Image input apparatus, program executed by computer, and method for preparing document with image

• US 7,907,199 B2
• Filed: 11/02/2006
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Seki, Kazuyuki, Koshiishi, Takaho, Suzuki, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIEP, TRUNG T
• Application Number:
  US11/555,997
• Publication Number:
  US 20070061857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,594 Days
• Field of Search: 348/135, 348/231.99, 348232-234, 348/207.1, 348/239, 348/333.1, 348/552, 348/333.01, 709/201, 709/217
• US Class Current: 348/333.01
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00183 Photography assistance, e.g. displaying suggestions to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00427 using a menu list H04N1/00421, H04N1/00424, H04N1/00429 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00472 using a pop-up window
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0097 Storage of instructions or parameters, e.g. customised instructions or different parameters for different user IDs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00973 from a remote device, e.g. receiving via the internet instructions input to a computer terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2112 using still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3263 of a graphical motif or symbol, e.g. Christmas symbol, logo H04N2201/3211 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3264 of sound signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/64 Computer-aided capture of images, e.g. transfer from script file into camera, check of taken image quality, advice or proposal for image composition or decision on when to take image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/661 Transmitting camera control signals through networks, e.g. control via the Internet

Abstract

A digital camera inputs an image capture guide list including at least one of image titles as targets to be recorded, and displays the image title(s) included in the image capture guide list on its display part. User takes a picture or pictures while checking the image title(s) in the image capture guide list.

Claims

1. An image input apparatus comprising:

an optical system which forms an image of a subject;

an image pickup unit which converts the formed subject image to image data;

an image capture guide list input unit which receives input of an image capture guide list, through which image capture guide lists each including at least one of image titles representing targets to be recorded are input;

a storage unit which stores at least one said image capture guide list input through said image capture guide list input unit;

a display device which displays information on its screen;

an image capture guide list display unit which displays a list of said at least one image capture guide list stored in the storage unit on the screen of said display device;

an image capture guide list selection unit which receives selection of one image capture guide list from said list of the at least one image capture guide list displayed on the screen of said display device;

an image title display unit which displays the image title(s) included in the image capture guide list selected by said image capture guide list selection unit from the list of the at least one image capture guide list stored in said storage unit on the screen of said display device; and

an image title selection unit which selects one of the image titles displayed on the screen of said display device,

wherein when an image title is selected from the image capture guide list by said image title selection unit and the data for this title is recorded, said image title display unit displays a checkmark for a corresponding image title and displays a number of shot images for the image title, and

when shooting of all images for the image titles displayed on the screen of said display device has not been completed, said image title display unit again displays the image title in the image capture guide list on the screen of said display device along with the checkmark for the corresponding image title and the number of shot images for the image title.

2. The image input apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

an image capture guide list display unit which displays the image capture guide lists stored in said storage unit in list form on the screen of said display device; and

an image capture guide list selection unit which selects one from the image capture guide lists displayed on the screen,

wherein said image title display unit displays the image title(s) included in the image capture guide list selected by said image capture guide list selection unit.

3. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image capture guide list input unit includes communication means used for receiving the image capture guide lists transferred from an information processing device connected thereto.

4. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image capture guide list input unit includes a Web browsing unit which browses a home page of a Web server connected thereto and downloads the image capture guide list on the home page.

5. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when one of these image titles is selected by said image title selection unit, a mode is switched to a recording mode.

6. The image input apparatus according to claim 5, wherein data for any of still pictures, binary images and motion pictures as said targets to be recorded, and voice memos is recorded in the recording mode.

7. The image input apparatus according to claim 6 further comprising:

an HTML file conversion unit which converts the data recorded in the recording mode to an HTML file.

8. The image input apparatus according to claim 7 further comprising:

an uploading unit which uploads the HTML file converted by said HTML file conversion unit to a home page of a Web server.

9. The image input apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image title selected by said image title selection unit is added to parameters in a recorded file for the data recorded in the recording mode.

10. The image input apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the recorded file for the data recorded in the recording mode is stored in correlation with the image title selected by said image title selection unit.

11. The image input apparatus according to claim 9, wherein a file name of the recorded file for the data recorded in the recording mode includes the image title selected by said selection unit in at least a part of the file name.

12. The image input apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image title selected by said image title selection unit is superposed on the image data recorded in the recording mode.

13. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when shooting for all the image titles in the image capture guide list has been finished, a message to the effect, that the shooting for the image capture guide list has been finished, is sent to a specified destination.

14. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

when one of the image titles is selected by said image title selection unit, the mode is switched to the recording mode to display the image title selected by said selection unit together with a monitoring image of the subject on the screen of said display device.

15. The image input apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a recording control unit which shifts to the recording mode when an image title is selected by said image title selection unit, records data to be recorded for any of still pictures, binary images, motion pictures of subjects, and voice memos according to the operation of a specific button, and stores the data in said storage unit as a recorded file; and

a grouping unit which groups the recorded files for each image capture guide list.

16. The image input apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said grouping unit registers the recorded files in a folder or folders for each image capture guide list to group the recorded files.

17. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image capture guide list further includes shooting instruction information that corresponds to each image title and provides an instruction to a user, and

when one of the image titles is selected by said image title selection unit, the contents of the shooting instruction information for the selected image capture guide list is notified.

18. The image input apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the contents of the shooting instruction information are a shooting procedure or an instruction for operations to be carried out after shooting.

19. The image input apparatus according to claim 17, wherein an attribute of the shooting instruction information is any of text, graphics, a voice memo, and a motion picture.

20. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image capture guide list includes at least one of the image titles as targets to be recorded and information to be superposed for this image title, and

when one of these image titles is selected by said selection unit, the mode is switched to the recording mode, and the information to be superposed, for the image title selected from the image capture guide list by said selection unit, is superposed on the image recorded in the recording mode.

21. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image capture guide list includes automatic processing instruction information that provides an instruction for automatic processing to be executed after data is recorded, and

when an image title is selected by said image title selection unit, the mode is switched to the recording mode, shooting is performed for each image title according to the operation of a specific button, and the shot image data is processed based on the automatic processing instruction information in the image capture guide list.

22. The image input apparatus according to claim 21, wherein

when the automatic processing instruction information indicates an instruction to combine a plurality of images, the plurality of images recorded for each of the image titles are combined into one.

23. The image input apparatus according to claim 21, wherein

when the automatic processing instruction information indicates an instruction to correct a plurality of images, the plurality of images recorded for each of the image titles are corrected.

24. The image input apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the image capture guide list further includes automatic processing instruction information that corresponds to each image title and provides instructions for automatic settings of setting conditions when recording a target to be recorded, and/or for automatic processing to be executed after the recording, and

when an image title is selected by said image title selection unit, a mode is switched to the recording mode to execute the automatic settings of setting conditions when recording the target to be recorded, and/or the automatic processing to be executed after the recorded data is recorded based on the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit.

25. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

communication means through which data communications are performed with the outside, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to send data as an attachment after the data is recorded, the data recorded in the recording mode is attached to e-mail to be sent to a specified destination through said communication means.

26. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

communication means through which data communications are performed with the outside, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to send thumbnail data as an attachment after the data is recorded, thumbnail images for the image data recorded in the recording mode are attached to e-mail to be sent to a specified destination through said communication means.

27. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

communication means through which data communications are performed with the outside, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to send zoomed image data as an attachment after the data is recorded, the image data recorded in the recording mode is changed to a specified size to be attached to e-mail, and the e-mail is sent to a specified destination through said communication means.

28. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

communication means through which data communications are performed with the outside, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to upload data to a home page after the data is recorded, the image data recorded in the recording mode is converted to an HTML file, and the HTML file is uploaded to a specified home page through said communication means.

29. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

communication means through which data communications are performed with the outside, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to upload data to a home page after the data is recorded and notify of a URL address of this home page, the image data recorded in the recording mode is converted to an HTML file, the HTML file is uploaded to a specified home page through said communication means, and the URL address of this home page is also sent to a specified destination through said communication means.

30. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

a memo input unit through which memo information is input, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to input memo information after related data is recorded, the mode is switched to a memo input mode after the data is recorded in the recording mode, and a file of the memo information input through said memo input unit is stored in correlation with the recorded file of the data recorded in the recording mode.

31. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

a memo input unit through which memo information is input, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to input memo information after related data is recorded, the mode is switched to the memo input mode after the data is recorded in the recording mode, and the memo information input through said memo input unit is combined with the image data recorded in the recording mode.

32. The image input apparatus according to claim 31, wherein the memo information is provided with text or freehand characters.

33. The image input apparatus according to claim 31, wherein a combining position of the memo information with respect to the recorded image can freely be set.

34. The image input apparatus according to claim 24 further comprising:

a voice memo input unit through which voice memo is input, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to input voice memo after related data is recorded, the mode is switched to a voice memo input mode after the data is recorded in the recording mode, and a file of the voice memo input through said voice memo input unit is stored in correlation with the recorded file of the image data recorded in the recording mode.

35. The image input apparatus according to claim 24, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to imprint a date on an image to be recorded, the image data is recorded in the recording mode, and then the date is imprinted on this image data.

36. The image input apparatus according to claim 24, wherein

when the contents of the automatic processing instruction information for the image title selected by said image title selection unit indicate an instruction to set resolution of an image to be recorded, the resolution for shooting is set according to the setting instruction.

37. The image input apparatus according to claim 24, wherein a superposing position of the information to be superposed with respect to the recorded image can freely be set.

38. The image input apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the image capture guide list further includes model name information, and the automatic processing instruction information is the contents adequate for the model, said apparatus further comprises a determination unit which reads out the model name information of the image capture guide list input through said input unit, and determines whether the model name of its own and the model name specified in the image capture guide list match with each other, and when it is determined by said determination unit that the own model name matches the model name in the image capture guide list, shooting is performed based on the image capture guide list.