JP4143195B2 - Program control apparatus, file processing system, method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a digital album apparatus and a photo capturing method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, digital cameras have rapidly become popular. In general, a storage medium (memory card) is set in a digital camera, and image data obtained by photographing it is stored as a file. In addition, the specifications of storage media have been standardized, and can be used without problems between models of digital cameras or between manufacturers.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Consider a case where a single storage medium is used by a plurality of manufacturers' digital cameras for shooting.
[0004]
When a memory card shot in this way is taken out, set in a digital album device, captured images are taken, and an electronic album is created, the following must be performed.
[0005]
First, the camera A capture program (provisionally program a) is executed to capture the captured video, and the program a is terminated. Next, the capturing program (provisionally program b) of the camera for company B is executed to capture, and the processing of program b is terminated. Thereafter, the capturing program for the used digital camera is similarly performed.
[0006]
Therefore, when there is no capture program, naturally capture is not performed. Moreover, if all files are taken in unconditionally, unique correspondence such as thumbnails and sounds cannot be performed. Further, even if there is only a captured video file taken with one type of digital camera on one card, if a user does not know it, a plurality of capture programs must be executed each time. In addition, it is necessary to know which capture process has been completed.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention provides a file processing system, a program control apparatus, a method, and a storage medium that automatically start an appropriate import program without having an operator execute a plurality of capture programs each time a file is captured. It is something to try.
[0008]
In order to solve the above problems, for example, the file processing system of the present invention is:
An image file storage device having image file management means for storing and managing an image file obtained by photographing in a folder based on the photographed device;
A program for capturing an image file stored in a folder in the storage medium, and a program management means for managing in association with a folder name which stores the image file,
Starting means for starting a program managed by the program management means;
An image file stored in a folder specified by a folder name associated with a program activated by the activation unit, and an image file in a format that can be captured by the program activated by the activation unit, A program control device having a fetching means for fetching using a program started by the booting means and storing it in the image file storage device;
A file processing system comprising:
If the image file cannot be captured using the program activated by the activation unit, the capture unit captures all the image files stored in the storage medium without using the program managed by the program management unit. And storing in the image file storage device.
[0009]
FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a digital album apparatus according to an embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes an operation unit, which includes a keyboard, a wireless remote controller, and the like. Reference numeral 102 denotes a recording unit which is composed of a disk device or the like and stores album information, image information, and the like. A program that functions as an OS or a digital album is also stored. A storage unit (RAM) 103 temporarily stores album information, image information, and the like, loads a program to be executed, and is used as a work area. A display unit 104 includes a display device such as a CRT or LCD and a display memory, and displays pictures, album pages, and other information. Reference numeral 105 denotes an output unit, which is a laser beam printer or an ink jet printer, and prints out photos and albums. Reference numeral 106 denotes an input unit which is configured with an interface for reading and writing with a digital camera memory card. A control unit 107 controls each unit according to the processing procedure recorded in the storage unit 103 described above.
[0010]
As described above, the digital album apparatus according to the embodiment has a configuration that can be realized by a general-purpose information processing apparatus (for example, a personal computer). That is, when the power is turned on, the OS is first started, and then a program that functions as a digital album device is executed.
[0011]
Next, a process for taking in video information (image data) taken by a digital camera after operating as a digital album apparatus in the embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that it is assumed that a memory card is already attached to the input unit 106 before performing this process.
[0012]
First, in step S201, 0 is set to the number of fetched images. The fetch number is a variable stored in the storage unit 103.
[0013]
Next, the process proceeds to step S202, and a processing program to be taken in is selected.
[0014]
A plurality of capture programs are stored in the recording unit 102 in advance, and these capture programs are managed in the storage unit 102 as a table (capture program management table) in the format shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, this table is composed of a program name (describe a path name if necessary) and a folder name (directory name) in the memory card to be taken in by the program. The folder name is given as an argument when the program is executed, so that the program takes out (reads out) the shot video in the designated folder. In the figure, only two program names are shown, but the third program name has “0” to indicate that it is a table end. In addition, import programs can be added as needed (preparing an application to edit this table). For example, if the same manufacturer, the name of the folder that stores the captured video file is different, but the program for the capture process is used in common If possible, add a folder name and duplicate the program name. Thereby, it can suppress that the number of programs increases.
[0015]
The capture program “CAMERA_B.EXE” for camera B managed in the table of FIG. 12 has a file “BBBnnnn.JPG” or “BBBBnnnn.WAV” under the given folder. And having a process of taking them in.
[0016]
FIG. 3 shows a storage state of a photographed video file photographed by the camera A. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that the video file shot by the camera A is stored in the format “AAAAnnnn.JPG” (n is a number from 0 to 9) under the folder “CAMERA_A”. FIG. 4 shows the storage state of the video file shot by the camera B, the folder name is “CAMERA_B”, and the file name format is “BBBBBnnnn.JPG”. Both files are in JPEG format. Each folder name matches the directory name shown in FIG. In particular, it is shown that the camera B also has means for storing the sound on the spot as a file when shooting. The extension “WAV” (waveform file) shown in the drawing shows that, and a photographed video file (BBBB0002 in the figure) having a common file name excluding the extension is related to each other.
[0017]
Now, in step S202, it will be selected in order from the beginning of the program table shown in FIG. 12, it to determine whether the table end, the next step S 203. If not, the process proceeds to step S204, where the program is read from the storage unit 102, and is loaded with an argument (folder name).
[0018]
The captured captured video information (image data) is written as a file in the album folder of the storage unit 102, and the album management table (described later) is updated.
[0019]
When the capturing process is completed in this way, the process proceeds to step S205, and the number of image files captured in the variable “number of captured images” is counted up.
[0020]
Thereafter, the process returns to step S202, and the above processing is repeated until the table end is reached.
[0021]
When the capturing process for all the capturing programs is completed, the determination in step S203 is YES, and the process proceeds to step S206. In step S206, it is determined whether or not the variable “number of captured images” is “0”. If it is “0”, it means that no image has been imported, so the process proceeds to step S207, where all folders in the card are searched, image files are imported, Perform processing. The process in step S207 operates regardless of the program managed in the table of FIG.
[0022]
Here, an example of the processing procedure of the capture program “CAMERA_A.EXE” for the camera A shown in FIG. 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0023]
First, in step S501, the folder CAMERA_A is set as the processing target folder of the card given by the argument. Next, the process proceeds to step S502, and it is determined whether or not the processing for all files in the set folder has been completed.
[0024]
If not, it is determined in step S503 whether the target object is a file or a folder. In the case of a folder, the folder is ignored and the process returns to step S502. If it is determined that the file is a file, the process advances to step S504 to determine whether the name of the file is in the format “AAAAnnn.JPG”. If it is in this format, the process proceeds to step S505, where the file is captured (read), written to a preset folder in the storage unit 102 preset as an album, and the album management table is updated. To add to the album. In this step S505, every time one file is processed as described above, a process of counting it is also performed.
[0025]
In this way, when the processing of steps S502 to S505 is repeated and the processing for all the files is completed, the processing proceeds to step S506, where the number of image files added to the album management table is returned to the calling source processing, and this processing ends.
[0026]
Next, an example of the processing procedure of the capture program “CAMERA_B.EXE” for camera B will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0027]
First, in step S601, a photo file table and a sound file table are temporarily created in the storage unit 103 and initialized. Next, in step S602, in order to set a folder in which a file shot with CAMERA_B is stored, "CAMERA_B" is given as an argument as a folder name to be processed, and the program "CAMERA_B.EXE" is started.
[0028]
As a result, the following processing from step S603 is performed.
[0029]
In step S603, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all files in the target folder. If not, it is determined in step S604 whether the object of interest is a folder or a file, and the file format is checked in step S605. In step S606, the extension is checked to determine whether the file of interest is a sound file or a photo file. If it is a photo file, it is registered in the photo file table (step S607), and if it is determined to be a sound file, it is registered in the sound file table (step S608). If the file of interest is a photo, that is, a captured image file, the file is counted up (the sound file is attached to the image file, so it is not counted).
[0030]
Thus, when the processing for all the files for the set folder “CAMERA_B” is completed, the construction of the temporarily secured photo file table and sound file table is completed. FIG. 7 shows the photo file table constructed as described above, and FIG. 8 shows the contents of the sound file table. When the construction of these file tables is completed, the process proceeds to step S608, and the following album registration process is performed.
[0031]
First, in step S608, it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for all files in the photo file table. If not, the process advances to step S609 to determine whether or not there is a sound file in the sound file table having the same character string as the character string excluding the extension in the photograph file table of interest. If NO, the process proceeds to step S611, and the target photo file is registered in the album as having no sound file. If it is determined that there is a sound file with the same name, a process of registering the noticed photo file and the sound file in association with the album is performed.
[0032]
Thereafter, the above process is repeated for all files registered in the photo file table.
[0033]
When all the photo files have been processed in this way, the process proceeds to step S612, the number of captured photo files is returned to the calling source, and the temporarily created photo file table and sound file table are released from the memory. And this processing is finished.
[0034]
FIG. 13 shows a table for managing an album that is finally constructed in the embodiment. One line is one record, and the first field of each record indicates the file name stored in the recording unit 102 of the digital album device in the embodiment, the second field is the original file name, and the third field Is the shooting date and time information, and the fourth and fifth fields are the sound files associated with the photo file, the fourth field is the file name given when stored in the apparatus, and the fifth field is the original file name. It is.
[0035]
Note that when storing a file in this device, the file name is changed if, for example, the first frame of a file shot with the same digital camera always has the same name (erasing the memory card and shooting again) This is because the file previously added to the album is overwritten. However, this is not the case as long as the contents of the memory card are erased on the digital camera side so as not to have the same name as before.
[0036]
Next, details of the process of taking in all the image files in the card in step S207 in FIG. 2 will be described.
[0037]
The image file is *. Assume that the file name is JPG (*: arbitrary character string).
[0038]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of this process, and in step S901, the process of fetching all the image files in the folder is executed with the processing target folder of the card as a root.
[0039]
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of the process of taking in all the image files in the folder. First, in step S1001, a card processing target root directory is designated.
[0040]
Next, the process proceeds to step S1002, and it is determined whether or not the processing has been completed for a certain file or folder in the directory (folder) of interest. If not, it is determined whether or not the object of interest is a file. When it is determined that the file is a file, it is determined whether the extension of the file is “JPG”, that is, whether the file is a photo file. If it is “JPG”, the file is added to the album (step S1005). In this way, if there is another folder during the process of adding to the album for each file in the folder of interest, the process proceeds from step S1003 to step S1006, and this process is called recursively. To do.
[0041]
When the recursive process is performed, the above process focusing on a newly discovered folder is performed. By repeating this process, the process reaches not only all folders in the root but also folders below the root folder.
[0042]
When the album shown in FIG. 13 is constructed, an application for viewing the album using this apparatus is activated to display each photo image. At this time, if a sound file is associated, the sound file is displayed so that it can be understood, and when the photograph image is designated with a mouse or the like, the sound file is read, reproduced and output.
[0043]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, a photo file stored in a storage medium used in a plurality of types of digital cameras can be taken in by a single operation and registered in an album.
[0044]
In addition, for example, there is a digital camera C that performs file management as shown in FIG. 11, and a memory card used in the digital camera C is set in the present apparatus, and a capture program registered in the apparatus of the embodiment is illustrated in FIG. If was only two as 1212, uptake at stearyl-up S204 in FIG. 2 but fail, it is possible to succeed in uptake in step S207.
[0045]
In the embodiment, the processing in step S207 has been described as functioning when one of the digital camera capture programs before that could not be captured, but the captured file and the uncaptured file are By managing it so that it can be identified (for example, the flag is set to ON for a file that has been imported, and OFF for a file that is not, etc.), and if there is a file that has not been imported, the process of step S207 is performed. Also good.
[0046]
Further, as described above, the capture program table shown in FIG. 12 can be freely added and registered by the operator, so that the corresponding capture program is supplied from a floppy or the like and registered. New digital cameras can be dealt with immediately.
[0047]
Further, in the case of digital cameras of the same manufacturer, if the folder name in the memory card is changed, it can be dealt with with a small number of acquisition programs because it can be dealt with by specifying and registering the folder name.
[0048]
In the embodiment, the photo files are all stored in the JPEG format. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the file is stored in another format, the file compressed in that format may be converted into a common format (for example, the JPEG format described in the embodiment) and registered in the album. It will be. In this way, all the photographic images can be dealt with uniformly by the same processing when reproduced and displayed.
[0049]
Further, the process of step S207 in FIG. 2 is made to function when the number of captured images is 0 even when all of the capture processing programs are used. However, it is possible to identify the files that have been captured and the files that have not been captured. (For example, a flag is set to ON for a file that has been imported, and a file that is not to be turned OFF, for example), and only files that have not been imported may be processed in step S207.
[0050]
Furthermore, in the embodiment, the interface for reading by setting the memory card of the digital camera is prepared and described. However, the hardware for capturing is not limited to this, and any hardware may be used.
[0051]
As described in the above embodiment, the digital album device in the embodiment can be constructed by a general-purpose information processing device such as a personal computer. Therefore, the present invention supplies a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium in the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the programmed program code.
[0052]
In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.
[0053]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0054]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.
[0055]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, video information captured by a plurality of types of digital cameras can be captured as a file with a simple operation. In addition, models with capture functions are compatible with camera model-specific specifications such as the association of thumbnail image files and sound files with captured photo image files. Even if you don't have it, you can take photos.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a system block diagram of a digital album apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a photo capture process in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a file structure in the card of the digital camera A.
FIG. 4 shows a file structure in the card of the digital camera B.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of photo capture processing of the digital camera A in the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of photo capture processing of the digital camera B in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a storage example of a photo file table of the photo taking process of the digital camera B in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a storage example of a sound file table of a photo capture process of the digital camera B in the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of in-card photo capture processing in the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart of in-folder photo capture processing in the embodiment.
FIG. 11 shows a file structure in the card of the digital camera C.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a fetch program management table in the embodiment.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of an album management table in the embodiment.

Claims (13)

An image file storage device having image file management means for storing and managing an image file obtained by photographing in a folder based on the photographed device;
A program for capturing an image file stored in a folder in the storage medium, and a program management means for managing in association with a folder name which stores the image file,
Starting means for starting a program managed by the program management means;
An image file stored in a folder specified by a folder name associated with a program activated by the activation unit, and an image file in a format that can be captured by the program activated by the activation unit, A program control device having a fetching means for fetching using a program started by the booting means and storing it in the image file storage device;
A file processing system comprising:
If the image file cannot be captured using the program activated by the activation unit, the capture unit captures all the image files stored in the storage medium without using the program managed by the program management unit. A file processing system storing the image file in the image file storage device . A program management means for managing a program for capturing an image file stored in a folder in a storage medium in association with a folder name storing the image file;
Starting means for starting a program managed by the program management means;
An image file stored in a folder having a folder name associated with the program activated by the activation unit and in a format that can be captured by the program activated by the activation unit is obtained by the activation unit. A capture means for capturing using the activated program,
When the image file cannot be captured using the program activated by the activation unit, the capture unit captures all the image files stored in the storage medium without using the program managed by the program management unit. A program control device. 3. The program control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising file storage means for storing the image file captured by the capture means in a storage device. A character string determining means for determining whether or not a preset character string is included in a file name of a file stored in a folder having a folder name associated with the program started by the starting means ;
4. The program according to claim 3, wherein when the character string determination unit determines that a character string set in advance is included, the file storage unit stores the file as an image file in the storage device. Control device.   5. The program control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the preset character string includes a character string for identifying a folder in which the image file is stored. An extension determination means for determining the file type based on the file extension;
A file name comparing means for comparing the file names of the files;
The file storage means associates and stores files determined to be different types of files by the extension determination means and determined to have the same character string by the file name comparison means. The program control apparatus according to claim 4 or 5.   The program control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the extension determination unit determines that the type of the file is a sound file or an image file. 8. The program control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the program management unit can manage a plurality of folders in association with one program. The capturing unit is configured to use all the images stored in the storage medium without using the program managed by the program managing unit when no image can be captured using the program activated by the starting unit. 9. The program control apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a file is fetched. An image file storage device having image file management means for storing and managing an image file obtained by photographing in a folder based on the photographed device;
A program for capturing an image file stored in a folder in the storage medium, the control of the constituted file processing system in a program control unit having a program management means for managing in association with a folder name which stores the image file A method,
A starting step of starting a program managed by the program management means;
An image file stored in a folder identified by a folder name associated with a program activated by the activation process, and an image file in a format that can be imported by the program activated by the activation process, Capture using the program activated by the activation process, and storing in the image file storage device,
If the image file cannot be captured using the program activated in the activation step, all the image files stored in the storage medium are captured without using the program managed by the program management means, and the image file storage The process of storing in the device;
A method for controlling a file processing system comprising: A control method of a program control device having program management means for managing a program for capturing an image file stored in a folder in a storage medium in association with a folder name storing the image file,
A starting step of starting a program managed by the program management means;
An image file stored in a folder having a folder name associated with the program activated by the activation process and in a format that can be imported by the program activated by the activation process is obtained by the activation process. Importing process using the activated program;
A step of fetching all the image files stored in the storage medium without using the program managed by the program management means when the image file cannot be fetched using the program activated by the activation step;
A control method for a program control apparatus comprising: A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes the computer to function as the file management system according to claim 1 by being read and executed by the computer. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that causes the computer to function as the program control device according to claim 2 by being read and executed by the computer.

Images