Electronic camera apparatus and operation guide

• US 20060146167A1
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Aizawa, Toyokazu, Nagaoka, Shiro, Yoshihara, Hiroto, Ikehata, Tatsuhiko, Tashiro, Kei, Yoneyama, Takahisa
• Granted Patent: US 7,701,500 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.10
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/105 of operating discs
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/781 on disks or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/85 on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence

Abstract

A concept such as an album is introduced with respect to management and arrangement of image files, and several albums are electronically classified and managed for an electronic camera apparatus. According to one embodiment, a method comprises capturing an image, recording the image as an image file, creating a plurality of albums used for classifying and arranging the image file, and displaying album identifier information corresponding to each of the created plurality of albums during the shooting mode or the playback mode.

Claims

1. A method performed by an electronic camera apparatus, comprising:

capturing an image;

recording the image as an image file;

creating a plurality of albums used for classifying and arranging the image file; and

displaying album identifier information corresponding to at least one of the plurality of albums during a shooting mode or a playback mode.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the displaying of the album identifier information includes displaying album identifier information corresponding to each of the plurality of albums.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising displaying the image or reproduced image.

4. A method according to claim 1, wherein the album identifier information includes an icon that, when selected, creates a new album.

5. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining a destination album identified by a portion of the album identifier information for the image file, the album identifier information being displayed in a menu; and

displaying the album identifier information storing the image file on part of a screen.

6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising:

creating a new album when a portion of the album identifier information is selected.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

displaying a guide screen adapted to determine whether or not a file number is reset when the new album is created.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

specifying album identifier information corresponding to one of the plurality of albums for playback of the image file stored as part of the one of the plurality of albums.

9. A method according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying image files stored in a first album of the plurality of albums in a form of photo thumbnails in a playback menu; and

displaying a mark of a boundary of the album when scrolling the photo thumbnails and moving to a photo thumbnail of a second album of the plurality of albums.

10. An electronic camera apparatus adapted to operate in a shooting mode and a playback mode, comprising:

means for capturing an image during the shooting mode;

means for recording the image as an image file during the playback mode;

means for creating a plurality of albums for classifying and arranging the image file; and

means for displaying the image during the shooting mode, displaying a reproduced image recovered from the means for recording during a playback mode, and displaying album identifier information corresponding to one or more of the plurality of albums during the shooting mode and the playback mode.

11. An electronic camera apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the album identifier information comprises a plurality of icons previously stored in the means for displaying, the plurality of icons includes an icon to create a new album when the icon is selected.

12. An electronic camera apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

means for selecting album identifier information associated with one of the plurality of albums displayed in a shooting menu to receive the image file; and

means for displaying the album identifier information stored with the image file on part of a screen.

13. An electronic camera apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

means for displaying image files stored in an album of the plurality of albums in a form of photo thumbnails in a playback menu, and displaying a mark of a boundary of the album when scrolling photo thumbnails and moving to a thumbnail of a next album.

14. An electronic camera apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:

album protection setting means for setting protection with respect to a selected album of the plurality of albums.

15. An electronic camera apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

image file protection setting means for setting protection with respect to a selected image file of a plurality of image files stored in the selected album.

16. The electronic camera apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the means for displaying is adapted to set a display color of the protected image file to a color different from non-protected image files of the plurality of image files.

17. The electronic camera apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the means for displaying is adapted to set a display color of the protected album to a color different from non-protected albums of the plurality of albums.

18. The electronic camera apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the means for displaying is adapted to display the protected album differently from non-protected albums of the plurality of albums.

19. An operation guide method for an electronic camera apparatus comprising:

determining a destination album for an image file in a shooting menu for storage of the image file; and

displaying the album identifier information of the destination album storing the image file on part of a guide screen.

20. An operation guide method according to claim 19, wherein prior to determining the destination album, the method further comprises:

creating an album when a portion of the album identifier information is selected; and

displaying album identifier information associated with the newly created album.