Image processing apparatus with attribution file containing attribution information of a plurality of image files

• US 7,542,078 B2
• Filed: 02/18/2003
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/19/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Okusa, Chiaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ometz; David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jerabek; Kelly L
• Application Number:
  US10/368,880
• Publication Number:
  US 20030158838A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,296 Days
• Field of Search: 348/231.99, 348/231.2, 348/231.3
• US Class Current: 348/231.2
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/50 of still image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually

Abstract

An image processing apparatus generates a file including image data and attribution information, and generates a file wherein this attribution information is recorded together with other attribution information, and records these files on a storage medium. A data processing apparatus obtains the file wherein the attribution information of each image data is recorded, and processes the image data based on the corresponding attribution information.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus for reading out image data from a recording medium on which the image data is recorded by an image capture apparatus, comprising:

a file obtaining unit, which obtains, from the recording medium, an image file and an attribution information file recorded on the recording medium by said image capture apparatus, the image file and the attribution information file being independent of each other so that the image file stores image data obtained from an image capture apparatus and the attribution information file stores attribution information of respective image data stored in the plurality of recorded image files, indicating settings which the image capture apparatus had when the image capture apparatus obtained the respective image data; and

a control unit, which is arranged to control said file obtaining unit so as to obtain the attribution file prior to the image file discriminate the image file which falls within a condition designated by a user among the plurality of recorded image files, on the basis of the designated condition and the attribution information stored in the attribution information file obtained by said file obtaining unit, control said file obtaining unit to obtain the image file discriminated as the image file which falls within the designated condition, and cause a display apparatus to display an image stored in each of the discriminated image files obtained by said file obtaining unit.

2. An information processing method of reading out image data from a recording medium on which the image data is recorded by an image capture apparatus, comprising the steps of:

obtaining, from the recording medium, an image file and an attribution information file a recorded on the recording medium by said image capture apparatus, the image file and the attribution information file being independent of each other so that the image file stores image data obtained from an image capture apparatus and the attribution information file stores attribution information of respective image data stored in the plurality of recorded image files, indicating settings which the image capture apparatus had when the image capture apparatus obtained the respective image data; and

effecting control to control said file obtaining step so as to obtain the attribution information file prior to the image file, discriminating the image file which falls within a condition designated by a user among the plurality of recorded image files, on the basis of the designated condition and the attribution information stored in the attribution information file obtained by said file obtaining step, controlling said file obtaining step to obtain the image file discriminated as the image file which falls within the designated condition, and causing a display apparatus to display an image stored in each of the discriminated image files obtained by said file obtaining step.

3. A computer readable storage medium storing a computer-executable program comprising code for causing a computer to execute an information processing method of reading out image data from a recording medium on which the image data is recorded by an image capture apparatus, said method comprising the steps of:

obtaining, from the recording medium, an image file and an attribution information file recorded on the recording medium by said image capture apparatus, the image file and the attribution information file being independent of each other so that the image file stores image data obtained from an image capture apparatus and the attribution information file stores attribution information of respective image data stored in the plurality of recorded image files, indicating settings which the image capture apparatus had when the image capture apparatus obtained the respective image data; and

effecting control to control said file obtaining step so as to obtain the attribution information file prior to the image file, discriminating the image file which falls within a condition designated by a user among the plurality of recorded image files, on the basis of the designated condition and the attribution information stored in the attribution information file obtained by said file obtaining step, controlling said file obtaining step to obtain the image file discriminated as the image file which falls within the designated condition, and causing a display apparatus to display an image stored in each of the discriminated image files obtained by said file obtaining step.