JP4579397B2 - Image browsing apparatus, image browsing apparatus control method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique for browsing an image taken with a digital camera.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in order to capture an image of a digital camera into a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), there has been software for viewing the image of the digital camera connected by a serial cable or the like. For example, software called a TWAIN driver has a function of displaying a list of images of a connected digital camera. A user views a list of images, selects a desired image, and imports those images to a PC. It was out.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in software such as a TWAIN driver of a digital camera, it is necessary to use a keyboard and a mouse to perform image selection and image capture operations, which is troublesome. In addition, there is a drawback that the images displayed in a list are small and difficult to see.
[0004]
An object of the present invention, images Ru can make the image selection or the incorporation easily browsing device, it is to provide a control method and recording medium of the image viewer.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
An image browsing apparatus according to the present invention is an image browsing apparatus connected to a digital camera, and receives a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image stored by the digital camera after connection with the digital camera. A display control unit for controlling the thumbnail image received by the reception unit to be displayed on a display device, and a detection unit for detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera. When it is detected that the operation for selecting the thumbnail image is performed by the operation member, the display control means updates the selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device, and the detection means When it is detected that an operation for instructing transfer is performed by an operation member of the camera, the receiving means selects The main image corresponding to the thumbnail images in the state wherein the receiving from the digital camera.
[0006]
The image browsing apparatus control method of the present invention is an image browsing apparatus control method connected to a digital camera, and corresponds to the main image stored by the digital camera after connection with the digital camera. Receiving a thumbnail image; displaying the received thumbnail image on a display; detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera; and selecting the thumbnail image by an operation member of the digital camera. When it is detected that an operation has been performed, and when it is detected that an operation for instructing transfer is performed by an operation member of the digital camera and a step of updating the selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device The main image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image is received from the digital camera. And characterized in that it has a and-up.
[0007]
The recording medium of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium that records a program to be executed by a computer connected to the digital camera, and is stored by the digital camera after being connected to the digital camera. A step of receiving a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image, a step of displaying the received thumbnail image on a display device, a step of detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera, and an operation member of the digital camera When it is detected that an operation for selecting the thumbnail image is performed, a step of updating a selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device and an operation for instructing transfer by an operation member of the digital camera are performed. Is detected, the selected thumbnail image A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing the steps of receiving a main image that response from the digital camera to the computer.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera image browsing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a known personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), which has a keyboard, a mouse, a display, and the like. Reference numeral 103 denotes a digital camera which is connected to the PC 100 by a serial cable or a universal serial bus (USB) cable. The digital camera 103 is provided with a liquid crystal display device and can display captured images. Further, the digital camera 103 is provided with a + key and a-key, and can advance or return images displayed on the liquid crystal display device one by one. Further, the digital camera 103 has a transfer key, and can transfer an image displayed on the liquid crystal display device to the PC 100. The digital camera 103 records an image on a memory medium such as a compact flash card (trademark).
[0017]
A communication driver 102 and browser software 101 are stored in the storage device of the PC 100. A communication driver 102 manages communication with the digital camera 103. A browser software 101 displays a list of images taken by the digital camera 103 via the communication driver 102, displays an image selected by the user on the liquid crystal display device of the digital camera 103, and digitally displays the images. Or writing to the camera 103. In addition, when the PC 100 and the digital camera 103 are connected with a USB cable, a mechanism called “plug and play” is used to confirm that the digital camera 103 is connected to the PC 100 and various buttons of the digital camera 103 are operated. Browser software can detect it. For example, when the + key or − key of the digital camera 103 is pressed, the browser software can advance or return the selected images one by one on the screen displaying the image list.
[0018]
Next, the operation of the digital camera image browsing system according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 shows that after the digital camera 103 is connected to the image browsing device (PC) 100 and the browser software 101 displays a list of images in the digital camera 103, the user selects an image by operating the keys of the digital camera 103. Furthermore, it is a flowchart regarding the operation in the case of transferring an image. When the digital camera is connected to the image browsing apparatus in step 200 in the figure, the communication driver detects it and automatically starts the browser software. When the browser software is activated, the browser software acquires thumbnails of images taken from the digital camera via the communication driver, and displays them as a list in order of shooting date and time. At the same time, shooting information such as the shutter speed and shooting date of each image is also displayed.
[0019]
If the + key (forward key) or -key (reverse key) of the digital camera is pressed in step 201, the browser software detects it via the communication driver in step 202, and on the screen displaying the list, The selected images are advanced or returned one by one, and the selected images are updated one after another according to the user's operation. At the same time, the digital camera displays the selected image on the liquid crystal display device. That is, the user can select an image to be captured in the PC by operating the keys of the digital camera. Further, the user can confirm the selected image also on the liquid crystal display device of the digital camera.
[0020]
If the transfer key of the digital camera is pressed in step 203, the browser software detects it via the communication driver in step 204, reads the original data that is not the thumbnail of the selected image from the digital camera, and reads it. Display or save as a file. Alternatively, the digital camera may transfer the selected image to the browser software via the communication driver when the transfer key is pressed. If the key to turn off the digital camera is pressed in step 205, the browser software ends. Even if the digital camera is removed from the image browsing apparatus instead of turning off the power of the digital camera, the browser software ends in the same manner.
[0021]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart regarding the operation when the user selects an image by operating the operation member of the browser software after the digital camera is connected to the image browsing apparatus and then the browser software displays a list of images in the digital camera. is there.
[0022]
When the digital camera is connected to the image browsing apparatus in step 300 in the figure, the communication driver detects it and automatically activates the browser software. When the browser software is activated, the browser software acquires thumbnails of images taken from the digital camera via the communication driver, and displays them as a list in order of shooting date and time.
[0023]
In step 301, when the user selects one of the images displayed in the list using an operation member of the browser software, in step 302, the browser software causes the digital camera to display the selected image. The digital camera displays the image on the liquid crystal screen. Thus, when the user selects one image on the browser software, the same image is displayed on the liquid crystal screen of the digital camera.
[0024]
In step 303, when the user selects a plurality of images from the displayed list using the operation member of the browser software, in step 304, the browser software displays the selected plurality of images. The digital camera displays these images on the liquid crystal screen. Usually, a digital camera has a single playback mode in which only one image is displayed and a multi playback mode in which a plurality of images are displayed at one time. However, in step 304, the digital camera displays multiple images in order to display a plurality of images. Switch to mode automatically. Also, in the multi-playback mode of a normal digital camera, it is not possible to display multiple images in chronological order from oldest to newest, and to display images in any combination selected by the user in the multi-playback mode. This can be done using the previous method. As another embodiment of step 304, only the last selected image can be displayed on the liquid crystal screen without displaying a plurality of images on the liquid crystal screen of the digital camera.
[0025]
In step 305, when the transfer button, which is an operation member of the browser software, is pressed, in step 306, the browser software captures original data that is not a thumbnail for the selected image via the communication driver and displays it. Or save to a file. You can also edit the imported image by adding text or changing colors.
[0026]
If the image is edited in step 307, the process proceeds to step 308, and the edited image is written in the camera. At this time, it is possible to select whether the edited image is newly written or overwritten on the original image. In step 309, when the browser software is terminated, the digital camera is turned off.
[0027]
Furthermore, in this embodiment, the browser software operation member is used for image selection as in step 301 and step 303 in FIG. 3, and the digital camera transfer is performed for image transfer as in step 203 in FIG. You can use the key. Even in this case, the browser software reads the original data that is not the thumbnail of the selected image via the communication driver, or the digital camera transfers the selected image to the browser software via the communication driver, and the browser software The software displays and saves the original data of the selected image. When a plurality of images are selected, the plurality of images are captured and displayed or saved.
[0028]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart when the recording medium of the digital camera is replaced. When the lid of the digital camera storing the recording medium is opened in step 400, the browser software stops displaying the image list in step 401. When another recording medium is inserted into the digital camera in step 402 and the lid is closed, in step 403, the browser software acquires thumbnails of the captured images from the digital camera via the communication driver, and shoots them. List in chronological order.
[0029]
In the present embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that thumbnails are used as images for displaying a list of images, but it is also possible to load an original size image and display it without using thumbnails.
[0030]
The present invention is also implemented by supplying a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiment and operating the program according to a program stored in a computer (CPU or MPU) of the image browsing system or image browsing apparatus. Included in the category.
[0031]
In this case, the program code of the software itself realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code itself and means for supplying the program code to the computer, for example, a recording medium storing the program code Constitutes the present invention. As a recording medium for storing the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0032]
The above-described embodiments are merely examples of implementation in carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the technical idea or the main features thereof.
[0033]
As described above, according to the first invention, it is possible to select a specific image from the images displayed in a list on the image browsing unit using the image selection unit of the digital camera. Even a user who does not know the operation method can easily select an image to be captured. Further, since the buttons of the digital camera are used, the operation can be performed by the user.
[0034]
According to the second invention, an image can be selected by means conventionally used without increasing the number of operation members of the digital camera.
[0035]
According to the third invention, since the image browsing means is provided with the operation member for image selection, the image can be selected not only from the digital camera but also from the image browsing means. Compatibility of operability can be maintained.
[0036]
According to the fourth aspect, since the selected image is also displayed on the display device of the digital camera, the user can confirm the selected image at hand.
[0037]
According to the fifth invention, when a plurality of images are selected by the image browsing means, they are also displayed on the image display means of the digital camera, so that the user can understand at a glance which image has been selected. In particular, if the first image and the last image in the list display are selected at the same time, they will be difficult to see because they are separated on the list display, but by displaying them on the image display means of the digital camera, Since other unselected images are not displayed, it becomes easier to view.
[0038]
According to the sixth invention, when a plurality of images are selected by the image browsing means, only the last selected image is displayed on the image display means of the digital camera, so that the last selected image is the image of the digital camera. A plurality of images can be selected one after another while confirming with the display means.
[0039]
According to the seventh aspect, since the digital camera is provided with means for transferring an image, even a user who does not know how to operate the image browsing apparatus can easily capture an image.
[0040]
According to the eighth invention, since the edited image is written in the digital camera, the editing result can be reflected in the digital camera, and the image in the digital camera and the image displayed on the image browsing means It is possible to maintain consistency.
[0041]
According to the ninth aspect, since the image browsing means displays the shooting information together with the image, the user can simultaneously browse information such as the shutter speed at the time of shooting.
[0042]
According to the tenth aspect, a list of images in the digital camera is automatically displayed when the digital camera is connected, and the list of images is terminated when the digital camera is removed or the digital camera is turned off. Therefore, the user can browse and capture images only by operating the digital camera without operating any image browsing means.
[0043]
According to the eleventh aspect, when the image recording medium of the digital camera is replaced, the image list display is automatically updated. Therefore, the user does not have to perform operations such as turning the digital camera off and on again. The image recorded on the image recording medium can be browsed.
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the image recorded on the recording medium of the digital camera can be displayed on the image browsing apparatus and easily operated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a digital camera image browsing system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation when a button of a digital camera is pressed.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when an operation member of browser software is operated.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation when the recording medium of the digital camera is replaced.
[Explanation of symbols]
100 Personal Computer 101 Browser Software 102 Communication Driver 103 Digital Camera

Claims (10)

An image browsing device connected to a digital camera,
Receiving means for receiving a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image stored by the digital camera after connection with the digital camera;
Display control means for controlling the thumbnail image received by the receiving means to be displayed on a display device;
Detecting means for detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera;
When the detection unit detects that an operation for selecting the thumbnail image is performed by the operation member of the digital camera, the display control unit updates the selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device. ,
When the detection unit detects that an operation for instructing transfer is performed by the operation member of the digital camera, the reception unit receives the main image corresponding to the thumbnail image in the selected state from the digital camera. An image browsing apparatus characterized by that. It further has an operation means for receiving an operation from the user,
The image browsing device according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is capable of receiving an operation of selecting a thumbnail image displayed on the display device. When an operation for selecting a thumbnail image displayed on the display device is received by the operation means, an image corresponding to the selected thumbnail image among images stored in the digital camera is displayed. The image browsing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a transmission unit that transmits a command for display on a display unit of the camera. When the operation unit receives an operation of selecting a plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display device, the transmission unit displays a plurality of images corresponding to the selected plurality of thumbnail images on the digital camera. The image browsing device according to claim 3, wherein a command for causing the unit to display multiple images is transmitted. 5. The image browsing according to claim 3, wherein, when a transfer operation is accepted by the operation unit, the reception unit receives a main image corresponding to a thumbnail image in a selected state from the digital camera. apparatus. The image browsing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising an editing unit that edits the main image received by the receiving unit. The image browsing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the transmission unit is capable of transmitting the main image edited by the editing unit to the digital camera. The image browsing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the operation of selecting the thumbnail image by the operation member of the digital camera is pressing of a forward key or a reverse key among the operation members. A method for controlling an image browsing apparatus connected to a digital camera,
Receiving a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image stored by the digital camera after connection with the digital camera;
Displaying the received thumbnail image on a display device;
Detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera;
A step of updating the selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device when it is detected that an operation of selecting the thumbnail image is performed by the operation member of the digital camera;
Receiving an actual image corresponding to a thumbnail image in a selected state from the digital camera when it is detected that an operation to instruct transfer is performed by an operation member of the digital camera. Browsing device control method. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program to be executed by a computer connected to a digital camera,
Receiving a thumbnail image corresponding to the main image stored by the digital camera after connection with the digital camera;
Displaying the received thumbnail image on a display device;
Detecting an operation by an operation member of the digital camera;
A step of updating the selection state of the thumbnail image displayed on the display device when it is detected that an operation of selecting the thumbnail image is performed by the operation member of the digital camera;
A program for causing a computer to execute a step of receiving a main image corresponding to a thumbnail image in a selected state from the digital camera when it is detected that an operation for instructing transfer is performed by an operation member of the digital camera. A computer-readable recording medium on which is recorded.

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