JP2006268173A - Image management system and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manage image data such as photographic images easily and flexibly. <P>SOLUTION: An image capturing section 120 captures image data photographed by a digital camera and image data by digitizing a photographic image with a scanner and stores them into a storing section 160. A controlling section 110 identifies image data with unknown photographed date based on the attribute information of the captured image data. The controlling section 110 sets up an arbitrary date designated by a user for the identified image data, and at this moment sets up the arbitrary date ambiguously by using date assigning phrase prepared beforehand. When retrieving the image data stored in the storing section 160, the controlling section 110 searches the storing section based on the time information corresponding to the date assigning phrase assigned by the user, and at this moment retrieves by using the time information corresponding to the date assigning phrase. The image detected by searching is displayed on a display 140 in a selectable fashion. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image management apparatus and a program, and more particularly to an image management apparatus and a program suitable for management based on time.

  With the widespread use of digital cameras, it is widely used to store and manage photographed photographic images as digital data. Information indicating the shooting date and time is added to the photographic image obtained by shooting with such a digital camera as attribute information at the time of shooting. Therefore, even when managing a plurality of photographic images, the user can clearly recognize the shooting time and can easily sort and classify based on the shooting date.

  Digital data photographic images can have the attribute information as described above, and can store a large amount of images on a large-capacity recording medium (hard disk, etc.), so they are managed compared to printed photos. Many of the above merits and devices and software (so-called “electronic album”) for managing photographic images are widely used. In addition, since there is an advantage that image quality is not deteriorated and correction and processing can be easily performed using a personal computer or the like, there are many users who digitize and store and utilize print photographs taken with a film camera. In this case, the photograph is usually digitized by reading a printed photograph or film using a scanner or the like.

  In such a situation, a photographic image generated by photographing with a digital camera and a photographic image converted into digital data afterwards are mixed. In this case, the date and time information recorded on the photographic image generated by the digital camera indicates the shooting date and time, but the date and time information recorded on the photographic image digitized by a scanner or the like indicates the date and time of reading. It does not indicate. Therefore, the date / time information attached to each photographic image cannot be managed based on the shooting time.

  In order to eliminate such inconvenience, a method for specifying the photographing time of a photographic image digitized from a printed photograph has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 specifies a shooting date by reading a date imprinted on a photograph by a date imprinting function. Therefore, when the date to be captured is not imprinted, the shooting date cannot be specified. In addition, if the date imprinted on the print photo cannot be read, the same image obtained from the film is searched and the date imprinted on the film image is read. Must be digitized. Therefore, even if the date is imprinted, it may be impossible to specify the shooting date if only the print photo exists.

  On the other hand, the user may be able to record arbitrary date / time information in the image file. In this case, it is also possible for the user (photographer or the like) to record the photographic image digitized from the printed photograph or film photograph by specifying the photographing date and time. In addition, for example, by specifying and classifying the date and time that can be specified, for example, “Specify only year”, “Specify only year and month”, “Specify all year, month and day”, etc. Even when the user does not memorize all the month and day, it was possible to specify and manage within the range that can be understood.

However, conventionally, it has been necessary to designate either the year or month by a numerical value, and an ambiguous designation could not be made. For this reason, for example, "I know the month and day but the year is unknown", "I know the approximate shooting time but the date is unknown", "I know the season but the month and date", etc. When the time was known but the details were ambiguous, it could not be specified well. Therefore, when the user does not remember the exact shooting date and time, it is actually a matter of specifying an appropriate date and time, and a date and time that is completely unrelated to the actual shooting date and time may be set. . In this case, when searching for a photographic image later, a difference from the user's memory has occurred, resulting in inconvenience that the target photo cannot be searched well.
JP 2004-348620 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an image management apparatus and the like that can easily and flexibly manage a photographic image or the like whose shooting time is unknown based on the shooting time or the like. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, an image management apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes:
Time information storage means for storing a time specification word for specifying a predetermined time and time information indicating a time range according to each time specification word;
Image data acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of image data and attribute information attached to each image data;
Based on the attribute information acquired by the image data acquisition means, image detection means for detecting image data with an unknown predetermined time;
Time information setting means for setting time information based on a time designation word selected by the user in the image data detected by the image detection means;
Image data storage means for storing the image data detected by the image detection means and the time information set by the time information setting means in association with each other;
A search condition accepting means for accepting a time specified phrase selected by the user as a search condition;
Search means for acquiring time information corresponding to the time designation phrase received by the search condition receiving means from the time information storage means, and searching for image data corresponding to the acquired time information from the image data storage means;
It is characterized by providing.

  According to such a configuration, when acquiring and managing image data, image data with an unknown predetermined time is automatically detected based on the attribute information, and the user can detect the detected image data. Time information can be set arbitrarily. Since the image data can be searched based on the time information set by the user as described above, management based on the time can be performed even when image data whose predetermined time is unknown is included. In addition, since it is possible to set arbitrary time information and search conditions by selecting words prepared in advance, it is possible to set an ambiguous time. Therefore, for example, even if the user's memory is ambiguous about the time concerning the image to be managed, the image management based on the time can be easily performed.

In the image management apparatus,
The image data indicates a photographic image, in this case,
The image detecting means preferably specifies image data whose shooting time is unknown based on the acquired attribute information.

  According to such a configuration, when managing image data of a photographic image, image data of a photographic image whose shooting time is unknown is automatically detected. The user can set arbitrary time information for such image data whose shooting time is unknown. Specifically, for example, for image data in which the creation date and time indicated by the attribute information does not indicate the shooting date and time, such as image data obtained by digitizing a print photograph, the user can set arbitrary time information. Can be set. Therefore, if image data has a clear shooting date and time (for example, image data generated by shooting with a digital camera) from the beginning, the shooting date is specified by the shooting date and the image data digitized by a scanner or the like is used. The shooting time is specified based on the time information set by the user. Thereby, even if image data with a clear shooting time and image data with an unknown shooting time are mixed, management based on the shooting time can be performed.

In the image management apparatus,
The time information storage means stores a time designation word and time information in association with each other for each predetermined time range,
The image data storage means preferably stores the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and the time information set in the image data in association with each predetermined time range.

  According to such a configuration, for example, a time specification phrase is prepared for each time range such as year, month, day, time, etc., so flexible settings can be made when setting an arbitrary time or specifying a search condition. it can. In addition, since the time specification word and the time information are associated with each other, even if an arbitrary time or a search condition is set using the time specification word, it can be managed based on time information common to all image data. . Therefore, even when image data in which the shooting date and time are recorded from the beginning and image data in which the shooting time is set later are mixed, the image data can be managed based on the time.

In the image management apparatus,
It is desirable to further include at least display means for displaying an image indicated by the image data.
It is desirable that the time information setting means and the search condition accepting means display the time designation word / phrase on the display means in a selectable manner.

  According to such a configuration, for example, a managed image is displayed and output on a liquid crystal display device or the like, and a time designation word / phrase used for an arbitrary time setting or search condition is displayed, for example, by a display method such as a pull-down menu. Since it is displayed in a selectable manner, it is possible to easily set an arbitrary time and specify a search condition.

In the image management apparatus,
The image detection means determines whether the attribute information acquired by the image data acquisition means is attribute information specific to shooting or camera, and does not have attribute information specific to shooting or camera. Is preferably detected as image data whose shooting time is unknown.

  According to such a configuration, for example, a photographic image (camera image) generated by photographing with a digital camera using attribute information such as Exif data, or a photographic image that is subsequently digitized by a scanner or the like. Whether it is a (scanner image) can be determined. In this case, whether the image is a camera image or a scanner image by detecting information specific to the shooting by the camera, such as information indicating the camera operation or setting at the time of shooting indicated by the attribute information, camera performance information, etc. Therefore, it is possible to reliably detect image data (that is, a scanner image) that requires setting of arbitrary time information.

In the image management apparatus,
Preferably, the search means displays the image indicated by the searched image data on the display means in a display form based on time information associated with each image data.

  According to such a configuration, for example, image data that completely matches the date and time of the search condition and image data that matches ambiguity are displayed separately, for example, classified and displayed for each time range. Therefore, a desired image can be easily obtained.

In order to achieve the above object, a program according to the second aspect of the present invention is:
At least a computer that controls a device including storage means and display means,
A function for associating a time specifying phrase for specifying a predetermined time with time information indicating a time range corresponding to each time specifying phrase in the storage means;
A function of acquiring image data indicating a photographic image and attribute information attached to each image data and storing the acquired attribute information in the storage unit;
Based on the acquired attribute information, a function to detect image data whose shooting time is unknown,
A function for causing the display means to display a screen for allowing the user to specify arbitrary time information using the time designation phrase stored in the storage means for the detected image data;
A function of associating the detected image data with time information designated by a user and storing the same in the storage unit;
A function for causing the display unit to display a screen for the user to specify a search condition for the image data stored in the storage unit using the time specification word;
A function for searching for image data based on a search condition designated by a user and time information indicated by each of the image data stored in the storage means;
A function to output the searched image data;
It is characterized by realizing.

  By applying such a program to an apparatus (for example, a personal computer, a digital camera, a printer, etc.) that can store and display image data, an existing apparatus or a general-purpose apparatus can function as the image management apparatus. it can.

  According to the present invention, when managing image data such as a photographic image, image data whose predetermined time such as a shooting time is unknown is automatically detected, and arbitrary time information is set for the detected image data. Therefore, for example, even if image data captured by a digital camera or image data captured by a scanner or the like is mixed, it is possible to search based on the time such as the image capturing time. Since an arbitrary time can be set vaguely by selecting a time designation phrase prepared in advance, image data such as a photographic image can be managed easily and flexibly.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case where image data such as a photographic image is stored and managed will be described below as an example. In other words, in the present embodiment, image data is stored and managed by the image management apparatus 100 (electronic album apparatus) having a function of acquiring, storing, and displaying image data. Is output.

  The configuration of the image management apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image management apparatus 100. The image management apparatus 100 is an apparatus that can store and output (display output) at least image data, and as illustrated, a control unit 110, an image acquisition unit 120, an operation unit 130, a display unit 140, The program storage unit 150 and the storage unit 160 are configured.

  The control unit 110 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a predetermined storage device (RAM (Random Access Memory)) serving as a work area, and controls each unit of the image management apparatus 100. Each process described later is executed based on a predetermined operation program stored in the program storage unit 150.

  The image acquisition unit 120 functions as an interface for acquiring image data. The image acquisition unit 120 acquires image data and attribute information attached to the image data from the outside and stores them in the storage unit 160. The image acquisition unit 120 includes, for example, a recording medium reading device or a predetermined communication interface.

  For example, a memory card slot can be employed as a recording medium reader. For example, a memory card used for image recording with a digital camera is inserted into the memory card slot. In this case, the image acquisition unit 120 acquires image data recorded on the memory card, that is, image data indicating an image taken with a digital camera. Further, as a recording medium reading device, for example, a recording medium driving device such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) may be employed. In this case, the image data recorded on these recording media is read and acquired.

  As a communication interface realized by the image acquisition device 120, for example, a connector based on a data transfer standard such as USB (Universal Serial Bus) can be adopted. In this case, a device such as a digital camera, a personal computer, a scanner, or the like is connected to the image acquisition unit 120 via a predetermined cable or the like. The image acquisition unit 120 acquires image data by data transfer from a connected device. That is, when a digital camera is connected, image data generated by shooting using the digital camera is acquired, and when a personal computer is connected, it is recorded in a storage device of the personal computer. Get image data. If a scanner is connected, image data generated by a reading operation by the scanner is acquired. In this case, the control unit 110 executes a program (so-called driver) for operating the connected scanner, thereby acquiring image data from the connected scanner.

  In the image management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the image acquisition unit 120 acquires a photographic image. In this embodiment, as a photographic image, an image generated by photographing using a digital camera (hereinafter referred to as “camera image”) and a photographic image obtained by reading with a scanner (hereinafter referred to as “scanner image”). ) Of two types of photographic images.

  The scanner image is, for example, a photographic image read from a photographic film (such as a negative film) or a printed photograph. Here, the photographic film refers to a film exposed by photographing with a film camera, and the printed photograph refers to a film developed for photographing with a film camera and developed on photographic paper.

  A photograph taken with a digital camera, but whose digital data does not exist and is printed on photographic paper or printing paper, is the subject of a scanner image. In other words, the camera image in the present embodiment is an image generated by photographing with a digital camera and can acquire digital data generated at the time of photographing.

  The camera image is acquired by connecting the image acquisition unit 120 and the digital camera, and is acquired by reading a memory card used in the digital camera. The scanner image is acquired by connecting the image acquisition unit 120 and the scanner, and is acquired from a personal computer connected to the scanner. Alternatively, it is obtained by reading a recording medium (such as a DVD) that stores image data of a scanner image. The scanner image may be stored in a memory card, and the camera image may be stored in a recording medium such as a personal computer or a DVD.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that predetermined attribute information is added to both the camera image and the scanner image. This attribute information includes at least creation date / time information indicating the date / time when each image data was created. Here, the creation date and time information added to the camera image indicates the date and time when the image data was generated by the digital camera, and thus indicates the shooting date and time. The creation date / time information added to the scanner image indicates the date / time when the image data was created by reading with the scanner.

  Such attribute information is, for example, data in Exif (Exchangeable Image File Format) format. Exif data is data that records the operation and settings of the camera when shooting with a digital camera. Therefore, the attribute information attached to the camera image is not added when the image is generated by the scanner, such as the shutter speed and aperture value at the time of shooting, and whether or not the flash is used. Information, that is, information peculiar to photographing by the camera (hereinafter referred to as “camera information”) is included. In addition to information indicating the camera operation and settings at the time of shooting as described above, the camera information includes performance information peculiar to the camera such as the F value of the lens.

  The operation unit 130 includes, for example, a predetermined input device such as a keyboard and a pointing device. When the operation unit 130 is operated by a user, the operation unit 130 receives a user instruction or a selection operation, generates a signal corresponding to the operation, and generates a control unit. 110 is entered.

  The display unit 140 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device, and displays an image acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 and an image stored in the storage unit 160, as well as a message for the user. Note that when the display unit 140 includes a touch panel display device, the display unit 140 also functions as the operation unit 130.

  The program storage unit 150 is configured from a predetermined storage device such as a hard disk device or a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores various operation programs executed by the control unit 110. The operation program stored in the program storage unit 150 stores an operation program for realizing each process to be described later, in addition to an arbitrary OS (Operating System: basic software) that controls the basic operation of the image management apparatus 100. ing. Processing performed by the image management apparatus 100 to be described later is realized by the control unit 110 executing these operation programs.

  That is, by executing the operation program stored in the program storage unit 150, the control unit 110 functions as a configuration as shown in FIG. As illustrated, the control unit 110 functions as an image type determination unit 111, a time information processing unit 112, and a display control unit 113.

  The image type determination unit 111 detects image data whose shooting time is unknown by determining the type of image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120. Here, based on the attribute information attached to the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120, it is determined whether the image is a camera image or a scanner image. That is, the image type determination unit 111 determines the type of each image by determining whether or not camera information is included in the attribute information of each image data. In this case, if the attribute information includes camera information, it is determined that the image is a camera image, and if not included, the image is determined to be a scanner image. In other words, the image type determination unit 111 determines whether the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 is digital data generated by shooting, or post-digitization (that is, digitization from a printed photograph or a photographic film). ) To determine whether the digital data is generated. Since the camera image is accompanied by attribute information indicating the shooting date and time, the shooting time is clear, whereas the scanner image does not include information indicating the shooting time. By determining whether the image is a scanner image, image data (scanner image) whose shooting time is unknown is detected.

  The timing information processing unit 112 cooperates with the operation unit 130, the display unit 140, the storage unit 160, and the like, and processes various period information associated with the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 and stored in the storage unit 160. To do. Here, the period information particularly refers to the photographing time of the photographic image. In the present embodiment, handling of period information differs between the camera image and the scanner image. This is because the creation date / time information included in the attribute information of the camera image indicates the shooting date / time, but the creation date / time information included in the attribute information of the scanner image does not indicate the shooting date / time. This is because the shooting time cannot be specified from the scanner image.

  In the present embodiment, arbitrary time information specified by the user (hereinafter referred to as “arbitrary time information”) is received and set for image data such as a scanner image for which the photographing time cannot be specified. The time information processing unit 112 performs processing related to the setting of the arbitrary time information. In this case, the time information processing unit 112 specifies the scanner image determined by the image type determination unit 111, and enables setting of arbitrary time information for the specified scanner image.

  Further, the image management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment extracts an image that matches a condition arbitrarily designated by the user from the stored image data, and outputs the image by display or the like. In this case, the time information processing unit 112 receives a condition specified by the user in cooperation with the operation unit 130 and extracts an image corresponding to the received condition. At this time, the time information processing unit 112 refers to the shooting date / time information of the camera image (hereinafter referred to as “absolute date / time information”) and the arbitrary time information of the scanner image, and determines the image matching the condition as the camera image. Extract from both scanner images.

  The display control unit 113 controls the display unit 140 to cause the display unit 140 to display the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 and stored in the storage unit 160. Here, the display control unit 113 displays the image data specified or extracted by the time information processing unit 112 on the display unit 140. In addition, various screens for the user to specify and select processing are generated and displayed on the display unit 140.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 110 executes the program stored in the program storage unit 150 to realize the above functions by so-called software processing. However, a circuit specialized for these functions (so-called ASIC (Application (ASIC)) The above functions may be realized by so-called hardware processing by configuring the Specific Integrated Circuit)) in the image management apparatus 100.

  Next, the storage unit 160 will be described. The storage unit 160 is configured by a predetermined storage device such as a semiconductor storage device or a hard disk device, for example, and stores acquired image data, as well as data used in processing according to the present embodiment and generated data. To do. In this embodiment, a database (DB) is configured in the storage unit 160, and predetermined data is stored in each database. An example of a database prepared in the storage unit 160 is shown in FIG. As illustrated, the storage unit 160 includes an acquired image DB 161, a time information DB 162, and the like. Each database will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The acquired image DB 161 stores image data acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 and information attached to each image data. An example of information recorded in the acquired image DB 161 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the acquired image DB 161, a record is created with identification information (image ID) uniquely assigned in units of images acquired by the image acquisition unit 120 as a main key. Each record indicates information (file name) indicating the file name of the image data, actual data of the image, attribute information added to the image data, and the type of the image determined by the image type determination unit 111. Information (image type), arbitrary time information designated by the user when the image is a scanner image, and the like are recorded.

  Here, as the attribute information, for example, Exif data attached to the acquired image data is stored. This attribute information is generated at the time of photographing with a digital camera and read by a scanner, and is added to the image data, and includes at least creation date / time information of the image data. That is, the attribute information of the image data generated by shooting with the digital camera includes information indicating the shooting date and time.

  In addition, as the arbitrary time information, time information indicating the start (start) of the period and time information indicating the end (end) of the period are recorded for each predetermined time unit (year, month, day, hour, minute). The Here, time information directly input by the user or time information corresponding to a time designation word / phrase (detailed later) selected by the user is recorded as time information.

  Information used for designating arbitrary time information is recorded in the time information DB 162. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that arbitrary time information is set by a user specifying phrases (hereinafter referred to as “time specification words”) indicating various times prepared in advance. Here, as the time specification phrase, a time specification phrase based on a time range (for example, year, month, day, time, etc.) divided in a predetermined time unit is prepared.

  For example, “Showa 40's” or “Showa 43” is prepared as a time designation phrase whose time range is “Year”. That is, “time range is year” (hereinafter referred to as “year range”) indicates a period expressed in units of years.

  For example, “spring”, “summer vacation”, etc. are prepared as time designation phrases whose time range is “month and day”. That is, “the time range is month and day” (hereinafter referred to as “month and day range”) indicates a period expressed in months or days.

  For example, “early morning” or “evening” is prepared as a time designation phrase whose time range is “time”. That is, “time range is time” (hereinafter referred to as “time range”) indicates a period expressed in units of hours or minutes.

  In the present embodiment, for example, when the user does not accurately store the shooting date and time, the shooting time is specified in an ambiguous manner using such a time specifying phrase prepared for each predetermined time range.

  Each of these time designation phrases is associated with actual time information (information indicating the date and time). Here, regarding the “year” of the time information, the year, month, date, and time are all expressed by numerical values using a year that can be handled by a computer. As described above, since the time specification word / phrase is prepared based on a predetermined time range, the time information corresponding to each time specification word / phrase is at least one of the items of year, month, day, hour and minute. (Null is inserted for items that cannot be specified).

  Further, the time information corresponding to each time designation word / phrase does not indicate one time point but indicates a time range. For example, the time information corresponding to the year designation period phrase “Showa 40's” is “1965.1.1 00:00 to 1974.12.31 23:59”, and the time information corresponding to the period designation phrase “Showa 43” is "1968.1.1 00:00-1968.12.31 23:59". In addition, the time information corresponding to the time designation phrase “spring” in the date range is, for example, “null.3.1 00:00 to null.5.31 23:59”, and the time information corresponding to the time designation phrase “summer vacation” is For example, “null.7.21 00:00 to null.8.31 23:59”. The time information corresponding to the time designation word “early morning” in the time range is, for example, “null.null.null 04:00 to null.null.null 06:59”, and the time information corresponding to the time designation word “evening” Is, for example, “null.null.null 16:00 to null.null.null 18:59”.

  The time information DB 162 stores time designation phrases and time information that are associated with each other in this way. An example of information stored in the time information DB 162 is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, in the time information DB 162, a record is created for each time designation word / phrase prepared for each time range, each of which shows information (time designation word / phrase) indicating the time designation word / phrase, the time designation word / phrase. The time information associated with is recorded. Each period designation word is associated with start and end time information, and a numerical value is recorded for each time unit (year, month, hour, minute).

  The operation of the image management apparatus 100 having such a configuration will be described below. In the present embodiment, a case where the image management apparatus 100 is used to store / manage a photographic image (camera image) taken with a digital camera or a photographic image (scanner image) obtained by reading a printed photograph with a scanner. . First, “image acquisition processing” for acquiring a photographic image to be stored will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. The image management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is provided with an operation mode of “save mode” for storing image data and “search mode” for outputting the stored image, Of these, the image acquisition process is started when the user selects the “save mode”.

  When the process is started, the image acquisition unit 120 of the image management apparatus 100 sequentially acquires the attribute data attached to the image data of the photographic image from the connected apparatus or the inserted recording medium (step S101). The image acquisition unit 120 sequentially stores the acquired image data and attribute information in the acquired image DB 161 (step S102). Here, image data is sequentially acquired in image units, and the file name, actual data, and accompanying attribute information of the image data are stored while sequentially creating new records in the acquired image DB 161.

  When all the image data to be stored is stored in the acquired image DB 161, the image type determination unit 111 determines the type of the stored image data (step S103). Here, the type of image data is determined by referring to the attribute information of each newly acquired image data and detecting the presence or absence of camera information. That is, the image type determination unit 111 determines that image data whose camera information is included in the attribute information is “camera image”, and determines that image data whose camera information is not included in the attribute information is “scanner image”. . The image type determination unit 111 records information indicating the determination result in each record of the acquired image DB 161.

  When the recording of the determination result by the image type determination unit 111 is completed, the time information processing unit 112 accesses the acquired image DB 161, the image type is “scanner image”, and image data (arbitrary time information is not recorded) ( Hereinafter, it is determined whether or not there is an “unset image” (step S104). Here, the scanner image does not include information indicating the shooting date and time at the time of acquisition. Therefore, the scanner image without any arbitrary time information set by the user does not include any information indicating the photographing time. That is, an unset image is an image whose shooting time is unknown at the stage when image data is acquired. Therefore, by the processing in step S104, the image type determination unit 111 detects which image data has an unknown shooting time. Such image data whose shooting time is unknown is a target of arbitrary time setting by the user.

  When there is an unset image (step S104: Yes), the time information processing unit 112 executes a “time information setting process” for setting arbitrary time information in the unset image (step S200).

  On the other hand, when there is no unset image in the acquired image (step S104: No), the process ends.

  The “time information setting process” executed when an unset image is detected in step S104 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the process is started, the time information processing unit 112 notifies the display control unit 113 that the image ID of the unset image and that these images are the setting target of the arbitrary time information. In response to the notification from the time information processing unit 112, the display control unit 113 accesses the acquired image DB 161, acquires image data of the specified unset image, indicates that these images can be selected, and displays these images. An “unset image notification screen” indicating that the image is a target for setting arbitrary time information is displayed on the display unit 140 (step S201). Here, as shown in FIG. 9A, a plurality of specified scanner images are displayed as thumbnails, for example, so that each displayed image can be selected by an operation using the operation unit 130 of the user. To do. Further, a message or the like indicating that the shooting date of the displayed photographic image is unknown and the user can arbitrarily set it is displayed.

  The user operates the operation unit 130 to select an image for setting arbitrary time information. In response to a user operation, the operation unit 130 inputs information for designating the selected image to the control unit 110. Based on the input from the operation unit 130, the time information processing unit 112 determines that any unset image has been selected (step S202: Yes), and sets arbitrary time information in the selected unset image. Display the screen.

  Here, first, the display control unit 113 generates a “designation method selection screen” for allowing the user to select a designation method at an arbitrary time and displays it on the display unit 140 (step S203). As shown in FIG. 9B, on the designation method selection screen, “direct designation” and “ambiguous designation” are displayed so as to be selectable as designation methods. Direct designation is a method in which the user inputs and designates either the year, month, or day when the user memorizes the shooting date (date) of the selected photographic image. Further, the ambiguous designation is a method of ambiguously designating the shooting date when the user does not accurately store the shooting date.

  The user selects one of the methods and operates the operation unit 130 to specify it. The operation unit 130 inputs a signal corresponding to a user operation to the control unit 110. The time information processing unit 112 determines whether or not the selected designation method is direct designation based on the input from the operation unit 130 (step S204).

  When direct designation is selected (step S204: Yes), the time information processing unit 112 notifies the display control unit 113 to that effect. In response to the notification from the time information processing unit 112, the display control unit 113 displays a “direct designation screen” as shown in FIG. 10A on the display unit 140 (step S205).

  As shown in the figure, the direct designation screen displays the thumbnail and file name of the selected photo image, as well as a text box for entering the year, month, and day of the shooting date, and confirmation of the input contents. An “OK” button or the like is displayed.

  When the user remembers all the year, month, and day of the shooting date for the selected photo image, the user operates the operation unit 130 to input each numerical value and select the “OK” button. If the user does not remember the year, month, and day of the shooting date, only the remembered part is input.

  The operation unit 130 inputs a signal corresponding to a user operation to the control unit 110. The time information processing unit 112 receives time information indicating a shooting date designated by the user by an input from the operation unit 130, and determines whether or not any item of year, month, or day of the shooting date is not input. A determination is made (step S206).

  When there is an uninput item (step S206: Yes), the time information processing unit 112 executes “ambiguous designation processing” for vaguely designating the shooting time (step S300). This ambiguous designation process is also executed when the user selects “ambiguous designation” on the designation method selection screen displayed in step S203 (step S204: No). Details of the ambiguous designation process will be described later.

  On the other hand, when the year, month, and day of the shooting date are all input in “direct designation” (step S206: No), the time information processing unit 112 accesses the acquired image DB 161 and stores the selected image data. The inputted shooting date information is recorded as arbitrary time information (step S207). In this case, the shooting date is specified by recording the date information input at both the start and end of the arbitrary time information.

  When the arbitrary time information is recorded, the time information processing unit 112 determines whether or not the arbitrary time information is set for all the unset images detected in step S104 of the “image acquisition process” (FIG. 6). (Step S208).

  If the arbitrary time information is not set for all the detected unset images (step S208: No), the process returns to step S201, and the arbitrary time information is recorded for the remaining unset images.

  On the other hand, when the arbitrary time information is set for all the detected unset images (step S208: Yes), the process ends. In this case, the process returns to the “image acquisition process” flow shown in FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 8 shows the details of the “ambiguous designation process” executed when the direct designation is incomplete (step S206: Yes) or when the user selects “ambiguous designation” (step S204: No). Will be described with reference to FIG. In the ambiguous designation, in addition to specifying the shooting date unambiguously using the time specification phrase, the shooting date can be specified ambiguously by specifying the range for each date.

  When the processing is started, the time information processing unit 112 extracts a time designation word / phrase used for ambiguous designation (step S301). Here, the time information processing unit 112 accesses the time information DB 162 and extracts a registered time designation word / phrase. When the user designates “ambiguous designation”, the time information processing unit 112 extracts time designation words / phrases corresponding to all time ranges. On the other hand, if there is an uninput item at the time of direct specification, a time specification phrase in the time range corresponding to the uninput item is extracted. For example, when “year” is not input in the direct designation, a time designation phrase corresponding to the year range is extracted. When “month” or “day” is not input, a time designation word / phrase corresponding to the month / day range is extracted.

  When the time designation word / phrase is extracted, the time information processing unit 112 notifies the word / phrase ID indicating the extracted time designation word / phrase. In response to the notification from the time information processing unit 112, the display control unit 113 accesses the time information DB 162, and generates an “ambiguous specification screen” that indicates that a time specification word corresponding to the notified word ID can be selected. The information is displayed on the display unit 140 (step S302).

  A display example of the “ambiguous designation screen” is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the ambiguous designation screen displays the thumbnail image and file name of the selected photographic image, as well as a text box for entering an arbitrary period and a time designation phrase for each time range. A pull-down menu of is displayed. For one time range, either an arbitrary period or a time designation phrase is designated. Therefore, there are cases where the designation of the arbitrary period and the designation by the period specifying phrase are mixed in the entire arbitrary period to be set.

  Here, the arbitrary period refers to a period when the user cannot specify the year, month, day, hour, and day corresponding to each time range as one, but can specify it within an ambiguous range. For example, for a photographic image whose actual shooting year is “2000”, the user does not clearly remember that it was “taken in 2000”. "1997 to 2001" is designated as an arbitrary period in the year range. In this case, the user operates the operation unit 130 to input a numerical value indicating an arbitrary period in a text box on the ambiguous designation screen.

  Further, when such an arbitrary period is unknown, a designation using a time designation phrase is performed. In this case, the user operates the operation unit 130 to expand a pull-down menu in the ambiguous designation screen and select a corresponding time designation word / phrase from a plurality of time designation words / phrases indicated as options.

  When the user operates the operation unit 130 and designates an arbitrary period or time designation word / phrase for each time range, the user selects an “OK” button for instructing confirmation of the designated content. In this case, the operation unit 130 inputs an input signal based on a user action to the control unit 110. That is, numerical information input to the text box, information indicating the time designation word / phrase selected from the pull-down menu, and the like are input to the control unit 110 in association with information indicating each time range.

  Based on the input signal from the operation unit 130, the time information processing unit 112 receives the period indicated by the input arbitrary time information as an arbitrary time (shooting time) set by the user (step S303). Then, when the time specification phrase is included in the acquired arbitrary time information, the time information processing unit 112 accesses the time information DB 162 and acquires time information corresponding to the specified time specification phrase ( Step S304) and the process is terminated. In this case, the process returns to the “time information setting process” shown in FIG. 7, and the acquired arbitrary time information is stored in the acquired image DB 161 in step S207. That is, when the user inputs an arbitrary period, the start and end of the range are recorded in the record of the selected image. When the user selects a time designation phrase, the start and end of the corresponding time information range are recorded in the record of the selected image.

  As described above, by the “image acquisition process” executed by selecting the storage mode, the image management apparatus 100 automatically determines whether the acquired image is a camera image or a scanner image, When a scanner image is detected, the user can arbitrarily specify the recording time and record it. Here, when the user's storage of the shooting time is ambiguous, it is possible to specify the ambiguous period or use the time specification phrase prepared in advance to specify the shooting time in an ambiguous manner.

  Next, “image search processing” for searching for a photographic image acquired in this way will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This image search process is started when “search mode” is selected from the operation modes of the image management apparatus 100.

  When the process is started, the display control unit 113 generates a “search method selection screen” for the user to select a search method and displays it on the display unit 140 (step S401). In the present embodiment, as a search method, “direct search” that directly specifies the shooting date and time and “ambiguous search” that searches using an ambiguous period or time specification phrase are prepared. Therefore, the search method selection screen is a screen for the user to select one of these search methods, and the screen display is almost the same as the designation method selection screen shown in FIG. 9B.

  The user operates the operation unit 130 to select a desired search method. The operation unit 130 inputs an input signal corresponding to a user operation to the control unit 110. Based on the input from the operation unit 130, the time information processing unit 112 receives a search method selection instruction from the user (step S402). The time information processing unit 112 determines whether direct search or fuzzy search is selected, and instructs the display control unit 113 to display a screen according to the determination result. Based on the instruction, the display control unit 113 generates a “time specification screen” for the user to specify the shooting time of the photographic image to be searched and displays it on the display unit 140 (step S403).

  More specifically, a different time designation screen is displayed for each search method selected by the user. When direct search is selected, the display control unit 113 generates a “direct specification screen” for the user to directly input and specify the shooting date of the photographic image to be searched as a time specification screen, and the display unit 140 To display. This direct designation screen includes, for example, a text box for inputting the year, month, and day of the shooting date, an “OK” button for instructing confirmation of input contents, and the like. This is the same screen as the direct designation screen (FIG. 10A) displayed in step S205 of the time setting process.

  The user operates the operation unit 130 and inputs the shooting date of the photographic image to be searched. Here, all or any of the year, month, and day are input, and the “OK” button is selected.

  On the other hand, when the fuzzy search is selected, the display control unit 113 generates a “fuzzy specification screen” for specifying the shooting date of the photographic image to be searched as a time specification screen and displays it on the display unit 140. To do. This ambiguous designation screen has, for example, a configuration in which a text box for inputting an arbitrary period and a pull-down menu for selecting a time designation word are arranged for each time range, and is displayed in step S302 of the ambiguous designation process. This is the same screen as the ambiguous designation screen (FIG. 10B). Note that on the ambiguous designation screen displayed in this process, all the time designation words are displayed so as to be selectable.

  The user operates the operation unit 130 to select an input for an arbitrary period or a time designation phrase for each time level, and selects an “OK” button for instructing confirmation of the input content. Also in this case, one time level is designated using either an arbitrary period or a time designation phrase. Therefore, when the time is specified over a plurality of time ranges, the specification by an arbitrary period and the specification by the time specification word / phrase may be mixed.

  The operation unit 130 generates an input signal indicating the input content on the direct designation screen or the ambiguous designation screen and inputs the input signal to the control unit 110 in accordance with a user operation. The time information processing unit 112 acquires information indicating the shooting time designated by the user (hereinafter referred to as “time designation information”) by input from the operation unit 130. In this case, the time information processing unit 112 accepts the shooting time indicated by the acquired time designation information as a search condition (step S404).

  The time information processing unit 112 searches the acquired image DB 161 for image data that meets the search condition specified by the user. At this time, processing differs depending on the search method designated by the user. The time information processing unit 112 determines the selected search method based on a user instruction on the search method selection screen displayed on the display unit 140 in step S401 (step S405).

  When the search method selected by the user is “direct search” (step S405: Yes), the acquired image DB 161 is accessed, and the date indicated by the time designation information and the creation indicated by the attribute information of the stored camera image Detects the same date and time. More specifically, a record in which the image type is a camera image among the records in the acquired image DB 161 is specified, and attribute information recorded in this record is referred to. The creation date and time in the attribute information (for example, Exif data) of the camera image indicates the shooting date and time, so the date specified by the user is captured by detecting a match with the date and time indicated by the time specification information. A camera image as the date is detected (step S406).

  Next, the time information processing unit 112 detects the image data stored in the acquired image DB 161 for which the date indicated by the time designation information corresponds to the arbitrary time information. In this embodiment, since arbitrary time information is recorded for the scanner image, an image corresponding to the photographing time designated by the user is detected from the stored scanner image (step S407).

  The time information processing unit 112 notifies the display control unit 113 of the image ID of the image detected in steps S406 and S407. The display control unit 113 accesses the acquired image DB 161 in response to the notification from the time information processing unit 112, acquires image data corresponding to the notified image ID, and displays it on the display unit 140 (step S411). End the process. Here, as shown in FIG. 12A, the detected images are displayed in a list so as to be selectable by, for example, thumbnail display (search result screen).

  In this case, the display control unit 113 includes a camera image having creation date information that matches the timing designation information among the detected images, and a scanner having arbitrary timing information set by direct designation that matches the timing designation information. An image (hereinafter referred to as “completely matched image”) and a scanner image in which the date indicated by the time designation information is included within the range indicated by the arbitrary time information set by the ambiguous designation (hereinafter referred to as “fuzzy coincidence”). Image ") and display them on the display unit 140.

  On the other hand, when the search method designated by the user is “fuzzy search” (step S405: No), the time information processing unit 112 accesses the time information DB 162, and time information corresponding to the time designated phrase selected by the user. Is acquired (step S408). It should be noted that this process is skipped when no time specification word is specified in any time range (that is, when an arbitrary period is specified in all time ranges).

  Next, the time information processing unit 112 generates period information for specifying the period of the shooting time specified by the user vaguely (step S409). Here, the period information which shows a time range is produced | generated by combining the time information which the user designated for every time range. For example, if the year range is specified as “2000-2002” for any period, and the date specification term “summer vacation” is selected in the month-day range, then “2000.7.21 00:00 to 2000.8.31 23:59”, “ Three period information of “2001.7.21 00:00 to 2001.8.31 23:59” and “2002.7.21 00:00 to 2002.8.31 23:59” is generated. The time information processing unit 112 holds the period information thus generated in a work area or the like.

  Next, the timing information processing unit 112 accesses the acquired image DB 161 and refers to the creation date and time indicated by the attribute information of the camera image and the arbitrary timing information set in the scanner image, and the set shooting date and time is An image corresponding to the period indicated by the period information generated in step S409 is detected (step S410).

  The time information processing unit 112 notifies the display control unit 113 of the image ID of the image detected in step S410. The display control unit 113 accesses the acquired image DB 161 in response to the notification from the time information processing unit 112, acquires image data corresponding to the notified image ID, and displays it on the display unit 140 (step S411). End the process. Here, as shown in FIG. 12A, the detected images are displayed in a list so as to be selectable by, for example, thumbnail display (search result screen).

  Through the above processing, a photographic image stored in the image management apparatus 100 can be searched based on the shooting time. Here, it is possible not only to search for a photographic image in which an accurate shooting date and time is recorded, but also to search for an image with an ambiguous shooting time set. In addition, the shooting time as a search condition can be specified vaguely in addition to specifying the date, and in any case, the corresponding image data can be detected and presented. Therefore, even if image data generated by digital camera shooting and image data generated by digitizing a printed photograph, etc. are mixed, search for a photographic image based on the shooting time. Can do.

  The image searched by the image search process is used by the user in various ways. For example, the user can select one of the images displayed as thumbnails, and the selected image can be displayed on the display unit 140 in a normal size for viewing, and the selected image can be displayed on another recording medium. It is used as appropriate by copying it to the printer or transferring it to a printer for printing. In the image selection, for example, a plurality of images may be selected at once by displaying a check box corresponding to each image.

  As described above, according to the image management apparatus 100 according to the above-described embodiment, even when a photographic image in which information indicating the actual shooting date / time is not recorded is included, the management based on the imaging time is included. Can be done.

  Each said embodiment is an example and the application range of this invention is not restricted to this. That is, various applications are possible, and all the embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

  For example, the retrieved photographic image can be displayed on the display unit 140 in any display form. For example, based on the shooting date information recorded in the detected image data, a search result screen classified by year, month, day, etc. may be displayed as shown in FIG. In addition, in the arbitrary time information, either year, month, or day may not be set (item that is “null” in the data). When such image data is detected as a search result, it may be displayed separately from other image data in the above-described classification display.

  In the above-described embodiment, the year range, the month / day range, and the time range are prepared as the time ranges for specifying the shooting time in an ambiguous manner. However, the time range division setting is arbitrary. Moreover, the time designation words / phrases shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and various words / phrases suitable for designating the time and period may be set as the time designation words / phrases.

  In the above-described embodiment, a case where a photographic image is targeted is illustrated, but the image can be managed by the image management apparatus according to the present invention. The image is not limited to a photographic image, and may be image data representing various images. In this case, time information other than the shooting time may be used as the management reference.

  The image management apparatus 100 exemplified in the above embodiment functions as an apparatus (electronic album apparatus) for managing photographic images by itself with a configuration for storing acquired image data and displaying it. However, the image management apparatus according to the present invention may be realized by incorporating such a configuration into various apparatuses that handle photographic images.

  For example, the present invention may be applied to a digital camera to function as an image management apparatus. In this case, for example, a computer (such as a CPU) that stores a captured image and an image acquired by a scanner or the like in a memory card adopted by the digital camera, and controls the operation of the digital camera, performs the above-described processes. By executing the same processing as, the photographic images stored in the memory card can be managed based on the shooting time. In addition, for example, the present invention may be applied to a printer that acquires and prints photographic images from a digital camera or the like, or a device that receives photographic image data for printing at a photo shop.

  In this case, not only can the configuration according to the present invention be incorporated into these apparatuses from the beginning, but also, for example, the image management function according to the present invention can be configured as a module and incorporated into an existing apparatus to provide an image management function. May be added. Further, by applying a program for realizing each processing described above to an existing apparatus, it may function as an image management apparatus according to the present invention.

  The present invention can be applied to an ASP (Application Service Provider) server that provides an electronic album service via a communication network such as the Internet, and a general-purpose computer device such as a personal computer functions as the image management device according to the present invention. You may let them.

  In any case, the image management apparatus according to the present invention is implemented by applying the program for realizing each process described above to each apparatus and executing the program to which a computer (such as a CPU) that controls the apparatus is applied. Can function.

  The form of providing such a program is arbitrary. For example, the program can be provided by being stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM and distributed via a communication medium such as the Internet. May be.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image management apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function structure implement | achieved by the control part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the database comprised by the memory | storage part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the information recorded on acquisition image DB shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the information recorded on the time information image DB shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the "image acquisition process" concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the "time information setting process" performed by the image acquisition process shown in FIG. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the "ambiguity designation | designated process" performed by the time information setting process shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen displayed in an image acquisition process, (a) shows the example of a display of an "unset image notification screen", (b) shows the example of a display of a "designation method selection screen". It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the screen displayed in an image acquisition process, (a) shows the example of a display of "direct designation | designated screen", (b) shows the example of a display of "ambiguity designation | designated screen". It is a flowchart for demonstrating the "image search process" concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the search result screen displayed in an image search process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Image management apparatus, 111 ... Image type discrimination | determination part, 112 ... Timing information processing part, 113 ... Display control part, 130 ... Operation part, 140 ... Display part, 150 ... Program storage part, 160 ... Memory | storage part, 161 ... Acquisition Image DB, 162 ... time information DB

Claims (7)

Time information storage means for storing a time specification word for specifying a predetermined time and time information indicating a time range according to each time specification word;
Image data acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of image data and attribute information attached to each image data;
Based on the attribute information acquired by the image data acquisition means, image detection means for detecting image data with an unknown predetermined time;
Time information setting means for setting time information based on a time designation word selected by the user in the image data detected by the image detection means;
Image data storage means for storing the image data detected by the image detection means and the time information set by the time information setting means in association with each other;
A search condition accepting means for accepting a time specified phrase selected by the user as a search condition;
Search means for acquiring time information corresponding to the time designation phrase received by the search condition receiving means from the time information storage means, and searching for image data corresponding to the acquired time information from the image data storage means;
An image management apparatus comprising: The image data represents a photographic image,
The image detection means detects image data whose shooting time is unknown based on the acquired attribute information.
The image management apparatus according to claim 1. The time information storage means stores a time designation word and time information in association with each other for each predetermined time range,
The image data storage means stores the image data acquired by the image data acquisition means and the time information set in the image data in association with each predetermined time range.
The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image management apparatus is an image management apparatus. At least display means for displaying an image indicated by the image data;
The time information setting means and the search condition accepting means display the time designation word / phrase on the display means so as to be selectable,
The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image management apparatus is an image management apparatus. The image detection means determines whether the attribute information acquired by the image data acquisition means is attribute information specific to shooting or camera, and does not have attribute information specific to shooting or camera. Is detected as image data whose shooting time is unknown,
The image management apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image management apparatus is an image management apparatus. The search means displays the image indicated by the searched image data on the display means in a display form based on time information associated with each image data.
The image management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image management apparatus is an image management apparatus. At least a computer that controls a device including storage means and display means,
A function for associating a time specifying phrase for specifying a predetermined time with time information indicating a time range corresponding to each time specifying phrase in the storage means;
A function of acquiring image data indicating a photographic image and attribute information attached to each image data and storing the acquired attribute information in the storage unit;
Based on the acquired attribute information, a function to detect image data whose shooting time is unknown,
A function for causing the display means to display a screen for allowing the user to specify arbitrary time information using the time designation phrase stored in the storage means for the detected image data;
A function of associating the detected image data with time information designated by a user and storing the same in the storage unit;
A function for causing the display unit to display a screen for the user to specify a search condition for the image data stored in the storage unit using the time specification word;
A function for searching for image data based on a search condition designated by a user and time information indicated by each of the image data stored in the storage means;
A function to output the searched image data;
A program characterized by realizing.

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