels of the thumbnail image, and the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image 202 is the same as the number of pixels of the captured image 201. Is.

Returning to FIG. 3, the control unit 11 then causes
The Y signal is supplied to the vertical band limiting filter unit 115, and the Cb signal and the Cr signal are supplied to the color difference signal multiplexing unit 114.

In step S4, the control section 11 controls the color difference signal multiplexing section 114 to multiplex the Cb signal and the Cr signal to generate the C signal. The generated C signal is supplied to the vertical band limiting filter unit 115. Control unit 1
In step S5, the No. 1 controls the vertical band limiting filter unit 115 to limit the vertical frequency band of the Y signal and the C signal, and supplies them to the RAM 116. The control unit 11 determines the RAM control unit 116 in step S6.
A is controlled to control the output of the Y signal and the C signal from the RAM 116, and the Y signal and the C signal are output at the timing of the effective pixel region identification signal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing image data output from the thumbnail preparation image creating section 25.

As for the Y signal and the C signal stored in the RAM 116, the output from the RAM 116 is controlled by the RAM control section 116A, and as shown in FIG. 5, the photographed image and the thumbnail preparation image described in FIG. 4 are arranged side by side. Only one image 20
It is output as 3. At this time, thumbnail preparation image 2
The number of pixels in the vertical direction of 02 coincides with the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the captured image 201.

If the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image 202 does not match the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the captured image 201, for example, as shown in FIG.
1, the thumbnail preparation image 204 separated for each pixel row arranged in the horizontal direction has to be added, and a line to which the thumbnail preparation image is added and a line to which the thumbnail preparation image is not added occur in the captured image, A counter for counting the number of lines in the vertical direction must be separately prepared when outputting from the RAM 116 or when extracting the thumbnail preparation image in the pixel number conversion unit 31.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the thumbnail preparation image 205 in which the thumbnail image 201 is reduced in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is created and the photographed image data and the thumbnail preparation image data are separately output, the RAM 1
An area for storing thumbnail preparatory image data must be separately prepared in 4 or the like, which makes address control of the memory complicated.

Therefore, it is desirable that the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image 202 matches the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the captured image 201. As described above, the prepared thumbnail preparation image is supplied to the pixel number conversion unit 31 via the bus 20.

Next, referring to the flow chart of FIG.
The thumbnail image generation process executed by the pixel number conversion unit 31 will be described.

First, in step S21, the control unit 11 controls the pixel number conversion unit 31 to acquire the image data corresponding to the captured image to which the thumbnail preparation image is added, and in step S22, the acquired image data. The thumbnail preparation image data corresponding to the thumbnail preparation image is extracted from the data. Then, the control unit 11 controls the pixel number conversion unit 31 to reduce the information amount of the corresponding image data so that the pixel number of the extracted thumbnail preparation image decreases in the vertical direction.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of how the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image is reduced.

The pixel number conversion unit 31 is controlled by the control unit 11 to thin out the Y signal and the C signal corresponding to the thumbnail preparatory image 202 shown in FIG. 9A at predetermined intervals, as shown in FIG. 9B. , Thumbnail preparation image 202
Delete some of the pixel rows that are aligned in the horizontal direction,
As shown in FIG. 9C, a thumbnail image 205 is created by converting the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image 202 into a predetermined number of pixels.

The control unit 11 controls the pixel number conversion unit 31 to output the image data with the reduced amount of information as thumbnail image data in step S24.

As described above, the pixel number conversion unit 31
Controlled by the control unit 11, a thumbnail image is created from the thumbnail preparation image. As a result, the pixel number conversion unit 31
Since the thumbnail image can be created only by converting the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the thumbnail preparation image, the processing load can be reduced.

Although the case of creating Exif format data has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and any format may be used as long as a thumbnail image is created.

The image pickup apparatus 1 described above is not limited to a digital camera, but may be a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance) having the same image pickup function as a digital camera, for example.
It may also be an information processing device such as a mobile phone.

The above processing can be executed by hardware, but can also be executed by software. When a series of processes is executed by software, a program that constitutes the software can execute various functions by installing a computer in which dedicated hardware is installed or various programs. It is installed in a possible general-purpose personal computer or the like from a network or a recording medium.

This recording medium, as shown in FIG. 1, is a magnetic disk 8 on which a program is recorded, which is distributed in order to provide the program to the user separately from the apparatus main body.
1 (including floppy disk), optical disk 82 (CD-R
OM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory), DVD (Digital Versa
tile disk)), magneto-optical disk 83 (MD (Mini-Di
sk)) or a package medium including a semiconductor memory 84 or the like, and is also provided in a control unit 11 in which a program is recorded, which is provided to a user in a state of being pre-installed in the apparatus main body. ing
It consists of ROM etc.

In the present specification, the steps for writing the program recorded on the recording medium are not limited to the processing performed in time series according to the order described, but are not necessarily performed in time series. It also includes processing executed in parallel or individually.

In this specification, the system means
It represents the entire apparatus composed of a plurality of devices.

[0080]

As described above, according to the image pickup apparatus and method, the recording medium, and the program of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load of thumbnail image generation processing at the time of recording a captured image and shorten the image recording time. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration example of an image pickup apparatus to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of a thumbnail preparatory image creation unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a thumbnail preparation image creation process in a thumbnail preparation image creation unit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how a thumbnail preparation image is created.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing image data output from a thumbnail preparation image creation unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another example of image data output from a thumbnail preparation image creation unit.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another example of the image data output from the thumbnail preparation image creation unit.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a thumbnail image generation process executed by a pixel number conversion unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a state in which the number of pixels in the vertical direction of a thumbnail preparation image is reduced.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 imaging device, 11 control unit, 14 RAM, 15
Memory control unit, 25 thumbnail preparation image creation unit,
31 pixel number conversion unit, 41 JPEG compression unit, 111
Color difference signal synchronization unit, 112 horizontal band limiting filter unit, 113 horizontal thinning processing unit, 114 color difference signal multiplexing unit, 115 vertical band limiting filter unit, 116 RAM, 116A RAM control unit, 201
Taken image, 202 Thumbnail preparation image, 205
Thumbnail image

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Ken Nakajima             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation F-term (reference) 5C053 FA05 FA06 FA08 FA23 FA27                       GA08 GA10 KA03 LA01

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An imaging device for obtaining a reduced image of a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a subject, comprising: first generating means for generating a reduction preparation image which is a basis of the reduced image of the captured image of the subject. A second generation unit that generates the reduced image from the reduction preparation image generated by the first generation unit, wherein the first generation unit stores captured image data corresponding to the captured image. , A first image data thinning-out unit that thins out at a predetermined interval in units of pixels to generate reduction preparation image data corresponding to the reduction preparation image, and the reduction preparation generated by the first image data thinning-out unit. An addition unit that adds image data to the captured image data, wherein the second generation unit is the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the addition unit. Extracting means for extracting the reduced preparation image data, and thinning out the reduced preparation image data extracted by the extracting means at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a second image data thinning unit. 2. The adding means, based on effective pixel area information indicating an effective pixel area of the captured image, determines that an image corresponding to the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data has been added is the captured image and The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reduction preparation image data is added to the captured image data so that the reduction preparation image becomes an image in which the reduction preparation images are arranged horizontally. 3. The first image data thinning-out means thins out the captured image data in units of pixels so as to reduce the number of pixels in the horizontal direction of the captured image corresponding to the captured image data. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus is provided. 4. The second image data thinning means uses the reduction preparation image data in units of pixels so as to reduce the number of pixels in the vertical direction of the reduction preparation image corresponding to the reduction preparation image data. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is thinned out. 5. An imaging method for an imaging apparatus for obtaining a reduced image of a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a subject, comprising: generating a reduction preparation image which is a basis of the reduced image of the captured image of the subject. A generation step; and a second generation step of generating the reduced image from the reduced preparation image generated by the processing of the first generation step, wherein the first generation step corresponds to the captured image. A first image data thinning step of thinning the captured image data to be reduced at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to generate reduction preliminary image data corresponding to the reduction preliminary image; and processing of the first image data thinning step An addition step of adding the reduction preparation image data generated by the above to the captured image data, the second generation step including the addition step. From the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by processing, an extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data, the reduction preparation image data extracted by the processing of the extraction step, in units of pixels, A second image data thinning step of thinning out at a predetermined interval to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image. 6. A program for an image capturing device for obtaining a reduced image of a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a subject, the program comprising: generating a reduction preparation image which is a basis of the reduced image of the captured image of the subject. 1 generation step, and a second generation step of generating the reduced image from the reduction preparation image generated by the processing of the first generation step, wherein the first generation step is the captured image. A first image data thinning-out step of thinning out the captured image data corresponding to the pixel-by-pixel at a predetermined interval to generate reduction-ready image data corresponding to the reduction-ready image; and the first image-data thinning step. And an addition step of adding the reduction preparation image data generated by the processing of 1. to the captured image data, the second generation step including the addition step. An extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data from the photographed image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the processing of a step, and the reduction preparation image data extracted by the processing of the extraction step in units of pixels. And a second image data thinning step of thinning out at a predetermined interval to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image, the recording medium having a computer-readable program recorded thereon. 7. A computer-executable program for controlling an image pickup device for obtaining a reduced image of a captured image obtained by capturing an image of a subject, the reduction being a source of a reduced image of the captured image of the subject captured. A first generation step of generating a preparation image; and a second generation step of generating the reduced image from the reduced preparation image generated by the processing of the first generation step, the first generation The step comprises a first image data thinning step of thinning the captured image data corresponding to the captured image at predetermined intervals in units of pixels to generate reduction preparation image data corresponding to the reduction preparation image; An addition step of adding the reduction preparation image data generated by the processing of the image data thinning step No. 1 to the captured image data, The generation step includes an extraction step of extracting the reduction preparation image data from the captured image data to which the reduction preparation image data is added by the processing of the addition step, and the reduction preparation image extracted by the processing of the extraction step. A second image data thinning step of thinning data at a predetermined interval in units of pixels to generate reduced image data corresponding to the reduced image.