KR101445608B1 - Digital photographing apparatus, method for controlling the same, and recording medium storing program to implement the method - Google Patents

Abstract

A digital image processing apparatus having a continuous shooting function includes a plurality of external memories for storing image data of photographed images and digital signal processing means for dividing the image data and storing the divided image data in the external memories Respectively.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a recording medium storing a program for executing the same,

The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a recording medium storing a program for executing the same, and more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus capable of increasing the speed of continuous shooting in a continuous shooting mode, And a recording medium storing a program for executing the method.

Typically, the digital image processing apparatus includes all apparatuses that process images of a digital camera, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a phone camera, a PC camera, or the like and use an image recognition sensor.

Most digital image processing apparatuses have a continuous shooting function. Continuous shooting means that a picture is taken continuously when the shutter is pressed once. The continuous shooting performance is judged by the continuous shooting interval per second and the maximum number of stored images. It is common to shoot 2 ~ 3 images per second, and 10 ~ 15 images per second can be taken in high-end images.

Factors influencing continuous shooting performance include image capture speed in image sensor, image processing speed in digital signal processor (DSP), and speed of writing image data in built-in memory to external memory. In particular, since the speed of storing data in the external memory is the slowest, the continuous shooting function of the digital image processing apparatus is most affected by the writing speed of the external memory card.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a digital image processing apparatus capable of improving the speed of continuous shooting by improving a method of storing an image successively photographed in a continuous shooting mode in an external memory, a control method thereof, and a program And a recording medium.

A digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of external memories for storing image data of a photographed image, And a digital signal processing means for controlling the digital signal processing means to store the digital signal.

In the present invention, the digital signal processing means may include a data dividing unit for dividing the image data to generate a plurality of divided data, and a storage control unit for distributing the divided data to each of the external memories have.

In the present invention, the divided data stored in each of the external memories divided in one of the image data may form a single file.

In the present invention, the files divided from one image data may have the same filename.

In the present invention, the files may have a header in which the division order of the image data and the storage information of the divided data are recorded.

In the present invention, the data dividing unit may divide the image data according to the size of a data bus between the digital signal processing means and the external memory.

In the present invention, the image data may be photographed in the continuous shooting mode.

In the present invention, when the divided image data is reproduced, the digital signal processing means restores the divided image data stored in the external memory and stores the data for controlling the display of the image data in the digital image processing apparatus And a restoring unit.

A control method of a digital image processing apparatus having a plurality of external memories according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: (a) capturing an image in a continuous shooting mode; (b) Dividing the image data of the photographed image into a plurality of pieces of divided data; and (c) distributing the divided data to the plurality of external memories and storing the divided data.

In the present invention, the divided data stored in each of the external memories divided in one of the image data may form a single file.

In the present invention, the file may have a header in which the division order of the image data and the storage information of the divided data are recorded.

In the present invention, when the reproduction mode is selected after the step (c), the step of retrieving the divided data from the same image data, the step of restoring the image data from the detected divided data, And displaying the image data on the digital image processing apparatus.

A recording medium according to an embodiment of the present invention is a recording medium storing a program for executing the above method.

According to the digital image processing apparatus of the present invention, the control method thereof, and the recording medium storing the program for executing the same, the image taken in the continuous shooting mode is divided and stored in a plurality of external memories, Can be improved.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings. But. The present invention may be modified in various other forms, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. The embodiments of the present invention are provided to enable those skilled in the art to more fully understand the present invention. Accordingly, the shapes and sizes of the elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity of description, and the elements denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings are the same elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a front view of a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a rear view showing a rear surface of the digital image processing apparatus of FIG.

1 and 2, the digital camera 10 includes a shutter-release button 101, a power button 103, a flash 105, an auxiliary light 107, a lens unit 109, a wide angle- A zoom button 111w, a telephoto-zoom button 111t, a display unit 113, and a function button 121. The zoom button 111w,

The shutter-release button 101 is provided with a shutter-release button 101 for exposing an image sensor (not shown) such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) And a shutter (not shown) can be opened and closed.

The shutter-release button 101 can generate the first and second image pickup signals by the photographer input. When the first shutter-release signal as the half-shutter signal is inputted, the digital image processing apparatus focuses and adjusts the amount of light, and at this time, the display unit 113 performs a constant display such as a green light on the display unit 113 . When the first shutter-release signal is focused and the amount of light is adjusted, a second shutter-release signal as a full shutter signal is input to capture an image.

The power button 103 is input to supply power to the digital image processing apparatus 100 to operate.

The flash 105 illuminates bright light instantly when taking a picture in a dark place. The flash mode may include automatic flash, forced flash, prohibited flash, red-eye reduction, and slow synchro flash.

The auxiliary light 107 supplies light to the subject so that the digital image processing apparatus 100 automatically and quickly catches the focus when the light amount is insufficient or at night.

The lens unit 109 receives light from an external light source and causes an image to be formed on the image sensor.

The wide-angle zoom button 111w or the tele-zoom button 111t widens the angle of view or narrows the angle of view depending on the input, in particular, when changing the size of the selected exposure area. When the wide angle-zoom button 111w is input, the size of the selected exposure area is reduced, and when the telephoto-zoom button 111t is input, the size of the selected exposure area is increased.

The function button 121 may include a total of five buttons including an up button, a down button, a left button, a right button, and a menu / OK button. The present invention is not limited to this, and the function button may be composed of five or more buttons, and the arrangement thereof may be variously arranged according to the convenience of the user. In addition, the function button may be implemented by a touch sensor or a contact type switch, and may be implemented on the display unit 113 by a touch screen method. The function buttons 121 are input to execute various menus related to the operation of the digital image processing apparatus, and the respective keys may be used as shortcut keys.

3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The display unit 113, the user input unit 121, the image pickup unit 123, the image processing unit 125, 127, and a digital signal processing unit 129. [

The user input unit 121 includes a shutter-release button 101 for opening and closing a shutter and an iris for exposing light to an image sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS for a predetermined time, a power button 103 for inputting power, A wide angle-zoom button 111w and a telephoto-zoom button 111t for widening the angle of view according to the angle of view or for narrowing the angle of view, and a function button 115 for setting a character or a menu.

The image pickup unit 123 may include a lens unit 109, a shutter, an aperture, an image sensor and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) not shown in the figure. The shutter is a mechanism that adjusts the amount of light that is exposed with the iris. The lens unit 109 receives light from an external light source and causes light to be formed on the image sensor. At this time, the diaphragm adjusts the amount of incident light (amount of light) according to the degree of opening and closing thereof. The opening / closing degree of the diaphragm is controlled by the control unit 129.

The image sensor accumulates the amount of light inputted through the lens unit 109, and outputs the captured image according to the accumulated light amount in accordance with the vertical synchronizing signal. Image acquisition by the digital image processing apparatus 100 is performed by an image sensor that converts light reflected from a subject into an electrical signal. Image sensors used in the digital image processing apparatus 100 include a CMOS image sensor and a CCD image sensor. In order to obtain a color image using a CCD image sensor, a color filter is required, and a filter (not shown) called CFA (Color Filter Array) is generally employed. CFA has a regularly arranged structure that passes only light that represents one color per pixel, and it has various forms according to the arrangement structure. The ADC converts the analog video signal output from the CCD into a digital signal.

The image processing unit 125 processes the digitally converted image signal (RAW data) so that it can be displayed. The devices used in the CCD and CFA filters are sensitive to temperature changes and generate dark currents depending on the temperature changes, which include undesired black levels in the video signal. The image processor 125 can remove the black level generated by the dark current as described above.

The image processing unit 125 may also perform gamma correction. Because human vision responds nonlinearly to brightness in accordance with Weber's law, when the bit depth is limited, the brightness of the light is recorded linearly, Lt; / RTI > Therefore, in order to show the maximum picture quality at a given bit depth, it is necessary to encode using a non-linear function. As described above, encoding information in accordance with nonlinearity of human vision is referred to as gamma correction. For example, the input brightness level of the 12-bit video signal may be corrected to an 8-bit brightness level, and the corrected input video signal may be output.

The image processing unit 125 performs CFA interpolation for interpolating a Bayer pattern implemented with RGA and GGB lines of gamma-corrected predetermined data into RGB lines. The CFA interpolation of the image processing unit 125 first reconstructs the G channel in the pixels having only the R or B channel values, then fills empty values in the order of the B channel, the R channel, or the R channel and the B channel, , B Three channels can be restored.

The image processing unit 125 converts the interpolated RGB signals into YUV signals, edge-compensates the Y signals by filtering the Y signals by a high-pass filter, and calculates the color values of the U and V signals using a standard color coordinate system Correcting color correction is performed, and noise of these can be removed.

The image processing unit 125 compresses and processes the Y, U, and V signals from which the noise has been removed to generate an Exif file (Exif file), and the generated Exif file is displayed on the display unit 113, 127). All the operations of the image processing unit 125 operate under the control of the digital signal processing unit 129. [

The external storage unit 127 is a space for finally storing the image file, and can be detachably attached to the digital image processing apparatus. For example, a memory card of various sizes such as a smart card, a Compact flash (CF) memory, a memory stick, and a secure digital (SD) memory card can be provided. The external storage unit 127 may include a plurality of external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., and 127-n that can be detachably attached as shown in FIG. Image data representing one image may be divided into a plurality of divided data in the digital signal processing means 129 and stored in a plurality of external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n. This will be described in detail below.

In addition, the digital image pickup apparatus 100 used in the present invention includes an external memory 127 storing an image file, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) in which algorithms necessary for the operation of the digital signal processing unit are stored, And a flash memory in which setting data necessary for the operation of the digital signal processing unit is stored.

The digital signal processing unit 129 can control the entire digital image processing apparatus 100. Particularly, the digital signal processing unit 129 divides the image data of the image photographed in the continuous shooting mode and outputs the image data to the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., , 127-n, and restores the divided image data in the playback mode to display the image.

To this end, the digital signal processor 129 may include a data divider 129-1, a storage controller 129-2, and a data recovery unit 129-3.

The data division unit 129-1 can divide the image data of the photographed image into a plurality of divided data. The image input to the image pickup section 123 is converted into image data digitized by the image processing section 125 and the digital signal processing section 129 as described above. The data division unit 129-1 may divide the image data into data having a predetermined size. Data divided and generated in one image data is referred to as divided data. The data dividing unit 129-1 may divide the image data according to the size of the data bus. The data bus means a standardized path for exchanging data between the digital signal processing means 129 and the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., and 127-n. The data bus may be a 16-bit data bus, a 32-bit data bus, or a 64-bit data bus according to the digital image processing apparatus 100, but is not limited thereto. For example, when the data bus of the digital image processing apparatus 100 is a 32-bit data bus, the data division unit 129-1 may divide the image data into 32-bit data. That is, the data divider 129-1 may divide the image data to generate a plurality of divided data having a size of 32 bits.

The storage control unit 129-2 may distribute the divided data to the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n and store the divided data. More specifically, the divided data firstly divided by the data division unit 129-1 is stored in the first external memory 127-1 by the storage control unit 129-2, The data is stored in the second external memory 127-2, and the n-th divided data is simultaneously stored in the nth external memory 127-n. Since the size of the divided data is the same as the size of the data bus between the internal memory and the external memory of the digital image processing apparatus 100, the n pieces of divided data can be simultaneously stored in each of the n external memories.

the n + 1th divided data is stored in the first external memory 127-1, the (n + 2) th divided data is stored in the second external memory 127-2, ..., n The + nth divided data is simultaneously stored in the nth external memory 127-n. In this manner, the storage controller 129-2 can distribute the divided data to the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., and 127-n, respectively.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing storage and recovery of divided data when there are two external memories. The image data of the image photographed in the continuous shooting mode can be stored in the internal memory and divided by the digital signal processing means 129 and stored in the external memories 127-1 and 127-2. In detail, the data division unit 129-1 may divide the image data into a plurality of divided data having a size of the data bus. The storage control unit 129-2 can store the number of pieces of divided data corresponding to the number of external memories 127-1 and 127-2 in the external memories 127-1 and 127-2. That is, the first divided data is stored in the first external memory 127-1 and the second divided data is stored in the second external memory 127-2 simultaneously. The third divided data is then stored in the first external memory 127-1, and the fourth divided data is stored in the second external memory 127-2 at the same time. In this manner, the divided data are distributed and stored in the external memories 127-1 and 127-2, respectively.

The photographing speed in the continuous photographing is influenced by the image capturing speed in the image sensor, the image data processing speed in the digital signal processing means, and the speed of writing the image data stored in the internal memory into the external memory, The storage speed of the external memory is the slowest, and thus the storage speed of the external memory is most affected. In the present invention, when image data is stored in the external memory, the image data may be divided into a plurality of divided data having a data bus size, and may be distributed and stored in each of the plurality of external memories according to the division order. Accordingly, the present invention can simultaneously store divided data as many as the number of external memories, so that the image data can be stored in the external memory faster than the speed at which one image data is stored in one external memory, have.

As described above, the divided data divided from one image data is stored in each of the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n, and the external memories 127-1, 127- 2, ..., 127-n may constitute one file. That is, the divided memories stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n are treated as one file and can have one file name. Therefore, one image data exists as a file stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n, and the number of files is stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n.

The files may have the same filename. That is, the files generated in the same image data may have the same file name.

The files stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n are stored in external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-2, ..., 127-n). The information is used to restore the image data by gathering the divided data. This will be described below.

When reproducing the divided image data, the data restoring unit 129-3 restores the divided image data stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n And control the digital image processing apparatus 100 to display the image data. That is, after the image shooting in the continuous shooting mode is ended, when the playback mode is selected, the data restoring unit 129-3 restores the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127 -n), detects a file having divided data segmented from the same image data, and combines the divided data to generate image data before the division, and controls the display unit 113 to display the image data. The data restoring unit 129-3 may search the header of the files and determine whether the divided data of the file is divided from the same image data. Also, the data restoring unit 129-3 can retrieve the header of the files, detect the division order, and restore the image data.

Hereinafter, a control method of the digital image processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described. The control method of the digital image processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention can be performed in the digital image photographing apparatus 100 as shown in FIG. 3. According to the embodiment, May be performed within the digital signal processor 129 with the help of components.

5 and 6 are flowcharts schematically illustrating a control method of a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart schematically showing a method of dividing and storing image data of a photographed image. FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically illustrating a method of restoring and displaying divided image data in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 5, first, the digital image processing apparatus 100 is set to the continuous shooting mode (S101). The digital image processing apparatus 100 is set to the continuous shooting mode by the user selecting the continuous shooting mode in the setting mode.

Then, the image is photographed in the continuous shooting mode (S102). When the first shutter-release signal is input, the digital image processing apparatus adjusts the amount of light and adjusts the amount of light. When the second shutter-release signal as the full shutter signal is input, The image signal is converted into an electric signal by the image pickup unit 123 and the image signal is generated by the image processing unit 125 and the digital signal processing unit 129.

Next, the image data of the photographed image is divided to generate a plurality of divided data (S103). The data division unit 129-1 may divide the image data into data having a predetermined size. Particularly, the data division unit 129-1 can divide the image data according to the size of the data bus. Data divided and generated in one image data is referred to as divided data. If the data bus of the digital image processing apparatus 100 is a 32-bit data bus, the data division unit 129-1 may divide the image data to generate a plurality of divided data having a size of 32 bits.

Next, the divided data is distributed to a plurality of external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n and stored (S104). More specifically, the divided data firstly divided by the data division unit 129-1 is stored in the first external memory 127-1 by the storage control unit 129-2, In the second external memory 127-2, the n-th divided data is simultaneously stored in the second external memory 127-n. Since the size of the divided data is the same as the size of the data bus between the internal memory and the external memory of the digital image processing apparatus 100, the n pieces of divided data can be simultaneously stored in each of the n external memories. The (n + 1) -th divided data is stored in the first external memory 127-1, the (n + 2) -th divided data is stored in the second external memory 127-2, ..., and n + nth divided data are simultaneously stored in the nth external memory 127-n. In this manner, the storage controller 129-2 can distribute the divided data to the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., and 127-n, respectively. As described above, the shooting speed in the continuous shooting is mainly affected by the speed of writing the image data stored in the internal memory to the external memory. The present invention divides the image data into a plurality of divided data having a data bus size, Since the divided data of the number of memories (n) is stored at the same time, the continuous shooting speed can be improved in the continuous shooting mode.

The partitioned data segmented from one image data is stored in each of the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n, and the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127- , 127-n may constitute one file. That is, the divided memories stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n are treated as one file and can have one file name. Therefore, one image data exists as a file stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n, and the number of files is stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n.

The files stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n are stored in external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-2, ..., 127-n).

Next, in the case of reproducing an image captured and stored in the continuous shooting mode, the playback mode is selected (S201).

Subsequently, the divided data segmented from the same image data is retrieved (S202). The data restoring unit 129-3 searches the files stored in the external memories 127-1, 127-2, ..., 127-n, and detects files having divided data segmented from the same image data. The data restoring unit 129-3 may search the header of the files and determine whether the divided data of the file is divided from the same image data.

Then, the image data is restored from the detected divided data (S203), and the restored image data is displayed on the display unit 113 (S204). The data restoring unit 129-3 can retrieve the header of the files and detect the division order to restore the image data, and the restored image data is displayed on the display unit 113. [

The program for causing the digital image photographing apparatus to execute the control method of the digital image photographing apparatus according to the embodiments and modifications thereof may be stored in a recording medium. Here, the recording medium may be a storage unit 127 as shown in FIG. 2, or may be a separate recording medium. The storage medium may be a storage medium such as a magnetic storage medium (e.g., ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optical reading medium (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) .

It is intended that the present invention not be limited by the foregoing embodiments and the accompanying drawings, but rather by the appended claims, and that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made hereto without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made.

1 is a front perspective view schematically showing a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a rear view schematically showing the digital image processing apparatus of FIG.

3 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the digital image processing apparatus of FIG.

4 is a conceptual diagram showing storage and recovery of divided data when there are two external memories.

5 and 6 are flowcharts schematically illustrating a control method of a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the Related Art

100: Digital image processing apparatus 101: Shutter-release button

103: Power button 105: Flash

107: auxiliary light 109: lens part

113: display unit 121: user input unit

123: image pickup unit 125: image processing unit

127: external memory 129: digital signal processor

Claims (13)

A digital image processing apparatus having a continuous shooting function, A plurality of external memories for storing image data of photographed images; A data dividing unit dividing the image data to generate a plurality of divided data; And And a storage controller for distributing the divided data to each of the external memories, Wherein the divided data stored in each of the external memories is divided into a single file. delete delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the files divided in one of the image data have the same filename. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the files include a header in which the division order of the image data and the storage information of the divided data are recorded. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the data dividing unit divides the image data according to a size of a data bus between the digital signal processing means and the external memory. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the image data is photographed in a continuous shooting mode. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the digital signal processing means comprises: And a data restoring unit for restoring the divided image data stored in the external memory and controlling the digital image processing apparatus to display the image data when the divided image data is reproduced. A control method of a digital image processing apparatus having a plurality of external memories, (a) capturing an image in a continuous shooting mode; (b) generating a plurality of divided data by dividing the image data of the photographed image; And (c) distributing the divided data to the plurality of external memories and storing the divided data, Wherein the divided data stored in each of the external memories is divided into a single file. delete 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the file includes a header in which the division order of the image data and the storage information of the divided data are recorded. 10. The method of claim 9, After the step (c), if the playback mode is selected, Searching for the divided data segmented from the same image data; Restoring the image data from the searched divided data; And displaying the restored image data on the digital image processing apparatus. A recording medium storing a program for executing the method of any one of claims 9, 11 and 12.

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