JP2005045650A - Image extracting device and image extracting method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image extracting device and an image extracting method capable of improving operability in the case of designating a trimming area. <P>SOLUTION: An image shown by image information is displayed on an LCD (liquid crystal display) 38, the rotation operation of a trackball 62 provided in a manner that the trackball 62 can be rotated in an optional direction designates a position indicated by a cursor 50 in a display area in the LCD 38, and image information corresponding to a trimming area is extracted from image information showing an image with an image area based on the designated position as the trimming area. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image extraction apparatus and an image extraction method for extracting image information corresponding to a trimming area from image information indicating the image, using a specified area in an image displayed on a display unit as a trimming area.

  Conventionally, some portable electronic devices having a photographing function such as a digital camera, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with a camera, and a cellular phone have a trimming function for a photographed image.

Conventionally, as a technique related to this type of electronic apparatus, Patent Document 1 discloses the size and position of a frame frame for designating a partial area of an image displayed on a display surface of a display unit of a digital camera as a trimming area. A technique is described in which the positions of the first cursor and the second cursor for determining the position are moved according to the operation state of the cross button.
JP 2002-101378 A

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, when the trimming area is determined, the first cursor and the second cursor must be moved to a desired position only by moving in the two orthogonal directions with the cross button. There was a problem of poor operability.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image extraction apparatus and an image extraction method capable of improving the operability when designating a trimming area.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image extraction apparatus according to claim 1 has a display means for displaying an image indicated by image information and a rotating body provided so as to be capable of rotating in an arbitrary direction. And a position designation unit for designating a position in the display area of the display unit by a rotation operation on the rotating body, and a position designated by the position designation unit in a state where an image is displayed on the display unit. Trimming means for extracting image information corresponding to the trimming area from image information indicating the image, using the area of the image as a trimming area.

  According to the image extracting apparatus of claim 1, the image indicated by the image information is displayed on the display unit, and the position in the display area of the display unit is designated by the rotation operation with respect to the rotating body provided in the position designation unit. Is done.

  The display means may include any display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT display, an organic EL display, or a plasma display.

  Here, in the present invention, the region of the image based on the position specified by the position specifying unit in a state where the image is displayed on the display unit by the trimming unit is set as a trimming region, and the trimming is performed based on the image information indicating the image. Image information corresponding to the region is extracted.

  That is, in the present invention, a desired area in the image displayed on the display means can be quickly designated as a trimming area by rotating the rotating body in an arbitrary direction. Compared with the case where the trimming area is designated by the operation in the vertical and horizontal directions, the operability is dramatically improved.

  As described above, according to the image extraction device of the first aspect, the image indicated by the image information is displayed on the display unit, and the rotation operation with respect to the rotating body provided to allow the rotation operation in an arbitrary direction is performed. Since the position in the display area in the display means is designated, and the image area based on the designated position is used as the trimming area, the image information corresponding to the trimming area is extracted from the image information indicating the image. The operability at the time of designating the area can be improved.

  According to the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 2, the rotating body provided in the position specifying means is provided so that a pressing operation in a predetermined direction can be performed in addition to a rotating operation in an arbitrary direction. In addition, it is preferable that the position specifying unit further includes a pressing detection unit that detects a pressing operation on the rotating body.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the rotation operation in the arbitrary direction with respect to the rotating body, the pressing operation in the predetermined direction is enabled, so the display is performed according to the rotation operation in the arbitrary direction with respect to the rotating body. The designated position can be input only by operating the rotating body, such as changing the designated position in the area and determining the designated position by pressing the rotating body in a predetermined direction. The trimming area is designated. Operability can be further improved.

  Further, according to the present invention, as in the third aspect of the present invention, the storage means for storing the image information and whether only the image information extracted by the trimming means is stored in the storage means are shown. When the instruction input means for inputting the instruction information and the instruction information input by the instruction input means indicate that only the image information extracted by the trimming means is stored in the storage means, the image information Storage control means for storing only the image information and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display means in the storage means.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the instruction information indicating whether or not only the image information extracted by the trimming means is stored in the storage means is input, and at least extracted by the trimming means according to the instruction information. Since the image information can be stored in the storage unit, the storage capacity of the storage unit can be saved when only the extracted image is stored. When both the image information extracted by the trimming unit and the image information displayed on the display unit are stored, the entire image before extracting the image information can be referred to.

  The storage means includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), a semiconductor storage element such as a flash EEPROM (Flash EEPROM), a floppy disk, and a CD-R (Compact Disc-Recordable). CD-RW (Compact Disc-ReWritable), a portable recording medium such as a magneto-optical disk, a fixed recording medium such as a hard disk, or an external storage device provided in a server computer connected to a network, etc. it can.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is further provided with an imaging means for acquiring image information indicating a subject image as the image information, as in the invention according to claim 4, and an image displayed on the display means is displayed. The image information acquired by the imaging unit may be a preview image displayed at a stage before being stored in the storage unit.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, image information of a desired region can be extracted with high operability from image information indicating a preview image at the time of shooting.

  Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, as in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the image displayed on the display means can be a reproduced image indicated by the image information stored in the storage means. .

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, image information of a desired region can be extracted with high operability from image information indicating a reproduced image at the time of reproducing the image.

  By the way, when both the image information extracted by the trimming unit and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display unit are stored in the storage unit, it is determined from which image information the extracted image information is extracted. It is preferable that it can be easily discriminated.

  Therefore, in the invention according to claim 6, when both the image information extracted by the trimming unit and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display unit are stored in the storage unit by the storage control unit. These image information are stored in association with each other.

  Further, when utilizing the image information extracted by the trimming means, it may be desired to read the original image information again depending on the information capacity of the original image information including the image information.

  Therefore, in the invention according to claim 7, the storage control means stores the display means when storing both the image information extracted by the trimming means and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display means. The information capacity of the image information indicating the image displayed on is stored in the storage means as supplementary information of the image information extracted by the trimming means.

  By the way, since the image information extracted by the trimming means is a part of the image information indicating one image, the brightness of the image indicated by the extracted image information is the brightness of the entire original image. Often different.

  Therefore, in the invention described in claim 8, based on the image information extracted by the trimming means, a plurality of image information in which the brightness of the image indicated by the image information is made different from each other is generated, and the plurality of images are displayed. A display control means for displaying a plurality of images indicated by the information on the display means; and a selection means for selecting one of the plurality of images displayed on the display means. The control means stores the image information indicating the image selected by the selection means in the storage means as the image information extracted by the trimming means.

  According to the invention described in claim 8, based on the image information extracted by the trimming means, a plurality of pieces of image information in which the brightnesses of the images indicated by the image information are made different from each other are generated, and the plurality of pieces of image information are generated. Are displayed on the display means, and one selected image of the displayed images is stored in the storage means as image information extracted by the trimming means. The operability at the time of designating can be improved, and an image of the trimming area having good brightness can be stored.

  Further, as in the ninth aspect of the invention, the image processing apparatus further includes output means for outputting the image information extracted by the trimming means to the outside, and the image information is provided to an external device such as a printer or a personal computer (PC). May be used to widen the range of utilization of the image information.

  Further, in recent years, when printing an image obtained by imaging using a printer, a technique (so-called direct printing) for directly outputting image information indicating the image to the printer without using an information terminal device such as a PC has been proposed. Has been.

  Focusing on this point, the invention according to claim 10 further comprises print instruction input means for inputting print instruction information for instructing printing of the image information extracted by the trimming means, and the output means comprises: In addition to the image information, the print instruction information is further output.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, since the print instruction information can also be output to the outside, it is possible to print the trimmed image by directly connecting to the printer.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, an image extraction method according to claim 11 displays an image indicated by image information on a display means, and is for a rotating body provided so as to be capable of rotating in an arbitrary direction. A position in the display area of the display means is designated by a rotation operation, and the image information corresponding to the trimming area is extracted from the image information indicating the image by using the area of the image based on the designated position as a trimming area. It is.

  According to the image extraction method of the eleventh aspect, since it operates in the same manner as the first aspect of the invention, the operability when specifying the trimming area is improved as in the first aspect of the invention. Can be made.

  As described above, according to the image extracting apparatus and the image extracting method of the present invention, the image indicated by the image information is displayed on the display unit, and the rotating body provided for the rotation operation in an arbitrary direction is provided. A position in the display area in the display means is designated by a rotation operation, and the image area corresponding to the trimming area is extracted from the image information indicating the image by using the area of the image based on the designated position as a trimming area. Therefore, there is an excellent effect that the operability when specifying the trimming area can be improved.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, an external configuration of a digital camera 10 to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1A, on the front side of the digital camera 10, a finder 20 used for determining the composition of the subject to be photographed, a lens 21 for forming a subject image, and photographing is executed. And a release button (so-called shutter) 56A that is pressed when the operation is performed.

  Note that the release button 56A of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment is pressed down to an intermediate position (hereinafter referred to as “half-pressed state”) and to a final pressed position beyond the intermediate position. A two-stage pressing operation of a state (hereinafter referred to as a “fully pressed state”) can be detected by two built-in switches.

  In the digital camera 10, the release button 56A is pressed halfway to activate the AE (Automatic Exposure) function to set the exposure state (shutter speed, aperture state), and then AF (Auto Focus). , Automatic focusing) function is performed to control focusing, and then exposure (photographing) is performed when the button is fully pressed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1B, on the back of the digital camera 10, an eyepiece of the above-described finder 20 and a liquid crystal display for displaying various information such as a photographed subject image and a menu screen ( Hereinafter referred to as “LCD”) 38.

  Also, on the back of the digital camera 10, a mode changeover switch 56B that is slid when setting to any one of a shooting mode that is a shooting mode and a playback mode that is a mode for playing back a subject image on the LCD 38, and The menu key 56C that is pressed to display the menu screen on the LCD 38, the determination key 56D that is pressed to determine the display content on the LCD 38, the cross cursor key 56E, and the display content on the LCD 38 are discarded. A cancel key 56F that is pressed at that time is further provided.

  The cross-cursor key 56E includes four arrow keys that indicate four moving directions of up, down, left, and right in the display area of the LCD 38.

  On the other hand, the digital camera 10 is equipped with a trackball device 60. An opening 10 </ b> C is formed in the rear wall 10 </ b> B of the digital camera 10 for exposing a part of a trackball 62 (described later) provided in the trackball device 60 to the outside. Therefore, the user can press a part of the trackball 62 exposed to the outside through the opening 10 </ b> C in the front direction of the digital camera 10 with the fingertip or rotate the trackball 62.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the trackball device 60 according to the present embodiment includes a trackball 62, an encoder mechanism 64, a microswitch 66, and a leaf spring 68.

  The trackball 62 is a spherical rotating body having a certain weight, and can be rotated in all directions and pressed with a part of the spherical surface exposed through the opening 10C formed in the back wall 10B. It is provided so that it can be operated. Note that rubber is used as the material of the surface of the trackball 62, and the friction coefficient of the encoder mechanism 64 with a later-described roller 64A is increased.

  The encoder mechanism 64 includes a cylindrical roller 64A that contacts the surface of the trackball 62, and a rotation amount detection unit that outputs a pulse signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the trackball 62 in two orthogonal directions (X direction and Y direction). And two sets of encoders 65A and 65B having 64B.

  The material of the shaft portion of the roller 64A is made of plastic, for example, and can be easily rotated by friction with the trackball 62. The length of the shaft of the roller 64A is adjusted to match the diameter of the trackball 62. The rotation amount detection unit 64B is configured to output a pulse signal corresponding to the rotation amount of the roller 64A. Therefore, the rotation amount (movement amount) of the trackball 62 can be detected based on the pulse signal output from the rotation amount detection unit 64B.

  On the other hand, the trackball device 60 holds the trackball 62 by surrounding a portion exceeding half of the surface area of the trackball 62, and when the trackball 62 is pressed from the outside, the trackball 62 is pressed together with the trackball 62. A holding member 70 that is moved in the same direction as the direction is provided.

  The holding member 70 has a surface for holding the trackball 62 that is substantially the same size and substantially the same shape (partially spherical) as the surface to be held of the trackball 62. A friction reducing member 70A made of a chemical fiber for reducing the frictional force between the track ball 62 and the holding member 70 is attached to the surface (inner surface) of the holding member 70 on the track ball 62 holding side. It has been.

  In addition, at the upper end position and the lower end position of the holding member 70 in FIG. Is provided.

  Therefore, in the trackball device 60 according to the present embodiment, when the trackball 62 is pressed, the movement direction of the trackball 62 and the holding member 70 is regulated by the regulation walls 72A and 72B, and the arrow A in FIG. 2B, the encoder 65A and the encoder 65B are fixed to the back wall 10B at one end so as to be separated from the surface of the trackball 62. The support member 64C is fixedly positioned.

  On the other hand, the microswitch 66 is for detecting whether or not the trackball 62 is pressed. The micro switch 66 is turned on when the trackball 62 is pressed and the operating piece 66A is pressed via the holding member 70, and a signal indicating that the trackball 62 is pressed (hereinafter referred to as “pressing signal”). And is mounted on the printed wiring board 80 so as to be turned off when the trackball 62 is in the normal position (the position shown in FIG. 2A).

  Further, the leaf spring 68 is for applying a biasing force in a direction to return the holding member 70 moved according to the pressing operation to the original position when the pressing operation to the trackball 62 is released, One end is attached to the printed wiring board 80, and the other end is disposed so as to abut against the outer wall of the holding member 70.

  Next, an electrical configuration of the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in the figure, the digital camera 10 includes an optical unit 22 including the lens 21 described above, and a charge coupled device (hereinafter referred to as “CCD”) disposed behind the optical axis of the lens 21. 24).

  The digital camera 10 also generates a signal for displaying a subject image, a menu screen, and the like on the LCD 38 and supplies the signal to the LCD 38, and a CPU (central processing unit) 11 that controls the operation of the entire digital camera 10. , A memory control unit 16 for making the portable recording medium 18 accessible by the digital camera 10, and various programs and tables executed in the digital camera 10 are stored. And a storage unit 26 including a ROM and a RAM for storing digital image information obtained by photographing. In the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, smart media (Smart Media®) is used as the recording medium 18.

  The display control unit 14, the CCD 24, the memory control unit 16, and the storage unit 26 are connected to the control unit 12, respectively. Accordingly, the CPU 11 of the control unit 12 displays various information on the LCD 38 via the display control unit 14, acquires image information indicating a subject image by the CCD 24, accesses the storage medium 18 via the memory control unit 16, and stores it. Access to the ROM and RAM of the unit 26 can be performed.

  In addition to the CPU 11, the control unit 12 performs various analog signal processing on the analog signal indicating the subject image input from the CCD 24, converts the analog signal into digital data, and further converts the digital data. In addition, a signal processing unit (not shown) that performs various digital signal processing is included.

  The digital camera 10 also outputs an X-direction movement amount detection unit 28 connected to an output terminal that outputs a pulse signal in the rotation amount detection unit 64B of the encoder 65A, and a pulse signal in the rotation amount detection unit 64B of the encoder 65B. A Y-direction movement amount detection unit 30 connected to the output end and a trackball press detection unit 32 connected to the microswitch 66 of the trackball device 60 are included.

  The X-direction movement amount detection unit 28 detects a rotation amount per predetermined time in the X direction of the trackball 62 based on the pulse signal input from the connected rotation amount detection unit 64B, and a detection signal indicating the rotation amount. Is output. Similarly, the Y-direction movement amount detection unit 30 detects the rotation amount per predetermined time in the Y direction of the trackball 62 based on the pulse signal input from the connected rotation amount detection unit 64B, and calculates the rotation amount. The detection signal shown is output. Further, the trackball press detection unit 32 outputs a detection signal corresponding to the on / off state of the microswitch 66.

  The X-direction movement amount detection unit 28, the Y-direction movement amount detection unit 30, and the trackball press detection unit 32 are connected to the control unit 12, and the CPU 11 of the control unit 12 rotates the trackball device 60 relative to the trackball 62. Each operation state of the operation and the pressing operation can be always grasped. Then, the CPU 11 changes the display position of the cursor mark 50 (see also FIG. 1B) on the LCD 38 and the display area in accordance with the rotation operation on the trackball 62 and at the time when the pressing operation on the trackball 62 is performed. It is determined that the position indicated by the cursor mark 50 on the LCD 38 is determined as the final designated position.

  Further, in the digital camera 10, the switch SW2 that is turned on when the cancel key 56F is pressed, the switch SW3 that is turned on when the determination key 56D is pressed, and the menu key 56C are pressed. A switch SW4 that is turned on when operated, a cancel key press detection unit 34 connected to the switch SW2, a determination key press detection unit 38 connected to the switch SW3, and a menu key connected to the switch SW4 And a press detection unit 40.

  The cancel key press detection unit 34, the determination key press detection unit 38, and the menu key press detection unit 40 each output a detection signal corresponding to ON / OFF of the connected switch.

  The digital camera 10 also detects a cross cursor key operation state detector 36 that outputs a detection signal corresponding to the operation state of the four arrow keys constituting the cross cursor key 56E, and a detection state corresponding to the operation state of the mode switch 56B. A mode changeover switch operation state detector 42 that outputs a signal, a switch SW5 that is turned on when the release button 56A is half-pressed, and a switch SW6 that is turned on when the release button 56A is fully pressed. And a release detection unit 44 that is connected to the switches SW5 and SW6 and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the on / off state of these switches.

  The cancel key press detection unit 34, the cross cursor key operation state detection unit 36, the enter key press detection unit 38, the menu key press detection unit 40, the mode change switch operation state detection unit 42, and the release detection unit 44 are connected to the control unit 12, respectively. Thus, the CPU 11 of the control unit 12 can always grasp the on / off states of the switches connected to these detection units.

  The digital camera 10 includes a printer interface 45 and an external device interface 47.

  The printer interface 45 has a role of controlling communication with the connected printer 46, and the external device interface 47 has a role of controlling communication with the connected PC 48.

  The printer interface 45 and the external device interface 47 are connected to the control unit 12, and the CPU 11 is connected to a printer such as the printer 46 connected to the printer interface 45 and an external device such as the PC 48 connected to the external device interface 47. Can communicate with each other.

  The operation of the present embodiment will be described below.

  When the shooting mode is set by operating the mode switch 56B, the digital camera 10 executes shooting mode processing.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of the shooting mode processing program executed by the CPU 11 every predetermined period (1 second in the present embodiment) at this time. The shooting mode processing program is stored in the storage unit 26. Is stored in advance in the ROM. Hereinafter, the shooting mode processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step 100, a photographing process is performed as follows based on an instruction input by the user.

  In the photographing process, first, the CCD 24 is caused to start imaging via the optical unit 22. As a result, the CCD 24 starts outputting analog signals for the R (red), G (green), and B (blue) indicating the subject image to the control unit 12.

  In response to this, the control unit 12 performs analog signal processing such as correlated double sampling processing on the analog signal input from the CCD 24 by a built-in signal processing unit (not shown), and then converts it to digital image data. (A / D conversion), and digital signal processing such as white balance adjustment, gamma processing, sharpness processing, YC signal processing, etc. is performed on the digital image data to obtain a luminance signal Y and chroma signals Cr, Cb (hereinafter referred to as “digital signal processing”). After generating the “YC signal”), the YC signal is sequentially output to the RAM of the storage unit 26.

  The LCD 38 is configured to display a moving image (through image) obtained by continuous imaging by the CCD 24 and can be used as a finder. When the LCD 38 is used as a finder, the CPU 11 The generated YC signal is sequentially output to the LCD 38 via the display control unit 14. As a result, a through image is displayed on the LCD 38.

  Here, when the release button 56A is half-pressed by the user, after the AE function is activated and the exposure state is set as described above, the AF function is activated and focus control is performed, and then the fully-pressed state is continued. In this case, the CPU 11 compresses the YC signal stored in the RAM of the storage unit 26 at this time in a predetermined compression format (JPEG format in the present embodiment) and then records it via the memory control unit 16. It is recorded on the medium 18 as an electronic file (image file).

  Therefore, in step 102, the process waits until the release button 56A is fully pressed. In step 104, image information (YC signal) stored in the RAM of the storage unit 26 at this time is recorded on the recording medium 18. In the previous stage, an image indicated by the image information is displayed on the LCD 38 as a preview image.

  FIG. 5A shows a state where the preview image is preview-displayed on the LCD 38 as an example.

  The digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment has a trimming function for extracting image information indicating an image of only a partial area in the preview image and recording it on the recording medium 18. Therefore, in the example shown in the figure, a message asking whether to execute the trimming function is displayed over the preview-displayed image.

  On the other hand, after confirming the image obtained by shooting, the user presses the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F to input whether or not to execute the trimming function.

  Therefore, in the next step 106, it is determined whether or not to execute the trimming function in accordance with the result of pressing the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F by the user. If a detection signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the key operation by the user, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 116 to display the image displayed as a preview on the LCD 38. After the image information is compressed and recorded on the recording medium 18, the actual photographing mode process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when a detection signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, the process proceeds from step 106 to step 108, and control is performed so that the trimming frame is displayed over the image previewed on the LCD 38. To do.

  FIG. 5B shows, as an example, a state in which a rectangular trimming frame is displayed over the image previewed on the LCD 38. Hereinafter, a case where the trimming frame is rectangular will be described with reference to FIG.

  When displaying the trimming frame on the LCD 38, the user first moves the cursor mark 50 (not shown in FIG. 5, refer to FIG. 1) to a desired position by rotating the track ball 62, and then moves the track ball. By pushing 62 in the front direction of the digital camera 10, the first vertex of the trimming frame (any one of points A, B, C, and D in FIG. 5B) is determined.

  In response to this, the CPU 11 uses the first vertex on the LCD 38 as a base point, and the position pointed to by the cursor mark 50 is a vertex (hereinafter referred to as a “second vertex”) diagonally to the base point. .) Is displayed.

  Next, the user changes the size of the trimming frame by moving the second vertex of the displayed trimming frame by rotating the trackball 62, and presses the trackball 62 again when the desired size is reached. Thus, the trimming frame is determined.

  After that, the user confirms the display content on the LCD 38 and presses any of the menu key 56C, the enter key 56D, and the cancel key 56F, whereby the image (trimming image) of the area surrounded by the trimming frame and the above-mentioned Whether to record only the image information of both the previewed images or the image information of the trimmed image on the recording medium 18 is input.

  Therefore, in step 110, the process waits for a pressing operation of any of the menu key 56C, the enter key 56D, and the cancel key 56F. In step 112, whether or not to record at least image information indicating a trimmed image on the recording medium 18 is determined. Determine. If a detection signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the key operation by the user, the determination is negative, and the process returns to step 104 again.

  On the other hand, if a detection signal indicating that the menu key 56C or the determination key 56D has been pressed is input, an affirmative determination is made in step 112, and the process proceeds to step 113, where only the image information indicating the trimmed image is recorded on the recording medium 18. It is determined whether or not to record. If a signal indicating that the enter key 56D is pressed is input as a result of the key operation by the user, the determination is negative and the process proceeds to step 114, where the image information indicating the preview image and the trimming image are displayed. Both pieces of image information are recorded on the recording medium 18. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the menu key 56C has been pressed is input as a result of the key operation by the user, step 113 is affirmative and the routine proceeds to step 115 where only image information indicating a trimmed image is obtained. Recording is performed on the recording medium 18, and then the main photographing mode process is terminated.

  By the way, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, image editing processing, image printing processing, and image transfer processing can be executed in the playback mode. In the playback mode, the user selects a desired one of these processes on the menu screen displayed on the LCD 38 by pressing the menu key 56C.

Hereinafter, each of these processes will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(Image editing process)
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of the image editing processing program executed by the CPU 11 every predetermined period (1 second in the present embodiment) during execution of the image processing. The image editing processing program is also stored in the memory. Stored in the ROM of the unit 26 in advance. Hereinafter, the image editing process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step 120, a list of image file candidates that can be processed is displayed on the LCD 38. The candidate list may be a list of file names of all image files recorded on the recording medium 18 or a list of thumbnails obtained by reducing the images indicated by all the image files recorded on the recording medium 18. Good.

  Here, the user designates an image to be trimmed from the displayed candidate list by operating the trackball 62.

  Therefore, in the next step 122, the user waits for the designation of the image, and in the next step 124, the image selected by the user (hereinafter referred to as “original image”) in the same manner as the processing in step 104 of the shooting mode processing. Is displayed on the LCD 38.

  On the other hand, the user confirms whether the original image displayed on the LCD 38 is a desired image, and then presses the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F to determine whether or not to execute the trimming function. Enter.

  In the next step 126, processing similar to that in step 106 of the photographing mode processing is performed. If the determination is negative, the image editing processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 126 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 128, and the same processing as that in step 108 of the shooting mode processing is performed.

  Here, the user confirms the display content of the LCD 38 and presses the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F, whereby only the image information of the trimmed image and the preview displayed image or only the image information of the trimmed image is displayed. Is recorded on the recording medium 18.

  Therefore, in step 130, the process waits for the pressing operation of the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F, and in step 132, it is determined whether or not the image information indicating the trimmed image is to be recorded on the recording medium 18. If a detection signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the key operation by the user, the determination is negative, and the process returns to step 124 again. On the other hand, if a detection signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, an affirmative determination is made in step 132, and the routine proceeds to step 134.

  In step 134, the image file indicating the original image and the image file indicating the trimmed image are associated and recorded on the recording medium, and then the main image editing process is terminated.

  In the digital camera 10, generally, when image information indicating a photographed image is recorded on the recording medium 18 as an image file, a file name is automatically assigned to the image file. As an example, as shown in FIG. 7, an image file with a file name including a serial number in the shooting order is stored in an area for storing an image file indicating an image shot by the digital camera 10 of the recording medium 18. Remembered.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as an association between the image file indicating the original image and the image file indicating the trimmed image, for example, as illustrated in FIG. The file name with “T” indicating that it is a trimmed image is automatically given to the end of the file name of the image file and recorded on the recording medium 18.
(Image print processing)
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of an image print processing program executed by the CPU 11 every predetermined period (in this embodiment, 1 second) during execution of the image print processing. It is stored in advance in the ROM of the storage unit 26. Hereinafter, the image print processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the image print processing program, steps that perform the same processing as the image editing processing described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  By the way, when executing this image print processing, the user confirms the display content on the LCD 38 when the trimming frame is determined, and presses the determination key 56D or the cancel key 56F to execute the printing of the trimmed image by the printer 46. Enter whether or not to do.

  Therefore, if the determination in step 130 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 140 to determine whether or not to print a trimmed image. If a signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the user's operation, the process returns to step 124 again. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, it is determined that the trimmed image is to be printed, and the process proceeds to step 142.

  In step 142, the trimmed image and an image whose image information is changed so as to change only the brightness (EV value) of the image trimmed image are displayed on the LCD 38.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a trimmed image (image displayed in the upper part in the example shown in FIG. 9) and two images in which only the brightness of the trimmed image is changed (in the example shown in FIG. 9, in the lower part). In addition to displaying three images (displayed images), the cursor 51 (in the example shown in FIG. 9) for selecting any one of the three images is displayed on the display. A rectangular frame-shaped cursor).

  On the other hand, the user operates the cross cursor key 56E to move the cursor 51 so as to indicate an image having a desired brightness among the three images displayed on the LCD 38, and presses the enter key 56D to operate 1 Select one image.

  Therefore, in step 144, selection of an image having the desired brightness is awaited, and in the next step 146, printing of the selected image is executed. That is, the image information indicating the image selected by the user through the printer interface 45 is converted into printable information and information including the print instruction is output to the printer 46, and the process proceeds to step 134.

  In this image printing process, the image selected in step 144 (the image actually printed) is regarded as a trimmed image, and in step 134, image information indicating the selected image is stored in the recording medium 18 as an image file. Record.

  When the user does not execute the trimming function, the user presses the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F again.

  Therefore, if a negative determination is made in step 126 in the main image print processing, the process proceeds to step 148 to determine whether or not to print the original image, and the cancel key 56F is pressed as a result of the operation by the user. If a signal indicating that the image has been input, the image print processing is terminated. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, the process proceeds to step 150.

In step 150, the image information recorded as the image file of the original image selected via the printer interface 45 is converted into printable information and information including print instruction information is output to the printer 46. After executing the printing, the image printing process is terminated.
(Image transfer processing)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of an image transfer processing program executed by the CPU 11 every predetermined period (1 second in the present embodiment) during execution of the image transfer processing. It is stored in advance in the ROM of the storage unit 26. Hereinafter, the image transfer processing according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the image transfer processing program, steps that perform the same processing as the above-described image editing processing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment will be described on the assumption that image information is recorded on the recording medium 18 in an image file format called Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) (details will be described later).

  By the way, when executing the main image transfer process, when the user determines the trimming frame, the user confirms the display contents on the LCD 38 and presses the determination key 56D or the cancel key 56F to transfer the trimmed image to the PC 48. Enter whether or not to execute.

  Therefore, if the determination in step 130 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 160 to determine whether or not to transfer the trimmed image. If a signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the user's operation, the process returns to step 124 again. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, it is determined that image information indicating a trimmed image is to be transferred, and the process proceeds to step 162 to prepare for transfer. .

  In step 162, the size (capacity) of the image file indicating the original image is recorded as supplementary information of the image file indicating the trimmed image.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the image file in the Exif format includes a start code area 60A, a tag area 60B, a thumbnail image area 60C, and a main image area 60D. In the tag area 60B, various types of information such as the shooting conditions, shooting date and time, and shooting location of the image indicated by the image information stored in the main image area 60D can be stored as supplementary information related to the image information. In the main image transfer process, the number of pixels, the storage capacity, and the like are stored as the size of the original image in the tag area 60B in the image file of the trimmed image.

  In the next step 164, transfer of the image file indicating the trimmed image to the PC 46 is executed. That is, an image file indicating a trimmed image is output to the PC 47 via the external device interface 47, and the process proceeds to step 134.

  On the other hand, when the user does not execute the trimming function, the user presses the enter key 56D or the cancel key 56F again.

  Therefore, if a negative determination is made in step 126 in the main image print processing, the process proceeds to step 166 to determine whether or not to transfer the image file of the original image. If a signal indicating that the cancel key 56F has been pressed is input as a result of the user's operation, the image transfer process is terminated. On the other hand, if a signal indicating that the enter key 56D has been pressed is input, the process proceeds to step 168.

  In step 168, the image file of the original image selected via the external device interface 47 is output to the PC 47 to execute the transfer, and then the main image transfer process is terminated.

  As described above in detail, according to the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, the image indicated by the image file is displayed on the LCD 38, and the trackball 62 provided so as to be able to rotate in any direction is provided. The position indicated by the cursor 50 in the display area on the LCD 38 is designated by the rotation operation, and the image area based on the designated position is used as a trimming area, and image information corresponding to the trimming area is extracted from the image information indicating the image. Therefore, the operability when designating the trimming area can be improved.

  In addition, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, in addition to a rotation operation in any direction with respect to the trackball 62, a pressing operation in a predetermined direction can be performed, and the pressing operation is detected by the microswitch 66. Therefore, the designated position indicated by the cursor 50 in the display area is changed in accordance with the rotation operation on the trackball 62 in an arbitrary direction, and the designated position is determined by the pressing operation on the trackball 62 in the predetermined direction. Thus, the designated position can be input only by operating the trackball device 60, and the operability when the trimming area is designated can be further improved.

  Furthermore, according to the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, in the shooting mode process, the instruction information indicating whether or not only the image information extracted by trimming is stored in the recording medium 18 is input, and at least the trimmed image is displayed. Since the displayed image information can be recorded as an image file on the recording medium 18, the recording capacity of the recording medium 18 can be saved when only the image information indicating the trimmed image is recorded as an image file. When both the image information indicating the trimmed image and the image information displayed on the LCD 38 are stored as an image file, the entire image before extracting the image information can be referred to.

  In addition, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, image information indicating an image in a desired region can be extracted with high operability from image information indicating a preview image at the time of shooting by shooting mode processing. .

  Further, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, image information indicating an image in a desired region can be extracted with high operability from image information indicating a reproduced and displayed image by image editing processing. .

  Furthermore, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, when image information of a trimmed image and image information of an original image are recorded on the recording medium 18 as image files in image editing processing and image printing processing, Since these image files are recorded in association with each other, it is possible to easily determine from which image the trimmed image is trimmed.

  Further, according to the digital camera 10 of the present embodiment, when both the image information indicating the trimmed image and the image information indicating the original image are stored in the recording medium 18 as image files, the image file of the original image is stored. Since the information capacity is stored in the recording medium 18 as supplementary information of the image file of the trimmed image, it can be used again as a criterion for determining whether or not to read the image file of the original image.

  Furthermore, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, a plurality of pieces of image information in which the brightness of the trimmed image indicated by the image information is made different from each other based on the image information indicating the trimmed image are generated. A plurality of images indicated by the image information are displayed on the LCD 38, and image information indicating one selected image among the displayed images is recorded on the recording medium 18 as an image file of the trimmed image. Can be recorded as good brightness.

  In addition, the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment further includes the printer interface 45 and the external device interface 47 for outputting the image file to the outside, so that a printer such as the printer 46 and an external device such as the PC 48 are provided. By outputting the image file of the trimmed image, the range of use of the trimmed image is expanded.

  Furthermore, according to the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, the print instruction information can be output to the printer 46 via the printer interface 45, so that the image information is directly output to the printer without using an information terminal device such as a PC. The trimmed image can be printed by so-called direct printing.

  In the present embodiment, the trimming area is determined according to the positions of two opposing vertices of the rectangular trimming frame specified by the user's rotation operation and pressing operation on the trackball 62. The present invention is not limited to this, as long as it is determined according to the user's rotation operation on the trackball 62.

  Further, in the present embodiment, in the playback mode, processing according to a selection state on a menu screen (not shown) is assumed to be performed, but the three processings have been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, three or more processes may be performed in the playback mode, or only one process may be performed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the description has been given of the mode in which the user selects whether to record only the image information indicating the trimmed image as an image file only in the shooting mode. Only the image information shown may be selected. However, in the playback mode, since the image file of the original image has already been recorded on the recording medium 18, when it is selected to record only the image information indicating the trimmed image, the image information indicating the trimmed image is displayed. It is necessary to record the image file on the recording medium 18 as an image file and delete the image file of the original image from the recording medium 18.

  Furthermore, in the digital camera 10 according to the present embodiment, image information is recorded on the recording medium 18 in the Exif format, and the size of the image information indicating the original image is trimmed in the image transfer process. Although the form which memorize | stores as incidental information in an area | region was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this.

  For example, image information may be recorded on the recording medium 18 according to the DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standard, and stored as supplementary information related to trimmed image information in a predetermined area of the DPOF file.

  In the present embodiment, the description has been made assuming that the trimming image to be recorded on the recording medium 18 is associated with the original image using the file name. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and DPOF is used. You may make it record as incidental information using a standard or an Exif format.

  Note that the processing flow of the flowcharts described in the present embodiment (see FIGS. 4, 6, 8, and 10) is an example, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. Needless to say.

  For example, in the shooting mode processing program shown in FIG. 4, when a trimmed image is recorded on the recording medium 18, the image information indicating the trimmed image is recorded as an image file without being processed. It may be processed and recorded so as to be the same size as. Further, an enlarged image indicated by the processed image information may be displayed on the LCD 38 as a preview image.

  The above-described configuration of the digital camera 10 (see FIGS. 1 to 3) is merely an example, and it is needless to say that the configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is an external view which shows the external appearance of the digital camera which concerns on embodiment. It is a partially cutaway sectional view showing the configuration and operation of the trackball device according to the embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the electric system of the digital camera which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the imaging | photography mode processing program which CPU performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display state of LCD in imaging | photography mode process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the image edit process program which CPU performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows the recording state of a recording medium. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of an image print processing program executed by a CPU. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the display state of LCD in an image print process. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of a process of the image transfer process program which CPU performs. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the file produced by the Exif format.

Explanation of symbols

10 Digital camera 11 CPU (trimming means, storage control means, display control means)
18 Recording media (storage means)
24 CCD (imaging means)
38 LCD (display means)
45 Printer interface (output means)
47 External equipment interface (output means)
56C Menu key (instruction input means)
56D decision key (instruction input means, selection means, print instruction input means)
56F cancel key (instruction input means)
60 Trackball device (position designation means)
62 Trackball (Rotating body)
66 Micro switch (Pressing detection means)

Claims (11)

Display means for displaying an image indicated by the image information;
A position specifying means for specifying a position in the display area of the display means by a rotating operation with respect to the rotating body, the rotating body provided so as to be capable of rotating in any direction;
Trimming for extracting image information corresponding to the trimming area from image information indicating the image, with the area of the image based on the position designated by the position designation means in a state where the image is displayed on the display means as a trimming area Means,
An image extraction apparatus comprising: The rotating body included in the position specifying means is provided so that a pressing operation in a predetermined direction can be performed in addition to a rotating operation in an arbitrary direction, and the pressing operation on the rotating body is detected by the position specifying means. The image extraction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a pressing detection unit that performs the operation. Storage means for storing image information;
Instruction input means for inputting instruction information indicating whether or not only the image information extracted by the trimming means is stored in the storage means;
When the instruction information input by the instruction input unit indicates that only the image information extracted by the trimming unit is stored in the storage unit, only the image information is stored in the storage unit, and in other cases Storage control means for storing the image information indicating the image information and the image displayed on the display means in the storage means;
The image extracting device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: An image pickup unit that acquires image information indicating a subject image as the image information;
The image extraction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image displayed on the display unit is a preview image displayed before the image information acquired by the imaging unit is stored in the storage unit. The image extraction apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image displayed on the display unit is a reproduced image indicated by image information stored in the storage unit. When the storage control unit stores both the image information extracted by the trimming unit and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display unit in the storage unit, the storage control unit stores the image information in association with each other. The image extraction device according to claim 3. The storage control means indicates the image displayed on the display means when storing both the image information extracted by the trimming means and the image information indicating the image displayed on the display means in the storage means. The image extracting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein an information capacity of image information is stored in the storage unit as supplementary information of the image information extracted by the trimming unit. Based on the image information extracted by the trimming means, a plurality of image information in which the brightness of the image indicated by the image information is made different from each other is generated, and a plurality of images indicated by the plurality of image information are displayed on the display means. Display control means for displaying on,
Selecting means for selecting one of the plurality of images displayed on the display means;
Further comprising
The image extraction according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the storage control unit stores image information indicating an image selected by the selection unit in the storage unit as image information extracted by the trimming unit. apparatus.   The image extracting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit configured to output image information extracted by the trimming unit to the outside. A print instruction input means for inputting print instruction information for instructing printing of the image information extracted by the trimming means;
The image extraction apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the output unit further outputs the print instruction information. Display the image indicated by the image information on the display means,
The position in the display area in the display means is designated by a rotation operation with respect to a rotating body that can be rotated in an arbitrary direction,
An image extraction method for extracting image information corresponding to a trimming region from image information indicating the image, using the region of the image based on a designated position as a trimming region.

Images