JP2009267723A - Image recording apparatus and image recording method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording apparatus and an image recording method facilitating to search original images before editing. <P>SOLUTION: A multi-backup determining section 56 determines whether or not a multi-backup file is stored in a directory Dir storing an image file F0 designated as a target to be edited. When the multi-backup file is not included in the directory Dir, an image file newly recording control section 64 of a backup control section 60 forms a multi-backup file MBF and stores original image data D0 before editing in the image file F0 designated as an editing target into the multi-backup file MBF. When the multi-backup file MBF is already stored in the directory Dir, an image file additional recording control section 62 of the backup control section 60 stores the original image data D0 in the image file F0 designated as an editing target into the multi-backup file MBF. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method capable of processing and editing an image.

In Patent Document 1, when registering image data to be subjected to image editing processing with a personal computer, two of the original image to be registered and the editing image for duplicate copy are registered. An image editing processing system is disclosed which is performed on a commercial image.
JP 2001-209818 A

  When image data is edited, the original image of the image data and the edited image for editing are saved. In this case, when a plurality of image data are stored, a plurality of original images are created corresponding to each image data. For this reason, the original image file is moved or deleted to be lost, the number of original image files increases, and it is difficult to check the editing history after editing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus and an image recording method that facilitate searching for an image before editing.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an image recording unit that records an image file, and an image to be edited from the image files recorded in the image recording unit. An image file designating unit that accepts input of designation of an image file, an editing command input unit that accepts input of an editing command for the image file designated as the editing target, and an image stored in the image file in response to the editing command An edit processing unit for editing data, a multi-backup file creation unit for creating one multi-backup file for storing a plurality of image data for each recording area in the image recording unit, and the image file to be edited are stored The image file to be edited is added to the multi-backup file stored in the same storage area as the storage area that has been edited. Editing is additionally recorded before the original image data to be subjected in yl and a backup control unit.

  According to the first aspect, since the original image data before editing is recorded in the multi-backup file stored for each storage area (directory or folder), the original image data can be managed collectively. In addition, the image file reflecting the latest editing result can always be held in the same storage area.

  An image recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a multi-area is stored in a storage area in which the editing target image file is stored when the editing target designation is input. A backup determination unit for determining whether there is a backup file, wherein the multi-backup file creation unit determines that there is no multi-backup file in the storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored; A multi-backup file is created and stored in the storage area.

  The image recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the backup control unit has the original image data of the last edited image file at the head position of the multi-backup file. Is configured to be stored.

  The image recording apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the backup control unit uses the original image data of the last edited image file as a representative image of the multi-backup file. Is configured to be stored.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fourth aspects, the recording capacity detection unit for detecting the recording capacity of the image recording unit and the designation of the editing target are input. And a warning unit that outputs a warning message when the image recording unit does not have enough free space to add the original image data to the multi-backup file.

  An image recording apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the image data stored in the multi-backup file is at least one of index display, automatic feed display, and slide show display. A display unit for displaying in one format is further provided.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording method that accepts an input of designation of an image file to be edited from the image files recorded in an image recording unit, and for the image file designated as the editing object. In response to an input of an editing instruction, the image data stored in the image file is edited in response to the editing instruction, and one multi-backup file storing a plurality of image data is provided for each recording area in the image recording unit. The original image before being edited in the image file to be edited to the multi-backup file that is created and stored in the same storage area as the storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored It is configured to record additional data.

  An image recording method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the image recording method according to the seventh aspect, wherein a multi-area is stored in a storage area in which the editing target image file is stored when the editing target designation is input. It is determined whether there is a backup file. If it is determined that there is no multi-backup file in the storage area where the image file to be edited is stored, a multi-backup file is created and stored in the storage area. It is comprised so that it may do.

  An image recording method according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the image recording method according to the seventh or eighth aspect, wherein the original image data of the last edited image file is stored at the head position of the multi-backup file. It is a thing.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh to ninth aspects, the image recording method according to the tenth aspect of the present invention is configured to store the original image data of the last edited image file as the representative image of the multi-backup file. It is a thing.

  The image recording method according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is the image recording method according to any of the seventh to tenth aspects, wherein the multi-backup is detected when the recording capacity of the image recording unit is detected and the designation of the editing target is input. When the image recording unit does not have enough free space for adding the original image data to the file, a warning message is output.

  An image recording method according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention is the image recording method according to any of the seventh to eleventh aspects, wherein the image data stored in the multi-backup file is at least one of index display, automatic feed display, and slide show display. It is configured to display in one format.

  According to the present invention, the original image data before editing is recorded in the multi-backup file stored for each storage area (directory or folder), so that the original image data can be managed collectively, An image file in which the latest editing result is always reflected can be held in the same storage area. Thereby, it is possible to easily search for image data.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an image recording apparatus and an image recording method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of an image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The image recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is configured by a personal computer (PC), for example, for reading a recording image file from the photographing apparatus or the memory card 24, saving the recording image file, editing, and the like. It is a device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a central processing unit (CPU) 12 is connected to each block in the image recording apparatus 10 via a bus 14 and controls the operation of each block.

  The main memory 16 includes a storage area for storing the control program and a work area for executing the program.

  The hard disk device 18 stores an operating system (OS) of the image recording device 10, various application software, and an image file read from the camera 100 or the memory card 24.

  The CD-ROM device 20 reads data from a CD-ROM (not shown).

  The card interface unit (card I / F) 22 reads image data from the memory card 24.

  The display memory 26 temporarily stores display data. The monitor 28 is composed of, for example, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor or a liquid crystal monitor, and displays images, characters, and the like based on image data, character data, and the like output from the display memory 26.

  The image recording apparatus 10 includes a keyboard 30 and a mouse 32 as an operation unit that receives an operation input from a user. The keyboard 30 and the mouse 32 input a signal corresponding to an operation input from the user to the CPU 12. The mouse controller 34 detects the state of the mouse 32 and outputs signals such as the position of the mouse pointer on the monitor 28 and the state of the mouse 32 to the CPU 12. In addition to the mouse 32, a touch panel, a touch pad, or the like can be used as the pointing device.

  A microphone 38 and a speaker 40 are connected to the audio input / output circuit 36, and various audio signals are input, and various operation sounds are reproduced and output in response to operation inputs from the keyboard 30 and the like.

  The communication interface unit (communication I / F) 42 performs predetermined signal conversion and signal transfer when performing communication via the network NW.

  The camera connection interface unit (camera connection I / F) 44 performs predetermined signal conversion and signal transfer when data is transmitted to and received from the camera 100.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing image processing performed by the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The functions of the following blocks are realized by the CPU 12, for example.

  The editing instruction analysis unit 52 receives an input of an image file to be edited, an editing instruction, and an editing result storage instruction from the operation unit 50.

  When the image file F0 to be edited is designated by the operation unit 50, the designated image file is read and displayed on the image display unit (monitor) 28.

  The image editing unit 54 edits the image file F0 to be edited in accordance with an editing instruction (for example, brightness adjustment, contrast adjustment, color adjustment, trimming, rotation, inversion) from the operation unit 50. This editing result is reflected in the display image on the monitor 28.

  The multi-backup determination unit 56 determines whether or not a multi-backup file is stored in the directory Dir in which the image file F0 designated as the editing target is stored.

  The image file new recording control unit 64 of the backup control unit 60 creates a multi-backup file MBF when there is no multi-backup file in the directory Dir in which the image file F0 designated as the editing target is stored, and edits the editing target. The pre-edit image data (hereinafter referred to as original image data) D0 in the image file F0 designated in the above is stored in the multi-backup file MBF. The newly created multi-backup file MBF is stored in the directory Dir.

  The image file additional recording control unit 62 of the backup control unit 60 is designated as the editing target when the multi-backup file MBF is already stored in the directory Dir in which the image file F0 designated as the editing target is stored. The original image data D0 in the image file F0 is stored in the multi-backup file MBF.

  When an instruction to save the edited result is input after the image file F0 is edited, the edited image file F0 is overwritten and recorded in the image recording unit 58 (for example, the hard disk device 18 or the memory card 24). In addition, a multi-backup file MBF including the original image data D0 is recorded in the image recording unit 58.

  On the other hand, when an instruction not to save the editing result is input, the image data F0 returns to the state before editing. In addition, the original image data D0 temporarily stored in the multi-backup file MBF is deleted. If the multi-backup file MBF does not exist when the edit target is designated, the multi-backup file MBF is deleted.

  Here, the creation processing of the multi-backup file MBF will be specifically described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when the image files F0 and F1 in the directory Dir are stored and there is no multi-backup file, the operation unit 50 designates the image file F0 in the directory Dir as an editing target. A multi-backup file MBF is created. As shown in FIG. 3 (b2), the original image data D0 before editing of the image file F0 is stored in the multi-backup file MBF.

  Next, after the image file F1 is edited, when an instruction to save the edited result is input from the operation unit 50, the edited image data D0 ′ is stored in the image file F0 as shown in FIG. 3 (b1). Saved.

  Next, when the image file F1 in the directory Dir is designated as an editing target, the original image data D1 before editing in the image file F1 is additionally recorded in the multi-backup file MBF as shown in FIG. 3 (c2). The

  Next, after the image file F1 is edited, when an instruction to save the edited result is input from the operation unit 50, the edited image data D1 ′ is stored in the image file F1, as shown in FIG. 3 (c1). Saved.

  Next, when the image file F0 in the directory Dir is designated as an editing target, the original image data D0 'before editing in the image file F0 is additionally recorded in the multi-backup file MBF as shown in FIG. 3 (d2). Is done.

  Next, after the image file F0 is edited, when an instruction to save the edited result is input from the operation unit 50, the edited image data D1 ″ is stored in the image file F0 as shown in FIG. 3 (d1). Saved.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of the multi-backup file MBF, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data structure of the header information.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the multi-backup file MBF is an image file storing a plurality of image data, and includes a main image area A10 and an extended data area A12.

  In the main image area A10, image data (original image data) before editing of an image file edited last in the directory in which the multi-backup file F is stored is stored as main image data (representative image data) P1. The Here, the main image data P1 is used as a representative image (list display image (thumbnail image)), for example, when displaying a list of image files.

  In the extended data area A12, the original image data of the image file edited before the image file corresponding to P1 has the newest date and time designated as the editing target at the head of the file (upper side in the figure). Is stored as follows.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main image area A10 of the multi-backup file MBF includes additional information (Exif tag information, APPx Header). In the IFD0 area of the additional information (APPx Header), (unique) ID information unique to the multi-backup file MBF and MP file management information D10 are stored. Here, the MP file management information D10 includes information indicating that the multi-backup file MBF is a multi-picture file, that is, information indicating that the extended data area A12 is included after the main image area A10 and information indicating the recording order of the image data. include. When acquiring the MP file management information D10, the image recording apparatus 10 determines that the image file F1 is a multi-picture file, and stores the image data P2,..., Pn in the extension data area A12 together with the main image data P1. Reading and displaying (for example, list display, index display, forward display (for example, recording date order or file name order), slide show display).

  Additional information (Header) is individually added to the image data P2,..., Pn in the extension data area A12.

  In the figure, SOI (Start of Image) and EOI (End of Image) are markers indicating the start position and end position of the storage location of each image data in the multi-backup file MBF, respectively.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of image processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, when designation of an image file F0 to be edited is input from the operation unit 50 (Yes in step S10), whether or not a multi-backup file is stored in the directory Dir in which the image file F0 to be edited is stored. A determination is made (step S12).

  If there is no multi-backup file in the folder in which the image file F0 to be edited is stored (No in step S12), the image data in the image file F0 designated as the object to be edited (original image data D0) is included. A multi-backup file is created prior to editing (step S14). Next, when an instruction to save the editing result is input, the edited image file F0 is overwritten and recorded in the image recording unit 58, and the multi-backup file MBF including the original image data D0 is recorded in the image recording unit 58. The On the other hand, when an instruction not to save the editing result is input, the image data F0 returns to the state before editing, and the multi-backup file MBF created in step S14 is deleted.

  On the other hand, when the multi-backup file MBF is already stored in the folder in which the image file F0 to be edited is stored (Yes in step S12), the original image data in the image file F0 designated as the object to be edited. D0 is additionally recorded at the beginning (main image area A10) of the multi-backup file MBF (step S16). Next, when an instruction to save the editing result is input, the edited image file F0 is overwritten and recorded in the image recording unit 58, and the multi-backup file MBF including the original image data D0 is recorded in the image recording unit 58. The On the other hand, when an instruction not to save the editing result is input, the image data F0 returns to the state before editing and the original image data D0 temporarily stored in the multi-backup file MBF is deleted.

  Next, when another image file in the directory Dir is designated as an editing target (No in step S18, Yes in S20), the processes in steps S10 to S20 are repeated for the image file.

  According to the present embodiment, since the original image data before editing is recorded in the multi-backup file stored for each directory, the original image data can be managed collectively and the latest editing result is always obtained. Can be stored in the directory. Thereby, it is possible to easily search for image data.

  In this embodiment, the multi-backup file MBF is stored in the same directory (folder) as the image file to be edited. For example, one multi-backup file MBF is created for each recording medium (for example, a memory card). It may be. In addition, when the number or file size of image data in the multi-backup file MBF exceeds a predetermined amount, writing new image data to the multi-backup file MBF is prohibited and a new multi-backup file is created. You may make it do.

  In this embodiment, when the image file F0 to be edited is designated, the original image data D0 in the image file F0 is stored in the multi-backup file MBF. For example, the image file F0 to be edited is stored in the multi-backup file MBF. When designated, the original image data D0 is stored in the primary storage memory, and when the editing result saving instruction is input, the original image data D0 stored in the primary storage is stored in the multi-backup file MBF. You may do it.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, a warning is displayed when there is no free space in the image recording unit 58 for storing the multi-backup file MBF.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing image processing performed by the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The functions of the following blocks are realized by the CPU 12, for example.

  The image recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment further includes a recording capacity determination unit 66 and a warning display control unit 68.

  The recording capacity determination unit 66 detects the free space of the image recording unit 58 (for example, the hard disk device 18 or the memory card 24) when the image file F0 to be edited is designated by the operation unit 50. The recording capacity determination unit 66 is necessary when a new multi-backup file MBF including the image data D0 in the image file F0 to be edited is newly created or when the image data D0 is added to the multi-backup file MBF. When the storage area is estimated and it is determined that the free space of the image recording unit 58 is insufficient, a warning instruction is output to the warning display control unit 68.

  The warning display control unit 68 outputs a warning message from at least one of the monitor 28 and the speaker 40.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of image processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, when the designation of the image file F0 to be edited is input from the operation unit 50 (Yes in step S30), the recording capacity determination unit 66 detects the free capacity of the image recording unit 58, and includes the multi-image including the original image data D0. It is determined whether there is sufficient free space for storing the backup file MBF (step S32).

  If it is determined that there is not enough free space to store the multi-backup file MBF including the original image data D0 (No in step S32), a warning message is output (step S34).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is sufficient free space to store the multi-backup file MBF including the original image data D0 (Yes in step S32), the process proceeds to step S36.

  Note that steps S36 to S44 are the same as steps S12 to S20 in FIG.

  According to the present embodiment, editing of an image file can be prevented when original image data before editing cannot be stored in the multi-backup file MBF.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The description of the same configuration as that of the first embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 9 is a functional block diagram showing image processing performed by the image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The functions of the following blocks are realized by the CPU 12, for example.

  The image recording apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment further includes an image tag analysis unit 70 and a display control unit 72.

  When the display instruction of the multi-backup file MBF is received from the operation unit 58, the image tag analysis unit 70 reads the MP file management information D10 from the additional information of the multi-backup file MBF and stores it in the main image area A10 and the extended data area A12. Information of storage positions of the image data P1,..., Pn obtained is acquired and added to the display control unit 72.

  The display control unit 72 reads the image data P1,..., Pn stored in the main image area A10 and the extended data area A12 and outputs them to the monitor 28. The display control unit 72 includes an index display control unit 74, an image feed control unit 76, and a slide show display control unit 78. The user stores in the multi-backup file MBF in any desired manner among index display, automatic forward display (sequential forward, reverse forward, for example, the date and time when the image data was additionally recorded, or file name order) and slide show display. The original image data can be displayed.

  According to this embodiment, the original image data before editing stored in the multi-backup file MBF is read and displayed on the monitor 28 in a desired manner, whereby the original image data can be easily searched. In addition, it becomes easy to select and restore and re-edit original image data in the multi-backup file MBF by the operation unit 50.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the image recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a personal computer has been described. However, the image recording apparatus according to the present invention is not only a personal computer but also an electronic camera, a portable information terminal, and the like. The present invention can be applied to an apparatus having a function for displaying and editing images. The present invention can also be provided as an application program to be applied to these devices.

1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a functional block diagram showing image processing performed by an image recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The figure for demonstrating the creation processing of the multi-backup file MBF The figure which shows the data structure of multi backup file MBF Diagram showing data structure of header information The flowchart which shows the flow of the image process which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Functional block diagram showing image processing by the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention The flowchart which shows the flow of the image process which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Functional block diagram showing image processing by the image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image recording device, 12 ... CPU, 14 ... Bus, 16 ... Main memory, 18 ... Hard disk device, 20 ... CD-ROM device, 22 ... Card interface part (card I / F), 24 ... Memory card, 26 ... Display memory, 28 ... monitor, 30 ... keyboard, 32 ... mouse, 34 ... mouse controller, 36 ... audio input / output circuit, 38 ... microphone, 40 ... speaker, 42 ... communication interface unit (communication I / F), 44 ... camera Connection interface unit (camera connection I / F), 100 ... camera, 50 ... operation unit, 52 ... editing instruction analysis unit, 54 ... image editing unit, 56 ... multi-backup discrimination unit, 58 ... image recording unit, 60 ... backup control 62: Image file additional recording control unit, 64: Image file new recording control unit

Claims (12)

An image recording unit for recording image files;
Among the image files recorded in the image recording unit, an image file designating unit that accepts input of designation of an image file to be edited;
An edit instruction input unit for receiving an input of an edit instruction for the image file designated as the editing target;
An editing processing unit for editing the image data stored in the image file in response to the editing instruction;
A multi-backup file creation unit that creates a multi-backup file storing a plurality of image data, one for each recording area in the image recording unit;
The original image data before editing in the image file to be edited is additionally recorded in the multi-backup file stored in the same storage area as the storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored. A backup control unit,
An image recording apparatus comprising: A backup determination unit for determining whether or not there is a multi-backup file in a storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored when the edit target specification is input;
The multi-backup file creation unit creates a multi-backup file and stores the multi-backup file in the storage area when it is determined that there is no multi-backup file in the storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1.   3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backup control unit stores original image data of an image file edited last at a start position of the multi-backup file.   4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the backup control unit stores original image data of an image file edited last as a representative image of the multi-backup file. 5. A recording capacity detection unit for detecting a recording capacity of the image recording unit;
A warning unit that outputs a warning message if the image recording unit does not have enough free space to add the original image data to the multi-backup file when the edit target designation is input;
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   6. The image recording according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit that displays the image data stored in the multi-backup file in at least one of an index display, an automatic feed display, and a slide show display. apparatus. Among the image files recorded in the image recording unit, accept input of designation of the image file to be edited,
Receiving an input of an editing instruction for the image file designated as the editing target, editing the image data stored in the image file according to the editing instruction,
A multi-backup file for storing a plurality of image data is created for each recording area in the image recording unit,
The original image data before editing in the image file to be edited is additionally recorded in the multi-backup file stored in the same storage area as the storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored. An image recording method. Determining whether there is a multi-backup file in a storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored when the edit target specification is input;
8. The image recording method according to claim 7, wherein when it is determined that there is no multi-backup file in a storage area in which the image file to be edited is stored, a multi-backup file is created and stored in the storage area. .   9. The image recording method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein original image data of an image file edited last is stored at a head position of the multi-backup file.   The image recording method according to claim 7, wherein original image data of an image file edited last is stored as a representative image of the multi-backup file. Detecting the recording capacity of the image recording unit;
11. The warning message is output if the image recording unit does not have enough free space to add the original image data to the multi-backup file when the edit target specification is input. The image recording method according to claim 1.   The image recording method according to claim 7, wherein the image data stored in the multi-backup file is displayed in at least one of index display, automatic feed display, and slide show display.

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