JP2007179277A - Backup system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily know a backup state even without connection to a communication bus, the Internet or the like, when a user desires to delete a digital image file from a photographing device. <P>SOLUTION: When transferring the digital image file generated from an image photographed by the photographing device A001 and recorded, and a thumb nail image thereof to a PC B001 and backing up them, and transferring the digital image file and the thumb nail image thereof transferred to the PC and stored to a backup server C001 and backing up them, a display message showing whether the digital image file and the thumb nail image thereof are recorded by only the photographing device, are transferred to the PC by a backup means and are recorded, or are transferred to the backup server and are recorded is written in the thumb nail image recorded by the photographing device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a backup system that protects a digital image file recorded by a photographing device such as a digital camera or a digital movie from a failure, an erroneous operation, or an unexpected accident of the device, and considering the convenience of a user.

  As is well known, in recent years, a digital camera that stores various information signals such as video and audio in a digital file and a photographing apparatus similar to a digital movie are rapidly spreading. One advantage of digital files and recording devices over analog tape media is high-speed copying and random accessibility. For example, a photographing device and a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) incorporating a large-capacity recording device such as a hard disk are connected using a communication bus similar to a universal serial bus (hereinafter abbreviated as USB). It is natural to copy a digital file to a PC via a communication bus at high speed and perform file management on the PC side.

  In addition, in analog tape media, there is a risk of overwriting because the recording position is managed by the tape position, but there is no risk of overwriting because digital files are managed by file names. Also, only digital files that are no longer needed can be safely deleted on a file basis. Furthermore, in an image management application (application software) that runs on a PC, the connection state of the communication bus is constantly monitored, and when an intermittently connected imaging device is detected, it is stored in the imaging device on the hard disk on the PC. By copying the digital files that have been recorded, the digital file group in the photographing apparatus is automatically backed up (a function that maintains the state at a certain point in time). Furthermore, it is possible to perform a more permanent backup by writing a plurality of digital files in the hard disk to a DVD medium using a DVD writing application operating on a PC.

  Further, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, backup can be performed by transmitting a digital file from a PC to the Web server via the Internet and registering it in the backup server.

If the environment as described above is in place, the recording device in the photographing apparatus does not necessarily need to be removable. For this reason, in recent years, digital cameras and digital movies with built-in large-capacity hard disks have become commercially available.
JP 2002-278816 A (Abstract)

  Year after year, the capacity of the storage medium in the photographing apparatus is increasing. For this reason, a photographic device capable of photographing more than 9999 images for a still image file and several hundred scenes (= hundreds of files) for a moving image file for a total of 7 hours or more has become commercially available. The importance of file management is increasing. Basically, since the photographing device is carried by the user, there is always a risk of damage, submersion, and loss. In addition, when the storage medium becomes full at the time of shooting, the user can use the interactive graphical user interface (hereinafter abbreviated as GUI) for file management provided in the shooting device to start from the digital file. It is necessary to free up storage space by browsing the reduced image that represents the characteristics of the digital file called the generated thumbnail image, and selecting and erasing the digital file that is no longer needed. Erasure tends to occur.

  On the other hand, since a PC is generally fixed and installed, it is safer than a photographing device, but considering the reliability of a built-in hard disk, it cannot be a target for permanently storing digital files. . When a DVD writing drive is built in as an auxiliary storage device in a PC, safety is improved by backing up to a DVD medium, but a hard disk generally has a larger capacity than a DVD medium. As of 2005, the hard disk capacity of PCs sold to individuals is about 250 gigabytes (GB) (1 gigabyte = 1,000,000,000 bytes), but DVD media is 4.7 GB, so it is completely backed up. About 50 sheets are required to take Since the backup work involves an interactive digital file selection operation and physical exchange of DVD media, an amount of work that causes considerable pain to the user occurs.

  Patent Document 1 is suitable because there is no exchange of DVD media and the like, and backup can be performed no matter where the device to be backed up exists on the Internet. However, Patent Document 1 does not consider the exchange of backup states of the imaging device, the PC, and the backup server. In addition, it is a proposal that requires an Internet connection function for a device to be backed up.

  For example, when a user takes the photographing device to the photographing location, the recording device in the photographing device becomes full during photographing, and the user feels that he / she wants to erase unnecessary digital files on the spot, the digital file is ( There is no easy way to know whether 1) it exists only in the imaging device, 2) it has been backed up to a PC, or 3) it has been backed up to a backup server. For this reason, the user cannot safely delete the digital file from the storage medium. Further, since the photographing apparatus is carried, it is difficult to inquire the backup state to the PC or the backup server on demand at the photographing place. Although it is possible if the photographing apparatus has a function of connecting to a mobile phone network or a wireless LAN network and is equipped with a backup management Web server access function and a backup application as disclosed in Patent Document 1, Considering the rise in production costs, it is extremely unrealistic.

  For this reason, backup is automatically performed between the intermittently connected photographing apparatus and the PC, and further between the intermittently connected PC and the backup server, and the user takes a photograph. When it is desired to delete a digital file from the apparatus, a backup system that can easily know the backup status without connecting to a communication bus or the Internet is desired. Furthermore, it is desirable that the backup system can provide the photographing apparatus main body without modifying the existing product even if a new PC and backup server must be prepared.

  The present invention provides a backup that allows the user to easily know the backup status without connecting to a communication bus or the Internet when the user wants to delete a digital image file from the photographing apparatus in view of the above-described problems of the prior art. The purpose is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a system for backing up an image taken by a photographing device, wherein a digital image file generated and recorded from the image taken by the photographing device and its thumbnail image are personalized. Backup means for transferring to a computer and storing it, and whether the digital image file and the thumbnail image generated and recorded from the image taken by the photographing apparatus are recorded only by the photographing apparatus, or by the backup means Writing means for writing in the thumbnail image recorded by the photographing apparatus a display message indicating whether it has been transferred and recorded to a personal computer.
The digital image file and the thumbnail image transferred to and stored in the personal computer are further transferred to a backup server and stored in a second backup unit.
The writing means displays whether the digital image file generated and recorded from the image photographed by the photographing device and the thumbnail image are transferred to the backup server and recorded by the second backup means. The message is written in a thumbnail image recorded by the photographing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, when a user wants to delete a digital file from the photographing apparatus, the user can easily know the backup status without connecting to a communication bus or the Internet. Further, it is not necessary to expand the hardware of the photographing apparatus, and an increase in production cost can be suppressed. In addition, the interactive file manager provided in the photographing apparatus can be used as it is for displaying the backup status, so that the man-hour for extending the file manager is not required, and the user's operational feeling is not impaired.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a backup system according to the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, the photographing apparatus A001 and PCB001 are intermittently connected via a communication bus U001. Further, the PCB 001 and the backup server C001 are intermittently connected via the Internet I001. Each block in the photographing apparatus A001 will be described. The imaging unit 101 shoots a still image / moving image according to a user's shooting operation and generates digital data. The file recording unit 102 generates a digital file by adding a file name to the digital data generated by the imaging unit 101 in accordance with the file system standard, and further reduces the thumbnail image file for convenience of browsing. Is generated. The file means 103 is a file system that temporarily stores the digital file and thumbnail image file generated by the file recording means 102. The communication bus means 104 is an interface for accessing (reading / rewriting) the file means 103 from an external device (PCB001 in this case).

  The file manager means 105 uses a display (not shown) to browse the thumbnail image file in the file means 103, which is selected interactively by the user using an input key (not shown), and at least deletes the digital file. It is an application similar to a file manager that can An example of this screen is shown in FIG. Since the file manager is a well-known technique that most digital cameras and digital movies have as a matter of course, a detailed description of the implementation method is omitted.

  Each block in PCB001 will be described. The communication bus means 110 is an interface for accessing (reading / rewriting) the file means of the external device (here, the file means 103 of the photographing apparatus A001) via the communication bus U001. The bus monitoring unit 111 detects that an external device is connected to or disconnected from the communication bus unit 110 and notifies the registration unit 112 of it. When the connection is notified from the bus monitoring unit 111, the registration unit 112 stores the digital file and the thumbnail image file in the photographing apparatus A 001 acquired via the communication bus unit 110 in the database unit 114 and also stores the thumbnail image data in the thumbnail image data. A process for expressing the backup state is added and the result is written back to the file means 103. The thumbnail image processing unit 115 adds the processing indicating the backup state to the thumbnail image file designated by the registration unit 112.

  The structure of the backup management table Tb in the database unit 114 is shown in FIG. The fingerprint information in the backup management table Tb shown in FIG. 2 is a fixed-length bit string obtained by inputting a digital file into a message digest function. The message digest function is a function that takes an input bit string of any length and can obtain a fixed-length output bit string, and has a characteristic that more than half of the output bit string changes when the input bit string differs by one bit. . In general, since the output bit string is sufficiently shorter than the input bit string, it is often handled as fingerprint information (message digest) for quickly comparing data. Probably different input bit strings may have the same output bit string, but the number of digital files managed by individual users is considered to be several million at most, and the output bit string is about 128 bits. If secured, the probability of collision is virtually negligible. An example of the message digest function as described above is MD5 function: Internet standard request for comment 1321 (Request for Comments: 1321, The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm).

  The digital file name in the backup management table Tb shown in FIG. 2 is the file name of the corresponding digital file. A digital file is the data body of the corresponding digital file. The thumbnail image file name is the file name of the corresponding thumbnail image file. The thumbnail image file is the data body of the corresponding thumbnail image file. The server transfer completed flag is a true / false value indicating that the corresponding digital file indicates the transfer status of the backup server C001. The initial status is NO, and YES is set if the transfer has been completed.

  The database means 114 of the PCB 001 shown in FIG. 1 handles the fingerprint information shown in FIG. 2 as a main key. Here, the primary key is a database term, and the primary key group indicates a unique entry that does not overlap each other in one table. The reason why the digital file name is not used as the primary key is that the digital file name cannot be unique depending on the use situation of the photographing apparatus A001 described later. Here, the file system standard conforms to the JEIDA standard camera file system standard DCF Version 1.0, and the format of each digital file conforms to the JEIDA standard digital still camera image file format standard (Exif) Version 2.0. .

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the directory and file arrangement of the file means 103 in the photographing apparatus A001 conforming to the camera file system standard. In FIG. 3, a digital file “JVCF0001.JPG” and a thumbnail image file “JVCF0001.THM” are created in the photographing apparatus A001 by the first photographing, and a digital file “JVCF0002.JPG” is created in the photographing apparatus A001 by the second photographing. And that the thumbnail image file “JVCF0002.THM” has been created. Each file name follows the naming convention of the file system standard, and the digital file name and thumbnail image file name at the same shooting time are the same except for the file extension (JPG, THM). Two files can be handled as a set by column analysis. Further, in the above-mentioned JEIDA standard digital still camera image file format standard, the compressed file format of the digital file body is defined, and (1) a thumbnail image file is generated as a single file having an extension of “THM”. In addition to the method, (2) thumbnail images can be mixedly mounted in blocks called application marker segments 1 in the digital file. In this embodiment, the description will be made using the method (1) for simplification of the description, but it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the method (2).

  The file name also includes a 4-digit serial number, but this management is left to the imaging device A001, and it is easy for the results taken at different locations and times to have the same file name and number. Can be. When viewed from the PCB 001 side, since the communication bus connection with the photographing apparatus A001 is intermittent, it is necessary to check each time whether the contents of the digital file having the same file name are the same or different.

  Next, the operation of the registration unit 112 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Various operations on the database means 114 in each step are expressed in a database access language SQL (Structured Query Language). This operation flowchart is activated when the bus monitoring unit 111 reports that the imaging device A001 is connected to the communication bus U001. First, the directory reading step S001 scans the directory of the file means 103, and obtains N digital file names Fn and thumbnail image file names Tn (n = 1 to N, integers) one by one in order. It is. If there are no more file names to read, exit.

In the fingerprint information generation step S002, the digital file data is read using the digital file name Fn and input to the message digest function to generate fingerprint information fp. In the already-registered check step S003, as described below, an SQL sentence having the fingerprint information fp as a primary key is issued to the database means 114, and it is determined whether or not the file is already registered. If the return value of this SQL sentence is a null value (φ), it is determined that it is not registered, and if it is fingerprint information fp, it is determined that it is already registered.
SELECT table: fingerprint information FROM backup management table Tb
WHERE table: fingerprint information = fingerprint information fp... [SQL1]

The database registration step S004 is activated when it is determined that it is not registered in the already registered check step S003, and issues the following SQL statement.
INSERT INTO backup management table Tb
(Table: fingerprint information, table: digital file name, table: digital file, table: thumbnail image file name, table: thumbnail image file, table: server transfer completed flag)
VALUES (file body pointed to by fp, Fn, Fn, file body pointed to by Tn, Tn, NO)... [SQL2]

  In the PC-transferred thumbnail processing step S005, the thumbnail image file indicated by the thumbnail image file name Tn in the file means 103 is directly processed, and a message for showing to the user that the file has been copied to the PC is embedded as an image. An example of this is shown in FIG. 5, in which triangles are written so as to overlay a part of the image.

The backup check step S006 is activated when it is determined as already registered in the already registered check step S003, and issues the following SQL statement.
SELECT table: Server transfer completed flag FROM Backup management table Tb
WHERE table: fingerprint information = fingerprint information fp... [SQL3]
If the content of the server transfer completed flag UPF obtained from the above result is YES, the process proceeds to the server transfer completed thumbnail processing step S007. The server-transferred thumbnail processing unit S007 issues the following SQL statement to acquire the thumbnail image file registered in the database unit 114.
SELECT table: thumbnail image file FROM backup management table Tb
WHERE table: fingerprint information = fingerprint information fp... [SQL4]

  In the thumbnail image file (THMF) obtained from the above result, a message indicating that backup has been performed by the backup server C001 is embedded as an image. An example of this is shown in FIG. 6, in which a circle is written so as to overlay a part of the image. Further, the rewritten thumbnail image file (THMF) is overwritten and saved in the directory position indicated by the thumbnail image file name Tn in the file means 103. By doing so, the thumbnail image file in the file means 103 is replaced. The details of the operation of the registration unit 112 have been described above. As a result, the registration unit 112 plays a role of copying each file in the photographing apparatus A001 to the database unit 114 and rewriting the thumbnail image file in the photographing apparatus A001 in accordance with the backup state.

  The Internet monitoring unit 113 monitors the intermittent connection state between the PCB 001 and the backup server C001, detects that the backup server C001 can be accessed, and notifies the backup unit 116 of it. The communication means 117 is an ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity = Common Database Connection Standard) client driver for accessing a remote database that issues an SQL statement to the database means 122 in the backup server C001 via the Internet I001. The communication unit 117 holds the account name AC in advance. The account name AC is assumed to be a unique ID for each user who uses the photographing apparatuses A001 and PCB001, and “FUJII” is used as the account name of the PCB001 here for explanation.

  The communication unit 121 is an ODBC server driver for accepting an SQL sentence from the outside via the Internet I001. In this embodiment, the ODBC connection is directly used for the sake of simplification. However, other appropriate Internet protocols, object request brokers (Object Request Broker = program parts distributed on different hosts (objects) ), Software that mediates processing requests and transmission / reception of data), web (world wide web) servers, application servers, and the like.

  FIG. 7 shows the structure of the backup management table Td in the database means 122 on the backup server C001 side. In the backup management table Td shown in FIG. 7, the fingerprint information is a fixed-length bit string obtained by inputting a digital file into the message digest function. The account name holds the account name that registered the corresponding digital file. The digital file name is the file name of the corresponding digital file. A digital file is the data body of the corresponding digital file. The thumbnail image file name is the file name of the corresponding thumbnail image file. The thumbnail image file is the data body of the corresponding thumbnail image file. Note that the primary key of the backup management table Td is fingerprint information + account name.

  The backup unit 116 makes an inquiry to the database unit 114, extracts a row whose backup completed flag is NO, and transfers the extracted row to the database unit 122 on the backup server C 001 side via the communication unit 117. Next, the operation of the backup unit 116 will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. This operation flowchart is activated when the Internet monitoring unit 113 reports that the PCB 001 and the backup server C001 are connected.

The backup row extraction step S101 issues the following SQL statement to the database means 114.
SELECT table * FROM Backup management table Tb
WHERE table: Server transfer completed flag = NO ... [SQL5]
Note that an asterisk (*) is an SQL wild card indicating that all table columns are included. As a result, the content of the row of the server transfer completed flag = NO is output for M rows by the above inquiry. The row reading step S102 is a loop step that repeats the number of output rows (M times), and sequentially takes out each output row one by one. Exit when there are no more rows to fetch.

The registration confirmation step S103 issues the following SQL statement to check whether the primary key (= fingerprint information + account name) is registered in the backup management table Td. The registration confirmation step S103 determines that it is not registered when the result of the SQL inquiry is a null value (φ), and determines that it is already registered when fingerprint information that matches the fingerprint information in the output line is returned.
SELECT table: fingerprint information FROM backup management table Td
WHERE table: fingerprint information = fingerprint information in the output line
AND table: account name = account name AC ... [SQL6]

The registration step S104 operates when it is not registered in the registration confirmation step S103. The output line is processed into a form that matches the backup management table Td in the database unit 122 and registration processing is performed via the communication unit 121. The SQL sentence in this case is shown.
INSERT INTO backup management table Td
(Table: fingerprint information, table: account name, table: digital file name, table: digital file, table: thumbnail image file name, table: thumbnail image file)
VALUES (output line fingerprint information, account name AC, output line digital file name, output line digital file, output line thumbnail image file name, output line thumbnail image file) [SQL7]

As a result, the processing performed above merely discards the server transfer completed flag included in the output line and replaces it with the account name AC associated with PCB001. The registration step S104 takes either the registration success or registration failure state after the SQL inquiry. The flag update step S105 is started when the registration is successful in the registration step S104, issues the following SQL statement, and updates the server transfer completed flag in the backup management table Tb to YES.
UPDATE Backup management table Tb
SET table: Server transfer completed flag = YES
WHERE table: fingerprint information = fingerprint information in the output line [SQL8]

  The details of the backup unit 116 have been described above. As a result, the backup unit 116 extracts and copies only the digital files stored in the PCB 001 that have not been copied to the backup server C001, and updates the server transfer completed flag to YES if the copy is successful. To do.

  The above is the details of the backup system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In this backup system, the connection state between the photographing devices A001 and PCB001 and between the PCB001 and backup server C001 is always monitored by the bus monitoring unit 111 and the Internet monitoring unit 113, respectively, and the digital file is automatically copied to the backup server C001. At the same time, the backup state is reflected on the thumbnail image file in the photographing apparatus A001 as needed.

  In other words, the thumbnail image file in the photographing apparatus A001 under the backup system as described above always reflects the backup state. The user simply browses the thumbnail image file associated with the digital file to be deleted using the file manager means 105 provided in the photographing apparatus A001, and the digital file is immediately backed up to the PCB001 or the backup server C001. It is possible to visually grasp whether or not there is. For this reason, even when the capacity of the file means 103 is full at the shooting location, the digital file can be deleted with peace of mind. The photographing apparatus A001 can use an existing file manager built-in type digital camera or digital movie as it is, and no improvement or remodeling is added when the present embodiment is applied to the photographing apparatus A001. Manufacturing costs do not increase.

  In addition, it is not uncommon for a single user to have a plurality of photographing devices A001 today, but by means of strict backup means 116 using an account name written in advance on PCB001 and a database Tb using fingerprint information as a key. Even if the digital file names overlap by accident, the backup server C001 is not backed up. Therefore, the user is completely free from the anxiety that the digital file names may not be backed up. Is done. In addition, copying of digital files from the photographing apparatus A001 to the PCB001 and from the PCB001 to the backup server C001 is automatically performed, and the user always keeps only the digital file left in the photographing apparatus A001 without any intervention regarding the backup work. This will dramatically improve the backup effort.

  Further, in the backup server C001, it is avoided on the structure of the backup management table Td in the database means 122 that images having the same account name and the same fingerprint information are repeatedly accumulated in the backup server C001. Therefore, the storage capacity and the communication band can be effectively used. In particular, in a hard disk-mounted imaging device that cannot be removed, the user manually writes back (copys back) the digital file backed up on the PCB001 to the imaging device A001 and takes it outside to show to an acquaintance or the like. Even if the photographed device A001 in the rewritten state is connected to the PCB001 via the communication bus U001, the fingerprint information of the rewritten digital file matches that already registered. The double copy of the digital file to the PCB 001 and the backup server C001 can be completely avoided, and the storage capacity and communication bandwidth can be effectively utilized.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of a backup system according to the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the data structure of the backup management table of PC of FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a file directory and a file arrangement on the imaging apparatus side in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the registration means of PC of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the thumbnail image which shows PC copy completed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of the thumbnail image which shows that backup server copying was completed. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a data structure of a backup management table on the backup server side in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the backup means of PC of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a screen of the file manager with which a general digital camera digital movie is provided.

Explanation of symbols

A001 Photography device B001 PC
C001 Backup server U001 Communication bus I001 Internet 101 Imaging means 102 File recording means 103 File means 104 Communication bus means 105 File manager means 110 Communication bus means (PC)
111 Bus monitoring means 112 Registration means 113 Internet monitoring means 114 Database means 115 Thumbnail image processing means 116 Backup means 117, 121 Communication means 122 Database means

Claims (2)

A system for backing up images taken by a photographing device,
A backup means for transferring and storing a digital image file generated and recorded from an image photographed by the photographing apparatus and a thumbnail image thereof to a personal computer;
Whether the digital image file and the thumbnail image generated and recorded from the image photographed by the photographing device are recorded only by the photographing device or transferred to the personal computer by the backup unit and recorded. Writing means for writing a display message indicating to the thumbnail image recorded by the photographing device;
Backup system provided. Further comprising second backup means for transferring and storing the digital image file and the thumbnail image transferred and stored in the personal computer to a backup server;
The writing means displays whether the digital image file generated and recorded from the image photographed by the photographing device and the thumbnail image are transferred to the backup server and recorded by the second backup means. The backup system according to claim 1, wherein the message is written in a thumbnail image recorded by the photographing apparatus.

Images