JP4187954B2 - Electronic album device and electronic album creation method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
  The present invention relates to an electronic album apparatus for managing and storing image data taken by a digital camera or the likeAnd electronic album creation methodAbout.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been known an electronic album apparatus that can capture image data constituting a photo, edit it in an album format, and save it. Since images can be managed with electronic data, a large amount of images can be easily managed. There is an advantage that can be.
[0003]
When there are multiple such electronic albums for each family and age group, it is convenient to be able to know what kind of images are contained in which albums. It is conceivable to arrange such images.
[0004]
However, since an electronic album can accommodate a large amount of images, it is not easy to determine which image in the album is selected as the cover. It is good if there is a special favorite image in the album, but especially when there is no such specific image, the work of deciding the cover image after looking at a large number of images in the album one by one It takes a lot of time.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
  Therefore, the present invention provides an electronic album device that can automatically select a cover image of an album from a large number of images in the electronic album.And electronic album creation methodThe purpose is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  The electronic album apparatus of the present invention includes an image data interface means (image data I / F means 10) for taking in image data, and a recording means (recording means for recording a plurality of the taken image data in a first directory created in advance for each theme. In an electronic album apparatus comprising recording means 12) and display interface means (display I / F means 13) for connecting to external display means for displaying image data recorded in the recording means, In the first directoryofA plurality of image data is grouped and created under the first directory.pluralIn the second directoryBy groupSortingAndAlbum creation means (album creation means 16) for managing and saving as an album, and the second directoryFrom the image data of each group assigned toalbumOn the cover ofCover image selection means (cover image selection means 17) for selecting image data to be used.The album creating means sets the time period from the oldest shooting date / time data to the latest shooting date / time data of the plurality of image data recorded in the first directory based on the shooting date / time data of the image data. Dividing the time scale as one scale, creating a histogram of the image data, grouping the continuous distribution on the histogram as one group, and the cover image selecting means Based on the resolution, the image data having the highest resolution among the image data included in each group is selected as the image data used for the cover.
  The electronic album creating method of the present invention captures image data, records the captured plurality of image data in a first directory created in advance for each theme, and externally extracts the image data recorded in the first directory. An electronic album creating method for creating an electronic album to be displayed on a display means, based on shooting date / time data of image data, from the oldest shooting date / time data of a plurality of image data recorded in the first directory. A time scale calculation step for obtaining a time scale by dividing the period up to the latest shooting date / time data by the number of time scales, and a histogram of a plurality of image data recorded in the first directory with the time scale as one scale. A histogram creation step to be created, and a continuous distribution on the histogram as one group Grouping the image data, allocating each group to a plurality of second directories created under the first directory, and managing and saving as an album, and based on the resolution of the image data, A cover image selection step of selecting image data having the highest resolution among the image data included in each group as image data to be used for the cover of the album.
[0007]
  According to this configuration, photographing with a digital camera or the likeAndIn the first directorySaved for each themeImage dataA histogram is created based on the shooting date / time data, and a continuous distribution on the histogram is grouped into one group.You can automatically create an album by classifying the image data in the album.TheSince the cover image can be selected by determining the resolution of the image data, the process from album creation to album cover image selection can be automatically performed.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic album apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the electronic album apparatus 100 mainly includes an image data interface means 10 for receiving image data, a control means 11 for controlling the operation of each part of the electronic album apparatus 100, and a recording means for recording image data. 12. Display interface means 13 for displaying image data by connecting to an external monitor or a general-purpose television, input means 14 including various operation switches, printing means 15 for printing the created album, etc. The The recording unit 12 includes an album creating unit 16 that groups and stores recorded image data as an album, and a cover image selection unit 17 that selects a cover image of the album from the image data in the album.
[0009]
In the present embodiment, image data is captured directly from a digital camera wirelessly, and the image data transmitted from the digital camera 200 is received and stored by the electronic album apparatus 100. Therefore, the image data interface unit 10 of the electronic album device and the image data interface unit 27 of the digital camera 200 described later move or control the image data between the electronic album device 100 and the digital camera 200 in a predetermined manner. Send and receive signals. In this embodiment, since infrared rays are used as a transmission medium for data and control signals, the image data interface means 10 and 27 include infrared transmission / reception units.
[0010]
A general-purpose television 300 or a monitor is connected to the display interface means 13 to display album images and the like.
[0011]
In this embodiment, the electronic album creating method program of the present invention is held on the digital camera side, and the electronic album apparatus is operated by operating the digital camera body. Therefore, the control unit 11 of the electronic album apparatus 100 performs a control operation according to the control signal transmitted from the digital camera 200.
[0012]
Here, the internal configuration of the digital camera used in this embodiment is shown in FIG. The digital camera 200 mainly includes a lens 20, an imaging unit 21, an information processing unit 22, a recording unit 23, a display unit 24, an input unit 25 including various operation switches, a position detection unit 26 that detects the movement and tilt of the camera housing, The image data interface means 27 is configured.
[0013]
The information processing means 22 is a block including a central processing unit (CPU) and an image signal processing circuit, and is a processing unit that performs overall control of each circuit of the digital camera 200. The CPU controls the corresponding operation in accordance with the input signal from the input means 25 and the output from the position detection means 26, controls the zooming operation and automatic focus adjustment (AF) operation of the lens 20, and automatic exposure adjustment ( AE) Control, transmission of image data to the electronic album apparatus, execution of album creation described later, and the like are performed.
[0014]
The image signal obtained from the image pickup means 21 is subjected to predetermined processing in an image signal processing circuit and converted into electronic image data indicating a photographed subject image. The image data obtained in this way is recorded in the main body built-in memory by the recording means 23. A removable recording medium such as a card type IC memory called smart media may be used instead of the main body built-in memory. The recording medium is not limited to a memory card, and various forms such as a PC card, a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, and a memory stick are possible. In this case, the recording means 23 is composed of a read / write device corresponding to the type of recording medium used.
[0015]
In this embodiment, the electronic album creating method program of the present invention is preinstalled in the recording means 12 of the digital camera body. However, the program is recorded on various recording media and read by the digital camera. Needless to say, the configuration to be used may be used.
[0016]
The position detecting means 26 enables selection and execution of various operations by the operator moving or tilting the camera body, and has a function of assisting input by various buttons and switches. The position detection means 26 allows the operator to execute the operation more intuitively. In the present embodiment, an acceleration sensor is used for the position detection means 26. Specifically, an acceleration sensor is arranged in each of the X, Y, and Z axes of the three-dimensional coordinate system, and the movement amount and the rotation angle are calculated by the information processing unit 22 in accordance with output signals from the three sensors. .
[0017]
The image data stored in the built-in memory as the recording means 23 is transferred to the electronic album apparatus 100 via the image data interface means 27 and 10. In addition, an operation command signal for the electronic album apparatus 100 and a response signal from the electronic album apparatus 100 are also transmitted and received via the image data interface means 10 and 27.
[0018]
As a matter of course, the image data interface means 10 of the electronic album apparatus 100 is constituted by a read / write device for various recording media, and various switches of the electronic album apparatus are used for image data imported from the various recording media to the electronic album apparatus. The album may be automatically created by operating the input means 14 including Furthermore, the electronic album creating method program of the present invention may be recorded on various recording media and read into the electronic album device for use.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, the image data transfer is performed wirelessly, but may be performed using wired data transfer. In this case, the image data interface means 10 and 27 are constituted by image data and control signal input / output devices and a data cable connection device, and both image data interface means 10 and 27 are connected by a data cable.
[0020]
Furthermore, as described above, when the recording means of the digital camera and the electronic album device is configured by a read / write device of various recording media such as a memory card, the operator manually performs the transfer of image data. That is, the operator removes the recording medium on which the image data is recorded from the digital camera, attaches it to the electronic album apparatus, and reads the image data, thereby moving the image data. For this reason, the image data interface means 10 and 27 may be configured only by a device for transferring control signals.
[0021]
Next, FIG. 3 shows a schematic external view of a digital camera used in this embodiment. The digital camera 200 includes a housing 31, a power switch 32, an optical viewfinder 33, a photographing lens 34, a shutter button 35, an auxiliary light emitting unit 36, a display 37, a function button 38, a menu switch (cross switch) 39, a reset button 40, The execution / screen changeover switch 41, the infrared transmission / reception unit 42, and the like.
[0022]
Next, transfer of image data to the electronic album apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0023]
Image data taken by the digital camera 200 is stored in the camera body. At an arbitrary time, the captured image data is transferred to the recording means 12 of the electronic album apparatus 100 while checking on the display 37 of the digital camera 200.
[0024]
When the menu switch 39 is first pressed, several menus are displayed in order on the display 37, so that the image data transfer mode is selected from the menus and the function button 38 is pressed (step S101). Simultaneously with the selection of the transfer mode, one image of the image data stored in the built-in memory is displayed on the display 37 of the digital camera 200 (step S102).
[0025]
At the same time, the television 300 connected to the electronic album device 100 displays several illustrations that image pockets as shown in FIG. 5 (step S103). For example, theme names such as “travel”, “family”, and “cooking” are displayed in the pocket. These names correspond to the names of the first directories created in advance by the user, and the number and naming of the directories can be freely determined by the operator. However, in order to facilitate classification, it is desirable to reduce the number of first directories and set theme names representing major classifications.
[0026]
At this time, the directory in which the image displayed on the display 37 is stored is selected (step S104). The directory is selected by selecting an illustration of a pocket displayed on the television 300. As shown in FIG. 5, when an operator holds a digital camera 200 on which an image is displayed and moves the camera body in an up / down / left / right oblique direction, the cursor on the television screen moves in the moved direction, and the pocket where the cursor is located. The illustration is highlighted. For example, when it is desired to store the image data displayed on the display 37 in the “travel” pocket, when the camera is moved to the upper left, the cursor moves and the “travel” pocket is highlighted.
[0027]
The movement of the camera housing is detected by the position detection means 26. Note that the operator performs an operation toward the TV, but in actuality, the position detection means detects the movement of the camera housing, and the transmission / reception of data converted into the distance traveled between the TV and the digital camera is digital. This is performed between the camera 200 and the electronic album device 100. Since the operator's hand moves slightly, the operation for moving the camera is executed while pressing the function button 38 in order to distinguish the operation for moving the cursor from the other movement. The position detection unit 26 of the digital camera 200 detects an output signal from the acceleration sensor after the point in time when the execution button is pressed, and outputs it to the information processing unit 22.
[0028]
Based on the output signal, the information processing means 22 analyzes in which direction the main body of the digital camera 200 has moved in the three-dimensional coordinate system, and calculates the moving amount and moving direction of the representative point of the cursor. This result is transmitted to the electronic album apparatus 100 via the image data interface means 27. The image data interface means 10 of the electronic album apparatus 100 receives the movement data, and the control means 11 changes the position of the cursor according to the movement data (step S105), and highlights the pocket where the cursor is located (step S106).
[0029]
Once the transfer destination pocket has been selected, the image data is transferred to the electronic album device 100. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the image data transfer operation is tilted 45 degrees or more downward with the right side of the digital camera 200 as a fulcrum while pressing the function button 38 of the digital camera 200. When the position detection unit 26 detects this movement as an operation for turning on image data transfer, the image data displayed on the display 37 is transferred from the recording unit 23 to the electronic album apparatus 100 via the image data interface unit 27. (Step S107).
[0030]
The electronic album device 100 receives the image data (step S108) and stores it in the designated directory of the recording means 12 (step S109). When the data is transferred, it is determined whether there is next image data (step S110). If there is next image data, the next image is automatically displayed on the display 37 (step S102), and the procedure from step S102 to S109 is repeated until there is no more image data. If there is no image data, the image transfer mode ends (step S111).
[0031]
Next, detailed steps of album creation of the electronic album apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0032]
When the album creation mode is selected with the menu switch 39 of the digital camera 200 and the function button 38 is pressed, the album creation mode of the image data stored in the recording means 12 of the electronic album apparatus 100 is turned on, and the album creation means 16 and the cover image selection means 17 operate (step S201). First, the number of first directories created in advance, such as “travel”, is checked, and necessary initial data such as the number of image data in each directory, shooting date / time data of each image data, resolution, and the like are searched (step S202). ). The retrieved data has a configuration as shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, for each first directory, the shooting date and time and the resolution (classified by high, medium, and low) of the stored image data are listed.
[0033]
Next, the image data is grouped based on the initial data (step S203). Details of grouping will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0034]
First, it is determined whether or not the data stored in the directory is 2 or less (step S301). If the number of data is 2 or less, a subdirectory (album) cannot be automatically created. If it is determined that the number of data is large, the storage period of data from the oldest image data to the shooting date and time of the newest image data in the directory is calculated in the next step S302. Next, the storage period is divided by the number of time scales (M = 20), and a time scale per scale is calculated (step S303). In the example of the table of FIG. 8, there are 92 image data in the first directory of “family”. The oldest data was taken on May 12 and the latest data was taken on July 11. Yes. The time between them is about 60 days. Therefore, when this is divided by the number of scales of 20, the time per scale is 3 days. The number rounding method in the calculation of the storage period, the initial value 20 of the time scale number, and the like can be changed according to the user's convenience.
[0035]
Next, the horizontal axis represents time, the vertical axis represents the number of image data stored during that period, the oldest image data shooting date is the origin, and the right end of the horizontal axis is the newest image data shooting date Is created (step S304). Similarly, in the example of the table of FIG. 9, the number of image data for three days is created as a histogram from May 12 as the origin. FIG. 10A shows this histogram. The leftmost frequency is 7, the next is 0, the right is 4 and so on.
[0036]
In the histogram of FIG. 10A, there is an area of frequency 0 in the middle, and the frequency distribution is interrupted. Each distribution A (hereinafter referred to as a peak) is determined as one group. Accordingly, in the example of the table of FIG. 9, the seven pictures taken on May 12 are separated into one group, and the four pictures taken on May 19 are separated into another group.
[0037]
In this way, it is good if the groups are appropriately separated on one scale scale. For example, when the scale scale is 3 days, data taken on May 12 and May 14 were taken. The data will be in the same group. Therefore, once the peaks are separated, the shooting date / time data in the group is collated, for example, whether there is data with different shooting dates in the group in which the scale scale is separated in units of days. Check in step S306. These check criteria may be determined in advance. For example, when there are data taken on May 12 and data taken on May 14 in the group and the dates are not different, it is necessary to re-divide the group in step S306. If it is determined that there is, the process returns to step S301 again based on the data in the group, and the grouping procedure is executed.
[0038]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10B, when no peak is recognized in the histogram, the scale scale is considered too large, so the value of the scale number M is increased in the order of 30, 40, 50 ( Step S307). In this embodiment, the upper limit of M is set to 100 (step S308), but this numerical value, the rate of increase, and the like may be changed in accordance with the actual condition of the operator.
[0039]
Next, the storage period is divided again by the increased number of scales (step S303), and the same procedure is repeated. When a peak is recognized in the created histogram, the peak is separated and subdivided. If a peak is not recognized even if the number of scales is 100, or if the number of data in the group becomes 2 or less due to re-division or the like, an error is displayed and the grouping operation is stopped. When the peak division is completed, the grouping procedure is completed in a state where a plurality of groups organized by data number are generated.
[0040]
Next, returning to FIG. 7 again, a subdirectory is created based on the result of grouping the images (step S204). This is the directory for the album, and is created by the number of groups created by dividing the peak. The subdirectory is created under the first directory where the data is stored. For example, subdirectories having names such as “May 12” and “May 19” are automatically generated under the “family” directory.
[0041]
In addition, the name of the subdirectory is automatically generated on the date as described above, or the event name such as “Summer vacation” is stored in correspondence with the date, and the name is automatically assigned when it corresponds to the date or period. It is possible to give to.
[0042]
Next, the corresponding image data is moved into the created subdirectory (step S205). A method of saving only the path to the image data in a subdirectory without physically moving the data storage location may be used.
[0043]
Next, the cover image is automatically selected (step S206). As a cover image selection method, image data having the highest resolution (a large amount of data) in the group is selected. This is because the photographer shoots at a high resolution only for scenes that are important or important to preserve, and resolution is an indicator of the importance of a photograph. In addition, there is no need to input the numerical value of the importance of the photograph. When there are a plurality of high-resolution photographs in the group, the image data having the highest peak frequency distribution (for example, the third peak (A) in FIG. 10A has three frequency graphs). (Which corresponds to high-resolution image data included in the period of the second highest frequency graph). This is because it is determined that a photographer is generating a lot of image data in order to photograph a good scene at the time (time period) when photographing is most frequently performed.
[0044]
As described above, the image data in the directory is distributed to a plurality of subdirectories, and the album generation is completed. In the next step S207, it is determined whether or not there is another first directory. If there is, the process returns to step S203, and the same procedure is repeated until album creation is completed for all directories.
[0045]
Note that a template image serving as a mount is prepared in the created subdirectory, and images are automatically pasted in time series. Therefore, when each subdirectory is opened, a cover and mount similar to those of an actual album are displayed, and an operation of turning a page is executed when an arrow on the screen is clicked. An example of the album display is shown in FIG. You can create an album as it is by printing the display screen on a special sheet with punch holes and filing it.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
  Electronic album device of the present inventionAnd electronic album creation methodAccording to the digital camera etc.AndIn the first directorySaved for each themeImage dataA histogram is created based on the shooting date / time data, and a continuous distribution on the histogram is grouped into one group.You can automatically create an album by classifying the image data in the album.TheSince the cover image can be selected by determining the resolution of the image data, the process from album creation to album cover image selection can be automatically performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic album device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic external view of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transferring image data to an electronic album apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example of a television connected to the electronic album apparatus and an operation example of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation example of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed steps of creating an album by the electronic album device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing initial data (table) generated by the electronic album device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing detailed steps for grouping image data in the electronic album apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a histogram generated by the electronic album device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a display example of an album created by the electronic album device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
10. Image data interface means of electronic album device
11 Control means
12 Recording means
13 Display interface means
14 Input means
15 Printing means
16 Album creation means
17 Cover image selection means
22 Information processing means
23 Recording means
24 Display means
26 Position detection means
27 Image data interface means
37 display
38 Function buttons
39 Menu switch (cross switch)
40 Reset button
42 Infrared transceiver
100 Electronic album device
200 Digital camera
300 TV

Claims (4)

Image data interface means for capturing image data, recording means for recording a plurality of captured image data in a first directory created in advance for each theme, and external display means for displaying image data recorded in the recording means In an electronic album apparatus comprising display interface means for connecting to
Wherein the plurality of image data within a first directory grouping and sorting by group in the first plurality of second directory created under the directory, the album creating means for managing stored as an album,
Cover image selection means for selecting image data used for the cover of the album from the image data of each group distributed to the second directory;
With
The album creating means divides a period from the oldest shooting date / time data of the plurality of image data recorded in the first directory to the latest shooting date / time data by the number of time scales based on the shooting date / time data of the image data. Then, a time scale is obtained, a histogram of the image data is created with the time scale as one scale, a continuous distribution on the histogram is grouped as one group,
The cover image selection means selects, based on the resolution of the image data, image data having the highest resolution among the image data included in each group as image data used for the cover.
An electronic album device characterized by that. 2. The electronic album apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the album creating unit re-divides image data whose shooting dates are not consecutive by collating shooting date / time data of the image data in the group. An electronic album device. Captures image data, records a plurality of captured image data in a first directory created for each theme in advance, and creates an electronic album for display on the external display means from the image data recorded in the first directory An electronic album creation method
Based on the shooting date / time data of the image data, the time scale is obtained by dividing the period from the oldest shooting date / time data of the plurality of image data recorded in the first directory to the latest shooting date / time data by the number of time scales. A time scale calculation step;
A histogram creation step of creating a histogram of a plurality of image data recorded in the first directory with the time scale as one scale;
Create an album that performs grouping of the image data with a continuous distribution on the histogram as one group, and distributes the data to a plurality of second directories created under the first directory, and manages and saves the album as an album Steps,
A cover image selection step of selecting image data having the highest resolution as image data to be used for the cover of the album, based on the resolution of the image data;
An electronic album creating method comprising: 4. The electronic album creating method according to claim 3, wherein in the album creating step, the shooting date / time data of the image data in the group is collated, and the image data whose shooting dates are not continuous is subdivided. How to make an electronic album.

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