KR20110075370A - Apparatus and method for image file management - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An image file management method and apparatus thereof are provided to determine the value of an image by reflecting the satisfaction of a user. CONSTITUTION: Image information of a stored image is extracted(S803). The value of an image is determined based on the extracted image information(S804). The image is processed after a determination result(S806). Image information is edge information or color information.

Description

Apparatus and method for image file management}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to an image file management method and apparatus for efficiently managing an image file.

 The digital photographing apparatus stores the image file in a storage unit after capturing the image. If there is an unsatisfactory image during playback after capturing the image using the digital photographing apparatus, the user may play back and check the image file stored in the storage unit and delete the unfavorable image directly.

However, when the number of images taken is large, the user may not only take a long time but select an image to delete after seeing the images one by one, which is very cumbersome and inconvenient.

Embodiments of the present invention provide an image file management method and apparatus for efficiently managing an image file by determining and processing a value of an image.

According to an aspect of the present invention, the method comprises: extracting image information of a stored image; Determining a value of the image based on the extracted image information; And performing processing on the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination; It provides a video file management method comprising a.

The image information may be edge information or color information. The determining of the value of the image may include: determining that the image is not valuable when the image has no edge or the image is monochromatic through the image information; Can be.

Selecting a reference image by the user; And extracting image information of the reference image. The determining of the value of the image may include: comparing the image information of the reference image with the image information of the image, and determining that the image is not valuable when the reference image is similar to the image; Can be.

Wherein if the reference image is a person image, selecting a face region of the reference image by a user; The method may further include extracting the image information, extracting face information, and determining the value of the image by comparing face information of the reference image with face information of the image. If the face is a face included in the image, it may be determined that the image is not valuable.

In this case, the performing of the processing may be a step of setting a tag in the image that is determined to have no value.

The tag is a deletion tag for moving the image to a deletion category.

The performing of the processing may include removing the face included in the image that is determined to be of no value.

Here, the image may be an image by general shooting or an image by continuous shooting.

According to another aspect of the invention, the image information extraction unit for extracting the image information of the stored image; An image value determination unit determining the value of the image based on the extracted image information; And a processing execution unit which performs processing on the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination. It provides an image file management apparatus including a.

Here, the image information extractor extracts edge information or color information of the stored image, and the image value determiner determines that the image is not valuable when the image has no edge or the image is monochromatic through the image information. can do.

A user input unit for selecting a reference image by the user; And a reference image information extracting unit which extracts image information of the reference image selected by the user. The image value determining unit may compare the image information of the reference image with the image information of the image, and determine that the image is not valuable when the reference image and the image are similar.

The user input unit may select a face by the user when the reference image is a person image, the reference image information extractor extracts face information selected by the user, and the image information extractor may include a face included in the image. The image value determination unit may extract the information, and determine that the image is not valuable when the face included in the reference image is the face included in the image.

Herein, the processing execution unit may set a deletion tag on the image determined to be of no value.

In this case, the processing execution unit may remove the face included in the image that is determined to be of no value.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an image file optimized for a user may be managed by determining a value of an image based on a user's desire and determining whether to delete the image.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are only used to distinguish one component from another.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this application, the terms "comprise" or "have" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

The invention can be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may be implemented in various numbers of hardware or / and software configurations that perform particular functions. For example, the present invention relates to integrated circuit configurations such as memory, processing, logic, look-up table, etc., which may execute various functions by the control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices. It can be adopted. Similar to how the components of the present invention may be implemented in software programming or software elements, the present invention includes various algorithms implemented in combinations of data structures, processes, routines or other programming constructs, including C, C ++ It may be implemented in a programming or scripting language such as Java, an assembler, or the like. The functional aspects may be implemented with an algorithm running on one or more processors. In addition, the present invention may employ the prior art for electronic environment setting, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as mechanism, element, means, configuration can be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations. The term may include the meaning of a series of routines of software in conjunction with a processor or the like.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same or corresponding components are given the same reference numerals and redundant description thereof will be omitted. Shall be.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image file management apparatus 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

1 schematically illustrates a digital photographing apparatus as a kind of the image file management apparatus 1000. However, the present invention is not limited to the digital photographing apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, but is not limited to a digital still camera (DSC), a digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR), a video camera, a mobile phone equipped with an image file playback function, and an MP3 ( It can be applied to devices such as MPEG Audio player-3), personal digital assistants (PDA), personal multimedia player (PMP), digital albums, and digital photo viewers. This also applies to the embodiments described below and variations thereof.

The image file management apparatus 1000 of FIG. 1 includes an image capturing unit 10, an image processing unit 20, a user input unit 30, a display unit 40, a storage unit 50, and a digital signal processing unit 100.

The user input unit 30 may include a shutter release button that opens and closes to expose the CCD or film to light for a predetermined time, a power button input to supply power, and a zoom button that widens the angle of view or narrows the angle of view according to the input. And a touch sensor or a button frame provided around the display unit 40 provided in the display unit 40 for text input or menu selection and execution. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the user input unit 30 may receive a selection of a reference image from a user or apply a selection signal generated by selecting a face region included in the reference image to the digital signal processing unit 100. .

The imaging unit 10 includes a shutter, a lens unit, an aperture, a charge coupled device (CCD), and an analog digital converter (ADC). The shutter is a mechanism for adjusting the amount of light exposed together with the aperture. The lens unit receives light from an external light source and processes an image. At this time, the iris adjusts the amount of light incident (light quantity) according to the degree of opening and closing. The operation of the shutter, the position of the lens and the degree of opening and closing of the iris are controlled by the digital signal processing unit 100.

The CCD accumulates the amount of light input through the lens unit and outputs an image captured by the lens unit in accordance with the accumulated light amount in accordance with the vertical synchronization signal. Image acquisition is accomplished by a CCD that converts light reflected from the subject into an electrical signal. Color filters are required to obtain color images using CCDs, and most of them employ a filter called a color filter array (CFA). CFA has a structure arranged regularly by passing only one color light per pixel, and has various shapes according to the arrangement structure. The ADC converts an analog video signal output from the CCD into a digital signal.

The image processor 20 performs signal processing to display the digitally converted RAW data. The image processor 20 removes the black level due to the dark current generated by the CCD and the CFA filter that is sensitive to the temperature change. The image processor 20 performs gamma correction for encoding information according to nonlinearity of human vision. The image processor 20 performs CFA interpolation to interpolate a Bayer pattern implemented with RGRG lines and GBGB lines of gamma-corrected predetermined data into RGB (Red, Green, Blue) lines. The image processor 20 converts the interpolated RGB signal into a YUV signal (a luminance signal Y, a luminance signal and a red component difference U, and a luminance signal and a blue component difference V). By performing the Y signal filtering, the edge compensation for sharply processing the image and the color correction for correcting the color values of the U and V signals using the standard color coordinate system are performed, and the noise is removed. The image processing unit 35 compresses and signals the Y, U, and V signals from which the noise is removed to generate a joint photographic coding experts group (JPEG) file, and the generated JPEG file is displayed on the display unit 40, and the storage unit Stored at 50. All of the operations of the image processor 20 operate under the control of the digital signal processor 100.

The display unit 40 displays an image file, and various display devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting display (OLED), and an electrophoretic display (EDD) may be used.

The storage unit 50 stores an image file and includes a fixed semiconductor memory such as an external flash memory, or a hard disk other than semiconductor memory such as a card-type flash memory that has a card shape or a stick shape and can be detachably attached to a device. Or various forms such as magnetic storage media such as floppy disks.

The digital signal processing unit 100 extracts image information of an image stored in the storage unit 50, determines the value of the image based on the image information, and performs processing on the image determined to be not worth as a result of the determination. can do. Here, the image may be an image obtained by general shooting or continuous shooting. An embodiment of the digital signal processor 100 that manages a file may include an image information extractor 101, an image value determiner 102, a processor performer 103, and a controller 104.

The image information extractor 101 extracts image information of an image stored in the storage unit 50 under the control of the controller 104. The image information may be edge information or color information. The edge information indicates an edge included in the image and can be obtained by detecting edge pixels of the image using a mask, an edge detection filter, and a differential operator. The color information may be obtained by generating a histogram through a hue, lightness, and saturation channel, and then reading a level value. However, the image information is not limited thereto, and the image information may be composition information obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of regions and determining which region includes a subject to be focused.

The image value determiner 102 determines the value of the image based on the image information extracted by the image information extractor 101 under the control of the controller 104.

2 is an example of an image determined by the image value determining unit 102 to be of no value.

Referring to FIG. 2, the case where it is determined that the image is not worth is as follows. First, (a) The subject is out of focus as in the image. In this case, it may be determined that there is no edge or very few edges in the image. In addition, (b) it is a case where the image comes out in a single color. In this case, it may be determined that there is no edge in the image and the peak of the histogram obtained through the color information appears singly. In addition, (c) the subject is not in focus and the composition is poor, as in the image. In this case, it can be determined through the composition information.

The processing execution unit 103 performs the processing on the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination of the image value determining unit 102 under the control of the control unit 104. For example, the processing execution unit 103 may set a deletion tag on the images of FIG. 2 determined to be of no value.

3 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the digital signal processor 110 shown in FIG. 1.

The control unit 115 of the digital signal processor 110 illustrated in FIG. 3 receives a selection signal for selecting a specific image from the user input unit 30. The controller 115 extracts an image stored in the storage 50 according to the selection signal. Hereinafter, an image extracted according to the selection signal will be referred to as a reference image, and the digital signal processing unit 110 manages an image file using the reference image.

The image information extractor 111 extracts image information of an image stored in the storage 50. The image information may be edge information, color information, and composition information.

The reference image information extractor 112 extracts image information of the reference image. For example, the reference image information extractor 112 may extract edge information or color information from the reference image.

The image value determiner 113 compares the image information of the reference image extracted by the reference image extractor 112 and the image information of the image extracted by the image information extractor 111 to determine whether the reference image is similar to the image. . For example, when the edge information extracted from the reference image is compared with the edge information of the image, it may be determined that the reference image is similar to the image when a similar edge map pattern is displayed. As another example, when the histogram peaks of the brightness, hue, and saturation channels extracted from the reference image are compared with the histogram peaks of the brightness, hue, and saturation channels extracted from the reference image, the reference image is similar to the image when the peak levels are similar. You can judge. If it is determined that the reference image is similar to the image, the image value determining unit 113 considers that the image is not valuable.

4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of managing an image file of the digital signal processor 110 of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the result of extracting the edge information and the color information of the reference image IMG40 and the edge information and the color information of the plurality of images IMG41, IMG42,... IMG4n stored in the storage unit 50 are compared. In other words, it is determined that an image similar to the reference image IMG40 has no value. That is, the image IMG41 having an edge shape similar to the reference image IMG40 having many vertical edges is determined to be worthless.

The processing performing unit 114 sets a deletion tag to the image determined to be not valuable as a result of the determination by the image value determining unit 113.

5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of setting a delete tag.

Referring to FIG. 5, the deletion tag may be set to an image file determined to be not valuable. The image file includes a start of image (SOI), which is a marker code indicating the start of the image data, and an end of image (EOI), which is a marker code indicating the end of the image data. It may also contain null data, which is an unspecified value. The deletion tag may be included in the application marker segment APP1 together with the image data. The deletion tag moves the image file to a deletion category, and when a user identifies the deletion category and there is an image file that is not desired to be deleted, the user may restore the image file by removing the deletion tag.

Now, another embodiment of the digital signal processor 110 shown in FIG. 3 will be described.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, in addition to selecting a reference image through a user input unit, the user may select a face included in the reference image when the reference image is a person image. The controller 115 receives a reference image selection signal and a face region selection signal generated by the user input unit.

The reference image information extractor 112 extracts face information of the selected face under the control of the controller 115. For example, the process of extracting face information is as follows. First, a skin-tone region is extracted from the reference image. Next, the extracted skin color region is extracted with facial information such as geometric factors such as the position, size, and distance between the feature points of the face such as eyes, nose and mouth based on the change in luminance.

The image information extracting unit 111 extracts face information from the image only when the image is a person image.

The image value determining unit 113 determines that the image is not valuable when the face included in the reference image is included in the image using the face information. As described above, since face information such as unique geometric factors such as the position, size, and distance between the feature points of the face are extracted, the face information is compared with the face included in the reference image by comparing the face information. Can be determined whether the same or similar.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another embodiment of the image file management method of the digital signal processing unit 110 of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 6, the face information of the reference image IMG60 is compared with the face information of the plurality of images IMG61, IMG62,... IMG6n stored in the storage unit 50, so that the face of the reference image IMG60 is reduced. The video included is not worth it. Therefore, the image including the A face (IMG62) is judged to be worthless.

The processing performing unit 114 may remove the face included in the image only when the face included in the reference image is included in the image, and the image is not valuable.

 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an image processing process of the processing execution unit 114.

The processing execution unit 114 may remove a face included in the image determined to be of no value in various ways. For example, when the A face included in the reference image IMG60 is included in the image IMG62 in FIG. 6, and the image IMG62 is determined to be of no value, the area around the A face area included in the image IMG62 is included. The image IMG62b from which the A face is removed can be obtained by forming a frame in the frame and trimming the frame. As another example, the image IMG62a from which the A face is removed may be obtained by synthesizing the A face area of the image IMG62 with the background or by using a brush effect. A method of removing the face is not limited to FIG. 7 and may be implemented in various ways.

8 to 10 are flowcharts illustrating a video file management method according to the present invention.

The user enters the playback mode. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the image file management mode may be entered.

Next, check whether the reference image is selected by the user. That is, it is checked whether a signal for selecting a reference image is input through the user input unit.

If the reference image is not selected, the image file is automatically managed. (For example, auto management mode)

The digital signal processor 100 extracts image information from an image stored in the storage 50. The image information may be edge information or color information. (S803)

The digital signal processor 100 determines the value of the image based on the image information. For example, it is determined whether the image has an edge or the image is a single color (S804).

As a result of determining the value of the image based on the image information, the image is preserved when an edge exists in the image and is not configured as a single color. (S805)

As a result of determining the value of the image based on the image information, if there is no edge in the image, there is a high probability that the image is not in focus. If the image is a single color, the image may be a black or white image in which the subject is not properly photographed. have. The video is determined to be of no value and the delete tag is set. (S806)

Through the above-described process, among the images stored in the storage unit 50, the images having no edge or only a single color and the subjects are not properly photographed are automatically moved to the deletion category, thereby the user is inconvenient to organize the image files. Can be solved.

When the reference image is selected in step S802, the image file is managed based on the reference image selected by the user. (For example, manual management mode)

The user may select a face from the reference image. That is, the digital signal processor checks whether the user has selected a face area included in the reference image through the user input unit.

If the user does not select a face, the digital signal processor 110 compares the entirety of the reference image and the image stored in the storage unit 50 to determine the similarity of the image. (Eg, first manual management mode)

The digital signal processor 110 extracts image information from the reference image. The image information may be edge information or color information. (S902)

The digital signal processor 110 extracts image information from an image stored in the storage 50. The image information may also be edge information or color information. (S903)

The digital signal processor 110 compares the image information of the reference image with the image information of the image stored in the storage unit 50 and determines whether the reference image is similar to the image. (S904)

If it is determined that the reference image and the image stored in the storage unit 50 are not similar, the image is determined to be valuable and preserved. (S905)

If the reference image and the image stored in the storage unit 50 are similar, the image is determined to be of no value and a deletion tag is set. (S906)

Through the above-described process, all images similar to the reference image that the user wants to delete are moved to the deletion category, which makes it possible to manage the image file more conveniently.

If the user selects a face included in the reference image in step S901, the digital signal processor 110 extracts face information of the selected face. (S101) According to the present embodiment, image file management is performed using the selected face. Flood. (For example, second manual management mode)

In addition, the digital signal processor 110 extracts face information of a face included in the image with respect to the person image among the images stored in the storage unit 50. When a plurality of faces is included, face information is extracted for all faces. (S102)

The digital signal processor 110 determines whether a face included in the reference image is included in the image stored in the storage unit 50. This process may be determined by searching for a match of a face using face information.

If the face included in the reference image and selected by the user is different from the face included in the image, the image is determined to be valuable and preserved. (S104)

However, if the face included in the reference image and the face selected by the user match the face included in the image, the digital signal processor 110 removes the face included in the image. (S105)

In the above-described process, in the case of a person image, only a person who the user wants to delete may be removed based on the person. That is, when a user wants to erase all images related to a specific person, the user can easily and conveniently manage the image file through the present embodiment without having to check and delete the image.

The present invention can be applied to various image processing devices such as digital cameras, mobile phones equipped with cameras, digital camcorders, and the like.

Meanwhile, the present invention can be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored.

Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical data storage devices, and the like, which may also be implemented in the form of carrier waves (for example, transmission over the Internet). Include. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. In addition, functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the present invention can be easily deduced by programmers skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs.

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention can be embodied in a modified form without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the disclosed embodiments should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. The scope of the present invention is shown not in the above description but in the claims, and all differences within the scope should be construed as being included in the present invention.

All documents, including publications, patent applications, patents, and the like, cited in the present invention, may be incorporated into the present invention as if each cited document were individually and specifically shown as merged or as totally merged in the present invention. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image file management apparatus 1000 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an example of an image determined by the image value determining unit 102 to be of no value.

3 is a block diagram illustrating another embodiment of the digital signal processor 110 shown in FIG. 1.

4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of managing an image file of the digital signal processor 110 of FIG. 3.

5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a method of setting a delete tag.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating another embodiment of the image file management method of the digital signal processing unit 110 of FIG. 3.

7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an image processing process of the processing execution unit 114.

8 to 10 are flowcharts illustrating a video file management method according to the present invention.

Description of the main parts of the drawing

1000: video file management device 30: user input unit

10: imaging section 40: display section

20: image processing unit 50: storage unit

100: digital signal processing unit

Claims (14)

Extracting image information of a stored image; Determining a value of the image based on the extracted image information; And Performing processing on the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination; Image file management method comprising a. The method of claim 1 The image information is edge information or color information. Determining the value of the video, Determining that the image is not valuable when the image has no edge or the image is monochromatic through the image information; Video file management method. The method of claim 1 Receiving a reference image selected by a user; And Extracting image information of the reference image; More, Determining the value of the image Comparing the image information of the reference image with the image information of the image, and determining that the image is not valuable when the reference image and the image are similar;  Video file management method. The method of claim 3, If the reference image is a person image, receiving a face region of the reference image by a user; More, Extracting the image information is extracting face information. Determining the value of the image And comparing the face information of the reference image with the face information of the image and determining that the image is not valuable when the face included in the reference image is a face included in the image. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The step of performing the processing And setting a tag in the image that is determined to be of no value. The method of claim 5 And the tag is a deletion tag for moving the image to a deletion category. The method of claim 4 The step of performing the processing The image file management method of removing the face included in the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination. The method of claim 1 The image is an image file management method or an image file by continuous shooting. An image information extracting unit extracting image information of the stored image; An image value determination unit determining the value of the image based on the extracted image information; And A processing performing unit which performs processing on the image determined to be of no value as a result of the determination; Image file management device comprising a. The method of claim 9 The image information extraction unit, Extracting edge information or color information of the stored image; The video value determination unit, And determining that the image is not valuable when the image has no edge or the image is monochromatic. The method of claim 9 A user input unit for selecting a reference image by the user; And A reference image information extracting unit which extracts image information of the reference image selected by the user; More, The video value determination unit, And comparing the image information of the reference image with the image information of the image, and determining that the image is not valuable when the reference image and the image are similar. The method of claim 11, The user input unit When the reference image is a person image, a face is selected by a user. The reference image information extraction unit, Extract face information selected by the user, The image information extraction unit, Extracting face information included in the image, The video value determination unit, And determining that the image is not valuable when the face included in the reference image is the face included in the image. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12. The processing execution unit And a deletion tag is set to the image determined as not valuable. The method of claim 12, The processing execution unit And an image file management apparatus for removing the face included in the image determined to be of no value.

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