Image data communication system, server system, method of controlling operation of same, and recording medium storing program for control of server system
View Patent ↗Original images, large images, medium images and thumbnail images are registered with a server system. An original-image file is transmitted from a client computer to the server system. The server system converts the format of the original-image file to generate a large-image file, generates a medium-image file, in which the quantity of data is less than that of the large-image file, from the large-image file, and generates a thumbnail-image file, in which the quantity of data is less than that of the medium-image file, from the medium-image file. The original-image file, large-image file, medium-image file and thumbnail-image file are placed on one folder and stored in an image file unit. After the folder containing the original-image file, etc., has been stored in the image file unit, the user of a client computer having access privileges is capable of accessing files such as the large-image file.
1. An image database registration system comprising:
an image file input unit for inputting an image file which includes an additional-information recording area in which additional information has been recorded and an image-data recording area in which image data representing an image has been recorded;
an additional-information reading unit for reading the additional information that has been recorded in the additional-information recording area included in the image file input from said image file input unit;
an image data reading unit for reading the image data that has been recorded in the image-data recording area included in the image file input from said image file input unit; and
a storage control unit for storing the additional information that has been read by said additional-information reading unit and the image data that has been read by said image data reading unit in a storage unit in association with each other.
2. An image database registration system according to claim 1 , wherein the image file further includes an image-format header.
3. An image database registration system according to claim 2 , wherein the image-format header comprises at least one of:
a size of the image data that has been recorded in the image-data recording area, a number of horizontal-direction pixels of the image represented by the image data, a number of vertical-direction pixels of the image represented by the image data, an offset (path) to the image data, a position-information flag indicating whether global position system (GPS) information is present, a bar-code flag indicating whether bar-code data is present, an offset (path) to the global position system (GPS) information, a data size of the global position system (GPS) information, an offset (path) to the bar-code data, a size of the bar-code data, an offset to date-of-photography data, and a size of the date-of-photography data.
4. An image database registration system according to claim 1 , wherein the additional information includes at least one of bar-code data representing a bar code that has been read by a bar code reader, data representing a date of photography, and data representing global position system (GPS) information representing a location of photography sensed by a global position system (GPS) receiving unit.
5. An image database registration system according to claim 1 , wherein the additional information includes bar-code data representing a bar code that has been read by a bar code reader.
6. An image database registration system according to claim 1 , wherein the additional information includes bar-code data representing a bar code that has been read by a bar code reader, data representing a date of photography, and data representing global position system (GPS) information representing a location of photography sensed by a global position system (GPS) receiving unit.
7. An image database registration system according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one of a bar code reader that reads a bar code and generates bar-code data representing said bar code, and a global position system (GPS) receiving unit that receives global position system (GPS) information of a location of photography and generates data representing said global position system (GPS) information.
8. An image database search system comprising:
a storage unit in which additional information, which has been recorded in an additional-information recording area of an image file, and image data, which has been recorded in an image-data recording area of the image file, are stored in association with each other;
an additional-information input unit for inputting additional information;
a search unit which, on the basis of the additional information that has been input from said additional-information input unit, retrieves the corresponding image data from said storage unit; and
an image data output unit for outputting image data that has been found by the search conducted by said search unit.
9. An image database registration method comprising:
inputting an image file which includes an additional-information recording area in which additional information has been recorded and an image-data recording area in which image-data representing an image has been recorded;
reading the additional information that has been recorded in the additional-information recording area included in the image file that has been input;
reading the image data that has been recorded in the image-data recording area included in the image file that has been input; and
storing the additional information that has been read and the image data that has been read in a storage unit in association with each other.
10. An image database registration method according to claim 9 , wherein the additional information includes at least one of bar-code data representing a bar code that has been read by a bar code reader, data representing a date of photography, and data representing global position system (GPS) information representing a location of photography sensed by a global position system (GPS) receiving unit.
11. An image database registration method according to claim 10 , further comprising:
reading a bar code and generating bar-code data representing said bar code, and
receiving global position system (GPS) information of a location of photography and generating data representing said global position system (GPS) information.
12. An image database search method according to claim 9 , wherein the additional information includes at least one of bar-code data representing a bar code that has been read by a bar code reader, data representing a date of photography, and data representing global position system (GPS) information representing a location of photography sensed by a global position system (GPS) receiving unit.
13. An image database search method according to claim 9 , further comprising:
reading a bar code and generating bar-code data representing said bar code, and
receiving global position system (GPS) information of a location of photography and generating data representing said global position system (GPS) information.
14. An image database search method comprising:
storing additional information, which has been recorded in an additional-information recording area of an image file, and image data, which has been recorded in an image-data recording area of the image file, in a storage unit in association with each other;
inputting additional information;
on the basis of the additional information that has been input, retrieving the corresponding image data from said storage unit; and
outputting image data that has been found by retrieval.
15. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for registering image data in an image database, said program controlling a computer of the image database so as to:
input an image file which includes an additional-information recording area in which additional information has been recorded and an image-data recording area in which image data representing an image has been recorded;
read the additional information that has been recorded in the additional-information recording area included in the image file that has been input;
read the image data that has been recorded in the image-data recording area included in the image file that has been input; and
store the additional information that has been read and the image data that has been read in a storage unit in association with each other.
16. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for searching image data that has been registered in an image database, said program controlling a computer of the image database so as to:
input additional information;
on the basis of the additional information that has been input, retrieve the corresponding image data from a storage unit in which additional information, which has been recorded in an additional-information recording area of an image file, and image data, which has been recorded in an image-data recording area of the image file, have been stored in association with each other; and
output image data that has been found by retrieval.