JP2004295033A - Image display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image display apparatus capable of processing and displaying images in an electronic photo-frame without using a personal computer. <P>SOLUTION: The image display apparatus comprises: an acquisition means for acquiring 1st image data, a connection means for connecting the apparatus itself to a facsimile machine; a conversion means for converting a facsimile signal inputted by the connection means into 2nd image data; a selection means for selecting an area to be used for composition from the 2nd image data obtained by the conversion means, a composition means for composing the 1st image data acquired by the acquisition means and the image data of the area selected by the selection means; an image signal generation means for generating an image signal by applying prescribed image signal processing to the image data synthesized by the synthesis means; and an image display means for displaying the generated image signal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image display device used for an electronic photo stand for displaying digital image data (hereinafter, referred to as an “electronic photo frame”).
[0002]
[Prior art]
Hereinafter, digital data of image information will be referred to as digital image data, and digital image data compressed to be suitable for recording on a storage medium will be referred to as compressed image data. Further, when simply referred to as image data, it refers to both digital image data and compressed image data. Note that the image signal has a form of image information suitable for being displayed on a display device such as a liquid crystal display.
[0003]
Conventionally, when displaying and appreciating image data created by photographing with a digital camera or the like, a method of temporarily transferring and displaying the image data to a personal computer via an external storage medium or various cables, or using a video output of the camera body. Display on a monitor.
[0004]
However, in the above-described method, the photographed image cannot be easily viewed like a conventional silver halide photograph. For this reason, for example, an electronic photo frame for displaying image data using a liquid crystal display device has been proposed and put into practical use.
[0005]
An apparatus proposed in Patent Document 1 below is an electronic photo frame that is used stand-alone, includes a unit that reads data from a storage medium, and develops image data captured by a user using a digital camera or the like and stored in the storage medium. And a device for displaying.
[0006]
The device proposed in Patent Literature 2 below is also an electronic photo frame that is used stand-alone, and includes means for reading data from a storage medium, and in addition to image data in the storage medium, an image from an attached scanner. This is a device for expanding and displaying the read and generated image data.
[0007]
An apparatus proposed in Patent Document 3 below is also an electronic photo frame that is used stand-alone and includes a unit that reads data from a storage medium, and is an apparatus that expands and displays compressed image data in the storage medium. However, the display direction information is recorded together with the compressed image data on the storage medium. When displaying an image, it is a device that can display an image in a correct direction by using display direction information, even if the device itself is set vertically or horizontally and a vertical direction is not specified.
[0008]
Further, in the device proposed in Patent Document 4 described below, a mechanism in which the display unit automatically rotates in accordance with the display direction information of the image is added to Patent Document 3 described above.
[0009]
Against the background of the spread of the Internet, a new electronic photo frame using a network (hereinafter referred to as "Internet photo frame") has been proposed and is being put to practical use (CEIVA Logic, USA, Weave Innovations, etc.). ). The Internet type photo frame receives registered image data periodically, develops the image data, and displays the image data on a liquid crystal display of an image display device.
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-308558
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-10-083146
[Patent Document 3]
JP 2000-148440 A
[Patent Document 4]
JP 2000-293111 A
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, when displaying image data, there is a demand to display image data obtained by adding a frame or embedding characters to image data obtained from a digital camera or the like.
[0012]
In the conventional method of reading image data from a storage medium, the above-described demand has been satisfied by reading image data into a personal computer, performing desired processing, and writing and displaying the image on the storage medium.
[0013]
Further, in the Internet type photo frame, when the image data is registered in the server device, by selecting a predetermined template, the template and the registered image data are automatically combined, and the combined image data The above request has been satisfied by receiving and displaying the message. When an image is registered in the server device, the user connects to the server device via a network using a personal computer.
[0014]
In any case, a personal computer is required when processing the image to be displayed. For this reason, it has been difficult for a user who does not own a personal computer but owns a digital camera or a user who has difficulty using a personal computer to satisfy the above demand.
[0015]
The present invention has been made from such a viewpoint, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image display device that can process and display an image without using a personal computer.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, an image display device of the present invention has the following configuration.
[0017]
Acquiring means for acquiring first image data;
Connection means for connecting to a facsimile machine;
Conversion means for converting the facsimile signal input from the connection means to second image data,
Selection means for selecting an area used for synthesis from the second image data by the conversion means,
Combining means for combining the first image data by the obtaining means and the image data of the area by the selecting means,
Image signal generating means for performing predetermined image signal processing on the image data by the synthesizing means to generate an image signal;
Image display means for displaying the generated image signal.
[0018]
In the above configuration,
The acquisition unit acquires the first image data and stores the first image data in the RAM of the device.
[0019]
The connection means connects to the facsimile apparatus to enable communication and receives a facsimile signal.
[0020]
The conversion means converts the facsimile signal input by the connection means into second image data and stores the second image data in the RAM of the apparatus.
[0021]
The selection means selects and cuts out an area to be used for synthesis from the second image data by the conversion means.
[0022]
The combining means combines the first image data and the image data of the rectangular area by the selecting means, and stores the combined data in the RAM of the device.
[0023]
The image signal generating means converts the image data in the RAM into an image signal suitable for display.
[0024]
The image display means displays an image signal on a display.
[0025]
More preferably,
The acquisition means is constituted by means for reading image data from a storage medium.
[0026]
In the above configuration,
The acquisition unit reads out predetermined image data from a storage medium mounted on the storage medium control unit and stores the image data in the RAM of the device.
[0027]
Or
The acquisition means is:
Communication means for connecting to the network;
It is characterized by comprising image data receiving means for receiving image data via a network according to predetermined conditions.
[0028]
In the above configuration,
The communication unit connects to the image distribution device via a network.
[0029]
The image data receiving means downloads the image data from the image server device and stores the image data in the RAM of the device.
[0030]
The above configuration will be summarized and shown below in (1) to (3).
[0031]
(1) In an image display device for displaying image data,
Means for acquiring first image data;
Means for connecting to a facsimile machine;
Means for converting a facsimile signal into second image data;
Means for selecting an area to be used for synthesis from the second image data;
Means for synthesizing the first image data and the selected image data,
Means for performing a predetermined image signal processing on the combined image data to generate an image signal,
Means for displaying the image signal
An image display device comprising:
[0032]
(2) The means for acquiring the first image includes:
The image display device according to the above (1), which is means for reading image data from a storage medium.
[0033]
(3) The means for acquiring the first image includes:
Means for connecting to a server device holding image data via a network;
Means for receiving image data from the server device
The image display device according to the above (1), wherein
[0034]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.
[0035]
【Example】
(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the image display device according to the present invention will be described.
[0036]
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection example of the image display device according to the present invention.
[0037]
Reference numeral 201 denotes an image display device according to the present invention.
[0038]
Reference numeral 202 denotes a general facsimile machine.
[0039]
203 is a telephone line network called a POTS (Public Old Telephone Service) network. The facsimile machine 202 communicates with a remote facsimile machine via the POTS network 203.
[0040]
3 and 4 are views showing the appearance of the image display device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 mainly shows a front portion, and FIG. 3 mainly shows a rear portion.
[0041]
Reference numeral 301 denotes a display unit, which includes a liquid crystal display and displays an image signal.
[0042]
Reference numeral 302 denotes a frame in which various processing circuits are incorporated.
[0043]
Reference numerals 303 and 401 denote mechanisms for supporting the present display device. With this mechanism, the present display device can be placed vertically or horizontally.
[0044]
Reference numeral 402 denotes a slide switch, which is used to specify an interval for updating an image to be displayed.
[0045]
An input connector 403 is used for connecting to a facsimile machine.
[0046]
An output connector 404 is used to connect to an external communication network.
[0047]
A power connector 405 is used to supply power to the display device.
[0048]
Reference numeral 406 denotes a storage medium storage unit and an operation panel.
[0049]
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of 406.
[0050]
A fixed display button 501 is used to designate a fixed display mode in which a display image is not updated.
[0051]
A slide show button 502 is used to instruct the display device in a slide show mode. The slide show mode is a mode in which image data in a stored storage medium is displayed in a certain order.
[0052]
A random button 503 is used for instructing the display device in a random mode. The random mode is a mode in which image data in a stored storage medium is displayed in a slide show in a random order.
[0053]
Reference numeral 504 denotes a next image selection button. In the slide show playback mode and the random playback mode, pressing the main button 504 updates the display to the next image without waiting for the display interval set by the slide switch 402. In the fixed display mode in which the display is not updated, pressing this button 504 reads the next image data from the stored storage medium.
[0054]
Reference numeral 505 denotes a display rotation button. When this button 505 is pressed, the display image is rotated by 90 degrees. For example, when a vertically long image is displayed on the image display device installed as shown in FIG. 2, the image 601 is displayed with margins 602 and 603 on the left and right as shown in FIG. Here, when the display rotation button 505 is pressed and the image display device is placed vertically, a display in which the display area is effectively used can be obtained as shown in FIG.
[0055]
Reference numeral 506 denotes a previous image selection button. Updates the display to the image displayed immediately before the currently displayed image.
[0056]
Reference numeral 507 denotes a composition button. An LED is embedded in the button 507 to emit light. When a facsimile signal is received from a facsimile apparatus connected to the input connector 403 and image data is acquired, this button 507 is turned on. When the user presses the main button 507 in the lit state, the display displays the image input from the facsimile apparatus. When the user presses the main button 507 again, the displayed image is combined with the image input from the facsimile apparatus. Display and turn off.
[0057]
Reference numeral 508 denotes a combination cancel button. When the synthesis button 507 is lit, pressing this button 508 turns off the synthesis button 507 and discards the image input from the facsimile apparatus. If the display has been updated to the image input from the facsimile machine, the display is updated to the original image before the update.
[0058]
A memory card slot 509 stores a memory card on which image data is recorded.
[0059]
The memory card to be mounted is a so-called solid-state memory cartridge constituted by a non-volatile storage medium constituted by a semiconductor element. Specifically, CompactFlash (registered trademark), SmartMedia (registered trademark), multimedia Card (registered trademark), Memory Stick (registered trademark) and the like.
[0060]
The disk drive 509 may be a disk drive capable of reading a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, and the like.
[0061]
Reference numeral 510 denotes an eject button, which is used to eject the storage medium stored in the memory card slot 509.
[0062]
FIG. 1 shows a hardware configuration of an image display device 201 according to the present embodiment.
[0063]
100 indicates the present display device.
[0064]
The storage medium 101 is a storage medium to be mounted on the display device 100, such as a solid state memory cartridge as described above.
[0065]
The storage medium 101 stores one or more pieces of image information created by a digital camera or the like as image data.
[0066]
The storage medium control unit 102 transfers data between the storage medium 101 and the RAM 109 at a portion where the storage medium 101 is mounted.
[0067]
A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 103 controls the operation of the display device. The CPU 103 performs necessary image processing and protocol processing in addition to controlling the entire image display device 100.
[0068]
The operation unit 104 includes various buttons 501 to 508 and a slide switch 402, and notifies the CPU 103 of the operation.
[0069]
The facsimile apparatus 105 is a facsimile apparatus 202 connected to the apparatus via an input connector 403, and a user inputs an image to be synthesized from the facsimile apparatus 202.
[0070]
The communication network 106 is a POTS network 203 connected to the apparatus by an output connector 404. That is, the present apparatus is installed between the facsimile apparatus 105 (202) and the communication network 106 (203).
[0071]
The communication control unit 107 includes an input connector 403, an output connector 404, a modem, and a communication control unit such as an NCU (Network Control Unit). A facsimile signal transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 202 to the apparatus via the input connector 403 is received and decoded by the communication control unit 107 and transferred to the RAM 109. If the facsimile signal is not addressed to this apparatus, it is output to the communication network via the output connector 404 as before.
[0072]
A ROM (Read Only Memory) 108 stores commands and data necessary for the CPU 103.
[0073]
A RAM (Random Access Memory) 109 is used as a working memory required for the operation of the CPU 103.
[0074]
The clock IC 110 is a clock device, and manages date / time data for controlling the operation of the display device.
[0075]
The display control unit 111 is configured by a frame buffer and its control circuit, and converts image data decoded by the CPU 103 into an image signal.
[0076]
The display 112 is composed of a liquid crystal panel and displays an image signal generated by the display control unit 111.
[0077]
113 is a system bus.
[0078]
Next, the operation of the image display device according to this embodiment will be described in detail.
[0079]
8 to 10 are flowcharts showing the operation of the image display device in the above embodiment.
[0080]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a normal operation state, and FIG. 9 shows an operation when the facsimile apparatus 202 connected via the input connector 403 starts transmission. FIG. 10 shows an operation when a button on the operation panel 406 is pressed.
[0081]
Here, it is assumed that prior to the operation of the image display device, image data to be viewed by a user of the device is registered in the storage medium 101 stored in the device in advance. The image data is data captured by a digital camera or a scanner connected to a personal computer.
[0082]
After executing the various initialization processes, the image display device checks the storage state of the storage medium 101 in step S801. The following steps are executed only when the storage medium 101 is stored.
[0083]
In step S802, the image data in the storage medium 101 is checked. If image data exists in the storage medium 101, the process proceeds to the following steps.
[0084]
If there is one or more image data in the storage medium 101, the first image data is selected (step S803). Here, the head is based on the reading order of the images from the storage medium 101, and the reading order of the images in the present embodiment is the lexicographic order of the file names added to the image data. Note that the reading order may be another order such as the order of creation date and time of the image data.
[0085]
The selected image data is read from the storage medium control unit 102 and transferred to the RAM 109 (Step S804).
[0086]
When the transfer to the RAM is completed, the image data is displayed next. First, when the image data is compressed, the image data compressed by the CPU 103 is expanded to obtain digital image data suitable for display on the display unit 112. At the same time, if the image size does not match the display 112, resolution conversion processing (reduction or enlargement) is performed while maintaining the aspect ratio, and an image portion serving as a margin is added as necessary. Note that resolution conversion processing is performed using a conventionally proposed conversion method such as a projection method (step S805).
[0087]
In step S806, the decompressed digital image data is transferred to the frame buffer of the display control unit 111 and converted into an image signal, and the display 112 displays the image signal.
[0088]
When the display of the image data is completed, the CPU 103 acquires the time information from the clock IC 110 and waits for a time longer than the display interval set by the slide switch 402 of the operation unit 104 (step S807).
[0089]
After a sufficient time has elapsed, in step S808, the display mode set in the display device is checked.
[0090]
If the display mode is the fixed display mode, there is no need to update the image, and thus step S808 is repeated until the display mode is changed.
[0091]
If the mode is the slide show mode, the next image data is selected according to the reading order (step S809), and the process returns to step S804.
[0092]
If the mode is the random mode, the next image data is selected at random (step S810), and the process returns to step S804.
[0093]
In any of the steps, when the eject button 510 is pressed, the process is restarted from the point P811. When the facsimile apparatus 202 connected via the input connector 403 starts transmission, the flowchart shown in FIG. Execute
[0094]
When the buttons 501 to 508 of the operation unit 104 are pressed in steps S803 to S810, the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 10 is executed.
[0095]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation when the facsimile apparatus 202 connected via the input connector 403 starts transmission. This process is a so-called interrupt process executed asynchronously with the flowchart of FIG.
[0096]
First, when a call from the facsimile machine 202 is detected, the current processing is interrupted and the current execution information is stored (step S901). This is a process for resuming the interrupted process after the execution of the flowchart.
[0097]
Next, the destination of the facsimile signal to be transmitted is confirmed. If it is addressed to the display device, the process proceeds to step S903, and if it is not addressed to the display device, the process proceeds to step S908 (step S902).
[0098]
In step S903, the facsimile signal is received and decoded to obtain image data. The acquired image data is transferred to the RAM 109.
[0099]
When all the facsimile signals have been received, the communication of the facsimile apparatus 202 ends (step S904).
[0100]
In step S905, the compressed image data is expanded by the CPU 103 to obtain digital image data suitable for performing image processing.
[0101]
In step S906, a rectangular area is cut out from the digital image data, new image data is generated, and stored in the RAM 109. A method for selecting a rectangular area will be described later. At the same time, if the cut-out image size does not match the display 112, a resolution conversion process (reduction or enlargement) is performed. Note that resolution conversion processing is performed by a conventionally proposed conversion method such as a projection method.
[0102]
When the extraction of the rectangular area is completed, the CPU 103 turns on the LED incorporated in the synthesizing button 507 and notifies the user that an image to be synthesized from the facsimile apparatus 202 has been obtained.
[0103]
On the other hand, in step S908, the signal input from the input connector 403 is output (through) to the output connector 404, thereby enabling communication between the facsimile apparatus 202 and the PTOS network 203.
[0104]
In step S909, the execution information stored in step S901 is read, and a preparation is made to resume the interrupted processing. Therefore, after the end of this flowchart, the processing is restarted from the part of the processing that was automatically interrupted.
[0105]
Next, a method of extracting a rectangular area performed in step S906 will be described.
[0106]
When an image is transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 202 to the image display apparatus 201, a sheet of paper on which marks 1101 to 1104 are printed as shown in FIG. 11 is used. By recording the printing positions and shapes of the marks 1101 to 1104 in advance in the ROM 108 or the like in advance, it is easy to select a rectangular area to be used for synthesis from the digital image data obtained in step S905. Also, due to the problem of paper feeding accuracy of the facsimile apparatus 202, the positions of the marks 1101 to 1104 after reading may be shifted from an ideal state. In that case, pattern matching is performed using the shape of the marks. The position of the mark in the digital image data is recognized by the processing, and a rectangular area to be cut out is selected.
[0107]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation when the buttons 501 to 508 of the operation unit 104 are pressed in steps S803 to S810 in FIG. This process is a so-called interrupt process executed asynchronously with the flowchart of FIG.
[0108]
First, when it is detected that the button has been pressed, the current processing is interrupted and the current execution information is stored (step S1001). This is a process for enabling the interrupted process to be restarted after the execution of the flowchart.
[0109]
Next, the processing content is selected according to the type of the pressed button (step S1002).
[0110]
When the fixed display button 501 is pressed, the fact that the display mode is the fixed display mode is stored, and the process proceeds to step S1019 (step S1003).
[0111]
When the slide show button 502 is pressed, the fact that the slide show mode is set is stored, and the process proceeds to step S1019 (step S1004).
[0112]
When the random button 503 is pressed, the fact that the mode is the random mode is stored, and the process proceeds to step S1019 (step S1005).
[0113]
If the next image selection button 504 has been pressed, the next image data is selected (step S1006). The next image here is the next image data in the reading order of the images from the storage medium 101 in the fixed display mode and the slide show mode, and may be randomly selected in the random mode. After selecting the image data, the process proceeds to point P1020.
[0114]
If the previous image selection button 506 has been pressed, the image displayed immediately before the currently displayed image is selected (step S1007). If the currently displayed image is the first image, the same image is selected again. After selecting the image data, the process proceeds to point P1020.
[0115]
If the display rotation button 505 is pressed, the CPU 103 generates digital image data obtained by rotating the image currently displayed in the RAM 109 by 90 degrees (step S1008). After the image data generation, the process proceeds to point P1021.
[0116]
In the processing when the cancel button 508 is pressed, first, it is checked whether the LED of the combining button 507 is lit (step S1009). If it is not lit, it indicates that no image has been received from the facsimile machine 202, and it is meaningless to press the main button 508, and the process advances to step S1019.
[0117]
On the other hand, if it is turned on, the image is received from the facsimile machine 202, and it is confirmed whether the rectangular image cut out in step S906 is displayed on the display 112 (step S1010). If it is displayed, the image displayed immediately before the retreat in step S1016 is displayed again, and the process proceeds to step S1012 (step S1011).
[0118]
In step S1012, the image data input from the FAX in the RAM 109 is discarded, and in step S1013, the LED of the synthesis button 507 is turned off.
[0119]
In the processing when the combining button 507 is pressed, first, it is checked whether the LED of the combining button 507 is lit (step S1014). If it is not lit, it indicates that no image has been received from the facsimile machine 202, and it is meaningless to press the main button 507, and the process advances to step S1019.
[0120]
On the other hand, if it is turned on, an image is received from the facsimile machine 202, and it is confirmed whether the rectangular image cut out in step S906 is displayed on the display 112 (step S1015).
[0121]
If it is not displayed, the image data is saved in the currently displayed digital image data RAM 109, the image data generated in step S906 is displayed, and the flow advances to step S1019 (step S1016).
[0122]
If it is displayed, the CPU 103 combines the image data generated in step S906 with the image data of the image displayed immediately before (step S1017). At the time of combining, the two digital image data are compared pixel by pixel, and if the former pixel is other than white, the corresponding pixel of the latter is replaced with the pixel data. By doing so, it is possible to generate digital image data in which image data read from a fax is overwritten on image data read from the storage medium 101.
[0123]
When the generation of the composite image is completed, the LED of the composite button is turned off (step S1018), and the process proceeds to point P1022.
[0124]
In step S1019, the execution information stored in step S1001 is read, and a preparation is made to resume the interrupted processing. Therefore, after the end of this flowchart, the processing is restarted from the part of the processing that was automatically interrupted.
[0125]
Point P1020 is connected to point P812 in FIG. That is, the image selected at the point P1020 is read in step S804.
[0126]
Points P1021 and P1022 are connected to point P813 in FIG. That is, the digital image data generated at the points P1021 and P1022 is displayed in step S806.
[0127]
Next, a series of operations of this embodiment will be described.
[0128]
FIG. 12 shows a situation where the image display device 201 is displaying an image. At this point, it is assumed that the facsimile machine 202 has read the diagram shown in FIG.
[0129]
Upon completion of the reception and processing of the received image, the image display device 201 turns on the LED of the combining button 507 to notify the user that the image has been received from the facsimile device 202 (steps S903 to S907).
[0130]
If the user presses the composition button 507 at this point, the display changes as shown in FIG. 14, and the image to be composed is displayed (step S1016). Here, if the user presses the cancel button 508, the display returns to FIG. 12 (steps S1011 to S1013).
[0131]
On the other hand, when the synthesizing button 507 is pressed again, a synthesized image is generated and the display of FIG. 15 is obtained, and the LED of the synthesizing button 507 is turned off (steps S1017 to S1018).
[0132]
According to the above embodiment, it is possible to process and display an image on an electronic photo frame without using a personal computer.
[0133]
(Second embodiment)
In this embodiment, only differences from the first embodiment will be described.
[0134]
FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a connection example of the image display device according to the present embodiment.
[0135]
Reference numeral 1601 denotes an image display device according to this embodiment.
[0136]
Reference numeral 1602 denotes a general facsimile apparatus similar to 202.
[0137]
Reference numeral 1603 denotes a POTS network similar to 203.
[0138]
Reference numeral 1604 denotes an image distribution device, which is a server device having a file server function, a WWW server function, a database function, and the like.
[0139]
Reference numeral 1605 denotes a personal computer having a WWW client function, and a user who wants to register image data is connected to the image distribution device 1604 using the terminal.
[0140]
The image display device 1601 connects to the image distribution device 1604 via the Internet 1606. Automatically receive and display registered image data.
[0141]
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the appearance of the present embodiment. The operation panel 1706 is different from that of the first embodiment. 1702 to 1705 are the same as 402 to 405, respectively.
[0142]
FIG. 18 is an enlarged view of the operation panel 1701. The difference from the first embodiment is that there is no random button 503, memory card slot 509, and eject button 510. 1801, 1802, 1804 to 1808 are the same as 501, 502, 504 to 508, respectively.
[0143]
FIG. 19 illustrates a hardware configuration of the image display device 1601 according to the present embodiment.
[0144]
The difference from the first embodiment is that the storage medium control unit and the storage medium are not provided. The communication control unit 1907 has a function for connecting to the Internet 1914 in addition to the function of the communication control unit 107 of the first embodiment. 1903 to 1906 and 1908 to 1913 are the same as 103 to 106 and 108 to 113, respectively.
[0145]
20 and 21 are flowcharts showing the operation of the image display device in the above embodiment.
[0146]
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a normal operation state, and FIG. 21 shows an operation when a button on the operation panel 1706 is pressed. The operation when the facsimile apparatus 1602 connected via the input connector 1703 starts transmission is the same as the flowchart in FIG.
[0147]
Here, it is assumed that the image data to be viewed by the user of the display device is registered in the server device 1604 before the operation of the image display device 1601. Specifically, it is assumed that a remote user has registered a plurality of image data in the server device 1604 using the personal computer 1605. The registration of the image data is performed, for example, via WWW browser software on the personal computer 1605. The image data is data captured by a digital camera, a scanner connected to the personal computer, or the like.
[0148]
After executing various initialization processes, the image display device 1601 determines a reception schedule in step S2001. That is, the data reception time specified by the user is determined, and if the specified time has passed, the process proceeds to step S2002, and the reception of the image data held in the server device 1604 starts. The reception schedule is managed by time data managed by the clock IC 1910, schedule data stored in the ROM 1908 or the RAM 1909, and connection interval information specified by the slide switch 1702. If the specified time has not been reached, the process returns to step S2001 and is repeated until the specified time has passed.
[0149]
On the other hand, when data reception is started, a modem (in the case of a configuration directly connected to the telephone network) included in the communication control unit 1907 makes a dial-up connection to a predetermined server by PPP (Point to Point Protocol) ( Step S2002).
[0150]
After the connection is completed, image data is received from the server device 1604 according to a data transfer protocol such as HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) / FTP (File Transfer Protocol) (step S2003). The received data is transferred to the RAM 1909.
[0151]
In step S2004, it is confirmed that the reception of the image data has been completed, and the PPP connection is disconnected.
[0152]
When the transfer to the RAM 1909 is completed, the image data is displayed next. First, when the image data is compressed, the image data compressed by the CPU 1903 is expanded to be digital image data suitable for display on the display unit 1912. At the same time, if the image size does not match the display 1912, resolution conversion processing (reduction or enlargement) is performed while maintaining the aspect ratio, and an image portion serving as a margin is added as necessary. Note that resolution conversion processing is performed by a conventionally proposed conversion method such as a projection method (step S2005).
[0153]
In step S2006, the decompressed digital image data is transferred to the frame buffer of the display control unit 1911 and converted into an image signal, and the display 1912 displays the image signal.
[0154]
When the display of the image data is completed, the display mode set in the display device is checked (step S2007). If the display mode is the fixed display mode, there is no need to update the image, and thus step S2007 is repeated until the display mode is changed.
[0155]
FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating an operation when the buttons 1801 to 1808 of the operation unit 1904 are pressed. This process is a so-called interrupt process executed asynchronously with the flowchart of FIG.
[0156]
Steps S2101 to S2104 and S2108 to S2119 are the same as steps S1001 to S1004 and S1009 to S1019, respectively. The difference is that step S2108 proceeds to point P2121 and step S2118 proceeds to point P2122.
[0157]
If the next image selection button 1804 is pressed, step S1006 is executed in the first embodiment, but the process is not executed in this embodiment, and the process proceeds to point P2120.
[0158]
In step S2107, if there is no image data of the image displayed immediately before the currently displayed image in the RAM 1909, it is necessary to execute steps S2002 to S2004 and acquire necessary image data. different. After the processing, the flow advances to point P2121.
[0159]
Point P2120 is connected to point P2008 in FIG. That is, the schedule management is skipped, and the image is acquired from the server device 1604 regardless of the schedule.
[0160]
Points P2121 and P2122 are connected to point P2009 in FIG. That is, the digital image data generated at the points P2121 and P2122 is displayed in step S2006.
[0161]
According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to process and display an image without using a personal computer in the Internet type photo frame.
[0162]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in an electronic photo stand for displaying digital image data, there is an effect that an image can be processed and displayed without using a personal computer.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a connection example according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an appearance of an image display device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an appearance of an image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an operation unit of the image display device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image display device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing paper to be read by a facsimile connected to the image display device in the embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example in the embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a picture to be synthesized in the embodiment.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of a picture to be combined in the embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a display example when the images are combined in the embodiment.
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a connection example according to the second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an appearance of an image display device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an operation unit of the image display device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image display device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image display device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image display device according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Image display device
101 storage medium
102 Storage medium control unit
103 CPU
104 Operation unit
105 Facsimile machine
106 communication network
107 Communication control unit
108 ROM
109 RAM
110 Clock IC
111 Display control unit
112 Display
113 System bus
201 Image display device
202 Facsimile machine
203 POTS network
301 liquid crystal display
302 frame
303, 401 Display device support mechanism
402 slide switch
403 input connector
404 output connector
405 power connector
406 Operation unit and storage medium mounting unit
501 Fixed display button
502 Slideshow button
503 random button
504 Next image selection button
505 Display rotation button
506 Previous image selection button
507 Synthetic button
508 Cancel button
509 Memory card slot
510 Eject button

Claims (3)

In an image display device for displaying image data,
Means for acquiring first image data;
Means for connecting to a facsimile machine;
Means for converting a facsimile signal into second image data;
Means for selecting an area to be used for synthesis from the second image data;
Means for synthesizing the first image data and the selected image data,
Means for performing a predetermined image signal processing on the combined image data to generate an image signal,
An image display device comprising means for displaying the image signal. The means for acquiring the first image includes:
2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image display device is means for reading image data from a storage medium. The means for acquiring the first image includes:
Means for connecting to a server device holding image data via a network;
2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the image display device receives image data from the server device.

Images