Patent ID: 6263106
Filing Date: 2001-07-17
Classification: G06T,H04N

Abstract:
An image data compression device, employed in an image recording device, that compresses a plurality of recorded image data files in a recording medium, said plurality of recorded image data files corresponding to a plurality of images, said image data compression device comprising:a memory that stores a plurality of flags corresponding to said plurality of recorded image data files, each of the plurality of flags indicating whether a corresponding compressible recorded image data file is allowed to be compressed, each recorded image data file of the plurality of recorded image data files comprising stored data of an entire image of each of said plurality of images;a first operable member that sets a status of one of said plurality of flags to a predetermined status indicating that a corresponding compressible recorded image data file is prohibited to be compressed into an image data file with a lower image quality than said image data file before compression, when the first operable member is manually operated by an operator and when the corresponding recorded image data file is stored in the recording medium;a data compression circuit that reads said recorded image data files out of said recording medium and compresses said recorded image data files into compressed image data files having lower image qualities as well as smaller sizes than said image data files before compression;a second operable member that selects one of the plurality of recorded image data file in said recording medium and initiates a data compression that lowers an image quality of the recorded image data file than said selected image data file before compression by said data compression circuit; anda controller that reads one of the plurality of flags, which corresponds to the recorded image data file selected by the second operable member, and that determines whether the selected compressible recorded image data file is allowed to be compressed into a compressed image data file having a lower image quality than the selected recorded image data file before compression in accordance with the status of the read flag without processing the selected recorded image file, and that controls said data compression circuit to compress said recorded image data file selected by said second operable member into the compressed image data file having the lower image quality when the read flag is not set to said predetermined status, said controller replacing said recorded image data file with the compressed image data file having the lower image quality and compressed by said compression circuit if said read flag is not set to said predetermined status.