JP2005175765A - Image providing service system and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image providing service system and a method which allows contents to be utilized with mutually seeing parties' figures between users connected to a communication network. <P>SOLUTION: The service system comprises a user managing means for storing and managing personal information concerning users for utilizing image-related contents, identification information and image-related information in a database, a video data processing means for storing video data of the users in a database to edit the video data according to the user's control, an image data processing means for editing image data selected by the user to provide the user with various images, and a data composing means for composing the video data and image data. This provides composite image data by combining image data meeting a user's taste with the video data to express a figure of each user with his/her personality. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a system that provides an image using a digital camera, and more particularly to an image providing service system and method that can use content while watching the appearance of a partner between users connected to a communication network.

  With the spread of personal computers and the activation of the Internet, an industry that provides various contents to users using the Internet has been developed. Among various contents provided via the Internet, the chat service is attracting attention as a typical content service from the generation of personal computer communication using a telephone line to the present.

  Chat refers to a service in which a large number of users connected to a communication network exchange messages. In recent years, as the speed of communication networks has increased and the capacity of personal computers has increased, video equipment such as digital cameras have been attached to personal computers, and messages can be exchanged while watching the appearance of the other party chatting with you. The current situation is that services are universal. Unlike the past chat service in which only the message is exchanged, the image chat service can observe the facial expression of the other party during the conversation, which has the effect of further enhancing the interest of the chat.

  However, since such an image chat is performed with the digital camera placed in front of the user, there is a problem in that his / her background space that is not desired to be disclosed to others is exposed. Also, when a large number of users connect to a single chat room and use the image chat service, it is difficult to identify the characteristics of each of the large number of users at a glance because it is difficult to find features in the displayed user images. There are disadvantages.

  In order to compensate for these disadvantages, there is a method of changing the color sense of video data by controlling the options of the video equipment in hardware by setting the video equipment in the monochrome mode. However, such a method is limited to the fact that the overall color changes, cannot express the individuality of each user, and there is a problem that the image quality is deformed and output depending on the model of the video equipment. The user generally uses video data input to video equipment as it is without modification.

  In recent years, not only image chatting but also electronic commerce, Internet meetings, Internet dating services, etc., many services have been developed and provided that allow participants to use content while watching each other's faces using video equipment. Even in such a service, the input video information is displayed as it is on the other party's computer, so that individual personality cannot be expressed, so that the video of many users is displayed in a similar form. There is a disadvantage of becoming.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to display an image of a user uniquely by synthesizing image information with user information input to the video equipment. It is to provide a providing service system and method.
Another object of the present invention is to synthesize the video information of a user displayed on a computer without changing the video equipment in hardware, so that the image quality of video information and An object of the present invention is to provide an image providing service system and method capable of preventing a decrease in color feeling.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image providing service system according to the present invention is a system for providing image data to a user who uses image-related content in cooperation with a content providing system that provides a service on the Internet. User management means for storing and managing personal information, identification information, and image related information related to a user who intends to use image related content among users who use the content connected to the content providing system in a database Video data processing means for storing video data of a user input through a personal computer with a digital camera attached thereto in a database, and editing the video data under user control, and various images for the user Provide and select according to the user desired image The image data selected by the user is stored in a database, the image data processing means for editing the image selected in response to the user's request, and the data for combining the video data and the image data And a synthesizing means.

  Here, the image-related content includes content used in image chat, image electronic commerce, image meeting, and image date. The video data processing means has a function of deleting and surface-treating the video data under user control, and the image data processing means performs size adjustment, combination, and hue change on the selected image data. Has function.

  An image providing service method according to the present invention is a providing service method for providing image data to a user who uses image-related content in cooperation with a content providing system that provides a service on the Internet. a) confirming whether video data is input from the user's personal computer as the user connected to the content providing system tries to use any one of the image-related content; If the user's video data is input, confirming whether or not to select image data; and (c) if the user selects a desired image to use the image data, the video. Confirming whether to synthesize data and image data; and (d) selecting the image data If the user tries to use only the image data without synthesizing the data, the step of transmitting the image data selected by the user to the content providing system; and (e) the video data and the image data are transmitted by the user. If the user wants to synthesize, the method includes synthesizing the video data of the user and the image data selected by the user and transmitting the synthesized data to the content providing system.

According to the present invention, by providing image data synthesized by combining image data suitable for a user's preference to video data input via video equipment to users who use image-related content, A unique figure can be displayed.
In addition, you can use your service in a more interesting atmosphere because you can fluidly change your appearance according to the theme and atmosphere of the service.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the following description, video data means data corresponding to the actual appearance of the user input via video equipment, and image data means graphic data such as a background screen that can be combined with video data. Composite data means data obtained by combining video data and image data.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a communication network to which an image providing service system according to the present invention is applied.
As shown in the figure, video equipment such as digital cameras 110-1 to 110-n can be attached to the personal computers 10-1 to 10-n, and the user provides the content providing system 20 via the Internet 30. A variety of services provided by content providers can be used by connecting to. Services provided to the user in the content providing system 20 include services such as image chat, image electronic commerce, image meeting, image data, etc. that allow participants to use content while looking at each other's face via the Internet. Includes all possible services that can be provided.

  The image providing service system 40 is a system that generates and provides desired image data in response to a user request to connect to the content providing system 20 and use image-related content in cooperation with the content providing system 20. The image providing service system 40 can be operated by an operator of the content providing system 20 or operated by an operator independent of the content providing system 20.

  The user connects to the content providing system 20 via the Internet 30 using the personal computers 10-1 to 10-n to which the digital cameras 110-1 to 110-n are attached. A user connected to the content providing system 20 selects a desired service from various services such as chat, electronic commerce, a meeting, and a date service. At this time, the user can see his / her appearance through the video equipment. Select how to process. If the user intends to display the video data input to the digital cameras 110-1 to 110-n as it is, the image providing service system 40 does not perform additional processing on the input video data. And transmitted to the content providing system 20. On the other hand, if the user intends to synthesize and display a separate image on the video data input to the digital cameras 110-1 to 110-n, the image providing service system 40 provides various image information to the user. Then, the image data selected by the user and the video data are combined and transmitted to the content providing system 20. In this case, a separate image can be provided by the image providing service system 40, but can also be selected from images stored in the user's personal computers 10-1 to 10-n or separate storage means. It is.

The video data and the image data are combined after the user connected to the image providing service system 40 downloads an application program related to the data combination to his personal computer 10-1 to 10-n, and then the personal computer 10-1. The synthesis process can proceed at 10 to n. In this case, there is an advantage that the load applied to the image providing service system 40 can be reduced and the data processing speed can be improved.
By such a method, when video data and image data are combined and the combined data is expressed, there is an advantage that the appearance can be expressed more conspicuously than the user who uses the video data as it is. .

FIG. 2 is a detailed configuration diagram of the image providing service system shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image providing service system 40 of the present invention includes user management means 402, video data processing means 404, image data processing means 406, data composition means 408, and database 410. Here, the database 410 includes a user DB 412, a video data DB 414, an image data DB 416, and a composite data DB 418, and these databases can be composed of one table or each table. .

  The user management unit 402 stores and manages, in the user DB 412, personal information, identification information, image-related information, and the like related to a user who wants to use image-related content among users who connect to the content providing system 20 and use the content. Do the role.

  The video data processing means 404 stores user video data input to the image providing service system 40 via the digital cameras 110-1 to 110-n in the video data DB 414, and edits the video data under the control of the user. The image data processing unit 406 provides the user with various images stored in the image data DB 416 by the image providing service system 40 so that the user selects a desired image. The image data selected by the user is classified by user. It is stored in the image data DB 412 and serves to edit an image selected in response to a user request. The image data stored in the image data DB 416 includes a variety of images such as a background screen, a hairstyle, a spectacle frame, a costume, and the like that can be superimposed on the video data and a user can be displayed using only the image data without the video data. And an avatar having a figure.

  Here, editing of the video data can be performed by a process in which the user selects only a desired portion and the rest is deleted, a surface treatment is performed, and the like. In addition, image data editing is performed by adjusting the image provided by the image providing service system 40 according to the size of the user's face, selecting and combining partially provided image data, and selecting a hue. The process can be performed.

  The data synthesizing unit 408 serves to synthesize video data and image data. That is, the digital camera 110- attached to the user's personal computer 10-1 to 10-n as the user who uses the content tries to synthesize and display his / her video data and image data on the other computer screen. 1-110-n, the video data edited and stored by the video data processing means 404 and the data selected by the user and edited and stored by the image data processing means 408 are combined, The combined data is stored in the composite data DB 418. Here, the video data and the image data can be combined by simple superimposition of video information.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, video data and image data are synthesized by a user connected to the image providing service system 40 with an application program related to data synthesis in his / her personal computers 10-1 to 10-n. After downloading, the synthesis process can be performed by the personal computers 10-1 to 10-n. In this case, there is an advantage that the load applied to the image providing service system 40 can be reduced and the data processing speed can be improved.

  Although not shown, the image providing service system 40 further includes a communication network interface, and transmits the processed video data, image data, and data composite data to the content providing system 20. The user's video data is transmitted to the image providing service system 40 via the content providing system 20.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the image providing service method according to the present invention.
In order to provide the user with the image related content provided by the content providing system 20, the content providing system 20 must cooperate with the image providing service system 40, and the user connects to the content providing system 20 to connect to the image related content. The image providing service system 40 must be activated immediately and provide image information corresponding to the user's request. The image providing service can be used simultaneously when the content is provided, but can also be used to change one's appearance during the use of the content. Hereinafter, a process of providing an image to a user will be specifically described.

  The user connected to the content providing system 20 tries to use any one of the image-related contents that the participant can use while looking at each other's face such as image chat, image electronic commerce, image meeting, image date, etc. Accordingly, the content providing system 20 provides the corresponding content (S101). At this time, since the content provided to the user is an image-related content, the image providing service system 40 is immediately activated to check whether the user's video data is input (S102), and the video data is If it is input, it is checked whether to select and use separate image data or use only video data (S103).

  If the user does not select a separate image editor, the image providing service system 40 informs the content providing system of the corresponding fact, and the user's video data is displayed as it is on the computer monitor of the other party using the corresponding content. (S104). On the other hand, if the user selects a desired image to use the separate image data, the image providing service system confirms whether the video data and the image data are combined or only the image data is used. (S105).

  In the step of confirming whether or not data can be combined (S105), if the user who selected the image data tries to use only the image data without combining the data, the image data selected by the user is transmitted to the content providing system 20 ( S106) The corresponding image data is displayed on the computer monitor of the other party who is using the corresponding content together. On the other hand, if the user wants to synthesize the data, the data synthesizer 408 of the image providing service system 40 synthesizes the user's video data and the image data selected by the user (S107), and stores them in the synthesized data DB 418. And it transmits to the content provision system 20 (S108). Here, the image data to be combined with the video data is provided by the image providing service system 40, or a separate storage means that can be read by the user personal computers 10-1 to 10-n or the personal computers 10-1 to 10-n. It is possible to select from the images stored in.

  In the step of synthesizing the video data and the image data (S107), the video data is edited so that the user selects a desired part of the video data, and the image data selected by the user is superimposed on the edited video data. Thus, synthesized data can be generated. The video data and the image data are synthesized by the image providing service system 40, or an application program related to the data synthesis is downloaded to the user's personal computers 10-1 to 10-n. The synthesis process can be performed at -1 to 10-n.

  In the step of confirming whether or not the video data of the user who intends to use the content is input (S102), if the video data of the user is not input, whether or not the user selects image data is determined. Confirm (S109). If the user selects image data, the selected image data is transmitted to the content providing system 20 (S106), and if the image data is not selected, the content providing system 20 is informed that the user does not use the image data. .

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, the video processing unit 404 can edit the corresponding video data according to a user's request to use only the video data, and the image processing unit 406 uses only the image data. The image can be edited according to the user's request. Editing of video data can be performed by deleting a specific part, surface treatment, and the like, and editing of image data can be performed by size adjustment, image combination, hue selection, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an image providing service method according to the present invention, and shows a case where a chat service is used in image-related content.
In the case of the image chat service, participant display windows 102, 104, and 106 for displaying image information of users participating in the chat room (Rainman, Blue, Wind, and other users 1 to 4) are displayed on the upper stage of the monitor 100. Appears, and a chat window 108 appears in the lower row. Each user participating in the chat room can use only video data, use only image data, or use composite data of video data and image data. It can also be avoided.

  When a large number of users who participate in the chat room of the image chat service display the person using only video data, there is no feature that can distinguish the users displayed on the display windows of each participant at a glance. Although it progresses in a dry manner, when video data and image data are edited and combined to suit their tastes, there is an advantage of being able to display a form that is discriminated from other participants. In addition, since you can change your appearance according to the theme and atmosphere of the chat room, you can use the service in a more interesting atmosphere.

  The image providing service system described above can also be used while using online content on the Internet, and is produced in a form stored in a CD, ROM-bias, etc. Can be used to generate In this case, the provision and processing of video data and image data, and the data synthesis process are all performed by the personal computers 10-1 to 10-n.

  The present invention can be implemented in various other forms without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. The above-described embodiments are merely to clarify the technical contents of the present invention, and should not be construed in a narrow sense as being limited to such specific examples. It can be implemented with various changes within the scope.

It is a figure which shows an example of the communication network with which the image provision service system which concerns on this invention is applied. It is a detailed block diagram of the image provision service system shown in FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an image providing service method according to the present invention. It is a block diagram explaining the image provision service method which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

10-1 to 10-n PC 20 Content providing system 30 Internet 40 Image providing service system 110-1 to 110-n Digital camera 402 User management means 404 Video data processing means 406 Image data processing means 408 Data composition means 410 Database 412 User Database 414 Video data database 416 Image data database 418 Composite data database 100 Monitor 102, 104, 106 Participant display window 108 Chat window

Claims (11)

A system for providing image data to a user who uses image-related content in cooperation with a content providing system that provides a service on the Internet,
User management means for storing and managing personal information, identification information, and image related information related to a user who intends to use image related content among users who use the content connected to the content providing system in a database;
Video data processing means for storing in a database video data of a user input via a personal computer to which a digital camera is attached, and editing the video data under user control;
An image for providing the user with various images, storing image data selected by the user in a database as the user selects a desired image, and editing the selected image according to the user's request Data processing means;
An image providing service system comprising: data combining means for combining the video data and image data.   The image providing service system according to claim 1, wherein the image-related content includes content used in image chat, image electronic commerce, image meeting, and image date.   2. The image providing service system according to claim 1, wherein the video data processing means deletes and surface-processes the video data under user control.   The image providing service system according to claim 1, wherein the image data processing unit performs size adjustment, combination, and hue change on the selected image data.   The image providing service system according to claim 1, wherein the data composition unit superimposes the video data and image data. A providing service method for providing image data to a user who uses image-related content in cooperation with a content providing system that provides a service on the Internet,
(A) confirming whether or not video data is input from the user's personal computer as a user connected to the content providing system tries to use any one of the image-related content;
(B) if video data of the user is input, confirming whether to select image data;
(C) confirming whether to synthesize the video data and image data when the user selects a desired image in order to use the image data;
(D) If the user who selected the image data tries to use only the image data without synthesizing the data, transmitting the image data selected by the user to the content providing system;
(E) If the user intends to combine video data and image data, combining the user video data and image data selected by the user, and transmitting the combined data to the content providing system. An image providing service method characterized by comprising:   The image providing service method according to claim 6, wherein the image-related content includes content used in image chat, image electronic commerce, image meeting, and image date. The process of combining the video data and the image data in the step (e) is as follows:
A video data editing process that allows the user to select a desired portion of the video data;
7. The image providing service method according to claim 6, further comprising a combining step of superimposing the image data selected by the user on the edited video data. After the step (a), if video data of the user is not input, confirming whether the user selects an image editor;
If the user selects image data, transmitting the selected image data to a content providing system;
7. The image providing service method according to claim 6, further comprising a step of notifying the content providing system that the corresponding user does not use the image data when the user does not select the image data.   The method of claim 6, further comprising, after the step (b), notifying the content providing system that the user uses only video data if the user does not select image data. Image providing service method. The image providing service method according to claim 10, further comprising a step of editing the video data in response to a request of the user when the user intends to use only the video data.

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