JP2016018347A - Image management device and control method for image management device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to recognize a present name of a landmark added to an image managed by the user.SOLUTION: An image management device which manages an image using a location name includes: acquisition means which acquires the location name of a managed image; determination means which determines whether the location name acquired by the acquisition means has been changed; and addition means which, when the determination means determines that the location name has been changed, adds the changed location name to information on the image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an image management apparatus and an image management apparatus control method, and more particularly to a technique suitable for use in managing image data using position names.

Conventionally, for image management and retrieval, metadata such as a shooting date and a keyword is assigned to a shot image. With the spread of digital cameras, mobile phones, and smartphones, the number of images taken by users has increased, and how to manage and search them has become an important issue.

As one of the solutions, a landmark name such as a place name or a building name is acquired from GPS information at the time of shooting and is given to an image as metadata.
Patent Document 1 mentions not only a landmark that currently exists, but also a technique for searching for a landmark that has existed or is scheduled to exist in the past.

JP 2009-58252 A

However, in the invention according to Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the current name of the landmark given to the image managed by the user is not known to the user.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to enable a user to know the current name of a landmark given to an image managed by the user.

In the image management apparatus according to the present invention, in an image management apparatus that manages an image using a position name, an acquisition unit that acquires a position name of the image being managed, and whether the position name acquired by the acquisition unit is changed And determining means for determining whether or not, and when the determining means determines that the position name has been changed, an adding means for adding the changed position name to the information relating to the image.

According to the present invention, the user can know the current name of the landmark given to the image managed by the user.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the image management apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram of the image data which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of UI (user interface) of the image management apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the table used with the database of the image management apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing a process when the user selects capture according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the table used with the database of the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of the shape of a landmark. It is a flowchart which shows the process which the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment calculates | requires to which landmark latitude and longitude correspond. It is a flowchart showing the process which registers new landmark information in the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which deletes the landmark information registered into the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the process which changes the landmark name registered into the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the inquiry and update process of a landmark name of the image management apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the determination means of S1210. It is a figure explaining the outline | summary of the table used by the process of the addition means of S1211. It is a flowchart showing a process when the user instruct | indicates landmark name search of the image management apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure showing the search dialog of the image management apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the table used with the database of the image management apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the table used with the database of the server which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing the inquiry and update process of a landmark name of the image management apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the determination means of S1910. It is a flowchart explaining the process of the addition means of S1911. It is a figure which shows an example of the table which determines the character string superimposed on a thumbnail of the image management apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure showing the message dialog of the image management apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of UI (user interface) of the image management apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart showing a process when the user instruct | indicates landmark name search of the image management apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image management apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the image management apparatus is implemented in the form of an application that operates on a PC (personal computer). The image management apparatus is connected to a server via a network, transmits GPS information, and acquires the position name of the managed image. In the present embodiment, the position name is a landmark name and an address.

In FIG. 1, 100 is a PC, 101 is a CPU, and 102 is a RAM. 103 is RO
M, in which a basic control program of the image search apparatus is recorded. This control program is read into the RAM 102 when the image search apparatus is activated and executed by the CPU 101. A secondary recording device 104 is actually a hard disk or a memory disk.

The secondary recording device 104 includes a high-level control program, an image browser, a database for managing information related to image data, an application for connecting to a camera and capturing image data into the PC 100, captured image data, and the like. To be recorded. These software are read into the RAM 102 at appropriate times and executed by the CPU 101. The high-level control program is, for example, an operation system.

Reference numeral 105 denotes a USB interface for connecting a USB cable.
Is connected to the camera using this. An operation unit 106 is used by the user to give an instruction to the image search apparatus, and includes a keyboard and a mouse.
A display unit 107 displays an image and a graphical user interface (GUI) screen, and includes a monitor. The input unit and the display unit output the UI to the display unit 107.

Reference numeral 108 denotes a network connection interface, and the PC 100 can access an external server via this interface. Reference numeral 109 denotes a bus used when 101 to 108 exchange information.
Reference numeral 110 denotes a server PC (hereinafter simply referred to as a server). The configuration of the server 110 is as follows:
Since it is the same as PC100, description is abbreviate | omitted. Reference numeral 120 denotes a PC 100 and a server 11.
0 is a network connected.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of image data used in the present embodiment. Reference numeral 200 denotes one file, which corresponds to one piece of image data.
Reference numeral 201 denotes a metadata header in which metadata about an image is stored. Metadata is defined by standards such as Exif. For example, the shooting date and time, camera parameters at the time of shooting (
Focus distance, zoom magnification, etc.), image search keywords, comments, thumbnails, and the like correspond thereto.

Reference numeral 202 denotes an image header in which information necessary for image decoding is stored. For example, JP
In the case of an EG image, the image header 202 stores a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the image. The image data 203 stores an actual image. The metadata header 201 has an area 204 for recording the landmark name of the image.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a UI (user interface) of the image management apparatus according to the present embodiment.
In FIG. 3, 301 is a window and 302 is a menu. Menu item 303 ~
304 will be described in detail later.
Reference numeral 305 denotes a folder tree, which corresponds to an actual folder hierarchy. When the user selects a folder in the folder tree 305, the image management apparatus displays a list of images in the folder on 306.

Reference numeral 307 denotes a scroll bar that allows a user operation when the number of images in the folder is large and the image cannot be displayed in 306. In 308, a character string serving as a search key when a keyword search, a landmark name search, or the like is performed is displayed.

The image management apparatus in the present embodiment manages images using a database.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of a table used in the database.
In FIG. 4, 401 is a first table. Reference numeral 402 denotes an image ID that is uniquely issued for each image. Specifically, the image ID is a 32-bit or 64-bit unsigned integer.

Reference numeral 403 denotes a file path of the image file. Reference numeral 404 denotes the latitude / longitude of GPS, and for simplicity, it is recorded as a character string in this embodiment (of course, latitude and longitude may be recorded as separate numerical values). 405 is the date and time when the landmark name is inquired next, and is recorded as a 64-bit integer (in FIG. 4, the date is shown for simplicity). The usage of this date and time will be described in detail later.

Reference numeral 406 denotes the latest landmark name. Reference numeral 407 denotes thumbnail data of the image. Reference numeral 408 denotes a second table. Reference numeral 409 denotes an image ID corresponding to 402. 410
Is the latest landmark name. 411 is the date and time when the landmark name 410 is added.

Examples of database usage include the following. When the user selects a folder in the folder tree 305, the image management apparatus searches the table 1 for “file path 403 including the folder path specified by the user” and acquires the image thumbnail of the hit record. , 306.

Next, processing when the user selects “Import (303)” from the menu 302 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is realized by developing a program stored in the ROM 13 in the RAM 102 and executing it by the CPU 101.
First, in S501, it is determined whether or not a camera is connected to the USB interface 105 of the PC 100. If not connected, the process proceeds to S502, and a message prompting the user to connect the camera is displayed. Thereafter, the process returns to S501.

If the camera is connected, the process proceeds to S503, and an image in the camera is acquired. Then S5
Proceed to 04.
In S504, image IDs are issued for the number of acquired images. The following process is easy.
A case where the number of acquired images is 1 will be described.
In step S505, image metadata such as GPS information is acquired using an acquisition unit. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S506.
In step S506, the image metadata is recorded in the database.

Next, in S507, it is determined whether GPS information is added to the image. If not added, the process is terminated. If added, the process proceeds to S508.
In S508, the server 110 is connected via the network connection interface 108, and GPS information (latitude and longitude) is transmitted.

Thereafter, in S509, it is determined whether or not the transmission is successful. If transmission fails, the process ends. If the transmission is successful, the process proceeds to S510.
In S510, it is determined whether the landmark name has been acquired. If any landmark does not exist in the transmitted latitude / longitude, the landmark name cannot be acquired, and the process ends.

If the landmark name can be acquired, the process proceeds to S511, and the landmark name is recorded in a predetermined area 204 of the image file.
In S512, landmark information is recorded in the database. Specifically, the landmark name is recorded in the column 406 of the first table 401, and the combination of the image ID, the landmark name, and the landmark addition date / time is recorded in the columns 409 to 411 of the table 408. Further, the date and time ahead of a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the landmark addition date and time is recorded in the column 405 of the first table 401. The process ends here.

Next, a landmark information management method in the server 110 will be described. The server 110 also manages data using a database.
FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of a database table. Reference numeral 601 denotes a landmark table. Reference numeral 602 denotes a landmark ID, which is assigned in correspondence with an actual landmark. 60
3 is a landmark name. 604 is the longitude of the west end of the landmark, 605 is the longitude of the east end of the landmark, 606 is the latitude of the northern end of the landmark, 607 is the latitude of the southern end of the landmark, and 608 is a value indicating landmark shape data (landmark shape data ID). ).

Reference numerals 604 to 608 denote data necessary for obtaining from the database which landmark the latitude / longitude transmitted from the image management apparatus corresponds to. This processing will be described with reference to the landmark shape example in FIG. 7 and the flowchart of the server 110 in FIG.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes a certain landmark (for example, a park). Reference numeral 702 denotes a rectangle that encloses the landmark 701. Columns 604 to 607 record the west end radius, the east end radius, the north end latitude, and the south end latitude of the rectangle 702. Reference numeral 703 shows landmark shape data obtained by approximating the landmark 701 with two rectangles and six right triangles.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the server 110 receives the longitude x / latitude y transmitted from the image management apparatus in step S801.
In step S802, the database is searched to search for landmarks whose location (x, y) is included in the rectangle 702, and a list of landmark IDs is created. The point (x, y) is a rectangle 702
Can be easily determined by comparing (x, y) and columns 604 to 607.

In step S803, it is determined whether the list is empty. If it is empty, the process advances to step S804, the fact that no landmark exists is transmitted to the image management apparatus, and the process ends.
If the list is not empty, the process proceeds to S805, and 1 is assigned to the integer type variable N.

In S806, the landmark shape data ID corresponding to the Nth landmark ID is acquired from the list.
In S807, corresponding landmark shape data (for example, landmark shape data 703) is acquired.
In S808, it is determined whether or not the point (x, y) is included in either the rectangle or the right triangle constituting the landmark shape data 703.

If it is included, the process advances to step S809, and the image management apparatus stores the Nth landmark ID in the list.
After the landmark name corresponding to is transmitted, the process is terminated.
If not included, the process advances to step S810 to determine whether the variable N is at the end of the list. If it is the last, the process advances to step S804, and after the fact that no landmark exists is transmitted to the image management apparatus, the process ends. If it is not the last, it progresses to S811, adds 1 to the variable N, and returns to S806.

By the way, a landmark building may be newly constructed, rebuilt, renamed, or demolished. In such a case, the server 11
The administrator of 0 maintains the landmark information managed by the server 110. These processes will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In addition, since these processes are well-known, description is abbreviate | omitted about the user interface which a server administrator uses.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a process for registering new landmark information in the server 110.
In step S901, input of information related to the landmark is received.
In S902, a unique landmark ID is issued.
In S903, the landmark ID and landmark information are recorded in the database.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing for deleting landmark information registered in the server 110.
In S1001, the input of the landmark ID of the landmark to be deleted is accepted.
In S1002, it is determined whether or not the input landmark ID exists in the database. If not in the database, the process ends. If it is in the database, go to S1003,
The landmark information corresponding to the landmark ID is deleted from the database.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing processing for changing a landmark name registered in the server 110.
In S1101, the input of the landmark ID and the changed landmark name is accepted.
In step S1102, it is determined whether the input landmark ID exists in the database. If not in the database, the process ends. If it is in the database, go to S1103,
The landmark name corresponding to the landmark ID is updated.

As described above, the landmark information managed by the server 110 changes. For this reason, the image management apparatus according to the present embodiment has a function of periodically making an inquiry to the server 110 and updating the landmark name associated with the managed image and the landmark name recorded in the database. Have.

Below, this process is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG. This process is realized by developing a program stored in the ROM 13 in the RAM 102 and executing it by the CPU 101.
First, in S1201, the current date and time are acquired. Next, the process proceeds to S1202, and it is determined whether or not a certain period (for example, 1 hour) has passed immediately after startup or from the previous inquiry. If it is not immediately after startup or if a certain time has not passed since the previous inquiry, S1
Return to 201. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S1203, the inquiry date and time is recorded, and then S1
Proceed to 204.

In step S1204, an image ID of an image whose “next landmark name inquiry date” in the column 405 of the first table 401 of the database is earlier than the date and time acquired earlier is searched to create a list of image IDs.
In S1205, it is determined whether this list is empty. If it is empty, S1201
Return to. If it is not empty, the process advances to step S1206 to initialize the variable N with 1 and substitute it.

In step S1207, it is determined whether GPS information is recorded in the image corresponding to the Nth image ID in the list. If not recorded, the process proceeds to S1212. If it is recorded, the process proceeds to S1208, and the latitude and longitude of the GPS information are transmitted to the server 110. Then S
Proceed to 1209.

In step S1209, it is determined whether the transmission is successful. If not successful, S1212
Proceed to If successful, the process proceeds to the process of the determination unit in S1210 and determines what process is to be performed in the later addition unit. The processing of this determination means will be described in detail later using FIG. Then, it progresses to S1211.

In step S1211, in accordance with the processing content selected in step S1210, the landmark name is added to the image and the database by using an adding unit. Regarding the processing of this additional means,
This will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. Thereafter, the process proceeds to S1212.
In S1212, it is determined whether the variable N is the last in the list. If it is at the end of the list, the process is terminated. If it is not the last in the list, the process proceeds to S1213, 1 is added to the variable N, and the process returns to S1207.

Next, the processing of the determination unit in S1210 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the program stored in the ROM 13 is expanded in the RAM 102, and the CPU
This is realized by executing the process 101.
First, in S1301, it is determined whether or not the landmark name has been acquired from the server 110. If it cannot be acquired, the process proceeds to S1302, the processing content of the adding means is set to (A), and the process is terminated.

If the landmark name can be acquired, the process advances to step S1303 to determine whether or not the acquired landmark name is the same as the latest landmark name. When the landmark name is not set, it is determined that “the landmark name is different”.
If it is the same landmark name, the process proceeds to S1304, the processing content in the adding means is set to (B), and the process is terminated.
If the landmark name is different, the process proceeds to S1305, the processing content of the adding means is set to (C), and the process is terminated.

Next, the processing of the adding means in S1211 will be described using the table 1400 in FIG.
In FIG. 14, reference numeral 1401 indicates whether a landmark name is attached to the current image. Reference numerals 1402 to 1404 denote processing contents (A
) To (C).

As shown in FIG. 14, when the processing content is (A) or (B), the adding means does not perform processing. When the processing content is (C), the adding means updates the image file and the database. For the image file, the landmark name is written in the area 204 shown in FIG.

Here, when a landmark name is attached to the current image (when 1401 is “present”), the region 204 has a delimiter symbol (this landmark such as “Landmark A; Landmark B; Landmark C”). In the example, “;”) is used. The new landmark name is recorded by connecting to the previous landmark name.

In the database, a new record combining “image ID, new landmark name, and addition date and time” is added to the second table 408. Also, the first table 40
1 includes the latest landmark name in the column 406 “latest landmark name” of the corresponding image ID, and the column 405 “next landmark name inquiry date / time” for a certain period of time (for example, one month). ) Record later date and time.

Next, the user selects “Search (304)” as a search instruction from the menu 302 of FIG. 3, and “Landmark name search” is displayed from the displayed menu (keyword search, event search, rating search, etc. are displayed). The process when “” is selected will be described. This process is realized by developing a program stored in the ROM 13 in the RAM 102 and executing it by the CPU 101.
As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 15, in S1501, the search dialog 1 shown in FIG.
600 is displayed and a landmark name input from the user is accepted. After inputting the landmark name in 1601, the user clicks the search start button 1602 to complete the acceptance.

After accepting the input, the search dialog is deleted in S1502, and the landmark name input in S1503 is displayed in 308.
In step S1504, the second table 408 of the table in FIG. 4 is searched to create an image ID list that matches the input landmark name.

In step S1505, it is determined whether the created list is empty. S150 if empty
Proceeding to 6, the fact that the image corresponding to the inputted landmark name has not been displayed is displayed in 306, and the processing is terminated.
If the list is not empty, the process advances to step S1507, and thumbnails corresponding to the image ID list are acquired from the first table 401. The process advances to step S1508 to display the thumbnails in 306, and the process ends.

In the above description, the image management apparatus periodically inquires the server 110 (polling), but may be performed irregularly. Conversely, a push type that transmits information to the image management apparatus when a change occurs in data held by the server 110 may be used.
In order to reduce the time required for the inquiry, images having the same position name may be grouped in the inquiry and inquired to the server in groups. The GPS information transmitted at this time may be the GPS information of the representative image of the group, or the average value or the median value of the GPS information of all the images of the group may be used.

Further, in order to obtain the latest result from the server 110, an inquiry to the server 110 may be made at the time of search. At this time, since it takes time to inquire about all the images owned by the user, the search result is displayed using information in the database as the first search. Thereafter, the server 110 may be inquired as a second search, and the search result may be newly displayed based on the latest landmark name.
With the above-described configuration, there is an effect that an image shot with a landmark before the name change can be hit by a search with the landmark name after the change.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the point that the name of the landmark is changed has been described. However, in practice, not only the landmark name but also the type may change at the same time. For example, a university located in the city center moves to the suburbs, and a shopping mall can be created at that site. When a user searches for a landmark name as a university name, it is not preferable that an image taken at a shopping mall is displayed in the search result.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a means for not displaying in the search result or notifying the user in some way that the type of landmark has changed. In the present embodiment, an image management apparatus capable of executing the above processing will be described.

First, since the block diagram of the image management apparatus and the server 110 in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, a description thereof will be omitted.
The conceptual diagram of the image data used in the present embodiment is also the same as that in the first embodiment, and will be omitted. Further, the UI of the image management apparatus in this embodiment is also the same as that in the first embodiment, and is therefore omitted.

The image management apparatus in the present embodiment manages images using a database.
FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an outline of a table used in the database. Reference numeral 1701 denotes a third table. Reference numeral 1702 denotes an image ID uniquely issued for each image.
Specifically, the image ID is a 32-bit or 64-bit unsigned integer. 1703
Is the file path of the image file.

Reference numeral 1704 denotes GPS latitude / longitude, which is recorded as a character string. 1705 is
Next, the date and time when the landmark name is inquired, and is recorded as a 64-bit integer. The usage of this date and time will be described in detail later. Reference numeral 1706 denotes the latest landmark name. 1
Reference numeral 707 denotes the latest landmark type. The landmark type is any one of 32-bit integer values defined in advance between the server and the image management apparatus (in FIG. 17, it is expressed as a character string for simplicity).

1708 is the notification deadline date and time, and is recorded as a 64-bit integer. Reference numeral 1709 denotes notification contents. "Created" (the landmark was newly built), "Changed" (the landmark was a different type), "Renamed" (the landmark name was changed), "Lo
This is one of the phrases st "(the landmark has disappeared). These may be recorded as a character string or may be recorded as a predefined numerical type.
1708 and 1709 will be described in detail later.

Reference numeral 1710 denotes thumbnail data of the image. Reference numeral 1711 denotes a fourth table. 171
2 is an image ID corresponding to 1702. Reference numeral 1713 denotes the latest landmark name. Reference numeral 1714 denotes the latest landmark type. Reference numeral 1715 denotes the date and time when the landmark name 1713 is added.

Next, processing when the user selects “Import (303)” from the menu 302 will be described.
Since this process is almost the same as the process of FIG. 5 described in the first embodiment, the description using the flowchart is omitted. The difference is that in S510 to S512, processing for handling the landmark type is added together with the landmark name.

At this time, processing in the server 110 that receives an inquiry from the image management apparatus will be described.
FIG. 18 shows a management table 1801 for the server 110 to manage landmark information. The management table 1801 is the landmark table 601 described in the first embodiment.
Is almost the same. The difference is that the management table 1801 has a column 1802 for recording landmark types.

Next, the processing flow of the server 110 will be described. Since this process is almost the same as the process of FIG. 8 described in the first embodiment, the description using the flowchart is omitted.
The difference is that in S809, processing for handling the landmark type together with the landmark name is added.

The image management apparatus according to the present embodiment has a function of periodically making an inquiry to the server 110 and updating the landmark name associated with the managed image and the landmark name recorded in the database. The process is shown in the flowchart of FIG. FIG.
The processing of the flowchart of FIG. 9 is almost the same as the flowchart of FIG. 12 described in the first embodiment. The difference is that the processing content of the determination unit in S1910, the processing content of the addition unit in S1911, and the processing of the notification unit in S1912 are added. Below,
Only these differences will be described.

First, the processing of the determination unit in S1910 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the program stored in the ROM 13 is expanded in the RAM 102, and the CPU
This is realized by executing the process 101.
First, in S2001, it is determined whether or not the landmark name and landmark type have been acquired from the server 110. If it cannot be acquired, the process proceeds to S2002, the processing content of the adding means is set to (A), and the process is terminated.

If the landmark name can be acquired, the process proceeds to S2003, and it is determined whether or not the acquired landmark name is the same as the latest landmark name. If the current landmark name is not set, it is determined that “the landmark name is different”. If it is the same landmark name, the process proceeds to S2004, the processing content in the adding means is set to (B), and the process is terminated.

If the landmark name is different, the process proceeds to S2005, and it is determined whether or not the acquired landmark type is the same as the latest landmark type. If they are the same, the process proceeds to S2006, the processing content in the adding means is set to (C), and the processing is terminated.
If they are not the same, the process proceeds to S2007, the processing content in the adding means is set to (D), and the processing is terminated.

Next, the processing of the adding means in S1911 will be described using the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the program stored in the ROM 13 is expanded in the RAM 102, and the CPU
This is realized by executing the process 101.
In S2101, the character string is substituted into the character string variable S. Assume that the character string to be substituted follows the table shown in FIG.
In S2102, it is determined whether or not a character string is contained in the character string variable S. If not, the process ends. If YES in step S2103, the flow advances to step S2103 to update the data in the third table 1701.

Specifically, the landmark names and types acquired in columns 1706 and 1707 are recorded, the date and time after a predetermined period (for example, one month) from the current time is recorded in column 1708, and the characters in column 1709 Record the contents of the column variable S.

In step S2104, it is determined whether the character string recorded in the character string variable S is “Lost” or “Changed”. If it is either, the process is terminated. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S2105, and data is added to the fourth table 1711. Specifically, the image ID
The set of the acquired landmark name, acquired landmark type, and landmark acquisition date / time is registered as a new record.

In S2106, the landmark name recording area 204 of the image file is rewritten. The format at this time is described as, for example, “Shimomaruko University <1>; Shimomaruko Park <2>”. Here, ";" is a delimiter, and the number between "<" and ">" means the landmark type. Then, the process ends.

Next, the processing content of the notification means of S1912 is demonstrated. In this process, if a character string is recorded in the character string variable S, a message is displayed to the user according to the content. FIG.
3 is a diagram showing an example of a message dialog.

FIG. 24 shows a main UI of the image management apparatus according to this embodiment. A process when the user selects “Search (2402)” from the menu 2401 of FIG. 24 and selects “Landmark name search” from the displayed menu will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this process, the program stored in the ROM 13 is expanded in the RAM 102, and the CPU
This is realized by executing the process 101.

In S2501, the search dialog shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and the landmark name input from the user is accepted. After accepting the input, the process proceeds to S2502.
In S2502, the search dialog is deleted, and in S2503, the input landmark name is displayed in 2403.

In S2504, the current date and time are acquired.
In step S2505, the fourth table 1711 described with reference to FIG. 17 is searched to create an image ID list that matches the input landmark name.
In S2506, it is determined whether the created list is empty. S250 if empty
Proceed to 7, display area 2 indicating that an image corresponding to the input landmark name has not been displayed.
In step 404, the process is terminated.

If the list is not empty, the process advances to step S2508 to initialize the integer type variable N with 1.
In S2509, the notification deadline date, notification content, and thumbnail of the Nth image ID in the image ID list are acquired from the third table 1701.
In S2510, it is determined whether or not the current date and time acquired earlier is before the notification deadline date and time.

If it is determined that it is before, the process proceeds to S2511, where the notification content is substituted into the character string variable S, and S25 is performed.
Proceed to step 13. If it is determined that it is not before, the process proceeds to S2512, an empty character string is set in the character string variable S, and the process proceeds to S2513.
In S2513, the acquired thumbnail is displayed in the display area 2404.

In S2514, if S is not an empty character string, the character string stored in the character string variable S is displayed superimposed on the thumbnail (2405, 2406, etc.).
In step S2515, it is determined whether the variable N is the last in the image ID list. If it is the last, the process ends. If it is not the last, the process proceeds to S2516, the value of the variable N is increased by 1, and then S250
Return to 9.

In the above description, the image management apparatus according to the present embodiment periodically communicates with the server 110 as shown in FIG. 19 to determine whether or not the landmark name and type have been changed, but more efficient processing is performed. You may be made to be. For example, inquiries about landmarks whose landmark types have been changed may not be made thereafter. Further, the inquiry period may be changed depending on the landmark type.

With the above-described configuration, it is possible to make a hit by searching for the landmark name after the change in which the landmark type has not changed among the images taken with the landmark before the name change. Furthermore, there is an effect that the user can be notified of the new construction of the landmark, change of name, change of type, or disappearance.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (computer program) that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various computer-readable storage media. Then, the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads out and executes the program.

100 PC
101 CPU
102 RAM
103 ROM
104 Secondary Recording Device 105 USB Interface 106 Operation Unit 107 Display Unit 108 Network Connection Interface 109 Bus 110 Server 120 Network

Claims (21)

In an image management apparatus that manages images using position names,
An acquisition means for acquiring a position name of a managed image;
Determination means for determining whether or not the position name acquired by the acquisition means has been changed;
An image management apparatus comprising: an adding unit that adds the changed position name to the information about the image when the determining unit determines that the position name has been changed. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position name is a landmark name.   The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position name is an address. The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the position name of the image from the image file, and the addition unit records the position name of the image in the image file. . The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a position name of the image from a database, and the addition unit records the position name of the image in the database. The determining means accesses the server periodically or irregularly to acquire the position name of the image, and then determines whether or not there is a change in comparison with the position name recorded in the image file or database. The image management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The said determination means receives the position name of the image transmitted from a server, and determines the presence or absence of a change compared with the position name currently recorded on the image file or the database. The image management apparatus according to any one of the above. The determination means, after receiving a search instruction by the user, obtains a position name of the image by accessing the server, and compares the position name recorded in the image file or database to determine whether there is a change. The image management apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein The image management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit groups images having the same position name and makes an inquiry to the server in units of groups. The image management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the GPS information transmitted to the server in response to the inquiry to the server is GPS information of a representative image of the group. The image management apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the GPS information transmitted to the server when inquiring to the server is an average value or a median value of GPS information of all images of the group. In an image management apparatus that manages images using landmark names and landmark types,
Acquisition means for acquiring landmark information and landmark type of the image being managed;
Determining means for determining whether the landmark name or landmark type acquired by the acquiring means has been changed;
An image management apparatus comprising: an adding unit that adds the changed landmark name or landmark type to the information about the image when the determining unit determines that the landmark name or landmark type has been changed. . The image management apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the adding unit adds a landmark name when the landmark type is not changed. The image management apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the determination unit does not make an inquiry to the server for an image that has been previously determined that the landmark type has changed in the determination unit. The image management apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the determination unit changes an inquiry period to the server according to a landmark type. The image management apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the determination unit enables a user to set an inquiry period to the server for each landmark type. In a control method of an image management apparatus that manages images using position names,
An acquisition step of acquiring the position name of the image being managed;
A determination step of determining whether or not the position name acquired in the acquisition step has been changed;
An image management apparatus control method comprising: an adding step of adding a changed position name to information relating to an image when it is determined in the determining step that the position name has been changed. In a control method of an image management apparatus that manages images using landmark names and landmark types,
An acquisition step of acquiring landmark information and landmark type of the image being managed;
A determination step of determining whether or not the landmark name or landmark type acquired in the acquisition step has been changed;
An image management apparatus comprising: an adding step of adding the changed landmark name or landmark type to the information about the image when it is determined in the determining step that the landmark name or landmark type has been changed. Control method. In a program for causing a computer to execute a control method of an image management apparatus that manages images using position names,
An acquisition step of acquiring the position name of the image being managed;
A determination step of determining whether or not the position name acquired in the acquisition step has been changed;
A program that causes a computer to execute an adding step of adding a changed position name to information about an image when it is determined in the determining step that the position name has been changed. In a program for causing a computer to execute a control method of an image management apparatus that manages images using landmark names and landmark types,
An acquisition step of acquiring landmark information and landmark type of the image being managed;
A determination step of determining whether or not the landmark name or landmark type acquired in the acquisition step has been changed;
In the determination step, when it is determined that the landmark name or landmark type has been changed, the computer is caused to execute an additional step of adding the changed landmark name or landmark type to the information about the image. program. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 19 or 20.