JP2006262214A - Image processing system, image processing apparatus, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing system capable of capturing and automatically classifying images from a digital camera into a personal computer. <P>SOLUTION: An image file 40 received by a personal computer from a camera contains image data 41 and attached data 42. The attached data 42 contain memos 1, 2, 3, and 4. The memo 1 is associated with a drive name, the memos 2 and 3 are associated with folder names, and the memo 4 is associated with a file name. A file path name generating program 50 generates a file 60 of a file path name using these associating information. A storage area corresponding to the generated file path name is provided at a storage device such as an HDD of the personal computer. A transferred image file is stored in the storage area corresponding to the generated file path name. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing system suitable for use in a system for fetching an image file from a digital still camera having a data input function to a PC, an image processing apparatus used in the system, and a program used in the apparatus.

Conventionally, in some digital still cameras, there is a camera having a function of adding additional data to a captured image called a camera memo. With camera memos, a list of additional data (camera memos) created on a PC or other device is transferred to the camera or recorded on a memory card, and the camera memo is displayed during shooting and desired additional data is selected before shooting. As a result, the additional data is recorded in the image file. In addition, a camera memo can be selected at the time of reproduction, and voice and image data can be recorded in the additional data area in order to save time for inputting the memo.
With such an image transfer software of a camera, an image can be captured in a storage area designated in advance (one-shot capture function). In addition, the image browsing software can perform file search using additional data (camera memo search function).
In addition, a digital camera capable of transferring data to an external device with a simpler operation than before has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-287115 A

When images taken with a conventional digital camera having the camera memo function are taken into a PC or the like, the images are collectively transferred to a designated folder or a newly created folder. For this reason, in the PC, it is necessary to perform an operation for classifying the image after taking the image, which is troublesome.
An object of the present invention is to enable automatic classification and capture when capturing a PCni image from a digital camera.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an image processing system including an image recording apparatus and an image processing apparatus, wherein the image recording apparatus includes recording means for recording image data and additional data in an image file, and the image Transfer means for transferring a file to the image processing apparatus, the image processing apparatus communicating with an image recording apparatus and receiving the image file, storage means for storing the received image file, Conversion means for converting the additional data in the received image file into information for designating a storage area of the storage means; and control means for storing the received image file in the designated storage area of the storage means. It is characterized by providing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the additional data is text data, and the conversion means uses a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage means as the storage area. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the additional data is voice data capable of voice recognition, and the conversion means converts the voice data into a storage area having the same name as a result of voice recognition processing. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the additional data is image data capable of character recognition, and the conversion means converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of character recognition processing. It is characterized by doing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the additional data is image data that can be barcode-recognized, and the conversion means stores the same name as the result of barcode recognition of the image data. It is characterized by converting to an area.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the additional data is GPS data composed of latitude and longitude, and the converting means stores image data in a storage area having the same name as the related data searched by the GPS data. Is stored.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided communication means for communicating with an image recording apparatus and receiving an image file in which image data and additional data are recorded, storage means for storing the received image file, and the received image file. A conversion unit that converts the additional data into information that specifies a storage area of the storage unit; and a control unit that stores the received image file in the specified storage area of the storage unit. To do.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is text data, and the conversion means uses a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage means as the storage area. And

  In the ninth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the present invention, the additional data is voice data capable of voice recognition, and the conversion means converts the voice data into a storage area having the same name as a result of voice recognition processing. It is characterized by doing.

  In the invention according to claim 10, in the invention according to claim 7, the additional data is image data capable of character recognition, and the conversion means converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of character recognition processing. It is characterized by doing.

  The invention according to claim 11 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is image data that can be barcode-recognized, and the conversion means is stored in a storage area having the same name as the result of barcode recognition of the image data. It is characterized by converting.

  The invention according to claim 12 is the invention according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is GPS data composed of latitude and longitude, and the conversion means stores image data in a storage area having the same name as the related data searched by the GPS data. Is stored.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, communication processing for communicating with an image recording apparatus and receiving an image file in which image data and additional data are recorded, and a storage area for storing the additional data in the received image file are designated. A program for causing a computer to execute a conversion process for converting into information and a control process for storing the received image file in the designated storage area of a storage unit.

  According to the first, seventh, and thirteenth inventions, when an image is captured from a digital camera, the storage area can be automatically specified by the additional data in the image file. Work can be omitted.

According to the second and eighth aspects of the present invention, since the additional data is text data, it is only necessary to store the image file in a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage means, and the processing can be simplified.
According to the third and ninth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to automatically specify a storage area using voice data that can be voice-recognized as additional data.

According to the fourth and tenth aspects of the present invention, the storage area can be automatically specified using the image data that can be recognized by the character as the additional data.
According to the fifth and eleventh aspects of the present invention, it is possible to automatically specify a storage area using image data that can be recognized as a barcode as additional data.
According to the sixth and twelfth aspects of the present invention, the storage area can be automatically specified using the GPS data as the additional data.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The image processing system according to the present embodiment includes a PC (personal computer) 10 as an image processing apparatus and a camera 30 as an image recording apparatus. The camera 30 is a digital camera having a camera memo function. As described above, the camera memo function records additional data in an image file at the time of shooting or reproduction and transfers the image file to a PC. Audio data and image data can also be used as additional data.

  In FIG. 1, a PC 10 includes a CPU 11 that performs processing according to a program, a ROM 12 that stores programs, a RAM 13, a memory card 14 that stores data, an HDD 15, an input control unit 17 using a keyboard / mouse 16, and a display control unit 19 using a CRT / LCD 18. A USB I / F 20 and a communication I / F 21 for communicating with an external device. The data fetching from the camera 30 may be provided with one of delivery by the memory card 14 and delivery by communication such as the USB 22 and the LAN 23. When the USB 22 is used, the camera 30 is connected via the USB I / F 10. When using the LAN 14, the communication I / F 21 and the camera 30 are connected via the LAN 23, the router 24, and the Internet 25.

  The PC 10 includes image capturing software (SW) in the ROM 12, and the SW is executed by the function of the OS (operating system) of the PC 10. The PC 10 is equipped with a storage device such as the HDD 15, and the storage device is managed as a storage area by a file system (FS) that is a function of the OS. The application software can access the storage area by a function provided by the OS, and designates the storage area by a file path name including a drive name, a folder name, and a file name as will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows an import processing flow.
If there is a file to be transferred to the camera 30 (S1, YES), the image file to which the processing control information is added from the camera 30 via the memory card 4, the USB I / F 10, and the communication I / F 21 is transferred to the PC 10 ( S2). Upon receiving the image file, the PC 10 detects the presence or absence of additional data (S3). If additional data is detected, the additional data is converted into a file path name (S4), and a storage area is designated from the file path name.

FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of a process for converting additional data in (S4) into a file path name for designating a storage area.
In FIG. 3, the image file 40 includes image data 41 and additional data 42. The additional data 42 includes notes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Here, memo 1 corresponds to the drive name, memo 2 and memo 3 correspond to the folder name, and memo 4 corresponds to the file name. Then, a file 60 having a file path name is generated by the file path name generation program 50 using the corresponding information. If the folder does not exist, create it. If file names are duplicated, duplication can be avoided by adding a serial number to the file name. The storage device such as the HDD 15 has a storage area corresponding to the generated file path name, and the transferred image file is stored in the storage area corresponding to the generated file path name ( S5). If the saving is successful (S1), the next transfer is waited. If there is no additional data in (S3), the image file is saved in the default storage area.

  According to the present embodiment, since the additional data is text data, it is only necessary to store the image file in a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage means, and the processing can be simplified.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of processing for converting additional data into a file path name.
In FIG. 4, a voice memo 43 is recorded in the additional data 42 of the image file 40. The voice memo 43 is voice recognition data AD-converted by a voice codec such as PCM. The speech recognition program 70 searches the speech recognition dictionary 80 for data that matches the pattern based on the input speech recognition data, and obtains predetermined text data. A file path name 90 can be generated from this text data.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of a process for converting additional data into a file path name.
In FIG. 5, character recognition image data 44 is recorded in the additional data 42 of the image file 40. The character recognition image data 44 is image data obtained by photographing a character to be recognized. For example, the image data may be created by photographing a dial or the like, or may be stored in advance in a storage medium of the camera. The character recognition program 100 searches the character recognition dictionary 110 for data that matches the pattern based on the input character recognition image data 44, and obtains predetermined text data. A file path name 120 can be generated from this text data.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of processing for converting additional data into a file path name.
In FIG. 6, barcode image recognition data 45 is recorded in the additional data 42 of the image file 40. The barcode image recognition data 45 is image data obtained by photographing a barcode. The bar code recognition program 130 searches the bar code recognition dictionary 140 for data that matches the pattern based on the input bar code image recognition data 45, and obtains predetermined text data. A file path name 150 can be generated from this text data.

FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of a process for converting additional data into a file path name.
In FIG. 7, GPS data 46 is recorded in the additional data 42 of the image file 40. In the GPS data 46, latitude / longitude information is recorded. The address search program 160 searches for an address from the address database 170 based on the GPS data 46, and obtains predetermined text data. A file path name 180 can be generated from this text data. You may convert into a zip code etc. besides the address. According to this embodiment, there is a convenience that the user can easily understand compared to the case of creating a folder composed of latitude and longitude.

  The present invention can also be applied to, for example, a direct print compatible printer that can be directly connected to a digital camera to perform printing.

  A program for the CPU 7 to execute the above-described processing of the PC 10 as the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment constitutes a program according to the present invention. As a recording medium for recording the program, a semiconductor storage device, an optical and / or magnetic storage device, or the like can be used. By using such a program and recording medium in a system having a configuration different from that of the above-described embodiment and causing the CPU to execute the program, substantially the same effects as those of the present invention can be obtained.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows an image capture process. It is a block diagram which shows the process which converts the additional data by the 1st Embodiment of this invention into a file path name. It is a block diagram which shows the process which converts the additional data by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention into a file path name. It is a block diagram which shows the process which converts the additional data by the 3rd Embodiment of this invention into a file path name. It is a block diagram which shows the process which converts the additional data by the 4th Embodiment of this invention into a file path name. It is a block diagram which shows the process which converts the additional data by the 5th Embodiment of this invention into a file path name.

Explanation of symbols

10 PC
11 CPU
12 ROM
14 Memory card 15 HDD
20 USB I / F
21 Communication I / F
30 Digital camera (image recording device)
40 image file 41 image data 42 additional data 43 voice memo 44 character recognition image data 45 barcode image recognition image data 46 GPS data 50 file path name generation program 60 file 70 speech recognition program 80 speech recognition dictionary 90 file 100 character recognition program 110 Character recognition dictionary 120 file 130 Bar code recognition program 140 Bar code recognition dictionary 150 file 160 Address search program 170 Address database 180 file

Claims (13)

An image processing system comprising an image recording device and an image processing device,
The image recording apparatus includes:
Recording means for recording image data and additional data in an image file;
Transfer means for transferring the image file to the image processing apparatus,
The image processing apparatus includes:
Communication means for communicating with an image recording device and receiving the image file;
Storage means for storing the received image file;
Conversion means for converting the additional data in the received image file into information designating a storage area of the storage means;
An image processing system comprising: control means for storing the received image file in the designated storage area of the storage means.   2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the additional data is text data, and the conversion unit sets a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage unit as the storage area.   2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the additional data is voice data capable of voice recognition, and the conversion means converts the voice data into a storage area having the same name as a result of voice recognition processing.   2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the additional data is image data capable of character recognition, and the conversion means converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of character recognition processing.   2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the additional data is image data capable of barcode recognition, and the conversion means converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of barcode recognition. The additional data is GPS data composed of latitude and longitude, and the conversion means includes:
2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein the image data is stored in a storage area having the same name as the related data searched by the GPS data. Communication means for communicating with an image recording device and receiving an image file in which image data and additional data are recorded;
Storage means for storing the received image file;
Conversion means for converting the additional data in the received image file into information designating a storage area of the storage means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: control means for storing the received image file in the designated storage area of the storage means.   8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is text data, and the conversion unit sets a directory having the same name as the text data in the storage unit as the storage area.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is voice data that can be voice-recognized, and the conversion unit converts the voice data into a storage area having the same name as a result of voice recognition processing.   8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is image data capable of character recognition, and the conversion unit converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of character recognition processing.   8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the additional data is image data capable of barcode recognition, and the conversion means converts the image data into a storage area having the same name as a result of barcode recognition. The additional data is GPS data composed of latitude and longitude, and the conversion means includes:
8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image data is stored in a storage area having the same name as the related data searched by the GPS data. A communication process for communicating with an image recording apparatus and receiving an image file in which image data and additional data are recorded;
A conversion process for converting the additional data in the received image file into information specifying a storage area of a storage unit;
A program for causing a computer to execute control processing for storing the received image file in the designated storage area of a storage unit.

Images