KR100627068B1 - Apparatus and method for camera operation that can save selected multiple images as one image - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for operating a digital camera, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for operating a camera capable of storing a plurality of selected images as a single image. A camera operating method capable of storing a plurality of selected images as a single image includes (a) selecting a plurality of images to be bundled into one sheet, and (b) signaling the images as a single image according to a predetermined storage method and resolution. Processing and storing. According to the present invention, by combining and storing the images or related images to be managed after the user bundles and stores them among a plurality of images already taken, creating an effect of avoiding unnecessary editing or indexing.

Description

Apparatus and method for operating camera it will be able to store a number of images which are selected with one image}

1 is a perspective view showing the front appearance of a digital camera.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a rear outline of the digital camera of FIG. 1.

3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the digital camera shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera operating apparatus capable of storing a plurality of selected images according to the present invention as a single image.

5A-E are diagrams illustrating a screen for storing a plurality of images selected in FIG. 4 as one image.

6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a camera operating method capable of storing a plurality of selected images according to the present invention as a single image.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for operating a digital camera, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for operating a camera that can store a plurality of selected images as a single image.

With the development of digital technology, a new type of camera using a digital signal, i.e., the image of a subject is stored in memory as a digital signal represented by 0 and 1 so that the stored image can be directly connected to the computer without developing, printing, or scanning. Portable digital cameras have been developed and are rapidly spreading.

A digital camera converts an electric image signal of a subject into a digital signal using an imaging device such as a CCD and stores the digital signal of the photographed subject in a memory by a compression / restore operation of the digital signal, or through an output device. Output the data.

Accordingly, a digital camera that performs a photographing operation of a subject according to the above principle stores image data of a photographed subject on a memory card or the like which stores data without using a separate film as in a conventional general camera.

Therefore, instead of purchasing a film and performing a shooting operation for a predetermined number of shots, and storing the film in a film lab and finding a photograph taken a few hours later, the video signals recorded on the memory card mounted by the operation of the digital camera are sequentially processed. The user can use the captured image data by connecting it to a computer.

That is, the image data can be output to a monitor of a computer, so that the captured image can be immediately checked without a separate developing operation, and the editing operation can be executed as desired, such as easily enlarging or transforming the captured digital image. Therefore, even if the photographed state is not good, you can edit it to your liking by modifying it as you like.

These digital cameras generally store one cut in one image when shooting an image.As a specialized technique, a multi-shot, two-shot image that outputs images as 16 images on one screen in a different way is used. There is a method of composing to the left / right part of an image, or a method in which a wide width image is stored in one image when a wide width image does not fit in one cut.

However, the function of combining and storing the images or related images that the user wants to manage after storing them in bundles among the already taken images is not implemented.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for operating a camera that can select a plurality of images to be stored as a single image.

In order to solve the above technical problem to be solved by the present invention, a camera operating apparatus capable of storing a plurality of selected images as a single image is configured to perform signal processing according to a predetermined storage method when a plurality of images to be bundled are selected. It is preferable to include a signal processing means for storing the image of the chapter.

In the present invention, the signal processing means includes an image changing unit for changing the resolution of the selected image based on the image having the lowest resolution; An image arranging unit arranging the images whose resolution has been changed in an order of selection; And an image processor which decompresses the selected images and provides them to the image changing unit, and processes and compresses the changed images according to a selected storage method and resolution and stores them as a single image.

In the present invention, the image processor is characterized in that for storing the image in which the resolution is changed in a horizontal storage method, vertical storage method or a split screen storage method.

In order to solve the above technical problem to be solved by the present invention, a method of operating a camera capable of storing a plurality of selected images as a single image includes: (a) selecting a plurality of images to be bundled into one sheet; And (b) signal processing and storing the images into a single image according to a predetermined storage method and resolution.

In the present invention, after the step (a) it is characterized in that to change the resolution of the selected image on the basis of the image having the lowest resolution.

In the present invention, after the step (a), characterized in that for arranging the images with the resolution changed in the selected order.

In the present invention, in step (b), the images whose resolution is changed are stored in a horizontal storage method, a vertical storage method, or a split screen storage method.

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

1 is a perspective view showing the front appearance of a typical digital camera.

Referring to FIG. 1, in front of a general digital camera, a microphone (MIC), a self-timer lamp 11, a flash 12, a shutter 13, a mode dial 14, a function-selection key 15, There is a shooting-information display section 16, a viewfinder 17a, a function-block key 18, a flash-light amount sensor 19, a lens section 20, and an external interface section 21.

In the self-timer mode, the self-timer lamp 11 operates for a set time from the time when the shutter 13 is pressed to the time when the shutter 13 operates.

The mode dial 14 is used to select and set various modes, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, a playback mode, a computer connection mode, and a system setting mode.

The function-selection key 15 is used for the user to select any one of operation modes of the digital camera, for example, a still image shooting mode, a night view shooting mode, a moving picture shooting mode, and a playback mode.

The shooting-information display section 16 displays information of each function related to shooting. The function-block key 18 is used for the user to select each function displayed on the shooting-information display unit 16.

FIG. 2 is a rear view illustrating a rear shape of the digital camera illustrated in FIG. 1.

2, behind the conventional digital camera, a speaker SP, a power key 31, a monitor key 32, an auto-focus lamp 33, a viewfinder 17b, and a flash standby lamp 34 ), Display panel (LCD) 35, exposure compensation / deletion key 36, enter / playback key 37, menu / OK key (38), wide angle-zoom key (39w) , Telephoto-zoom key 39t, up-move key 40up, right-move key 40ri, down-move key 40lo, and left-move key 40le, Playback key 42 have.

The monitor key 32 is used by the user to control the operation of the display panel (LCD) 35. For example, when the user presses the monitor key 32 first, an image of the subject and photographing information thereof are displayed on the display panel 35, and when the user presses a second time, only the image of the subject is displayed on the display panel 35. When pressed for the third time, power applied to the display panel 35 is cut off.

The auto-focus lamp 33 operates when the auto focusing operation is completed.

The flash standby lamp 34 operates when the flash (12 in FIG. 1) is in standby for operation.

The exposure compensation / deletion key 36 is used as a deletion key in the process of adjusting the amount of light or manually setting each mode when the digital camera is manually operated.

The enter / playback key 37 is used for inputting data from the user or for a function such as stopping or playing in the playback mode.

The menu / OK key 38 is used to display and select the menu of the mode selected in the mode dial 14.

The up-movement key 40up, the right-movement key 40ri, the down-movement key 40lo, and the left-movement key 40le are used in the process of setting each mode by the user, and are displayed in the image displayed on the display panel 35. It is used to change location in.

The playback mode key 42 is used to check and manipulate the last photographed image, video or audio information.

3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the digital camera shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The optical system OPS including the lens unit 20 optically processes light from a subject. The lens unit 20 of the optical system OPS includes a zoom lens ZL, a focus lens FL, and a compensation lens CL.

When the user presses the wide angle-zoom key (39w in FIG. 2) or telephoto-zoom key (39t in FIG. 2) included in the user input unit INP, a corresponding signal is transmitted to the microcontroller 512. Is entered. Accordingly, as the microcontroller 512 controls the lens driver 510, the zoom motor MZ is driven to move the zoom lens ZL. That is, when the wide angle-zoom key (39w in FIG. 2) is pressed, the focal length of the zoom lens ZL is shortened to widen the angle of view, and when the telephoto-zoom key 39t is pressed. The focal length of the zoom lens ZL becomes long and the angle of view becomes narrow.

Reference numeral MA denotes a motor for driving an aperture (not shown). Here, the rotation angle of the aperture drive motor MA is changed depending on the case of the designated exposure mode and the case of not. The designated exposure mode refers to a mode for setting the exposure amount of the digital camera to the average brightness of the designated detection area when the desired area of the target area matches the designated detection area displayed on the display panel 35 of the digital camera. Say.

A photoelectric converter (OEC) 500 of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts light from an optical system (OPS) into an electrical analog signal. Here, the digital signal processor 507 controls the timing circuit 502 to control the operations of the photoelectric converter OEC and the analog-digital converter 501. The CDS-ADC (Correlation Double Sampler and Analog-to-Digital Converter) element 501 as an analog-to-digital converter processes the analog signal from the photoelectric converter (OEC), removes the high frequency noise, and adjusts the amplitude. After that, it is converted into a digital signal. The digital signal processor 507 processes the digital signal from the CDS-ADC element 501 to generate a digital image signal classified into luminance and chroma signals.

The light emitting portion LAMP driven by the microcontroller 512 includes a self-timer lamp 11, an auto-focus lamp (33 in FIG. 2) and a flash standby lamp (34 in FIG. 2).

The user input unit INP includes a shutter (13 in Fig. 1), a mode dial (14 in Fig. 1), a function-selection key (15 in Fig. 1), a function-block key (18 in Fig. 1), a monitor key (Fig. 2 of 32), OK / Delete key (36 in FIG. 2), Enter / Playback key (37 in FIG. 2), Menu / OK key (38 in FIG. 2), Wide-Zoom key (39w in FIG. 2), Tele- It includes a zoom key (39t in FIG. 2), an up-shift key (40up in FIG. 2), a right-shift key (40ri in FIG. 2), a down-shift key (40lo in FIG. 2), and a left-shift key (40le in FIG. 2). .

The digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 is temporarily stored in the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) 504. The EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) 505 stores algorithms and setting data necessary for the operation of the digital signal processor 507.

The memory card of the user is attached to or detached from the memory card interface 506.

The digital image signal from the digital signal processor 507 is input to the LCD driver 514, whereby the image is displayed on the color LCD panel 35, that is, the display unit.

On the other hand, the digital video signal from the digital signal processor 507 can be transmitted by serial communication via a universal serial bus (USB) connection 21a or an RS232C interface 508 and its connection 21b, and a video filter ( 509 and the video output unit 21c can be transmitted as a video signal.

The audio processor 513 outputs the audio signal from the microphone MIC to the digital signal processor 507 or the speaker SP, and outputs the audio signal from the digital signal processor 507 to the speaker SP.

On the other hand, the flash 12 is driven through the microcontroller 512 and the flash controller 511 according to the signal from the flash-light amount sensor 19.

4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a camera operating apparatus capable of storing a plurality of selected images according to the present invention as a single image. The SDRAM 504, the digital signal processor 507, the microcontroller 512, and the external / An internal storage unit 515, a display panel 35, and a user input unit INP are included. In the present invention, the digital signal processor 507 includes an image changing unit 507-1, an image arranging unit 507-2, and an image processing unit 507-3.

The microcontroller 512 provides a thumbnail menu for image selection, and the user selects images to be bundled into one sheet from the thumbnail menu. 5A shows a thumbnail screen divided into 16 screens provided by the microcontroller 512 for image selection. The user selects images to be bundled into one of them. For example, assume that thumbnail images 5 and 11 are selected.

The external / internal storage unit 515 stores an image captured by the user. If the digital camera is equipped with a memory card (not shown), the memory card is an external / internal storage unit 515, and if the digital camera is not equipped with a memory card, the internal memory (not shown) is an external / internal storage It becomes the part 515. The captured image is stored in the external / internal storage unit 515 in file units. The image file includes a file header corresponding to the captured image, a full screen image having a set size (resolution), thumbnail image, other information, and file tag. It includes. In this case, since the photographed images may be photographed with their respective photographing setting values different, the selected images may have different resolutions.

When the thumbnail image to be bundled by the user is selected, the image processing unit 507-3 retrieves the selected image JPEG from the outer / internal storage unit 515, decompresses it, and processes it as a YCbCr image. For example, the image processor 507-3 decompresses the full screen image 5 corresponding to the thumbnail 5 and the full screen image 11 corresponding to the thumbnail 11.

The image changing unit 507-2 changes the resolution of the decompressed image YCbCr based on the image having the lowest resolution. For example, when the resolution of image 5 is 640 × 480 and the resolution of image 11 is 1024 × 768, the image changing unit 507-2 may determine the resolution of image 11 based on the resolution of image 5 Change it to 640 × 480.

The image arranging unit 507-1 arranges the full screen image of which the resolution output from the image changing unit 507-2 is changed in the SDRAM 504 in the selected order. Images may be placed in the SDRAM 504 in the order selected using the selected thumbnail image number or file name as an identifier.

The microcontroller 512 provides a storage setting menu for storing selected images as a single image and a resolution setting menu as a submenu of the storage method menu, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 5B. The storage method menu provided by the microcontroller 512 includes a horizontal storage method, a vertical storage method, and a split screen storage method. The horizontal storage method stores the selected images horizontally, the vertical storage method stores the selected images vertically, and the split screen storage method stores the selected images as split screens. The split screen storage method is divided into 4 divisions, 9 divisions, or 16 divisions according to the number of selected images.

The image processing unit 507-3 processes the selected YCbCr images output from the SDRAM 504 into horizontal, vertical, or split screen images according to the storage method selected by the user and the resolution thereof, and compresses them into JPEG images to compress the SDRAM. Store at 504.

The microcontroller 512 then stores one image stored in the SDRAM 504 in the internal / external memory 515.

5C is a view showing a single image displayed on the display panel 35 when the vertical storage menu and the resolution thereof are selected. Stored. FIG. 5D is a view illustrating one image displayed on the display panel 35 when the horizontal storage menu and the resolution thereof are selected. Images 5 and 11 are processed and stored as one image according to the horizontal method. do. FIG. 5E is a diagram illustrating a single image displayed on the display panel 35 when the split screen storage method menu and the resolution thereof are selected, and images 5 and 11 are processed as one image according to the split screen method. And stored.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a camera operating method capable of storing a plurality of selected images according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and selecting images to be bundled into one sheet from the thumbnail screen shown in FIG. 5A (step 600). . A plurality of images may be selected using the up-move key 40up, the right-move key 40ri, the down-move key 40lo, the left-move key 40le, and the menu / OK key 38 of the user input unit.

When the thumbnail images to be bundled into one sheet are selected, the image processing unit 507-3 decompresses the selected image JPEG from the outer / internal storage unit 515 and processes it as a YCbCr image, and the image changing unit 507-2. In operation 602, the resolution of the decompressed image YCbCr is changed based on the image having the lowest resolution. For example, if the resolution of image 5 is 640 × 480 and the resolution of image 11 is 1024 × 768, the image changing unit 507-2 may determine the resolution of image 11 based on the resolution of image 5 Change it to 640 × 480.

Thereafter, the image arranging unit 507-1 arranges the full screen image of which the resolution output from the image changing unit 507-2 is changed in the SDRAM 504 in the selected order (step 604). Images may be placed in the SDRAM 504 in the order selected using the selected thumbnail image number or file name as an identifier.

The storage method menu provided by the microcontroller 512 includes a horizontal storage method, a vertical storage method, and a split screen storage method as shown in FIG. 5B, and each storage method has a menu for setting the resolution as a submenu.

When the horizontal storage menu and the corresponding resolution are selected to store the selected images in a horizontal manner (step 606), the image processor 507-3 loads the selected images from the SDRAM 504 and selects them according to the horizontal method and the selected resolution. The image is processed into a chapter image and then compressed (step 608). In Fig. 5D, one image is shown processed horizontally.

When the vertical storage menu and the corresponding resolution are selected to store the selected images in a vertical manner (step 610), the image processing unit 507-3 may select one image according to the vertical and the selected resolution from the SDRAM 504. After processing, the process is compressed (step 612). In Fig. 5C, one image is shown processed horizontally.

When the split screen method storage menu and the resolution thereof are selected to store the selected images in the split screen method (step 614), the image processor 507-3 loads the selected images from the SDRAM 504 to display the split screen method and the selected resolution. The image is processed into a single image and then compressed (Step 616). 5E shows a single image processed in a horizontal manner.

Images processed and compressed by the selected storage method and resolution are stored back in the SDRAM 504 and then stored in the external / internal storage 515 by the microcontroller 512 (step 618).

So far I looked at the center of the preferred embodiment for the present invention. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in a modified form without departing from the essential features 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 in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the scope will be construed as being included in the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, by combining and storing the images or related images that the user wants to manage after storing them in a bundle among the already taken images, creating an effect of avoiding unnecessary editing or indexing. do.

Claims (7)

When a plurality of images to be bundled into one sheet is selected, the signal processing means for changing the resolution of the selected image based on the image having the lowest resolution, arranged in the order of selection, compression signal processing to store as a single image Camera operation device that can save selected images as a single image. The method of claim 1, wherein the signal processing means An image changing unit which changes the resolution of the selected images based on the image having the lowest resolution; And An image arranging unit arranging the images whose resolution has been changed in a selection order; Decompressing the selected images to provide to the image changer, and the image processing unit for processing the signal and compresses the changed image according to the selected storage method and resolution to save as a single image comprising a plurality of selected images Camera operation unit that can be saved as a single image. The method of claim 2, wherein the image processing unit And storing the selected multiple images as a single image, wherein the images having the changed resolution are stored in a horizontal storage method, a vertical storage method, or a split screen storage method. (a) selecting a plurality of images to be bundled into a sheet; (b) changing the resolution of the selected images based on the image with the lowest resolution; (c) arranging the images having the changed resolution in the selected order; And and (d) compressing and processing the arranged images into a single image, and storing the plurality of selected images as a single image. delete delete The method of claim 4, wherein in step (d) And storing the selected images as a single image, wherein the images are stored in a horizontal storage method, a vertical storage method, or a split screen storage method.

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