JP2009244239A - Location information display, video recording device, and location information input system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily obtain character information related to the present location information only by reading a displayed two-dimensional code, and to prevent cost increase due to addition of hardware of a video photographing means. <P>SOLUTION: A photographing device 20 photographs, at a destination, a QR code displayed on a display section of a car navigation device with a photographing section 21, decodes it with a QR code decode section 22, and obtains location information of longitude and latitude of the destination and name information such as the name of the destination and a building name. A temporary recording section 26 of the location information or the like stores the location information and name information. Then, an imaging signal of a static image or dynamic image output from the imaging section 21 at the destination is supplied to a recording/reproducing section 24 through a video voice compression section 23, and stored on a hard disk 29 in association with the location information and name information from the temporary recording section 26 of the location information or the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a position information display device, a video recording device, and a position information input system, and in particular, a position information display device, a video recording device, which displays, records, and inputs acquired position information in association with display data and imaging data. And a position information input system.

  In an imaging apparatus such as a digital camera or a digital video camera, it is conceivable to use position information for searching, classification, and title assignment of shooting data. For example, in order to search or classify normal shooting data, shooting time information is mainly used, but it is difficult to find and classify only by time information. In addition, there is an imaging apparatus that can manually add a title and search / classification information, but automation is desired because it is complicated.

  Therefore, conventionally, the GPS receiver receives radio waves from the GPS satellites that make up the GPS (Global Positioning System) and acquires its own location information (latitude, longitude, etc.) Many proposals have been made to import information into an imaging apparatus and associate the information with imaging data (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses a method for receiving position information in an electronic device such as a digital camera provided with position information receiving means for receiving radio waves from a GPS satellite and short-range wireless communication means for performing inter-terminal wireless communication at a short distance. If the reception state by the means does not satisfy the predetermined reception condition, the location information (such as the location information acquired by the mobile phone through communication with the base station) of the terminal other than the electronic device main body is obtained by the short-range wireless communication means. A position information acquisition system or the like having a configuration including control means for controlling to acquire and further means for recording the acquired position information in association with image data of an electronic device is disclosed.

  In Patent Document 2, when an information request is made from a digital camera to a portable terminal, the portable terminal returns the input information of the user and position information acquired from a GPS satellite to the digital camera, which is digitally transmitted. An image photographing apparatus configured to record in a recording unit in association with an image received and photographed by a camera is disclosed. In this image photographing apparatus, it is possible to take out the current position information acquired by the portable terminal and record it together with the photographed image using the position information tag at the same time as photographing with the digital camera.

JP 2004-125490 A Japanese Patent No. 3501690

  In order to link the imaging apparatus such as the above-described digital camera with a device (such as a GPS receiver or a portable terminal) provided with position information acquisition means, the position information acquisition means is built in the image pickup apparatus, or Patent Document 1 As described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-228688 and Patent Document 2, a method of wirelessly connecting an imaging device and a device including an external position information acquisition unit is conceivable.

  However, the above-described method is not widely used because the cost of the image pickup apparatus main body and a portable terminal externally equipped with a GPS reception function are required and the system becomes expensive. In addition, the above-described method has only a few advantages because it is not easy-to-understand information because the position information to be acquired is only position information such as longitude and latitude. The same applies to the car navigation apparatus.

  Furthermore, methods such as associating shooting time with position information acquired from GPS satellites using a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) are not easy because they require a personal computer in addition to cost.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a position information display device and a video recording device that can easily acquire character information associated with current position information by simply reading a displayed two-dimensional code. And a position information input system.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a position information display device, a video recording device, and a position information input system that can prevent an increase in cost due to the addition of hardware of the video photographing means.

  In order to achieve the above object, a position information display device according to a first aspect of the present invention stores position information acquisition means for acquiring current position information indicating the current position of its own device, and position information and character information associated with each other in advance. Character information acquisition means for acquiring character information associated with the current position information from the database, a two-dimensional code generation means for generating a two-dimensional code from the acquired character information, and a display for displaying the two-dimensional code And means.

  In order to achieve the above object, a video recording apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a video photographing means for photographing a video, and a decoding means for decoding the two-dimensional code when the video photographing means photographs a two-dimensional code. And storage means for storing the information decoded by the decoding means in association with the video imaged by the imaging means.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, a position information input system according to a third invention is characterized by comprising the position information display device according to the first invention and the video recording device according to the second invention.

  According to the present invention, the character information associated with the current position information can be easily acquired simply by reading the displayed two-dimensional code. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent an increase in cost due to the addition of hardware of the video photographing means.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a car navigation device constituting a part of a position information input system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a photographing image constituting the remaining part of the position information input system according to the present invention. 1 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus. That is, the position information input system according to the present invention includes the car navigation device 10 shown in the block diagram of FIG. 1 and the photographing device 20 shown in the block diagram of FIG.

  A car navigation device 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a GPS receiver 11, a navigation control unit 12, an operation input unit 13, a map data input / output unit 14, a map database 15, a QR code generation unit 16, an image display unit 17, and a speaker 18. Is provided. The car navigation apparatus 10 can acquire position information by the GPS receiver 11, refer to the internal or external map database 15 using the position information, and acquire more detailed information such as a place name and a building name.

  The GPS receiver 11 receives radio waves transmitted from a GPS satellite (not shown), which is an artificial satellite, and acquires position information (latitude, longitude, etc.) of the device itself by a known method. The navigation control unit 12 comprehensively controls each unit of the navigation device 10. The operation input unit 13 is operated by a user to input various information. The map database 15 stores in advance various kinds of name information such as map information, place names, building names, river names, and road names. The map data input / output unit 14 inputs a destination to the map database 15 and searches for map information and name information of the destination, or reads map information and name information of the searched destination.

  The QR code generation unit 16 describes name information indicating names such as place names extracted from the map database 15 and position information received and acquired by the GPS receiver 11 in an XML (extensible markup language) format or the like. Based on this, a QR code is generated (encoded). This QR code is a kind of two-dimensional code, and is a known code having information in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and can be easily read using the imaging mechanism of the imaging apparatus 20 of FIG. Is the code that can. For example, in the case of Shinkoyasu in Yokohama, the QR code generator 16 describes location information and name information (hereinafter also referred to as location information, etc.) in the format shown in FIG. Convert. FIG. 4 shows a QR code which is the conversion result.

  Returning again to FIG. The image display unit 17 displays position information and the like, and displays a QR code as necessary. The speaker 18 generates information such as the current position information and destination information by voice.

  The imaging device 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes an imaging unit 21 that captures an image of a subject, a QR code decoding unit 22, a video / audio compression unit 23, a recording / playback unit 24, a recording / playback control unit 25, a temporary recording unit 26 such as position information, and video / audio. An expansion unit 27, a display unit 28, and a hard disk 29 are provided.

  The QR code decoding unit 22 converts (decodes) the QR code into the form of the original XML information. The video / audio compression unit 23 performs high-efficiency compression coding on the shooting data including the video and audio output from the shooting unit 21. The recording / playback unit 24 records the encoded signal from the video / audio compression unit 23 on the hard disk 29 in association with the position information from the temporary recording unit 26 such as position information by a method described later. The recording / reproducing control unit 25 comprehensively controls the recording / reproducing operation of the photographing apparatus 20. The position information temporary recording unit 26 temporarily records the XML information obtained by decoding the QR code. The video / audio decompression unit 27 decompresses the information reproduced from the hard disk 29 by the recording / reproduction unit 24 and restores the original photographic data including video and audio. The display unit 28 displays the restored shooting data and the like. The operation input unit 30 is operated by a user and inputs desired information. A semiconductor memory or the like may be used instead of the hard disk 29.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. First, operation | movement of the car navigation apparatus 10 is demonstrated with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The car navigation apparatus 10 sets the input destination in the navigation control unit 12 when a desired destination to be moved by the user is input by the operation of the operation input unit 13 by the user (step S1).

  The navigation control unit 12 creates a route from the current position to the target position based on the map information read from the map database 15 via the map data input / output unit 14 in accordance with the set destination (step S2). The guidance is started (step S3). Subsequently, the navigation control unit 12 causes the image display unit 17 to display the current position information (latitude, longitude, etc.) obtained by the GPS receiver 11 receiving radio waves from GPS satellites and analyzing them by a known method. (Step S4). At this time, the navigation control unit 12 can select a level to be used as a place name from among prefectures, municipalities, landmarks, etc. among the map information stored in the map data input / output unit 14.

  The navigation control unit 12 reads out and acquires name information on various positions such as place names, building names, river names, road names, etc. in addition to map information from the map database 15 via the map data input / output unit 14. The image is displayed on the image display unit 17. Moreover, the navigation control part 12 alert | reports a present position to a user with an audio | voice from the speaker 18 as needed. While the navigation device 10 is moving, the navigation control unit 12 continuously performs the operation in step S4.

  When the destination arrives (step S5), the navigation control unit 12 relates to the position information of the destination displayed on the image display unit 17 and various positions such as the above-mentioned place name, building name, river name, and road name. The name information is supplied to the QR code generation unit 16 to generate a QR code (step S6). Subsequently, the navigation control unit 12 uses the QR code generation unit 16 as a trigger triggered by an instruction from the operation input unit 13 by a user operation or an operation such as pulling a handbrake of an automobile on which the navigation device 10 is mounted. The generated QR code is displayed on the image display unit 17 (step S7).

  Next, the operation of the photographing apparatus 20 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The photographing apparatus 20 that is a digital camera or a digital video camera is set to a photographing mode after power-on (step S11). Subsequently, the recording / playback control unit 25 of the imaging apparatus 20 detects whether or not the imaging signal supplied from the imaging unit 21 is a QR code (step S12).

  When arriving at the destination, the QR code is displayed on the image display unit 17 of the car navigation device 10 as described above. When the QR code displayed on the image display unit 17 is captured by the imaging device 20, the recording / playback control unit 25 detects that the imaging signal supplied from the imaging unit 21 is a QR code, and captures the captured QR code. The code is supplied to the QR code decoding unit 22 to be decoded (step S13).

  Subsequently, the recording / reproducing control unit 25 displays the XML information indicating the position information or the like as the decoding result of the QR code decoding unit 22 on the display unit 28 and allows the user to confirm whether or not to adopt this (step S14). ). When the operation input unit 30 is selected to be adopted by the user, the recording / playback control unit 25 stores the position information or the like in the form of the XML information in the position information or the like temporary recording unit 26 (step S15). ). As a result, the position information of the destination (which is also the shooting location) and the like are captured in the shooting device 20.

  Subsequently, the photographing apparatus 20 automatically returns to the normal photographing mode (step S16). Thereafter, a still image or moving image imaging signal obtained by shooting in the normal shooting mode output from the imaging unit 21 at the destination is supplied to the video / audio compression unit 23, where it is subjected to high-efficiency compression coding. The encoded signal is used (step S17).

  The recording / playback unit 24 records the encoded information from the video / audio compression unit 23 on the hard disk 29 in association with the position information temporarily recorded in the position information etc. temporary recording unit 26 (step S18). This association method differs depending on whether the encoded signal is a still image or a moving image. In the case of a still image, the above association is performed using, for example, Exif (Exchangeable image file format), which is widely used as a still image format standard for digital cameras. Exif uses a tag (TAG) of TIFF (Tag Image File Format), which is a standard format of an image file, to embed information such as shooting date / time, aperture, and shutter speed in the image file. Furthermore, position information can be embedded by adding a TAG.

  Therefore, when the encoded signal is a still image, the recording / reproducing unit 24 obtains the longitude / latitude information from the temporary recording unit 26 such as position information in an IFD (Image File Directory) which is an information body in the Exif format. By embedding in the IFD related to GPS shown in Table 1, it is embedded in the encoded signal. The place name, the building name, etc. are described in the image description TAG (ImageDescription) shown in Table 2 among the TAGs described in TIFF Rev 6.0 and embedded in the encoded signal.

  In this way, when the encoded signal is a still image, the recording / reproducing unit 24 records the encoded signal on the hard disk 29 together with position information described based on the Exif format. Further, when the encoded signal is a moving image, the recording / reproducing unit 24 stores it in the same folder as the positional information from the temporary recording unit 26 such as positional information and records it in the hard disk 29.

  The encoded signal recorded in the hard disk 29 and the position information in the form of XML information are reproduced by the recording / reproducing unit 24 when desired by the user, and supplied to the video / audio expansion unit 27 to be the original video / audio. After the data is restored, the data is supplied to the display unit 28 and displayed together with the position information of the XML information.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, not only the location information of the destination (photographing location) but also names related to various locations such as the name of the destination (photographing location), the name of the building, the name of the nearby river, and the name of the road. The information is converted into a QR code, and the position information obtained by decoding the QR code with the imaging device 20 is recorded in association with a still image or a moving image obtained by imaging in the normal imaging mode. Therefore, the position information, the place name, and the like can be associated with the captured image only by reading the displayed QR code. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the captured still image or moving image can be easily classified and searched based not only on the shooting time but also on the position and place name, etc. It is possible to provide the user with a function such as reproduction.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the position information is acquired using the GPS receiver 11 that the car navigation device 10 originally has, the imaging device 20 does not have a GPS receiver. This can prevent an increase in cost due to the addition of hardware of the photographing apparatus.
In the above embodiment, the car navigation device 10 has been described so as to be linked with the photographing device 20, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a QR on a pamphlet or a signboard in a sightseeing spot. By printing the code, it is possible to create an environment in which the photographing device 20 operates even when there is no car navigation device.

  Further, not only the car navigation apparatus 10 but also a portable GPS receiver, for example, a mobile phone application, can be implemented to constitute a position information and place name input system with no cost increase. Furthermore, it is needless to say that the present invention can also use a two-dimensional code other than the QR code (for example, DataMatrix). Furthermore, the present invention includes a program for causing the photographing apparatus to execute each step of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] It is a block diagram of one Embodiment of the car navigation apparatus which comprises a part of position information input system of this invention. It is a block diagram of one Embodiment of the imaging device which comprises the remaining part of the positional information input system of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a description of position information and a place name. It is a figure which shows an example of a QR code. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of FIG. It is a flowchart for operation | movement description of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Navigation apparatus 11 GPS receiver 12 Navigation control part 13, 30 Operation input part 14 Map data input / output part 15 Map database 16 QR code production | generation part 17 Image display part 20 Imaging device 21 Imaging part 22 QR code decoding part 23 Image | video audio | voice compression Unit 24 recording / reproducing unit 25 recording / reproducing control unit 26 temporary recording unit for position information 27 video / audio extension unit 28 display unit 29 hard disk

Claims (3)

Position information acquisition means for acquiring current position information indicating the current position of the device;
Character information acquisition means for acquiring character information associated with the current position information from a database in which position information and character information are associated and stored in advance,
Two-dimensional code generation means for generating a two-dimensional code from the acquired character information;
Display means for displaying the two-dimensional code;
A position information display device comprising: Video shooting means for shooting video;
When the video photographing means has photographed a two-dimensional code, a decoding means for decoding the two-dimensional code,
Storage means for storing information decoded by the decoding means in association with the video imaged by the imaging means;
A video recording apparatus comprising: The position information display device according to claim 1,
The video recording apparatus according to claim 2,
A position information input system comprising:

Images