JP5531671B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus capable of network connection.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a digital still camera that classifies images according to an external access person. Here, the digital still camera specifies an external access person, and classifies the images managed by the digital still camera based on whether or not the access person is in the image.

  As a result, the images can be classified according to the accessor.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a video camera that selects and downloads a specific image and stores the image. Here, the video camera accesses the server, selects an album, displays a thumbnail, and downloads and stores only a specific image.

  Thereby, the video camera can save only the designated image.

JP 2007-128332 A JP 2003-152948 A

  However, the digital still camera described in Patent Document 1 can only select specific images that have already been classified, and the video camera described in Patent Document 2 needs to select and save specific images by manual operation.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus that automatically classifies images downloaded from an image sharing server into images that are only displayed and images that are also stored.

  In order to solve the above problems, an image recording apparatus of the present invention includes an image data acquisition unit that acquires image data from an image sharing server, a storage unit that stores the image data, and stores the image data in the storage unit. An input means for inputting a determination condition for determining whether or not to store the image data in the storage means based on the determination condition, and storing the image data in the storage means; And control means for deleting the image data when it is determined not to be stored in the storage means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically select necessary image data from the image sharing server and store it in the image recording apparatus.

Image sharing system configuration diagram 1 is a block diagram of an image recording apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. Block diagram of image sharing server 1 is a flowchart of initial setting of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a flowchart of an operation of connecting an image recording apparatus to a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(Embodiment)
[1-1. Overview〕
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[1-2. Constitution〕
[1-2-1. (Image sharing system configuration)
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an image sharing system. The image sharing system includes an image recording apparatus 100, an image sharing server 400, and a network connecting the image recording apparatus 100 and the image sharing server 400. The network connecting the image recording apparatus 100 and the image sharing server 400 may be any communication means such as the Internet or a telephone network that can exchange image data.

[1-2-2. Configuration of image recording apparatus]
The electrical configuration of the image recording apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image recording apparatus 100. The image recording apparatus 100 can display image data stored in the external memory 106 or image data acquired via the communication module 105 on the display monitor 101. Hereinafter, the configuration of the image recording apparatus 100 will be described in detail.

  The controller 103 controls the entire image recording apparatus 100. The controller 103 can be realized by a semiconductor element or the like. The controller 103 may be configured only by hardware, or may be realized by combining hardware and software. The controller 103 can be realized by a microcomputer or the like. The controller 103 controls the entire image recording apparatus 100 based on a control program stored in the internal memory 104 or a control program acquired from the image sharing server 400 via a network.

  The internal memory 104 is configured by a flash memory or a ferroelectric memory. The internal memory 104 stores a control program for controlling the entire image recording apparatus 100 and the like. Furthermore, the internal memory 104 may have a function of storing image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 via the communication module 105.

  The display monitor 101 is an image sharing server via the communication module 105, an image indicated by the video signal subjected to various image processing by the controller 103, an image indicated by image data stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106, or the like. The image indicated by the image data acquired from 400 can be displayed. The display monitor 101 can be realized by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or the like.

  The operation member 102 is a generic term for user interfaces that receive operations from the user. For example, a power switch that accepts an operation from the user, a setting switch that performs various settings, a setting dial, and the like correspond to this.

  The communication module 105 is a communication unit for realizing communication with the image sharing server 400. The communication module 105 is often modularized, but may be configured as a part of the controller 103. The image recording apparatus 100 performs various communications with the image sharing server 400 via the network connected by the communication module 105. For example, the image recording apparatus 100 connects to the Internet using an FTTH, ADSL line, wireless LAN, or mobile phone network, communicates with the image sharing server 400, and stores image data stored in the HDD 403 of the image sharing server 400. Can be obtained. The image recording apparatus 100 can store the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106.

  The external memory 106 is a replaceable storage medium such as a memory card or an optical disk.

[1-2-3. (Image sharing server configuration)
The electrical configuration of the image sharing server 400 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image sharing server 400. The image sharing server 400 can transmit image data stored in the HDD 403 to the image recording apparatus 100 via the communication module 404. Hereinafter, the configuration of the image sharing server 400 will be described in detail.

  The controller 401 controls the entire image sharing server 400. The controller 401 can be realized by a semiconductor element or the like. The controller 401 is usually realized by a processor having a high processing capacity in order to process a large amount of communication at high speed. The controller 401 develops a control program stored in the HDD 403 in the internal memory 402, and controls the entire image sharing server 400 based on this.

  The internal memory 402 is composed of a high-speed memory such as SDRAM. The internal memory 402 temporarily stores a control program for controlling the entire image sharing server 400.

  The HDD 403 incorporates a plurality of magnetic recording disks and has a storage capacity of several hundred gigabytes to several terabytes. The HDD 403 stores a control program for the controller 401 and image data.

  The communication module 404 is a communication unit for realizing communication with the image recording apparatus 100. The communication module 404 is often modularized. The communication module 404 is normally connected to the network through a high-speed interface such as Gigabit Ethernet (registered trademark). The image sharing server 400 performs various communications with the image recording apparatus 100 via the network connected by the communication module 404.

[1-3. Operation)
An image data sharing operation by the image recording apparatus 100 and the image sharing server 400 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[1-3-1. (Initial setting of image recording device)
The initial setting of the image recording apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the initial setting of the image recording apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The user can set the image sharing server 400 by operating the operation member 102 of the image recording apparatus 100 (S502). Further, the user can set an image acquisition destination by operating the operation member 102 of the image recording apparatus 100 (S503). Further, the user can set the conditions of the accumulated image by operating the operation member 102 of the image recording apparatus 100 (S504).

  The setting of the image sharing server 400 is setting of the ID and password for specifying and connecting the image sharing server 400 to which the image recording apparatus 100 is connected. The image sharing server 400 to be connected is specified by a URL or an IP address. Since the URL or IP address of the image sharing server 400 to be connected is stored in the internal memory 104, it is only necessary to select the image sharing server 400 to be connected after the second time. Since the ID and password for connecting to the image sharing server 400 are also stored in the internal memory 104, it is possible to connect to the image sharing server 400 only by selecting the image sharing server 400 to be connected after the second time.

  The setting of the image acquisition destination is specification of an album stored in the image sharing server 400 and setting of an ID and a password for accessing the album. The album is specified by the album name. When the identified album does not restrict the access person, the ID and password are not required. When the specified album restricts the access person, an ID and a password for accessing the specified album are required. Since the album name, necessary ID, and password are stored in the internal memory 104, the album can be accessed only by selecting the album after the second time.

  Here, the condition setting of the accumulated image will be described. The accumulated image condition is a condition for selecting image data to be stored in the external memory 106 from the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400. The accumulated image conditions set by the user include the following. When specifying image data based on the ID of the uploader who uploaded the image data to the image sharing server 400, specifying image data including a specific person among the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400, or taking a picture with a digital still camera or the like Specify image data based on shooting date / time information and shooting location information stored in the image data, specify image data based on image data type information such as people and landscapes, specify image data including specific monuments, etc. There is.

  Since the ID of the uploader who uploaded the image data to the image sharing server 400 is stored in the album in association with the image data, the ID of the uploader is also acquired in association with the image data when acquiring the image data. Keep it. When the uploader ID is stored in the image data, the uploader ID can be known by acquiring the image data.

  The image recording apparatus 100 can store characteristic information of a specific person in the internal memory 104. The feature information of the specific person is extracted by the controller 103 analyzing the image data stored in the external memory 106. The controller 103 can analyze the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 and search for image data including a person having feature information similar to the feature information of a specific person stored in the internal memory 104.

  Image data taken with a digital still camera or the like includes shooting date / time information. Further, when a digital still camera or the like is equipped with GPS, shooting location information is also included in the image data. Such information is usually recorded in the header portion of the image data. The controller 103 can obtain shooting date / time information and shooting location information of the image data by analyzing the header portion of the image data. The shooting location information is often expressed by latitude and longitude, but the corresponding country name, region name, city name, etc. are recorded in the header portion of the image data using the latitude and longitude obtained from the GPS by a digital still camera or the like. You can also. Therefore, the shooting location information may be latitude, longitude, country name, region name, city name, or the like. In the header portion of the image data, other information such as the manufacturer name and model name of the digital still camera used for photographing is recorded, so that the image data can be designated based on the information.

  Information on the type of image data such as a person or landscape is also recorded in the header portion of the image data. Imaging devices such as digital still cameras often have preset shooting modes such as a portrait mode, a landscape mode, and a night view mode. In such a digital still camera or the like, the shooting mode when image data is generated is recorded in the header portion of the image data. On the other hand, in digital still cameras and the like, cameras that discriminate shooting scenes and automatically determine shooting modes are becoming popular. By using the shooting scene discrimination function adopted by such a digital still camera, the shooting scene is analyzed by analyzing the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 even if the shooting mode is not recorded in the header portion of the image data. Can be determined. The shooting mode recorded in the header portion of the image data and the shooting scene determined by analyzing the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 are the type information of the image data such as a person and a landscape.

  The image recording apparatus 100 can store specific monuments, for example, image information such as Mt. Fuji and Tokyo Tower in the internal memory 104. A monument can be rephrased as a landmark. Image information is created by operating the operation member 102 and cutting out a specific monument from the image data stored in the external memory 106. The controller 102 matches the image information stored in the internal memory 104 with the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400. In this way, image data including a specific monument can be searched from the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400. If the image information is the image data itself stored in the external memory 106, image data similar to the image data stored in the external memory 106 can be searched from the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400.

[1-3-2. (Operation of connecting image recording device to network)
The operation of connecting the image recording apparatus 100 to the network will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the operation of connecting the image recording apparatus 100 to the network according to the embodiment of the present invention. The user connects the image recording apparatus 100 to the network after completing the initial setting of the image recording apparatus 100 shown in FIG. When the image recording apparatus 100 is connected to the network, the controller 103 acquires an IP address from the network via the communication module 105 (S602). The image recording apparatus 100 connects to the image sharing server based on the preset settings of the image sharing server 400 (S603). In this embodiment, the IP address is acquired from the network. However, the IP address may be set in advance using the operation member 102 of the image recording apparatus 100.

[1-3-3. (Download and display image data)
When the connection with the image sharing server 400 is completed, the image recording apparatus 100 acquires image data from the specified album on the image sharing server 400 based on a preset image acquisition destination setting (S604, S605). First, the image recording apparatus 100 requests the image sharing server 400 to transmit the image data included in the specified album on the image sharing server 400 (S604). The image sharing server 400 transmits the image data included in the specified album in response to the request to the image recording apparatus 100. When the image recording apparatus 100 acquires image data from the specified album on the image sharing server 400 (S605), the image recording apparatus 100 displays an image indicated by the acquired image data using the display monitor 101 of the image recording apparatus 100 (S606). ).

[1-3-4. (Download and store images)
The image recording apparatus 100 displays the image indicated by the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 on the display monitor 101, and then analyzes the acquired image data by the controller 103 of the image recording apparatus 100 (S607). Based on the analysis result of the acquired image data, the controller 103 determines whether the image data is to be stored based on preset conditions for the stored image (S608). If it is determined that the acquired image data is image data to be stored, the acquired image data is stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106 (S609).

  Note that the image recording apparatus 100 may request to transmit the thumbnail data of the image data instead of the image data itself in the image data transmission request to the image sharing server 400 (S604). The image sharing server 400 transmits the thumbnail data of the image data included in the specified album in response to the request to the image recording apparatus 100. Since the number of pixels of the thumbnail data of the image data is smaller than the number of pixels of the image data body, the time required for acquisition can be shortened (S605). Further, the number of pixels of the display monitor 101 is often smaller than the number of pixels of the image data body. Therefore, when displaying the image indicated by the image data main body on the display monitor 101, the image data must be thinned and displayed on the display monitor 101. However, when displaying the image indicated by the thumbnail data of the image data on the display monitor 101. Since the thinning process becomes unnecessary, the time required for display can be shortened (S606). When it is determined by analysis of the thumbnail data of the image data (S607) that the image data body corresponding to the thumbnail data of the image data is image data to be stored (S608), the image recording apparatus 100 displays the thumbnail data of the image data. The image sharing server 400 is requested to transmit the image data main body corresponding to. The image sharing server 400 transmits the image data body corresponding to the thumbnail data of the image data to the image recording apparatus 100 again. The image recording apparatus 100 accumulates the acquired image data in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106 (S609).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the acquired image data is not image data to be stored, the acquired image data is deleted, and a transmission request for the next image data is made to the image sharing server 400 (S604). In this embodiment, each time image data is acquired, it is determined whether it is image data to be stored. However, it is not always necessary to sequentially acquire image data and determine whether it is image data to be stored. There is no need to do it. For example, it may be determined whether the image data is to be stored after all the image data included in the specified album is acquired, or it is determined whether the image data is to be stored and the image data is to be stored. You may do it in parallel.

  The image indicated by the acquired image data is displayed on the display monitor 101, and when the determination as to whether the image data is to be stored is completed, the image is superimposed on the image indicated by the image data displayed on the display monitor 101. The message “Accumulate” or “Do not accumulate” may be displayed. At this time, it is possible to wait for the user to operate the operation member 102 and make a transmission request for the next image data to the image sharing server 400. As a result, the user can closely check the image indicated by the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 on the display monitor 101. If the controller 103 determines that the image data to be stored is incorrect, the determination may be corrected by operating the operation member 102.

  Further, when the user determines that the display of the image indicated by the image data on the display monitor 101 is unnecessary, the user may be configured not to display the image indicated by the image data on the display monitor 101 using the operation member 102. You may be able to do it. As a result, the consumption of the battery that drives the image recording apparatus 100 can be suppressed. Further, when a large number of image data is included in the specified album, for example, there may be a request for storing image data to be stored at night. In such a case, display on the display monitor 101 is unnecessary.

  Here, some examples of determining image data to be accumulated will be described. As described above, it is assumed that the image recording apparatus 100 is preliminarily set with conditions for stored images.

  First, a case where the condition of the stored image set in the image recording apparatus 100 is the ID of the uploader who uploaded the image data to the image sharing server 400 will be described. The setting of the image acquisition destination is set to an album that does not restrict the accessor regarding the animal photo on the image sharing server 400. Therefore, an ID and password for accessing the specified album are not required. The image recording apparatus 100 sequentially acquires image data of animal photographs included in the identified album, and displays an image indicated by the acquired image data on the display monitor 101. The user wants to store only the image data of the photograph of the favorite photographer among the image data of the animal photograph included in the identified album. The user sets the favorite photographer's ID as a stored image condition in the image recording apparatus 100 so that the image recording apparatus 100 automatically stores only image data of the photographer's photograph in the internal memory 104. Alternatively, it is stored in the external memory 106.

  In this embodiment, the determination is made based on the ID of the uploader who uploaded the image data to the image sharing server 400. However, the uploader's handle name, nickname, or the like can be used. Here, it is assumed that the photographer and the uploader are the same person. However, even if the photographer and uploader are different persons, if the photographer's ID, handle name, nickname, etc. are associated with the image data, only the image data of the photograph of the favorite photographer is stored. Needless to say, you can.

  Next, a case where the accumulated image condition set in the image recording apparatus 100 is image data including a specific person will be described. The setting of the image acquisition destination is set to an album that restricts access by a daughter and a couple who are specific uploaders on the image sharing server 400. The parents of the daughter and the husband set the ID and password for accessing the specified album in the image recording apparatus 100 by setting the image acquisition destination. The image recording apparatus 100 sequentially acquires image data of photos of daughters and daughters included in the specified album, and displays an image indicated by the acquired image data on the display monitor 101. The parent who is the user wants to accumulate only the image data of the photograph of the grandchild in the image data of the photograph of the daughter and the daughter included in the identified album. The parent who is the user designates the image data of the photograph of the grandchild who is stored in the external memory 106 by the operation member 102, and the controller 103 analyzes the designated image data to analyze the feature information of the grandchild's face. Is extracted and stored in the internal memory 104. The controller 103 can analyze the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 and search for image data including a person having feature information similar to the feature information of the grandchild's face stored in the internal memory 104. Therefore, the image recording apparatus 100 can automatically store only the image data of a photograph showing a grandchild in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106.

  Similarly, if the shooting date / time information is set as a condition of the stored image, for example, “January 1, 2010 to January 31, 2010”, only image data taken in January 2010 is set. Can be stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106. In addition, if the shooting location information is set as a stored image condition such as “Germany”, for example, only image data shot in Germany can be stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106.

  Of course, a combination of conditions for a plurality of accumulated images may be combined. For example, it is possible to store only image data taken in January 2010 out of image data of a photograph showing a grandchild.

[1-3-5. (Display of image indicated by accumulated image data)
When the image data acquired from the image sharing server 400 is already stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106, the image recording apparatus 100 displays a message or icon indicating that it has already been stored on the display monitor 101. It may be displayed. Thereby, the user can know that the acquired image data has already been accumulated.
[2. Other Embodiments]
In the present embodiment, the image data to be stored is stored in the internal memory 104 or the external memory 106. However, the image data to be stored may be stored only in the external memory 106.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the image sharing server 400 exists on the Internet. However, the network does not necessarily have to be the Internet. For example, a home network can be assumed. At this time, the image sharing server may be a personal computer connected to a home network or a DVD recorder with a built-in hard disk. Since a DVD recorder with a built-in personal computer or hard disk can record a large amount of image data, a request to store a part of it in the image recording apparatus of the present invention, for example, a digital still camera, is taken out. Can be considered. A personal computer for such an application is sometimes called a home server.

  Furthermore, in a home, it is not necessary to connect a DVD recorder incorporating a personal computer or a hard disk and the image recording apparatus of the present invention, for example, a digital still camera, via a network. It may be connected by USB or HDMI, or even if a wireless LAN is used, it can be realized by an ad hoc connection.

  The present invention can be applied, for example, from imaging devices such as digital still cameras and digital video cameras to display devices such as photo frames, photo viewers, and television receivers. Further, by displaying an image indicated by image data with a television receiver or the like, the present invention can also be applied to a recording device such as a DVD recorder or a Blu-ray disc recorder. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to portable devices such as PDAs and mobile phones.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image recording apparatus 101 Display monitor 102 Operation member 103 Controller 104 Internal memory 105 Communication module 106 External memory 400 Image sharing server 401 Controller 402 Internal memory 403 HDD
404 communication module

Claims (3)

From the image sharing server, and the image data acquisition means for acquiring the reduced image data corresponding to the images data by the image sharing server has,
Display means for displaying a reduced image indicated by the reduced image data for a predetermined time;
Storage means capable of storing the image data;
Analyzing the reduced image data based on a preset determination condition for determining whether or not to store the image data in the storage means,
If it is determined that the accumulation, the image data by obtaining the corresponding said to the reduced image data to the image data acquisition means is stored in said storage means,
If it is determined not to accumulate, after displaying said display means said reduced image, and a control means for deleting said reduced image data,
Comprising
An image recording apparatus. The judgment condition is as follows:
Information specifying the uploader who uploaded the image data to the image sharing server, information specifying the person who generated the image data, information specifying the person included in the image data, date and time when the image data was generated At least one of information identifying the location where the image data was generated, information identifying the shooting status of the image data, and information identifying a landmark included in the image data ,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1. The number of pixels of the reduced image data is
Equal to or less than the number of pixels of the display means,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image recording apparatus is an image recording apparatus.

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