Digital camera recording a reduced image synthesized with a character image of the image picking-up information

• US 6,201,571 B1
• Filed: 06/13/1997
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Ota, Takayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): HO, TUAN V
• Application Number:
  US08/874,855
• Time in Patent Office: 1,369 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.5225, H04/N.5262, 348/207, 348/222, 348/231, 348/232, 348/239, 348/333, 348/334, 348/589, 348/552
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00442 Simultaneous viewing of a plurality of images, e.g. using a mosaic display arrangement of thumbnails
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00461 marking or otherwise tagging one or more displayed image, e.g. for selective reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3214 of a date
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3252 Image capture parameters, e.g. resolution, illumination conditions, orientation of the image capture device H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3266 of text or character information, e.g. text accompanying an image H04N2201/3226 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3277 The additional information being stored in the same storage device as the image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/60 Control of cameras or camera modules

Abstract

A reduction processing section (10) performs a reduction processing for a picked-up image on frame memory (7). A character image generating section (30) converts contents of parameter table (6) and information concerning date, time and picking-up conditions to a character image and store it in a work memory (31). A synthesis processing section (32) synthesizes the character image on the work memory (31) with the reduced image from the reduction processing section (10). The synthesized simultaneous display reduced image (33) is stored together with an original image (14) and a compressed image (15). Thus, when simultaneous displaying is performed with a application software on a personal computer, an reduced image for use in simultaneous displaying, on which picking-up date, picking-up time and picking-up data are superimposed, is displayed, whereby processing speed for image data retrieval is increased. Moreover, an original image is stored as it is without modifying an initial image.

Claims

1. A digital camera comprising:

image picking-up means for generating an initial image by picking-up an object;

image picking-up information generating means for outputting image picking-up information as text file data, said image picking-up information including at least one of picking-up date, picking-up time and picking-up condition;

character image generating means for converting the text data of said image picking-up information to a bit map character image;

reduction processing means for generating a reduced image by reducing said image in image size;

synthesis processing means for generating a simultaneous display reduced image by synthesizing said bit map character image with said reduced image;

a recording medium for storing an image; and

control means for recording said simultaneously display reduced image on said recording medium.

2. The digital camera as set forth in claim 1,

wherein said character image processing means generates said bit map character image having a size equivalent to that of said reduced image.

3. The digital camera as set forth in claim 2, wherein said control means stores said bit map character image and said reduced image as files, each being independent from each other.

4. The digital camera as set forth in claim 1, wherein said synthesis processing means reads out one pixel of said reduced image located in the same position as that of a pixel having a pixel value of 1 on said bit map character image, compares data of red, green and blue colors in one pixel of said reduced image with a previously set threshold value, when the number of the colors more than the threshold value is two or more, the image synthesis is performed while regarding the pixel as white, and when the number of the colors more than the threshold value is less than two, the image synthesis is performed while regarding the pixel as black.

5. The digital camera as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a display panel for displaying an image,

wherein said control means searches said simultaneous display reduced image stored on said recording medium, and reads out more than one simultaneous display reduced image, when more than one simultaneous display reduced image is stored on said recording medium, said control means displaying more than one read out simultaneous display reduced image on said display panel while arranging them.

6. The digital camera as set forth in claim 5, further comprising selection means for selecting one of said simultaneous display reduced images displayed on said display panel.

wherein said control means reads out an initial image corresponding to the selected simultaneous display reduced image, and displays the initial image on said display panel.

7. The digital camera as set forth in claim 5, wherein said control means searches an image picking-up condition numerical data stored in said recording medium, searches a reduced image corresponding to said image picking-up condition numerical data when the image picking-up condition numerical data is stored, and reads out a pair of said reduced image and said image picking-up condition numerical data when said reduced image is stored, thereby arranging a plurality of said reduced images in the order depending on a predetermined image picking-up condition value of said image picking-up condition numerical data to display them on said display panel.

8. The digital camera as set forth in claim 5, further comprising selection means for selecting one of said simultaneous display reduced images displayed on said display panel,

wherein image picking-up condition numerical data corresponding to the selected simultaneous display reduced image is read out from the recording medium and the same image picking-up condition concerning a predetermined image picking-up value of the read-out image picking-up condition numerical data is set.

9. An image picking-up condition recording method comprising the steps of:

picking-up an object to generate an initial image constituting an image;

outputting image picking-up information including at least one of image picking-up date, image picking-up time and image picking-up condition as a text file;

converting the image picking-up information output as said text file to a bit map character image;

generating a reduced image by reducing said initial image in image size;

generating a simultaneous display reduced image by synthesizing said bit map character image with said reduced image; and

individually recording said simultaneously display reduced image onto a recording medium.

10. The image picking-up condition recording method as set forth in claim 9,

wherein in said converting step, said image picking-up information is converted to a bit map character image having a size corresponding to that of said reduced image.

11. The image picking-up condition recording method as set forth in claim 10, further comprising a step for super-imposing said bit map character image and said reduced image on one another,

wherein said superimposing step comprising the step of:

reading out one pixel of said reduced image from said recording medium, said one pixel being disposed at the same address position as that of a pixel having a pixel value of 1 on said bit map character image,

comparing data of each of red, green and black colors of one pixel of said reduced image with a predetermined threshold value, and

writing the pixel as white color when the number of the colors more than the threshold value is more than two and writing the pixel as black color when the number of the colors more than the threshold value is two or less.