JP2004208276A - Imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging device capable of easily performing management of images which have been photographed. <P>SOLUTION: The imaging device produces image data after catching incident subject light with an image pick-up device 110 through an imaging lens 101 in response to an imaging operation, and records the image data into a recording unit 120. The device comprises a microphone 150 for collecting voices of a photographer, a speech recognition unit 142 for outputting character codes after performing the speech recognition from the voice outputted from the microphone 150, and an image processing unit 112 for performing a recording process for recording the image data into a folder when a text string code corresponds to a name code after deciding whether the name code of the folder corresponding to the text string code is existing or not in the recording unit 120 based on the text string code outputted from the speech recognition unit 142. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus that records image data generated according to a shooting operation in a recording unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for executing an operation by receiving a voice command in a portable capture device such as a handheld document scanner or a digital camera is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, there is a technique in which a plurality of folders existing in a recording unit are selectively used according to applications in a conventional electronic camera (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2000-215021 (paragraph number 0021, FIG. 1) JP 2001-169222 (Abstract, FIG. 1)

  In order to use a plurality of folders for different purposes, it is necessary to perform an operation for designating a folder for recording an image on a recording unit such as a recording medium in addition to capturing an image by a photographing operation. As shown in Patent Document 2, conventionally, this operation is all performed by key operation, and there is a problem that if this operation is performed every time an image is recorded, the operation is complicated and takes time.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an imaging apparatus that can easily perform image management after shooting.

An imaging apparatus of the present invention that achieves the above object captures subject light incident via an imaging lens by an imaging element, generates image data according to an imaging operation, and records the image data in a recording unit. In
A microphone that collects the voice of the photographer;
A voice recognition unit that recognizes a voice signal output from the microphone and outputs a character string code;
Based on the character string code from the voice recognition unit, it is determined whether or not the name code of the folder corresponding to the character string code exists in the recording unit, and when the character string code matches the name code, the folder And an image signal processing unit that performs processing for recording image data.

  In the image pickup apparatus of the present invention, the photographer inputs the voice representing the folder name to the microphone, converts the voice signal from the microphone into a character string code by the voice recognition unit, and based on the character string code from the voice recognition unit It is determined whether or not the name code of the folder corresponding to the character string code exists in the recording unit, and when the character string code matches the name code, the image data is recorded in the folder. As a result, it is possible to perform image management after imaging using voice, and image management becomes easy.

  In the imaging apparatus of the present invention, when the image signal processing unit determines that there is no name code folder corresponding to the character string code in the recording unit, the folder having a new name code based on the character string code It is preferable to perform a process of recording image data in the folder after creating the file.

  As a result, even when there is no audio data folder, image management after imaging can be performed with audio.

  Here, the sound input to the microphone is preferably a keyword representing the content of the image.

  As described above, according to the present invention, image management after imaging can be performed by voice without key operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.

  1A and 1B are external views of a digital camera as an embodiment of an imaging apparatus of the present invention, where FIG. 1A is a front view and FIG. 1B is a rear view.

  In the digital camera 100 shown in FIG. 1, an image of a subject is guided from the imaging lens 101 to the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 provided in the camera 100. An operation unit for performing various operations when the user uses the digital camera 100 is provided on the back of the digital camera 100.

  This operation unit is provided with an operation switch group and an LCD screen 105a. The operation switch group includes a power switch 102 for turning on the power for operating the digital camera, a shooting / playback switching lever 103 for freely switching between shooting and playback, an execution key 106a, a cancel key 106b, a cross key 107, and a flash light emitting unit. 104 pop-up switch 108 and the like. A display unit 107 a is provided inside the cross key 107 so that selection menu items displayed on the LCD screen 105 a can be selected by the cross key 107. Further, a display key 1051 for switching between display and non-display of the LCD screen 105a is also provided. Further, a release button 109 is provided above the digital camera 100. When the release button 109 is fully pressed, an instruction to start shooting is transmitted to a signal processing unit (to be described later) inside the digital camera.

  The digital camera 100 can be switched between shooting and playback by a shooting / playback switching lever 103. When shooting, the user switches the shooting / playback switching lever 103 to the shooting side 103a to play back. When performing, the photographing / reproduction switching lever 103 is switched to the reproduction side 103b. Also, a flash light emitting device 104 is provided so that night photography can be performed.

  Furthermore, the digital camera 100 has a built-in microphone 150 so that a photographer can input voice.

  FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram illustrating an example of a signal processing circuit provided in the digital camera 100.

  In the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment, all processing is controlled by the CPU 111, and processing of image data obtained by the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 is performed by the DSP 112 under the control of the CPU 111. The CPU 111 and the DSP 112 are connected by a bus (not shown), and data is exchanged via this bus. In addition, SDRAM 113 and FLASH ROM 114 are connected to CPU 111, image data to be processed by DSP 112 is stored in SDRAM 113, and a program for causing CPU 111 to execute processing is stored in FLASH ROM 114. In FIG. 2, an arrow indicates that the image data stored in the SDRAM 113 is read out to the DSP 112 side.

  An electric signal corresponding to the operation of the operation unit 115 including various keys and switches shown in FIG. 1 is input to the input unit of the CPU 111. The operation unit 115 includes a power switch 102, a shooting / playback switch 103, a display key 1051, an execution key 106a, a cancel key 106b, an up key 1071, a right key 1072, a down key 1073, and a left key 1074 shown in FIG. There are a cross key 107 composed of four keys, and a shutter switch that is actuated when the release button 109 is pressed.

  The audio signal from the microphone 150 is converted into a digital signal by the audio interface 140 via the audio interface 140 and received by the DSP 112, and the received signal is temporarily stored in the DSP 112 and stored as necessary. The audio signal thus converted is converted into an analog signal via the audio interface 120 and supplied to the speaker 141. The audio signal processing unit in the DSP 112 is used when movie shooting is performed with the digital camera of this embodiment.

  In the digital camera 100 of this embodiment, the output of the audio interface 140 is also input to the voice recognition unit 142 for voice recognition, and character data obtained by the voice recognition is also input to the DSP 112. ing.

  Furthermore, the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment is configured such that a display menu can be displayed on the LCD screen 105a (see FIG. 1) provided in the LCD display unit 105, and items displayed in the menu are displayed. Selection is performed by the cross key 107.

  With the cross key 107, one of a plurality of items in a selection menu displayed on the LCD screen 105a can be selected. Of the four keys of the cross key shown in FIG. 1, when the up key 1071 is pressed, the cursor displayed on the LCD screen 105a moves upward, and when the right key 1072 is pressed, the cursor moves right. It is configured.

  When these keys 1071 to 1074 are pressed, the CPU 111 recognizes that the keys 1071 to 1074 have been pressed, and the CPU 111 has pressed any one of the four keys 1071 to 1074. Based on the above, an instruction to move the cursor is transferred to the LCD screen 105a via the bus. Then, the cursor moves to one of the displayed items, and one of these items is selected by the moved cursor.

  If the execution key 106a is pressed while the cursor is placed on any of the items, the item is executed. Therefore, the user can select any of a plurality of items in the selection menu with the cursor displayed on the LCD screen 105a.

  When the shooting / playback switching lever 103 is switched to the playback side 103b, playback from the recording medium is performed. At this time, no processing is performed even if a signal from a release button or the like for giving an instruction to perform photographing is input.

  Next, the output unit of the CPU 111 will be described.

  A timing generator (hereinafter referred to as “TG”) 116, a motor driver (hereinafter referred to as “DRV”) 117 for driving the focus lens 118, and a flash light emitting device 104 a that causes the flash light emitting unit 104 to perform flash emission are connected to the output unit of the CPU 111. ing.

  When shooting, a subject image is displayed on the LCD screen 105a in accordance with the movement of the subject. While viewing the displayed subject image, the user performs framing, and when the release button 109 is pressed, shooting is performed. When the release button 109 is pressed, the CPU 111 outputs a signal for instructing start of shooting to the TG 116. In response to this instruction, the TG 116 supplies a signal notifying the CCD solid-state image sensor 110 that the release button 109 has been pressed. In response to this signal, the CCD solid-state image sensor 110 outputs the image data captured by the CCD solid-state image sensor 110 as an RGB signal when the release button 109 is fully pressed.

  From here, how the image signal picked up by the CCD solid-state image sensor 110 is processed will be described in order.

  Imaging signals obtained by the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 are converted to RGB signals and supplied to the CDS and A / D unit 119. Noise is reduced by the CDS and A / D unit 119 and then converted into a digital signal, which is supplied to the DSP 112 as a digital RGB signal. The DSP 112 includes various signal processing units such as an image signal processing unit, a compression processing unit, an AE (Auto Exposure) detection unit, an AWB (Auto White Balance) detection unit, a video encoder, and an audio signal processing unit.

  Therefore, a series of processing is performed on the image data composed of the RGB signals obtained by the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 by the DSP 112, and the processed image data includes the LCD display unit 105 having the LCD screen 105a and the recording medium 130. The data is output to an output device such as the loaded recording unit 120. As for audio, the DSP 112 processes audio signals necessary for audio input / output devices such as the microphone 150 and the speaker 141. In the digital camera 100 of this embodiment, an audio signal from the microphone 150 is received by the DSP 112 via the audio interface 140, and the received signal is temporarily stored in the DSP 112, and the stored audio signal is stored as necessary. Is supplied to the speaker 141 via the audio interface 140. The audio signal processing unit in the DSP 112 is used when movie shooting is performed with a digital camera. The above is the flow of imaging signals obtained by the CCD solid-state imaging device 110.

  The flow of image data when the above-described shooting / playback switching lever 103 is switched to the shooting side 103a and shooting is performed will be described in detail.

  When shooting is performed, the shooting / playback switching lever 103 connected to the input unit of the CPU 111 is switched to the shooting side 103a.

  In such a digital camera 100, the subject image in the direction in which the photographing lens is directed is always displayed as a through image on the LCD screen 105a of the LCD display unit 105 even when the release button 109 is not pressed. In the displayed through image, image data composed of RGB signals read out from the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 at predetermined intervals is converted into YC signals by the image signal processing unit in the DSP 112, and the YC signals are converted into the DSP 112. It is obtained by being supplied to the LCD display unit 105 via a video encoder. When such a through image is displayed, camera-specific signal processing such as exposure adjustment and focus adjustment is performed by the DSP 112 for each through image.

  Here, when the subject that the user wants is displayed as a through image on the LCD screen 105a, the release button 109 is pressed by the user. When the release button 109 is pressed by the user, the CPU 111 issues a shooting start instruction to the TG 116. In response to this start instruction, the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 outputs RGB signals for generating image data for recording.

  The output RGB signal is converted into a digital signal by the CDS and A / D conversion unit 119, guided to the DSP 112 side by the image input controller in the DSP 112, and the guided RGB signal is SDRAM 121 via the bus in the DSP 112. And the RGB signal of the digital signal is written in the SDRAM 121. When the capturing of the RGB signal corresponding to the image data to be generated by the current photographing is completed, the RGB signal is read from the SDRAM 121 and supplied to the DSP 112. The DSP 112 performs conversion from RGB signals to YC signals, and the image data compressed in the DSP 121 is supplied to the recording unit 120 via the interface 120, and an image is recorded on the recording medium 130 loaded in the recording unit 120. Data is recorded as a JPEG compressed file.

  The DSP 112 and the CPU 111 are connected by a bus, and exchange of addresses and data is performed via this bus. Various registers are prepared in the CPU 111, and the contents of these registers are rewritten according to the progress of processing of each signal processing unit. In the CPU 111, the contents of the register are read and processing according to the procedure of the program stored in the flash ROM 114 is performed.

  The above is the flow of image data until recording is performed on the recording medium 130 when shooting is performed with the digital camera 100 of the present embodiment.

  In the digital camera of the present invention, shooting operation and image management can be performed by voice operation as described below.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the microphone 150 built in the digital camera 100 is connected to the audio interface 140, and the output of the audio interface 140 is input to the DSP 112 via the voice recognition unit 142. ing.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a flow of photographing operation and image management operation using voice.

  When the selection menu is displayed on the LCD screen 105a and the cursor keys 1071 to 1074 and the like are operated to select a voice operation mode, processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is performed.

  In a state where the operation mode is selected from voice, instead of operating the release button 109 at the time of shooting, for example, when “shooting” is input from the microphone 150, an audio trigger is input to the DSP 112 via the audio interface 140. (Step S1), the CPU 111 issues a shooting start instruction to the TG 116. Upon receiving this start instruction, the CCD solid-state imaging device 110 captures an image (Step S2). To output RGB signals which are the basis of image data for recording.

  The output RGB signal is converted into a digital signal by the CDS and A / D conversion unit 119, guided to the inside of the DSP 112 by the image input controller in the DSP 112, and the guided RGB signal is passed through the bus in the DSP 112. This is supplied to the SDRAM 121, and digital RGB signals are written into the SDRAM 121 (step S3). When the capture of the RGB signal corresponding to the image data to be generated by the current photographing is completed, the RGB signal is read from the SDRAM 121 and supplied to the DSP 112. The DSP 112 converts RGB signals into YC signals, and further performs JPEG compression processing in the DSP 121, and the image data after the compression processing is stored again in the SDRAM 121 (step S4).

  In the present embodiment, processing when recording on the recording medium 130 is also performed by voice. That is, at the stage where the image data after compression processing is stored in the SDRAM 121, the photographer speaks the keyword representing the content of the image by the sound from the microphone 150, for example, “family” in the case of a family photo, If it is a photograph, when “friend” is uttered, the voice output enters the voice recognition unit 142 from the audio interface 140, is converted into a character string code by the voice recognition unit 142, and is input to the DSP 112 (step S5). The DSP 112 determines whether or not a voice data folder having a name code corresponding to the character string code exists on the recording medium loaded in the recording unit 130 (step S7). If present, the compressed image data recorded in the SDRAM 121 is read out to the DSP 112, sent to the recording unit 120 via the DSP 112, and stored in the folder in the recording medium 130 loaded in the recording unit 120. The image data is recorded (step S9). If it does not exist, a new folder is created (step S8), and thereafter the same processing is performed. In this way, JPEG compressed image data is recorded in the recording medium 130 as a JPEG compressed file.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the folder hierarchical structure of the recording medium 130. In the formatted recording medium 130, an image (DCIM), sound (dsam), and other (MISC) folders are created under the root, and a folder 100-fuji is prepared under the DCIM. In particular, if the shutter button 109 is pressed in a state where the normal mode that does not designate a folder is selected, image data that has been subjected to JPEG compression processing is generated each time the shutter button 109 is pressed, and the name 100-fuji is generated. In the folder, files storing each image data (DSCF0001.jpg, DSCF0002.jpg, etc. in the example shown here) are sequentially created. The folder name 100-fuji can be changed to a desired name according to the operation.

  Here, in FIG. 4, a folder named “family” and a folder named “friend” are already shown, but folders named “family” and “friend” have not been prepared yet. Prepared when a folder name is specified by voice as described below.

  Here, after selecting a mode for voice instruction and folder designation, and taking a picture with voice instructions, “family” is voiced as a folder for storing JPEG compressed image data generated by the operation. When the pronunciation is made, the pronunciation of the “family” is recognized and a folder named “family” is prepared, and a file 11 storing the JPEG compressed image data obtained by the current photographing is created in the folder. .

  Then, the next shooting is performed by voice instructions, and when “family” is spoken again by voice, a file 12 storing JPEG compressed image data obtained by the current shooting is created in the “family” folder.

  After that, the next shooting is performed in response to the shooting instruction by voice, and this time when the voice is pronounced as “friend”, a folder named “friend” does not exist so far, so a folder of “friend” is newly added. A file 13 of JPEG compressed image data obtained by the current shooting is created in the “friend” folder.

  In this way, image data is stored in a folder having a name designated by voice.

  The input voice in this case may be any voice as long as it is a keyword that expresses the image content in a single word.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which an image is recorded on the recording medium 130 has been described. However, the present invention is a camera of a type that records an image in a built-in image recording memory without using the recording medium. In the case of such a type of camera, audio can be recorded in the same manner in a folder on the image recording memory.

  Although the digital camera has been described as an example here, the present invention is not limited to a device having a function of a digital camera alone, but an imaging function such as a mobile phone or a PDA (Personal Data Assistant) equipped with a camera function. Any composite apparatus can be applied as long as the apparatus (imaging apparatus) is provided.

1 is an external view of a digital camera that is an embodiment of an imaging apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a signal processing unit provided in the digital camera of FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the digital camera of one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the folder hierarchical structure of a recording medium.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Digital camera 101 Imaging lens 110 CCD solid-state image sensor 111 CPU (signal processing part)
112 DSP (image signal processor)
130 Recording media (recording unit)
142 Voice recognition unit 150 Microphone

Claims (3)

In an imaging apparatus that captures subject light incident via an imaging lens with an imaging device, generates image data according to an imaging operation, and records the image data in a recording unit.
A microphone that collects the voice of the photographer;
A voice recognition unit that recognizes a voice signal output from the microphone and outputs a character string code;
Based on the character string code from the voice recognition unit, it is determined whether or not the name code of the folder corresponding to the character string code exists in the recording unit, and when the character string code matches the name code An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image signal processing unit that performs a process of recording image data in a folder. If it is determined that the name code folder corresponding to the character string code does not exist in the recording unit, the image signal processing unit newly creates a folder having a name code based on the character string code, and then stores the folder in the folder. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging apparatus performs processing for recording image data. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sound collected by the microphone is a keyword representing the content of an image.

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