JP2005303941A - Correction reference designation device and correction reference designation method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and efficiently designate an intended correction reference at the time of a setting operation of a correction reference required for a front photographing correction of a photographed image. <P>SOLUTION: When an outline Aa indicating a candidate (rectangular area) of a correction reference preliminarily detected from a photographed image is selected, a handle H indicating a peak of a changed object is displayed according to a user's request, and a peak to which a change is desired by a shift operation of the handle H is selected (a). According to a peak change operation, the handle H is shifted to the candidate peak of another correction reference whose peak position is the same as that of the peak selected, and the outline Aa is corrected to a new outline Ba including a peak of a shifting destination (b). The repetition of the correction operation is permitted and a rectangular area indicated by an outline Bc or the like displayed at that time is determined as a correction reference required for a front photographing correction, in the presence of an area confirming operation. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a correction reference specifying device and a correction reference specifying method.

  In recent years, in presentations and conferences, a document prepared as data in a personal computer is enlarged and projected on a screen by a projector. In addition to the above documents, when a document manuscript (newspaper, magazine article, presentation paper, etc.) is projected by a projector, it is photographed by a so-called document camera equipped with a dedicated stand or a general digital camera. The image data obtained by the above is input to a personal computer or directly input to a projector.

  By the way, when photographing a document original as described above, if the photographing is not performed at a position facing the document original, rectangular distortion such as so-called trapezoidal distortion occurs in the photographed original. In that case, prior to use, it is necessary to correct the front image for the captured image to remove the rectangular distortion.

In this regard, for example, in Patent Document 1 below, trapezoidal distortion present in an image of a document or the like photographed by a camera supported by a support column is assumed to be a tilt of the photographing optical axis with respect to the support column in the camera, that is, a tilt of the photographing optical axis with respect to the document or the like. Is described, and a correction method based on the detected inclination is described.
JP 2002-354331 A (see paragraphs “0015” and “0016”)

  However, when photographing a document or the like with a general digital camera that does not have a dedicated stand, it is impossible to obtain the inclination of the photographing optical axis with respect to the document or the like, and thus the front photographing correction by the above method is impossible. . Also, the direction and amount of rectangular distortion present in the captured image is different each time. Therefore, in order to perform front-side shooting correction that removes the rectangular distortion present in the captured image, the user specifies a rectangular area as a correction reference for determining the correction direction and degree in the image in advance. Correction is performed based on the correction reference.

  However, when such front-facing correction is performed, for example, on the digital camera body, the display size of the LCD screen that displays the captured image is small, so when setting the correction reference, the user enlarges a portion of the image. It is necessary to specify the correction reference (rectangular region) while scrolling the display part as necessary, or reducing the image to a size that fits on the screen. Moreover, the work must be performed using existing operation keys. Therefore, there has been a problem that the work of specifying the correction standard has to be extremely complicated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and it is possible to easily and efficiently specify an intended correction reference when setting a correction reference necessary for front image correction of a captured image. It is an object of the present invention to provide a correction reference specifying device and a correction reference specifying method.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a correction reference designating device for allowing a user to designate a rectangular area as a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image, wherein the correction is performed from the image. Detection means for detecting corners of a plurality of rectangular regions that are candidates for reference, storage means for storing the plurality of corners detected by the detection means as coordinate information, display means for displaying the image, and Display control means for causing the display means to display a rectangular area defined by any combination of the plurality of corners in accordance with the area specifying operation by the user as a selection candidate, and for the user to perform the area specifying operation Input means.

  In such a configuration, when an area designating operation is performed, a rectangular area that is a candidate for a correction reference existing in the image is automatically displayed. Therefore, it is possible to allow the user to designate a rectangular area as a correction reference for the rectangular distortion without causing the user to specify the corner of the rectangular area as the correction reference on the screen.

  Further, in the invention of claim 2, the detecting means recognizes a plurality of straight lines from the image and detects corners of a plurality of rectangular areas partitioned along the recognized plurality of straight lines. did.

  In such a configuration, a rectangular region suitable for correcting the rectangular distortion can be displayed as a selection candidate in accordance with the region designation operation.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the display control means causes the rectangular area of the selection candidate to be superimposed on the image and displayed on the display means, and according to an area switching operation in an area designation operation by a user. In addition, a region switching means for switching the rectangular region to be selected to another rectangular region defined by a combination of different corners is included.

  In such a configuration, the selection candidate rectangular area is switched every time the area switching operation is performed.

  Further, in the invention of claim 4, the display control means causes the display means to display any one of the corners in the rectangular area of the selection candidate so as to be identifiable as a change candidate, and an area by the user In accordance with the vertex switching operation in the designation operation, the vertex switching means for switching the corner portion of the change candidate to another corner portion, and the region designation operation by the user for the corner portion of the change candidate displayed in an identifiable manner by this vertex switching means In response to the vertex change operation in, a rectangular region defined by any combination of the plurality of corners whose vertical and horizontal positions in the rectangular region are the same as the corner, and other candidates that are not selection candidates It is assumed to include a vertex changing means for changing to the corner of the rectangular area and correcting the rectangular area of the selection candidate.

  In such a configuration, the user can correct the rectangular area that is the selection candidate only by performing the vertex switching operation and the vertex changing operation.

  According to the invention of claim 5, a determination unit that determines a rectangular area displayed on the display unit by the display control unit as the correction reference according to an area determination operation by the user, and the user It was further provided with an input means for performing a confirmation operation.

  In such a configuration, the user can be made to select and determine a rectangular area as a correction reference through a series of operations.

  Further, the invention of claim 6 is provided with correction means for correcting the rectangular distortion in the input image based on the correction reference determined by the determination means.

  In such a configuration, it is possible to immediately correct the front image of the captured image based on the correction standard designated by the user.

  Further, in the invention of claim 7, a cutout unit that cuts out a rectangular region corresponding to the rectangular region that is a correction reference from the image after correction corrected by the correction unit, and the cutout unit Control means for displaying an image of a rectangular area on the display means is provided.

  In such a configuration, only the important part of the corrected image can be automatically displayed after the front image correction of the captured image.

  In the invention according to claim 8, the image processing apparatus includes an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject, the display unit displays an image captured by the imaging unit, and the detection unit captures an image by the imaging unit. The corners of a plurality of rectangular areas that are candidates for correction criteria are detected from the obtained image.

  In such a configuration, it is possible to perform frontal shooting correction of a shot image immediately after shooting.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a correction reference designating method for allowing a user to designate a rectangular area as a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image, wherein the correction reference candidate is selected from the input image. The step of detecting corners of a plurality of rectangular regions, the step of storing the detected corners as coordinate information, and the display means for displaying the image in accordance with the region specifying operation by the user, the coordinate information And displaying a rectangular area defined by any combination of a plurality of corners stored as a selection candidate.

  According to this method, it is possible to allow the user to designate a rectangular area that is a correction reference for the rectangular distortion without causing the user to specify the corner of the rectangular area that is the correction reference on the screen. .

  In the invention of claim 10, a computer having a correction reference designating device that allows a user to designate a rectangular area that is a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image is used for an area designating operation by the user. Accordingly, the display means for displaying the image is coordinate information stored in the storage means, based on coordinate information indicating corners of a plurality of rectangular areas that are candidates for correction criteria detected from the image. A program for functioning as a display control means for displaying a rectangular area defined by the combination of the corners as a selection candidate is provided.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the rectangular region serving as the correction reference for the rectangular distortion can be provided to the user without causing the user to specify the corner of the rectangular region used as the correction reference on the screen. Enabled to be specified. Therefore, the user can easily and efficiently specify the intended correction reference when setting the correction reference necessary for front image correction of the captured image.

  In addition, a rectangular area suitable for correcting the rectangular distortion can be displayed as a selection candidate in accordance with the area specifying operation, so that accurate correction can be performed. In addition, since the selection candidate rectangular area is switched every time the area switching operation is performed, it is possible to improve workability when specifying the correction reference. In addition, since the rectangular area that is a candidate for selection can be corrected simply by performing a vertex switching operation and a vertex changing operation, a rectangular area that was not initially prepared as a candidate for selection can be easily and efficiently used. Can be specified.

  In addition, the user can select and determine a rectangular area as a correction reference in a series of operations, or immediately perform front-side shooting correction of a captured image based on the correction reference specified by the user, Since it is possible to automatically display only the important part of the corrected image after front shot correction of the captured image, usability can be improved. In addition, it is possible to perform frontal shooting correction of a shot image immediately after shooting.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a digital camera 1 according to the present invention. The digital camera 1 is composed of a camera body 2 that is a flat housing. A photographing lens 3 is disposed in front of the camera body 2, and a power key 4 and a shutter key are disposed on the upper surface of the camera body 2 near the right end. 5 is disposed. The shutter key 5 performs a shutter operation in the recording mode by the operation, and also functions as a selection / execution key when menu items of various operation modes are displayed.

  Also, on the back of the camera body 2, an optical viewfinder 6, a mode changeover switch 7, a menu (MENU) key 8, cursor keys 9 for instructing up / down / left / right to select displayed menu items, and an LCD ( A liquid crystal monitor) 10 is provided. The mode change switch 7 is a slide switch for switching between the recording (REC) mode and the reproduction (PLAY) mode, and the menu key 8 is used to select a mode provided below each of the recording and reproduction modes, This is for displaying menu items of each mode. The cursor key 9 is used to move a displayed menu item or the like, and is used for a contour / vertex handle switching operation, a vertex handle moving operation, and the like in the front photographing correction mode which is a lower mode of the playback mode. The The front photographing correction mode is a mode prepared for performing front photographing correction that removes rectangular distortion such as so-called trapezoidal distortion from a photographed image.

  The liquid crystal monitor 10 is a display means of the present invention, and is constituted by a color liquid crystal display panel with a backlight, for example, and displays a through image of the subject 100 on the monitor in the shooting standby state in the recording mode and records by shooting in the playback mode. In addition to displaying an arbitrary image, various setting screens are displayed by operating the menu key 8.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the digital camera 1. The digital camera 1 includes a CPU 11 that controls the entire system, and a CCD 12 that is an image pickup device that outputs an analog image pickup signal corresponding to the optical image of the subject 100 formed on the photosensitive portion by the image pickup lens 3. . The analog imaging signal output from the CCD 12 is subjected to various signal processing in the signal processing unit 13, and finally YUV data consisting of a luminance signal (Y signal) and a color difference signal (U signal, V signal), that is, a digital signal. Output as an image signal. The image signal output from the signal processing unit 13 is sequentially stored in a RAM (for example, DRAM) 14 and is sent to the liquid crystal monitor 10 and displayed as a through image when in a recording standby state in a recording mode. The RAM 14 is a storage unit of the present invention, and is used for temporary storage of image data as described above, and also functions as a working memory for the CPU 11.

  Further, during a shooting operation in which the shutter key is pressed in the recording mode, the luminance (Y) and color difference signals (U, V) for one frame stored in the RAM 14 are sent to the image processing unit 15 where data compression is performed. It is recorded in the image memory 16 as an image file of a predetermined format such as JPEG. The image memory 16 is a non-volatile memory (recording medium) such as a flash memory that is built in or removable from the camera body 2. The compressed image data (image file) recorded in the image memory 16 is read by the CPU 11 as necessary in the reproduction mode, decompressed once by the image processing unit 15, and then reproduced and displayed as a still image on the LCD 10. .

  The key input unit 17 is an input means according to the present invention, and includes the power key 4, the shutter key 5, the mode switch 7, the menu key 8, and the cursor key 9. Scan signals are sequentially sent from the CPU 11 to the key input unit 17 by interrupt processing, and when any operation key is operated by the user, the CPU 11 detects it.

  The CPU 11 controls the above-described units in accordance with the operation of each operation key described above based on various programs stored in the ROM 18, and at the time of setting the front photographing correction mode, the detection unit and display control unit of the present invention. (Area switching means, vertex switching means, vertex changing means), functions as determination means, correction means, clipping means, and control means.

  Next, an operation according to the present invention of the digital camera 1 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 3 shows the processing of the CPU 11 when the front shooting correction mode is set by the user while the shooting image selected by the user out of the shooting images stored in the image memory 16 is displayed on the LCD 10 in the playback mode. It is a flowchart which shows a procedure. In the following description, it is assumed that the captured image G0 shown in FIG.

  When the front photographing correction mode is set, the CPU 11 first performs straight line recognition on the photographed image G0 and detects vertices (corner portions) of a plurality of rectangular areas partitioned along the recognized plurality of straight lines (step). S1). FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a plurality of rectangular regions having the vertices Pa to Pn detected here by thick lines (hereinafter, contour lines) A. FIG. Note that, in the illustrated outline A, two oblique lines having different lengths extending upward from the middle of the lower side of the outermost quadrangle, that is, a line connecting the vertices Pi and Pj, and the vertices Pn and Pk are connected. The line is a line that has been misrecognized during straight line recognition.

  Next, a plurality of rectangular regions that are candidates for correction criteria are selected from a plurality of rectangular regions according to a predetermined selection rule, and coordinate data including coordinate values indicating the positions of the respective vertices in the selected rectangular regions (Step S2). FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the coordinate data 201. The coordinate data 201 has the vertex positions (upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right) in the plurality of rectangular areas as columns, and each rectangular area that is a candidate for a correction reference. It is a coordinate value group which comprises the table data arrange | positioned by making (Aa-Ae) into a line. Here, in the present embodiment, the predetermined selection rule is "from the largest area to the fifth one except for a large one including all the rectangular areas among the plurality of rectangular areas having the detected vertices" As a result, the rectangular area that is a candidate for the correction reference is limited, and the coordinate data 201 is composed of a coordinate value group of 4 columns × 5 rows. Further, the five selected rectangular regions are five types of regions shown as contours Aa to Ae in FIGS. The coordinate value is a value in units of pixels of the captured image G0. Here, as shown in FIG. 4B, the upper left of the captured image G0 is (0, 0) and the lower right is (2304, 1728). Is the value of the coordinate system.

  Subsequently, based on the coordinate data 201 stored in the RAM 14, the CPU 11 displays a plurality of contour candidates, that is, contours indicating rectangular regions that are selection candidates, superimposed on the captured image G 0 on the screen of the LCD 10 (step S 3). At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E, any one of the contours Aa to Ae that is a selection candidate is displayed together with the plurality of rectangular regions (contour lines A) detected earlier. Contour candidates to be initially displayed are the coordinate values (219, 734), (2120, 1001), (68, 1342), (2077) of the vertices Pa to Pd on the first row in the coordinate data 201 (FIG. 5). , 1623) is the contour Aa of FIG. 6 (a). In FIG. 6, for the sake of convenience, the outline A is indicated by a broken line and the outlines Aa to Ae are indicated by bold lines. In practice, however, the outlines Aa to Ae can be distinguished from the outline A by changing their display colors. You can do it.

  Thereafter, if the user enters a state waiting for a key operation, and there is a contour candidate switching operation (region switching operation in the present invention) by an up / down instruction operation of the cursor key 9 (YES in step S4), the coordinate data 201 is accordingly received. Then, the coordinate value for each row is read out, and as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6E, the contours Aa to Ae are sequentially switched and displayed, and any one of the contours is selected (step S5). In a state where any one of the contours is selected, when there is an operation for confirming the contour by pressing the shutter key 5 (NO in step S6, YES in step S7), the rectangular region of the selected contour is corrected. Then, the front photographing correction is performed (step S8), and a rectangular area corresponding to the rectangular area as a correction reference is cut out from the corrected image, and the cut-out image is enlarged and displayed on the screen of the LCD 10 as much as possible ( Step S9) and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, in a state where any one of the contours is selected, when the user performs a correction instruction operation for the selected contour by the left / right instruction operation of the cursor key 9 (YES in step S6), the process proceeds to the following process. First, from the coordinate data 201 shown in FIG. 5, the coordinate values of selectable vertices are confirmed for each column (upper left, upper right, lower left, lower right vertex positions), and the vertex coordinates shown in FIG. Data 202 is created and stored (step S10). The vertex coordinate data 202 is data in which duplicated coordinate values are removed for each column of the coordinate data 201 and an index row for indicating a selected state is added to each column. Initially, the index value of each column is “0”. Set (not selected).

  Next, a handle is displayed at the upper left corner of the currently selected outline, and “1” (selected) is set as the index value in the upper left column of the vertex coordinate data 202 as shown in FIG. 7B. (Step S11). FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a state in which the handle H is displayed when the contour Aa shown in FIG. 6A is selected. In this state, if there is a handle movement operation (vertex switching operation of the present invention) by the up / down instruction operation of the cursor key 9 (YES in step S12), the handle H is moved to another vertex (Pb, Pc, Pd) are sequentially moved (see step S13, FIGS. 8B to 8D). At the same time, “1” is set to the index value of the column corresponding to the vertex position of the movement destination in the vertex coordinate data 202, and “0” is set to the index value of the column corresponding to the vertex position of the movement source. For example, in the state of FIG. 8B, only the index value in the upper right column is set to “1”.

  In addition, when any vertex is selected and there is a vertex changing operation by the left / right instruction operation of the cursor key 9 (YES in step S14), another vertex that can move the handle H accordingly, that is, vertex coordinates The data 202 moves to the other vertex indicated by the coordinate value group of the column in which the index value is set to “1”, and the contour that has been displayed so far becomes the contour having the vertex that the handle H is moved to. Correction is made (step S15). For example, as shown in FIGS. 9A to 9C, in the state shown in FIG. 8A, that is, in the state where the contour Aa is selected and the upper left vertex is selected, the handle H is The other movable vertices are the vertex Pe (346, 226) and the vertex Pi (652, 794) in the upper left column of the vertex coordinate data 202 (see FIG. 7B). When the handle H is moved by the change operation, the outline Aa on the screen is corrected to the outline Ba shown in FIG. 9B or the outline Bb shown in FIG.

  The CPU 11 performs processing according to the above-described handle movement operation or vertex change operation until there is a contour determination operation (region determination operation of the present invention) by pressing the shutter key 5 (NO in step S16). repeat. Therefore, for example, from the state where the upper left vertex Pa in the contour Aa is selected as shown in FIG. 10A, the user changes the upper left vertex Pa by the vertex change operation as shown in FIG. 10B. Is changed to the other upper-left vertex Pe located above, and the handle H is once moved to the upper-right vertex Pb of the newly selected outline Ba as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), when the upper right vertex Pb is changed again to another upper right vertex Pf located above the upper vertex Pb by the vertex changing operation, the correction reference candidate (see FIG. 6) is initially set. A new rectangular area that has not been formed, that is, a contour Bc indicating a rectangular area having the maximum area whose coordinate value of each vertex is the value shown in FIG. 11, is displayed on the screen to be in a selected state.

  Thereafter, if there is an outline determination operation by pressing the shutter key 5 (YES in step S16), the CPU 11 determines the rectangular area indicated by the currently displayed outline as a correction reference (step S17). Subsequently, it is checked whether or not there is a line segment that intersects each other in the outline of the rectangular area determined as the correction reference (contour displayed), and if there is not (YES in step S18), the rectangle determined as the correction reference. Based on the region, front photographing correction is performed on the photographed image G0 being displayed (step S19). Then, a rectangular area corresponding to the rectangular area used as a correction reference is cut out from the corrected image, and the cut-out image is enlarged and displayed on the screen of the LCD 10 as much as possible (step S20). For example, when there is a confirmation operation when the outline Bc is in the selected state as shown in FIG. 10D, the corrected cut-out image G1 as shown in FIG. 12 is enlarged and displayed. This completes the process.

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step S18 described above is NO and there are line segments that intersect each other in the outline of the fixed rectangular area (the outline being displayed), a predetermined error display (for example, “the selected area is not correct”). Is displayed) (step S21), and the process is terminated at that time. Note that this situation occurs when the plurality of rectangular regions that are candidates for the correction reference in which the respective vertices are stored as the coordinate data 201 in step S2 are those illustrated in FIGS. 6 (a) to 6 (e). Although it does not occur, for example, when the vertex change operation by the user described above, that is, when the upper right vertex of a selected outline (rectangular area) is changed to the upper right vertex of another candidate rectangular area, the change destination This occurs when the vertex position is located below the lower right vertex of the selected outline.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when a rectangular area that is a correction reference is designated in the front-view shooting correction mode, the intended outline in the rectangular areas that are candidates for the correction reference from the beginning, that is, the outlines Aa to Ae. Is present, the user can easily and efficiently specify a correction reference simply by performing a contour candidate switching operation.

  Moreover, even when the intended contour does not exist in the rectangular region (contours Aa to Ae) that are candidates for the initial correction reference, the user selects a contour closest to the intended region, for example, By simply changing (correcting) one of the vertices by a handle moving operation or a vertex changing operation, the intended contour can be designated as a correction reference. In other words, the rectangular area that has been a candidate for the correction reference can be changed to a desired rectangular area by only a simple operation and designated as a correction reference. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when performing the front photographing correction, the user can easily and efficiently specify the correction reference intended by the user as the correction reference necessary for the correction.

  In addition, based on the correction criteria specified by the user, it is possible to immediately correct the front image of the captured image, and after correcting the front image, the portion corresponding to the area that became the correction criterion, that is, the corrected image It is possible to automatically display only the important part of. Therefore, it is very easy to use.

  In the present embodiment, a description has been given of a case in which the number of rectangular regions that are candidates for correction criteria is selected according to a predetermined selection rule to limit the number thereof, but such a limitation may not be performed. For example, in that case, the probability that correction criteria candidates are included is increased, but on the other hand, the number of correction criterion candidates increases. May be specified. In addition, when the selection rule is provided, unlike the present embodiment, the content of the selection rule is arbitrary, for example, only a rectangular area excluding a rectangular area having a certain area or less is set as a correction candidate.

  In the present embodiment, straight line recognition is performed on the captured image G0, and the vertices of a plurality of rectangular areas partitioned along the recognized plurality of straight lines are detected. A more suitable rectangular area can be selected as a selection candidate, so that accurate correction can be performed. In addition, you may make it detect the vertex using image recognition techniques other than straight line recognition, or several image recognition techniques.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the user changes (corrects) an arbitrary vertex in a rectangular area that has been a candidate for a correction reference from the beginning by a handle moving operation or a vertex changing operation, the handle H is displayed to the user. Although the target vertex is shown, the method of showing the target vertex to the user is arbitrary as long as the target vertex can be identified.

  In the above-described front shooting correction mode, the rectangular area corresponding to the rectangular area used as the correction reference is cut out from the image after the front shooting correction, and the corrected image is displayed as it is. Alternatively, after correction, the user may specify whether or not the clipping process is necessary. Further, the displayed image may be recorded in the image memory 16 with a predetermined file name automatically or after waiting for a user instruction. Further, the image after the front photographing correction (the image before the clipping process or after the clipping process) may be automatically recorded without being displayed.

  Further, in the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU 11 is made to function as the detection unit and the correction unit of the present invention. For example, the image processing unit 15 causes the above-described image data compression / decompression processing to be performed. In addition to the above circuit, a dedicated detection circuit for detecting the vertices of the plurality of rectangular areas that are candidates for the correction reference described above from the image data temporarily stored in the image memory 16, or temporarily stored in the image memory 16 The image processing unit 15 may function as a detection unit and a correction unit by providing a dedicated correction circuit that performs front-side shooting correction on the image data that has been processed.

  Further, the digital camera 1 of the present embodiment is provided with output means (for example, a USB interface) for transferring various data such as image data to an external device. In the front shooting correction mode, after the front shooting correction is performed. Images (images before or after the clipping process) may be directly output to a projector or the like.

  Further, in addition to the above-described front shooting correction mode, the digital camera 1 acquires information on a rectangular area that serves as a correction reference when performing front shooting correction of a shot image, and uses this as correction reference information for front shooting correction. A mode for recording in the image memory 16 in association with a target captured image may be provided, and in the case of the apparatus having the above-described output means, the above-described correction reference information is associated with the captured image in the projector. It is also possible to provide a mode for outputting to the like. In the former case, when performing front-side shooting correction on an image acquired via the image memory 16 in another device, the correction reference information is used to cause the other device to perform appropriate correction. Can do. Even in the latter case, when front-side shooting correction is performed on an image sent from a digital camera in a projector or the like, appropriate correction can be performed in the projector or the like by using the correction reference information.

  In the above description, the case where the present invention is applied to a digital camera has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to other devices such as a projector as long as it has a function of correcting a front image for a captured image. Can also be applied. It can also be applied to a so-called document camera. Even in such a configuration, for example, a mouse or a touch panel in a personal computer does not have a user interface that makes it relatively easy to specify an arbitrary position in the screen. When the user designates the rectangular area to be performed, as in the present embodiment, the user can easily and efficiently designate the correction standard intended by the user as a necessary correction standard when performing front shooting correction. It becomes possible.

It is an external appearance perspective view of a digital camera. It is a block diagram of a digital camera. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of CPU in front surface imaging correction mode. (A) is a figure which shows a picked-up image, (b) is a figure which shows the outline detected from the picked-up image. It is a schematic diagram which shows coordinate data. It is a figure which shows the outline of the rectangular area | region used as the correction | amendment reference | standard candidate. It is a schematic diagram which shows vertex coordinate data. It is a figure which shows the position change of the handle | steering-wheel according to handle | steering-wheel movement operation. It is a figure which shows the change of the outline according to vertex change operation. It is a transition diagram of a display screen showing an example of a procedure for designating a new rectangular area. It is a figure which shows the coordinate value of each vertex of the new rectangular area. It is the figure which showed an example of the screen displayed after front imaging | photography correction | amendment.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Camera 5 Shutter Key 9 Cursor Key 10 LCD Monitor 11 CPU
12 CCD
14 RAM
15 Image processing unit 17 Key input unit 18 ROM
G0 Photographed image G1 Cutout image after correction 201 Coordinate data 202 Vertex coordinate data A Contour line Aa to Ae Contour Ba to Be Corrected contour H Handle Pa to Pn Vertex

Claims (10)

A correction reference designating device that allows a user to designate a rectangular area as a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image,
Detecting means for detecting corners of a plurality of rectangular regions that are candidates for correction criteria from the image;
Storage means for storing a plurality of corners detected by the detection means as coordinate information;
Display means for displaying the image;
Display control means for causing the display means to display a rectangular area defined by any combination of the plurality of corners as a selection candidate in accordance with an area specifying operation by a user;
A correction reference designating device comprising: an input means for a user to perform the region designating operation.   The correction reference designating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit recognizes a plurality of straight lines from the image and detects corners of a plurality of rectangular regions partitioned along the recognized plurality of straight lines. .   The display control unit causes the display unit to display the selection candidate rectangular area on the image, and to change the selection candidate rectangular area to a combination of different corners according to an area switching operation in an area designation operation by a user. 3. The correction reference designating device according to claim 1, further comprising a region switching means for switching to another rectangular region defined by   The display control means causes the display means to display any one of the corners in the rectangular area of the selection candidate as a change candidate so as to be identifiable, and according to the vertex switching operation in the area specifying operation by the user, Vertex switching means for switching a corner to another corner, and the corners of change candidates displayed in an identifiable manner by this vertex switching means, in accordance with the vertex changing operation in the area specifying operation by the user, up, down, left, right Is changed to a corner of another rectangular area that is the same as the corner and defined by any combination of the plurality of corners and is not a selection candidate. 4. The correction reference designating device according to claim 1, further comprising vertex changing means for correcting the rectangular area. Determining means for determining, as the correction reference, a rectangular area displayed on the display means by the display control means in response to an area determination operation by a user;
The correction reference designating device according to claim 1, further comprising: an input unit that allows a user to perform the region determination operation.   6. The correction standard designating apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a correction unit that corrects rectangular distortion in the input image based on the correction standard determined by the determination unit. A cutout unit that cuts out a rectangular region corresponding to the rectangular region serving as a correction reference from the image after correction corrected by the correction unit;
7. The correction reference designating apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a control unit that causes the display unit to display an image of a rectangular area cut out by the cutout unit.    An image capturing unit configured to capture an image of a subject, wherein the display unit displays an image captured by the image capturing unit, and the detection unit includes a plurality of correction reference candidates from the image captured by the image capturing unit. The correction reference designation device according to claim 1, wherein a corner portion of the rectangular region is detected. A correction standard designating method for allowing a user to designate a rectangular area that is a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image,
Detecting corners of a plurality of rectangular regions that are candidates for correction criteria from the input image;
Storing the detected plurality of corners as coordinate information;
A step of displaying a rectangular area defined by any combination of a plurality of corners stored as coordinate information on the display means for displaying the image as a selection candidate in accordance with an area specifying operation by a user. Characteristic correction standard designation method. A computer having a correction standard designating device that allows a user to designate a rectangular area that is a correction standard required for correcting rectangular distortion in an input image,
In accordance with an area specifying operation by the user, the display means for displaying the image includes coordinate information stored in a storage means, and corners of a plurality of rectangular areas that are candidates for correction criteria detected from the image. A program for functioning as a display control means for displaying a rectangular area defined by a combination of any corners as a selection candidate based on the coordinate information shown.

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