JP2002023914A - Portable information terminal and image processing method for portable information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] In a portable information terminal for displaying image data read from a memory card, a user using the portable information terminal can check whether image data can be displayed in a display device. Provide omitted mobile information terminals. SOLUTION: Image data selected by an input device 6 from among reduced images 22 listed on a display device 7 is read from a memory card 21 so that the selected main image 23 fits in the display device 7. Is determined by the determination means 9 based on whether the system memory of the device is insufficient. If the determination means 9 determines that the display is possible, the main image 23 is displayed on the display device 7 and the determination is performed. Means 9
If it is determined that the thumbnail image 24 cannot be displayed, the thumbnail image 24 is read from the memory card 21 by the image processing means 8 and displayed on the display device 7.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable information terminal having a function of processing image data having both a main image read from a storage means and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable information terminals typified by mobile devices such as portable telephones have been increasingly provided with a photographing function, a function of processing a photographed image, or a function of creating an image. . Since the image data displayed on these portable information terminals is stored in the attached memory card, the image data created by this portable information terminal can be read by another device via this memory card, The image data created by the device can be read by the portable information terminal.

However, the sizes and standards of the display devices of these devices are various. Therefore, if the image data in the memory card storing the image data created by another device is to be displayed on the display device of the portable information terminal, the image will not fit in the display even if the image compression format is appropriate. May not be.

FIG. 6 shows a method of displaying image data stored in a memory card (SD card) by a conventional portable information terminal.

[0005] The image data stored in the SD card includes a normal size image (hereinafter, abbreviated as a main image) in which the created image data is stored in its original size, and the main image conforming to an arbitrary standard. It is a standard to store reduced thumbnail images together. When image data to be displayed from the image data stored in the SD card by another device is listed up from an image list and designated by an input device such as a keyboard, the main image 3
1a can be displayed on the display 30. However, as shown in FIG. 6A, for example, the main image 3 created by another portable information terminal having a display larger than the currently displayed display 30 is displayed.
1a does not fit in the display 30 and all images cannot be seen unless the scroller 32 is slid up and down or left and right.

[0006] For this reason, a thumbnail button 33 is always provided on the display on which the main image 31a is displayed.
After confirming the display state of a, if the main image 31a does not fit in the display 30, the thumbnail button 33 is pressed with the input device to display the thumbnail image 31b (see FIG. 6B). Has been adopted.

[0007]

The user of the portable information terminal checks whether the main image 31a fits in the display 30, and if it is judged that the main image 31a does not fit, the thumbnail image stored together in the SD card. In the method of displaying 31b, it takes time until the main image is displayed. Further, after the thumbnail button 33 is pressed, the thumbnail image 3
The time until 1b is displayed is also spent.

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is that a user who uses a portable information terminal confirms whether image data can be displayed as a main image, and displays a thumbnail image if necessary. And the effort to spend on it.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a portable information terminal for processing image data stored in a storage means and having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. A display device for displaying image data stored in the storage device, an operation device for a user using the portable information terminal to select an image from the image data displayed on the display device, and Determining means for determining whether or not the selected main image can be displayed on the display device; and a main image when the display means determines that the selected main image can be displayed, and a thumbnail image when determining that the selected main image cannot be displayed. Image processing means for reading and converting the data from the storage means and outputting the converted data to the display device.

[0010] Thus, the determining means determines whether or not the main image can be displayed on the display device, and when it is determined that the main image cannot be displayed, displays the thumbnail image on the display device. The user using the information terminal can check whether the main image is displayed on the display so as to fit it, and can save the troublesome operation of switching to the thumbnail image as needed and the trouble of spending it.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention according to claim 1 is a portable information terminal for processing image data stored in a storage means and having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. A display device for displaying the image data stored in the storage means, and a user using the portable information terminal selects an image from the image data displayed on the display device. Operating means;
Determining means for determining whether the main image selected by the operation means is displayable on the display device; and determining that the main image is not displayable if the display means determines that the main image is displayable. Image processing means for reading and converting the thumbnail images from the storage means and outputting the converted thumbnail images to the display device, respectively. Is judged by the judging means whether or not the main image can be displayed on the display device, and if it is judged that the display is not possible, the thumbnail image is displayed to determine whether the main image is within the display device. This eliminates the need for a user who uses the information terminal to confirm.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image processing means has a function of changing the size of the thumbnail image and displaying the thumbnail image when the thumbnail image is displayed on the display device by the determination means. Claim 1
The portable information terminal described above is used, and it is possible to enlarge a thumbnail image in which details of the image cannot be confirmed by the image processing means within a range that can be accommodated in the display device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the storage means is capable of transmitting and receiving to and from an external device via a communication network, and the image data is received from the external device and stored in the storage means. The portable information terminal according to claim 1 or 2, wherein required image data can be received from a plurality of external devices connected via a communication network.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for a portable information terminal for processing image data stored in a storage means and having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. And displaying the image data stored in the storage means on a display device, selecting the main image from the image data displayed on the display device by operation means, and selecting the main image by the operation means. A determination unit determines whether the selected main image is displayable on the display device, and the main image is determined to be undisplayable when the determination unit determines that the main image is displayable. An image processing method for a portable information terminal, wherein the thumbnail image is read from the storage unit by an image processing unit, converted, and output to the display device. The determining unit determines whether the main image can be displayed on the display device, and when it is determined that the main image cannot be displayed, displays the thumbnail image to determine whether the main image fits in the display device. This eliminates the need for the user of the portable information terminal to confirm.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the storage means is capable of transmitting and receiving to and from an external device via a communication network, and stores the image data received from the external means in the storage means. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for a portable information terminal, wherein required image data can be received from a plurality of external devices connected via a communication network.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a portable information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the portable information terminal.

In FIG. 1, a portable information terminal 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention has a CPU 1 as a central processing unit for controlling the entire apparatus, and a ROM (Read) as storage means for storing program codes executed by the CPU 1.
RAM (Random Memory) 2, a storage means for storing object information such as images
Access Memory 3, a photographing device 4 for photographing an image to make a digital image, a memory card interface 5 for connecting the memory card 21 and the portable information terminal 20 to input and output image data and the like, and perform operations and manual inputs An input device 6 such as a keyboard, a display device 7 for displaying image data and the like, and a transmitting / receiving means 10 for transmitting and receiving image data and the like to and from an external device via a communication network 11 such as the Internet. The CPU 1 used in the portable information terminal 20 of the present invention reads and executes data conversion of image data stored in the memory card 21 in addition to a function of reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 2. The functions of the image processing means 8 for outputting to the display device 7 and the determining means 9 for judging whether the image data selected by the input device 6 can be output to the display device 7 according to the memory capacity of the portable information terminal 20 are provided. Have. As shown in FIG. 2, a slot 12 for mounting a memory card 21 is provided on a side portion of the portable information terminal 20.

A procedure for displaying image data stored in a memory card on a display device will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which images stored in the memory card are listed up on the display device.
(A) is a diagram showing a state in which the main image is displayed on the display device, (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the thumbnail image is displayed on the display device, and (c) is a double image of FIG. FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the portable information terminal according to the present embodiment.

First, the memory card 21 storing image data is inserted into the slot 12 shown in FIG. 2 and connected to the memory card interface 5 so that input and output of image data are enabled. Next, in S101 of FIG. 5, the input device 6 is used to select the input of the image data to be displayed from the memory card 21 from the functions of the portable information terminal. In S102, reading of the memory card 21 is performed, and it is confirmed whether the memory card 21 is connected to the memory card interface 5. If the connection has not been made, a warning is displayed on the display device 7 to suspend reading, and the memory card is connected again to confirm the connection. If the connection has been made, in S103,
The image data stored in the memory card 21 is read. Further, in S104, the image processing means 8 displays a list of the image data on the display device 7.

FIG. 3 shows a state displayed as a list on the display device 7.
Shown in In S105, the image to be displayed is selected by the input device 6 from the six reduced images 22 arranged and displayed at equal intervals on the display device 7 as described above.

Returning to FIG. 5, the image data of the selected main image is read from the memory card 21 by the image processing means 8 in S106. When all the data of the selected main image 23 is read from the memory card 21, S10
In 7, the determination means 9 determines whether the selected main image 23 can be displayed so as to fit in the display device. This determination is made by calculating the data volume of the image data by the CPU 1 and displaying the image on the portable information terminal 2 when displaying the image.
Based on whether or not the system memory of “0” runs short, it is determined that display is possible if the memory is not short, and that display is impossible if the memory is short.

If it is determined in S107 that display is possible, the image data of the selected main image 23 is stored in the RAM 3 by the image processing means 8 in S108. Further, since the image processing means 8 outputs the image data of the main image 23 stored in the RAM 3 to the display device 7, the main image 23 is displayed on the display device 7 (FIG. 4A).
If it is determined that the display is not possible in S107, S109
Memory card 21 with main image 23 selected in
The image data of the thumbnail image 24 stored therein is read by the image processing means 8 and stored in the RAM 3. Further, in S110, the image processing means 8 sets R
Since the image data of the thumbnail image 24 stored in the AM 3 is output to the display device 7, the thumbnail image 24 is displayed on the display device 7 (FIG. 4B).

Display device 7 for displaying thumbnail image 24
At the top, a button 26 for enlarging and displaying the displayed thumbnail image 24 twice is provided. When the button 26 is pressed with the input device 6, the thumbnail image 24 is enlarged twice as shown in FIG. 4C, and it is possible to display details that cannot be confirmed with the thumbnail image 24.

In the present embodiment, the enlargement ratio for enlarging the thumbnail is doubled. However, the enlargement ratio may be any number as long as the thumbnail image can be accommodated in the display device 7. You may enlarge it.

As the image data used in the present embodiment, a method of storing an image photographed by the photographing device 4 provided in the portable information terminal 20 in the memory card 21 and a method of storing the memory card 21 in another portable information terminal, etc. In addition to the method of storing image data, a method of receiving and storing an e-mail or the like by the transmission / reception means 10 from an external device via the communication network 11 and storing the image data can be obtained.

According to the method for receiving image data via the communication network 11 as described above, the memory card 2
It is possible to save the trouble of attaching and detaching the device 1 and transferring it to the user of another device. Further, it goes without saying that the image data captured by the image capturing device 4 and stored in the memory card 21 can be transmitted to an external device by e-mail or the like using the transmitting / receiving means 10.

[0029]

According to the present invention, the user of the portable information terminal checks each time whether or not the main image can be displayed within the range that can be accommodated in the display device, and switches to the thumbnail image as necessary. It is possible to save troublesome operations and time and effort.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a portable information terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a portable information terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which images stored in a memory card are listed on a display device.

4A is a diagram showing a state in which a main image is displayed on a display device. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state in which a thumbnail image is displayed on a display device. FIG. 4C is an enlarged view of the image shown in FIG. Diagram showing status

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the portable information terminal in the present embodiment.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a display method when the size of image data stored in a memory card in a conventional portable information terminal is larger than a size that can be displayed on a display; Diagram showing a display method when a thumbnail image is displayed according to a user's instruction

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 imaging device 5 memory card interface 6 input device 7 display device 8 image processing means 9 determination means 10 transmission / reception means 11 communication network 20 portable information terminal 21 memory card 22 reduced image 23 main image 24 thumbnail image 25 Enlarged image 26 button

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5B069 AA20 BA03 DD11 JA10 LA03 5C082 AA00 AA22 AA27 BA12 BB25 CA33 CA34 CB05 DA61 MM09 MM10 5E501 AA04 AC37 BA05 CA04 CB02 CB12 EB05 FA14 FB04 FB43

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A portable information terminal for processing image data stored in a storage means and having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard, wherein the portable information terminal is stored in the storage means. A display device for displaying the image data, a user using the portable information terminal selects an image from among the image data displayed on the display device, and an operation unit selected by the operation unit Determining means for determining whether the main image is displayable on the display device; and determining the main image when the display means determines that the main image is displayable, and determining the thumbnail image when determining that the display is not possible. And an image processing means for reading and converting the data from the storage means and outputting the converted data to the display device, respectively. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, further comprising a function of changing a size of the thumbnail image and displaying the thumbnail image when the thumbnail image is displayed on the display device by the determining device. The mobile information terminal according to claim 1. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said storage means is capable of transmitting and receiving to and from an external device via a communication network, and wherein said image data is received from said external device and stored in said storage means. Item 3. The portable information terminal according to item 1 or 2. 4. An image processing method for a portable information terminal for processing image data stored in a storage means and having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. The image data stored in the display device is displayed on a display device, and the main image is selected from the image data displayed on the display device by operation means, and the main image selected by the operation device is A determination unit determines whether display is possible on the display device. If the determination unit determines that the main image is displayable, the main image is determined. Means for reading and converting from the storage means by means and outputting to the display device. 5. The portable device according to claim 4, wherein said storage means is capable of transmitting and receiving to and from an external device via a communication network, and stores said image data received from said external means in said storage means. Image processing method for information terminals.