JP2005223601A - Photographing control system, photographing control program and photographing control method, and digital camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel photographing control system, a novel photographing control program, a novel photographing control method, and a novel digital camera capable of effectively preventing digital-theft and surreptitious photographing or the like by the digital camera. <P>SOLUTION: An object S photographable by the camera 200 is provided with an information transmitter 300 for transmitting information related to the object S, and the camera 200 is provided with: an information acquisition means 240 for acquiring the transmission information from the information transmitter 300; and a photographing control means 230 for controlling the photographing by the camera 200 on the basis of contents of the information acquired by the information acquisition means 240. Thus, the digital-theft and the surreptitious photographing of a photographing inhibited object by the digital camera or the like can effectively be prevented. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag attached to a product such as a book or a magazine, an imaging control system, an imaging control program and an imaging control method, and a digital control system using a digital camera or the like that allows easy imaging. It is about the camera.

  A digital still camera, digital video camera, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as a digital camera) that captures an arbitrary subject as digital image data can check the content of the captured image immediately after shooting, save, delete, As processing can be easily performed, the number of units sold has been rapidly increased in place of conventional film-type cameras. In addition, as the number of units sold has increased, performance, miniaturization, and price reduction have been remarkable, and those that are integrated with mobile phones have become common, so anyone can enjoy shooting anytime, anywhere. It has become to.

By the way, as digital cameras that are small and light and easy to carry and integrated with mobile phones and the like have become widespread, bookstores and convenience stores do not purchase books or magazines at stores. The so-called digital shoplifting damage, where only the posted information is photographed with a digital camera and returned, has become a problem.
In addition, in museums and museums where photography of exhibits is prohibited, it is prohibited to bring a camera. However, as described above, when entering the digital camera due to downsizing of the digital camera or incorporation of the digital camera itself into the mobile phone, etc. It has become difficult to check the camera's carry-on, and it has become impossible to prevent the act of taking pictures of exhibits on purpose or by mistake.

Therefore, for example, it is conceived to prevent so-called digital shoplifting or stealing in a shooting prohibited place by using a known technique proposed in the following Patent Document 1 or the like.
That is, in Patent Document 1, the location information of a place where photography is prohibited and the location information of a building are registered in advance in the camera, and the current location information of the camera acquired using a GPS (Global Positioning System) system, and the camera Compared with the location information of prohibited locations and buildings registered in, and when the location information of both matches, the shooting restriction function provided in the camera forcibly prohibits shooting. is there.
JP 2003-198918 A

However, such a method using the conventional technique detects position information of a device such as a camera using GPS, and therefore cannot be used in a building that cannot receive radio waves from a satellite. .
In general, the GPS position information has an error of several tens to several hundreds of meters from the actual position. Therefore, in the vicinity of a registered prohibited shooting location, the camera is not prohibited. It may become impossible to use at all.

Furthermore, if a place where a variety of products such as convenience stores are stored is registered as a shooting-prohibited place, there is an inconvenience that even a subject without shooting restrictions cannot be shot.
Therefore, the present invention has been devised to effectively solve such problems, and its main purpose is to effectively prevent digital shoplifting by a digital camera, etc. The present invention provides a novel photographing control system, a photographing control program and a photographing control method, and a digital camera.

[Invention 1] In order to solve the above-described problems, an imaging control system of Invention 1 comprises:
An information transmission device that transmits information about the subject to a subject that can be photographed by the camera, and an information acquisition unit that acquires transmission information from the information transmission device in the camera, and information acquired by the information acquisition unit Imaging control means for controlling imaging by the camera based on the contents of the above.

According to such a configuration, when the subject provided with the information transmission device is to be photographed by the camera, the information acquisition unit provided in the camera acquires the transmission information from the information transmission device of the subject. Similarly, the photographing control means provided in the camera controls the photographing by the camera by analyzing the content of the transmission information.
Thus, for example, if the information transmitted from the information transmission device of the subject includes information indicating that the photographing of the subject is restricted (prohibited), the photographing of the subject by the camera can be forcibly restricted. It is possible to effectively prevent so-called digital shoplifting and voyeurism as described above.

  In addition, if information transmitted from the subject information transmission device includes information indicating that the subject is permitted to be photographed, the subject can be photographed freely by the camera. Information to be notified, for example, information that appears on the Internet homepage, various advertisements, constitutions and other laws and regulations, notices issued by the national or local public bodies, useful information such as notifications, notices, court decisions, orders, etc. Can be acquired with confidence as a still image or a moving image.

In addition, by providing the subject with the information transmission device, it is possible to reliably acquire information on the subject on the camera side regardless of whether the subject is indoors or outdoors.
Furthermore, since the information transmission device is provided for the subject, arbitrary information can be transmitted for each subject, so that there is no inconvenience that a subject for which no photographing restriction is imposed cannot be photographed.

[Invention 2] Further, the photographing control system of Invention 2 includes:
In the photographing control system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information that restricts photographing of a subject provided with the information transmission device, and the photographing control means includes the transmission information. When acquired, the photographing of the subject by the camera is restricted, or the output and storage of the photographed image are restricted.

As a result, the camera that has acquired the transmission information from the information transmission device of the subject to be photographed is restricted from photographing the subject by the photographing control means, or the output and storage of the photographed image is forcibly restricted. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent so-called digital shoplifting, voyeurism and the like as described above by the camera.
Here, “photographing of the subject is restricted” will be described in detail in a later embodiment, but the shutter for exposing the light from the subject to an image sensor such as a CCD cannot be released and the image itself is imaged. It means that it is impossible to capture as information, or that it is captured as image information in a state where the subject cannot be identified due to overexposure due to flash emission at the same time as exposure. "Restricting" means that a subject is read as digital image data composed of pixel data of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) by an image sensor such as a CCD. It only exists in the temporary storage memory and cannot be saved as it is on the storage medium side such as semiconductor memory, or the LCD monitor CRT, even by using an image display apparatus such as a printer refers to a state that can not be confirmed (visually) the image.

[Invention 3] The imaging control system of Invention 3
In the photographing control system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that photographing of a subject provided with the information transmission device is permitted, and the photographing control means includes the transmission information. When acquired, the photographing of the subject is permitted.

  As a result, the camera that has acquired the transmission information from the information transmission device of the subject to be photographed can freely photograph the subject by the photographing control means, so information to be notified to many unspecified people For example, information such as information on an Internet homepage and various advertisements can be obtained as a still image or a moving image with peace of mind.

[Invention 4] An imaging control system according to Invention 4 includes:
In the photographing control system according to the first aspect, the transmission information from the information transmitting device includes pattern information having a predetermined feature amount and information for restricting photographing of an image including the pattern information, and the photographing control unit includes: The transmission information is acquired, and shooting is restricted when a pattern having substantially the same feature amount as the pattern information exists on the subject. According to such a configuration, the imaging control means that has acquired the transmission information from the information transmission device restricts the imaging of an image including a pattern having a feature amount substantially the same as the feature amount of the certain pattern in the transmission information. If the information is included, shooting of the portion (subject) including the specific pattern information can be restricted.

  That is, the present invention not only restricts shooting of a subject but also information that the subject is a book or magazine and does not want to be shot, such as a map, a recipe for a dish, a serial novel, a photo book, a comic book, etc. Useful information that can be protected by copyright and information that may be photographed, such as sponsored product advertisements, can be controlled individually for each information by using the pattern information. It becomes. In other words, if you want to embed specific pattern information in the information you do not want to shoot, the camera (shooting control means) will recognize the specific pattern information and forcibly limit the shooting. If such specific pattern information is not embedded, the camera (photographing control means) recognizes that there is no specific pattern information at the place where the information is posted, and enables photographing. Become.

As a result, it is possible to avoid the damage of so-called digital shoplifting for information that is not desired to be photographed, and it is possible to permit photographing freely for information that can be photographed.
Also, as a general rule, it is possible to distinguish between information that is subject to shooting restrictions and information that is free to shoot only by providing one information transmission device for one subject. Can do.

[Invention 5] An imaging control system according to Invention 5 includes:
In the photographing control system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes pattern information having a predetermined feature amount and information that allows photographing of an image including the pattern information, and the photographing control unit includes: The transmission information is acquired, and photographing is permitted when pattern information substantially the same as the predetermined feature amount exists on the surface of the subject.

That is, in contrast to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the pattern information is embedded in the information that can be photographed, so that information with a specific pattern can be photographed freely, Since shooting of information that does not have a specific pattern is limited, so-called digital shoplifting can be effectively avoided.
Further, as in principle, it is possible to distinguish between information on which photographing restrictions are imposed and information on which photography is free by providing only one information transmission device for one subject.

[Invention 6] The imaging control system of Invention 6 is
In the photographing control system according to the fourth or fifth aspect, the feature amount of the pattern information on the subject is detected using a co-occurrence matrix.
That is, if a co-occurrence matrix is used, a specific pattern can be calculated as a feature quantity. Therefore, if the pattern information on the subject is detected using the co-occurrence matrix, the presence / absence of the pattern information is highly accurate. Can be determined.

[Invention 7] An imaging control system according to Invention 7 includes:
In the photographing control system according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects, the feature amount of the pattern on the subject is different for each information transmission device.
As a result, the contents of the specific pattern information and the presence thereof cannot be easily estimated or grasped, so that it is possible to more effectively perform shooting control (shooting restriction / shooting permission).

[Invention 8] An imaging control system according to Invention 8 comprises:
In the photographing control method according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the information transmission device provided in the subject is a wireless IC tag.
As described above, when a wireless IC tag that transmits and receives information using weak radio waves is used as an information transmission device provided in a subject, the possibility that information with the information transmission device of another subject interferes with each other is reduced. Therefore, information communication with the target camera can be reliably performed.

In addition, since the unit price of the wireless IC tag is greatly reduced as it spreads to various products in the future, the system of the present invention can be realized more economically.
The “wireless IC tag” referred to in the present invention is a tag (tag) equipped with an IC chip of 1 mm or less, which is also called RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), and stores a large amount of information in the IC itself. It can be freely read and written by a reader or writer through an antenna equipped with the information. In general, the wireless IC tag is not equipped with a battery, and acquires a radio wave emitted from a reader / writer and generates a current by electromagnetic induction or the like. There has also been proposed an IC tag equipped with a battery and capable of using a more complicated application. IC tags are often introduced as next-generation barcodes attached to products. The biggest difference between IC tags and barcodes is the amount of information that can be stored. Barcodes store information in the tens of digits, whereas IC tags can store information in thousands or more. Yes. Moreover, the point that information can be freely rewritten is also greatly different from the barcode.

[Invention 9] The shooting control program of Invention 9 is
A shooting control program used in the shooting control system according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the information acquisition unit and the shooting control unit provided on the camera side are caused to function in a computer. .
As a result, the same effects as those of the inventions 1 to 8 can be obtained, and the information acquisition unit and the imaging control unit can be used as they are by using a computer system (hardware) that is conventionally provided in most digital cameras and the like. Since the function can be realized on software, it can be realized more economically and easily than when a dedicated device is created and realized. Also, in many cases, it is possible to easily achieve version upgrades such as function changes and improvements only by rewriting the program.

[Invention 10] In addition, the photographing control method of Invention 10 includes:
A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the sending information is acquired from the information sending device when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending is performed. The photographing with the camera is controlled based on the contents of the information.

As a result, like the first aspect, so-called digital shoplifting, voyeurism, etc. can be effectively prevented, and a photographable subject can be photographed with peace of mind. In addition, regardless of whether it is indoors or outdoors, the camera side can reliably acquire information about the subject.
Furthermore, since arbitrary information can be transmitted for each subject, there is no inconvenience that a subject that is not subject to photographing restrictions cannot be photographed.

[Invention 11] The photographing control method of Invention 11
A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending information from the information sending device is acquired, and the sending information is When information indicating that the photographing of the subject is restricted is included, photographing of the subject by the camera is restricted, or output and storage of the photographed image are restricted.

Thus, as in the case of the invention 2, the photographing control means restricts the photographing of the subject or the output and storage of the photographed image is forcibly restricted when performing photographing. It is possible to effectively prevent so-called digital shoplifting or voyeurism.
[Invention 12] Further, the photographing control method of Invention 12 includes:
A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending information from the information sending device is acquired, and the sending information is A shooting control method characterized in that, when information indicating permission of shooting of the subject is included, shooting of the subject by the camera is permitted.

As a result, as in the third aspect, since the subject can be freely photographed, information to be notified to an unspecified number of people can be acquired as a still image or a moving image with peace of mind.
[Invention 13] The photographing control method of Invention 13 is
In the photographing control method according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information that restricts photographing of an image including a pattern having a feature amount substantially the same as a feature amount of a specific pattern, and the transmission information is When a pattern having the same feature quantity as the feature quantity of the pattern exists on the subject obtained, the shooting is limited.

As in the fourth aspect, this makes it possible to restrict shooting for each piece of information by notifying specific pattern information, thereby avoiding so-called digital shoplifting damage for information that is not desired to be shot. be able to.
[Invention 14] The photographing control method of Invention 14
In the photographing control method according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information that restricts photographing of an image including a pattern having a feature amount substantially the same as a feature amount of a specific pattern, and the transmission information is When a pattern having the same feature amount as the feature amount of the pattern is present on the subject, the photographing is permitted.

As a result, as with the fifth aspect, information that has a specific pattern can be freely photographed, and information that does not have a specific pattern can be restricted from being photographed.
[Invention 15] The photographing control method of Invention 15
In the photographing control method according to the thirteenth or fourteenth aspect, the feature amount of the pattern on the subject is detected using a co-occurrence matrix.

Accordingly, the pattern information can be detected with high accuracy as in the sixth aspect.
[Invention 16] The photographing control method of Invention 16
In the photographing control method according to any one of the thirteenth to fifteenth aspects, the feature amount of the pattern on the subject is made different for each information transmission device.
As a result, the specific pattern and its presence are not easily guessed / understood as in the case of the invention 7, so that it is possible to more effectively perform shooting control (shooting restriction / shooting permission).

[Invention 17] The photographing control method of Invention 17
In the photographing control method according to any one of the inventions 10 to 16, a wireless IC tag is used as an information transmission device provided in the subject.
As a result, as in the case of the eighth aspect, the possibility that information with the information transmission device of another subject interferes with each other is reduced, so that information communication with the target camera can be reliably performed.

[Invention 18] A digital camera according to Invention 18 comprises
Information acquisition means for acquiring transmission information from an information transmission device provided in the subject;
An imaging control unit that controls imaging based on the content of the information acquired by the information acquisition unit is provided.
[Invention 19] The digital camera of Invention 19
In the digital camera according to the eighteenth aspect of the invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that photographing of a subject provided in the information transmission device is restricted, and the photographing control unit acquires the transmission information. In this case, the photographing of the subject by the camera is restricted, or the output and storage of the photographed image are restricted.

As a result, like the first aspect, so-called digital shoplifting, voyeurism, etc. can be effectively prevented, and a photographable subject can be photographed with peace of mind. In addition, regardless of whether it is indoors or outdoors, the camera side can reliably acquire information about the subject.
Furthermore, since arbitrary information can be transmitted for each subject, there is no inconvenience that a subject that is not subject to photographing restrictions cannot be photographed.

[Invention 20] A digital camera according to Invention 20 comprises:
In the digital camera according to the eighteenth aspect of the invention, the transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that photographing of a subject provided in the information transmission device is restricted, and the photographing control unit acquires the transmission information. In this case, the photographing of the subject by the camera is restricted, or the output and storage of the photographed image are restricted.

  Thus, as in the case of the invention 2, the photographing control means restricts the photographing of the subject or the output and storage of the photographed image is forcibly restricted when performing photographing. It is possible to effectively prevent so-called digital shoplifting and voyeurism.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an imaging control system 100 according to the present invention.
As shown in the figure, this photographing control system 100 is integrally provided on the subject S side with a digital camera 200 that photographs an arbitrary subject S (a painting in the example of FIG. 1) and acquires it as digital image data. The information transmission device 300 such as a wireless IC tag is mainly configured.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the digital camera 200 further provides a photographing unit (camera unit) 210 that provides a basic function as a camera and a function of acquiring transmission information from the information transmission device 300. The information acquisition unit 240 and an imaging control unit 230 that controls the imaging function of the imaging unit (camera unit) 210 based on the transmission information acquired by the information acquisition unit 240 are mainly configured.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the photographing unit (camera unit) 210 includes an imaging device 211 such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) that captures light from the subject S, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and the like. Obtained by the A / D conversion unit 212 that converts analog signals of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) acquired by the image sensor 211 into digital signals, and the A / D conversion unit 212. A camera signal processing unit 213 that performs image processing such as color interpolation processing and filter processing on the digital image signal, and a DRAM for temporarily holding the digital image data obtained by the camera signal processing unit 213 The temporary image memory 214 and the data stored in the temporary image memory 214. A compression part such as a still image such as JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group) system, a moving image compression part such as MPEG (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group / Moving Picture Experts Group) system, and a compression part such as MPEG. A recording unit 216 that records and stores the digital image data compressed in 215 in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, an electromagnetic storage medium, or the like; and the digital image data held in the temporary image memory 214 is converted into an analog signal for an image. A D / A conversion unit 217 for converting the image to the image, a display unit 218 for visually displaying an analog signal for the image converted by the D / A conversion unit 217 to a user, etc., and a shutter operation. Mainly composed of an operation unit 219 for acquiring an operation signal such as an operation or an exposure operation, and a system control unit 220 for controlling these units 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219. .

  The system control unit 220 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs calculation / control processing, and a semiconductor ROM (not shown) in which a system and a control program are stored. The CPU controls the respective units 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219 in a systematic manner in accordance with various control programs stored in the program.

  That is, the light from the subject S to be photographed is collected by a lens (not shown), imaged on the image sensor 211, and analog for each pixel by tens to millions of photodiodes arranged two-dimensionally. After being converted into a signal and subjected to noise removal processing and gain adjustment processing specific to the sensor, it is sent to the A / D converter 212 and converted into a digital image signal for each RGB pixel. The digital image signal generated by the A / D conversion unit 212 is then sent to the camera signal processing unit 213, and color interpolation processing for interpolating the missing color information and filter processing (LPF processing) for improving the image quality. , HPF processing, etc.) to generate high-quality digital image data and hold it in the temporary image memory 214.

  The digital image data held in the temporary image memory 214 is compressed into a compact capacity by the image compression unit 215 and recorded in the recording unit 216 or converted into an analog signal by the D / A conversion unit 217. The image is sent to the display unit 218, displayed on a liquid crystal display (LCD) attached to the camera casing, and the photographing result is visually presented to the user or the like. Further, the shutter operation performed by the user, the deletion and editing of recorded image data, the operation of changing the photographing pattern, and the like are sent to the system control unit 220 via the operation unit 219, and the operation result is transmitted via the system control unit 220. It will be executed faithfully.

The photographing acquisition means 240 is an IC reader for a so-called wireless IC tag, which emits a read (reading) radio wave to the information transmission device (wireless IC tag) 300 and can transmit information by the radio wave. It receives the transmission information from the information transmission device 300 and acquires information related to photographing of the subject S provided with the information transmission device 300.
In addition, the photographing control unit 230 analyzes the content of information regarding photographing of the subject S acquired by the photographing acquisition unit 240 and controls the system control unit 220 of the photographing unit (camera unit) 210. . A specific example of the control content by the photographing control means 230 will be described later.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the information transmission device (wireless IC tag) 300 includes a memory 311 that stores various information related to photographing of the subject S, in addition to product information corresponding to a conventional barcode, and the memory. 311 includes a transmission circuit 313 that transmits information stored in 311, an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) 312 that controls the transmission circuit 313, and an antenna 314 that receives a read signal from the information acquisition unit 240. When the antenna 314 receives the read signal from the information acquisition unit 240, the MPU 312 is activated by electromagnetic induction, acquires various information relating to the photographing of the subject S stored in the memory 311 and transmits the acquired information. Transmission is made to the digital camera 200 side via the circuit 313.

Next, an example of a shooting control method using the shooting control system 100 of the present invention having such a configuration will be described.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a shooting control process using the shooting control system 100 described above.
First, in the first step S101, the user optimizes the shooting mode suitable for shooting the subject S to be shot using the digital camera 200, for example, flashing the flash during shooting, or adjusting the shutter speed and exposure. If the shooting mode has been selected such as “Yes”, the process proceeds to the next step S103 to determine whether or not shooting has been executed.

If it is determined that photographing has been executed (Yes), the process proceeds to the next step S105, and the photographed image is temporarily stored in the image temporary memory 214 of the photographing means 200.
Next, if the image photographed in this way is temporarily stored, the process proceeds to the next step S107 to analyze the transmission information transmitted from the information transmission device 300 of the subject S, and to photograph the subject S. It is determined whether or not a signal (shooting prohibition code signal) for limiting the image is included.

  If it is determined that the shooting prohibition code signal is included as a result of the analysis of the transmission information (Yes), the process proceeds to the next step S109 to display a shooting prohibition warning to the user of the digital camera 200. I do. The method for displaying the photographing prohibition warning is not particularly limited. For example, the display unit 218 may display a text such as “This subject is prohibited to photograph” on the liquid crystal display. A method of generating a sound or a warning sound or displaying the sound with an LED or the like indicating the sound can be considered.

  In this way, when the photographing prohibition warning is displayed to the user of the digital camera 200 in step S109, the process proceeds to the next step S111 and the photographed image is erased from the temporary image memory 214. As a result, it becomes impossible to record the photographed image in the recording unit 216 or display it on the display unit 218, and the photographing of the subject S is surely limited.

  On the other hand, as a result of the analysis of the information in step S107, if the transmission information transmitted from the information transmission device 300 of the subject S does not include a signal for limiting the photographing of the subject S (shooting prohibition code signal). When the determination is made (No), the process proceeds to the step S113 and the image data held in the temporary image memory 214 is recorded in the recording unit 216 and displayed on the display unit 218 according to the user's request or the like. It will be.

  As described above, the present invention embeds information related to photographing in the information transmission device 300 of the subject S, and the digital camera 200 side that photographs the subject S analyzes the information to restrict photographing. Since shooting (storing) of the subject S becomes impossible, so-called digital shoplifting or stealing an exhibit subject to shooting restrictions can be reliably prevented.

In addition, by providing the subject S with the information transmission device 300 such as a wireless IC tag, the digital camera 200 can reliably acquire information related to the photographing of the subject S regardless of whether it is indoors or outdoors.
Furthermore, by providing the subject S with the information transmission device 300, it is possible to transmit arbitrary information for each subject S, which may cause inconveniences such as the subject S that is not subject to photographing restrictions cannot be photographed. Absent.

  In the present embodiment, the image data stored in the temporary image memory 214 is deleted as a photographing restriction method to restrict the storage to the recording unit 216 and the display to the display unit 218. The processing of step S107 is performed before pressing, and if it is determined that a signal for limiting the shooting of the subject S (shooting prohibition code signal) is included, the shooting means 210 is controlled so that the shutter cannot be pressed. Then, the exposure of the subject S itself is prohibited, or an unnecessary flash is emitted at the same time as the shutter is pressed to forcibly generate an overexposure phenomenon, so that an image that cannot be endured visually is obtained. You may control.

  In the present embodiment, the shooting restriction is notified by including a signal (shooting prohibition code signal) for limiting the shooting of the subject S in the transmission information from the information transmission device 300 of the subject S. On the contrary, if the transmission information from the information transmission device 300 includes a signal (photographing permission code signal) for permitting the photographing of the subject S, the user can perform the photographing with peace of mind. can do.

Next, FIG. 6 to FIG. 12 show a second embodiment of the present invention, and individually include information related to the feature amount of a specific pattern in the transmission information from the information transmission device 300. This is intended to achieve shooting control.
Therefore, in the present embodiment, a feature amount calculation unit 231 and a shooting determination unit 232 are additionally provided in the shooting control unit 230 described above.

The feature amount calculation unit 231 provides a function of calculating the feature amount of the pattern T provided in the surface image of the subject S using the co-occurrence matrix. For example, a surface image of the subject S of 640 × 480 pixels (pixel) as shown in FIG. 7A is divided into 4 × 4 pixel lattice areas C as shown in FIG. Histogram flattening is performed as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 9, 256 gradations are converted to 4 gradations. Then, after performing histogram flattening for each lattice region C, a co-occurrence matrix is created. The co-occurrence matrix is a probability that a pixel having a gradation value i is adjacent to a pixel having a gradation value i and the gradation value is j for an n gradation image.
P _δ (i, j), (i, j = 0,1,..., N−1). From the matrix, feature quantities can be obtained by 14 types of feature quantity calculation formulas. The positional relationship between adjacent pixels is assumed to be four displacements (δ = (1,0 °), δ = (1,90 °), δ = (1,135 °), δ = (1,45 °)). The pattern T can be expressed by 4 displacements × 14 (type feature amounts) = 56 feature amounts. This co-occurrence matrix itself is a well-known technique, and is detailed in, for example, the image analysis handbook “Supervision Mikio Takagi, Yoshihisa Shimoda, University of Tokyo Publishers” pp 518-521. Further, equations 1 to 18 for calculating the ₁₄ feature values (f _{1 to} f ₁₄ ) are shown below.

FIG. 7A shows an example in which a specific pattern T is printed and added to the entire background of a page with a book, and FIG. 7B shows a specific page of the page with the book. This shows an example in which a specific pattern T is embedded in the illustration.
On the other hand, the photographing determination unit 232 detects whether or not the 56 feature amount αl that is the feature amount of the pattern prohibited from photographing is recorded in the signal transmitted from the information transmission device 300, and this 56 feature amount αl. And the 56 feature amount βl of the pattern T on the surface image of the subject S calculated by the feature amount calculation unit 231, and a function of determining whether or not photographing is possible according to the comparison result.

  Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, when a specific pattern T is printed on the background of the text sentence that is the subject S, the pattern T is, for example, a lattice area of 4 × 4 pixels as described above. Dividing every C, performing histogram flattening in each lattice area C and creating a co-occurrence matrix, calculating 56 feature values βl from each co-occurrence matrix, and transmitting the feature values βl and the information transmitting device 300 If the difference is within a predetermined range, for example, when the threshold value is ρ, the case where max | αl−βl | <ρ holds is determined to be prohibited. Is possible. Note that ρ is not particularly invariant and is determined empirically based on the type and size of the pattern T, the size of the lattice area, the histogram flattening rate, and the like.

  In other words, as an example of the flow of the shooting control process of the present embodiment, as shown in the flow of FIG. 11, a process of saving an image shot from the selection of the shooting mode in the temporary memory 214 (steps S201 to S205). After that, the process proceeds to step S207, and it is confirmed whether or not transmission information including the photographing prohibition code signal is received from the information transmission device 300 of the subject S. As a result of this confirmation, when it is determined that the transmission signal is not received (No), it is determined that the photographing restriction is not applied, and the process proceeds to step S219 and is stored in the temporary image memory 214 as in the embodiment. The processed image is recorded in the recording unit 216 as it is, and the processing is ended. On the contrary, when it is determined that the transmission signal is received (Yes), the process proceeds to step S209.

In step S209, the 56 feature amount βl is calculated for each pattern in the image temporarily stored in the image temporary memory 214.
The calculation of the 56 feature quantity βl is executed by the feature quantity calculation unit 231 according to the flow shown in FIG. 12 as described above. As shown in FIG. 12, the feature amount βl is calculated by first dividing the temporarily stored image into 4 × 4 pixel grid areas C as shown in FIG. 10 (step S301). Perform histogram flattening. For example, in general, in the case of an image such as a color photograph taken by the digital camera 200, there are many cases where 8 bits = 256 gradations, so this is converted into 4 gradations of 0-3. Note that this histogram flattening is not always necessary when the gradation of the image is small, but generally, in the case of an image such as a color photograph taken by the digital camera 200, 8 bits = 256 gradations. Therefore, the calculation of the feature amount βl can be facilitated by performing such histogram flattening.

Then, if histogram flattening is performed for each lattice region C, a co-occurrence matrix is generated for the four displacements, and 14 types of feature amounts, that is, a total of 56 feature amounts are calculated from the generated co-occurrence matrices. .
Next, in step S211, the 56 feature amount βl calculated in step S209 is compared with the 56 feature amount αl indicating the shooting prohibition obtained by analyzing the information received in step S207.

  Then, the process proceeds to the next step S213, and when it is determined that the difference is within the predetermined threshold ρ as a result of the comparison (Yes), the image is restricted to be photographed (shooting is prohibited). Then, the process proceeds to step S215, and a shooting prohibition warning is displayed to the user. Then, the process proceeds to step S217, where the image is erased from the image temporary memory 214, and the process ends.

On the other hand, as a result of the comparison in step S213, when it is determined that the difference is not within the predetermined threshold ρ (No), it is determined that the image can be taken, and the process proceeds to step S219. The image temporarily stored in the temporary image memory 214 is recorded in the recording unit 216 as it is, and the processing is ended.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the information transmitted from the information transmitting apparatus 300 includes the information related to the feature amount of the specific pattern, so that the photographing control is not performed on the entire subject S, but a book, a magazine, or the like. It is possible to perform shooting control individually for a certain page or a certain part.

As a result, useful information such as illustrations and articles can be easily restricted by including a specific pattern. As for, by not including a specific pattern, photographing can be performed freely.
In the present embodiment, shooting is limited when the difference between the feature value αl transmitted from the subject S side and the feature value βl calculated on the digital camera 200 side is equal to or smaller than a predetermined threshold ρ. However, as a modification of the above-described embodiment, it may be configured such that photographing can be performed only when the difference between them is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value ρ.

  In addition to providing a specific pattern for performing shooting control in a part of the area that is subject to shooting restriction, it can be distributed over a wide range such as the background part of the sentence, or if there are multiple types of the pattern, It is possible to surely prevent a malicious shooting restriction avoidance measure that attempts to shoot other areas while hiding only a part of the pattern portion.

It is a conceptual diagram which shows the structure and effect | action of an imaging | photography control system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure and effect | action of an imaging | photography control system. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a digital camera. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of an information transmitter (wireless IC tag). It is a flowchart figure which shows the imaging | photography control method of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows other embodiment of an imaging | photography control means. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the to-be-photographed object which embedded the specific pattern. It is an enlarged view showing a state in which a part of a specific pattern is divided into a 4 × 4 pixel grid area. It is an enlarged view showing a state in which a 4 × 4 pixel lattice area is flattened in a histogram. It is an enlarged view which shows the state which applied the specific pattern of the background of a text sentence. It is a flowchart figure which shows the imaging | photography control method of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure which shows the feature-value calculation method of a pattern.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Shooting control system, 200 ... Digital camera, 210 ... Shooting means (camera unit), 211 ... Imaging device, 212 ... A / D conversion unit, 213 ... Camera signal processing unit, 214 ... Temporary image memory, 215 ... Image compression 216: Recording unit, 217 ... D / A conversion unit, 218 ... Display unit, 219 ... Operation unit, 220 ... System control, 221 ... CPU, 230 ... Shooting control means, 231 ... Feature quantity calculation unit, 232 ... Shooting determination , 240 ... information acquisition means, 300 ... information transmission device, 311 ... memory, 312 ... MPU, 313 ... transmission circuit, 314 ... antenna, S ... subject, T ... pattern, C ... lattice area.

Claims (15)

A subject that can be photographed with a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject,
The camera includes information acquisition means for acquiring transmission information from the information transmission device, and imaging control means for controlling imaging by the camera based on the content of information acquired by the information acquisition means. Shooting control system. The imaging control system according to claim 1,
The transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that the photographing of the subject provided with the information transmission device is restricted,
When the transmission information is acquired, the photographing control unit restricts photographing of the subject by the camera or restricts output and storage of a photographed image. The imaging control system according to claim 1,
The transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that photographing of the subject provided in the information transmission device is permitted,
The photographing control system is characterized in that the photographing control means permits photographing of the subject when the transmission information is acquired. The imaging control system according to claim 1,
The transmission information from the information transmission device includes pattern information having a predetermined feature amount and information for restricting photographing of an image including the pattern information,
The photographing control system is characterized in that the photographing control means acquires the transmission information, and restricts photographing when a pattern having substantially the same feature amount as the pattern information exists on the subject. The imaging control system according to claim 1,
The transmission information from the information transmission device includes pattern information having a predetermined feature amount and information that allows photographing of an image including the pattern information.
The photographing control system is characterized in that the photographing control means acquires the transmission information and permits photographing when a pattern having a feature amount substantially the same as the pattern information exists on the subject. In the photography control system according to claim 4 or 5,
An imaging control system, wherein the feature amount of the pattern on the subject is detected using a co-occurrence matrix. In the imaging control system according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
An imaging control system, wherein a feature amount of a pattern on the subject is different for each of the information transmission devices. In the imaging | photography control system in any one of Claims 1-7,
An information transmission device provided in the subject is a wireless IC tag. A shooting control program used in the shooting control system according to claim 1,
An imaging control program for causing a computer to function information acquisition means and imaging control means provided on the camera side   A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the sending information is acquired from the information sending device when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending is performed. An imaging control method characterized in that imaging with the camera is controlled based on information content.   A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending information from the information sending device is acquired, and the sending information is An imaging control method characterized in that when the information to limit the shooting of the subject is included, the shooting of the subject by the camera is limited or the output and storage of the shot image is limited.   A subject that can be photographed by a camera is provided with an information sending device that sends information about the subject, and when the subject is shot by the camera, the sending information from the information sending device is acquired, and the sending information is An imaging control method characterized in that, when information indicating permission of shooting of the subject is included, shooting of the subject by the camera is permitted. In the imaging control method according to any one of claims 10 to 12,
An imaging control method, wherein a wireless IC tag is used as an information transmission device provided in the subject. Information acquisition means for acquiring transmission information from an information transmission device provided in the subject;
A digital camera comprising imaging control means for controlling imaging based on the content of information acquired by the information acquisition means. The digital camera according to claim 14, wherein
The transmission information from the information transmission device includes information indicating that the photographing of the subject provided with the information transmission device is restricted,
The digital camera is characterized in that, when the transmission information is acquired, the photographing of the subject by the camera is restricted or the output and storage of the photographed image is restricted.

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