JP2009219138A - Image reproducer and its control method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image reproducer searching and reproducing a desired image in a short period of time. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of image data are recorded while being grouped, a reproduction bar D5 or a file number D2 indicative of which one of the plurality of image data can be displayed currently is indicated, the reproduction bar D5 or a file number D1 is scrolled when a cursor key 8 (R or L direction) is operated, and an image data indicated by the reproduction bar D5 or the file number D1 is displayed when the group, to which the image data indicated by the reproduction bar D5 or the file number D1 belong, is altered. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image playback apparatus such as a digital camera and a control method thereof, and more particularly to retrieval when playing back an image recorded in an image playback apparatus.

  In recent years, with the increase in capacity of memory cards, the number of images that can be recorded with a digital camera has increased. For this reason, when searching and playing back recorded images with a digital camera, there are many search target images, and it takes a lot of time to play them.

  In order to solve the above problem, Patent Document 1 discloses an image playback apparatus (digital camera) that searches and plays back a desired image in a short time.

  The digital camera described in Patent Document 1 has a frame advance key and a frame return key. When the operator presses the frame advance key for a predetermined time or longer, the fast-forward mode is set. When the fast-forward mode is entered, a thumbnail and a playback bar are displayed on the LCD monitor screen.

  While the operator continues to press the frame advance key, the playback bar scrolls in the order of the file number, and the thumbnail of the image indicated by the playback bar is automatically played back. During this time, the thumbnail and the background of the playback bar display an image stopped at the single-frame playback image when the fast-forward mode is entered.

  When the operator releases the pressing of the frame advance key, the image indicated by the reproduction bar at that time is automatically reproduced and the fast forward mode is terminated.

As described above, since the digital camera described in Patent Document 1 displays the playback bar and the thumbnail of the image indicated by the playback bar in the fast-forward mode, the operator can grasp which image can be played back at present, so Search and playback of images is easy. Therefore, a desired image can be searched and reproduced in a short time.
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-209482 (page 15, FIG. 24)

  However, in the conventional image reproduction apparatus, the reproduction bar is scrolled by one image, and the thumbnail is also scrolled by one image accordingly. Therefore, when there are many images recorded by the image reproducing device, it takes a long time to reproduce.

  In addition, it is difficult for the operator to grasp in which part of the playback bar the desired image exists only by displaying the playback bar and thumbnail in the fast-forward mode. Therefore, it is inconvenient to search for an image desired by the operator, and it takes a lot of time.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image reproducing apparatus capable of searching and reproducing a desired image in a short time.

  In order to achieve this object, the image reproducing apparatus according to the first invention is recorded in a recording apparatus mounting means capable of mounting a recording apparatus for classifying and recording a plurality of image data for each group, and the recording apparatus. Display means for displaying image data, and operation means for scrolling the image data displayed by the display means. The display means is configured to display the plurality of image data when the image data is scrolled. A group display indicating which group of image data that can be displayed is classified is displayed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that a desired image can be searched and reproduced in a short time.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a rear view of a digital camera 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the digital camera 1 includes a finder 2, a liquid crystal monitor 3, a mode dial 4, a shutter button 5, a power switch 6, a menu button 7, and a cursor key 8.

  The viewfinder 2 and the liquid crystal monitor 3 are display means for displaying image data captured by the digital camera 1 or image data recorded in the digital camera. In addition, settings of the digital camera 1 are displayed. The mode dial 4 is an operation means for setting an operation mode of the system control CPU 13 described later. The shutter button 5 is an operation unit that instructs the system control CPU 13 to start imaging. The power switch 6 is a switch for turning on / off the driving power of the digital camera 1. The menu button 7 is an operation means for displaying various menu screens on the liquid crystal monitor 3 or the finder 2 when setting the operation of the digital camera 1. The cursor key 8 is an operation means for moving the cursor displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, an image sensor 9 converts a subject image formed by an optical system into an electrical signal to generate image data. The A / D converter 10 converts image data, which is an analog signal, into a digital signal. The image processing circuit 11 performs image processing such as YC conversion, resolution conversion, and compression conversion on the image data converted by the A / D converter 10. The image memory 17 temporarily stores image data as a work area when the image processing circuit 11 performs image processing. The imaging unit 21 includes an imaging element 9, an A / D converter 10, an image processing circuit 11, and an image memory 17.

  The operation means 14 includes a mode dial 4, a shutter button 5, a power switch 6, a menu button 7, a cursor key 8, and the like.

  The system control CPU 13 is a control unit that operates using the system control memory 19 as a work area based on a control signal input by the operation unit 14 and controls the entire digital camera 1 such as the imaging unit 21. The system control CPU 13 includes an LSI and a computer program stored in the LSI. The system control memory 19 includes a semiconductor memory such as SRAM, DRAM, flash memory, or the like.

  The card slot 20 is a reading unit into which the memory card 18 can be attached. The memory card 18 is a card-shaped storage device configured from a flash memory or the like. The system bus 16 is a bus for transmitting control signals and image data.

  The digital camera 1 is an example of the image reproducing device of the present invention. The memory card 18 is an example of the recording apparatus of the present invention. The card slot 20 is an example of the recording device mounting means of the present invention. The liquid crystal monitor 3 is an example of the display means of the present invention. The cursor key 8 and the system control CPU 13 are examples of the selection means of the present invention. The cursor key 8 is an example of the operation means of the present invention. The system control CPU 13 is an example of the control means of the present invention.

  An operation when the digital camera 1 configured as described above reproduces image data recorded in the memory card 18 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of scroll reproduction of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a screen on the liquid crystal monitor 3 during image reproduction. FIG. 5 is a state transition diagram showing the transition of the scroll unit when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the U direction or the D direction. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a screen on the liquid crystal monitor 3 when the scroll unit is 10 sheets.

  First, the power of the digital camera 1 is turned on by the power switch 6. Then, the digital camera 1 is set to the reproduction mode by the mode dial 4 (S1). Then, the system control CPU 13 confirms the presence or absence of the memory card 18. At this time, when the memory card 18 is not inserted into the card slot 20, the system control CPU 13 displays a message “No card” on the liquid crystal monitor 3, and the memory card 18 is inserted into the operator. Notify that there is no.

  On the other hand, when the memory card 18 is inserted in the card slot 20, the system control CPU 13 reads information in the memory card 18 and checks whether there is reproducible image data. When the image data to be reproduced is not recorded on the memory card 18, the message “No image to be reproduced” is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3, and the operator has no image data that can be reproduced in the memory card 18. To inform. When the image data to be reproduced is recorded on the memory card 18, the image data is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3 as shown in FIG. 4 (S2).

  Further, the system control CPU 13 reads out the file number D1 and the total number of images D2 of the reproduced image from the memory card 18 and displays them on the liquid crystal monitor 3 while being superimposed on the reproduced image. In FIG. 4, the file number D1 is “514”, and the total number of images D2 is “1014”.

  Next, when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the U direction or D direction, the scroll unit for scrolling the reproduced image can be changed (S3). As shown in FIG. 5, the scroll unit is set to one as a default when the digital camera 1 is turned on. When the cursor key 8 is pressed once in the U direction in this state, the scroll unit is set to 10 sheets. Further, when the cursor key 8 is pushed in the U direction, the scroll unit can be changed sequentially from 100 sheets to 1000 sheets. Then, after the scroll unit becomes 1000 sheets, when the cursor key 8 is further pressed once in the U direction, the scroll unit returns to 1 sheet. On the other hand, when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the D direction in this state, the scroll unit is changed in the reverse order.

  However, the system control CPU 13 performs control so that the scroll unit cannot be specified more than the total number of images. For example, when the total number of images is 900, the system control CPU 13 performs control so that 1000 cannot be designated as a scroll unit. In this case, when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the D direction in a state where the scroll unit is 100 sheets, the scroll unit returns to 1 sheet instead of 1000 sheets.

  In step S3, when 10, 100, or 1000 is set as the scroll unit, the system control CPU 13 sets the second, third, or fourth digit of the file number D1 displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3. Display underline. Thereby, the operator can grasp | ascertain a scroll unit appropriately. For example, when the scroll unit is 10 sheets, the system control CPU 13 performs control to display an underline at the second digit of the total image count D2, as shown in FIG.

  After the scroll unit is set (S3), when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the R direction, the system control CPU 13 changes the file number D1 shown in FIG. 4 in ascending order by the scroll unit. For example, in FIG. 4, when one scroll unit is set, the system control CPU 13 changes the file number D1 “514” to “515”. When 10 sheets are set as the scroll unit, the system control CPU 13 changes the file number D1 “514” to “524”.

  Next, when the state in which the cursor key 8 is pressed in the R direction is released within a predetermined time (within 2 seconds in FIG. 3), that is, when the operator removes the finger from the cursor key 8 (in the case of No in step S4). The system control CPU 13 reads out the image data indicated by the file number D1 changed in step S4 from the memory card 18 and displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 3 (S7).

  On the other hand, in step S4, when the operator presses the cursor key 8 in the R direction for 2 seconds or longer, the system control CPU 13 starts to change the file number D1 continuously in ascending order in the set scroll unit. That is, the system control CPU 13 scrolls the file number D1 in ascending order. Specifically, when detecting that the cursor key 8 is pressed in the R direction for 2 seconds or more, the system control CPU 13 changes the file number D1 in ascending order in the set scroll unit (S5). After changing the file number D1, the system control CPU 13 detects whether or not the cursor key 8 has been pressed. If the press has not been released, the system control CPU 13 returns to step S5 and further changes the file number D1. . Therefore, while the cursor key 8 is pressed, the system control CPU 13 continuously changes the file number D1. When the cursor key 8 is released (YES in step S6), the system control CPU 13 reads the image data indicated by the file number D1 from the memory card 18 and displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 3 (S7). ).

  Next, in step S7, after displaying the reproduced image, the process returns to step S3, where the scroll unit can be changed.

  In the above description, the case where the cursor key 8 is pressed in the R direction in step S4 has been described. However, when the cursor key 8 is pressed in the L direction, the system control CPU 13 performs only the set scroll unit. Change the file number D1 in descending order. Other operations are the same as when the button is pressed in the R direction.

  In the above description, the scroll unit is controlled to be set to any one of predetermined values (1, 10, 100, or 1000). You may control to set a scroll unit based on the number D2. For example, control may be performed so that the total number of images D2 / set number can be set as a scroll unit.

  As described above, according to the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the card slot 20 in which the memory card 18 for recording a plurality of image data can be mounted and which image data among the plurality of image data is currently selected. A liquid crystal monitor 3 for displaying a file number indicating whether the file number can be displayed, a cursor key 8 (U or D direction) for selecting a scroll unit for scrolling the file number, and a CPU 13 for controlling the system, and a file number While the cursor key 8 (R or L direction) for scrolling and the cursor key 8 (R or L direction) is being operated, the file number is displayed in the scroll unit selected by the cursor key 8 (U or D direction). The screen is scrolled and displayed on the LCD monitor 3, and the operation of the cursor key 8 (R or L direction) is released. When, with the image data identified by the file number is read from the memory card 18 to the system control CPU13 for controlling to display on the liquid crystal monitor 3, a. With this configuration, the scroll unit during the scroll reproduction operation can be changed, so that the desired image can be quickly changed.

In addition, according to the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the selection means including the cursor key 8 (U or D direction) and the system control CPU 13 has the total amount of image data recorded on the memory card 18. Based on the above, the scroll unit is determined. With this configuration, an appropriate scroll unit can be selected according to the total amount of image data. For example,
Scroll unit = total amount of image data recorded in memory card 18 / Scroll unit is obtained as follows: Scrolling of all image data is completed with a fixed number of scrolls even if the total amount of image data changes. Can be made.

(Embodiment 2)
In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the system control CPU 13 displays only the file number D1 and the total number of images D2 as information when searching for a desired reproduction image. On the other hand, in the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 7, the system control CPU 13 controls to display the reproduction bar D5 in addition to the file number D1 and the total number of images D2. Since other configurations and operations of the digital camera 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention are the same as those of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a screen on the liquid crystal monitor 3 during image reproduction. In FIG. 7, the reproduction bar D5 includes a bar portion D5a and a pointer D5b. The pointer D5b changes its position according to the value of the file number D1. That is, the pointer D5b moves to the right side of the bar portion D5a as the file number D1 increases, and moves to the left side as the file number D1 decreases.

  Thus, by displaying the reproduction bar D5, the operator can easily grasp how much the desired image can be reproduced by scrolling the file number D1.

(Embodiment 3)
In Embodiment 1 of the present invention, when the system control CPU 13 starts scrolling the file number D1, the background reproduction image stops at the image at the start of scrolling. In contrast, the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention classifies and stores image data into a plurality of groups, and the group to which the image data indicated by the file number D1 belongs is changed during scrolling. The background playback image is changed to the image indicated by the file number at that time. This makes it easier for the operator to know how much the user can reproduce the desired image by scrolling.

  The configuration of the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is the same as that of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation at the time of scroll reproduction of the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are schematic views showing the display screen of the liquid crystal monitor 3 during scroll playback of the digital camera 1 of the present invention.

  In FIG. 8, steps S1 to S5 are the same operations as those of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  After changing the file number D1 (S5), the system control CPU 13 detects the folder to which the image data indicated by the file number D1 belongs. Then, it is determined whether the folder is different from the folder to which the image data indicated by the previous file number D1 belongs (S8). When the folder is changed, the system control CPU 13 reads the image data indicated by the file number D1 at that time from the memory card 18 and displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 3 as a background image. On the other hand, if there is no change in the folder, the system control CPU 18 displays the background image as it is and detects whether or not the pressing of the cursor key 8 is released (S6).

  Here, the memory card manages the image data as a directory structure as shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, “root” is a root directory. DCIM is a directory defined by the DCF standard. Hierarchies such as 100_PANA and 101_PANA are folders. P1000001. JPG or the like is a file name of an image file in which image data is stored. Folders are arranged in ascending order of folder names, and image files in each folder are also arranged in ascending order of image file names. Then, the system control CPU 13 recognizes the image files classified in the folder having a small folder name number by assigning a file number as a serial number and corresponding to the image file. Then, after assigning a file number to the image file in the folder, the file number is assigned to the image file classified in the next folder. In this way, the system control CPU 13 assigns file numbers to all image files. Therefore, the file name and file number of the image file do not always match. Note that the folder to which each image file belongs can be changed by a user operation.

  Hereinafter, as an example, the operation of the digital camera 1 when scrolling is started in a state where the image data with the file number D1 “514” is being reproduced will be described. In FIG. 9, the image data with the file number D1 “514” is stored in the image file name “P1000824.JPG”. The image file “P1000824.JPG” is classified into the folder name “103_PANA”. After displaying the image data on the liquid crystal monitor 3 (S1, S2), the system control CPU 13 increases the file number D1 by one when the operator presses the cursor key 8 in the R direction (S4).

  A display screen of the liquid crystal monitor 3 at this time is shown in FIG. In FIG. 10, the displayed file number D1 is “515”, which is increased by 1 from “514”. The bar portion D5a of the reproduction bar D5 is divided for each folder, and each divided area is displayed in a different display mode. A folder with a smaller number of folder names is arranged on the left side of the bar portion D5a, and a folder with a larger number of folder names is arranged on the right side. The pointer D5b indicates the position where the image data indicated by the file number D1 is stored. Since the image file with the file number D1 “515” is classified into the fourth folder, the pointer D5b indicates the fourth area of the bar portion D5a.

  In this state, when the operator continues to press the cursor key 8 for 2 seconds or longer, the system control CPU 13 proceeds to step S5 and starts the scroll reproduction operation. During this scroll playback, it is checked sequentially whether the folder has changed. When the file number D1 becomes “563”, the folder to which the image file “P1000056.JPG” indicated by the file number D1 belongs is changed to “104_PANA”, and thus the process proceeds to step S9. In step S 9, the system control CPU 13 reads out the image data stored in the image file “P1000056.JPG” indicated by the file number D 1 (“563”) at that time from the memory card 18 and displays it on the liquid crystal monitor 3. . The display screen of the liquid crystal monitor 3 at this time is as shown in FIG. The image D4 displays the image data stored in the image file “P1000056.JPG”.

  8, step S6 and step S7 are the same as the operation of the digital camera 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention (S6, S7 in FIG. 3), and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  In the above description, the system control CPU 13 controls the display of the image data at that time when the folder to which the image data indicated by the file number D1 or the playback bar D5 belongs is changed. A file number may be assigned and control may be performed so that image data is displayed when the date changes during scrolling. Further, the image data may be classified into other groups.

  Further, in the above description, the playback bar D5 is divided into folders, and the divided areas are displayed in different modes. However, this mode is not particularly limited, and hatching, color, number entry, etc. It only needs to be able to distinguish.

  As described above, according to the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the card slot 20 into which the memory card 18 for recording and recording a plurality of image data for each group can be mounted, and the plurality of image data Among them, a liquid crystal monitor 3 that displays a reproduction bar D5 or file number D1 indicating which image data can be displayed at present, a cursor key 8 (R or L direction) for scrolling the reproduction bar D5 or file number D1, and a cursor While the key 8 (R or L direction) is being operated, the playback bar D5 or the file number D1 is scrolled, and when the group to which the image data indicated by the playback bar D5 or the file number D1 belongs is changed, the playback bar D5 Alternatively, the image data indicated by the file number D1 is read from the memory card 18 and stored in the liquid crystal monitor 3. Having a system control CPU13 to Shimesuru control, the. With this configuration, when the group to which the image data indicated by the reproduction bar D5 or the file number D1 belongs is changed, the image data at that time is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3. Therefore, the operator can easily understand that the group to which the image data belongs has changed. Then, if the operator remembers to which group the desired image data is classified, it is easy to grasp how much the current image is reached by scrolling from the current state.

  The digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the group is a folder for storing image data. With this configuration, when the folder to which the image data indicated by the reproduction bar D5 or the file number D1 belongs is changed, the image data at that time is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 3. Therefore, the operator can easily grasp that the folder to which the image data belongs has changed. Further, since the operator often stores the storage location of the desired image for each folder, the operator can easily reproduce the desired image.

  Further, the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it is the date when the group acquires image data. With this configuration, when the storage location of the image desired by the operator is stored for each acquisition date, the desired image can be easily reproduced.

  Further, according to the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the card slot 20 in which the memory card 18 for recording and recording a plurality of pieces of image data for each group can be mounted, and the current among the plurality of pieces of image data. A liquid crystal monitor 3 that indicates which image data can be displayed and displays a reproduction bar D5 divided for each group, a cursor key 8 (R or L direction) for scrolling the reproduction bar D5, and a cursor key 8 ( The playback bar D5 is scrolled while the (R or L direction) is being operated, and when the operation of the cursor key 8 (R or L direction) is released, the image data indicated by the playback bar D5 is read from the memory card 18. And a system control CPU 13 that controls to display on the liquid crystal monitor 3. With this configuration, since the group to which the image data indicated by the reproduction bar D5 belongs is visually displayed, the operator can easily grasp the group.

  Further, the digital camera 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that each area of the divided reproduction bar D5 is displayed in a different manner. With this configuration, the difference between each group can be clarified.

  The digital camera and the control method thereof according to the present invention can be applied to any electronic device having a function of sequentially reproducing recorded still images. For example, in addition to a digital still camera, the present invention can be applied to electronic devices such as a mobile phone, a PHS terminal, a PDA terminal, and a car navigation system terminal.

The rear view of the digital camera in Embodiment 1-3 of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera in Embodiment 1-3 of this invention. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital camera according to Embodiment 1 or 2 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a display screen on a liquid crystal monitor of the digital camera according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. State transition diagram for explaining the operation of the digital camera in Embodiment 1 of the present invention FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a display screen on a liquid crystal monitor of the digital camera according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Schematic diagram showing a display screen on a liquid crystal monitor of a digital camera according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. Flowchart for explaining the operation of the digital camera according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Schematic diagram showing the directory structure of image files recorded in the digital camera according to Embodiments 1 to 3 of the present invention. Schematic diagram showing a display screen on a liquid crystal monitor of a digital camera according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. Schematic diagram showing a display screen on a liquid crystal monitor of a digital camera according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

1 Digital Camera 3 LCD Monitor 6 System Control Unit 8 Cursor Key 13 System Control CPU
14 Operating means 18 Memory card 20 Card slot D1 File number D2 Total number of images D5 Playback bar display

Claims (3)

A recording device mounting means capable of mounting a recording device that records a plurality of image data classified into groups, and
Display means for displaying image data recorded in the recording device;
Operating means for scrolling image data displayed by the display means,
When the image data is being scrolled, the display means displays a group display indicating which group of image data that can be currently displayed among the plurality of image data is classified.
Image playback device. The group is a date when the image data is acquired.
The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 1. The group is a folder for storing the image data.
The image reproduction apparatus according to claim 1.

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