KR101636458B1 - Digital Image Portable electronic apparatus and backup location infomation management method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and a backup location information management method thereof, and more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus and method for backing up a digital image image apparatus to a web server or a storage apparatus connected via a wired / wireless network, And the backup location information management method of the digital image processing apparatus. In the digital image processing apparatus, when backing up images scratched or stored in a digital video image device to a web server or a storage device connected through a wired / wireless network, identification information indicating a backup location is used as a header for recording metadata of the image file, In the database storing the meta data.

Description

[0001] Digital image processing apparatus and backup location information management method [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and a backup location information management method thereof, and more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus and a backup location information management method, And more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus and a backup location information management method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] In digital image processing apparatuses such as digital cameras and digital camcorders, it has become common to replace image data stored in a memory card or an external storage device with a web server or a device having a storage device by using communication.

Instead of storing video data in a single location, you can back up to various web services such as your blog, YouTube, and Picasa, depending on the user's choice. And the same image is backed up to the same backup location, and transmission time and transmission power may be wasted.

In addition, when it is set to be automatically backed up, it is necessary to determine what image data should be backed up through communication with the device at the backup location, so that transmission time and transmission power, etc. other than simply transmitting the image data may be wasted.

The present invention relates to a method and system for backing up images recorded on a digital video image device to a Web server or a storage device connected via a wired or wireless network, The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and a backup location information management method for storing identification information stored in a database for storing data and storing identification information stored before backup of an image file so as not to be redundantly stored in the same backup location.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital image processing apparatus comprising: a backup unit configured to store identification information indicating a backup location at which a captured or stored image is to be transmitted, in a database storing a header of the image file or meta information of the image; A position storage section; And an image backup unit for transmitting the image to the backup position.

More preferably, the image backup unit may include a backup location pre-retrieval unit for retrieving identification information indicating a backup location for transmitting an image from a database storing a header of the image file or the image meta information of the image captured or stored; And a backup location transfer unit for transferring the image when the backup location is not searched.

More preferably, the header is a header of an exchange image file format (EXIF).

More preferably, the identification information indicating the backup location includes at least one of an IP address and a URL of the backup location.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for managing backup location information in a digital image processing apparatus, the method comprising the steps of: receiving a header of an image file to be backed up, Retrieving information; Storing identification information of a backup location in a header or a database of an image file of the image when the backup location is not searched; And transmitting the image to the backup location if the backup location is not retrieved

More preferably, the step of extracting the identification information of the backup locations stored in the database storing the header of the image file of the selected image selected by the user or the meta information of the selected image, and displaying the backup locations together with the selected image.

More preferably, it extracts the identification information of the backup locations stored in the database storing the headers of the image files of the stored images or the meta information of the stored images, displays the backup images together with the backup location selected by the user, And arranging and displaying the backup locations based on the number of images backed up in each of the plurality of backup images.

According to the present invention, the identification information of the backup location stored in the database storing the header of the image file or the image metadata of the image of the image before the backup of the image captured or stored in the digital image processing apparatus is checked, It is possible to transfer the image through the wired / wireless communication network only when it is not backed up, thereby preventing duplicate storage in the same backup location.

In addition, in the case of automatically storing images, it is possible to know whether or not images are backed up to a designated backup location without performing any communication with the device in the backup location, The transmission time and transmission power required for communication with the device at the backup location can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a rear external appearance of a digital camera, which is an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.
2 is a block diagram of a control device of a digital camera, which is an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.
3 is a block diagram of a digital camera, which is a preferred embodiment of the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.
4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing backup location information in a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of backing up images redundantly using an EXIF header of an image file in a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of backing up images redundantly using a separate database file in a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a diagram illustrating a process of automatically backing up a plurality of images stored in a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a view illustrating an example in which images backed up at a backup location selected by a user are collected and displayed on a screen in the digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a diagram illustrating an example of displaying information indicating locations where a user-selected photo is backed up, together with a photograph, in the digital image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
10 is a diagram illustrating an example of arranging and displaying backup locations where backups occurred in the digital image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, based on the number of backup images.

The above objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

On the other hand, when an element is referred to as "including " an element, it does not exclude other elements unless specifically stated to the contrary.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a rear external shape of a digital camera 100, which is an embodiment of a digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a direction button 21, a menu-OK button 22, a wide angle-zoom button W, a telephoto-zoom Zoom button T and a display panel 25 may be provided.

The direction button 21 may include a total of four buttons including an up button 21a, a down button 21b, a left button 21c, and a right button 21d. The direction button 21 and the menu-OK button 22 are keys for inputting various menus related to the operation of the portable electronic device such as a digital camera.

Wide angle-zoom button W or telephoto-zoom button T widens the view angle or narrows the view angle depending on the input. In particular, it can be used to change the size of the selected exposure area. As the display panel 25, an image display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) may be used.

The display panel 25 may be included in the display unit 350 (FIG. 3) in which the input image captured from the outside and input from the stored image file can be displayed.

As an embodiment of a portable electronic device to which the present invention can be applied, a digital camera, a control device thereof, and a control method thereof are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0130650 (titled: automatic focusing using a quadratic function of a camera Method, a method of automatically focusing using a quadratic function in camera.

The digital camera, its control device, and control method disclosed in the U.S. application are incorporated herein, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the control device 200 of the digital camera shown in Fig. The controller 200 of the digital camera according to the present embodiment may be mounted inside the digital camera 100 of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 2, an optical system (OPS) including a lens unit and a filter unit optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens, a focus lens, and a compensation lens.

When the user presses the wide-zoom button W or telephoto-zoom button T included in the user input unit INP, a corresponding signal is input to the microcontroller 212. Accordingly, as the microcontroller 212 controls the lens driving unit 210, the zoom motor M _Z is driven to move the zoom lens.

When the wide angle-zoom button (W) is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens is shortened and the angle of view is widened so that the input image is reduced. When the telephoto-zoom button T is depressed, the focal length of the zoom lens becomes long, The input image is enlarged and input.

Meanwhile, in the auto focusing mode, the main controller built in the digital signal processor 207 controls the lens driving unit 210 through the micro controller 212, so that the focus motor M _F is driven do. That is, the focus motor M _F is driven to move the focus lens to a position where the sharpest picture can be obtained.

The compensation lens compensates for the overall refractive index and is not driven separately. Reference symbol M _A denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown).

In the filter section of the optical system (OPS), an optical low pass filter removes optical noise of a high frequency component. Infra-red cut filter blocks the infrared component of incident light.

The photoelectric conversion unit OEC may include an image pickup device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor). The photoelectric conversion unit OEC converts light from the optical system OPS into an electrical analog signal.

The analog-to-digital conversion unit may include a CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) The analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high-frequency noise, adjusts the amplitude, and converts the analog signal into a digital signal. Here, the digital signal processor 207 controls the timing circuit 202 to control the operations of the photoelectric conversion unit (OEC) and the analog-digital conversion unit 201.

The optical system OPS, the photoelectric conversion unit OEC, the CDS-ADC 201, and the like may be included in the image input unit 330 of FIG. 3 according to the present invention.

The real-time clock 203 provides time information to the digital signal processor 207. The digital signal processor 207 processes digital signals from the CDS-ADC device 201 to generate digital image signals classified into luminance (Y value) and chromaticity (R, G, B) signals.

A self-timer lamp, an auto-focus lamp, a mode indicating lamp, a flash standby lamp, and the like are connected to the light emitting unit (LAMP) driven by the microcontroller 212 under the control of the main controller incorporated in the digital signal processor 207 .

The digital signal processor 207 and / or the microcontroller 212 may be included in the controller (320 of FIG. 3) according to the present invention. In addition, the user input inputted by the operation of the user operation unit 360 of FIG. 3 according to the present invention is input to the digital signal processor 207 and / or the micro controller 212 through the user input unit INP, The work can be performed accordingly.

A digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 is temporarily stored in a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 204. An EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory) 205 stores algorithms and setting data such as a boot program and a key input program necessary for the operation of the digital signal processor 207. In the memory card interface 206, a user's memory card can be attached and detached.

The memory card recognized through the DRAM 204 or the memory card interface 206 may store the input image or the stored image file, which is photographed and input from the outside, temporarily or nonvolatilely, ).

That is, the storage unit 340 is provided with a flash memory or a removable memory (not shown), such as a DRAM 204 or a cache memory, in which an input image or an edited image captured from an externally imaged or input image file is temporarily or non- Card, and the like.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 is input to the display panel driver 214, thereby displaying an image on the display panel 215. [ The display panel 215 may be driven by the display panel driver 214 under the control of the digital signal processor 207.

The display panel 215 and the display panel driving unit 214 may be included in the display unit 350 of FIG. 3 in which an input image input from an image file photographed from the outside and stored or stored according to the present invention may be displayed.

On the other hand, the digital image signal from the digital signal processor 207 can be transmitted by serial communication through a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connection part 31a or an RS232C interface 208 and its connection part 31b, 209 and the video output unit 31c as video signals. Here, the digital signal processor 207 may incorporate a micro controller therein.

The audio processor 213 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital signal processor 207 or the speaker SP and outputs the audio signal from the digital signal processor 207 to the speaker SP.

3 is a block diagram of a digital camera 300, which is a preferred embodiment of the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the digital camera 300 according to the present embodiment includes a backup location storage unit 310; An image backup unit 320; A video input unit 330; A storage unit 340; A display unit 350; And a user operation unit 360. [

The backup location storage unit 310 stores the identification information indicating the backup location to which the captured or stored image is to be transmitted in a database for storing the header or image meta information of the image file of the image.

The image backup unit 320 performs a function of transmitting an image stored in a header of the image file or a database through a wired / wireless communication network.

Preferably, the image backup unit 320 may include a backup location search unit 321 and a backup location transfer unit 322.

The backup location searching unit 321 searches the database for storing the header of the image file of the captured image or the stored image or the meta information of the image to search for identification information indicating a backup location to which the corresponding image is to be transmitted, And whether or not the data has been backed up.

In this embodiment, as the header of the image file in which the backup location is stored, a header of an exchangeable image file format (EXIF) may be used.

Here, the exchange image file format is an image file format commonly used in a digital image processing apparatus such as a digital camera, and is used in the JPEG, TIFF, RIFF, WAV file format. The information about the image, Time information, camera setting information, location information of a photographed place, and a description of copyright information.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by additionally recording or storing the identification information indicating the backup location in the EXIF header for performing the function of storing metadata and the database separately constructed for storing the metadata, Can be managed.

The backup location transmitting unit 322 can perform backup by transmitting the corresponding image when the backup location is not retrieved, that is, when the corresponding image is not backed up to the same backup location previously.

The image input unit 330 may receive an input image captured from the outside or input from an image file.

As described above, the image input unit 330 receiving the input image may include an optical system (OPS), a photoelectric conversion unit (OEC), a CDS-ADC device 201, etc. of FIG. At this time, the optical system (OPS) may include various lenses including a zoom lens. The CDS-ADC element 201 may be included in an image pickup element that receives an input image input through a lens.

The storage unit 340 may store an image file or an image file of an input image captured and input from the outside, and a database file that stores metadata of the image file. The storage unit 340 may include a DRAM (204 in FIG. 2) for temporarily storing data or a cache memory or a flash memory or a memory card in which data is stored in a non-volatile manner.

In the display unit 350, a photographed input image, a stored input image, and an edited image to be edited can be displayed.

The user operation unit 360 can be operated by a user so as to input a desired command from the outside. The directional buttons (21 in Fig. 1), the menu-OK button (22 in Fig. 1), the shutter release button (26 in Fig. 1), and the power switch .

In the present embodiment, the user may set the image to be automatically stored in the image file input through the image input unit 330 and the image file of the image stored in the storage unit 340 It can be configured to automatically backup to the specified backup location.

Thus, it is possible to prevent unnecessary video transmission during the backup process, thereby reducing the transmission time and power consumption due to the redundant backup. In the storage device at the backup location, it is possible to perform backup without redundant image, .

4 is a flowchart illustrating a backup location information management method (S400) of a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The backup location information management method S400 of the digital image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment can be implemented in the control device 200 of the digital camera shown in Fig. 2 and / or the digital camera 300 shown in Fig. 3 . Therefore, the same items as those in the description of the control device 200 of the digital camera of Fig. 2 and the digital camera 300 of Fig. 3 are referred to.

Referring to FIG. 4, first, in step S410, identification information indicating a backup location for transferring the header of the image file to be backed up or the meta information of the image is retrieved from the database.

If it is determined in step S410 that the backup location to be backed up is not retrieved from the header or database of the image file in step S420, the backup location identification information is stored in the header or database of the image file in step S430.

Then, the image to be backed up is transmitted to the backup location to be backed up through the wired / wireless communication network (S440).

If the backup location to be backed up is searched from the header or database of the image file as a result of the search in step S410, it is determined that the same file has already been backed up in the same backup location. Therefore, The backup process may be completed without transferring to the backup location as in step S440.

In addition, by utilizing the identification information of the backup location thus stored, the backup images of the selected image selected by the user can be displayed together with the selected image.

In addition, by using the identification information of the stored backup location, it is possible to display the images backed up in the backup location selected by the user on a screen and to display the backup location May be arranged and displayed.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of backing up images redundantly using an EXIF header of an image file of an image (S500) in a digital image processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Receives the image to be backed up (S510), and receives the backup location (S520).

In the present embodiment, the image to be backed up and the backup position may be designated by the user at the time of backup, or may be preset in the memory of the digital image processing apparatus.

The IP address information in the EXIF header of the image file of the image to be backed up is read (S530), and is compared with the IP address of the backup location input in S520 (S540).

If there is no IP address identical to the IP address of the backup location in the EXIF header, the IP address information of the backup location is added to the EXIF header (S550), and the backup image is transmitted to the backup location (S560).

If the EXIF header has the same IP address as the IP address of the backup location, the backup process is completed without adding the IP address information of the backup location or transferring it to the backup location.

As shown in FIG. 5, the EXIF header of the image file can be used as a space for storing the backup location information, and the image of all the image files in the folder is backed up in the file folder where the image file is stored, A backup information database file recording the location can be opened and managed using the backup information database file.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of backing up an image without redundancy in a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention (S600). In step S630, Instead of the EXIF header of the image file, the IP address information in the backup information database file (BackupInfo.cmm) is read and compared with the IP address of the backup location input in S520.

The remaining steps except step S630 are the same as steps S610 to S620 and S640 to S660 in the case of S510 to S520 and S540 to S560, respectively.

7 is a diagram illustrating a process of automatically backing up a plurality of images stored in a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7, the images 1 to 30 are stored in the digital camera 700, and the images 1 to 29 (711) of the images 1 to 30 are stored in the EXIF file header of the YouTube site having the IP address 75.125.153.102 www.youtube.com, 720), image 30 (712) has been backed up on the Picasa site (www.picasa.com) with IP address 75.125.153.106 in its EXIF file header The video 1 to 30 are automatically backed up to a YouTube site (www.youtube.com) 720 having an IP address of 75.125.153.102, in the case of video 1 to 29 (711), redundant backup So that only the video 30 712 is backed up to the YouTube site 720 and the IP address 75.125.153.102 of the YouTube site 720 is added to the EXIF file header of the video 30 712.

Accordingly, when it is set to automatically back up stored images, it is not necessary to communicate with the storage device of the backup location in relation to which image is backed up, Is recorded, and only when the designated backup location is not recorded, it is possible to implement the backup to be performed so that the transmission time and transmission time required for communication with the storage device of the backup location, Power can be saved.

8 is a view illustrating an example in which images backed up on a Picasa site (www.picasa.com), which is a backup location selected by a user in the digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, 9 is a view illustrating an example of displaying information indicating locations where a user-selected photo is backed up with a photograph in the digital image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. And displays the sorted backup locations according to the number of backup images.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, when the backup location information is managed through the EXIF header of the image file of the image or the backup information database file, the information about the backup location can be provided more easily and conveniently by the user .

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way of limitation, You will understand. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the present invention should be determined only by the appended claims.

Claims (7)

A backup location storage unit for storing identification information indicating a backup location for transmitting an image captured or stored in a header of the image file of the image or in a database for storing meta information of the image; And
And an image backup unit for transmitting the image to the backup location,
The image backup unit
A backup location pre-searching unit for searching for a header of an image file of a captured or stored image or identification information indicating a backup location for transmitting the image from a database storing meta information of the image; And
And a backup position transmitter for transmitting the image when the backup position is not found. delete The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the header is a header of an exchange image file format (EXIF). The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the identification information indicating the backup location includes at least one of an IP address and a URL of the backup location. Searching for a header of an image file of a video to be backed up or identification information indicating a backup location to which the video is to be transmitted from a database storing meta information of the video;
Storing identification information of the backup location in a header of the image file of the image or in the database if the backup location is not searched; And
And transmitting the image to the backup location if the backup location is not found. ≪ RTI ID = 0.0 > 11. < / RTI > 6. The method of claim 5,
Further comprising the step of extracting the header of the image file of the selected image selected by the user or the identification information of the backup locations stored in the database storing the meta information of the selected image and displaying the backup locations together with the selected image The backup location information management method of the digital image processing apparatus. 6. The method of claim 5,
And displays the images backed up at the backup location selected by the user by extracting the identification information of the backup locations stored in the database storing the headers of the image files of the stored images or the meta information of the stored images, Further comprising sorting and displaying the backup locations based on the number of images in the backup location information.

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