JP4600565B2 - Digital camera - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera and a storage medium thereof.

  In a digital camera, an exchangeable storage medium such as a memory card is inserted, and image information is stored in the storage medium. However, the capacity and cost of the storage medium are not satisfactory.

  In particular, the cost of a rewritable storage medium is large, and it has been proposed to provide a storage medium that can be written only once at a low price.

  In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a digital camera and a storage medium that can be used without being confused by a user even when a rewritable storage medium and a storage medium that can be written only once are mixed. There is.

To solve the above problems, the present invention is insertable insertion part a storage medium, the type of the inserted the storage medium to the insertion portion is the write-once storage medium which can remove a stored image a detection unit for detecting whether or not to reproduce an image pickup unit, a recording control unit for storing the image captured by the imaging unit in the storage medium, the image recorded in the storage medium by the recording control unit A display mode, a shooting mode in which an image is captured by the imaging unit, and the captured image is stored in the storage medium by the recording control unit, and a playback mode in which the image stored in the storage medium is played back by the display unit An operation unit for switching between, a deletion instruction unit for instructing deletion of an image stored in the storage medium in the reproduction mode, and an image recorded on the storage medium in the reproduction mode. A protection setting unit for setting protection against a deletion instruction by the deletion instruction unit; and a protection for instructing release of the protection setting for an image for which protection setting for the deletion instruction has been made by the protection setting unit in the playback mode. A release unit; and a protection release invalidation processing unit that invalidates the protection setting release instruction by the protection release unit in the playback mode . When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium, in the shooting mode, the protection setting unit protects the deletion instruction for the image captured by the imaging unit. The recording control unit records the image captured by the imaging unit on the recording medium as the image with the protection setting. In the playback mode, the protection release invalidation processing unit sets the protection setting to When the protection setting cancellation instruction is given to the image that has been made, the cancellation instruction is invalidated . As a result, the user can avoid various confusions based on the misidentification of the inserted storage medium. Specifically, an image stored in a write-once storage medium ( second storage medium ) that can delete an image that has been misidentified as a rewritable storage medium ( first storage medium ) is instructed to be deleted. Can be prevented. In addition, according to this configuration, the second storage medium can be basically configured in common with the rewritable storage medium except that the performance guarantee for repeated rewriting is lacking. Also, invalid and protect release unit for an image and deletable state stored in the state in which the protect setting is made for the deletion instruction, the instruction unprotect portion when the detecting unit detects the second storage medium in the storage unit to have a and unprotect invalid processing unit to be. Thus, in the second storage medium, the image in a state in which the protect setting for deletion instruction is given is stored, thereby enabling accidentally delete an image the user has been stored in the second storage medium that put away can be prevented.

According to another feature of the present invention, when the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium, an invalid processing unit that invalidates the deletion instruction by the deletion instruction unit in the playback mode. There is further provided a digital camera. As a result, it is possible to prevent the image that is mistakenly identified as the first storage medium and stored in the second storage medium from being deleted.

According to another feature of the present invention, there is provided a digital camera further including a display change processing unit that changes the display of the display unit in the playback mode according to the type of the detected storage medium . As a result, instructions that cause confusion can be excluded from the display unit in advance, and the necessary instructions for the first storage medium and the second storage medium can be definitely given. As a specific example of making the display different, the deletion instruction display is not displayed on the display unit when the detection unit detects the second storage medium. Further, when the detection unit detects the second storage medium, the protection release instruction display is not displayed on the display unit. Furthermore, when the detection unit detects the second storage medium, a deletion instruction dedicated to the second storage medium may be displayed on the display unit.

  Detailed features of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments of the present invention described below with reference to the drawings.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital camera 1 has a card slot 2 that serves as an insertion portion for a storage medium composed of a memory card. A normal rewritable storage medium 3 or a write-once storage medium 4 that can be written only once can be inserted into the card slot 2. FIG. 1 shows a state where the write-once storage medium 4 is inserted.

  The digital camera 1 is controlled by the control / processing unit 5, and selects a shooting mode or a playback mode with the operation unit 7 while looking at the menu of the LCD display unit 6. When the photographing mode is selected, an optical image from a lens (not shown) is repeatedly converted into an electronic image signal by the imaging unit 8 having an image sensor of about 3 million images. Until the shutter release is performed, thinning-out reading is performed from the imaging unit 8 under the control of the control / processing unit 5, which is digitally converted into thinned-out image data by the A / D conversion unit 9, and sent to the control / processing unit 5. Sent. The control / processing unit 5 converts the thinned image data into display image data and sends it to the display buffer 10. Since the imaging unit 8 repeatedly performs imaging, the thinned image data is also repeatedly sent to the control / processing unit 5, and the display buffer 10 is rewritten one after another by new display image data. Thus, an image repeatedly picked up by the image pickup unit 8 is monitored as a moving image by the LCD display unit 6, and the LCD display unit 6 functions as a viewfinder of the digital camera.

  When the shutter release button is pressed in the operation unit 7, the readout from the imaging unit 8 becomes the all-pixel readout under the control of the control / processing unit 5, and this is digitally converted by the A / D conversion unit 9. The digital data in this state is called raw data because it is raw data output from the image sensor of the imaging unit 8. The raw data from the A / D converter 9 is sent to the raw data one buffer 11 and temporarily stored. When the storage of the raw data is completed, the reading of the imaging unit 8 returns to the thinning-out reading, and the moving image monitoring by the LCD display unit 6 is resumed.

  The raw data buffer 11 has a capacity of about 10 images, and can store up to about 10 images according to the operation of the shutter release button. In the normal case, the raw data stored in the raw data one buffer 11 by the operation of the shutter release button is immediately sent to the control / processing unit 5 and subjected to processing processing such as interpolation and white balance adjustment and compression processing. Thereafter, the data is stored in the write-once storage medium 4 via the card slot 2. When the storage is completed and the confirmation is made, the Raw data transmitted to the control / processing unit 5 is deleted from the raw data one buffer 11 or overwritten.

The capacity of about 10 images in the raw data buffer 11 is such that, in continuous shooting or the like, when the next image is captured before the processing of one image in the control / processing unit 5 is completed, a plurality of raw data is stored. It is for saving at the same time.
The remaining capacity of the write-once storage medium 4 is displayed on the LCD display unit 6. When the remaining capacity is exhausted, the LCD display unit 6 displays a message for prompting medium replacement on the LCD display unit. In accordance with this, the user replaces the storage medium with a new one. The stored image may be taken out from the digital camera 1 in addition to taking out the write-once storage medium 4 and holding the write-once storage medium 4 in the card slot 2 and taking out the digital input / output terminal 12 with a digital communication cable. Is possible.

  The operation when the rewritable storage medium 3 is inserted into the card slot 2 instead of the write-once storage medium 4 is substantially the same as described above. However, in this case, an unnecessary image can be confirmed on the LCD display unit 6 and can be deleted on the operation unit 7. As described above, in the case of the rewritable storage medium 3, even when there is no remaining capacity, a new capacity can be secured by deleting unnecessary images.

  On the other hand, in the case of the write-once storage medium 4, when there is no remaining capacity as described above, it is necessary to replace the storage medium with a new one. In order not to cause confusion for the user regarding this difference in use, it is clear whether the LCD display unit 6 is a write-once storage medium 4 or a rewritable storage medium inserted in the card slot 2 Is displayed.

  FIG. 2 is a main flowchart of the operation of the control / processing unit 5 in the embodiment of FIG. When the power is turned on by the operation unit 7, the digital camera 1 starts up in the recording mode in step S1. In step S2, it is checked whether or not a storage medium is inserted into the card slot 2. If there is a storage medium, the attribute information is input from the storage medium via the connector of the card slot 2 in step S2. The attribute information is information such as the type and capacity of the storage medium, and includes information on whether the storage medium 4 is the write-once storage medium 4 or the rewritable storage medium 3.

  In step S4, it is checked whether the write-once storage medium 4 is inserted into the card slot 2 based on the input attribute information. If it is the write-once storage medium 4, the process proceeds to step S5, and the LCD display unit 6 displays that it is the write-once storage medium 4. This display continues as long as the power is on.

  In step S6, deletion instruction invalidation processing is performed. In the case of the rewritable storage medium 3, an image deletion instruction can be issued, but the deletion instruction invalidation process in step S 6 is a process of invalidating such an image deletion instruction. The deletion of the image can be instructed by operating the operation unit 7 after the target image is displayed on the LCD display unit 6, and the digital input / output terminal 12 after the image is automatically read out through the digital input / output terminal 12. However, when the deletion instruction invalidation process is performed, any of these instructions is invalid and the image deletion execution process is not performed.

  In step S7, protection cancellation instruction invalidation processing is performed. In the case of the rewritable storage medium 3, an instruction to delete an image can be issued. In order to prevent accidental deletion, an instruction to protect the deletion operation for each image and an instruction to release the protection are given by the operation unit 7 or the like. It can be carried out. The protection cancellation instruction invalidation process in step S7 is a process for invalidating such protection cancellation instruction. The write-once storage medium 4 in this embodiment cannot be rewritten by the protection process, and the purpose of step S7 is to prevent the protection process from being canceled accidentally.

  In step S8, a special deletion interrupt is enabled. Since the write-once storage medium 4 cannot be rewritten, a new storage capacity cannot be secured even if the stored image is deleted. Accordingly, the deletion operation for securing a new storage capacity in the rewritable storage medium 3 is not necessary, and this is the purpose of step S6. However, there are cases where an image that is to be specifically deleted is captured, such as an image that is not necessarily left or an image that is not desired to be shown to others. Step S8 is for enabling such a special deletion operation, the details of which will be described later.

  In step S9, after the above processing, the remaining capacity of the storage medium is checked and displayed. If it is not the write-once storage medium 4 in step S4, since it is the rewritable storage medium 3, the process directly goes to step S9 and the remaining capacity is displayed.

  In step S10, an imaging interruption can be performed when the shutter release button in the operation unit 7 is pressed, and in step S11, a reproduction interruption can be performed when the reproduction mode is selected by the operation unit 7. In step S12, the flow enters a standby state.

  On the other hand, when there is no storage medium in step S2, the process proceeds to step S13. After displaying that there is no storage medium on the LCD display unit 6, the process immediately jumps to step S12 and enters a standby state. Therefore, when the storage medium is not inserted in the card slot 2, neither an imaging interrupt nor a reproduction interrupt is possible.

In the above embodiment, the storage medium check in step S4 is based on the attribute information input via the connector of the card slot 2 in step S3. However, a different embodiment may be used. It is. For example, a specific one of a plurality of connector pins for connecting a storage medium and a card slot is used for checking the medium. In the case of a rewritable storage medium, this specific pin is provided, and in the case of a write-once storage medium, this specific pin is provided. In the case of the embodiment configured so as to lack a pin, it is determined in step S4 whether or not the inserted card is a write-once storage medium by checking whether or not this specific pin is connected to the card slot side connector. be able to. Furthermore, in the case of an embodiment in which the outer shape of the storage medium is different between the rewritable storage medium and the write-once storage medium by providing a notch in a part of the outer shape of the write-once storage medium, By providing a switch or the like for checking the presence or absence of a notch or the like, it is possible to know whether or not the inserted is a write-once storage medium medium.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control / processing unit 5 when an imaging interruption is made in the embodiment of FIG. When the shutter release button in the operation unit 7 is pressed, the flow starts from step S21. In step S22, an image is captured to the control / processing unit 5 via the imaging unit 8, the A / D conversion unit 9, and the raw data buffer 11, and the control / processing unit 5 performs image interpolation, compression, The data is stored in the storage medium via the card slot 2.

  In step S23, it is checked whether or not the write-once storage medium 4 is inserted in the card slot 2. If it is a write-once storage medium, the process proceeds to step S24, and stored in the write-once storage medium 4 in step S22. Automatically protect the recorded images. In step S25, the LCD display unit 6 displays that the image is protected.

  In step S26, it is checked whether or not there is a remaining capacity. If there is no remaining capacity, a display for prompting replacement of the storage medium is performed on the LCD display unit 6 in step S27 and the process returns to the main flow in step S28. If there is a remaining capacity in step S26, the process jumps directly to step S28 to return to the main flow.

  On the other hand, when it is not the write-once storage medium 4 in step S23, it is the rewritable storage medium 3. In this case, the process jumps directly to step S28 and returns to the main flow. As described above, in the case of the rewritable storage medium 3, step S26 and step S27 are skipped, so that even if there is no remaining capacity, there is no display prompting for replacement of the storage medium.

  The write-once storage medium 4 in the above embodiment is basically the same configuration as the rewritable storage medium 3 except for lack of performance guarantee for repeated rewriting, and is automatically protected in step S24. Rewriting is prohibited, and it is configured not to cause confusion. However, other embodiments are possible. For example, when the write-once storage medium 4 itself is configured to prohibit rewriting and deletion, step S24 and step S25 may be omitted.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control / processing unit 5 when a reproduction interrupt is generated in the embodiment of FIG. When the reproduction mode is selected by operating the operation unit 7, the flow starts from step S31, and a reproduction menu interruption is enabled in step S32.

  In step S33, a reproduction process is performed. First, the latest recorded image in the write-once storage medium 4 is reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit 6, and the operation unit 7 can arbitrarily perform screen feed. If thumbnail display is selected by the operation unit 7, images recorded on the LCD display unit can be listed. The flow proceeds to step S34 every time one operation of the reproduction process in step S33 is completed. In step S34, it is checked whether or not an operation for ending the reproduction has been performed by the operation unit 7. If an operation has been performed, the reproduction menu interruption is disabled in step S35, and then the process returns to the main flow in step S36. Become. If the playback end operation has not been performed in step S34, the process returns to step S33, and steps S33 and S34 are repeated until the playback end operation is performed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control / processing unit 5 when a reproduction menu interrupt is generated in the embodiment of FIG. The playback menu displays a menu of various operations that can be performed in the playback mode, such as thumbnail display, enlarged display, batch image deletion, individual image deletion, image protection, image protection release, etc. The operation items are displayed on the LCD display unit 6 as a list menu, and one of these items is selected by the operation unit 7.

When the operation unit 7 is operated in the reproduction mode and the reproduction menu is selected, the flow starts from step S41. In step S42, it is checked whether or not it is a write-once storage medium 4, and if it is the write-once storage medium 4, display menu item change processing is performed in steps S43 to S45. First, in step S43, deletion menu non-display processing is performed, and the operation items for batch image deletion and individual image deletion are hidden and excluded from the menu. Instead, in step S44, a special deletion menu display process is performed so that the special deletion is added to the menu as an operation item and displayed. In step S45, the protect menu non-display process is performed, and the operation items for image protection and image protection cancellation are hidden and excluded from the menu. The operation items excluded from the menu by the above processing cannot be operated by the operation unit 7.

  In step S46, a menu display of the result of the item change in steps S43 to S45 is performed. On the other hand, if it is not the write-once storage medium 4 in step S42, since it is the rewritable storage medium 3, the process proceeds directly to step S46, where normal thumbnail display, enlarged display, batch image deletion, individual image deletion, Operation items such as protect and image unprotect are displayed on the LCD display unit 6 as a list menu.

  In step S47, an operation item of the displayed menu is selected by the operation unit 7, and processing for executing this is performed. The flow proceeds to step S48 every time one operation of the reproduction process in step S47 is completed. In step S48, it is checked whether or not the operation section 7 has been operated to end the menu. If an operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S49. In step S49, the menu display is initialized. If menu item change processing has been performed in steps S43 to S45, this is the normal thumbnail display, enlarged display, batch image deletion, and individual image display. Returns to the menu display with operation items such as delete, image protect, and image unprotect. In step S50, the flow returns to the reproduction interrupt flow of FIG.

  If the menu end operation has not been performed in step S48, the process returns to step S47, and steps S47 and S48 are repeated until the menu end operation is performed.

In the above embodiment, after the deletion instruction and the protection release instruction are invalidated in steps S6 and S7 in FIG. 2, these instruction items are displayed from the menu in steps S43 and S45 in FIG. This is a safety measure in case an error occurs while avoiding confusion. However, when it is configured so that the processing of step S6 and step S7 in FIG. 2 is performed reliably, step S43 and step S45 can be omitted. In this case, even when the write-once storage medium 4 is inserted in the card slot 2, the operation items related to deletion and protection are displayed in step S46, and apparently used for selection by the operation unit 7. However, even if these items are selected, since the processes in steps S6 and S7 in FIG. 2 are performed, the deletion and the protection cancellation are not executed.

  Further, when the processing of step 43 and step S45 in FIG. 5 is configured to be performed reliably, step S6 and step S7 in FIG. 2 can be omitted. However, in place of step S6 in FIG. 2, it is necessary to provide a step of invalidating the external deletion instruction via the digital input / output terminal 12 or the like.

  Furthermore, the display menu item changing process from step S43 to step S45 in FIG. 5 can be configured to be performed collectively in the process from step S6 to step S8 in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control / processing unit 5 when a special deletion interrupt is generated in the menu selection process in step S47 of FIG. The flow starts from step S51 when special deletion is selected from the reproduction menu by the operation unit 7 in a state where an image is reproduced and displayed on the LCD display unit 6. In step S52, a rewritable warning is displayed, and it is noted that a new capacity cannot be secured even if the user performs a deletion operation. This is to prevent the user from confusing this operation with a normal deletion operation.

  In step S53, an unrecoverable warning is displayed. In the case of normal deletion, the image information itself is not deleted, but the data of the management information corresponding to the image is set to the deletion state, and the image information storage area specified by the management information can be overwritten. Therefore, even if the deletion operation is performed, it is possible to restore the image using special restoration software as long as other information is not overwritten in the area where the image information is actually stored. On the other hand, if such a deletion method is used in a write-once storage medium, a new image may be overwritten using the storage area of the deletion target image information, and the storage performance may not be guaranteed. Therefore, the write-once storage medium 4 according to the embodiment employs a different deletion method as will be described later, and as a result, the image cannot be restored. This also matches the user's intention. Step S53 warns the user of this point.

  In step S54, after the above attention and warning are convinced, it is checked whether or not the user has performed an execution operation by the operation unit 7 within a predetermined time after the display in step S53. If there is an execution operation, the process proceeds to step S55. In step S55, meaningless information is overwritten in the storage area to be deleted designated by the management information, and the image information itself is deleted. In step S56, management information change processing is performed. However, this is not a process for indicating that the corresponding storage area can be overwritten as in the case of normal deletion, but a process for excluding it from the reproduction target. Therefore, the image storage area corresponding to the management information subjected to this processing is not reused for storing new image data as used. Further, since the information in the image storage area is excluded from the reproduction target, a meaningless image is not reproduced.

  Thus, the special deletion is completed, and the flow returns to the reproduction menu of FIG. 5 in step S57. On the other hand, if the user withdraws the intention of special deletion based on the display in step S52 or step S53 and does not perform the execution operation by the operation unit 7 within the predetermined time in step S54, the process jumps directly to step S57, Return to the playback menu of FIG.

  In the case of an embodiment in which the write-once storage medium itself is configured to prohibit rewriting and deletion, there is no need to consider from the viewpoint of preventing the image storage area from being overwritten erroneously as described above. However, when it is configured so that it can be deleted, a deletion method different from that of a normal rewritable storage medium must be adopted. Further, the circumstances that require the display in step S52 and step S53 remain the same. Therefore, also in such an embodiment, the same steps as in FIG. 6 are required.

The block diagram of embodiment of the digital camera in this invention. The main flowchart of a digital camera. 6 is a flowchart when an imaging interruption occurs. The flowchart when the reproduction | regeneration interruption takes. The flowchart when a reproduction menu interruption is applied. Flowchart when a special deletion interrupt occurs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Digital camera 2 Card slot for storage media 3 Rewritable storage medium 4 Write-once storage medium 5 Control / processing part 6 LCD display part 7 Operation part 8 Imaging part 9 A / D conversion part 10 Display buffer 11 Raw data buffer 12 Digital input / output terminal

Claims (5)

An insertion section into which a storage medium can be inserted;
A detection unit for detecting whether or not the type of the storage medium inserted into the insertion unit is a write-once storage medium capable of deleting a stored image ;
An imaging unit;
A recording control unit for storing the image captured by the imaging unit in the storage medium,
A display unit for reproducing an image recorded on the storage medium by the recording control unit;
An operation for switching between a shooting mode in which an image is captured by the imaging unit, and the captured image is stored in the storage medium by the recording control unit, and a playback mode in which the image stored in the storage medium is played back by the display unit And
A deletion instruction unit for instructing deletion of an image stored in the storage medium in the reproduction mode;
In the playback mode, a protection setting unit that sets protection against deletion instructions by the deletion instruction unit for images recorded on the storage medium;
In the playback mode, with respect to an image for which protection setting for the deletion instruction has been made by the protection setting unit, a protection cancellation unit for instructing cancellation of the protection setting;
In the playback mode, a protection cancellation invalid processing unit that invalidates the cancellation instruction of the protection setting by the protection cancellation unit;
With
When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium,
In the shooting mode, the protection setting unit sets protection against the deletion instruction for the image captured by the imaging unit, and the recording control unit performs the protection setting on the image captured by the imaging unit. Recorded on the recording medium as an image,
In the playback mode, the protection cancellation invalid processing unit invalidates the cancellation instruction when an instruction to cancel the protection setting is given to the image for which the protection setting has been performed.
A digital camera characterized by that. An invalid processing unit that invalidates a deletion instruction by the deletion instruction unit in the playback mode when the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium. 1. The digital camera according to 1. The detector in accordance with the type of the storage medium detected, the digital camera according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a display change processing unit made different display of the display unit in the reproduction mode. Before Symbol display change processing unit,
When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is not the write-once storage medium, a deletion instruction display for deleting an image stored in the storage medium is displayed on the display unit,
When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium, the deletion instruction display is not displayed on the display unit .
The digital camera according to claim 3 . Before Symbol display change processing unit,
When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is not the write-once storage medium, a protection release instruction display that allows the protection setting set by the protection setting unit to be released is displayed on the display unit,
When the type of the storage medium detected by the detection unit is the write-once storage medium, the protection release instruction display is not displayed on the display unit .
6. The digital camera according to claim 4, wherein the digital camera is a digital camera.