JP4183263B2 - Image display apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display apparatus that acquires and displays image data captured by an imaging apparatus, and a control method thereof.

  Currently, a user of an imaging device such as a digital camera can browse captured image data using an image browsing application that operates on an image display device such as a PC (personal computer).

  1 to 3 are diagrams showing an example of a display screen 100 by a conventional image browsing application. The display screen 100 includes an area 101, an area 102, a scroll bar 103, and a button group 104. The area 101 displays folders and files held in a PC storage device (for example, HDD (hard disk)) in a tree shape. The area 102 displays the image data stored in the folder selected in the area 101 as a thumbnail. The scroll bar 103 is for scrolling the area 102 when the number of image data stored in the folder is large. The button group 104 includes buttons for maximizing / minimizing the display screen 100 and closing the display screen 100 to end the image browsing application.

  When the user selects a desired thumbnail image in the area 102, the corresponding image data is displayed in a new window 201 or area 102 as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. At this time, imaging information (pixel size, ISO value, etc.) of the image data is also displayed in the window 201 or the area 102.

On the other hand, in digital cameras, it is known to display setting information (pixel size, ISO value, etc. of image data to be captured in the future) on the display of the digital camera using icons (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 2002-185838 A JP 2002-152666 A

  The digital cameras disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 show setting information as icons, but conventional image browsing applications that operate on an image display device that is a device different from the digital camera do not use icons and are simple text. To display imaging information. For this reason, the user cannot immediately recognize the correspondence between the various types of imaging information displayed by the image browsing application and the setting information displayed as an icon on a digital camera that is familiar to the user, and the user has to check for each type of information. .

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a technique that makes it easier for a user to understand the meaning of imaging information displayed on an image display device different from the imaging device. Objective.

In order to solve the above problems, an image display device according to the present invention is an image display device that acquires image data captured by an imaging device from the imaging device or another external device and displays the image data on a screen. An acquisition unit that acquires icon data used to indicate imaging information from the imaging device, a storage unit that stores icon data acquired by the acquisition unit, and the image captured by the imaging device Extraction means for extracting imaging information of data from the image data, and corresponding to the imaging information of the image data extracted by the extraction means when displaying the image data captured by the imaging device on the screen Display means for obtaining icon data from the storage means and displaying the icon data together with the image data.

The control method of an image display device of the present invention is a control method of an image display device to be displayed on the screen to acquire the image data captured by the imaging device from the imaging device or other external device, the image pickup An acquisition process for acquiring icon data for indicating imaging information used by the apparatus from the imaging apparatus, a storage process for storing the acquired icon data in a storage unit, and the image captured by the imaging apparatus An extraction step of extracting imaging information of data from the image data; and icon data corresponding to the imaging information of the extracted image data when displaying the image data captured by the imaging device on the screen. A display step of acquiring from the storage unit and displaying the acquired image data together with the image data.

  Other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention.

  With the above configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to make it easier for the user to understand the meaning of imaging information displayed on an image display device different from the imaging device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The individual embodiments described below will help to understand various concepts, such as the superordinate concept, intermediate concept and subordinate concept of the present invention.

  The technical scope of the present invention is determined by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments. In addition, all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the present invention.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a system to which the present invention is applied. In this system, a display 402, a mouse 403, and a keyboard 404 are connected to a PC (personal computer) 401 to constitute an image display device. Note that these structural requirements are merely examples, and for example, the mouse 403 may not be connected, and other devices such as a speaker may be connected. A digital camera 405 is connected to the PC 401 via a USB cable or the like.

<Hardware / Software configuration>
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the PC 401 and a software configuration that operates on the PC 401.

  An OS (operating system) 504 such as Windows (registered trademark) is operating on the PC 401, and an image browsing AP (application) 503 is operable on the OS 504.

  The PC 401 includes a USB I / F (interface) 510 for communicating with an input / output device such as a digital camera 405. The PC 401 also includes a keyboard 404, a mouse 403, and a keyboard I / F 511, a mouse I / F 512, and a video I / F 513 for communicating with the display 402, respectively. The PC 401 further includes an HDD (hard disk) 515 that stores image data, programs such as the OS 504 and the image browsing AP 503, and a disk I / F 514 for communicating with the HDD 515.

  The OS 504 includes an external I / F management unit 505 that manages input / output devices such as the digital camera 405 via the USB I / F 510. The OS 504 also includes an input device management unit 506 that manages the keyboard 404 and the mouse 403 via the keyboard I / F 511 and the mouse I / F 512. The OS 504 also includes a drawing management unit 507 that manages the display 402 via the video I / F 513 and a file management unit 508 that manages the HDD 515 via the disk I / F 514. These four I / Fs perform a bridge between the application software and the hardware when the application software such as the image browsing AP 503 accesses the hardware such as the display 402.

  The image browsing AP 503 includes a main prom 501 that enables image browsing processing according to the present embodiment. The image browsing AP 503 also includes a communication module 502 for transmitting / receiving data (image data, icon data, etc.) to / from an input / output device such as the digital camera 405.

  Of the elements constituting the PC 401, the image browsing AP 503, and the OS 504, those elements that are naturally included as constituent elements but are not directly necessary for describing the present embodiment are not shown. Examples of such components not shown include the CPU and memory of the PC 401 and the memory management system of the OS 504, but are not limited to these.

<Example of display screen of image browsing AP 503>
An example of a display screen 600 by the image browsing AP 503 is shown with reference to FIGS. The display screen 600 can be displayed on the display 402 when the CPU (not shown) of the PC 401 executes the image browsing AP 503. 6 to 11 and 1, the same reference numerals indicate the same elements.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the display screen 600 includes a window 601. The window 601 displays image data selected from the image data displayed as thumbnails in the area 102. In the window 601, icons 602 and 603 are displayed together with the image data. Icons 602 and 603 indicate imaging information of the image data displayed in the window 601. Specifically, the icon 602 indicates “super fine large size” and the icon 603 indicates “ISO value = 50”. It goes without saying that other icons such as an icon indicating the presence or absence of a flash may be displayed as necessary.

  Note that these icons are the same as or abbreviated as icons displayed when the imaging device (for example, the digital camera 405) that captures the image data displayed in the window 601 reproduces the image data on its own liquid crystal display. It is preferable that they are the same. Of course, these icons are preferably the same as or substantially the same as the icons displayed by the digital camera 405 as the setting information. These icons may be copied from the CD-ROM or the like to the HDD 515 when the image browsing AP 503 is installed in the PC 401. Alternatively, although details will be described later, the PC 401 may acquire these icons from the digital camera 405 or another server device via the USB I / F 510. Also, the PC 401 acquires management information for managing the correspondence between the imaging information and the icons (corresponding to which icon indicates which imaging information) from the CD-ROM, the digital camera 405, or another server device and the like, and stores it in the HDD 515. Store. Hereinafter, the management information is assumed to be stored in the HDD 515 as a file named “ID_ref.dat”, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 7, when the user performs a predetermined mouse operation (mouse over, click, drag, etc.), the image browsing AP 503 may display a tool tip indicating the explanation of the icon. . In FIG. 7, an icon 701 indicates that the flash is used when image data is captured, and a tool tip 702 that is an explanation of the icon 701 is displayed by placing the mouse cursor on the icon 701. Thereby, even when the user forgets the meaning of the icon, it can help to remember the meaning of the icon.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the present embodiment can also be applied when image data is displayed in the area 102 instead of the window 601.

  Furthermore, as will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, the image browsing AP 503 may display only icons corresponding to predetermined imaging information together with image data. As shown in FIG. 10, when the user performs a predetermined operation (for example, selection of a menu) on the display screen 600, a window 1003 for selecting an icon to be displayed is displayed. The window 1003 includes a check box 1001 and a character string 1002, and only icons corresponding to imaging information whose check boxes are checked are displayed together with image data. For example, when the ISO value (ISO Speed) check is turned off, the icon 603 is not displayed in FIG. As a result, icons that the user thinks are unnecessary are not displayed, and it becomes easier to grasp imaging information required by the user. As shown in FIG. 11, when the image browsing AP 503 displays the icon 1101 in the window 1003, the user can more easily grasp which check box corresponds to which imaging information in the window 1003.

<Icon selection / display processing>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing in which the image browsing AP 503 selects and displays an icon to be displayed together with image data. Each step of this flowchart can be realized by the CPU (not shown) of the PC 401 executing the image browsing AP 503.

  In step S1201, the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat from the HDD 515.

  In step S <b> 1202, the image browsing AP 503 acquires imaging information of image data instructed to be displayed by the user on the display screen 600. The imaging information is stored, for example, in the EXIF area of the image data.

  In step S1203, the image browsing AP 503 refers to ID_ref.dat, and acquires an icon corresponding to the acquired imaging information from the HDD 515.

  In step S1204, the image browsing AP 503 determines whether all the imaging information of the image data to be displayed has been acquired. If all the imaging information has been acquired, the process proceeds to step S1205. If not all of the imaging information has been acquired, the process returns to step S1202, and the same processing is repeated until all of the imaging information is acquired. However, it is not necessary for the image browsing AP 503 to acquire imaging information whose check is turned off in the window 1003 of FIG. 10 or FIG.

  In step S1205, the image browsing AP 503 displays the icon acquired in step S1203 together with the image data instructed to be displayed by the user on the display screen 600.

  By the above processing, for example, display processing as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8 is realized.

<ID_ref.dat and icon acquisition processing>
With reference to FIGS. 13 to 16, the flow of processing in which the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat and an icon will be described. 13 shows a case where ID_ref.dat and an icon are acquired from a ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405. FIG. 14 shows a case where ID_ref.dat and an icon are acquired from a storage medium (not shown) of the digital camera 405. Indicates. FIG. 15 shows a case where ID_ref.dat and an icon are acquired from an external server computer.

  13 and 14 can be said that the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat and an icon from the digital camera 405.

  Each step in FIGS. 13 to 15 can be realized by the CPU (not shown) of the PC 401 executing the image browsing AP 503. Further, since the same reference numeral indicates the same process, once described, it will not be repeated in the subsequent drawings.

  FIG. 16 shows the data structure of ID_ref.dat and icons stored in the ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405, the storage medium (not shown) of the digital camera 405, and the external server computer. It is a figure which shows an example.

  As shown in FIG. 16, a folder 1601 for storing image data and a folder 1602 for storing icon data and ID_ref.dat exist under the root directory. In the folder 1602, files 1603 to 1606, which are icon data in the file format, and ID_ref.dat 1607 exist. The files 1603 to 1606 are examples, and there are at least as many icon data of the file format as the number of types of icons used by the digital camera 405 to express imaging information.

  ID_ref.dat 1607 is a table including, as fields, an ID 1608 indicating a category of imaging information (ISO value, pixel size, etc.) and a content 1609 indicating the content (“ISO value = 50”, etc.) in each category. ID_ref.dat 1607 further includes an icon 1610 indicating the file name of the icon corresponding to the category and content of the imaging information as a field.

  FIG. 16 understands that, for example, ID = 0001 indicates the ISO value, content = 2 in the category indicates ISO value = 100, and the corresponding icon indicates that the file is stored as the file ISO_0002.ico. be able to.

  Note that the configuration of ID 1608 and content 1609 in ID_ref.dat 1607 is consistent with the representation of imaging information in the image data captured by the digital camera 405.

  Next, referring to FIG. 13, in step S1301, the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat from the ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405. If ID_ref.dat has already been acquired, the processing in step S1301 may be omitted.

  In step S1302, the image browsing AP 503 acquires the file name of the icon to be displayed based on the imaging information of the image data to be displayed and ID_ref.dat.

  In step S1303, the image browsing AP 503 determines whether the file name icon acquired in step S1302 exists in the HDD 515. If it exists, the process proceeds to step S1305, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S1304.

  In step S1304, the image browsing AP 503 acquires the file name icon acquired in step S1302 from the ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405, and stores it in the HDD 515.

  In step S1305, the image browsing AP 503 determines whether all icons corresponding to the imaging information of the image data to be displayed have been acquired. If all the icons have been acquired, the process ends. If there is an icon that has not been acquired, the process returns to step S1302 to repeat the same process.

  In the above-described processing, the image browsing AP 503 does not acquire all icons from the digital camera 405 at once, but an icon necessary for expressing imaging information of the image data every time the image data is displayed. Are acquired sequentially. Then, the image browsing AP 503 stores the acquired icon in the HDD 515, and acquires it from the HDD 515 without acquiring it from the digital camera 405 when the icon becomes necessary next time. As a result, the number of icons acquired from the digital camera 405 at a time is reduced, and the time required for icon acquisition is reduced.

  Of course, for example, when the digital camera 405 is first connected to the PC 401, the image browsing AP 503 may be configured so that all icons are acquired from the digital camera 405 at once. In this case, the time required to acquire the first icon becomes longer, but it is not necessary to acquire the icon from the digital camera 405 every time the image data is displayed, and the time required until the image data is displayed is shortened.

  The flowchart in FIG. 14 is substantially the same as the flowchart in FIG. 13, but in steps S1401 and S1402, ID_ref.dat and an icon are acquired from a storage medium (not shown) instead of a ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405. The

  The flowchart in FIG. 15 is also substantially the same as the flowchart in FIG. 13, but ID_ref.dat and an icon are acquired from an external server computer instead of the ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405 in steps S1501 and S1502. Accordingly, for example, even when the digital camera 405 does not have a function of transferring ID_ref.dat and an icon to the PC 401, the image browsing AP 503 can acquire the necessary ID_ref.dat and the icon. Of course, it is necessary to store ID_ref.dat and the icon in the server computer in advance by some method (for example, using a CD-ROM).

<Summary of First Embodiment>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the image browsing AP 503 displays image data, the image browsing AP 503 also displays an icon indicating imaging information of the image data. The displayed icon is the same as or substantially the same as the icon displayed when the imaging device that captures the image data (for example, the digital camera 405) reproduces the image data on its own liquid crystal display. Of course, these icons are the same as or substantially the same as the icons displayed by the digital camera 405 as setting information.

  This makes it easier for the user to understand the meaning of the displayed imaging information. In addition, the display area of the imaging information is narrower than when imaging information is expressed by characters (see FIGS. 2 and 6), and as a result, the visibility of the image data is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the image browsing AP 503 acquires an icon from the digital camera 405 or the like. In the second embodiment, the image browsing AP 503 extracts and acquires icons from image data to be displayed.

  Note that the contents described in the first embodiment with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11 can be applied to this embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the flow of icon extraction / display processing according to the second embodiment. Each step of this flowchart is realized by the CPU (not shown) of the PC 401 executing the image browsing AP 503.

  In step S1701, the image browsing AP 503 extracts an icon embedded in the header of the image data instructed to be displayed by the user on the display screen 600.

  In step S1702, the image browsing AP 503 displays the icon extracted in step S1701 together with the image data on the display 402.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of image data according to the second embodiment.

  The image data 1801 includes main image data 1802 and a header 1803.

  The header 1803 includes an EXIF 1804 including imaging information and an ICON 1807 including icon data.

  ID 1805 and ID 1808 indicate the category of imaging information, as in the first embodiment (see FIG. 16). Content 1806 and content 1809 indicate the content in each category of the imaging information, as in the first embodiment. An icon 1810 is an icon corresponding to the ID 1808 and the content 1809.

  As can be seen from FIG. 18, the EXIF 1804 and ICON 1807 have the same structure except for the icon 1810, and it is clear which icon corresponds to which imaging information. Therefore, unlike the first embodiment, even if there is no ID_ref.dat, the image browsing AP 503 can display an icon that correctly corresponds to the imaging information of the image data to be displayed in step S1702 of FIG.

  Note that the icon may be stored in an area other than the header of the image data as long as the image browsing AP 503 can extract the icon from the image data.

<Summary of Second Embodiment>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the image browsing AP 503 extracts and acquires icons from the image data to be displayed.

  Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the image browsing AP 503 cannot obtain a necessary icon when displaying image data. For example, in the first embodiment, when an icon is stored in a ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405, the PC 401 acquires image data via a storage medium (not shown). There is a possibility that the browsing AP 503 cannot obtain a necessary icon.

[Other Embodiments]
The processing of each embodiment described above may provide a system or apparatus with a storage medium storing software program codes embodying each function. The functions of the above-described embodiments can be realized by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. As a storage medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used. Alternatively, a CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like can be used.

  The functions of the above-described embodiments are not only realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In some cases, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. include.

  Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. After that, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Is also included.

It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen 100 by the conventional image browsing application. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen 100 by the conventional image browsing application. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen 100 by the conventional image browsing application. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the system to which this invention is applied. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a PC 401 and a configuration of software that operates on the PC 401. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen 600 by image browsing AP503. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen 600 by image browsing AP503. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen 600 by image browsing AP503. It is a figure which shows the example of the display screen 600 by image browsing AP503. It is a figure which shows the example of the window for selecting the imaging information corresponding to the icon displayed in image browsing AP503. It is a figure which shows the example of the window for selecting the imaging information corresponding to the icon displayed in image browsing AP503. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of a process which image browsing AP503 selects and displays the icon displayed with image data. An example of a processing flow in which the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat and an icon from the ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405 will be described. An example of a processing flow in which the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat and an icon from a storage medium (not shown) of the digital camera 405 will be described. An example of a processing flow in which the image browsing AP 503 acquires ID_ref.dat and an icon from an external server computer will be described. The figure which shows an example of what kind of data structure ID_ref.dat and an icon are stored in ROM (not shown) of the digital camera 405, the storage medium (not shown) of the digital camera 405, and an external server computer It is. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the extraction / display process of the icon in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the data structure of the image data in 2nd Embodiment.

Claims (5)

An image display device that acquires image data captured by an imaging device from the imaging device or another external device and displays the image data on a screen ,
Acquisition means for acquiring icon data for indicating imaging information used by the imaging device from the imaging device;
Storage means for storing icon data acquired by the acquisition means ;
Extraction means for extracting imaging information of the image data captured by the imaging device from the image data;
When displaying the image data captured by the imaging device on the screen, icon data corresponding to imaging information of the image data extracted by the extraction unit is acquired from the storage unit and combined with the image data. Display means for displaying,
An image display device comprising: The image display apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising selection means for selecting imaging information to be displayed together with the image data. The acquisition unit, an image display apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that obtaining the icon data from the image data obtained from the imaging device or the other external devices. A control method for an image display device that acquires image data captured by an imaging device from the imaging device or another external device and displays the image data on a screen ,
An acquisition step of acquiring icon data for indicating imaging information used by the imaging device from the imaging device;
A storage step of storing the acquired icon data in a storage unit;
An extraction step of extracting imaging information of the image data captured by the imaging device from the image data;
When displaying the image data captured by the imaging device on the screen, the icon data corresponding to the imaging information of the image data to which the extracted and acquired from the storage unit and displays together with the image data Display process;
A control method comprising: A program for causing a computer to execute the control method according to claim 4 .

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