JP2005150849A - Image processing method in camera attached communication apparatus, image processing apparatus in camera attached communication apparatus, program, and computer-readable recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology of easily and surely detecting electronic watermark information in a short time from an image photographed by a camera attached communication apparatus such as a camera attached mobile phone without the need for external communication. <P>SOLUTION: An image processing method in the camera attached communication apparatus for detecting electronic watermark information from an image photographed by a camera of the camera attached communication apparatus includes: a first step of photographing one image by a consecutive shot function of the camera; a second step of carrying out processing the electronic watermark information from the one image photographed in the first step; and a third step of stopping the photographing by the consecutive shot function of the camera when the second step detects the electronic watermark information, or carrying out the first and second steps repetitively until the number of images reaches an upper limit number of photographing by the consecutive shot function of the camera when the second step detects no electronic watermark information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing method in a camera-equipped communication device, an image processing apparatus in the camera-equipped communication device, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium. More specifically, the present invention relates to a camera-equipped cellular phone, a camera-equipped portable device such as a PDA with a camera. The present invention relates to an image processing method in a communication device with a camera suitable for use in a communication device with a camera such as a terminal or a personal computer with a camera, an image processing apparatus in a communication device with a camera, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium.

  In recent years, due to the development of electronic technology, mobile phones with cameras such as camera-equipped mobile phones with built-in digital cameras and camera-equipped PDAs with built-in digital cameras. A communication device with a camera such as a personal computer with a camera provided with a camera function by being built in has been proposed, and in particular, a mobile phone with a camera is widely spread.

  In such a communication device with a camera such as a mobile phone with a camera, an image taken by a built-in digital camera can be transmitted to an external device using a communication function of the mobile phone or the like.

  By the way, in a camera-equipped cellular phone, the digital camera built in the camera-equipped cellular phone employs an automatic focusing method. However, since adjustment of the automatic focusing takes time, the focus of the captured image is reduced. There was a problem that many cases were not met (first problem).

  In addition, when taking a picture using a digital camera built in the camera-equipped mobile phone, many photographers support the camera-equipped mobile phone with one hand, and so-called camera shake occurs when taking a picture. There is a problem that the captured image often blurs because it becomes easy (second problem).

  Furthermore, since the number of pixels that can be captured by a digital camera built into a camera-equipped mobile phone is small compared to general electronic devices such as scanners and general-purpose digital cameras, the amount of captured image data is small. (Third problem)

On the other hand, as prior art documents relating to the above-mentioned camera-equipped communication devices, for example, as Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-544637 presented as Patent Document 1, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-134038 presented as Patent Document 2, There exists Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2003-134326 which shows.

Here, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-544637), a mobile phone with a camera is exemplified as an application example of a computer system, but an electronic device using a camera built in the mobile phone with camera is used. The following problems have been encountered in photographing an image in which watermark information is incorporated and detecting digital watermark information incorporated based on the photographed image.

  That is, in general, for an image in which digital watermark information is embedded, detection of the digital watermark information may fail if the editing of the image is large, and the digital watermark information is added to the image. In the case of embedding, the data embedding amount of the digital watermark information changes according to the size of the image. For this reason, in the camera-equipped mobile phone in which the first problem, the second problem, and the third problem are likely to occur at the same time, from one image obtained by photographing a certain image once. There has been a problem (first problem) that it is difficult to successfully detect digital watermark information.

  As a method for solving the second problem described above, it may be possible to mount a camera shake correction function mounted on a general-purpose digital camera or video camera on a camera-equipped mobile phone. Since this correction function substantially performs an image conversion process, a new problem that it becomes difficult to detect a digital watermark in the future will not be an effective solution to the first problem.

In Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-134038) or Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-134326), an image shot by a mobile phone with a camera is once transmitted to the server, and the server A technique for performing processing for detecting digital watermark information from an image has been proposed.

  However, in such a technique, every time a camera built in a camera-equipped mobile phone is photographed, the image data generated by the photographing is transmitted to the server, and the result of processing at the server is obtained. Since it will be determined whether or not the information has been successfully detected, the process of detecting the digital watermark information becomes complicated, and it takes time to communicate between the camera-equipped mobile phone and the server. There was a problem (second problem) that caused an increase in cost.

  Further, in the above-described method, it is necessary to repeatedly perform image capturing and transmit image data generated by the image capture to the server repeatedly until the digital watermark information can be detected by the server. In this respect, there is a problem (third problem) that the communication time between the camera-equipped mobile phone and the server increases and the communication cost increases.

  Furthermore, in the above-described method, it is necessary to establish communication between the camera-equipped mobile phone and the server in order to detect the digital watermark information, and thus cannot be used in places where communication is difficult. There was a (fourth problem).

In addition, in a conventional camera-equipped communication device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone, when detecting a URL as digital watermark information and automatically displaying the detected WWW page, the WWW page is displayed. If the line was previously disconnected, it was necessary to reconnect the line and transmit all data anew.

  For this reason, in a communication device with a camera such as a conventional camera-equipped mobile phone, there is a problem (fifth problem) that the amount of transmission data increases due to the interruption of the line.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2002-544637 JP 2003-134326 A JP 2003-115996 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the first to fourth problems of the conventional techniques as described above. The object of the present invention is from an image taken by a communication device with a camera such as a mobile phone with a camera. , Image processing method in camera-equipped communication device, image processing apparatus in camera-equipped communication device, program, and computer capable of detecting digital watermark information easily, reliably and in a short time without performing external communication An object of the present invention is to provide a readable recording medium.

  The present invention has been made in view of the fifth problem of the conventional technique as described above. The object of the present invention is to increase the amount of transmission data even when the line is interrupted. An image processing method in a communication device with a camera, an image processing apparatus in a communication device with a camera, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium are provided.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is an image processing method in a camera-equipped communication device that detects digital watermark information from an image captured by a camera of the camera-equipped communication device. A first step of photographing only one image by the continuous photographing function, a second step of performing processing of detecting digital watermark information from one image photographed in the first step, and the second step When the digital watermark information is detected in the step, the shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is stopped, and when the digital watermark information is not detected in the second step, the shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is performed. It has a third step in which the first step and the second step are repeated until the upper limit number is reached.

  In addition, the invention described in claim 2 of the present invention is the electronic watermark detected in the invention described in claim 1 of the present invention, based on the digital watermark information detected in the second step. And a fourth step for performing processing corresponding to the information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus in the camera-equipped communication device that detects digital watermark information from the image photographed by the camera of the camera-equipped communication device, the image is obtained by the continuous shooting function of the camera. An image photographing means for photographing only one image, a detecting means for performing processing for detecting digital watermark information from one image photographed by the image photographing means, and when the detecting means detects the digital watermark information, When the shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is stopped and the detection means does not detect the digital watermark information, the image shooting means captures images until the upper limit number of shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is reached. The image capturing unit and the detection unit are controlled so that the detection unit detects digital watermark information from the single image every time one image is captured. It is obtained so as to have a that control means.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the detected digital watermark information is further based on the digital watermark information detected by the detecting means. And processing means for performing corresponding processing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method in a communication device with a camera for processing digital watermark information detected from an image taken by the camera of the communication device with a camera. A first step of detecting digital watermark information from the image taken by the step, and transmitting information corresponding to the detected digital watermark information to the outside via a line based on the digital watermark information detected in the first step When the line is disconnected before all the information corresponding to the digital watermark information is transmitted to the outside in the second step, and until all the unsent information is transmitted to the outside. And a third step of transmitting untransmitted information to the outside by reconnecting the line.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus in a camera-equipped communication device that processes digital watermark information detected from an image taken by the camera of the camera-equipped communication device. Detecting means for detecting digital watermark information from the image taken by the transmission means, and transmitting means for transmitting information corresponding to the detected digital watermark information to the outside via a line based on the digital watermark information detected by the detection means; When the line is disconnected before the transmission means transmits all the information corresponding to the digital watermark information to the outside, the line is reconnected until all the untransmitted information is transmitted to the outside. Transmission control means for transmitting untransmitted information.

  The invention according to claim 7 of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the invention according to claim 1, claim 3 or claim 5 of the present invention.

  The invention according to claim 8 of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to function as the invention according to claim 2, claim 4, or claim 6 of the present invention.

  The invention according to claim 9 of the present invention is a computer-readable recording medium on which the invention according to claim 7 or 8 of the present invention is recorded.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, digital watermarking can be performed easily and reliably from an image captured by a camera-equipped communication device such as a camera-equipped mobile phone in a short time without performing external communication. There is an excellent effect that information can be detected.

  Further, since the present invention is configured as described above, there is an excellent effect that the amount of transmission data does not increase even when the line is interrupted.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an image processing method in a camera-equipped communication device, an image processing apparatus in the camera-equipped communication device, a program, and a computer-readable recording medium according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual configuration of a camera-equipped mobile phone as an example of an embodiment of a camera-equipped communication device according to the present invention. Note that illustrations and descriptions of components not related to the implementation of the present invention are omitted.

  The camera-equipped cellular phone 10 includes a communication module 12 for realizing a telephone call function and a communication function as a cellular phone, a communication buffer 14 serving as a buffer of the communication module 12, and one image every time the shutter is pressed. Realizes a camera function with a normal shooting function that captures images one after another and a continuous shooting function that continuously captures images until the specified number of images is set as the upper limit until the shutter is released once the shutter is released A camera module 16, an image buffer 18 serving as a buffer of the camera module 16, a digital watermark detection module 20 for detecting digital watermark information from an image captured by the camera module 16, the communication module 12, and the camera module 16. And control of individual operations of the digital watermark detection module 20 In addition, a central processing unit (CPU) 22 that controls various operations of the entire apparatus, a read-only memory (ROM) 24 that stores a program for controlling the CPU 22, application programs to be described later, and a working area of the CPU 22 And a random access memory (RAM) 26 having a storage area and the like, and an operator group 28 composed of numeric keys and cursor keys operated by a user to give various instructions. ing.

  Here, the above-described camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is a mode related to the implementation of the present invention, in addition to various modes for selecting a normal call function as a telephone or selecting mail transmission / reception. A digital watermark information detection mode for detecting digital watermark information from a photographed image is set.

  The camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is set as an upper limit value in a normal shooting mode for selecting a normal shooting function for shooting one image at a time each time the shutter is pressed and until the shutter is released once the shutter is pressed. A continuous shooting mode for selecting a continuous shooting function for continuously shooting images until a predetermined number of images is obtained can be selected. Note that, when the digital watermark information detection mode is selected, the continuous shooting mode is automatically selected.

  The various modes described above can be arbitrarily selected by the user operating the operator group 28.

  Note that conventionally known techniques can be applied to the communication module 12, the camera module 16, and the digital watermark detection module 20, so description of their individual configurations and operations is omitted.

In the above configuration, the operation of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the following description, only the operation in the digital watermark information detection mode, which is an operation related to the implementation of the present invention, will be described, the operation for realizing the telephone call function and the communication function by the communication module 12, the camera Operations performed in individual modules such as an operation for realizing a camera function for capturing an image by the module 16 or an operation for detecting digital watermark information from an image captured by the camera module 16 by the digital watermark detection module 20 Since a conventionally known technique can be applied to the above, the description thereof is omitted.

  That is, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing routine in a digital watermark information detection mode in which digital watermark information is detected from an image photographed by the camera module 16 and a predetermined application program is started based on the detected digital watermark information. It is shown.

  In the image buffer 18, VRAM [i] is set as a storage area related to the implementation of the present invention. The VRAM [i] stores an i-th image (“i” is 0 and a positive integer) when the camera module 16 continuously captures images in the continuous shooting mode. It is an area to keep.

  The camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is set with the digital watermark information detection mode as described above. When the digital watermark information detection mode is selected, execution of the processing routine shown in FIG. 2 is started.

  When the execution of this processing routine is started, first, the continuous shooting number is set to “0” and the continuous shooting number is initialized (step S202).

  Next, it is determined whether or not the number of continuous shots has reached the upper limit value (step S204). If the number of continuous shots has reached the upper limit value, this processing routine is terminated.

  On the other hand, if the number of continuous shots has not reached the upper limit value, one image is shot by the continuous shooting function (step S206), and the shot image is stored in the VRAM [i] set in the image buffer 18. (Step S208). That is, the stored contents (images captured last time) of the register VRAM [i] are updated with the images captured in step S206.

  Next, a process of detecting digital watermark information from the image stored in the register VRAM [i] is executed as a subroutine of this process (step S210). In addition, about the process which detects digital watermark information from the image performed at this step S210, since a well-known technique can be used, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  When the process of detecting the digital watermark information in step S210 is completed, the process proceeds to the process of step S212. In step S210, it is determined whether the digital watermark information has been detected. In step S210, the digital watermark information has not been detected. In this case, i is incremented by “1” (step S214), and the process returns to step S204.

  On the other hand, if digital watermark information can be detected in step S210, a preset application program is executed (step S216), and this processing routine is terminated.

Therefore, in the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, a server or the like directly uses an image taken by the continuous shooting function of the camera module 16 of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, that is, an image taken inside the camera-equipped mobile phone 10. The digital watermark information can be detected in the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 without transmitting an image to the camera.

  In other words, until the detection of the digital watermark information succeeds, the digital watermark information detection process is automatically performed by sequentially using the images shot by the continuous shooting by the continuous shooting function. Information can be detected, and the first problem can be solved. Even during the continuous shooting by the continuous shooting function, the continuous shooting is interrupted when the detection of the digital watermark information is successful, so that unnecessary processing is not required.

  In addition, since it is possible to easily detect digital watermark information inside the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 without performing communication with an external device such as a server, the electronic watermark can be detected in a short time without incurring communication costs. The watermark information can be detected, and the second to fourth problems can be solved.

Next, the first service to the ninth service will be described as examples of the application program executed in step S216.

(1) First Service First, as a first service, information regarding a URL is included in the digital watermark information, and a service that automatically accesses a URL corresponding to the information using the information is shown.

  In the first service, it is assumed that the digital watermark information detected from the captured image includes “company ID”, “appID”, and “URLID”.

  Here, the company ID is an identifier for identifying the company that provides the service of the application program shown in the first service. The appID is an identifier for identifying the service of the application program indicated by the first service. Further, the URLID is an identifier for identifying the URL.

  Note that each service described below including the first service, that is, the first service to the ninth service includes the company ID and the appID as digital watermark information. As will be described later, the company ID and appID are used to detect the corresponding company and the service of the application program at the beginning of the process. Even if a service is used, the processing routine can be terminated without performing all processing for a company that is not affiliated with the same service, so the processing related to the service is performed without performing unnecessary processing. Will be able to.

  In addition, it is possible to selectively activate the application program services shown in the first service to the ninth service, and when the plurality of services are used in the same company or between the plurality of companies, the plurality of services. Even in the case of using the service, it is possible to end the processing routine without performing all the processing for companies that are not affiliated with the service, so the processing related to the necessary service can be performed without performing unnecessary processing. Be able to run.

  Hereinafter, the service processing routine of the application program shown in the first service will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The application program shown in the first service is a first table that stores the correspondence between the company ID of the company that provides the service of the application program shown in the first service and the appID of the service of the application program shown in the first service. And a second table storing a correspondence relationship between the URL ID and the URL indicated by the URL ID.

  First, when the processing routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is started in step S216, the company ID, appID, and URLID are acquired from the detected digital watermark information (step S302).

  Next, the company ID and appID acquired in step S302 are collated with the first table (step S304). If the company ID and appID acquired in step S302 cannot be found from the first table, this processing routine is executed. Exit.

  On the other hand, in step S304, if the company ID and app ID acquired in step S302 can be found from the first table, the URL ID acquired in step S302 is compared with the second table (step S306), If the URL ID acquired in step S302 cannot be found, this processing routine ends.

  On the other hand, if the URLID acquired in step S302 can be found from the second table in step S306, the URL corresponding to the found URLID is acquired from the second table (step S308).

  When the process of step S308 is completed, the process proceeds to the process of step S310, the browser is activated, and the WWW page of the URL acquired in the process of step S308 using the communication module 12 is displayed on the display (not shown) of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10. ) And the processing routine is terminated.

  Here, the line state is monitored in step S320, and the line is disconnected before displaying the WWW page on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, and data to be transmitted remains as untransmitted data. The connection and connection confirmation processing is repeated until the line is reconnected (step S312). When the line is reconnected, the process returns to step S310 to transmit unsent data. Then, the WWW page is displayed on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10.

  Therefore, according to the first service described above, the user of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 simply captures an image in the digital watermark information detection mode, and corresponds to the URLID incorporated in the captured image as digital watermark information. The URL WWW page can be displayed automatically.

  In addition, if the line is disconnected during the display of the WWW page, the line is automatically monitored for return, and reconnection is performed at the time of return to transmit unsent data. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly transmit all data, so that the amount of transmission data does not increase due to the interruption of the line.

  Therefore, according to the camera-equipped cellular phone 10, the data amount of the transmission data does not increase even when the line is interrupted, so that the fifth problem can be solved.

  In the first service described above, when the WWW page of the URL is a product order form, the following modification may be made.

  That is, a product ID serving as an identifier for identifying a product that can be ordered by the purchase order is added as digital watermark information. When the URL WWW page is displayed on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, the product ID is also transmitted to the WWW server.

  The WWW server searches the transmitted product ID, and displays the URL WWW on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 in a display format in which information about the product such as the name and price of the product corresponding to the product ID is added. Control to display the page.

  When the display information of the WWW page of the URL (for example, in the format of html, xml, etc.) is received by the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 from the WWW server, the personal information (for example, Name, mobile phone number, etc.) is added to the display information, and the URL WWW page is displayed on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10.

  It should be noted that the user of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 can check the WWW page of the URL displayed on the display of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, for example, if the product is clothes, shoes, etc. Information (size, color, etc.) may be selected using the operator group 28, the display contents of the URL WWW page may be confirmed, and the operator group 28 may be operated to place an actual order.

  By performing the processing as described above, it is possible to greatly shorten the time for filling in an order form for ordering products.

(2) Second service The second service is a service in which electronic watermark information includes information related to an e-mail address, and the e-mail is automatically transmitted to the address using the information.

  FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the second service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “b” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, a processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302b” in FIG. 4), description of the processing step is omitted as appropriate.

  Comparing the second service and the first service, the processing routine is the same except that “mailID” is included in the digital watermark information instead of the URLID.

  This mailID is an identifier for identifying an e-mail address, and has a table storing a correspondence relationship between the mail ID and the e-mail address indicated by the mail ID as the second table.

  In the second service, in step S410, an e-mail is transmitted to the e-mail address acquired in step S308b. This e-mail may include preset characters and images, or may not include such characters and images.

  According to the second service described above, the user of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 simply captures an image in the digital watermark information detection mode, and corresponds to a mail ID incorporated as digital watermark information in the captured image. An email can be automatically sent to an email address.

  In addition, if the line is cut off halfway when sending an e-mail, the line is automatically monitored for return, and reconnection is performed at the time of return to send unsent data. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly transmit all the data, so that the amount of transmission data does not increase due to the interruption of the line (step S312b).

  Therefore, according to the camera-equipped cellular phone 10, the data amount of the transmission data does not increase even when the line is interrupted, so that the fifth problem can be solved.

(3) Third service The third service includes information related to a URL in the digital watermark information as in the first service, but the URL is specialized for content data and uses the URL. Thus, it is different from the first service in that content data is automatically received.

  Here, the processing routine of the third service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the third service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the third service, in step S310 shown in FIG. 3, the content data is received by accessing the WWW server of the URL acquired in step S308.

  Here, the WWW server accessed from the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 extracts the model number of the destination camera-equipped mobile phone 10 from the header portion of the received data. The WWW server searches the database for the extracted model number, and, for example, extracts the following device information.

  Reproducible audio information (no chord, 16 chord, 32 chord, 64 chord).

  A reproducible file format (wav, midi,...).

                   Reproducible image size (640 × 480, 320 × 200,...).

                   A reproducible file format (bmp, jpeg,...).

                   Then, in accordance with the extracted device information as described above, content data in a format suitable for the destination camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is distributed.

(4) Fourth Service The fourth service is a service in which information related to count-up is included in the digital watermark information, and the count-up process is automatically performed using the information.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the fourth service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “c” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, the processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302c” in FIG. 5), description of the processing step is omitted as appropriate.

  Comparing the fourth service and the first service, the “count-up target ID” is included in the digital watermark information instead of the URL ID, and the “count-up flag” is included in the digital watermark information. Different.

  Here, the count-up flag is an identifier for determining whether or not to perform the process of counting up, and performs the process of counting up when the count-up flag is on. The count-up target ID is an identifier indicating the target to be counted up, and has a table storing a correspondence relationship between the count-up target ID and the count-up target indicated by the count-up target ID as the second table. ing.

  Here, the processing routine of the fourth service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the fourth service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the fourth service, a process is performed between step S302c and step S304c to determine whether or not the count-up flag detected in step S302c is on (step S503), and the count-up flag is on. Only in some cases, the process proceeds to the process after step S304c. When the count-up flag is not on, the process routine is terminated.

  Here, in step S510, a count-up process is performed on the count-up target acquired in step S308c. In this count-up process, if the count has already been recorded for the count-up target acquired in step S308c, the count is incremented by “1”, and the count is counted for the count-up target acquired in step S308c. If not recorded, an area for recording the count is secured and “1” is recorded as the count.

  Further, in this count-up process, it is determined whether or not the counted-up value exceeds a predetermined value. If the counted-up value exceeds the predetermined value, an appropriate display such as screen display, screen blinking, or mail transmission is performed. Take action.

  In the fourth service, the execution of the count-up process may be prohibited after a certain period of time in order to avoid shooting multiple times for the same shooting target.

(5) Fifth Service The fifth service is a service in which electronic watermark information includes information related to so-called electronic shoplifting and uses the information to perform electronic shoplifting prevention processing.

  FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the fifth service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “d” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, the processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302d” in FIG. 6), description of the processing step will be omitted as appropriate.

  When the fifth service and the first service are compared, the “object ID” is included in the digital watermark information instead of the URL ID, and the “shoplifting prevention flag” is included in the digital watermark information. .

  Here, the shoplifting prevention flag is an identifier for determining whether or not electronic shoplifting prevention processing is performed, and performs electronic shoplifting prevention processing when the electronic shoplifting prevention flag is on. Further, the target object ID is an identifier indicating the content targeted for electronic shoplifting prevention, and the correspondence relationship between the target object ID and the content targeted for electronic shoplifting prevention indicated by the target object ID as the second table. Has a stored table.

  Here, the processing routine of the fifth service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the fifth service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the fifth service, a process for determining whether or not the shoplifting prevention flag detected in step S302d is on is performed between step S302d and step S304d (step S603), and the shoplifting prevention flag is on. Only in some cases, the process proceeds to the process after step S304d. If the shoplifting prevention flag is not on, the process routine is terminated.

  Here, in step S610, electronic shoplifting prevention processing is performed on the content of the object acquired in step S308d. This electronic shoplifting prevention processing refers to the content of the target acquired in step S308d, and if there is purchase history information (described later) indicating that the target including the content has already been purchased, the outside. Is stored in a predetermined storage area of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 with a flag indicating that transfer is not possible, and purchase history information indicating that an object including the content has already been purchased ( If it does not exist, the message “Cannot save image” is displayed and the image detected in step S212 is not stored in the predetermined storage area of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, thereby preventing electronic shoplifting. It is processing to do.

  In order to process the fifth service, purchase history information is stored as information necessary for performing the electronic shoplifting prevention process in step S610. The purchase history information is information that stores a purchase history of a product (object) purchased using the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 in association with the object ID.

(6) Sixth service The sixth service is a service in which information related to the stamp rally is included in the digital watermark information and the stamp rally is processed using the information.

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the sixth service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “e” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, the processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302e” in FIG. 7), description of the processing step will be omitted as appropriate.

  When the sixth service is compared with the first service, “point ID” is included in the digital watermark information instead of URLID, and “stamp rally flag” is included in the digital watermark information.

  Here, the stamp rally flag is an identifier for determining whether or not it is a stamp rally, and performs processing related to the stamp rally when the stamp rally flag is on. The point ID is an identifier indicating which point in the stamp rally is a stamp, and as a second table, a table storing the correspondence between the point ID and each point in the stamp rally indicated by the point ID. have.

  Here, the processing routine of the sixth service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the sixth service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the sixth service, a process is performed between step S302e and step S304e to determine whether or not the stamp rally flag detected in step S302e is on (step S703), and the stamp rally flag is on. Only in some cases, the process proceeds to step S304e and subsequent steps. If the stamp rally flag is not on, the processing routine is terminated.

  Here, in step S710, stamp rally processing is performed for the point in the stamp rally acquired in step S308e. In this stamp rally process, first, when there is no storage area corresponding to each point indicated by the point ID, a storage area corresponding to each point is secured. In addition, when the storage area corresponding to each said point is already ensured, it is not necessary to perform the process which ensures the storage area corresponding to each said point mentioned above. Then, it is determined whether or not the passage flag is set in the storage area at the point acquired in step S308e. If the passage flag is set, no processing is performed. If the passage flag is not set, the passage is not performed. Set the flag. Next, it is determined whether or not the passage flag is set in all the storage areas corresponding to each point. If the passage flag is set in all the storage areas corresponding to each point, the screen display or Take appropriate actions such as blinking the screen or sending an email.

  In the above-described embodiment related to the sixth service, a passage flag is set in all storage areas corresponding to each point as a criterion for determining whether or not to perform an appropriate action such as screen display, screen blinking, or mail transmission. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, “whether or not a passage flag is set in a storage area corresponding to a specified number of points or more” ( The first modification example) or “whether or not the passage flag is set in the storage area corresponding to the specific point” (second modification example) may be used. You may make it use combining suitably the reference | standard shown to a modification and a 2nd modification.

  Further, the above-described criteria may be held as an external file, and a rule (condition) may be described there.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment relating to the sixth service, it is determined whether or not each point in the stamp rally has been reached. However, instead of each point, each part obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of parts can be obtained. It is possible to display the entire image when all parts are obtained.

(7) Seventh Service The seventh service is a service in which information relating to the creation of a customer database is included in the digital watermark information, and the creation of the customer database is automatically performed using the information.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the seventh service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “f” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, a processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302f” in FIG. 5), description of the processing step will be omitted as appropriate.

  When the seventh service and the first service are compared, the difference is that the “database creation flag” is included in the digital watermark information instead of the URLID.

  Here, the database creation flag is an identifier for determining whether to create a database.

  Here, the processing routine of the seventh service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the seventh service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the seventh service, a process of determining whether or not the database creation flag detected in step S302f is on is performed between step S302f and step S304f (step S803), and the database creation flag is on. Only if there is, the process proceeds to the process after step S304f. If the database creation flag is not on, the process routine is terminated.

  Also, in the processing routine of the seventh service, the processing corresponding to step S306 and step S308 is not performed, and the process proceeds from step S304f to step S810 to perform database creation processing. In this database creation process, information (cell phone number, location information, etc.) inside the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is collected and transmitted to the server indicated by the company ID together with the appID. In the server, the transmitted information is stored for each appID.

  Therefore, according to the seventh service described above, the company or the user who provides the service simply takes an image in the digital watermark information detection mode with the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, and the user's camera-equipped cellular phone 10 has the inside. Information (cell phone number, location information, etc.) can be automatically acquired to construct a database.

  In addition, when the line inside the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 is disconnected, the line is automatically monitored for return, and reconnection is performed at the time of return to transmit unsent data. Therefore, since it is not necessary to newly transmit all data at the time of reconnection, the amount of transmission data does not increase due to the interruption of the line (step S312f).

  The database created by the seventh service can be used as follows, for example.

  That is, when an attribute (foreign film, Japanese film, character name, enka, kayokyoku,...) Is added to each appID and the database is organized for each attribute, the mobile phone with camera that matches the attribute. Advertisement information can be sent to.

  In addition, if the images taken in step S206 are arranged at the venues of various events, the number of participants for each district related to various events is counted from the database created by the seventh service, and the district with a high proportion of participants is counted. It will be possible to hold similar events.

  Furthermore, if the images taken in step S206 are arranged at various event venues, the number of participants for each district related to various events is counted from the database created by the seventh service, and the district with a low proportion of participants is counted. You will be able to search and reconsider advertising methods for the district.

  Furthermore, if the images taken in step S206 are placed at the venues of various events, the advertising volume for each district and the ratio of participants for each event are output from the database created by the seventh service, and the cost A list of effects can be printed.

(8) Eighth service The eighth service is a service in which information related to an advertisement is included in the digital watermark information, and processing related to the advertisement is performed using the information.

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the processing routine of the eighth service. For processing steps similar to the processing steps of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, “g” is added to the step number used in the flowchart of FIG. By additionally indicating (for example, the processing step similar to “Step S302” in FIG. 3 is indicated as “Step S302g” in FIG. 7), description of the processing step is omitted as appropriate.

  When the eighth service is compared with the first service, the difference is that “type ID” and “advertisement ID” are included in the digital watermark information instead of the URLID.

  Here, the type ID is an identifier that indicates an advertisement or an event. Further, the advertisement ID is an identifier indicating which advertisement is the advertisement, and has a table storing a correspondence relationship between the advertisement ID and the advertisement indicated by the advertisement ID as the second table.

  Here, the processing routine of the eighth service is the same as the processing routine of the first service, but the eighth service is different from the first service in the following points.

  That is, in the eighth service, advertisement processing is performed in step S910. In this advertisement processing, it is determined whether the type ID detection result is “advertisement” or “event”. If the type ID detection result is “advertisement”, the advertisement ID is set to predetermined data. Save in the area (Note that if the same advertisement ID already exists in the data area, the processing routine is terminated without performing any processing). On the other hand, when the detection result of the type ID is “event”, the advertisement ID is detected from the predetermined data area, the information is transmitted to the server indicated by the company ID, and the number of the advertisement ID is set. Display on the screen.

  According to the above-described eighth service, the user of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10, the advertiser, and the event organizer have the following merits.

  That is, the user of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 displays information according to the number of advertisements he / she has seen on the screen and easily proves that he / she actually saw the advertisement. If it is possible to receive a present, it is possible to easily prove the number of advertisements viewed, and it is possible to reliably obtain a present. In addition, it becomes possible to participate in the event without having extra baggage such as magazines.

  On the other hand, in the advertiser, since the number of users of the camera-equipped mobile phone 10 who participated in the event after seeing the advertisement becomes accurate, it is possible to charge the event organizer for a reasonable price.

  Furthermore, since the event organizer can grasp effective advertisements, it is possible to select advertisements with large cost-effectiveness.

(9) Ninth Service The ninth service is a service that enables the image taken in step S206 to be used as a ticket such as an event admission ticket.

  In the ninth service, it is assumed that predetermined digital watermark information is incorporated in an image that can be appropriately used as a predetermined ticket.

  If the image captured in step S206 is checked by an external device and the image captured in step S206 is determined to be an image that can be properly used as the predetermined ticket, the image is authenticated as a ticket. At the same time, the image is changed to prohibit use again.

The embodiment described above may be modified as appropriate as described in the following (1) to (3).

  (1) In the above description, the case where the present invention is applied to a camera-equipped mobile phone has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a camera-equipped mobile terminal such as a camera-equipped PDA. And can be applied to personal computers with cameras.

  (2) As for the application programs of the first service to the ninth service described above, it is a matter of course that only a single service among them may be incorporated into the ROM 24 and executed. As described above, all or a part of them may be incorporated in the ROM 24, and a service using the detected digital watermark information may be automatically activated according to the detected digital watermark information.

  (3) The above-described embodiments and the modifications shown in (1) to (2) may be combined as appropriate.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used when digital watermark information is detected from an image photographed by a camera-equipped communication device such as a camera-equipped mobile terminal such as a camera-equipped mobile phone or a camera-equipped PDA or a camera-equipped personal computer.

It is a block block diagram which shows the conceptual structure of the mobile telephone with a camera as an example of embodiment of the communication apparatus with a camera by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing routine of operation | movement of the mobile telephone with a camera. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 1st service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 2nd service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 4th service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 5th service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 6th service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of a 7th service. It is a flowchart which shows the process routine of an 8th service.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Mobile phone with camera 12 Communication module 14 Communication buffer 16 Camera module 18 Image buffer 20 Digital watermark detection module 22 Central processing unit (CPU)
24 Read-only memory (ROM)
26 Random access memory (RAM)
28 controls

Claims (9)

In an image processing method in a communication device with a camera that detects digital watermark information from an image taken by a camera of the communication device with a camera,
A first step of taking only one image by the continuous shooting function of the camera;
A second step of performing processing for detecting digital watermark information from one image taken in the first step;
When the digital watermark information is detected in the second step, shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is stopped, and when the digital watermark information is not detected in the second step, the continuous shooting of the camera is performed. An image processing method in a communication device with a camera, comprising: a third step in which the first step and the second step are repeatedly performed until the upper limit number of photographing by the photographing function is reached. The image processing method in a communication device with a camera according to claim 1, further comprising:
And a fourth step of performing processing corresponding to the detected digital watermark information based on the digital watermark information detected in the second step. In an image processing apparatus in a camera-equipped communication device that detects digital watermark information from an image captured by a camera of the camera-equipped communication device,
Image photographing means for photographing only one image by the continuous shooting function of the camera;
Detecting means for performing processing for detecting digital watermark information from one image photographed by the image photographing means;
When the detection means detects digital watermark information, shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is stopped, and when the detection means does not detect digital watermark information, shooting by the continuous shooting function of the camera is performed. The image photographing means, the detecting means, and the like so that each time the image photographing means takes one image until the upper limit number is reached, the detecting means performs processing for detecting digital watermark information from the one image. An image processing apparatus in a camera-equipped communication device having control means for controlling the camera. The image processing apparatus in the camera-equipped communication device according to claim 3, further comprising:
An image processing apparatus in a camera-equipped communication device, comprising: processing means for performing processing corresponding to the detected digital watermark information based on the digital watermark information detected by the detection means. In an image processing method in a camera-equipped communication device that processes digital watermark information detected from an image captured by a camera of the camera-equipped communication device,
A first step of detecting digital watermark information from an image captured by a camera of a camera-equipped communication device;
A second step of transmitting information corresponding to the detected digital watermark information to the outside via a line based on the digital watermark information detected in the first step;
When the line is disconnected before all the information corresponding to the digital watermark information is transmitted to the outside in the second step, the line is reconnected until all untransmitted information is transmitted to the outside. A third step of transmitting untransmitted information to the camera-equipped communication device. In an image processing apparatus in a communication device with a camera that processes digital watermark information detected from an image taken by a camera of the communication device with a camera,
Detecting means for detecting digital watermark information from an image taken by a camera of a communication device with a camera;
Based on the digital watermark information detected by the detection means, transmission means for transmitting information corresponding to the detected digital watermark information to the outside via a line;
When the line is disconnected before the transmission unit transmits all the information corresponding to the digital watermark information to the outside, the line is reconnected until all the untransmitted information is transmitted to the outside. An image processing apparatus in a communication device with a camera, comprising: a transmission control unit that transmits transmission information.   The program for making a computer perform the image processing method in the communication apparatus with a camera of any one of Claim 1, Claim 3 or Claim 5.   The program for functioning a computer as an image processing apparatus in the communication apparatus with a camera of any one of Claim 2, Claim 4, or Claim 6.   The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the program of any one of Claim 7 or Claim 8.

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