JP2002024064A - Portable information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] A portable information terminal capable of inputting / outputting data from / to a memory card allows a user to easily find an image file created by the portable information terminal itself or a terminal of the same type. Provide a mobile information terminal. SOLUTION: A memory card interface for inputting / outputting a data file or the like from / to a memory card, storage means for storing object information such as image data,
Equipped with a display device that displays the image data file, first look for a folder dedicated to your terminal when reading images,
If the folder is found, the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the directory under the folder is read, and the thumbnail is displayed at the highest rank. This allows the user to find the image created on his own terminal or the image created on another terminal and stored in the dedicated folder without any hassle.

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.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electronic cameras have become widespread. In a conventional electronic camera, when checking an image captured by the electronic camera, the electronic camera is connected to a television monitor or the like, and the image captured by the electronic camera is transmitted and displayed on the television monitor, so that the image quality is improved. Images can be easily checked without trouble.

In order to send an image captured by an electronic camera to another place, there is a method of temporarily printing the image with a video printer or the like and mailing the paper or transmitting the paper by facsimile.

However, when an image is sent by the above-described method, the image quality is deteriorated as compared with the case where the image is displayed on a television monitor as it is, and furthermore, there is a problem that a user's operation is troublesome.

[0005] In mobile information terminals typified by mobile devices such as mobile phones, terminals having a shooting function, a function of processing a shot image, or a function of creating an image have begun to spread. By mounting a memory card interface for writing / reading data to / from a memory card in a portable information terminal incorporating such a photographing function (electronic camera function), files including images can be exchanged using the memory card as a medium. it can. That is, through this memory card, an image data file created by the portable information terminal can be read by another device, and an image data file created by another device can be read by the present portable information terminal.

Also, using an e-mail transmission tool,
There is also a method in which an image data file photographed by an electronic camera or the like is attached to an e-mail and transmitted. In this case, the following procedure must be performed.

[0007] 1. The photographing data is stored in the storage area.

[0008] 2. The electronic mail creation screen is displayed, and the photographed data is designated as an attached file using the mailer's file attachment function.

3. Add a destination, title, and text and send.

In this case, a computer on which an electronic mail transmission tool is installed for transmitting data of the electronic camera,
Alternatively, it is necessary to save data (download data from an electronic camera) in a storage area accessible by the computer, but this operation may require a lot of effort.

[0011] Further, even in a portable information terminal with a built-in electronic camera capable of transmitting and receiving e-mail, if the photographed data is to be attached to the e-mail and transmitted, the same procedure as described above must be performed. However, there is a problem that the processing is complicated.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a memory card,
An image file taken by another electronic camera or an image created by another image terminal may be mixed, and a specific portable terminal may be stored in a memory card in which files having different sources are mixed. If you try to find an image file recorded by, it may be difficult to find that image file. Since the size of the display unit provided in the portable terminal is limited, it is not possible to display all the file information (thumbnail images) stored in the memory card or the user memory in the terminal body at a time.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a portable information terminal capable of exchanging a file including an image using a memory card as a medium. In the portable information terminal, a user can operate the image file created by the portable information terminal itself or the same type of portable information terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable information terminal that can be easily found without spending money.

[0014]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the portable information terminal of the present invention first searches for a folder dedicated to the terminal itself when reading out an image. The thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the directory is read, and the thumbnail is displayed at the highest rank.

At the time of writing an image, first, a folder dedicated to the terminal is searched, and if the folder is found, a file for writing is created in a directory under the folder and image data is written. If the folder is not found, a folder dedicated to the terminal itself is newly created, and the image data file to be written is written in a directory under the created folder.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention according to claim 1 of the present invention relates to a method for storing an image data file having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard with a memory card capable of storing the image data file. A memory card interface for inputting / outputting data files and the like, storage means for storing object information such as image data, a display device for displaying the image data files, and a display device for displaying the image data files by the user. An operation means for selecting an image from the list, and at the time of reading an image, first, a folder dedicated to the terminal is searched, and if the folder is found, the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in a directory under the folder is read, and the thumbnail is read. Is a portable information terminal provided with control means for controlling so as to be displayed at the top of the ranking. When reading images, first search for a folder dedicated to your terminal, read thumbnail image data from each image file in that folder, and display it with priority over image files in other folders. The user can find an image created on his own terminal or an image created on another terminal and stored in a dedicated folder without any trouble.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a data file or the like is exchanged between a main image and a memory card capable of storing an image data file having both a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. A memory card interface for input / output, storage means for storing object information such as image data, a display device for displaying the image data file, and a user selecting an image from the image data file displayed on the display device Operating means for performing the operation, and a control means. When reading an image, the control means first searches for a folder dedicated to the terminal itself, and if the folder is found, a thumbnail in an image file stored in a directory below the folder. Reads image data, controls the thumbnails to be displayed in the highest order, and initially writes its own Search for a folder dedicated to the terminal, and if that folder is found, create a file for writing in the directory below it and write the image data, and if the folder dedicated to your terminal is not found, newly create a folder dedicated to your terminal A portable information terminal that creates a folder and controls to write an image data file to be written to a directory under the created folder. With such a configuration, when writing an image, Search for a folder dedicated to your own terminal, and if that folder is found, write the image data file to the directory under it, so that the images created on your own terminal are automatically written to the folder dedicated to your terminal. When reading an image, first find a folder dedicated to your own terminal, Since from each image file to be displayed by priority thumbnail image data,
The user can find the image created on his own terminal without any hassle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a data file or the like is transferred between a main image and a memory card capable of storing an image data file having a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard. A memory card interface for input / output, storage means for storing object information such as image data, a display device for displaying the image data file, and a user selecting an image from the image data file displayed on the display device Operating means for performing the image display operation, the control means searches for a folder dedicated to its own terminal in the memory card when an image display operation is performed with the memory card mounted, and the folder is If found, read out the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the directory under it, and store the memory card in the first area of the display device. The thumbnail image of each image file stored in the user memory is displayed in the second area of the display device, and the user can display the thumbnail image of each image file stored in the user memory in the second area of the display device. When a display image is selected and a display operation is performed, the corresponding image data is read from the memory card and displayed on the display device.
The portable information terminal is characterized in that when a display image on the area is selected and a display operation is performed, the corresponding image data is read from the user memory and controlled to be displayed on the display device. Accordingly, the thumbnail images of the image files stored in the memory card and the user memory are displayed on the display device separately in the first area and the second area, and when the image is read from the memory card,
First, a folder dedicated to the user's terminal is searched, and thumbnail image data from each image file in the folder is preferentially displayed in the first area, so that the user can create the folder on his own terminal without any trouble. The user can easily find the image that has been created.

(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 and converting it into a digital image, a memory card interface 5 for connecting a memory card 21 and a portable information terminal 20 to input and output image data files, etc. An input device 6 such as a keyboard, a display device 7 for displaying an image data file or the like, and a transmitting / receiving means 10 for transmitting and receiving an image data file or the like to / 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 an image data file stored in the memory card 21 in addition to a function of reading and executing a program stored in the ROM 2. It has the function of image processing means 8 for converting data and outputting it to the display device 7. Further, when reading an image from the memory card, the CPU 1 first searches for a folder dedicated to the terminal itself, reads information of an image file from the folder, and first writes a file dedicated to the terminal when writing an image to the memory card. And a directory management means 9 for performing directory management such as writing an image data file to be written in the folder.

As shown in FIG. 2, a slot 12 for mounting a memory card 21 is provided on a side of the portable information terminal 20. Reference numeral 13 is a direction selection key for the user to move the cursor in each direction and to perform various scans according to messages displayed on the display unit. A selection / cancel key 14 is used to confirm or cancel the selection of the operation.

The procedure for displaying the image data file stored in the memory card on the display device will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the memory card 21 storing the image data file is inserted into the slot 12 shown in FIG. 2 and connected to the memory card interface 5 so that input and output of the image data file are enabled. Next, an image display operation is performed using the input device 6.

By the image display operation, the thumbnail images read from the user memory (RAM3) in the terminal body and the thumbnail images read from the memory card 21 are listed on the display device as shown in FIG. . In FIG. 3A, thumbnail images of the image files stored in the user memory (RAM3) are displayed on the left half of the display device, and the image files stored on the memory card 21 are displayed on the right half of the display device. Is displayed.

The user looks at a plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display device and specifies a display image file. That is, the user moves the cursor up, down, left, and right by operating the direction selection key 13 of the portable information terminal shown in FIG. 3B, and positions the cursor on the thumbnail image of the item to be displayed. By operating the select / cancel key 14 of the portable information terminal shown in FIG. Is displayed on the display device.

For example, in FIG. 3A, the cursor is located at the position of FIG. When the user operates the direction selection key 13 to move the cursor to the right, the state shown in FIG. When the direction selection key 13 is further operated to move the cursor to the right, the state shown in FIG. 4B is obtained. In this state, the cursor comes to the position of FIG. 7 stored in the memory card 21. When the user operates the select / cancel key 14 in this state, the image data corresponding to FIG. 7 is read from the memory card 21 and displayed on the display device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a file structure of a DCF basic file recorded in a memory card used in the portable information terminal. The basic file includes an area for storing main image data in one image file and an area for storing thumbnail image data obtained by reducing the main image. Based on the data read from the thumbnail image area, a thumbnail image is displayed as shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a directory structure in the memory card. In FIG. 6, the names of a plurality of folders created under the main folder “DCIM” and the file names under the folders follow the following rules. That is, the name of the folder is composed of the first three digits "####" and the five digits "xxxxxx". The file name of the DCF basic file placed under it consists of the first four digits of the character "xxx" and the second half of the four digits "####", and a file extension (JPG, etc.) is added. Is done.

In FIG. 6, "100K MED T"
Is a folder dedicated to the terminal itself. When storing an image file created on your own terminal, the first three
The digit number is “100” and the last five digits are “KMED”.
Create a dedicated folder named "T". Under the dedicated folder, the first four digits are “K MED” and the last four digits are
The file number is automatically determined by setting the digit number to a serial number starting from “0001” and the file is stored. That is, the image file created on the own terminal is “KMED000
1. JPG ”,“ KMED0002.JPG ”,“ KME
D0003.JPG ".

Next, the processing flow of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the present embodiment,
First, when the memory card 21 is inserted into the slot 12, the memory card interface 5 transmits a signal indicating that the card has been inserted to the CPU 1.

At the time of reading an image, first, a search is made for a folder dedicated to the terminal itself or for a portable terminal of the same type (S1). Here, the folder “100K” shown in FIG.
MED T "is detected.

When the corresponding folder is detected, the file stored in the directory below the folder is searched (S)
2). In FIG. 6, the file “KMED0001.JP”
G, KMED0002.JPG,... Are files stored under the dedicated folder “100K MED T”, and the information of these files is read out.

Based on the information of these files, D
A CF file is detected (S3). At that time, the date is arranged in the new order based on the date information of each file,
D3 included in the terminal directory is stored in the RAM3.
A display order list of the CF file is created (S4).

Next, a folder other than the folder for the portable terminal is searched (S5). For example, the folder “101PANAS” shown in FIG. 6 is detected. Next, a file stored in a directory under the folder is searched (S6). Further, based on the information of those files, D
A CF file is detected (S7). Steps S5, S6, and S7 are repeated until all directories other than the mobile terminal directory can be detected (S8). The display order list created in S5, 6, 7 is arranged in the order of new date. S
In the display order list created in 1,2,3,4, S5
The matter detected in 6 and 7 is added (S9).

As described above, the display order list as shown in FIG. According to this display order list, the thumbnail images of the respective image files stored in the memory card 21 are sequentially read out, and FIG.
Each thumbnail image is displayed on the right half of the display device as shown in FIG.

[0037]

As described above, the present invention provides a memory card interface for inputting / outputting a data file or the like to / from a memory card, a storage means for storing object information such as image data, and displaying an image data file. When reading an image, a folder dedicated to the terminal is searched first, and if the folder is found, the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the directory under the folder is read, and the thumbnail is ranked at the highest rank. When the image is read, a folder dedicated to the terminal is searched first, thumbnail image data is read from each image file in the folder, and the image is read from another folder. The file is displayed prior to the file, so the user can create it on his own terminal without any hassle Image or created by another terminal, it is possible to find the stored image on the dedicated folder.

The thumbnail image of each image file stored in the memory card is divided into the first area of the display device, and the thumbnail image of each image file stored in the user memory is divided into the second area. When the image is read from the memory card, the thumbnail image data read out from the folder dedicated to the terminal is displayed preferentially in the first area. You can easily find the created image.

[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.

3A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which images stored in a memory are listed in a display order on a display device. FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a direction selection key of the portable information terminal according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a selection / cancellation key of the portable information terminal according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an image file is selected in a state where images stored in a memory card are listed in a display order on a display device. FIG. Explanatory diagram showing how to select an image file with the display order listed in

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a file structure of a DCF basic file in a memory card used in the portable information terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a directory structure in a memory card used in the portable information terminal according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the portable information terminal when reading an image according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a display order list of image files created for display on the portable information terminal in the embodiment.

[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 9 directory management means 10 transmission / reception means 11 communication network 12 slot 13 direction selection key 14 selection / cancel key 20 portable information terminal 21 memory card

Claims (3)

[Claims] A memory card interface for inputting / outputting a data file or the like from / to a memory card capable of storing an image data file having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard; Storage means for storing object information such as data, a display device for displaying an image data file, operation means for allowing a user to select an image from the image data files displayed on the display device, and a memory card When reading data from, first look for a folder dedicated to your terminal, and if that folder is found, read the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the directory under that folder,
A portable information terminal comprising control means for controlling the thumbnail to be displayed at the highest rank. 2. A memory card interface for inputting and outputting data files to and from a memory card capable of storing an image data file having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard; Storage means for storing object information such as data, a display device for displaying an image data file, operation means for a user to select an image from the image data files displayed on the display device, and control means When reading data from the memory card, the control means first looks for a folder dedicated to the terminal itself, and if the folder is found, reads thumbnail image data in an image file stored in a directory below the folder, Control the thumbnail to be displayed at the highest rank and write the data to the memory card First, look for a folder dedicated to your terminal, if you find that folder, create a file for writing in the directory below it and write image data, and if you can not find that folder dedicated to your terminal, add a new folder Create a folder dedicated to your terminal,
A portable information terminal which controls so as to write an image data file to be written into a directory under a created folder. 3. A memory card interface for inputting and outputting data files to and from a memory card capable of storing an image data file having both a main image and a thumbnail image obtained by reducing the main image to an arbitrary standard; Storage means for storing object information such as data, a display device for displaying an image data file, operation means for allowing a user to select an image from the image data files displayed on the display device, and control means When the image display operation is performed in a state where the memory card is mounted, the control means searches for a folder dedicated to its own terminal in the memory card, and if the folder is found, a directory thereunder Read out the thumbnail image data in the image file stored in the memory card in the first area of the display device A thumbnail image of the image file is displayed, a thumbnail image of each image file stored in the user memory is displayed in a second area of the display device, and a user selects a display image on the first area. When the display operation is performed, the corresponding image data is read from the memory card and displayed on the display device. When the user selects a display image on the second area and performs the display operation, the corresponding image data is read from the user memory. A portable information terminal that controls reading and display on a display device.