JP4290824B2 - Image printing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus that prints an electronic image.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, image printing apparatuses are widely used to print electronic images taken with an electronic camera. An electronic image photographed by an electronic camera is normally recorded on a recording medium. When the electronic image is printed by an image recording apparatus, a desired electronic image is selected from the electronic images recorded on the recording medium. It is supposed to print. Here, the image recorded on the recording medium can be transmitted from the external terminal of the electronic camera to the image printing apparatus, or can be printed by the image printing apparatus by directly mounting the recording medium on the image printing apparatus and reading it out. become.
[0003]
Also, in recent years, electronic cameras have been able to shoot not only still images, but also a series of still images taken continuously and a plurality of still images taken moving images (such a plurality of still images The group is hereinafter referred to as a “combination image”). As the print mode, the image printing apparatus has a mode for printing a designated frame, an all-frame print mode for printing all frames recorded on the medium, or an index print mode for checking the contents of the recording medium. Here, when all frame printing is executed on a medium in which a normal image and a combined image are recorded together, conventionally, all the frames of the combined image are printed. Similarly, when index printing is executed, all of the combined images are index printed. Therefore, conventionally, time and cost for printing are wasted.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, when all frame printing or index printing is executed on a recording medium in which a normal image and a combined image are mixed, all still images are printed, which wastes time and cost for printing. There is.
[0005]
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and provides an image printing apparatus that does not waste time and cost for printing even when a combined image is included in an image to be printed. For the purpose.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has taken the following measures.
[0007]
Image printing apparatus of the present invention, a printing unit for printing the still image, and at least one still image you select a selection means in response to an instruction from the user from among those recorded on the recording medium, is selected by said selection means The selected still image is printed when the still image is not one of the grouped images that are a set of still images that are related to each other, and the still image selected by the selection unit is one of the grouped images. Control means for controlling the printing means so as to print only the first still image taken in the selected set image. When printing an image including a set image, only a specific image is printed instead of all the images of the specified set image, so that printing can be saved. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent wasteful printing. Here, the group image is one of a series of still images taken continuously and a plurality of still images taken moving images. That is, the combined image may be a combined image generated during continuous shooting, or may be a combined image of still images taken as a moving image (for example, a combined image by motion JPEG). Further, since only the first image of the combined image is printed, it is possible to easily guess what kind of image the combined image is.
[0008]
In the above image printing apparatus, preferred embodiments are as follows.
[0009]
(1) The group image is either a plurality of still images by continuous shooting or a plurality of still images obtained by moving image shooting configured by continuous shooting of still images.
[0010]
(2) When the set image is printed, the control unit prints whether the set image to be printed is the set image by the continuous shooting or the set image by the moving image. By adding such a display, it can be easily determined whether the display image is a still image or a combined image.
[0011]
(3) The control means prints a multi-image in which reduced images of a plurality of still images in the set image are arranged as the specific image. Since a plurality of images are displayed at the same time, it can be easily determined that the image is a combined image, and changes in the image over time can be captured.
[0012]
(4) A printing unit that prints a still image, a selection unit that selects at least one still image from instructions recorded on a recording medium, and a still image selected by the selection unit are mutually connected. The selected still image is printed when it is not one of the set images that are a set of related still images, and is selected when the still image selected by the selection unit is one of the set images. Control means for controlling the printing means so as to print still images taken first and last in the set image and not to print still images in the set image other than the first and last still images. , With. Even when the number of grouped images is large, the first and last images are reliably printed, so that it is easy to determine that they are grouped images.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image printing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline when the printer of FIG. 1 is connected to a television monitor.
[0015]
In FIG. 2, a card slot 21 is arranged on the front surface of the printer main body 1, and a removable card memory 2 such as a smart media or a compact flash is detachably mounted. Normally, the printer main body 1 reads the image information from the removable card memory 2 and prints it. Image information read from the removable card memory 2 attached to the card slot 21 is temporarily stored in the image buffer memory 25 via the card interface (I / F) 22. The image buffer memory 25 is a working memory for temporarily storing data such as temporary image information for image processing. Here, the image recorded in the removable card memory 2 is usually compressed by JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) or the like. Therefore, when an image recorded in the removable card memory 2 is compressed and recorded, the image is decompressed by the decompression circuit 30, converted into uncompressed image information, and temporarily stored in the image buffer memory 25 again. Is done. The image information recorded in the detachable card memory 2 is converted by the video display circuit 41 from a digital image signal to a video signal that can be displayed on the television monitor 4, and a television monitor interface (I / F) 42 and a video cable 43. The image information recorded on the removable card memory 2 can be easily confirmed.
[0016]
The image information developed by the decompression circuit 30 and stored again in the image buffer memory 25 is sent to the head drive circuit 50. The head drive circuit 50 sends a signal for controlling the printer head 51 so that the printer head 51 prints a predetermined image according to the image information.
[0017]
The control microcomputer 60 controls each part of the printer main body 1 and performs the following control in addition to the control of each operation described above. The status of various status sensors 61, for example, the status of the attachment / detachment card memory 2, the feeding of the printer head, the remaining amount of ink, etc. are detected, and the status is output to the control microcomputer 60. Displays the status on the display means LCD 72 of the operation panel 70 and instructs the drive means 62 such as various motors to perform necessary control. The driving means 62 such as various motors drives the printer head 51 and the like in accordance with instructions from the control microcomputer 60.
[0018]
The operation panel 70 is attached to the front surface of the printer main body 1 and includes operation means 71 for inputting an instruction from the user in addition to the display LCD 27, and this instruction is also displayed on the display means 72. .
[0019]
The printer main body 1 is provided with an external interface (I / F) 80, and data can be transmitted / received to / from an external device via an external interface (I / F) connector 81. The external interface (I / F) 80 may receive an image from an external device (such as a personal computer, a large-capacity external storage device, or an electronic camera) and print it.
[0020]
The operation of the printer according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer according to the present invention. In the following description, a case where image information is read from the removable card memory 2 will be described.
[0021]
First, it is detected by the state sensor 61 whether or not the detachable card memory 2 is installed in the card slot 21. If the detachable card memory 2 is not installed, the processing is not continued and the process is terminated (step S1). If the detachable card memory 2 is mounted (step S1) and the print instruction is all frame print for printing all image information in the detachable card memory 2 (step S2), all frames of the still image excluding the group image are displayed. Is printed (step S3). Here, the “combination image” means a collection of still images, for example, a collection of a plurality of still images by continuous shooting, a moving image by motion JPEG (Motion JPEG), or the like. Then, for all the group images, a group image printing process, which will be described in detail later, is performed (step S4). Thereafter, when the removable card memory 2 is removed, the process is terminated (step S5).
[0022]
In step S2, if it is not an instruction to print all frames, a still image or group image to be printed is selected (step S6). If it is a still image, normal printing is performed (step S7). The group image, which will be described later in detail, is printed (step S8). In step S6, when printing is not performed (for example, when only an image is confirmed), the process proceeds to step S5.
[0023]
In the flowchart of FIG. 3, an example of print processing of a combined image is shown in FIG. FIG. 4A shows an example in which the top image of the combined image is displayed as a representative image. In this case, since it is difficult to determine whether this image is just a still image or the first image of the group image, as shown in the figure, identification characters (for example, “moving image”, “continuous shooting”, It is preferable to print characters such as “set image” together with the image. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing printing by a multi-image using the set image as an index of a plurality of still images. By doing so, it can be clearly determined that the set image is a set image. In this case, images such as an image I1, an image I2,... Are displayed from the top image I0 according to the time series taken, and in the example of FIG. The images I0 to I8 are printed as one index image. In FIG. 4B, printing is performed so that the combined image can be seen by the multi-image based on the index image. However, in such printing, there is a possibility that the final image of the combined image may not be printed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 4C, by printing the first image and the final image of the combined image, the change due to the fine image movement is not known, but how the captured image finally changed Therefore, there is an advantage that it is easy to determine whether the image is necessary.
[0024]
As described above, according to the present invention, when printing, it is determined whether the image is a combined image or a still image, and in the case of the combined image, a special print process for the combined image is performed. In addition, it is not necessary to print all the still images included in the combined image, and only necessary images can be printed, so that useless printing can be prevented.
[0025]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. In the above embodiment, the image display is performed using a television monitor, but it is needless to say that an image display (such as an image display LCD) may be provided in the printer body.
[0026]
In the flowchart of FIG. 3, after all frame print instructions are given, a still image is first printed and then a combined image is printed. However, printing may be performed in the order of file creation. In this case, it is sufficient to determine whether the image to be printed is a still image or a combined image each time before performing the printing process.
[0027]
Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
[0029]
In the image printing apparatus of the present invention, when printing an image including a group image, only a specific image is printed instead of all the images of the group image instructed, thus saving printing. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent wasteful printing. Here, the group image may be a group image generated at the time of continuous shooting, or may be a group image of a still image captured as a moving image (for example, a group image by motion JPEG).
[0030]
Further, since only the first image of the combined image is printed, it is possible to easily guess what kind of image the combined image is. Furthermore, it is possible to easily determine whether the display image is a still image or a group image by adding a display indicating that it is a group image.
[0031]
In addition, since a plurality of images are displayed simultaneously, it is possible to easily determine that the image is a combined image, and it is also possible to capture changes in the image over time. Even when the number of grouped images is large, the first and last images are reliably printed, so that it is easy to determine that they are grouped images.
[0032]
Even when all the still images recorded on the recording medium are selected by the selection unit, it is possible to prevent the large-scale printing of the moving image that the user does not want.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an image printing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline when the printer of FIG. 1 is connected to a television monitor.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the printer according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a combined image print process;
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Printer body,
2 ... removable card memory,
21 ... Card slot,
22: Card interface (I / F),
25. Image buffer memory,
30 ... expansion circuit,
4 ... TV monitor,
41 ... Video display circuit,
42 ... TV monitor interface (I / F),
43 ... Video cable,
50. Head drive circuit,
51 ... Printer head,
60 ... Control microcomputer,
61 ... Status sensor,
62 ... Driving means,
70 ... operation panel,
72. Display means LCD,
71 ... operating means,
80 ... External interface (I / F),
81: External interface (I / F) connector.

Claims (5)

Printing means for printing still images;
At least one still image to that selection means select an instruction from a user from among recorded on a recording medium,
When the still image selected by the selection unit is not one of the group images that are a set of still images having mutual relations, the selected still image is printed, and the still image selected by the selection unit is A control means for controlling the printing means so as to print only the still image first taken in the selected set image when it is one of the set images;
An image printing apparatus comprising: The image printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group image is one of a plurality of still images obtained by continuous shooting or a plurality of still images obtained by moving image shooting configured by continuous shooting of still images. The image printing apparatus according to claim 2.
The image printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the group image is printed, the control unit prints whether the group image to be printed is the group image by the continuous shooting or the group image by the moving image. The image printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The image printing apparatus, wherein the control unit prints a multi-image in which reduced images of a plurality of still images in the set image are arranged as the specific image. Printing means for printing still images;
Selecting means for selecting at least one still image from an instruction recorded by the user from among the recording media;
When the still image selected by the selection unit is not one of the group images that are a set of still images having mutual relations, the selected still image is printed, and the still image selected by the selection unit is When it is one of the group images, the first and last still images taken in the selected group image are printed, and the still images in the group images other than the first and last still images are printed. Control means for controlling the printing means so as not to print;
Image printing apparatus characterized by comprising a.

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