Digital Camera Patent Abstract
The digital camera and the image reproducing apparatus and method
can reduce a waiting time when a compressed image recorded in a
recording medium is reproduced and displayed on a display device,
and allows the user to promptly check the reproduced image. Before
the user inputs an instruction for sequential or reverse frame feeding,
image data is beforehand read out from a recording medium, decompressed,
and held in a memory inside the digital camera as prepared images
for display. When the instruction for the frame feeding is given,
the corresponding prepared image is read out from the memory and
then output to the liquid crystal monitor, thereby reducing the
reproduction time to achieve fast reproduction. A range of the image
which is subjected to a preceding read is a frame image before or
after the currently displayed frame, all thumbnail images stored
in the recording medium, all main images stored in the recording
medium, or all of main images and the thumbnail. Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A digital camera, comprising: an image pickup device which converts
an optical image into an electric signal; a recording device which
records image data obtained via the image pickup device in a recording
medium as a main image and a thumbnail image, wherein the main image
data of the optical image is recorded with a predetermined number
of pixels as compressed data in the recording medium, said predetermined
number of pixels being determined during a photographing of said
optical image; a readout device which reads out image data stored
in the recording medium; a storage device which stores the image
contents read out by the readout device; a display device which
displays the image contents stored in the storage device; an instructing
device through which an instruction is inputted to change an image
as a current display target; a control device which reads out additional
image data other than the current display target from the recording
medium to store the additional data in the storage device as prepared
main images for display before the instruction is given by the instructing
device to display the additional data as prepared main images, and
immediately reads out a prepared main image corresponding to the
instruction from the storage device when the instruction is given
by the instructing device and provides the prepared main image to
the display device to cause the display device to display the image
corresponding to the instruction; and a size converting device,
said size converting device adjusting an image size of the prepared
main image corresponding to the instruction depending on a resolution
of the display device; wherein image data having the image size
thereof adjusted by the size converting device is stored in the
storage device as the prepared main image and the compressed image
data of the optical image is decompressed and adjusted to the image
size of the prepared main image.
2. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein main images
located a frame before and a frame after the current display target
main image are stored as prepared main images.
3. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein: an image picked
up by the image pickup device is recorded in the recording medium
in a form of an image file including data on a the main image showing
the picked up image and data on a the thumbnail image obtained by
reducing the main image to a specified size; the digital camera
further comprises a display mode switching device which switches
between a multi-reproduction and display mode for displaying a plurality
of frame images at a time in a predetermined arrangement form and
a one-frame reproduction and display mode for displaying one frame
image; and when the multi-reproduction and display mode is selected,
the data on the thumbnail image is read out from the recording medium
as the prepared image and then stored in the storage device.
4. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the digital
camera further comprises a video output terminal for outputting
a video signal to an exterior, and has a function of automatically
adjusting the image size of the prepared main image depending on
a resolution of an image display device connected to the video output
terminal.
5. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein an image contained
in a file to be reproduced in a reproduction mode is displayed in
a single frame and a file of a frame other than the current display
target image is read out from the recording medium as the prepared
main image when displaying the current display target image, and
the compressed image data of the file of the frame other than the
current display target image is decompressed and adjusted to an
image size suitable for display of the prepared main image and stored
in the storage device.
6. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein a cursor for
selecting an image to be displayed is displayed on a display screen
for a multiple reproduction image and is moved by an operator of
the digital camera to a cursor position, and the compressed image
data of a target image corresponding to the cursor position is read
out from the recording medium, decompressed and adjusted to an image
size suitable for display, and stored in the storage device as the
prepared main image before a command to execute a reproduction of
the target image corresponding to the cursor position is initiated.
7. An image reproducing apparatus, comprising: a readout device
which reads out an image stored in a recording medium as a main
image and a thumbnail image, wherein the main image data of the
image is recorded with a predetermined number of pixels as compressed
data in the recording medium, said predetermined number of pixels
being determined during a photographing of said image; a storage
device which stores the image contents read out by the readout device;
a display device which displays the image contents stored in the
storage device; an instructing device through which an instruction
is inputted to change an image as a display target; a control device
which reads out additional image data other than the current display
target image from the recording medium to store the additional image
data in the storage device as prepared main images for display before
the instruction is given by the instructing device, and reads out
a prepared main image corresponding to the instruction from the
storage device when the instruction is given by the instructing
device and immediately providing the prepared main image to the
display device to display the main image corresponding to the instruction;
and a size converting device, said size converting device adjusting
an image size of the prepared main image corresponding to the instruction
depending on a resolution of the display device; wherein image data
having the image size thereof adjusted by the size converting device
is stored in the storage device as the prepared main image and the
compressed image data of the image is decompressed and adjusted
to the image size of the prepared main image.
8. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
an image contained in a file to be reproduced in a reproduction
mode is displayed in a single frame and a file of a frame other
than the current display target image is read out from the recording
medium as the prepared main image when displaying the current display
target image, and the compressed image data of the file of the frame
other than the current display target image is decompressed and
adjusted to an image size suitable for display of the prepared main
image and stored in the storage device.
9. The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein
a cursor for selecting an image to be displayed is displayed on
a display screen for a multiple reproduction image and is moved
by an operator of the digital camera to a cursor position, and the
compressed image data of a target image corresponding to the cursor
position is read out from the recording medium, decompressed and
adjusted to an image size suitable for display, and stored in the
storage device as the prepared main image before a command to execute
a reproduction of the target image corresponding to the cursor position
is initiated.
10. An image reproducing method of reading out image data stored
in a recording medium as a main image and a thumbnail image, and
displaying an image on a display device, comprising the steps of:
reading out additional image data other than a current display target
from the recording medium to store the additional data in a storage
device for display as prepared main images for display, before an
instruction to change an image as a display target is inputted;
reading out a prepared main image corresponding to the instruction
from the storage device and immediately providing the prepared main
image to the display device to display the image corresponding to
the instruction, when the instruction to change the image is inputted,
wherein the main image data and the additional image data is recorded
with a predetermined number of pixels as compressed data in the
recording medium, said predetermined number of pixels being determined
during a photographing of said optical image; adjusting an image
size of the prepared main image corresponding to the instruction
with a size converting device depending on a resolution of the display
device, wherein the compressed image data is decompressed and adjusted
to the image size of the prepared main image; and storing the image
data having the image size thereof adjusted by the size converting
device in the storage device as the prepared main image.
11. The image reproducing method according to claim 10, further
comprising the steps of: providing a forward or a reverse frame
reading instruction; and reading out image data of frames stored
in the recording medium before being fed in accordance with the
forward or the reverse frame reading instruction, wherein said prepared
main image is produced with advanced readout of image data of frames.
12. The image reproducing method according to claim 10, wherein
an image contained in a file to be reproduced in a reproduction
mode is displayed in a single frame and a file of a frame other
than the current display target image is read out from the recording
medium as the prepared main image when displaying the current display
target image, and the compressed image data of the file of the frame
other than the current display target image is decompressed and
adjusted to an image size suitable for display of the prepared main
image and stored in the storage device.
13. The image reproducing method according to claim 10, wherein
a cursor for selecting an image to be displayed is displayed on
a display screen for a multiple reproduction image and is moved
by an operator of the digital camera to a cursor position, and the
compressed image data of a target image corresponding to the cursor
position is read out from the recording medium, decompressed and
adjusted to an image size suitable for display, and stored in the
storage device as the prepared main image before a command to execute
a reproduction of the target image corresponding to the cursor position
is initiated.
Digital Camera Patent Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital camera and an image
reproducing apparatus having a function of reproducing and displaying
images recorded in recording media, as well as a related image reproducing
method.
2. Description of the Related Art
General digital cameras compress and record a picked up image in
a recording medium. A method is known which is operative at this
time, to decimate some data from the picked up image to generate
a small-sized non-compressed image (also referred to as a "thumbnail
image") and then to record the thumbnail image in a recording
medium together with a compressed image (referred to as a "main
image"). Further, with digital cameras comprising a liquid
crystal display section (LCD) functioning to allow recorded images
to be checked or as an electronic view finder, an image recorded
in the recording medium can be reproduced and displayed on the liquid
crystal display section. Accordingly, the next or preceding image
is sequentially displayed in response to a user's operation such
as sequential frame feeding or reverse frame feeding.
Recent digital cameras use a large amount of data for recorded
images due to an increased number of pixels in a CCD. Thus, a longer
time is required to record or reproduce images, so that users may
feel uncomfortable about operations. To avoid such an uncomfortable
feeling, the digital camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application
Publication No. 10-79913 first displays the thumbnail image, which
requires a shorter time for reproduction, and then processes the
main image, thereby reducing the time to wait for a decompression
process on the main image to be completed. Furthermore, the digital
camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No.
10-63688 has a function of retrieving a reproduced image at a high
speed.
The proposed digital camera, however, cannot reduce the processing
time required after an instruction for reproduction and display
(instruction for the next or preceding image) has been given and
before the main image is displayed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is provided in view of these circumstances,
and it is an object thereof to provide a digital camera and an image
reproducing apparatus and method which can reduce a waiting time
when a compressed image (main image) recorded in a recording medium
is reproduced and displayed on a display device, and which allows
the user to promptly check the reproduced image.
To attain this object, the present invention is directed to a digital
camera, comprising: an image pickup device which converts an optical
image into an electric signal; a recording device which records
image data obtained via the image pickup device, in a recording
medium; a readout device which reads out image data stored in the
recording medium; a storage device which stores the image contents
read out by the readout device; a display device which displays
the image contents stored in the storage device; an instructing
device through which an instruction is inputted to change an image
as a display target; and a control device which, before the instruction
is given by the instructing device, reads out image data other than
the current display target from the recording medium to store the
data in the storage device as prepared images for display, and which,
when the instruction is given by the instructing device, reads out
a prepared image corresponding to the instruction, from the storage
device and provides the image to the display device to cause the
display device to display the image corresponding to the instruction.
The instructing device gives, for example, an instruction for sequential
frame feeding or reverse frame feeding. According to the present
invention, before a user inputs the instruction for the sequential
or reverse frame feeding using the instructing device, the image
data is beforehand read out from the recording medium, decompressed,
and held in the storage device inside the digital camera as the
prepared images for display. This reduces the time required to access
the recording medium and execute the decompression process when
the user has inputted the instruction for the frame feeding. According
to one aspect, as the prepared image, an image before or after the
current display target image is stored in the storage device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the digital
camera is characterized in that an image picked up by the image
pickup device is recorded in the recording medium in a form of an
image file including data on a main image showing the picked up
image and data on a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main
image to a specified size; the digital camera further comprises
a display mode switching device which switches between a multi-reproduction
and display mode for displaying a plurality of frame images at a
time in a predetermined arrangement form and a one-frame reproduction
and display mode for displaying one frame image; and when the multi-reproduction
and display mode is selected, the data on the thumbnail image is
read out from the recording medium as the prepared image and then
stored in the storage device.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, the
digital camera further comprises a size converting device which
adjusts an image size depending on a resolution of the display device;
and image data having a size thereof adjusted by the size converting
device is stored in the storage device as the prepared image. Furthermore,
according to yet another aspect of the present invention, the digital
camera further comprises a video output terminal for outputting
a video signal to an exterior, and has a function of automatically
adjust the image size of the prepared image depending on a resolution
of an image display device connected to the video output terminal.
The present invention also directed to an image reproducing apparatus,
comprising: a readout device which reads out image stored in a recording
medium; a storage device which stores the image contents read out
by the readout device; a display device which displays the image
contents stored in the storage device; an instructing device through
which an instruction is inputted to change an image as a display
target; and a control device which, before the instruction is given
by the instructing device, reads out image data other than the current
display target from the recording medium to store the data in the
storage device as prepared images for display, and which, when the
instruction is given by the instructing device, reads out a prepared
image corresponding to the instruction, from the storage device
and providing the image to the display device to cause the display
device to display the image corresponding to the instruction.
According to the present invention, there is provided an image
reproducing method of reading out image data stored in a recording
medium and displaying an image on a display device, the method being
characterized by comprising reading out image data other than a
current display target to store the data in a storage device for
display as prepared images for display, before an instruction to
change an image as a display target is inputted, and reading out
a prepared image corresponding to the instruction, from the storage
device and providing the image to the display device to cause the
display device to display the image corresponding to the instruction,
when the instruction to change the image is inputted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The nature of this invention, as well as other objects and advantages
thereof, will be explained in the following with reference to the
accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate
the same or similar parts throughout the figures and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital camera according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of
the digital camera of this example;
FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) are views showing examples of a display of
a multi-reproduction screen;
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a control procedure for a reproduction
mode;
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the control procedure for the reproduction
mode; and
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the control procedure for the reproduction
mode.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A preferred embodiment of a digital camera and an image reproducing
apparatus and method will be described below with reference to the
attached drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a digital camera according to the
embodiment of the present invention. A digital camera 10 comprises
a photographing lens 12, a finder window 14, a stroboscope 16, a
stroboscopic dimming sensor 18, a microphone 19, and a self-timer
lamp 20 arranged on a front surface thereof. The camera has a shutter
button 22, a power switch 24, and a stroboscope button 26 disposed
on a top surface thereof, the stroboscope button 26 switching a
stroboscopic photographing mode. The camera also has a speaker 28,
an audio/video output terminal 30, a remote control terminal 31,
a digital (USB) terminal 32, and a power input terminal 33 arranged
on a side surface thereof opposite to a grip section 27. Further,
the camera has a battery cover 34 arranged on a bottom cover thereof
and also acting as a slot cover for a memory card (not shown in
FIG. 1 and corresponding to reference number 72 in FIG. 6). A card
slot and a battery housing chamber, neither of which is shown, are
formed behind the battery cover 34.
FIG. 2 is a rear view of the digital camera 10. The camera has
a finder 36, a mode dial 38, a left key 40, a right key 42, an up/down
lever 44, a menu/execute key 46, a cancel/return key 48, a display
key 50, a liquid crystal monitor 52, and others arranged on a rear
side thereof. The mode dial 38 is used to change the function (mode)
of the camera. Rotationally moving the mode dial 38 enables the
setting of either a photographing mode for still photographing or
a reproduction mode for reproducing picked up images or a movie
mode for animated image photographing.
The left key 40, the right key 42, and the up/down lever 44 constitute
an operation section for inputting instructions for corresponding
four directions (left, right, up, and down). The left key 40 and
the right key 42 function as a one-frame reverse-feeding button
and a one-frame sequential-feeding button during the reproduction
mode. The up/down lever 44 is used as a scaling zoom lever for a
reproduction zoom function or an electronic zoom function for photographing.
Further, the left key 40, the right key 42, and the up/down lever
44 function as operation buttons for instructing a cursor to be
moved on a multi-reproduction screen. If the menu mode has been
set using the menu/execution key 46, these keys and lever function
as operation buttons for selecting a menu from a list of menus or
instructing one of the set items in each menu to be selected.
The menu/execution key 46 is used to shift from a normal screen
to a menu screen in each mode, to enter a selected content, or to
instruct a process to be executed confirmed. The cancel/return key
48 is used to cancel the item selected from the menu or to return
to the preceding operational state. The display key 50 is an operation
device with which the user turns on and off the liquid crystal monitor
52 and/or switches the reproduction method and the display/non display
of the number of a frame being reproduced or the like.
In the photographing mode or the movie mode, depressing the display
key 50 enables the liquid crystal monitor 52 to be turned on and
off. Further, in the reproduction mode, each time the display key
50 is depressed, the mode starts with "one-frame reproduction
(on screen display present)" and then cycles from "on
screen display absent" through "multi-reproduction"
to "one-frame reproduction (on screen display present)".
The "multi-reproduction" mode is a reproduction method
of displaying a plurality of screens at a time. In this example
of multi-reproduction, nine screens are displayed in three rows
and three columns.
The liquid crystal monitor 52 can be used as an electronic finder
for checking the angle of view during photographing, and can display
a preview picture of a photographed image, a reproduced image read
out from a recording medium 72 installed in the camera, or the like.
Further, the selection of a menu using the left key 40, the right
key 42, and the up/down lever 44 or the setting of one of the set
items in each menu is carried out using a display screen of the
liquid crystal menu 52. The liquid crystal monitor 52 also displays
information such as the number of frames that can be photographed
(for animated images, the time for which photographing is available),
the display of the number of a reproduced frame, the presence of
stroboscopic light emission, the display of the use of a macro mode,
the display of recorded image quality, the number of pixels, or
the like.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the internal construction of
the digital camera 10. When the mode dial 38 is used to set the
photographing mode and the shutter button 22 is then depressed,
a microcomputer 60 detects this and controls the execution of the
still photographing operation. That is, the microcomputer 60 executes
auto focus (AF) control and auto exposure (AE) control so as to
form an image of a subject light on a light receiving surface of
a charge coupled device (CCD) 62 via the photographing lens 12.
The CCD 62 converts the subject light formed on the light receiving
surface as an image into signal charges the amount of which corresponds
to the quantity of the subject light.
The thus accumulated signal charges are sequentially read out as
voltage signals corresponding to these signal charges. The voltage
signals sequentially read out from the CCD 62 are added to a correlation
double sampling (CDS) circuit 64, where R, G, and B signals are
sampled and held for each pixel and then amplified. The signals
are then converted into digital ones by an A/D converter. These
digital signals are temporarily saved to a memory 66 and then added
to a signal processing circuit 68.
The signal processing circuit 68 executes a synchronization process
of converting the input point-sequential R, G, and B signals into
a simultaneous equation, a white balance adjustment process, a gamma
correction process, a YC signal process, or the like. Luminance
signals Y and chromatic signals Cr and Cb (YC signals) created by
the YC signal process of the signal processing circuit 68 are saved
to the memory 66 again, then sequentially compressed by an JPEG
compression circuit 70, and finally recorded in the recording medium
72.
In the digital camera 10 of this example, still image data is stored
in the recording medium 72 as an image file according to the Exif
standard. An Exif file has an area in which data on main images
is stored and an area in which data on reduced images (thumbnail
images) is stored. The data on a main image obtained through photographing
is subjected to a pixel decimation process and other required data
processing to generate a thumbnail image of a specified size (for
example, 160.times.120 or 80.times.60 pixels, or the like). The
thus generated thumbnail image is written to the Exif file together
with the main image. In recording the data in the file, the microcomputer
60 automatically applies a non-duplicate file number (frame number)
to each image file and also adds recorded date and time and other
file managing information thereto.
The recording medium 72 for saving an image file thereto comprises,
for example, a smart medium (Solid-State Floppy Disk Card). The
recording medium 72 may also be in the form of a PC card, a compact
flash, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk,
a memory stick, or the like. Various media can be used to and from
which data can be written and read in accordance with an electronic,
magnetic, or optical method or a combination thereof. A signal processing
device and an interface which are compatible with the medium used
are applicable. The camera may be configured so that a plurality
of recording media can be installed in the main body whether the
media are of the same type or different types. Further, the means
for saving image files is not limited to a removable medium that
can be installed in and removed from the camera main body but may
be a recording medium (internal memory) built into the camera.
When the movie mode is set using the mode dial 38, animated image
recording is enabled, and the shutter button 22 is also used as
a recording button (recording start/stop button). Depressing the
shutter button 22 starts a recording operation, and depressing it
again stops the recording operation. The recording operation may
be performed while the shutter button 22 remains depressed, and
may be stopped when the depressing is cleared. A maximum time for
which data can be recorded within a single photographing session,
an image size, a frame rate, and a recording method are predetermined.
For example, an audible movie can be photographed for about 80 seconds
at maximum within a single photographing session, and is recorded
in the recording medium 72 at 10 frames/sec. in the Motion JPEG
form as 320.times.240 pixels.
When the reproduction mode is set by using the mode dial 38, an
image file for a final frame recorded in the recording medium 72
is read out. The compressed data in the read-out image file is decompressed
into a YC signal by a JPEG decompression circuit 74 and expanded
and saved to the memory 66. The image signal expanded in the memory
66 has its size adjusted to a displayed image size via the signal
processing circuit 68, is converted into a color composite video
signal based on the NTSC method, and output to the liquid crystal
monitor 52 and to the audio/video output terminal 30. Thus, the
frame image of the final image recorded in the recording medium
72 is displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 52. Further, if an
image display apparatus such as a television receiver (not shown)
or the like is connected to the audio/video output terminal 30,
the image of the final frame is displayed on the television receiver
or the like.
Subsequently, depressing the left key 40 causes a frame to be fed
in the opposite direction, and depressing the right key 42 causes
a frame to be fed in the forward direction. A preceding or next
frame instructed through the key operation to be fed is reproduced
and displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 52. When the forward
frame feeding instruction is given while the final frame is being
displayed, the first frame (leading frame) is displayed. When the
reverse frame feeding instruction is given while the first frame
(leading frame) is being displayed, the final frame is displayed.
If the file to be reproduced is an animated image file, the leading
frame (first frame) of the animated image is displayed as a representative
image. The on screen display of this screen allows the acceptance
of an instruction to start reproducing the animated image.
When the display key 50 is depressed twice while a normal screen
(on screen display present) for one-frame reproduction is being
displayed, the camera is switched to the multi-reproduction mode.
FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) show an example of display for multi-reproduction.
The multi-reproduction is a display form in which all the image
files in the recording medium 72 are partitioned into sets of nine
frames in the order of photographing starting with the leading frame
and in which the image contents of the nine frames are displayed
in the corresponding screens at a time. The images of the nine frames
constitute a multi-reproduction image for one page, and the display
screen is switched on a page-by-page basis.
When the total number of image files stored in the recording medium
is not a multiple of nine, the final page contains less than nine
screens. For example, if the total number of image files (frames)
is 24, the multi-reproduction screen containing the final frame
is as shown in FIG. 4(B), and nothing is displayed in display areas
containing no frames to be displayed (black screen). The image in
the center of the top stage of FIG. 4(B) is the representative image
of the animated image file and is shown to be smaller than the still
images so as to discriminate itself from still image files.
When the one-frame reproduction mode is switched to the multi-reproduction
mode, a nine-screen multi-reproduction image is displayed which
containing the image (selected image) that was displayed during
the one-frame reproduction, with the selected frame enclosed by
a frame line 80. FIG. 4(A) shows that the frame in the center of
the bottom stage is selected, and FIG. 4(B) shows that the frame
(final image) in the center of the middle stage is selected. The
frame line 80 hereinafter referred to as "cursor" corresponds
to a cursor specifying a selected target, and can be moved rightward,
leftward, upward, and downward by operating the left key 40, the
right key 42, or the up/down lever 44.
The left key 40 can be used to give an instruction for one-frame
reverse feeding, the right key 42 can be used to give an instruction
for one-frame forward feeding, the up/down lever 44 can be operated
upward (this operation will be hereinafter referred to as "depression
of an up key") to give an instruction for three-frame reverse
feeding, and the up/down lever 44 can be operated downward (this
operation will be hereinafter referred to as "depression of
a down key") to give an instruction for three-frame forward
feeding. Near the cursor 80, a triangular mark 82 indicating that
an instruction for movement using the left key 40, the right key
42, or the up/down key 44 is accepted.
When the down key is depressed while the cursor is at the position
shown in FIG. 4(A), the nine-screen multi-reproduction image for
the next page is displayed. At this time, the cursor 80 may be moved
to the position of the three-frame forward feeding in accordance
with the above described rule or to the leading image (at the leftmost
position of the top stage) in that page. Furthermore, in contrast
with this, when the up key is depressed while the cursor is positioned
on the image at the leftmost position, the nine-screen multi-reproduction
image for the last page is displayed. At this time, the cursor 80
may be moved to the position of the three-frame backward feeding
in accordance with the above described rule or to the last image
(at the rightmost position of the bottom stage) in that page.
Thus, frame images beyond which the page of the nine-screen multi-reproduction
image is switched are called "page boundary frames". In
FIG. 4(B), the three images in the top or bottom stage are the page
boundary frames. A leading page and a final page are contiguous
to each other in a cyclic manner so that when the instruction for
the forward frame feeding is inputted from the final page, the nine-screen
multi-reproduction screen for the leading page appears. In FIG.
4(B), the images in the middle stage are also the page boundary
frames. In contrast, when the instruction for the reverse frame
feeding is inputted from the page boundary frames in the top stage
of the final page, the multi-reproduction screen for the final page
appears.
Now, the image size will be described in brief. For the digital
camera 10, the number of pixels used to record a still image can
be selected from three types including "2400.times.1800",
"1280.times.960", and "640.times.480". Further,
a compression rate (quality) can be selected from "Fine",
"Normal", and "Basic" so as to correspond to
the selected number of pixels. As already described, the Exif file
has not only the main image but also the thumbnail image. The thumbnail
image has a specified size (in this example, 160.times.120) regardless
of the image size of the main image. Furthermore, the liquid crystal
monitor 52 has a resolution of "320.times.240", and a
television receiver connected to the audio/video output terminal
30 has a most common resolution of "640.times.480". To
display an image on the liquid crystal monitor 52 or the television
receiver, processing for properly adjusting the image size is required.
Next, a reproduction function of the digital camera 10 constructed
as described above will be described. FIGS. 5 to 7 are flow charts
showing a control procedure for the reproduction mode. When the
reproduction mode is selected to start a process in the reproduction
mode (step S500), the microcomputer 60 accesses the recording medium
72 to read out the main image data from the image file of the final
frame (step S510). The read-out compressed data is decompressed
and adjusted to an image size suitable for display (step S512).
Thus, one frame of the final frame image is displayed on the liquid
crystal monitor 52 (step S514).
Then, even if the user does not give the instruction for the forward
or reverse frame feeding, the microcomputer 60 beforehand reads
out the image file of the frame before or after the currently displayed
one beforehand (the leading frame is read out instead of the next
frame while the final frame is being displayed, and the final frame
is read out instead of the preceding frame while the leading frame
is being displayed) from the recording medium 72 (step S516). The
compressed data on the read-out preceding or next frame is decompressed
and adjusted to the image size suitable for display (step S518).
The adjusted data is then stored in the memory 66 (step S520).
Subsequently, the microcomputer 60 determines whether or not the
reproduction mode has been turned off (step S522). When the mode
dial 38 is rotated to switch to the photographing or movie mode,
the reproduction mode is turned off (the result of the determination
is affirmative) to end the control of the reproduction mode (step
S524). On the other hand, when the reproduction mode is maintained
at step S522 (the result of the determination is negative), the
process proceeds to step S526 to determine whether or not the instruction
for the multi-reproduction has been given.
When the instruction to switch to the multi-reproduction and display
mode has not been given (the result of the determination is negative),
the process proceeds to step S528. At this step, it is determined
whether or not the instruction for the forward or reverse feeding
has been given. When the instruction for the forward or reverse
frame feeding has not been given (the result of the determination
is negative), the process returns to step S522.
On the other hand, at step S528, when the user operates the left
key 40 or the right key 42 to give the instruction for the frame
feeding, the result of the determination is affirmative. In this
case, the frames are fed in the forward or reverse direction in
accordance with the given instruction to change the image to be
displayed (step S530). Since the image to be displayed is held in
the memory 66 at step S520, the image of the next frame (or the
preceding frame) is displayed immediately after the instruction
for the frame feeding has been give (step S532). Subsequently, the
process returns to step S516 to beforehand read out the frame before
or after the currently displayed one as a reference.
For example, while the final frame (N-th frame) is being displayed,
the preceding frame ((N-1)-th frame) and the leading frame (first
frame) have already been expanded and held in the memory 66 by preceding
reading. In this state, when the instruction for the reverse frame
feeding is given, the data on the (N-1)-th frame is read out from
the memory 66 and reproduced and displayed on the liquid crystal
monitor 52. When the (N-1)-th frame is reproduced and displayed,
beforehand read data (in this case, the first frame) that is not
contiguous to the frame being displayed is omitted from the memory
66, and instead the data on the preceding frame ((N-2)-th frame)
is beforehand read out from the recording medium 72 and then expanded
and held in the memory 66. Further, the presently displaying frame,
which is next to the currently displayed one ((N-1)-th frame), has
already been saved to the memory 66, and thus need not be read out
from the recording medium 72.
In this manner, the preceding reads are executed so that one frame
image being displayed and the frame images before and after it are
held in the memory 66. Then, in response to the instruction for
the frame feeding, the image to be displayed is instantaneously
displayed, and the contents held in the memory 66 are updated.
At step S526, when the instruction to switch to the multi-reproduction
and display mode is given (the result of the determination is affirmative),
that is, if the display key 50 is depressed twice during the one-frame
display (on screen display present) or the display key 50 is depressed
once during the one-frame display (on screen display absent), the
process jumps to step S610, shown in FIG. 6.
At step S610, thumbnail data is read out from each file in the
recording medium 72. In this case, thumbnail data is read out which
is required to display the nine-screen multi-reproduction image
containing the frame displaying one frame when the instruction for
the multi-reproduction was given. For animated image files, the
data on the leading frame, which is a representative image, is read
out. As in still image files, the thumbnail image of the leading
frame may be stored in the animated image file or recorded in a
separate file as an image for display.
The thumbnail data read out at step S610 has its size adjusted
and is then arranged in a predetermined form (in this example, a
square arrangement of 3.times.3 frames) (step S612). The data is
then displayed on the liquid crystal monitor 52 as a nine-screen
multi-reproduction image (step S614). Then, the current cursor position
is detected (step S616), and it is determined whether or not the
selected frame is at a page boundary of the multi-reproduction image
(step S618). If the page boundary frame has been selected (the result
of the determination is affirmative), a thumbnail image is beforehand
read out which is required to display the multi-reproduction image
for the adjacent page (step S620). The image has its size adjusted
and is properly arranged (step S622), and the resulting data on
the multi-reproduction image is held in the memory 66 (step S624).
Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S626 to determine whether
or nor the instruction to move the cursor has been given. If the
result of determination at step S618 is negative, the process proceeds
to step S626 by omitting steps S620 to S624.
When it is determined at step S626 that the instruction to move
the cursor has been given (the result of the determination is affirmative),
the process proceeds to step S710, shown in FIG. 7. At this step
S710, it is determined whether or not the given instruction to move
the cursor requires the page for the multi-reproduction image to
be moved. If the page must be moved (the result of the determination
is affirmative), the process proceeds to step S712 to change the
multi-reproduction image to be displayed. Since the newly displayed
multi-reproduction image is held in the memory 66 at step S624 described
in FIG. 6, the multi-reproduction image for the next page (or the
preceding page) is displayed immediately after the instruction to
move the cursor has been given (step S714).
At step S710, if the page of the multi-reproduction image need
not be moved (the result of the determination is negative), the
process branches to step S716 to determine whether or not the cursor
is located at the page boundary after the movement. If the selected
frame is at the page boundary (the result of the determination is
affirmative), a thumbnail image is beforehand read out which is
required to display the multi-reproduction image for the adjacent
page (step S718). The image has its size adjusted and is properly
arranged (step S720), and the resulting data on the multi-reproduction
image is held in the memory 66 (step S722).
Subsequently, the process proceeds to step S724. Further, when
the frame at the page boundary has not been selected at step S716
the result of the determination is negative or after step S714 has
been completed, the process proceeds to step S724. At this step
S724, the data on the main image, that is, the target image shown
by the current cursor position, is beforehand read out from the
recording medium 72. The compressed data on the preceding read-out
target image is decompressed and adjusted to the image size suitable
for display (step S726). The adjusted data is then held in the memory
66 to allow for the input of the instruction for the one-frame display
(step S728). After step S728, the process shifts to step S626, shown
in FIG. 6.
If it is determined at step S626 that the instruction to move the
cursor has not been given (the result of the determination is negative),
the process proceeds to step S628. At this step, it is determined
whether or not the instruction to switch to the one-frame reproduction
and display mode has been given. When the display key 50 is depressed
once while the multi-reproduction image is being displayed, the
result of the determination at step S628 is affirmative, and the
process branches to step S630. At step S630, one frame image of
the target frame image shown by the current cursor position is displayed.
Since the data on the displayed image is held in the memory 66 at
step S728, described in FIG. 7, or at step S514 or S532 in FIG.
5 if the mode has been returned to the one-frame reproduction without
changing the selected image on the multi-reproduction screen, the
corresponding frame can be instantaneously reproduced after the
instruction to switch to the one-frame reproduction mode has been
inputted.
After the one-frame reproduction process shown at step S630 in
FIG. 6, the process shifts to step S528, shown in FIG. 5. On the
other hand, if it is determined at step S628 in FIG. 6 that instruction
to switch to the one-frame reproduction and display mode has not
been given (the result of the determination is negative), it is
determined whether or not the reproduction mode has been turned
off (step S632). If it is determined at step S632 that the reproduction
mode is maintained (the result of the determination is negative),
the process returns to step S626 to repeat the above described process.
On the other hand, if it is determined at step S632 that the mode
dial 38 has been rotated to switch to the photographing or movie
mode, reproduction mode is turned off (the result of the determination
is affirmative), the control of the reproduction mode is ended (step
S640).
According to the digital camera 10 according to this embodiment,
before the user inputs the instruction for the frame feeding, the
image data is read out from the recording medium 72, subjected to
the decompression process or the like, and held in the memory 66
in order to allow for the input of this instruction. This reduces
the time required after the user has actually given the instruction
for the frame feeding or the like and before the target image is
displayed.
As a variation of the above described embodiment, the range subjected
to the leading read can be changed. For example, all the thumbnail
images stored in the recording medium 72 may be beforehand read
and held in the memory 66. Further, when the memory 66 has a sufficiently
large storage capacity, all the main images or all the main and
thumbnail images may be beforehand read, expanded, and held in the
memory 66.
Furthermore, during the preceding read, the image size may be automatically
adjusted depending on the resolution of the image display apparatus
connected to the camera via the audio/video output terminal 30 so
that data of the image size suitable for the resolution of the output
destination can be saved to the memory 66. A device which automatically
recognizes the type of the image display apparatus of the output
destination, may be added, or the type or resolution may be inputted
using a predetermined operation device such as a key input.
In the above described embodiment, the digital camera has been
illustrated, but an image reproducing apparatus having no image
pickup function can also reduce the reproduction time by including
a reproduction function similar to that described above.
As described above, according to the present invention, before
the user inputs the instruction for the sequential or reverse frame
feeding using the instructing device, the image data is beforehand
read out from the recording medium, decompressed, and held in the
storage device inside the camera as the prepared images for display.
This reduces the time required to access the recording medium and
execute the decompression process when the user has inputted the
instruction for the frame feeding. This in turn reduces the waiting
time for the reproduction and display, thereby enabling the user
to promptly check the reproduced image.
It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to
limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the
contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternate
constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope
of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. |