JP2006081129A - Image display device, image display program, and recording medium recording image display program and readable by computer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To visually manage a plurality of image files on a calendar. <P>SOLUTION: When a calendar display mode is set, a calendar screen is displayed. As an example, a date of the calendar is selected, a representative image of the image file photographed on the day is displayed. The representative image is updated by the other image at each predetermined time. By this method, it is possible to search a desired image even if a plurality of images are photographed in a day. Moreover, a number of sheets of the image can be visually grasped by graphically displaying the number of sheets of the image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device, an image display program, and a computer-readable recording medium on which an image display program is recorded, which is suitable for managing image files taken with a digital camera.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image data captured by a digital camera is transferred to a personal computer of each user and managed. When image data taken by a digital camera is transferred to each user's personal computer, a large number of image data can be managed collectively. In addition, it is possible to easily edit an image on a personal computer. In addition, image data stored in a personal computer can be copied to an optical disc such as a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable) and stored for a long period of time. Furthermore, when a hard print is necessary, it can be printed by a printer connected to a personal computer.

  When managing image data taken with a digital camera on a personal computer, the file is displayed in a hierarchical file system folder tree, and the target file is searched while moving through the hierarchical file system folder tree. It is common. However, the number of image files stored in a personal computer has become enormous with the recent increase in the capacity of storage devices of personal computers. When the number of image files stored in a personal computer becomes enormous, it is difficult to efficiently search for a desired image file in the folder tree of such a hierarchical file system.

In view of this, an image file that can manage image files visually using reduced images called thumbnail images has appeared. Further, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1, there is a display that displays a calendar and displays thumbnail images taken on that day on the calendar.
JP 11-215475 A

  By the way, the use situation of a digital camera changes for every user. Some users use a digital camera only a few times a year, while others always carry a digital camera and take pictures of daily events frequently. Furthermore, like a professional photographer, a large number of pictures are taken a day. Some users do this.

  When the thumbnail image is displayed on the calendar, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is convenient for a user who hardly shoots an image because the image can be visually managed with the calendar. However, the thumbnail image display area is limited, and it is difficult to display a large number of images.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image display device, an image display program, and a recording medium on which an image display program is recorded so that a plurality of images can be visually managed on a calendar.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image storage means for storing the image, the display capable of displaying a plurality of images, and the image stored in the image storage means are classified based on the date / time information attached to the image. Image classification means, calendar generation means for generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display, and one or more classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit for each of the calendar display units The representative selection means for selecting the representative thumbnail from the thumbnail images of the image of the image and the representative thumbnail of the calendar generated by the calendar generation means displayed on the display are replaced with thumbnail images of other images belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time. And thumbnail updating means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image display device of the first aspect, the thumbnail updating means updates the display of thumbnails in synchronization with each display unit over the entire calendar of the representative thumbnail displayed on the display. Features.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image display device of the first aspect, the thumbnail updating means updates the representative thumbnail at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display, and a display to which many images belong. In the case of a unit, the thumbnail is updated in a short cycle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device of the first aspect, designation means for designating one of a plurality of display units of a calendar displayed on the display, and a thumbnail image corresponding to the display unit designated by the designation means And thumbnail list display means for displaying a list of images.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the first aspect, the calendar display unit is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the first aspect, there is further provided a graph display means for displaying a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar, with a period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. It is characterized by having.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the sixth aspect, the graph represents the number of images in terms of length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size, and number of graph units, and the number of images is increased. On the other hand, it increases linearly or logarithmically.

  The invention according to claim 8 is an image storage step for storing images, a display step for displaying a plurality of images, and an image classification step for classifying the images stored in the image storage step based on date and time information associated with the images. A calendar generation step for generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display; and for each of the calendar display units, one or a plurality of images classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit A representative selecting step for selecting a representative thumbnail from the thumbnail images, and a thumbnail updating step for replacing the representative thumbnail of the calendar generated by the calendar step displayed on the display with a thumbnail image of another image belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time; It is characterized by having.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the image display program of the eighth aspect, the thumbnail updating step updates the display of thumbnails in synchronism with each display unit of the representative thumbnails displayed on the display over the entire calendar. Features.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the image display program according to the eighth aspect, in the thumbnail updating step, the representative thumbnail is updated at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display, and many images are displayed. In the case of the display unit to which it belongs, the thumbnail is updated in a short cycle.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image display program according to the eighth aspect, a designation step for designating one of a plurality of display units of a calendar displayed on the display, and a thumbnail image corresponding to the display unit designated in the designation step And a thumbnail list display step for displaying a list of images.

  According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image display program according to the eighth aspect, the calendar display unit is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.

  The image display program according to claim 13 further includes a graph display step of displaying a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar, with the period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. It is characterized by having.

  According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image display program according to the thirteenth aspect, the graph represents the number of images in terms of length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size and number of graph units, and the number of images is increased. On the other hand, it increases linearly or logarithmically.

  The invention of claim 15 is a computer-readable recording medium on which an image display program is recorded. The image display program stores an image, a display step for displaying a plurality of images, and an image storage step. An image classification step for classifying the image stored in the image on the basis of date and time information attached to the image, a calendar generation step for generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display, and a calendar display unit For each, a representative selection step of selecting a representative thumbnail from thumbnail images of one or more images classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit, and a representative thumbnail of the calendar generated in the calendar step displayed on the display Other images belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time And having a thumbnail update step of replacing at thumbnails image.

  According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium on which the image display program according to the fifteenth aspect is recorded, in the thumbnail updating step, the representative thumbnails displayed on the display are synchronized with each other in the display unit over the entire calendar. The display is updated.

  According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium on which the image display program according to the fifteenth aspect is recorded, the thumbnail updating step updates the representative thumbnail at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display. In the case of a display unit to which many images belong, the thumbnail is updated in a short cycle.

  According to the eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium on which the image display program according to the fifteenth aspect is recorded, the designation step designates one of a plurality of display units of the calendar displayed on the display, and the designation step designates And a thumbnail list display step for displaying a list of thumbnail images corresponding to the display units.

  According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the recording medium on which the image display program according to the fifteenth aspect is recorded, the calendar display unit is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.

  The invention of claim 20 is a recording medium recording the image display program according to claim 15, wherein a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar is displayed with the period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. It further has a graph display step of displaying.

  According to a twenty-first aspect of the invention, in the recording medium on which the image display program of the twentieth aspect is recorded, the graph represents the number of images in terms of length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size, and number of graph units, Each increases linearly or logarithmically as the number of images increases.

  According to the present invention, a calendar screen is displayed when searching for an image file. When, for example, a date on the calendar is selected, a representative image of an image file taken on that day is displayed. This representative image is updated with another image every predetermined time. Thereby, even when a plurality of images are taken, a desired image can be searched for by calendar display. In the present invention, the number of images can be visually grasped by displaying the number of images in a graph.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is suitable for use in managing image data taken with a digital camera or the like.

  FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a data management system to which the present invention can be applied. In FIG. 1, 1 is a digital camera, and 2 is a data management device. The data management apparatus 2 is configured by installing an information management program (including an image ideographic program) according to the present invention in a personal computer.

  The source information management program is provided by a computer-readable recording medium such as a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, or a CD-ROM. The source information management program may be transmitted from the computer system to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line. The source program may be a program for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

  The digital camera 1 is equipped with a memory card, and image data taken by the user is stored in the memory card. When image data captured by the digital camera 1 is transferred to the data management device 2, the digital camera 1 and the data management device 2 are connected using, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. Then, the image data is transferred from the digital camera 1 to the data management device 2.

  The method for transferring the image data of the digital camera 1 to the data management device 2 is not limited to the USB interface. As the interface, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 1394 or UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter) may be used. In addition to such a wired interface, wireless connection means such as BlueTooth (IEEE802.15.) (Registered trademark) may be used. Further, for example, a drive capable of recording / reproducing a memory card is provided in the data management device 2, the memory card is taken out from the digital camera 1, and this memory card is mounted on the drive of the data management device 2. The image data stored in can be read directly. In addition, image data captured by the digital camera 1 can be transferred to the data management device 2 via a network.

  Thus, the image data transferred from the digital camera 1 is stored in the storage device of the data management device 2 as an image file. The image file transferred from the digital camera 1 to the data management device 2 includes additional information such as shooting date, shooting time, shooting location, data type, camera model name, shutter speed, aperture value, focal length, and image size. ISO sensitivity etc. are recorded. That is, as the image file from the digital camera 1, for example, an Exif (Exchangeable image file format) format file is used. In the Exif format, such various types of information can be recorded as additional information. When image data from the digital camera 1 is transferred to the data management device 2, an information management database is created based on these additional information.

  When managing an image file stored in the data management device 2, an information management program installed in the data management device 2 is activated. In the information management program to which the present invention is applied, when searching for an image file of the data management apparatus 2, a tree is displayed based on the shooting date as described later. In addition, thumbnail images of a list of image files belonging to the selected group are displayed. In this way, a desired image file can be searched by displaying thumbnail images while following the tree.

  Further, in the information management program to which the present invention is applied, thumbnail display and calendar display can be selected. When set to calendar display, the calendar is displayed and the date with the image is marked. Then, when a day with an image is selected from the calendar, a representative image among images taken on that day is displayed. This representative image is updated every predetermined time. This will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of the digital camera 1. In FIG. 2, the control unit 21 controls the entire digital camera. An input key 22 is provided for the control unit 21. The input key 22 receives an input from the user, and includes a shutter key and a key for setting an operation mode.

  The camera block 23 includes a lens unit, an image sensor, an iris, a signal processing circuit, and the like. The lens unit forms subject image light on the light receiving surface of the image sensor. Although not shown, the lens unit includes an autofocus mechanism and an optical zoom mechanism. The image sensor photoelectrically converts subject image light imaged on its light receiving surface. As the imaging device, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) imaging device or a CMOS (Complementary MOS) imaging device is used. Color filters are arranged on the front surface of the image sensor. The arrangement of the color filters includes R (red), G (碧), and B (blue) primary color filters, and Cy (cyan), Mg (magenta), and Ye (yellow) complementary color filters. May be used.

  The output of the image sensor is supplied to a signal processing circuit, and a color image signal of three primary colors is formed based on the subject image light imaged on the light receiving surface by the signal processing circuit. This color image signal is sent to each unit via the bus 24.

  The image signal processing unit 25 performs image processing such as white balance correction, gamma correction, and edge enhancement. Further, the image signal processing unit 25 performs conversion processing to a desired resolution.

  The image encoding / decoding unit 26 is hardware that performs processing for compressing and encoding the image data from the camera block 23 and decompressing the compressed and encoded image data, and is connected to the bus 24. As a compression method of still image data, for example, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is used. JPEG is a standard for image compression using discrete cosine transform.

  Some can perform not only still image processing but also moving image processing. In the case of moving image processing, MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group) is used as a moving image compression method. Of course, the still image or moving image compression method is not limited to the JPEG method or the MPEG method.

  The display unit 27 is used as an electronic viewfinder or the like at the time of photographing, and the display unit 27 is used to monitor the photographed image at the time of reproduction. For example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) display is used as the display unit 27.

  The memory card 28 is used for storing a photographed image. The memory card 28 is a card type memory using a flash memory. Further, the captured image may be stored in a flash memory built in the camera without using the removable memory card 28.

  The interface 29 is connected to a personal computer, for example, and is used to transfer an image captured by the camera to the data management apparatus 2. As the interface 29, for example, a USB interface is used.

  At the time of shooting, the subject image light is photoelectrically converted by the image sensor of the camera block 23 and digitized. Image data from the camera block 23 is sent to the image signal processing unit 25, where image signal processing is performed. In addition, a screen during shooting is displayed on the display unit 27, and the display unit 27 becomes an electronic viewfinder.

  The user sets the direction of the camera while looking at the display unit 27 and presses the shutter key when the image to be shot is determined. The shutter key is included in the input key 22. When the shutter key is pressed, the image data of the camera block 23 at that time is captured. The image data is subjected to image processing by the image signal processing unit 25 and compressed by, for example, the JPEG method by the image encoding / decoding unit 26. Then, it is filed in the exif format together with additional information such as shooting date, shooting time, shooting location, data type, camera model name, shutter speed, aperture value, focal length, image size, ISO sensitivity, etc., and stored in the memory card 28. Saved.

  At the time of reproduction, desired image data is read from the memory card 28. As described above, the image data stored in the memory card 28 is compressed by, for example, the JPEG method. The image data read from the memory card 28 is sent to the image encoding / decoding unit 26 and decoded. This image data is sent to the display unit 27 and displayed on the display unit 27.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the data management device 2. The data management device 2 is configured by installing image management software in a personal computer.

  In FIG. 3, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51 interprets and executes a command. The CPU 51 is connected to a ROM (Read Only Memory) 53 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 54 via a bus 52. The ROM 53 stores a boot program such as BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The RAM 54 is used as a work area.

  An HDD drive 56 and an optical disk drive 57 are connected to the bus 52 via an interface 55. The HDD drive 56 stores an operating system program and various application programs, as well as various data.

  In addition, a display 59 is connected to the bus 52 via the image processing unit 58. As the display 59, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) is used. A speaker 61 is connected to the bus 52 via the audio processing unit 60. A communication interface 62 is connected to the bus 52. The communication interface 62 is for performing communication via a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, or the like.

  Further, a general-purpose interface 63 is connected to the bus 52. As the general-purpose interface 63, for example, a USB interface is used. Input devices such as a keyboard 64 and a mouse 65 are connected to the general-purpose interface 63. The general-purpose interface 63 is used for capturing image data from the digital camera 1. Further, the general-purpose interface 63 can be used for connecting a memory card drive, a printer, and other various devices.

  Next, image file management by the information management program to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 shows a display screen by the information management program of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, a tree area 101 and a thumbnail area 102 are displayed on the screen.

  The tree area 101 displays a tree of stored image classifications. Above the tree area 101, classification tags 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d are provided. By the classification tags 111a, 111b, 111c, and 111d, the period for image classification is switched to “all”, “year”, “month”, and “day”. The image file is managed by grouping each period of the “year”, “month”, and “day”.

  FIG. 4 shows a case where the “year display mode” is set. When the “year display mode” is set, the tree area 101 displays a bar graph 155 indicating the number of image files taken in each year.

In the bar graph 155, when n is the number of cells, the number of image files of one cell is 5 × 2 ^ n (^ indicates a power). That is, the number of the first one square image file is 5 × 2 = 10. The number of second square image files is
5 × 2 ^ 2 = 20 sheets. The number of image files in the third square is
5 × 2 ^ 3 = 40 sheets. The number of image files in the eighth square is
5 × 2 ^ 8 = 1280 sheets.

  In this way, the first one cell is filled with 10 sheets, and the next one cell is filled with 20 images. Therefore, even a user with a small number of shots can confirm that the square is filled according to the number of image files. Further, the number of the eighth image file of one square is 1280, and even a user with a very large number of shots can display it in a bar graph.

  Here, the relationship between one cell and the number of images is a 5 × 2 ^ n relationship, but the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, a × b ^ n (a and b are arbitrary numbers) may suffice.

  In the thumbnail area 102, a list of images of the group selected in the tree area 101 is displayed as thumbnail images. In this example, “2003” is selected in the tree area 101, and in the thumbnail area 102, a list of image files taken in 2003 is displayed as a reduced image called a thumbnail image as an index image.

  Below the thumbnail area 102, a thumbnail selection tag 107a and a calendar selection tag 107b are provided. A thumbnail display and a calendar display are switched by the thumbnail selection tag 107a and the calendar selection tag 107b.

  FIG. 5 shows a screen when the mode is switched to the “year calendar display mode”. In the year calendar display, the thumbnail area 102 becomes the calendar display area 108, and the calendar display area 108 displays a calendar for one year. In this calendar, a mark (indicated by a square) is attached to the date portion of the image. When the pointer is placed on the date part with the mark, the representative image 151 of the images taken on that day is displayed as a thumbnail image.

  FIG. 6 shows a screen when the mode is switched to “calendar display mode in month calendar mode”. In the month calendar display, the thumbnail area 102 becomes the calendar display area 108, and a calendar 152 for one month is displayed in the calendar display area 108. In the calendar 152, a representative image 153 of images taken on that day is displayed as a thumbnail image at a certain date portion of the image.

  When the representative image 151 or 153 is clicked in the “year calendar display mode” or the “month calendar display mode” in FIGS. 5 and 6, and there are a plurality of images taken on that day, Every time, it is replaced with a thumbnail image of another image on the same day.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 7A to 7F, the representative image P1a is displayed first, then replaced with another image P1b on the same day, and then replaced with another image P1c on the same day. Thereafter, the images are replaced with other images P1e and P1f on the same day. When the representative image is clicked again or a representative image on another date is clicked, the representative image update operation is stopped.

  The “year calendar display mode” and the “month calendar display mode” have been described, but the representative image can also be displayed as a thumbnail image in the weekly calendar. Further, even if the day is managed by time, the representative image can be similarly displayed as a thumbnail image.

  In addition, when updating the thumbnail image as the representative image, the thumbnail display as the representative image may be updated in synchronization with each display unit over the entire calendar.

  In addition, the thumbnail image that is a representative image is updated at a different cycle for each display unit of the displayed calendar, and in the case of a display unit to which many images belong, the thumbnail is updated at a short cycle. good.

  The representative image update operation may be performed in both the month mode calendar display and the year mode calendar display, or only in the month mode calendar display or in the year mode calendar display. The representative image update operation may be performed.

  FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram based on the operation for displaying the representative image on the calendar as described above. In FIG. 8, 71 is an information management database. In the information management database 71, as shown in FIG. 9, a file ID, a file name, a shooting date of the file, and a storage path of the file are registered in association with each other. The information management database 71 is created based on additional information in, for example, an Exif format image file when image data is transferred from the digital camera 1. The information management database 71 further includes “shooting date”, “shooting time”, “shooting location”, “shooting date”, “data type”, “camera model”, “shutter speed”, “aperture value”. , “Focal length”, “image size”, “ISO sensitivity”, “photographer”, and the like may be provided.

  Calendar information is generated from the calendar generator 72. When a date on an image on the calendar is clicked by the input unit 75, an image belonging to the date is extracted from the information management database 71 by the image classification extraction unit 76. Then, this image file is sent to the thumbnail image forming unit 77. The thumbnail image forming unit 77 forms a thumbnail image of an image file belonging to the date selected on the calendar. The thumbnail images are sent to the representative image update selection unit 78.

  The representative image update selection unit 78 selects a representative image from thumbnail images of image files belonging to the date selected on the calendar. This representative image is updated every predetermined time.

  The representative image selected by the representative image update selection unit 78 is sent to the synthesis unit 73. In addition, a calendar image from the calendar generation unit 72 is sent to the synthesis unit 73. The composition unit 73 composes the calendar image. An output signal of the combining unit 73 is supplied to the display image forming unit 74. Thereby, the representative image belonging to the selected date is displayed as a thumbnail image in the calendar image, and when there are a plurality of images on the same day, the representative image is updated every predetermined time.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a process for updating and displaying thumbnail images on the calendar. In FIG. 10, when it is specified that the specified date on the calendar is clicked (step S1), the image information of the specified date is extracted from the information management database (FIG. 9) (step S2). A thumbnail image of the image is generated from the extracted image information (step S3). Then, the date of the image is read from the extracted image information, and the thumbnail images on the calendar date that have been clicked in the order from the newest date are replaced and displayed by crossfading (step S4). Thereby, when there are a plurality of images on that day, the representative image is updated every predetermined time. Then, it is determined whether a different date has been clicked or the display mode has been changed (step S5). If not, it is determined whether all images have been displayed (step S6). If all the images are not displayed, the process returns to step S4 and the image update is continued. If a different date is clicked or the display mode is changed in step S5, the thumbnail image update process on the calendar date is terminated.

  FIG. 11 shows tree bar graph display processing. In FIG. 11, the number of registered files is counted for each predetermined group from the information management database (step S11). For example, in the year display mode, the number of registered files is counted every year. Then, according to the number of counts, if n is the number of cells in the graph, a bar graph cell defined by 5 × 2 ^ n (where ^ indicates a power) is created (step S12). Then, a tree bar graph is displayed at the corresponding location in the tree area (step S13). It is determined whether or not all group unit bar graphs have been displayed (step S14). If all group unit bar graphs have not been displayed, the process returns to step S11 to continue the bar graph display process. If it is determined in step S14 that all group-unit bar graphs have been displayed, the tree bar graph display processing is terminated.

  FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, when there are a plurality of images taken on that day, this representative image is replaced with a thumbnail image of another image on the same day every predetermined time. On the other hand, in this embodiment, a list of a plurality of images is displayed like a tool tip.

  FIG. 12 shows a screen when the calendar is displayed in the year mode. In the calendar display, the thumbnail area 102 becomes a calendar display area 108, and a calendar for one year is displayed in the calendar display area 108. In this calendar, a mark (indicated by a square) is attached to the date portion of the image. When the marked date portion is hovered with the mouse, a list image 156 of a plurality of images P11a, P11b, P11c, P11d, P11e, and P11f among images taken on that day is displayed.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing when a plurality of thumbnail images on the calendar are displayed as a list. In FIG. 13, when it is specified that the mouse is hovered on the designated date on the calendar (step S21), image information on the designated date is extracted from the information management database (step S22). A thumbnail image of the image is generated from the extracted image information (step S23). Then, the date of the image is read from the extracted image information, and the thumbnail images are displayed in a list in the order from the newest date (step S24). Thereby, when there are a plurality of images on that day, a list of thumbnail images is displayed. Then, it is determined whether or not the mouse hover state is released (step S25). If the mouse hover state is not released, the process returns to step S24. If the mouse hover state is canceled in step S25, the thumbnail image list display process on the calendar date is terminated.

  FIG. 14 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the number of images is displayed as a bar graph. However, in this embodiment, the number of images may be expressed by the size of a circle.

In FIG. 14, the tree area 101 displays the number of image files captured in each year as a pie chart 157. The pie chart 157 is 5 × 2 ^ n (^ indicates a power) where n is a radius. That is, the number of image files having a radius n is 5 × 2 = 10. The number of image files with a radius of 2n is
5 × 2 ^ 2 = 20 sheets. The number of image files with a radius of 3n is
5 × 2 ^ 3 = 40 sheets. The number of image files with a radius of 8n is
5 × 2 ^ 8 = 1280 sheets.

  In this embodiment, the number of images appears as a pie chart and is easily recognized by the user. In addition, the size of the circle changes even when the number of images is relatively small, such as the radius n is 10 and the radius 2n is 20. Therefore, even a user with a small number of shots can confirm that the size of the circle changes according to the number of image files. Further, the number of image files having a radius of 8n is 1280, and even a user with a very large number of shots can display it in a pie chart.

  Here, the relationship between the pie chart and the number of images is a 5 × 2 ^ n relationship, but is not limited to this. Of course, a × b ^ n (a and b are arbitrary numbers) may suffice.

  The form of the graph is not limited to a pie chart, and may be a square or the like. Furthermore, the number of images may be represented by a three-dimensional graph. That is, if the number of images is represented by the length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size, and number of graph units, each increases linearly or logarithmically as the number of images increases. Anything is fine.

  FIG. 15 shows a tree pie chart display process. In FIG. 15, the number of registered files is counted for each predetermined group unit from the information management database (step S31). Then, according to the number of counts, a circle graph having a diameter defined by 5 × 2 ^ n (where ^ indicates a power) is created with n being the radius of the pie chart (step S32). Then, a tree bar graph is displayed at the corresponding location in the tree area (step S33). It is determined whether or not all group unit pie charts have been displayed (step S34). If all group unit pie charts are not displayed, the process returns to step S31 and the pie chart display process is continued. If it is determined in step S34 that all group unit pie charts have been displayed, the tree pie chart display processing is terminated.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The present invention is suitable for use in transferring and managing image files taken with a digital camera to a personal computer.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the data management system which can apply this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an example of the digital camera in the data management system which can apply this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an example of the data management apparatus in the data management system which can apply this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen structure in year display mode. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen structure in the calendar display mode of a year. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the screen structure in the calendar display mode of a month. It is explanatory drawing of the update process of a representative image. It is a functional block diagram based on the operation | movement at the time of displaying a representative image by a calendar display. It is explanatory drawing of an information management database. It is a flowchart used for description of an example of an update display process of a thumbnail image on a calendar date. It is a flowchart used for description of an example of the graph display which shows the number of images. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a screen structure in the calendar display mode of a year. It is a flowchart used for description of the other example of the update display process of the thumbnail image on a calendar date. It is explanatory drawing of the other example of the graph display which shows the number of images. It is a flowchart used for description of the other example of the graph display which shows the number of images.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Data management apparatus 71 Information management database 72 Calendar generation part 73 Composition part 74 Display image formation part 76 Image classification extraction part 77 Thumbnail image formation part 78 Representative image update selection part 101 Tree area 102 Thumbnail area 107a Thumbnail selection tag 107b Calendar selection tag 108 Calendar display area

Claims (21)

Image storage means for storing images;
A display capable of displaying multiple images;
Image classification means for classifying the image stored in the image storage means based on date and time information attached to the image;
Calendar generating means for generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display;
For each of the calendar display units, representative selection means for selecting a representative thumbnail from thumbnail images of one or more images classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit;
Thumbnail updating means for replacing the representative thumbnail of the calendar generated by the calendar generating means displayed on the display with a thumbnail image of another image belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time;
An image display device comprising:   2. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein the thumbnail updating unit updates the display of thumbnails in synchronism with each display unit of the representative thumbnail displayed on the display over the entire calendar.   The thumbnail updating means updates the representative thumbnail at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display, and updates the thumbnail at a short cycle in the case of a display unit to which many images belong. The image display device according to claim 1, wherein Designating means for designating one of a plurality of display units of the calendar displayed on the display;
The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising: a thumbnail list display unit that displays a list of thumbnail images corresponding to display units specified by the specifying unit.   The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a display unit of the calendar is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.   2. The image display device according to claim 1, further comprising a graph display means for displaying a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar, with a period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. .   The graph is characterized in that the number of images is represented by length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size and number of graph units, and increases linearly or logarithmically as the number of images increases. The image display device according to claim 6. An image storage step for storing an image;
A display step for displaying a plurality of images;
An image classification step for classifying the image stored in the image storage step based on date and time information attached to the image;
A calendar generation step of generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display;
A representative selection step of selecting a representative thumbnail from thumbnail images of one or more images classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit for each of the calendar display units;
A thumbnail updating step of replacing the representative thumbnail of the calendar generated in the calendar step displayed on the display with a thumbnail image of another image belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time;
An image display program characterized by comprising:   9. The image display program according to claim 8, wherein the thumbnail updating step updates the display of thumbnails in synchronism with each display unit of the representative thumbnail displayed on the display over the entire calendar.   The thumbnail updating step updates the representative thumbnail at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display, and updates the thumbnail at a short cycle in the case of a display unit to which many images belong. The image display program according to claim 8, wherein the program is an image display program. A designation step for designating one of a plurality of display units of the calendar displayed on the display;
The image display program according to claim 8, further comprising: a thumbnail list display step for displaying a list of thumbnail images corresponding to the display units specified in the specifying step.   The image display program according to claim 8, wherein the display unit of the calendar is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.   9. The image display program according to claim 8, further comprising a graph display step for displaying a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar, with a period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. .   The graph is characterized in that the number of images is represented by length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size and number of graph units, and increases linearly or logarithmically as the number of images increases. The image display program according to claim 13. An image storage step for storing an image;
A display step for displaying a plurality of images;
An image classification step for classifying the image stored in the image storage step based on date and time information attached to the image;
A calendar generation step of generating a calendar composed of a plurality of display units to be displayed on the display;
A representative selection step of selecting a representative thumbnail from thumbnail images of one or more images classified as belonging to a period determined by the display unit for each of the calendar display units;
A thumbnail updating step of replacing the representative thumbnail of the calendar generated in the calendar step displayed on the display with a thumbnail image of another image belonging to the same unit period every predetermined time;
A computer-readable recording medium on which an image display program is recorded.   16. The image display program according to claim 15, wherein the thumbnail updating step updates the display of thumbnails in synchronism with each display unit of the representative thumbnail displayed on the display over the entire calendar. A recorded computer-readable recording medium.   The thumbnail updating step updates the representative thumbnail at a different cycle for each display unit of the calendar displayed on the display, and updates the thumbnail at a short cycle in the case of a display unit to which many images belong. The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the image display program of Claim 15 characterized by the above-mentioned. A designation step for designating one of a plurality of display units of the calendar displayed on the display;
16. The computer-readable recording medium recording an image display program according to claim 15, further comprising: a thumbnail list display step for displaying a list of thumbnail images corresponding to the display units specified in the specifying step.   16. The computer-readable recording medium storing an image display program according to claim 15, wherein the display unit of the calendar is any one of time, day, week, month, and year.   16. The image display program according to claim 15, further comprising a graph display step for displaying a graph representing the number of images covered by each calendar, with a period covered by the calendar displayed on the display as a display unit. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded. The graph is characterized in that the number of images is represented by length, height, two-dimensional or three-dimensional size and number of graph units, and increases linearly or logarithmically as the number of images increases. A computer-readable recording medium on which the image display program according to claim 20 is recorded.

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