JP2006309661A - Image reproducing apparatus and image reproducing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a still image in an easy-to-view manner according to the number of photographic subjects of persons. <P>SOLUTION: For displaying a plurality of still images as a slide show, whether or not the pixel number of the still images is larger than a predetermined pixel number is determined. Furthermore, whether or not the screen resolution of a display for displaying the still image is lower than a predetermined reference resolution is determined. If these conditions are cleared favorably, the faces of persons in the still image are detected, and whether or not the number of detected persons is larger than a predetermined reference number of persons is determined. If determined that the number of detected persons is larger than the predetermined reference number of persons, the clipping number of images is decided according to the detected number of persons, and a plurality of images are clipped, based on the scope in which persons of a number less than the reference number of persons are taken. The plurality of clipped images are displayed each equivalently as one still image. Thus, a substantial reproducing time period for displaying one still image becomes longer, and each person is displayed larger. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reproduction apparatus and an image reproduction program suitable for reproducing and displaying a still image in which a person's subject is captured.

  Still images shot with a digital still camera can be printed on photographic paper for viewing, or captured on a personal computer (PC) and displayed on a monitor using image viewer software. Many image viewer software has a slide show function for sequentially switching and displaying a plurality of still images at predetermined intervals, and by using this, a large number of still images can be viewed with a simple operation. Recently, a digital still camera that can enjoy a slide show of captured images on the spot has also been proposed.

  Also, as another method for easily viewing still images, it plays as a movie with special effects such as zoom-in processing that enlarges part of the still image and panning processing that moves the viewpoint from end to end of the still image. A photo movie is known (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). A photo movie creates a frame of a moving image from an image obtained by partially cutting and enlarging a still image or an image that has undergone image conversion that adds distortion. Compared to a slideshow that only displays a still image on the entire screen. It is possible to produce effects that emphasize a specific subject and expressions that give a sense of reality to still images.

  In the conventional image viewer software, when a plurality of still images are automatically switched and reproduced and displayed as a slide show, the reproduction times of all the still images are set equally. For this reason, even for the same landscape, for example, a landscape that is relatively monotonous enough to be seen at a glance, such as a landscape with a large image of the sky and water, and a landscape with a mountain, where forests and rivers are reflected The playback time of the still image that you want to watch in every corner is the same. Therefore, if you set the playback time according to a monotonous still image, you will not be able to fully enjoy the still image you want to watch slowly, and if you set the playback time according to the still image you want to watch slowly, the monotonous still image will become redundant . In view of this, there has been known an image reproduction apparatus that analyzes a still image based on its resolution and contrast, and determines the reproduction time of each still image according to the content of the still image (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-320379 A Canopus Co., Ltd. Imaginate2.0 [Searched on November 1, 2004] Internet <URL: http://www.canopus.co.jp/catalog/imaginate/imaginate20#index.htm>

  However, in a still image in which a large number of people appear like a group photo, each person's face is small and difficult to see. Therefore, if the playback time is long, it is necessary to bring the face close to the screen on which the still image is displayed and stare at the still image when watching the subject one after another. There were problems with inconvenience.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and provides an image reproduction apparatus and an image reproduction program capable of easily displaying a still image according to the number of persons captured in the still image. Objective.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a face detection means for analyzing the image data and detecting the face of a subject person in an image reproduction device for displaying an image on a display device based on still image data. And a number determination means for determining whether or not the number of detected faces indicated by the number of detected faces is greater than a predetermined reference number, and when it is determined that the number of detected persons is greater than the reference number Identifying a range in which the number of people to be photographed is smaller than the reference number of people, and based on this, image cutout means for cutting out a plurality of images from the still image, and sequentially outputting the plurality of images cut out by the image cutout means, A cut-out image output means for displaying on the display device is provided.

  A pixel number determination unit that determines whether or not the number of pixels of the still image is larger than a predetermined reference pixel number, and when it is determined that the number of pixels of the still image is lower than the reference pixel number The image cutout by the image cutout means is prohibited, and the entire still image is displayed.

  Resolution input means for determining whether or not the screen resolution of the display device is higher than a predetermined reference resolution by inputting the screen resolution of the display device, and the image cutout means has the screen resolution of the reference resolution. When it is determined that the resolution is higher than the resolution, image clipping by the image clipping unit is prohibited, and the entire still image is displayed.

  When a person exists on the boundary of the range cut out by the image cutout means, image processing for blurring the outline of the person or image processing for synthesizing an image for hiding the person is performed.

  Further, in an image reproduction program for displaying an image on a display device based on image data of a still image, face detection means for analyzing the image data and detecting a face of a subject person, and the number of detected faces The number-of-persons determining means for determining whether or not the number of detected persons indicated by the number is greater than a predetermined reference number of persons, and the number of persons that are captured from the reference number of persons when the number of detected persons is determined to be larger than the reference number of persons A range in which the image is reduced, an image cutout unit that cuts out a plurality of images from the still image based on the range, and a cutout image that sequentially outputs the plurality of images cut out by the image cutout unit and displays them on the display device A computer is made to function as output means.

  According to the image playback device of the present invention, since one still image is divided and cut out as a plurality of images according to the number of people in the still image, each person can be displayed in a large size. It makes it easier to see all the people on the screen. This makes it easy to view still images and realizes high-quality slide shows and photo movies.

  In addition, since the clipping of the image is prohibited when the number of pixels of the still image is smaller than a predetermined reference number of pixels, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of image quality from becoming noticeable in order to display each person large, The quality of slideshows and photo movies can be maintained.

In addition, when a still image is displayed using a display device whose screen resolution is higher than a predetermined reference resolution, image clipping is prohibited, so that the image quality is significantly degraded by displaying each person large. Can be maintained, and the quality of slideshows and photo movies can be maintained.

  In addition, when there is a person who is out of view from the cut out image, performing image processing that blurs the outline of the cut out person by blurring or noise processing on the edge portion of the cut out image, By synthesizing a decoration image, a mask image, etc., and performing the process of hiding a person who has been cut out, it is possible to prevent a poor-looking slide show or a photo movie.

  In FIG. 1, the image reproduction apparatus 10 includes a CPU 12 that executes an image reproduction program stored in a memory 11. The CPU 12 functions as a control unit 13 that manages the electrical operation of the image playback device 10 and a playback image setting unit 14 by executing an image playback program. The image reproducing apparatus 10 is provided with an optical disk reading unit 17 that reads image data from the optical disk 16 and a memory card reading unit 19 that reads image data from the memory card 18. The memory 11 stores image data read from the storage media such as the optical disk 16 and the memory card 18. The operation unit 20 is operated by a user to specify a still image to be reproduced and displayed, an operation to specify a reproduction time of each still image, and the like.

  The control unit 13 outputs the reproduction image set by the reproduction image setting unit 14 to the external display 21 connected to the image reproduction device 10. The reproduction image setting unit 14 analyzes the image data of the still image stored in the memory 11 and performs settings for displaying the still image on the external display 21 in an optimal form.

  The reproduction image setting unit 14 detects the face of a person in a still image, specifies a position and the number of persons, and a face size calculation unit 26 calculates the size of each detected person's face. A number determination unit 27 that determines whether or not the number of people detected from one still image is large, and an image cutout unit 28 that extracts a plurality of images from one still image and creates a plurality of still images. have.

  In FIG. 2, the face detection unit 25 extracts a human eye image in order to detect a human subject face image from one still image. The face detection unit 25 divides the still image into a plurality of regions, selects a region including many skin-colored pixels estimated to be skin from among the regions, and further selects a white pixel of the eye from the region including many skin-colored pixels. A region having pixels of a color estimated to be a pupil surrounded by white pixels is selected, and a human eye is extracted. Further, by specifying the eyes of one person from the extracted coordinates of the eyes of the person and the characteristics of the surrounding face, the number of faces, that is, the number of people appearing in the still image is obtained. Further, the position coordinate P of each face is specified from the midpoint of a straight line connecting both eyes of one person.

  The face size calculation unit 26 obtains the binocular distance d of each person from the extracted eye positions. The face size calculation unit 26 obtains the ratio of the face size to the still image from the binocular distance d on the premise that the binocular distance d of persons having the same shooting distance is the same. The number-of-people determining unit 27 determines whether or not the number of persons appearing in the still image is larger than a predetermined reference number. For example, the reference number of people is set to five, and it is determined whether or not there are more than five people in one still image.

  In FIG. 3, the image cutout unit 28 obtains a range in which the number of persons is equal to or less than the reference number when the number determination unit 27 determines that the number of persons captured in the still image is larger than the reference number. A plurality of images are cut out from the still image so as to be an image in a range in which fewer people than the reference number are captured. The number of images to be cut out is determined by how many times the number of persons in the still image is the reference number. For example, when the reference number of people is 5, two images are cut out when the number of people in the still image is 6 to 10 people, and when the number of people in the still image is 11 to 15 people, three images are cut out. It is.

  For example, in a still image in which eight people are arranged in two rows of four people in a horizontal row, the number of images to be cut out is determined to be two, and the range in which four people less than the reference number of five people are captured is shown. The cutout frame F1 and the cutout frame F2 are set so that The cutout frame F1 and the cutout frame F2 are determined to have the same aspect ratio as the screen of the external display 21. Information on the aspect ratio of the external display 21 is input in advance by the user via the operation unit 20. The image cut out by the cutout frame F1 and the cutout frame F2 is displayed on the entire screen of the external display 21. That is, a part of the still image is displayed at a higher magnification than when the entire still image is displayed, and the magnification is higher as the cutout frame is smaller.

  In FIG. 4, the positions of the cutout frame F1 and the cutout frame F2 are determined by analyzing the face aggregation state from the face position coordinates P of each person specified by the face detection unit 25. The analysis of the face aggregation state is performed by obtaining two circles C1 and C2 having the smallest radius including the position coordinates P of the four faces, and the centers of the circles are the cutout frames F1 and F2. Become the center. In addition, the sizes of the cutout frame F1 and the cutout frame F2 are calculated based on the radii of the circles C1 and C2 and the binocular distance d of the person in each circle, and each person falls within the frame. It is determined so that an appropriate margin is generated around. When determining the circle C1 and the circle C2, identification information of each person is attached to each face position coordinate so that the person belonging to the circle C1 and the person belonging to the circle C2 do not overlap.

  In FIG. 5, when a part of the face of a person belonging to another cutout range enters a boundary of a specific cutout range, the cutout image correction unit 29 performs blurring processing and transparency processing on a peripheral portion of the cutout range. For example, image processing for blurring outlines or image processing for synthesizing a mask image, a decoration image, or the like is performed, and peripheral correction processing for concealing a person who has been overlooked is performed. By this peripheral correction process, it is possible to prevent a person exceeding the reference number from appearing in the cut-out image, and to prevent an image with poor appearance from appearing as an out-of-sight person. When the peripheral correction process is performed, the user can select which of the blurred image, the transparent process, the mask image synthesis, and the decoration image synthesis is performed. Further, the range on which the peripheral correction process is performed is added when determining the position and size of the cutout range, the position coordinates P and binocular distance d of all human faces in the still image, and the circles C1 and C2. It is determined based on the identification information of each person.

  In FIG. 1, a pixel number determination unit 30 measures the number of pixels of a still image and determines whether or not the measured number of pixels is larger than a predetermined reference pixel number. The reference number of pixels is determined by, for example, a VGA size of 640 pixels in width and 480 pixels in length. For still images with a smaller number of pixels, the image is cut out even if there are more people than the reference number in the still image. Image clipping by the unit 28 is prohibited. The resolution determination unit 31 determines whether or not the screen resolution of the external display 21 is smaller than a predetermined reference resolution. Note that when the number of scanning lines is determined to be 1200 and a higher resolution display than this is used, even if there are more persons than the reference number in the still image, the reference resolution is determined by the image cutout unit 28. Image clipping is prohibited.

  Next, the operation of the image reproduction device 10 will be described. When the optical disk 16 is set in the optical disk reader 17 or the memory card 18 is set in the memory card reader 19, this is detected, and the CPU 12 starts reading an image. The CPU 12 stores the read still image data in the memory 11. The CPU 12 creates image data of thumbnail images from the read still image image data, and causes the external display 21 to display an index screen for displaying a list of reduced still images. The user operates the operation unit 20 to select a still image to be displayed as a slide show. Also, the type of the external display 21 that displays the slide show, the playback time of one still image, and the like are input.

  In FIG. 6, the CPU 12 reads still image data from the memory 11. The pixel number determination unit 30 measures the number of pixels of the read still image and determines whether this is larger than the reference pixel number. When the number of pixels of the still image is smaller than the reference pixel number, the still image is displayed on the external display 21 as it is. When it is determined that the number of pixels of the still image is larger than the reference number of pixels, the resolution determination unit 31 determines the type of the external display 21 input in advance. When the external display 21 is a high-resolution display, the still image is displayed on the external display 21 as it is.

  When the number of pixels of the read still image is larger than the reference pixel number and the display device to be used is not a high-resolution display, the face detection unit 25 analyzes the image data of the still image and detects the person appearing in the still image. Extract eyes. When no human eye is extracted, the image is determined to be a landscape image, and the still image is displayed as it is on the entire screen of the external display 21.

When the face detection unit 25 extracts the eyes of a person, the face detection unit 25 specifies the number of faces based on the extracted eyes. The number-of-people determination unit 27 determines whether the number of people indicated by the specified number of faces is greater than the reference number of people.
When it is determined that the number of still images is smaller than the reference number, the still images are displayed on the external display 21 as they are.

  When it is determined that there are more persons in the still image than the reference number, the face detection unit 25 identifies the position of each person's face, and the face size calculation unit 26 determines the face of each person based on the binocular distance d. Calculate the size. The image cutout unit 28 determines the number of cutout images from the number of persons in the still image. Also, when the number of images to be clipped is determined, the position of the clipping frame is determined from the distribution of human faces in the still image, and the size of the clipping frame is determined from the distribution of human faces and the size of each person's face. To do.

  The image cutout unit 28 generates a plurality of images in which a smaller number of persons than the reference number are shown. The cut-out image correcting unit 29 determines whether or not a cut-out person exists outside the image in each of the cut-out images. When it is determined that there is a person who has been overlooked outside, image processing selected in advance by the user is performed around the cut-out range as peripheral correction processing.

  The control unit 13 switches a plurality of images cut out from the still image each time the set reproduction time elapses and displays the images on the external display 21. As a result, on the screen of the external display 21, one still image is divided according to the number of people in the image, and displayed as a plurality of still images. That is, the playback time of a still image from which two images are cut out is doubled, and the playback time of a still image from which three images are cut out is tripled. The substantial reproduction time for displaying the still image becomes longer. On the screen of the external display 21, an image in which a number of persons smaller than the reference number is always displayed is displayed large, so that still images can be slowly viewed while following each person one by one. When a plurality of images cut out from one still image are displayed, the next still image is read, and the image is cut out according to the number of subjects in the same manner as described above, and a slide show of the plurality of still images is performed. Is done.

  The image playback device 10 is configured to perform a still image slide show, but is not limited thereto, and may be configured to playback and display still images as photo movies. That is, a clipping frame may be set according to the number of persons present in the still image, and the still image may be reproduced and displayed as a photo movie that is panned or zoomed based on the set clipping frame. Further, when setting the even numbered cutout frames, the image reproducing apparatus 10 is configured so that the persons belonging to each cutout frame are equal, but the number of people belonging to each cutout frame is determined according to the distribution state of each person. Bias may occur. In addition, the image reproduction apparatus 10 is configured to input information related to the external display 21 by the user. When the external display 21 is connected, the image playback apparatus 10 automatically recognizes the information and relates to the screen resolution and the screen aspect ratio from the external display 21. Information may be automatically input.

The present invention is not limited to being configured as a dedicated device for reproducing and displaying still images,
It is preferably provided in an image recording apparatus such as a digital still camera or a digital video camera capable of taking a still image. Moreover, the form memorize | stored in the storage medium so that it can distribute as an application program by which the function is implement | achieved by installing in general-purpose computers, such as a personal computer, may be sufficient.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of an image reproduction apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the binocular distance and face position of a person It is a conceptual diagram of the still image and clipping frame in which a plurality of persons are shown. It is a conceptual diagram which shows a mode that the distribution state of a face is analyzed. It is explanatory drawing of a periphery correction process. It is a flowchart of an image reproducing device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image reproduction apparatus 13 Control part 21 External display 25 Face detection part 26 Face size calculation part 27 Person number determination part 28 Image clipping part 29 Cutout image correction part 30 Pixel number determination part 31 Resolution determination part

Claims (5)

In an image reproduction device that displays an image on a display device based on image data of a still image,
Face detection means for analyzing the image data and detecting the face of the subject person;
A number determination means for determining whether or not the detected number of persons indicated by the number of detected faces is greater than a predetermined reference number;
When it is determined that the number of detected persons is larger than the reference number of persons, an image cutout unit that specifies a range in which the number of persons captured is smaller than the reference number of persons and cuts out a plurality of images from the still image based on the specified range;
An image reproduction apparatus comprising: a cut-out image output unit that outputs a plurality of images cut out by the image cut-out unit and displays the images on the display device. Pixel number determination means for determining whether the number of pixels of the still image is larger than a predetermined reference pixel number;
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the number of pixels of the still image is lower than the reference number of pixels, the image clipping unit prohibits image clipping and displays the entire still image. Image playback device. Resolution input means for determining whether the screen resolution of the display device is higher than a predetermined reference resolution by inputting the screen resolution of the display device,
The image cutout unit prohibits the image cutout by the image cutout unit and displays the entire still image when it is determined that the screen resolution is higher than the reference resolution. 3. The image reproducing device according to 1 or 2.   When a person is present on the boundary of the range cut out by the image cutout means, image processing for blurring the outline of the person around the cutout range, or image processing for synthesizing an image for hiding the person The image reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image reproducing apparatus is performed. In an image reproduction program for displaying an image on a display device based on image data of a still image,
Face detection means for analyzing the image data and detecting the face of the subject person;
A number determination means for determining whether or not the detected number of persons indicated by the number of detected faces is greater than a predetermined reference number;
When it is determined that the number of detected persons is larger than the reference number of persons, an image cutout unit that specifies a range in which the number of persons captured is smaller than the reference number of persons and cuts out a plurality of images from the still image based on the specified range;
An image reproduction program for outputting a plurality of images cut out by the image cutout means and causing a computer to function as cutout image output means for displaying on the display device.

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