JP4464235B2 - Imaging device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus, and more particularly to a mechanism for enabling a user to easily identify and manage captured data.

  Conventionally, digital cameras and digital video camcorders that record captured data on a recording medium such as a memory card have become widespread. Particularly in recent years, the capacity of storage media has been increasing, and it has become possible to record a large amount of data including not only still image data but also moving image data. When a large amount of still image / moving image data can be recorded on a single memory card, there is an advantage that the user can concentrate on shooting a subject without worrying about the number of shots that can be taken. .

  In general, shooting data recorded on a memory card or the like is often played back on a digital camera or digital video camcorder that has been shot, or copied to a personal computer (PC) for playback, editing, and organization. It has been broken. However, as a result of the large capacity of the memory card, the user handles a large amount of data, and there is a problem that it takes time and effort to find and organize the desired data. To do.

  Therefore, a technique for automatically classifying photographed image data according to the photographing date and the photographing location is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In addition, digital cameras having a function for a user to create a folder for recording data and a function for adding information such as a recording location to image data have appeared. As described above, a technique has been developed that can store shooting data in a structure that reflects the intention of the user, not the machine.

JP-A-10-254746

  However, the task of creating a folder or adding additional information as described above is troublesome for the user to input characters, so it cannot be done easily at the time of shooting, and the burden on the user is large. There is.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and provides an imaging apparatus capable of creating a recording folder that reflects a user's intention without complicated operations and storing captured data. With the goal.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an imaging unit that captures an optical image of a subject to generate image data, a recording unit that records image data obtained by the imaging unit on a recording medium, and the image data in the recording medium. Creating means for creating a folder for storing the image capturing means, recording means, control means for controlling the creating means, first instruction means, and second instruction means different from the first instruction means And the control means controls the imaging means to generate image data in response to receiving an instruction from the first instruction means, and the image data obtained by the imaging means In response to receiving an instruction from the second instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, and the folder is stored in the recording medium. Create Controls so that said producing means further controls the so that said recording means to record on the recording medium in association with said image data obtained we were by the imaging means and the folder created by the creation means It is characterized by that.

  The imaging apparatus according to the present invention can create a recording folder that reflects the user's intention without complicated operations, and can store imaging data.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
As an imaging apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, a digital camera (imaging apparatus) capable of performing representative image shooting / recording folder creation and associating them with a recording folder creation button being pressed will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a digital camera (imaging device) according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a digital camera according to this embodiment, which stores photographed image data in a memory card 105 described later. Further, the digital camera 100 includes an imaging unit 101, an image signal processing unit 102, a file management unit 103, a card I / F (interface) 104, a memory card 105, a CPU (central processing unit) 106, an operation unit 107, and a display unit 108. , And a date management unit 109.

  The imaging unit 101 includes a lens, an imaging element, and the like, and receives a subject image and converts it into an electrical signal. Further, the image signal processing unit 102 converts the imaging signal output from the imaging unit 101 into digital data. The file management unit 103 is controlled by the CPU 106 and reads / writes data from / to the memory card 105 via the card I / F 104. The file management unit 103 also manages creation of a folder for storing files. The card I / F 104 controls access to the memory card 105. The memory card 105 is an external recording medium for recording photographing data, and is composed of, for example, a flash memory. The CPU 106 has a role of controlling each unit of the digital camera 100. The operation unit 107 receives an input from the user and notifies the CPU 106 of the input. The display unit 108 has a role of displaying information related to the shooting mode, a subject image that is being shot or has been shot, and is configured by a liquid crystal panel, for example. The date management unit 109 has a built-in clock, and holds and manages information on the current date and time.

  Next, a detailed example of the operation unit 107 shown in FIG. 1 will be shown. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a part related to the photographing / reproducing function in the operation unit 107 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation unit 107 includes a still image shooting button 107A, a folder creation button 107B, a reproduction instruction unit 107C, and a mode switch 107D. The still image shooting button 107A is used by the digital camera 100 to perform a still image shooting operation when pressed by the user. The folder creation button 107B is used to create a recording folder when pressed by the user. The reproduction instruction unit 107C is an operation member for the user to instruct a reproduction operation. The mode switch 107D is for switching the digital camera 100 to each of the power-off, playback, and shooting states.

  Next, a procedure for creating a recording folder in the digital camera 100 described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording folder creation processing procedure in the digital camera 100. As shown in FIG. 4, first, when the user presses the folder creation button 107B, the operation unit 107 receives a recording folder creation instruction that instructs to create a new recording folder (step S1). Here, the folder creation button 107B has the same function as the still image capturing button 107A. When the user presses this button, a still image is captured by the image capturing unit 101, and the file management unit 103 captures an image. Still image data captured by the unit 101 is recorded in the memory card 105 (steps S2 and S3).

  Next, the file management unit 103 creates a new data recording folder A in the memory card 105 on the memory card 105 (step S4). Next, the file management unit 103 acquires the current date information from the date management unit 109 and records it in the memory card 105 (step S5). Next, the file management unit 103 associates the still image data recorded in step S3 with the recording folder created in step S4, and records information relating to the association (hereinafter referred to as association information) in the memory card 105 (step S6). ). The file management unit 103 associates the date information acquired in step S5 with the representative image of the recording folder, and adds the information to the association information. This association information is stored as a separate file on the memory card 105, for example, or is implicitly embedded according to a file name naming convention or the like.

  For example, after the recording folder A is created by the above procedure, in the digital camera 100, when the user presses the still image shooting button 107A to shoot a still image, the digital camera 100 stores the image data generated by the shooting in the recording folder. Save to A. FIG. 3 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a recording folder created by the above procedure and a relationship example between representative images and date information associated with the recording folder. As shown by the arrows in FIG. 3, the associated information can be displayed together. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, an icon indicating a recording folder in which a representative image is reduced and pasted and a date when the recording folder is created are displayed as a set.

  Next, a processing procedure in the digital camera 100 when reproducing still image data recorded by the procedure shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure for reproducing still image data in the digital camera 100. As shown in FIG. 5, first, the user selects “play” by operating the mode changeover switch 107D. Thereby, the digital camera 100 receives the instruction to shift to the reproduction mode, and switches the operation mode to the reproduction mode (step S11). Next, when the digital camera 100 enters the playback mode, the file management unit 103 reads the association information from the memory card 105, and displays a list of image data associated with the recording folder on the display unit 108 under the control of the CPU 106 (step 108). S12). Thereby, the digital camera 100 can prompt the user to select which recording folder the image data is to be reproduced.

  Here, when the user operates the reproduction instruction unit 107C to select a desired recording folder, the digital camera 100 receives a signal indicating that the recording folder has been selected, and stores the image data in the selected recording folder. Reproduction is performed (steps S13 and S14).

  In the above-described embodiment, the recording folder creation button 107B is provided exclusively for instructing the user to create a recording folder. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the display unit 108 can be selected by the user. As a simple item, it is possible to receive a recording folder creation instruction from the user even by displaying an item for instructing the creation of the recording folder. Further, by using the display unit 108 in this way, it is not necessary to provide the recording folder creation button 107B exclusively, so that the number of parts can be reduced.

  As described above, in the above-described first embodiment, when the user presses the recording folder creation button 107B at the time of shooting, the digital camera 100 creates a recording folder and also generates image data. Then, it is recorded on the memory card 105 as a representative image. For this reason, when the user presses the recording folder creation button 107B, it is desirable that a subject that is a representative image corresponding to the content of shooting scheduled to be shot is taken as a shooting target. As a result, the icon of the recording folder to which the representative image corresponding to the photographing content as shown in FIG. 3 is given at the time of reproduction is displayed, and it becomes possible to easily find the image desired by the user.

  As described above, the digital camera 100 according to the present embodiment can perform the recording folder creation process, the representative image shooting process, and the association process between them simply by pressing the recording folder creation button 107B. . In addition, the digital camera 100 stores the image data captured when the user presses the still image capturing button 107 </ b> A in the memory card 105 in association with the recording folder created immediately before. In other words, the digital camera 100 can create a recording folder that reflects the user's intention without complicated operations, and can store shooting data in the recording folder.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, as an imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a representative image creation process, a recording folder creation process, and both using a still image shooting button as a trigger in the moving image shooting mode and a moving image shooting button as a trigger in the still image shooting mode. A digital video camcorder (imaging device) that performs the association process will be described. The digital camera 100 according to the first embodiment described above relates to a still image shooting apparatus, but the digital video camcorder according to the present embodiment relates to a shooting apparatus capable of shooting a moving image in addition to a still image. In this embodiment, a digital video camcorder (hereinafter simply referred to as a camcorder) capable of recording moving images and still images on a memory card and capable of capturing still images during moving image shooting will be described as an example.

  The configuration of the camcorder 100 of this embodiment is the same as that of the digital camera 100 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, a different part from 1st Embodiment is demonstrated. First, the imaging unit 101 can be driven according to both moving images and still images. The image processing unit 102 can process both moving images and still images. The memory card 105 can also store both moving image data and still image data in respective formats. The configuration of the operation unit 107 is also different.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the operation unit 107 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the operation unit 107 includes a still image shooting button 107A, a moving image shooting button 107B, a reproduction instruction unit 107C, and a mode changeover switch 107D. Here, the mode changeover switch 107 </ b> D is for switching the power interruption, moving image shooting mode, still image shooting mode, and playback mode in the camcorder 100. When the user presses the still image shooting button 107 </ b> A in the still image shooting mode, the camcorder 100 performs still image shooting processing and records still image data in the memory card 105. Similarly, the camcorder 100 starts moving image shooting processing and records moving image data in the memory card 105 when the user presses the moving image shooting button 107B in the moving image shooting mode. The camcorder 100 has a function of performing still image shooting processing and recording still image data in the memory card 105 at the timing when the user presses the still image shooting button 107 </ b> A during moving image shooting.

  Next, a procedure for creating a recording folder in the camcorder 100 of this embodiment will be described. First, a process for creating a recording folder in the moving image shooting mode will be described. The recording folder in the moving image shooting mode is created when the user presses the still image shooting button 107A. The processing in that case is the same as the processing in FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment, and the recording folder creation processing in the video recording mode in the camcorder 100 will be described below with reference to FIG.

  First, when the user presses the still image shooting button 107A in the camcorder 100 in the moving image shooting mode, the camcorder 100 receives a recording folder creation instruction in step S1. Next, in steps S <b> 2 and S <b> 3, a still image serving as a representative image is taken by the imaging unit 101, and still image data is recorded on the memory card 105. Next, in step S <b> 4, the file management unit 103 creates a new recording folder (for example, recording folder B) on the memory card 105. Next, in step S <b> 5, the file management unit 103 acquires the current date information held by the date management unit 109 and records it in the memory card 105.

  Next, in step S <b> 6, the file management unit 103 records information relating to the association (association information) in the memory card 105 in association with the created recording folder B and the captured still image data. This association information is held as a separate file on the memory card 105, or is implicitly embedded according to a naming convention for the file name. The file management unit 103 also adds date information to the association information.

  With the above procedure, after creating the recording folder B, the camcorder 100 in the moving image shooting mode performs still image shooting processing every time the user presses the still image shooting button 107A, and stores still image data in the recording folder. Save to B.

  Next, recording folder creation processing in the still image shooting mode will be described. In the camcorder 100 according to the present embodiment, a recording folder creation process is performed in the same procedure as shown in FIG. 4 even in the still image shooting mode. The only difference from the above description is that in the still image shooting mode, the camcorder 100 captures a still image as a representative image, creates a recording folder, and associates them with each other when the user presses the moving image shooting button 107B. Is the point of processing.

  Note that the procedure for reproducing still image data recorded on the memory card 105 in the camcorder 100 of the present embodiment is the same as the procedure of the reproduction process in the first embodiment shown in FIG. The configuration of the present embodiment is also applicable to a digital camera having a moving image shooting mode and a still image shooting mode.

  As described above, the camcorder 100 according to the present embodiment can perform the recording folder creation process, the representative image shooting process, and the association process between them simply by pressing the moving image shooting button 107B. In addition, the camcorder 100 stores the image data captured when the user presses the still image capturing button 107A in the memory card 105 in association with the recording folder created immediately before. In other words, the camcorder 100 can create a recording folder that reflects the user's intention without complicated operations, and can store shooting data in the recording folder. Further, unlike the first embodiment, the camcorder 100 does not have a dedicated button for creating a recording folder (recording folder creation button 107B in FIG. 2), and does not provide a new (usually existing) still image shooting. Since the recording folder creation process is performed using the button 107A and the moving image shooting button 107B as a trigger, there is an advantage that the number of parts can be reduced.

Next, a characteristic display content example displayed on the display unit 108 at the time of shooting in the digital camera 100 or the camcorder 100 described above will be described.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of characteristic display contents displayed on the display unit 108 at the time of shooting in the digital camera 100 and the camcorder 100 described above. As shown in FIG. 7, the display unit 108 displays a subject image 182 that is being captured and is captured from the image capturing unit 101, and an icon of a recording folder that is a storage destination (recording location) of still image data, as illustrated in FIG. 7. 181 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 3, a thumbnail (reduced image) of a representative image associated with the recording folder is pasted on the icon 181. As a result, the user can take a picture while confirming where the data is stored.

  Further, the image pickup apparatus (digital camera 100 or camcorder 100) is not limited to the above-described configuration, and a program for realizing the functions of the processes shown in FIGS. The function may be realized by being executed by the (arithmetic unit) 106. Here, the memory is, for example, a ROM and is a computer-readable recording medium.

  The memory described above is not limited to the ROM, but a nonvolatile memory such as an HDD, a magneto-optical disk device, a flash memory, a recording medium such as a CD-ROM that can only be read, and a volatile memory other than the RAM. May be configured by a computer readable / writable recording medium using a unidirectional memory or a combination thereof.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs and the like that do not depart from the gist of the present invention.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a digital camera (imaging device) according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is the figure which showed about the part relevant to an imaging | photography / reproduction | regeneration function among the operation parts 107 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a recording folder created by the procedure of FIG. 4 and a relationship example between representative images and date information associated with the recording folder. 4 is a flowchart showing a recording folder creation processing procedure in the digital camera 100. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure for reproducing still image data in the digital camera 100. FIG. It is the figure which showed the structural example of the operation part 107 in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of characteristic display contents displayed on the display unit 108 during shooting in the digital camera 100 and the camcorder 100 described above.

Explanation of symbols

100 Digital cameras, digital video cameras (imaging devices)
101 Image pickup unit 102 Image signal processing unit 103 File management unit 104 Card I / F
105 memory card 106 CPU
107 Operation unit 108 Display unit 109 Date management unit 107A Still image shooting button 107B Recording folder creation button, moving image shooting button 107C Playback instruction means 107D Mode changeover switch

Claims (5)

Imaging means for capturing an optical image of a subject to generate image data;
Recording means for recording image data obtained by the imaging means on a recording medium;
Creating means for creating a folder for storing the image data in the recording medium;
Control means for controlling the imaging means, recording means, creation means;
First instruction means;
A second instruction means different from the first instruction means;
The control means includes
In response to receiving an instruction from the first instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, and the image data obtained by the imaging means is recorded on the recording medium. Controlling the recording means;
In response to receiving the instruction from the second instruction means, and controls the imaging means so as to generate image data, and controls the creation means to create the folder, further, said creating means imaging device and controls the so that said recording means to record on the recording medium in association with said image data obtained we were by the imaging means and the folder created by the. The imaging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising display means for displaying an image related to the image data associated with the folder as an image indicating the folder . The control means, in response to receiving an instruction from the second instruction means, the folder created by the creation means, the image data obtained by the imaging means, and the date and time when the folder was created. Controlling the recording means to record in association with information indicating
The display means displays an image related to the image data associated with the folder as an image indicating the folder, and displays information indicating a date and time when the folder associated with the folder was created as a set. The imaging apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: Before Symbol display means, the images being captured by the imaging means and an image relating to the image data associated with the folder of the image indicating the folder to store the image data obtained by said image pickup means 4. The image pickup apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image pickup apparatus displays on the same screen .   Select one of a still image recording mode for recording the image data generated by the imaging unit as still image data and a moving image recording mode for recording a plurality of image data generated by the imaging unit as moving image data. Having mode selection means,
  The control means includes
  In the still image recording mode,
    In response to receiving an instruction from the first instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, and the image data obtained by the imaging means is stored as still image data on the recording medium. Controlling the recording means to record,
    In response to receiving an instruction from the second instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, the creation means is controlled to create the folder, and the creation means Controlling the recording means to record in association with the folder created by the image data obtained by the imaging means,
  In the video recording mode,
    In response to receiving an instruction from the second instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, and the image data obtained by the imaging means is recorded as moving image data on the recording medium. Controlling the recording means to
    In response to receiving an instruction from the first instruction means, the imaging means is controlled to generate image data, the creation means is controlled to create the folder, and the creation means The recording unit is controlled so as to record the folder created by the above and the image data obtained by the imaging unit in association with each other.
The imaging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the imaging apparatus is characterized in that

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