JP2005080226A - Electronic still camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electronic still camera enabling restoration of an accidentally erased image. <P>SOLUTION: An image picked up by an imaging section 2 is divided into management information and image data, and stored in an image recorder 6. When an erasing instruction is outputted from an operating section 1 to an erasing section 7, the management information of an image for which an erasing instruction is issued among combinations of management information and image data stored for each image is read and stored in an erased data cache section 4b of a RAM 4. When restoring the image, the management information of an image for which a restoration instruction is issued is read from the cache section 4b, the corresponding image data are read from the recorder 6 using the management information for which a reading instruction is issued, and the read image data are displayed on a display unit 5 as an image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic still camera having an image deletion function. In particular, it is possible to restore an image that has been individually deleted from the recording medium of an electronic still camera, to recover all images that have been deleted from the recording medium, or to format the recording medium. The present invention relates to an electronic still camera suitable for restoring all the images that have been recorded.

  An electronic still camera usually has a function of deleting an image recorded on a recording medium such as a compact flash (registered trademark). When deleting individual images that are no longer needed in the electronic still camera, the image to be deleted and a warning message for confirmation of deletion are displayed on the color monitor (LCD screen) of the electronic still camera, and no special operation is performed. By preventing images from being deleted, accidental deletion is prevented.

The electronic still camera has a function of deleting a plurality of images recorded on a recording medium at once. The electronic still camera has a function of formatting a recording medium. When such batch deletion or formatting is performed, all images are deleted.
Note that there are the following as prior arts for restoring individually deleted images in an electronic still camera. That is, an area for recording a deletion history is provided on a nonvolatile recording medium on which an image is recorded. Using the recorded deletion history, a search is performed on the condition that the last access from the recording medium is deletion and no new writing (overwriting) is performed. As a result, the remaining images that are not overwritten are searched, and the file names of the searched images are displayed to notify the user which image can be restored (see Patent Document 1).
JP, 2000-135711, A Paragraph Nos. 0017, 0018

The prior art has the following problems.
First, in the electronic still camera, when deleting a plurality of images recorded on the recording medium at once, or deleting all of the plurality of images recorded on the recording medium by formatting the recording medium, delete Therefore, it is difficult to prevent erroneous deletion.

Secondly, when deleting individual images that are no longer necessary in an electronic still camera, it is not possible to delete the images unless special operations (such as confirmation of the deleted images) are performed as described above. Deletion is prevented. However, a user may perform an erroneous operation in the process of performing a special operation and delete a necessary image.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic still camera that makes it possible to restore an erroneously deleted image.

The electronic still camera according to claim 1, an imaging unit that images a subject, an image recording unit that stores an image captured by the imaging unit, and a deletion unit that deletes management information of an image stored in the image recording unit When the deletion unit deletes the management information of the image, the deletion unit includes a deletion image holding unit that holds the management information of the image to be deleted.
The electronic still camera according to claim 2 is the electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein the deleted image holding means is constituted by a volatile memory, and the deleted image holding means holds management information of the deleted image. And a power control unit that operates to turn off the power supplied to the deleted image holding unit.

The electronic still camera according to claim 3 is the electronic still camera according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the management information of the deleted image is held when the management information of the deleted image is held in the deletion image holding means. It is characterized by comprising a display unit for displaying a warning that the message is held.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic still camera according to any one of the first to third aspects, when the deletion unit deletes the images all at once, the deletion image holding unit deletes all the images. The management information is stored.

  The electronic still camera according to claim 5 is the electronic still camera according to claim 1, wherein a deletion image writing area for writing management information of the deletion image stored in the deletion image holding means is provided in the image recording means, and The management information storage means for storing the management information stored in the deleted image holding means in the deleted image writing area when the electronic still camera is turned off; and the image recording when the electronic still camera is turned on. Management information reading means for reading management information stored in the deleted image writing area in the means, and management information storage means for storing the management information read by the management information reading means in the deleted image holding means. Features.

The electronic still camera according to claim 6 is the electronic still camera according to claim 6, wherein the deleted image holding means is deleted in chronological order based on the date information included in the management information of the deleted image. The image management information is discarded.
The electronic still camera according to claim 7 is provided with image data temporary holding means for temporarily holding an image picked up by the image pickup means, and a partial area of the image data temporary holding means is used as the deleted image holding means. To do.

According to the present invention, since the management information of the deleted image is held in the deleted image holding means different from the image recording means, the image deleted from the image recording means based on the held management information Can be resurrected.
Further, according to the present invention, when the management information of the deleted image is held in the deleted image holding unit, the power supplied to the deleted image holding unit is not turned off. Loss of management information can be prevented. Therefore, the image deleted from the image recording means can be restored based on the held management information.

Further, according to the present invention, a warning that the deleted image management information is held is displayed on the deleted image holding means, so that the user can erroneously delete the management information by powering off the deleted image. Can be prevented.
Further, according to the present invention, when performing batch deletion or formatting of the images recorded in the image recording means, the management information of all the images is stored in the deleted image holding means. It can be restored to the recording means.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the power of the electronic still camera is turned off, the management information of the deleted image is written in the image recording means composed of a nonvolatile memory (for example, a compact flash (registered trademark)), When the power is turned on, the management information of the deleted image is read from the image recording unit and stored in the deleted image holding unit. Therefore, even if the electronic still camera is turned off, the management of the deleted image stored in the deleted image holding unit is performed. Information is prevented from being lost.

Further, according to the present invention, management information is deleted in the order of old date, and management information of a new date is retained.
Further, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a special recording medium as the deleted image holding means.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, 1 is an operation unit for operating camera switches, 2 is an imaging unit for imaging a subject, 3 is A / D conversion of analog data obtained by imaging, color temperature adjustment, gamma adjustment, and color space. An image processing unit that performs conversion processing, 4 is a RAM, 5 is a display unit (liquid crystal screen), 6 is an image recording unit that records captured images, 7 is a deletion unit that is recorded in the image recording unit 6 and deletes images. Reference numeral 8 denotes a power control unit that controls the power of each unit of the electronic still camera. Here, the RAM 4 is divided into an area of the image data temporary storage unit 4a and an area of the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b. Further, the area of the image data temporary storage unit 4a and the area of the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b are not variable areas but variable areas. The deleted data temporary storage unit 4b corresponds to a deleted image holding unit described in the claims.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the same parts as those in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the imaging unit 2 includes a lens 21, a CCD 22, a preprocessing unit 23, an A / D converter 24, and a CCD driver 25. Similarly, the image processing unit 3 includes an ASIC 31, a CPU 32, and a CPU program memory 33. Similarly, the deletion unit 7 includes a CPU 32 and a CPU program memory 33.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram specifically showing the image recording unit 6 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in the figure, the image recording unit 6 is divided into a management area 61 and a data area 62. The management area 61 is divided into a plurality of areas such as entries 1 to n. Each entry 1 to n indicates the start address of the data area 62 in which image data is stored, and the data amount of the image data, file Stores information such as name and shooting date. The data area 62 stores actual image data 1 to n corresponding to the entries 1 to n. Each entry 1 to n of the image recording unit 6 performs address management of image data in units of clusters called FAT (not shown) in the MS-DOS format.

Next, the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described.
The operation unit 1 instructs the imaging unit 2 to perform imaging. The imaging unit 2 captures an image based on an instruction from the operation unit 1. As a result, the imaging unit 2 forms an image captured by the lens 21 on the CCD 22. The CCD 22 converts the image captured by the lens 21 into an analog signal by the action of the CCD driver 25 and outputs the analog signal to the preprocessing unit 23. The pre-processing unit 23 performs processing such as signal amplification and black level adjustment on the analog signal input from the CCD 22, and then outputs the processed signal to the A / D converter 24. The A / D converter 24 converts the analog signal into a digital signal and outputs it to the ASIC 31 of the image processing unit 3.

The ASIC 31 of the image processing unit 3 receives the digital signal from the A / D converter 24, performs image processing such as color temperature adjustment, gamma adjustment, and color space conversion processing, and stores the image data in the image data temporary storage unit 4a of the RAM 4. .
Thereafter, based on an instruction from the operation unit 1, the image processing unit 3 displays the image stored in the image data temporary storage unit 4 a on the display unit 5 or stores it in the image recording unit 6. Specifically, the CPU 32 displays an image on the display unit 5 and stores image data in the image recording unit 6 in accordance with a program stored in the CPU program memory 33. Further, a plurality of image data is stored in the image recording unit 6 by repeatedly performing the above-described photographing operation.

  When an instruction to delete the image stored in the image recording unit 6 is output from the operation unit 1, as a result, the deletion unit 7 including the CPU 32 and the CPU program memory 33 corresponds to the designated image. Only the entry in the management area 61 is deleted (the image processing unit 3 displays the image data to be deleted on the display unit 5), and the image data existing in the data area 62 is not deleted. Therefore, in this state, the image data itself is not deleted from the data area 62 of the image recording unit 6. The deletion unit 7 stores the management information (entry) of the image for which the deletion instruction has been received, in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4 b in the RAM 4 together with the date of deletion. The image data that has been instructed to be deleted is held until the area on the data area 62 where the image data is recorded is overwritten.

Other deletion methods include the following. That is, an instruction to delete the image stored in the image recording unit 6 is output from the operation unit 1. As a result, the deletion unit 7 deletes the image instructed to be deleted from the image recording unit 6, and stores the deleted instructed image in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b together with the date of deletion.
When an instruction to delete all images stored in the recording unit 6 is output from the operation unit 1, the following operation is performed. That is, the deletion unit 7 including the CPU 32 and the CPU program memory 33 deletes all entries in the management area 61 and does not delete actual image data. Therefore, in this state, the image data itself is not deleted from the data area 62 of the image recording unit 6. When receiving the batch deletion instruction, the deletion unit 7 stores the management information (entries) of all the images in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b in the RAM 4 together with the date of deletion.

  The same applies when an instruction to format the recording unit 6 is output from the operation unit 1. That is, the deletion unit 7 constituted by the CPU 32 and the CPU program memory 33 deletes all entries in the management area 61 and does not delete actual image data. Therefore, in this state, the image data itself is not deleted from the data area 62 of the image recording unit 6. When receiving the format instruction, the deletion unit 7 stores the management information (entries) of all the images in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b in the RAM 4 together with the date of formatting.

As is clear from the above description, even if the image data stored in the data area 62 in the image recording unit 6 is deleted, batch deleted, or formatted by the deleting unit 7, the deleted data is temporarily stored. The data area 62 corresponding to the entry stored in the section 4b is recorded until the area is overwritten.
When the operation unit 1 instructs the restoration of the deleted image, the image processing unit 3 operates as follows. That is, the image processing unit 3 reads the management information (entry) instructed to be restored from the deletion data temporary storage unit 4 b and stores it in the management area of the image recording unit 6. Next, the image processing unit 3 reads the corresponding image data from the data area 62. With the above operation, for example, the restored image can be displayed on the display unit 5. These operations are realized by a program stored in the CPU 32 and the CPU program memory 33.

  Further, when a power-off operation is performed on the operation unit 1, a power-off instruction is output to the CPU 32 of the image processing unit 3. At this time, it is assumed that deletion data (image data or management information (entry)) is stored in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b. In this case, the image processing unit 3 displays on the display unit 5 that the management information (entry) of the deleted image is temporarily stored. Thereafter, when a power-off permission signal is not output from the operation unit 1, the power control unit 8 continues to supply power, and the electronic still camera maintains a movable state. This is to prevent the management information (entries) stored in the deleted data temporary storage unit 4b from being lost if the power is turned off because the RAM 4 is a volatile memory. In addition, when the power-off permission signal is not output from the operation unit 1, the power may be supplied only to the RAM 4 of the volatile memory.

When a power-off permission signal is output from the operation unit 1, the power control unit 8 completely stops power supply to each unit, and the electronic still camera stops operating.
The operation when the power is turned off may be as follows. When the power of the electronic still camera is turned off, a certain area (not shown) is secured in the image recording unit 6 shown in FIG. 3, and management information (entry) stored in the deleted data temporary storage unit is stored in this area. Write. Next, when the power of the electronic still camera is turned on, the management information (entry) stored in a certain area in the image recording unit 6 is read and written in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b. As a result, the management information (entry) is retained even when the power of the electronic still camera is turned off, and the power control of the RAM 4 becomes unnecessary. These operations are realized by a program stored in the ASIC 31, the CPU 32, and the CPU program memory 33 of the image processing unit 3.

  Further, when the memory capacity of the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b is insufficient, the deletion unit 7 can discard the management information (entries) in order from the oldest date when the image was deleted, and store new management information. Management function. In this case, the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 holds the deletion date as management information (entry). In this example, the management information (entries) is described as being discarded in ascending order of date from which the image was deleted. However, the management information (entries) may be discarded in the order of the imaging date and time. The imaging date and time is usually included in image management information (entry).

  Further, when the electronic still camera performs continuous shooting, the image data temporary storage unit 4a requires a large memory capacity. Therefore, when the image data temporary storage unit 4a and the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b are shared by the RAM 4, if the number of frames for continuous shooting is large, a situation may occur in which the area of the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b cannot be taken. This can be solved by limiting the number of frames for continuous shooting.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, management information is stored in the deleted data temporary storage unit 4 b and the stored management information is returned to the management area 6 of the image recording unit 6. As a result, the deleted image data can be restored. Further, since the management information stored in the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b does not include image data, the amount of memory used can be minimized. Moreover, since the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b uses a part of the image data temporary storage unit 4a, the use efficiency of the RAM 4 can be improved. In the above-described embodiment, the image data temporary storage unit 4a and the deletion data temporary storage unit 4b are configured by the RAM 4. Thereby, this embodiment can be realized at low cost without providing an extra memory.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to restore individual images that have been erroneously deleted, images that have been deleted by batch deletion, and images that have been deleted by formatting, simply by operating the electronic still camera.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific structure of one Embodiment shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the specific of the image recording part shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Operation part 2 Imaging part 3 Image processing part 4 RAM
4a Image data temporary storage unit 4b Deleted data temporary storage unit 5 Display unit 6 Image recording unit 7 Deletion unit 8 Power supply control unit 21 Lens 22 CCD
23 Pre-Processing Unit 24 A / D Converter 25 CCD Driver 31 ASIC
32 CPU
33 CPU program memory 61 Management area 62 Data area

Claims (7)

Imaging means for imaging a subject;
Image recording means for storing an image captured by the imaging means;
Deleting means for deleting the management information of the image stored in the image recording means;
An electronic still camera comprising: deleted image holding means for holding management information of an image to be deleted when the deleting means deletes image management information. The electronic still camera according to claim 1.
The deleted image holding means is composed of a volatile memory,
An electronic still camera comprising: a power control unit that operates to not turn off the power supplied to the deleted image holding unit when management information of the deleted image is held in the deleted image holding unit . The electronic still camera according to claim 1 or 2,
When the management information of the deleted image is held in the deleted image holding means, a display unit for displaying a warning that the management information of the deleted image is held is provided. Electronic still camera. The electronic still camera according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An electronic still camera, wherein when the deletion unit deletes images all at once, the deletion image holding unit stores management information of all images. The electronic still camera according to claim 1.
A deletion image writing area for writing management information of a deletion image stored in the deletion image holding unit in the image recording unit;
Management information storage means for storing management information stored in the deleted image holding means in the deleted image writing area when the electronic still camera is turned off;
Management information reading means for reading management information stored in the deleted image writing area in the image recording means when the power is turned on;
An electronic still camera comprising: management information storage means for storing management information read by the management information reading means in the deleted image holding means. The electronic still camera according to claim 1.
The electronic still camera, wherein the deleted image holding means discards the management information of the deleted images in order from the oldest date based on the date information included in the management information of the deleted images. The electronic still camera according to claim 2.
Image data temporary holding means for temporarily holding an image picked up by the image pickup means;
An electronic still camera characterized in that a partial area of the image data temporary holding means is used as the deleted image holding means.

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