JP2005326908A - Image data processing method, image processing device, image processing program, image data management method, and image management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage high resolution data and low resolution data separately surely while keeping relevancy between them with a simple and inexpensive configuration. <P>SOLUTION: Image data are divided and recorded with the use of an original image file 100 which includes object image data and is stored in a predetermined storage position on a remote host or a local host, and a shortcut image file 101 which includes an address tag showing the storage position of the original image file 100, and a thumbnail image data 110 representing the content of the original image file 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image data processing method for dividing and recording image data using hardware of the image processing device, an image processing device, an image processing program, an image data management method for dividing and managing image data by the image processing device, and a line network. The present invention relates to an image management system having an image processing apparatus and a server connected to each other.

  As an image data management system, an image data format is known in which high-resolution real image data and low-resolution thumbnail image data are stored in one image file, as in the DCF standard.

  DCF (Design rule for Camera File system) is a specification standardized by ISO as an image data format for digital cameras, but is based on the Exif (Exchangeable Image File) format established by JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association). These DCF / Exif formats are almost the same data format.

  The structure of an image in the DCF / Exif format is basically a normal JPEG image format itself, in which data such as thumbnail images and shooting information is embedded in a form that complies with the JPEG rules. According to such a management method, when it is desired to know detailed information of the image data, the high resolution image data is referred to, and when the outline of the image data is known, the low resolution image data is referred to. There is an advantage that information to be referred can be selected depending on the purpose of using data.

  However, on the other hand, according to the above image data management method, the low-resolution image data and the high-resolution image data are always configured as one file, so it is only necessary to know the outline of the image data. Even when the image data is not referred to, there is a problem that it must be handled as a large file size including high-resolution image data.

  In particular, in data communication such as e-mail or FAX, it is important to improve the data size of the image file to be transmitted and received. For example, low resolution image data and high resolution image data are separated to obtain a low resolution image. Only the data is sent by e-mail, and the recipient receives high-resolution image data by another communication means only when high-resolution image data is required, according to the link destination instruction written on the e-mail. A method has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).

Although not limited to image data, as a method for dividing and managing programs and data files, so-called shortcuts, aliases, and symbolic links that indicate the location of the actual program or data file on a PC or the like. A method using a link file called “etc.” is known.
JP-A-10-233860

  In the image data management method described in Patent Document 1, the location of high-resolution image data is stored in the e-mail body. Therefore, when acquiring high-resolution image data, the low-resolution image data is always acquired. There was a problem that an e-mail body with image data attached was necessary. In other words, it is not possible to refer to an image file including high-resolution image data using only the image file composed of low-resolution image data as a clue, for example, when the e-mail text has been deleted. In this case, it becomes impossible to refer to an image file of high-resolution image data.

  Also, in the method of dividing and managing the actual program and files, such as shortcuts, aliases, and symbolic links, the OS can be used to obtain an outline of the original image from the link file when managing the image file. It was necessary to refer to the image management file of the original image such as the system file separately. That is, the image image of the original image file could not be known only from the link file.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to enable high-resolution data and low-resolution data to be managed separately with certainty while maintaining the relationship between them with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in an image data processing method, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing program for dividing and recording image data using hardware of the image processing apparatus,
A first image file containing the image data and stored in a predetermined storage location on a remote host or local host;
A configuration in which the image data is divided and recorded using an address tag indicating the storage location of the first image file and a second image file including image data representing the contents of the image data included in the first image file ( Claim 1) was adopted.

In the image data management method for dividing and managing image data,
A first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image;
A configuration in which each of the address tag indicating the location of the first image file and the second image file including the second image is divided and stored in different positions (claim 11), or
A first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image is managed by a server on the network;
On the other hand, a configuration in which an address tag indicating the location of the first image file and a second image file including the second image are stored in an image processing apparatus connected to the network (claim 12), or ,
Managing a first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image in a first folder;
On the other hand, a configuration is adopted in which an address tag indicating the location of the first image file and a second image file including the second image are stored in a folder different from the first folder (Claim 13). did.

In an image management system having an image processing apparatus and a server connected to a network,
The image processing apparatus receives, from the first image file including the first image, a second image having a lower resolution than the first image and information indicating a storage position of the first image file on the server. Image file generating means for generating a second image file, first storage means for storing the first and second image files, and image transfer means for transferring the first image file to the server. And having
The server includes a second storage unit that stores a first image file transferred from the image processing apparatus;
Further, the image processing apparatus includes a deleting unit that deletes the first image file from the storage unit after transferring the first image file to the server by the image transfer unit (claim 18). Adopted.

  According to the above-described configuration, high-resolution data and low-resolution data can be managed separately with certainty while maintaining the relationship between them with a simple and inexpensive configuration. For example, when the user wants to know the outline of the image, only the image data of the second image file having a small file size is used, and when the user wants to know the details of the image, only the second image file is used as a clue. There is an excellent effect that high-resolution image data can be used. In particular, since the storage location of the first image file is included as an address tag in the second image file itself, for example, even if the e-mail body that transmitted the second image file is lost, the second image file is stored in the second image file. There is an excellent effect that the first image file can be reached only from the image file.

  In particular, each of the address tag indicating the location of the first image file and the second image file including the second image can be divided and stored in different positions. The second image file can be managed by different hosts such as the image processing apparatus and the server, or can be managed by different folders in the file system of the image processing apparatus.

  Further, in a system having an image processing device and a server, the image processing device includes a second image having a lower resolution than the first image and a first image file from the first image file including the first image. After generating the second image file including information indicating the storage position on the server, the first image file is transferred to the server and stored in the server, and then the first image is stored from the storage means such as the HDD. You can delete the file. Thereafter, the image processing apparatus can reach the first image file stored in the server using the address tag included in the second image file and use the image data.

  An embodiment for managing image data in an image processing apparatus such as a digital camera or a personal computer will be described below.

  FIG. 7 shows a processing environment to which the image data management method of this embodiment can be applied. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes a terminal. Specifically, this terminal includes a PC terminal, a scanner, a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as DCS), and the like.

  Hereinafter, it is assumed that the terminal 701 is a PC terminal, and the terminal 701 includes a CPU 704, a memory 705, an HDD 706, and the like, and can be connected to the network 703 via the network interface 710. A server 702 that provides an online photo album service or the like is provided on the network 703. Although the illustration of the hardware configuration of the server 702 is omitted, in reality, this type of server is configured using hardware equivalent to a PC shown as that of the terminal 701, and thus the server 702 is also connected to the terminal 701. Similarly, a CPU, a memory, an HDD, and the like are used.

  Image data to be managed in the present embodiment (hereinafter referred to as original image) is input to the terminal 701 or the server 702 from an image input unit 707 connected via an interface 708 such as a USB.

  In the present embodiment, the first image in the claims of the present application is called an original image, and the second image is called a shortcut image. Of these, the original image includes the original high-resolution image, and the shortcut image includes at least information indicating the location of the original image, and further includes a thumbnail image of the original image.

  In this embodiment, the DCF / Exif format is used as the basic format of image data. Therefore, in the following description, as a term indicating a specific portion of an image file, a term indicating a corresponding portion in the DCF / Exif standard (or JPEG standard) is used as necessary.

  Here, the data format of the original image and the shortcut image will be described with reference to FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 indicates the file format of the original image (upper part of FIG. 1). SOI (103) is an abbreviation for Start of Image, and is a marker code (usually 0xFFD8) indicating the head of compressed image data. EOI (104) is an abbreviation for End of Image, and is a marker code (usually 0xFFD9) indicating the end of compressed image data paired with SOI. The DCF standard stipulates that data starts with SOI and ends with EOI.

  APP1 is an application marker segment, and additional information of the main image and a thumbnail image that is low-resolution image data are stored in the area of APP1. The marker value of APP1 is normally 0xFFE1, and this APP1 data segment 105 is configured by storing 2 bytes of size data and an actual data area after this marker.

  The high-resolution main image (DCF basic main image) is stored following the APP1 data segment 105 as indicated by reference numeral 106.

  The thumbnail image 110 is stored in the APP1 data segment 105. Like the DCF basic file, the thumbnail image 110 is defined to start with SOI and end with EOI. The thumbnail image data is stored as the main image (DCF basic main image) 107 of the thumbnail image 110, that is, the thumbnail image 110 itself is also described in the DCF format. Note that the APP1 data segment 105 of the thumbnail image 110 may have the same data as the APP1 data segment 105 of the DCF basic file.

  In contrast to the thumbnail image 110, the DCF basic main image 106 is composed of high-resolution image data.

  The original image conforming to the DCF standard shown in the upper part of FIG. 1 includes a low-resolution thumbnail image 110 and a high-resolution main image 106. When it is desired to know, the main image 106 may be referred to. The thumbnail image 110 is used for displaying a thumbnail on a display device such as an LCD in a digital camera or the like.

  In the lower part of FIG. 1, the file format of the shortcut image of this embodiment is indicated by reference numeral 101. The shortcut image 101 is configured in the DCF basic file format like the original image, and has a thumbnail image like the original image. However, the shortcut image 101 of the present embodiment has a first feature like the original image. It does not have high resolution DCF basic image data. Alternatively, the shortcut image 101 may have DCF basic image data, but in this embodiment, NULL data 111 is stored at a position where the DCF basic image data is originally stored in the DCF standard.

  Alternatively, as shown in the lower left part of FIG. 1, a reduced image 106a generated by reducing the main image 106 of the original image may be stored instead of the NULL data. The size of the reduced image 106a is preferably larger than the thumbnail image used in the DCF / Exif format. Thumbnail images used in the DCF / Exif format are generated at a very large reduction ratio so that a large number of thumbnail images can be displayed on a limited display screen such as an LCD display of a digital camera. However, if the reduced image 106a which is reduced more slowly than the thumbnail image used in the DCF / Exif format is used, the user can fully see the details of the image. In addition, by using the reduced image 106a instead of the main image 106, the file size of the shortcut image can be suppressed to be smaller than the file size of the original image.

  Further, as a second feature of the shortcut image 101 of the present embodiment, an address tag 102 indicating the storage location of the original image 100 is added to each APP1 area of the DCF basic file and the DCF basic thumbnail file of the shortcut image 101. Has been.

  Therefore, in the shortcut image 101 shown in FIG. 1, the DCF basic main image 106 is removed from the original image 100 (when NULL data is stored), or the DCF basic main image is reduced from the original image 100, In addition to storing as a main image (when storing the reduced image 106 a), it can be generated by adding an address tag 102 indicating the storage location of the original image 100. The address tag 102 is described in a URL (or URI) format, for example, as will be described later.

  Thus, for example, in the image management method of the present invention, the shortcut image 101 divides and records the original image data in a format using the original image 100 compliant with the DCF standard and the shortcut image 101.

  By using the shortcut image 101 including the address tag 102 indicating the storage location of the original image 100 as described above, the original image 100 can be acquired as long as the shortcut image 101 is present. For example, a user who receives only the shortcut image 101 by mail can acquire the original image 100 using only the shortcut image 101 using the address tag 102 without the mail text.

  In the present embodiment, a plurality of shortcut images may exist for one original image. Further, according to the rules of this embodiment, if an address tag exists in the image file, the image is determined to be a shortcut image. However, even if a dedicated tag indicating whether or not the image file is a shortcut image is specified. Good. Although there is a problem that the size of the shortcut image becomes large, the main image data may exist in the shortcut image. The address tag may be present in the original image having the main image.

  Here, the data structure of the address tag assigned to the shortcut image 102 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The address tag is recorded in the Exif IFD based on the Exif (DCF) protocol, as indicated by 200. The private tag number of Tiff (for example, 43000 in this embodiment) is used as the tag number of the address tag.

  The tag value indicating the contents of the address tag is recorded in the value of ExifIFD. The storage location of the value is written in the value tag ValueOffset. The tags Tag, Type, Count, and ValueOffset of the address tag are not particularly defined. For example, Type may be “ANY” and Count may be Any.

  The contents of the address tag Value 201 are configured as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the character code type information 202 for identifying the subsequent character code is recorded at the head of the value of the address tag. As this character code type information 202, for example, an ASCII code, JIS code, Unicode, or other character code is designated.

  Following the character code type information 202, an address character string 203 indicating the storage location of the original image is recorded as Value 201. The address character string includes a path name indicating the storage position of the original image and a file name of the original image. The offset of the address tag to the value is written in the value offset of the address tag in accordance with the TIFF rules.

  Note that the value 201 of the address tag may record only the character string 203 indicating the address of the original image without recording the character code type information 202.

  For example, if a fixed code such as UTF-8 is used as the character code, the character code identification information is not required. However, when encoding with UTF-16, the ISO / IEC 10646 Annex Must begin with a byte order mark (ZERO WIDTH NO-BREAK SPACE character, 0xFEFF, or 0xFFFE) as defined in Appendix B of E and Unicode. In addition, in order to explicitly identify the UTF-8, an identification code (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) may be inserted in the first 3 bytes.

  Further, the value 201 of the address tag may be recorded in accordance with UDF. At this time, the character code type is recorded in the first 1 byte of the value, the character string length is recorded in the next 1 byte, and then an address character string indicating the storage location of the original image is recorded.

  Thus, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, any application or image control apparatus that can access the shortcut image can know the storage location of the original image by referring to the address tag from the shortcut image. Therefore, an image management method is realized in which an original image having a large file size and a shortcut image having a small file size are stored in separate storage locations.

  For example, if you only need to know the outline of the image, you can use a shortcut image with a small file size that does not compress the memory area for storing the image. If you want to obtain detailed information about the image, you can use the original image. Conceivable.

  Next, an example of image data management using the original image and the shortcut image in the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.

  In FIG. 3, the original image is stored in a predetermined address on the server 702, for example, “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/”, and each original image (for example, A, B, C, D) is stored. A state is shown in which a shortcut image (for example, a, b, c, d) 302 for 301 is stored in a predetermined storage position of the terminal 701, for example, “C: \ My Pictures \ shortcut-image \”.

  In FIG. 3, if there is a shortcut image “d” with a file name “img_0011.JPG” indicated by 302 with respect to an original image “D” with a file name “IMG_0011.JPG” indicated by reference numeral 301, the original image “D” "Is stored at" http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/ "and the file name is" IMG_0011.JPG ". "Http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/IMG_0011.JPG" is recorded.

  For example, a photograph image file (original image) 301 taken by a user with DCS is stored in a server 702 provided by an online photo album service or the like, and the user's PC terminal (terminal 701) corresponds to the original image 301. By saving the shortcut image 302 (for example, the server 702 sends it to the terminal 701 by mail), the user can select the thumbnail of the shortcut image 302 stored in the HDD 706 of the terminal 701 without connecting the terminal PC to the server. By referencing, the outline of the original image 301 stored in the server can be known.

  For example, even if the terminal 701 is a device having a limited memory area, such as a PDA or a portable terminal, the outline of the image can be known if the shortcut image is saved. The user only needs to acquire the original image 301 from the server 702 when he wants to know the details of the image.

  Further, by storing the original image 301 in the server 702, it is possible to know the details of the original image 301 from a terminal that can be connected to the server 702 as long as the shortcut image 302 exists. When exchanging, only the shortcut image 302 may be used.

  For example, when attaching a photographic image to an e-mail, the file size of the e-mail can be reduced by attaching a shortcut image 302, and a user who receives the shortcut image 302 can use the shortcut image 302 as necessary. A method of using the original image 301 stored in the server 702 is conceivable.

  In addition, as a means for exchanging images with a small file size to the other user, there is a method of acquiring an original image according to the instruction of the e-mail as described in Patent Document 1, but according to this embodiment, Since the shortcut image contains the complete information of the storage location of the original image, the user who receives the shortcut image does not need to bother to refer to the body of the e-mail when acquiring the original image from any shortcut image. .

  Further, by using the shortcut image, it is possible to exchange images with the other user by reducing the file size limit even by means other than e-mail. For example, if only a shortcut image is stored in a memory card and the memory card is handed over to the other user, the other user can obtain an arbitrary original image from the memory card. Unlike the document 1, the body of the e-mail is not required.

  Although FIG. 3 shows a state in which the original image and the shortcut image are stored in different hosts (server 702 and terminal 701), as shown in FIG. 4, the original image and the shortcut image are the same terminal (or server). The management method of this embodiment can be used even when stored in different folders (directories).

  In FIG. 4, an original image 401 is stored in a folder A “C: \ My Pictures \ original-image \” of the terminal, and shortcut images (for example, a, b, C, D) for the respective original images (for example, A, B, C, D). c, d) 402 is another folder B “C: \ My Pictures \ shortcut-image \”, folder C “C: \ My Pictures \ children's picture \”, folder D “C: \ My Pictures \” in the same terminal. "January 2003 Shooting". These folders (directories) are defined in, for example, the HDD 706 of the terminal 701 in the configuration of FIG.

  In FIG. 4, if there is a shortcut image “d” with the file name “img_0011.JPG” indicated by 403 with respect to the original image “D” with the file name “IMG_0011.JPG” indicated by the reference numeral 402, the original image “D” Since the storage location is “C: \ My Pictures \ original-image \” and the file name is “IMG_0011.JPG”, the address tag of the shortcut image “d” has “C: \ My Pictures \” as in 403. original-image \ IMG_0011.JPG "is recorded.

  In the management form as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a photographic image file (original image) 401 photographed by the user with DCS is stored in an arbitrary folder of the user's PC terminal (terminal) and corresponds to the original image 401. By saving the shortcut image 402 in a different folder, the user always saves the original photo image file in a specific folder at once, and when organizing the folder by shooting time, theme, etc. Can be used.

  In this embodiment, since there may be a plurality of shortcut images for one original image, for example, the original image “A” shown in 401 is an image file created in January of 2003 and the subject. Includes the same shortcut image “a” in two folders, folder C indicating that the child is reflected in the image file and folder D indicating that the shooting time is January 2003. (Reference numerals 404 and 405).

  The reason for allowing the generation of a plurality of shortcut images for the same image file is as follows.

  For example, in the management of image files on a PC or the like, for example, one image file is to be managed in different categories such as “the subject is a child” or “an image taken in January 2003”. In this case, a folder “Subject is a child” and a folder “An image taken in January 2003” are created, and the same original image is stored in each folder. If you copy and save, the memory area is under pressure. Therefore, conventionally, a method has been used in which an original image is stored in a specific location and managed using those shortcut files (for example, “shortcut” of Windows (product name)). In the method using the shortcut file, the outline of the image cannot be known unless the OS system file is used. Therefore, depending on the application for managing the image, the outline of the image cannot be easily obtained from the shortcut file. Even when system files are used, there is a problem that the size of system files increases as the number of image files to be managed increases. In order to avoid this file size problem, it is possible to suppress the enlargement of the system file by erasing the reduced image that is not used from the system file at any timing, but the system file is updated. Image processing occurs every time.

  However, according to the management form as shown in FIG. 4, since the shortcut image has a smaller file size than the original image, even if the shortcut image associated with the same original image in a plurality of categories overlaps, The increase in size can be suppressed, and since the shortcut image is independent, it is not necessary to use a system file.

  As described above, if the shortcut image of the present embodiment is used, a usage method for efficiently classifying photographic images by category becomes possible.

  Next, a procedure for creating a shortcut image from the original image in a management form in which the original image is stored in the server and the shortcut image is stored in the terminal as shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, for example, from the original image of the file name “IMG_0011.JPG” stored in the server storage location “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/”, the file name “img_0011.JPG” Assume that a shortcut image is created. In the configuration of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the original image is input from the image input unit 707 or the like by the server 702 via the interface 708.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for creating a shortcut image from an original image stored in an arbitrary place. 5 is executed by the terminal 701 or the server 702. The execution subject is, for example, the CPU (704) of the terminal 701 or the server 702. In this case, the procedure of FIG. 5 is the control of the CPU (704). The program may be stored in the HDD (706) or the memory (705) as a program. The program supply path corresponding to the control procedure of FIG. 5 is arbitrary, and is stored in these storage media from the time of product shipment, and is also supplied via a storage medium such as MO, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM. Or a method of supplying via a network.

  In step S500 of FIG. 5, first, an original image “IMG — 0011.JPG” that is a target of a shortcut image to be created is referred to. “IMG — 0011.JPG” is an image file in DCF format photographed by DCS, and includes at least the DCF basic main image 106 (FIG. 1) or further includes a thumbnail image 110.

  The purpose of referring to the original image in step S500 is to acquire a thumbnail image or main image of the original image in step S502 or step S504, and actually the storage area of the original image at this time may be anywhere.

  For example, if it is known when the shortcut image is created that the original image is (finally) stored in the server, the original image may not be stored in the server when the shortcut image is created.

  In step S501, it is determined whether thumbnail image data is included in the original image file “IMG — 0011.JPG”. If a thumbnail exists in the original image, the thumbnail image data is extracted from the original image file in step S504, and a shortcut image file “img_0011.JPG” having the thumbnail image data as a thumbnail image is created in step S505. On the other hand, if the thumbnail image does not exist in the original image in step S501, reduced image data obtained by performing arbitrary thinning from the main image of the original image is created in step S502, and the reduced image data is converted into thumbnail image data in step S503. A shortcut image file “img_0011.JPG” is created.

  Through the above processing, an image file (shortcut image file) that does not have a main image in which a thumbnail image of the original image or an image obtained by reducing the main image of the original image is stored as a thumbnail image is generated.

  Next, in step S506, an address tag indicating the storage position (or final storage position) of the original image referenced in step S500 is generated and attached to the shortcut image (the procedure for creating the address tag to be attached to the shortcut image in step S506 is This will be described later with reference to FIG. The shortcut image in the present embodiment has a configuration in which the main image is removed from the original DCF basic file, but the shortcut image may be left having the same main image as the original image. In this embodiment, the shortcut image is created from the existing original image. However, the shortcut image may be created at the same time when the original image is newly generated. For example, in DCS (for example, as the image input unit 707 in FIG. 7), when a photographic image is created, a shortcut image for the original photographic image may be created. At this time, as a series of processes for creating the original image and the shortcut image, first, the original image is created, and then the shortcut image is created according to the flow of FIG.

  Next, FIG. 6 shows an address tag creation procedure in step S506 of FIG.

  The address tag assigned to the shortcut image includes a path name (character string B) indicating the storage location of the original image indicated by 602, a file name (character string C) of the original image indicated by 603, a character string B indicated by 601, It is composed of a character code type (character string A) indicating a C character code. At this time, the information of the character code type (character string A) can be omitted as described above.

  In FIG. 6, first, in step S604, it is determined how to determine the address of the original image. As described above, the character string B 602 recorded in the address tag may not be the address of the original image at the time of creating the shortcut image. If it is predetermined that the original image is finally (or always) stored at a specific address, the address may be used as the character string B of the address tag of the shortcut image.

  In step S604, if the address of the original image at the time of creating the shortcut image is the character string B of the address tag, the address of the original image is acquired as the character string B in step S605. In step S604, if an arbitrary address is the character string B of the address tag, a character string indicating the arbitrary address is acquired as the character string B in step S606.

  This arbitrary address may be input by the user via a specific user interface, for example, or may be set according to the specifications of the application for creating the shortcut image and the image control apparatus. For example, in this embodiment, the application or image control apparatus for creating a shortcut image is set to always store the original image in the server “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/”. In this case, “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/” is acquired as a character string B in step S606.

  When the character string B is acquired in step S605 or S606, a character string C indicating the file name of the original image is acquired in step S607. In this embodiment, the file name “IMG — 0011.JPG” of the original image is acquired as the character string C.

  In step S608, the address of the original image in which the character string A, character string B, and character string C are combined is created. At this time, the character string A indicating the character code type of the character string B and the character string C may not be present. In this embodiment, since the character string B and the character string C are encoded and described by UTF-8, the character string A is not used.

  Next, in step S609, an address tag whose value is the character string created in step S608 is created and attached to the shortcut image. In the present embodiment, an address tag whose value is “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/IMG_0011.JPG” is added to the shortcut image “img_0011.JPG”.

  With the above control procedure, a shortcut image “for the original image with the file name“ IMG_0011.JPG ”stored in the server“ http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/ ”as shown in 301 of FIG. img_0011.JPG "can be created. The address tag of the shortcut image “img_0011.JPG” contains the address “http://www.xxxx.co.jp/original-image/IMG_0011.JPG” where the original image is stored. An application or an image control apparatus that can access an image can access a storage location of the original image as necessary.

  A person skilled in the art can arbitrarily implement means and procedures for acquiring an original image using an address of the original image given to the shortcut image by an image processing apparatus or PC application that can access the shortcut image. For example, these devices and applications need only be able to extract the address tag of the original image stored in the shortcut image and download, copy, or read the original image via an arbitrary interface. Regarding the extraction, since the address tag is stored as APP1 data in the DCF / Exif format, for example, it is only necessary to recognize the tag number of the address tag and take out the contents thereof without changing the existing software greatly. Can be extracted.

  In the above embodiment, since the address tag is stored in the URL (URI) format, the storage location of the original image can represent not only the storage location of the remote host but also the storage location of the local folder. Flexible operation is possible. Also, since the access method can be specified according to the URL (URI) format, various access methods (in the above example, the example in which the original image is accessed via HTTP are shown, but the URL (URI) format is used. (Of course, it is needless to say that FTP or other access methods can be specified), and the original image can be obtained by the user.

  In this embodiment, a thumbnail image of the shortcut image file is newly generated, and if there is thumbnail data stored as APP1 data in the DCF / Exif format already used in a digital camera or the like, the thumbnail image is used (the main image is used). Therefore, a shortcut image file can be generated at high speed with low calculation cost.

  Alternatively, in this embodiment, a reduced image (106a in FIG. 1) may be used as the main image of the shortcut image file. If the reduced image is stored as the main image of the shortcut image file in this way, the user can sufficiently recognize the details of the image while suppressing the size of the shortcut image file (without special modification). A normal e-mail application or image viewer may be able to display a reduced image stored as a main image in this shortcut file).

  Also, according to the method of storing the reduced image (106a) as the main image of the shortcut image file, an attempt was made to download the original image with reference to the extracted address tag, but it is stored in the remote host or server. Even in the case where the original image that should have been deleted has been deleted, the user can use a reduced image having a size larger than the thumbnail image included in the shortcut image instead of the original image. If the reduction ratio of the reduced image (106a) is made smaller than the thumbnail image used in the DCF / Exif format, there is a possibility that the user's purpose of using the image can be achieved even when the original image has been deleted. Can be increased. In addition, in a portable terminal having a relatively large size display, the thumbnail image used in the DCF / Exif format is too small and the details of the image may not be sufficiently visible. However, if this reduced image is used, it is large. The size display can be used effectively.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the second image file (shortcut image file) having a lower resolution than the first image among the first original image files is separated from the first image file, Alternatively, a configuration is adopted in which a second image file is newly generated and the storage location of the first image file is added to the second image file. When only the image data of the first image file is used and it is desired to know the details of the image, the high-resolution image data of the first image file can be used only with the second image file as a clue. In particular, since the storage location of the first image file is included as an address tag in the second image file itself, for example, even if the e-mail body that transmitted the second image file is lost, the second image file is stored in the second image file. There is an excellent effect that the first image file can be reached only from the image file.

  Further, as the format of the second image file, unlike the shortcut, alias, symbolic link, etc., which are distinguished from the image file format, the DCF / Exif format that is accepted as an image file is used, so the JPEG format If it is a normal application (image viewer, WEB browser, etc.) that can handle the image file, there is an excellent effect that the second image file can be displayed or edited if necessary.

  Of the present invention, the apparatus invention can be implemented in any image processing apparatus. The method or program of the present invention can be introduced into a target image processing apparatus (any image processing apparatus such as a PC or a digital camera) via an appropriate storage medium or via a network.

It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the original image used for the division | segmentation management of the image of this invention, and a shortcut image. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the address tag provided to the shortcut image of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the division | segmentation management system of the image of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the division | segmentation management system of the image of this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the control procedure which creates the shortcut picture in this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the control procedure which creates the address tag in this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the processing environment and image processing apparatus which can implement this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 Original Image 101 Shortcut Image 105 APP1 Data Segment 106 DCF Basic Main Image 111 NULL Data 202 Character Code Type Information 701 Terminal 702 Server 703 Network 704 CPU
705 Memory 706 HDD
707 Image input means 708 interface 710 network interface

Claims (18)

In an image data processing method for dividing and recording image data using hardware of an image processing apparatus,
A first image file containing the image data and stored in a predetermined storage location on a remote host or local host;
The image data is divided and recorded using an address tag indicating a storage location of the first image file and a second image file including image data representing the contents of the image data included in the first image file. A featured image data processing method.   2. The image data processing method according to claim 1, wherein the format of the second image file is a DCF basic file format not including a main image.   2. The image data processing method according to claim 1, wherein the format of the second image file is a DCF thumbnail file format.   2. The image data processing method according to claim 1, wherein the format of the second image file is a DCF basic file including a main image obtained by reducing the image data of the first image file. In an image data processing method for dividing and recording image data using hardware of an image processing apparatus,
Storing image data representing the content of the image data in a second image file based on the first image file containing the image data;
An address tag assigning process for storing an address tag indicating a storage position of the first image file on the remote host or the local host in the second image file;
An image data processing method comprising:   6. The image data processing method according to claim 5, wherein the image data included in the first image file is reduced to generate image data to be stored in the second image file.   6. The image data processing method according to claim 5, wherein when the reduced image of the image data is held in the first image file, the reduced image data is extracted and stored in the second image file. A featured image data processing method.   6. The image data processing method according to claim 5, wherein storage location information is generated from character string information indicating a storage location of the first image file and a file name of the first image file, and the storage location information is used as the address tag. And storing the image data in a second image file.   An image processing apparatus that implements the image data processing method according to claim 1.   An image processing program that implements the image data processing method according to claim 1 using hardware of an image processing apparatus. In an image data management method for dividing and managing image data,
A first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image;
An image data management method comprising: storing an address tag indicating a location of the first image file and a second image file including the second image by dividing them into different positions. In an image data management method for dividing and managing image data,
A first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image is managed by a server on the network;
On the other hand, an image data management characterized in that an address tag indicating the location of the first image file and a second image file including the second image are stored in an image processing apparatus connected to the network. Method. In an image data management method for dividing and managing image data in an image processing apparatus,
Managing a first image file including a first image and a low-resolution second image corresponding to the first image in a first folder;
On the other hand, an image data management method characterized by storing an address tag indicating a location of the first image file and a second image file including the second image in a folder different from the first folder. .   14. The image data management method according to claim 13, wherein the second image file is stored in a plurality of folders.   15. The image data management method according to claim 11, wherein the second image file has a lower resolution than the image data of the first image file and a higher resolution than the second image. 3. An image data management method comprising three images.   The image data management method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the location of the first image file indicated by the address tag creates a second image file when the first image file is created. An image data management method characterized by being acquired from an application.   16. The image data management method according to claim 11, wherein the location of the first image file indicated by the address tag is set by data input by a user when the first image file is created. An image data management method characterized by: In an image management system having an image processing apparatus and a server connected to a network,
The image processing apparatus receives, from the first image file including the first image, a second image having a lower resolution than the first image and information indicating a storage position of the first image file on the server. Image file generating means for generating a second image file, first storage means for storing the first and second image files, and image transfer means for transferring the first image file to the server. And having
The server has second storage means for storing a first image file transferred from the image processing apparatus,
The image processing apparatus further includes an erasing unit that erases the first image file from the storage unit after the first image file is transferred to the server by the image transfer unit. system.

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