Patent Publication Number: US-2005117030-A1

Title: Digital photographing apparatus and file management method thereof

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2003-86755, filed on Dec. 2, 2003, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a digital photographing apparatus, for example, a digital camera, and a method of managing files of the digital photographing apparatus, and more particularly, to a digital photographing apparatus which displays memory information, and a method of managing files of the digital photographing apparatus.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In a conventional digital photographing apparatus, for example, a digital camera filed by the present applicant and disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 119,876 entitled “Method of Notification of Inadequate Picture Quality,” only the available time for photographing and the available number of image photographs are displayed and only with respect to the remaining memory size. Thus, the conventional digital photographing apparatus has the following drawbacks.  
      First, since only the available time for photographing and the available number of image photographs are displayed, the user does not see various other types of helpful information.  
      Second, since only the available time for photographing and the available number of image photographs are calculated with respect to the remaining memory size, when the user deletes files from the memory, the user is not able to anticipate the available number of remaining image photographs, the remaining minutes to photograph a motion picture, and the remaining minutes to perform sound recording after deleting the files.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      To solve the above and/or other problems, the present invention provides a digital photographing apparatus having a memory size display function which can be easily recognized by a user and a method of managing files of the digital photographing apparatus.  
      According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital photographing apparatus, in which the remaining memory size is calculated to provide information on the available number of image photographs, the available motion picture photographing time, and the available sound recording time and the information is displayed on a screen.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital photographing apparatus, wherein, when files to be deleted are selected, the size of the files selected to be deleted is calculated to provide information on the equivalent number of image photographs, the equivalent motion picture photographing time, and the equivalent sound recording time and the information is displayed on a screen.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a digital photographing apparatus, wherein, when files to be deleted are selected, the size of the files selected to be deleted is calculated to provide information on either the equivalent number of image photographs, the equivalent motion picture photographing time, or the equivalent sound recording time, according to presently set photographing conditions, and the information is displayed on a screen.  
      According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing files of a digital photographing apparatus, the method comprising selecting files to be deleted, displaying a size of the files to be deleted under presently set photographing conditions of a digital photographing apparatus, determining whether to delete the selected files, and deleting the selected files.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a rear view of the digital photographing apparatus of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of the digital photographing apparatus of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a view illustrating a screen displaying a remaining memory size;  
       FIG. 5  is a view illustrating an example of a function to select a file to be deleted;  
       FIG. 6  is a view illustrating an example of a screen displaying a memory size corresponding to the size of the files selected to be deleted in  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart for explaining a method of managing files of a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a view illustrating an example of a screen displaying the size of files to be deleted; and  
       FIG. 9  is a flow chart for explaining a method of managing files of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring to  FIG. 1 , a digital photographing apparatus  1 , for example, a digital camera, according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a microphone MIC, a self-timer lamp  11 , a flash  12 , a shutter button  13 , a mode dial  14 , a function-section button  15 , a photographing-information display portion  16 , a viewfinder  17   a , a function-block button  18 , a flash-light amount sensor  19 , a lens portion  20 , and an external interface portion  21 .  
      The self-timer  11  operates for a set time from a point when the shutter button  13  is pressed to a point when a shutter (not shown) operates in a self-timer mode. The mode dial  14  is used for a user to select and set various modes, for example, a still image photographing mode, a night view photographing mode, a motion picture photographing mode, a reproduction mode, a computer connection mode, and a system setting mode. The function-selection button  15  is used for the user to select one of operation modes of the digital photographing apparatus  1 , for example, the still picture photographing mode, the night view photographing mode, the motion picture photographing mode, and the production mode. The photographing-information display portion  16  displays information of each function related to photographing. The function-block button  18  is used for the user to select each function displayed on the photographing-information display portion  16 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , a speaker SP, a power button  31 , a monitor button  32 , an automatic-focus lamp  33 , a viewfinder  17   b , a flash ready lamp  34 , a display panel  35 , a confirm/delete button  36 , an enter/play button  37 , a menu button  38 , a wide-angle zoom button  39   w , a telephoto zoom button  39   t , an up-move button  40 up, a right-move button  40 ri, a down-move button  40 lo, and a left-move button  40 le are disposed on a read side of the digital photographing apparatus  1  of  FIG. 1 .  
      The monitor button  32  is used for the user to control the operation of the display panel  35 . For example, when the user first presses the monitor button  32 , the display panel  35  displays an image of an object being photographed and photographing information. On the second press of the monitor button  32 , the display panel  35  displays only the image of an object being photographed. On the third press of the monitor button  32 , power applied to the display panel  35  is cut off. The automatic-focus lamp  33  operates only when an automatic focusing operation is complete. The flash ready lamp  34  operates when the flash  12  of  FIG. 1  is in an operation ready state. The confirm/delete button  36  is used as a confirm button or a delete button when the user sets each mode. The enter/play button  37  is used to input data or stop or reproduce in a reproduction mode. The menu button  38  is used to display a menu of a mode selected by the mode dial  14 . The up-move button  40 up, the right-move button  40 ri, the down-move button  40 lo, and the left-move button  40 le are used for the user to set each mode.  
      Referring to  FIG. 3 , in the overall configuration of the digital photographing apparatus  1  of  FIG. 1 , an optical system OPS including a lens portion and a filter portion optically processes light reflected from an object to be photographed. An optoelectronic converter (OEC) of a charge coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) converts the light output from the OPS to an electric analog signal. A digital signal processor (DSP)  507  controls operation of the OEC and an analog-to-digital conversion portion by controlling a timing circuit  502 . A correlation double sampler and analog-to-digital converter (CDS-ADC)  501  as the analog-to-digital conversion portion processes an analog signal output from the OEC by removing the low frequency noise thereof and adjusting the amplitude thereof so as to be converted to a digital signal. The DSP  507  processes a digital signal output from the CDS-ADC  501  and generates a digital image signal divided into a luminance signal and a chrominance signal.  
      A dynamic random access memory (DRAM)  504  temporarily stores the digital image signal output from the DSP  507 . An electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)  505  stores algorithm and setting data needed in the operation of the DSP  507 . A user&#39;s memory card is inserted in or removed from a memory card interface (MCI)  506 . The digital image signal output from the DSP  507  is input to an LCD driving portion  514  and an image is displayed on the color LCD panel  35 .  
      The digital image signal output from the DSP  507  can be transmitted in serial communication through a universal serial bus (USB) connection portion  21   a , or an RS232C interface  508  and a connection portion  21   b  thereof, and through a video filter  509  and a video output portion  21   c  as a video signal.  
      An audio processor  513  outputs a voice signal output from a microphone MIC to the DSP  507  or a speaker SP and outputs the audio signal from the DSP  507  to the speaker SP.  
      A user input portion INP includes the shutter button  13  of  FIG. 1 , the mode dial  14  of  FIG. 1 , the function-selection button  15  of  FIG. 1 , the function-block button  18  of  FIG. 1 , the monitor button  32  of  FIG. 2 , the confirm/delete button  36  of  FIG. 2 , the enter/play button  37  of  FIG. 2 , the menu button  38  of  FIG. 2 , the wide-angle zoom button  39   w  of  FIG. 2 , the telephoto zoom button  39   t  of  FIG. 2 , the up-move button  40 up  FIG. 2 , the right-move button  40 ri  FIG. 2 , the down-move button  40 lo of  FIG. 2 , and the left-move button  40 le of  FIG. 2 .  
      A microcontroller  512  controls a lens driving portion  510  and accordingly a zoom motor M Z , a focus motor M F , and an aperture motor M A  drive a zoom lens, a focus lens, and an aperture in the OPS, respectively. A light emitting portion LAMP driven by the microcontroller  512  includes the self-timer lamp  11  of  FIG. 1 , the automatic-focus lamp  33  of  FIG. 2 , and the flash ready lamp  34  of  FIG. 2 . The microcontroller  512  controls the operation of a flash controller  511  according to a signal output from the flash-light amount sensor  19  of  FIG. 1 , to drive the flash  12 .  
      A digital photographing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied does not need to include all the constituent elements shown in  FIGS. 1 through 3 . Those skilled in the art can understand that some of the constituent elements are deleted, other constituent elements are added, or some of the constituent elements are modified according to the specification of the digital photographing apparatus.  
       FIG. 4  is a view illustrating a screen displaying a remaining memory size. Referring to  FIG. 4 , the remaining memory size is 32 Mbytes and accordingly the available motion picture photographing time of 3 minutes and 53 seconds and the available sound recording time of 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 30 seconds are displayed.  
      The digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention can be embodied such that all numbers of images to be photographed according to the size and quality of an image can be displayed. On a screen shown in  FIG. 4 , “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480” are the sizes of an image while “S-FINE”, “FINE”, and “NORMAL” denote the quality of an image. For example, the remaining memory size of 32 Mbytes denotes that 17, 19, 67, and 177 images can be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “S-FINE”. Also, the remaining memory size of 32 Mbytes denotes that 34, 38, 135, and 354 images can be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “FINE”. Further, the remaining memory size of 32 Mbytes denotes that 51, 59, 202, and 604 images can be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “NORMAL”.  
      The digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention can be embodied such that the number of images corresponding to the presently set size and quality of an image can be displayed as the available number of image photographs.  
      The digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention includes a memory button (not shown). When a user presses the memory button, the remaining memory size is calculated and information is provided on the available number of image photographs, the available motion picture photographing time, and the available sound recording time. Information regarding the remaining memory is displayed on a screen as shown in  FIG. 4 . The memory button can be provided as one constituent element of the user input portion INP.  
      When the user presses the memory button, the digital photographing apparatus can be embodied to perform a memory size display function regardless of the current use state.  
       FIG. 5  is a view illustrating an example of a function to select a file to be deleted. The digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention provides the function of displaying images on a thumbnail view screen, as shown in  FIG. 5 , and separately or concurrently selecting one or more image files in a thumbnail view and simultaneously deleting one or more selected image files by the user&#39;s operation of the directional buttons  40 up,  40 lo,  40 le, and  40 ri of  FIG. 2  and the selection button  36  of  FIG. 2 . In  FIG. 5 , the fourth, fifth, and ninth image files are selected on the thumbnail view screen. The operation of  FIG. 5  can be performed in the step S 100  of  FIG. 7 .  
       FIG. 6  is a view illustrating an example of a screen displaying the memory size corresponding to the size of the files selected to be deleted in  FIG. 5 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the memory size of the files selected to be deleted is 13 Mbytes which is calculated as 1 minute and 34 seconds of motion picture photographing available time or 25 minutes and 13 seconds of sound recording available time.  
      The screen shown in  FIG. 6  indicates that the “13 Mbytes” that is the size of the files selected to be deleted is, for example, equivalent to 7, 8, 28, and 73 images to be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “S-FINE”. The “13 Mbytes” that is the size of the files selected to be deleted is, for example, equivalent to 14, 15, 56, and 146 images to be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “FINE”. The “13 Mbytes” that is the size of the files selected to be deleted is, for example, equivalent to 21, 24, 83, and 212 images to be photographed with respect to the image sizes “2048*1536”, “2048*1360”, “1024*768”, and “640*480”, respectively, at the image quality “NORMAL”.  
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart for explaining a method of managing files of a digital photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the method of managing files according to the present embodiment, files to be deleted are selected using the directional buttons and the selection button (S 100 ). After the step S 100 , the memory size of the selected files is displayed in the presently set state of the digital photographing apparatus (S 102 ). Here, the available numbers of image photographs are displayed according to the size and quality of images to be photographed. In the step S 102 , when the previous photographing mode is a motion picture photographing mode, the digital photographing apparatus can be embodied to display only the motion picture photographing available time. Also, in the step S 102 , when the previous photographing mode is a sound recording mode, the digital photographing apparatus can be embodied to display only the sound recording available time.  
       FIG. 8  is a view illustrating an example of a screen displaying the size of the files to be deleted. The screen of  FIG. 8  shows the result of performing the.step S 102  of  FIG. 7  after a plurality of files are selected to be deleted in the step S 100  of  FIG. 7 . When the present photographing condition set just before the step S 100  is a picture photographing mode, the size of the files selected to be deleted is calculated to provide the equivalent number of image photographs and is displayed on a screen. On the thumbnail view screen of  FIG. 8 , the number “7” displayed on the upper right corner of the screen denotes that the file size of the three images selected to be deleted is equivalent to 7 images that can be photographed in the presently set image size and quality state.  
      When the present photographing condition set just before the step S 100  is a motion picture photographing mode or a sound recording mode, the number “7” in  FIG. 8  denotes either the equivalent time for motion picture photographing or the equivalent time for sound recording, instead of the number of images to be photographed.  
      In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8 , when two or more files are selected to be deleted, the number is updated to reflect the total size of the files selected to be deleted whenever an additional file is selected to be deleted.  
      After the step S 102 , it is determined whether to delete the selected files (S 104 ). In this case, the determination of whether to delete the selected files is performed by the user pressing the delete button (S 104 ). If it is determined that the selected files are to be deleted, deletion is performed (S 106 ). However, if it is determined that the selected files are not to be deleted, the program goes to the step S 100  and another file can be selected.  
      Although it is not shown in the drawings, when the selected files are determined not to be deleted, the method of managing files shown in  FIG. 7  can be terminated.  
       FIG. 9  is a flow chart for explaining a method of managing files of a digital photographing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, by which the memory size can be displayed differently according to modes. Referring to  FIG. 9 , the mode is selected (S 200 ). In the digital photographing apparatus, the selection of a mode can be performed using the mode dial  14  of  FIG. 1 .  
      A photographing mode is selected by user&#39;s operating the mode dial  14  (S 202 ). In this state, when the user presses the memory button (S 204 ), the digital photographing apparatus displays information on the memory size according to picture/motion picture/sound recording modes, on the screen (S 206 ). When the memory button is not pressed in the step S 204 , the digital photographing apparatus is in a ready state to wait for an instruction by the user.  
      A reproduction mode is selected by operating the mode dial  14  in the step S 200  (S 208 ). In this state, when the files to be deleted are selected (S 210 ), the digital photographing apparatus displays information on the memory size according to picture/motion picture/sound recording modes, on the screen (S 214 ). The step S 214  can be performed only when the memory button is pressed by the user in the step S 212 . The digital photographing apparatus determines whether to delete the selected files (Step  216 ). In the step S 216 , the deletion of the selected files can be determined, for example, by user&#39;s pressing the delete button with reference to the memory size information displayed on the screen. If the selected files are determined to be deleted, the selected files are deleted (S 218 ). However, if the selected files are determined not to be deleted, the program goes to the step S 210  to select another file. Although it is not shown in the drawings, the method of managing files shown in  FIG. 9  can be terminated if the selected files are determined not to be deleted in the step S 216 .  
      When the method of managing files shown in  FIG. 9  is terminated, the digital photographing apparatus is in a ready mode and waits for the next instruction such as a mode selection, a reproduction instruction, or a photographing instruction.  
      The digital photographing apparatuses according to the above embodiments are not applied to a general digital camera only. It is understood by those skilled in the art that the digital photographing apparatuses according to the above embodiments can be applied to other multimedia devices having a digital photographing function. For example, a mobile phone or a camcorder having the digital photographing function is in the range of the digital photographing apparatus according to the present invention. Also, in the above embodiments, although a memory card is used as a file storing unit of a digital photographing apparatus, the present invention is not limited thereto and a flash memory can be used therefor in addition to the memory card.  
      As described above, according to the present invention, the remaining memory size is calculated to provide information on the available number of image photographs, the available motion picture photographing time, and the available sound recording time and the information is displayed on a screen, so that a user can easily anticipate the amount of space available for the next photographing work. Also, when the user is about to delete files, the present invention provides information such as how many images the user can photograph, how many minutes the user can photograph a motion picture, and how many minutes the user can record sound, which provides convenience to the user in determining the how many files should be deleted or in selecting the files to be deleted.  
      While this invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.