JP2007316599A - Display control device and display control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display control device and a display control program that prevents display with unnatural color or without high definition while taking into consideration ambient brightness. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of display image quality parameter tables in which environmental brightness values corresponding to a display mode and a plurality of display image quality parameters such as illumination brightness are allowed to correspond to each other are stored in a memory 12 for every display modes, subsequently, the display image quality parameters corresponding to the gained environmental brightness values and the display mode which is set are read out of the memory 12 to adjust the illumination brightness of an illumination part 16 of an image display part 15 and display images in accordance with parameters such as brightness, contrast, chroma and sharpness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display control apparatus and a display control program, and more particularly to a display control apparatus and display control program for adjusting display quality when an image is displayed.

  In recent years, a technology that automatically adjusts the backlight brightness (display brightness) of the liquid crystal display according to the surrounding brightness has appeared in the technology that adjusts the brightness of the backlight of the display unit for displaying images and the like ( Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-344598

  However, according to the above technique, the brightness of the backlight is merely automatically adjusted according to the ambient brightness, so depending on the brightness of the backlight, the color of the displayed image may become unnatural. The problem was that fine images could not be displayed.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and a display control apparatus and display capable of preventing unnatural color development and display lacking definition while considering ambient brightness, and display An object is to provide a control program.

  To achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is directed to display means, storage means for associating and storing brightness and items related to display quality of an object displayed on the display means, and brightness of the surrounding environment. In accordance with the brightness value acquiring means for acquiring a value, the display brightness adjusting means for adjusting the display brightness of the display means according to the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means, and the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means , The corresponding item is read from the storage means, the display quality setting means for setting the parameter of the item, the display brightness adjusted by the display brightness adjusting means, and the parameters set by the display quality setting means Display control means for controlling the display means so as to display.

  In addition to the invention of claim 1, the invention of claim 2 further includes mode setting means for setting the brightness of the surrounding environment and the parameter of the item in association with the display mode, and the display quality setting When the display mode is set by the mode setting means, the means sets the display quality of the object with a parameter corresponding to the set display mode in addition to the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquisition means. Features.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the second aspect of the invention, a mode storage means for storing a plurality of the display modes, and an arbitrary display mode among the plurality of display modes stored in the storage means And a selection means for selecting.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the third aspect of the invention, the object is an image, and estimation means for estimating the content drawn on the image based on the color component of the image is provided. In addition, the selection unit selects an arbitrary display mode from the plurality of display modes based on the result estimated by the estimation unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the third or fourth aspect of the invention, a power supply means, a power supply capability judgment means for judging the power supply capability of the power supply means, and the power supply capability judgment And changing means for changing the display mode selected by the selecting means in accordance with the determination result by the means.

In addition to the invention of claim 3 or 4, the invention described in claim 6 further comprises power supply means and power supply capacity determination means for determining the power supply capacity of the power supply means, and the display The brightness adjusting means adjusts the display brightness according to a result of determination by the power supply capability determining means in addition to the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means.

  In addition to the invention described in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the invention described in claim 7 further includes an imaging unit, and the luminance value acquisition unit includes a luminance component of an image captured by the imaging unit. Based on the above, the brightness value of the surrounding environment is acquired.

  The invention described in claim 8 further includes an optical sensor in addition to the invention described in any one of the first to sixth aspects, and the brightness determination means is configured to be based on the brightness obtained by the optical sensor. It is characterized by acquiring the brightness value of the environment.

  In addition to the invention described in any one of the first to eighth aspects, the invention described in claim 9 further includes an illuminating unit that irradiates the display unit, and the display control unit includes the luminance value acquisition unit. The degree of irradiation by the illumination means is controlled according to the acquired luminance value of the surrounding environment.

  The invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that, in addition to the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the item relating to display quality is at least one of brightness, contrast, and saturation. And

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 11 is directed to a computer having a display unit, wherein the display unit is configured according to a luminance value acquisition unit that acquires a luminance value of an ambient environment, and the luminance value acquired by the luminance value acquisition unit. Display brightness adjusting means for adjusting the display brightness of the display, and in accordance with the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means, the item related to the display quality of the object to be displayed in advance and the item are read from the memory stored in association with each other Display quality setting means for setting parameters of the read item, and the display unit for displaying the target with the display brightness adjusted by the display brightness adjusting means and the parameters set by the display quality setting means It is made to function as a display control means for controlling.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent unnatural color development and display lacking definition while considering ambient brightness.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as an example in which the imaging apparatus of the present invention is applied to a digital camera.
[First embodiment]
A. Configuration of Digital Camera FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing an electrical schematic configuration of a digital camera 1 that implements an image display device and an imaging device of the present invention.
The digital camera 1 includes a photographing lens 2, a lens driving block 3, an aperture 4, a CCD 5, a driver 6, a TG (timing generator) 7, a unit circuit 8, an image generation unit 9, a CPU 10, a key input unit 11, a memory 12, a DRAM 13, The flash memory 14, driver 15, illumination unit 16, image display unit 17, sensor 18, and bus 19 are included.

  The photographing lens 2 includes a focus lens and a zoom lens (not shown), and a lens driving block 3 is connected thereto. The lens driving block 3 includes a focus motor and a zoom motor that drive a focus lens and a zoom lens (not shown) in the optical axis direction, and a focus motor that drives the focus motor and the zoom motor in the optical axis direction according to a control signal from the CPU 10, respectively. It consists of a driver and a zoom motor driver.

The diaphragm 4 includes a drive circuit (not shown), and the drive circuit operates the diaphragm 4 in accordance with a control signal sent from the CPU 10.
The aperture is a mechanism that controls the amount of light that enters from the photographic lens 2.

  The image sensor (CCD 5 in this case) is driven by the driver 6 and photoelectrically converts the intensity of light of each color of the RGB value of the subject image for every fixed period and outputs it to the unit circuit 8 as an image signal. The operation timing of the driver 6 and the unit circuit 8 is controlled by the CPU 10 via the TG 7. The CCD 5 has a Bayer color filter and also functions as an electronic shutter. The shutter speed of the electronic shutter is controlled by the CPU 10 via the driver 6 and TG7.

  The unit circuit 8 includes a CDS (Correlated Double Sampling) circuit that holds the imaging signal output from the CCD 5 by correlated double sampling, an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) circuit that performs automatic gain adjustment of the imaging signal after the sampling, The A / D converter converts an analog image pickup signal after automatic gain adjustment into a digital signal. The image pickup signal of the CCD 5 is sent to the image generation unit 9 as a digital signal through the unit circuit 8.

  The image generation unit 9 performs processing such as γ correction processing and white balance processing on the image data sent from the unit circuit 8, generates a luminance color difference signal (YUV data), and generates the generated luminance color difference. The signal data is stored in the buffer memory (DRAM 13). That is, the image generation unit 9 performs image processing on the image data output from the CCD 5 and converts it into a luminance color difference signal.

  The CPU 10 has functions for performing compression / decompression processing (for example, compression / decompression in JPEG format, MPEG format), shooting processing, reproduction processing, and the like of image data stored in the buffer memory, and controls each part of the digital camera 1. It is a one-chip microcomputer. In particular, the CPU 10 acquires the environmental luminance acquisition circuit 101 that acquires the environmental luminance based on the luminance component of the captured image data, the mode setting circuit 102 having the setting table illustrated in FIG. 1B, and the set display. A display adjustment circuit 103 that adjusts the degree of backlight illumination, brightness, contrast, and saturation of the displayed image based on the image quality and the detected environmental luminance, and the color components and the like for the captured image data An estimation circuit 104 for estimating what the image is drawn from the degree of bias is provided.

  FIG. 1B illustrates the contents of the setting table 1021 that the mode setting circuit 102 has. In the setting table 1021, the currently set image quality setting mode is “automatic” or “manual”, and the display modes are “real”, “dynamic”, “bright”, “night only”, “power save”. Is stored and managed by a flag. The image quality setting mode and the display mode will be described later.

  The key input unit 11 includes a plurality of operation keys such as a power On / Off key, a shutter button, a mode switching key, a cross key, a SET key, a viewfinder brightness adjustment button (“+” button, “−” button), and the like. An operation signal corresponding to the key operation is output to the CPU 10.

  The memory 12 stores a program necessary for controlling each part of the digital camera 1 by the CPU 10 and data necessary for controlling each part. The CPU 10 performs each process according to this program. The memory 12 includes display image quality parameter tables 121 to 125 as shown in FIGS. The display image quality parameter here refers not only to adjusting the brightness of the illumination unit 16 where the driver 15 irradiates the image display unit 17 from the back side, but also to the brightness of the captured image that is the display target displayed on the image display unit 17. Also included are parameters for adjusting the contrast and saturation.

  Although details will be described later, the digital camera 1 is for the display mode “real” parameter table 121, the display mode “dynamic” parameter table 122, the display mode “bright” parameter table 123, and the display mode “night only”. Five parameters table 124 and display mode “power save” parameter table 125 are prepared.

  The DRAM 13 is used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data sent to the CPU 10 after being imaged by the CCD 5 and also as a working memory for the CPU 10. The flash memory 14 is a recording medium that stores image data captured by the CCD 5 and compressed by the CPU 10.

  The irradiation unit 16 irradiates light from the back of the image display unit 17, and the image display unit 17 displays an image based on the image data. The driver 15 adjusts the luminance of the illumination unit 16 that irradiates the image display unit 17 from the back surface (the surface opposite to the display surface) according to the control signal of the CPU 10, and drives and controls the image display unit 17. The optical sensor 18 is a sensor for acquiring ambient brightness. In FIG. 1A, thin arrows indicate the flow of signals, and thick arrows indicate the flow of image data.

B. Operation of Digital Camera 1 The operation of the digital camera 1 in the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the still image shooting mode or the moving image shooting mode is set by the operation of the mode switching key of the user key input unit 11 and the through image display or the moving image shooting is started (when the captured image data is displayed), In step S1, the CPU 10 acquires from the buffer memory (DRAM 13) the most recent image data (YUV data) captured by the CCD 5 and generated by the image generation unit 9.

  Next, in step S2, the CPU 10 causes the environmental luminance acquisition circuit 101 to acquire an environmental luminance value from the luminance component of the acquired image data. Since this method of acquiring the environmental luminance value is already a well-known technique, the description thereof is omitted. The environmental luminance value may be acquired based on the luminance component obtained by the optical sensor 18 provided separately from the CCD 5. Thereby, ambient brightness can be acquired.

  Next, the CPU 10 refers to the state of each flag in the setting table 1021 of the mode setting circuit 102 to determine whether or not the image quality setting mode is currently set to “automatic” by the user's operation of the key input unit 11 or the like. That is, it is determined whether or not the flag is set to “automatic” in the image quality setting mode (step S3). When the image quality setting mode is set to “automatic”, the display mode is automatically set by the estimation process of the estimation circuit 104 described later.

  Note that the user can set in advance whether the image quality setting mode is set to “automatic” or “manual”. At this time, the mode setting circuit 102 stores in the setting table 1021 based on the setting operation of the user. The flag “1” is set to either “automatic” or “manual” of the image quality setting mode to be performed. If “manual” is set, the user manually selects the display mode. The types of display modes include “dynamic”, “bright”, “real”, “night only”, and “power save”. The mode setting circuit 102 is stored in the setting table 1021 based on the user's setting operation. The flag “1” is set in any of the display modes “real”, “dynamic”, “bright”, “night only”, or “power save”. Although these five types are adopted as the display mode types, the display mode is not limited to this and may be other types. Note that the user may be able to determine whether the image quality setting mode is set to “automatic” or “manual” during the still image shooting mode or the moving image shooting mode.

  If it is determined in step S3 that “automatic” has been set, the CPU 10 proceeds to step S4, where all the color components (RGB) of the pixels in the image data (YUV data) acquired in step S1 are sent to the estimation circuit 104. It is acquired from the area, and it is made to guess which color is large, and what the image to be displayed is “what is drawn” from the degree of bias of a specific color in the entire area of the image data.

  The estimation circuit 104 estimates an image as follows. For example, the acquired image data is analyzed for the most colors, and when there are many skin color components, the image data is assumed to be “photographed person”, the environmental luminance value detected in step S2 is low, and each color component When the detection level is low in all cases, the image content is estimated as “night scene”. If the environmental brightness value detected in step S2 is high and the pixel color component (RGB) contains a large amount of blue (B component) or green (G component), the image content is “landscape. In addition, it is presumed that the photograph was taken in a clear sky or the photograph was taken in a clear sky.

Next, in step S5, the CPU 10 selects the most suitable display mode based on the estimation result of the estimation circuit 104. When selected, the mode setting circuit 102 is controlled to change the flag state of the display mode in the setting table 1021, and the process proceeds to step S7. More specifically, based on the estimation result of the estimation circuit 104, when it is estimated that “the scene is a landscape and the sky is photographed”, the display mode is set to “dynamic”. Further, when it is estimated that “the flower was photographed and photographed in a clear sky”, the display mode is set to “bright”. When it is estimated that “the person is photographed”, the display mode is set to “real”. If it is estimated that “night view”, the display mode is set to “night only”. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the image quality setting mode is “manual”, the process proceeds to step S6, and the CPU 10 refers to the state of each flag in the setting table 1021 of the mode setting circuit 102 to set the display mode. Then, the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S7, the CPU 10 reads from the memory 12 the display image quality parameter (parameter relating to display quality) corresponding to the set display mode and the environmental brightness value acquired in step S2. 3 to 7 show the contents of the display image quality parameter table stored in the memory 12 and the relationship graph between the environmental luminance value and the display image quality parameter based on the display image quality parameter table.

  FIG. 3 shows the contents of the display image quality parameter table 121 and its relationship graph when the display mode is “real”. FIG. 4 shows the contents of the display image quality parameter table 122 and the related graph when the display mode is “dynamic”. FIG. 5 shows the contents of the display image quality parameter table 123 and the related graph when the display mode is “bright”. FIG. 6 shows the contents of the display image quality parameter table 124 and the related graph when the display mode is “night only”. FIG. 7 shows the contents and the relationship graph thereof in the display image quality parameter table 125 when the display mode is “power save”.

  In the display image quality parameter table 121 illustrated in FIG. 3A, the parameters of the illumination brightness up, the illumination brightness down, the brightness, the contrast, and the saturation are set for each value of the environmental brightness value (LV) in the display mode “real”. Each is remembered. FIG. 3B shows a graph of the relationship. The display mode “real” is a mode that is standard in a plurality of display modes, and is a mode that emphasizes gradation expression of a display image. The illumination luminance (display luminance) of the illumination unit 16 is maximized when the environmental luminance value is 15 or more. After that, the driver 15 controls the image display unit 17 so that the user can easily see the image, and the brightness is reduced. Increase the parameter. Further, in order to emphasize gradation expression, the driver 16 reduces the contrast parameter as the environmental brightness value increases, thereby preventing whiteout or blackout of the display image.

  In the display image quality parameter table 122 shown in FIG. 4A, parameters of irradiation luminance up, irradiation luminance down, brightness, contrast, and saturation are stored for each environmental luminance value when the display mode is “dynamic”. Has been. FIG. 4B shows a graph of the relationship. The display mode “dynamic” is an effective mode when the user checks the image display unit 17 in a bright environment by increasing the contrast of the image. In this case, the driver 15 sets two levels of irradiation luminance (display luminance) for the illumination unit 16. Further, since the brightness of the image display unit 17 is compensated by the irradiation of the illumination unit 16, the increase of the brightness parameter becomes gentle as the environmental luminance value increases, and the contrast and saturation parameters are almost linear. To increase.

  Further, in the display image quality parameter table 123 illustrated in FIG. 5A, the parameters of the illumination brightness up, the illumination brightness down, the brightness, the contrast, and the saturation are set for each environmental brightness value when the display mode is “bright”. Each is remembered. FIG. 5B shows a graph of the relationship. The display mode “bright” is a mode between the above “real” and “dynamic”, and is a mode in which the color expression of the image display unit 17 is emphasized. When adjusting the illumination brightness (display brightness) of the illuminating unit 16, the illumination brightness is slightly increased as compared to “real” so as to increase linearly. On the contrary, the brightness parameter is slightly suppressed. Change. Further, the contrast parameter is slightly lower than the above “dynamic”, and the same saturation parameter as the above “dynamic” is adopted.

  Further, in the display image quality parameter table 124 illustrated in FIG. 6A, the parameters of the irradiation luminance up, the irradiation luminance down, the brightness, the contrast, and the saturation are set for each environmental luminance value when the display mode is “night only”. Are stored. FIG. 9B shows a relationship graph. In the display mode “night only”, considering that the user observes the image display unit 17 in a dark place, the user's eyes react sensitively to changes in the luminance of the illumination unit 16, and thus the driver 15 uses the illumination unit. Control is performed so as to suppress the degree of change in the 16 illumination brightness and brightness parameters. Further, the change in the parameters of contrast and saturation is made substantially the same as the above “real”, and control is performed so as not to reduce the gradation expression power of the display image while suppressing the display luminance.

  Further, in the display image quality parameter table 125 illustrated in FIG. 7A, for each value of the environmental luminance value in the display mode “power save”, the irradiation luminance up, the irradiation luminance down, the brightness, the contrast, and the saturation are displayed. Each parameter is stored. FIG. 7B shows a graph of the relationship. The display mode “power save” is a mode in which the driver 15 performs control so as to suppress the power consumption of the illumination unit 16. Accordingly, although the degree of increase in the illumination brightness of the illumination unit 16 is moderate as the environmental brightness value increases, the brightness and contrast parameters are controlled so as to compensate for the darkness of the image. In addition, the saturation parameter is controlled by a value approximately halfway between the above “dynamic” and “bright” and “real” and “night only”. Note that the numerical values described in the column of irradiation luminance stored in the display image quality parameter table do not directly indicate luminance values, but information indicating the location of a luminance table storing luminance values corresponding to the respective numerical values. The luminance shown in the relationship graph represents the luminance value.

  The display image quality parameter table uses the illumination brightness, brightness, contrast, and saturation as the display image quality parameters. However, the display image quality parameter table is not limited to these, and other elements (such as sharpness) may be added. The number of is not limited to five.

  As described above, in step S7, the CPU 10 selects a plurality of types of display image quality parameter values corresponding to the environmental brightness value detected in step S2 from the display image quality parameter table in the display mode set in step S5 or step S6. Will get.

  Next, the CPU 10 adjusts the image quality (display image quality) of the image to be displayed based on the acquired display image quality parameter (step S8), and displays the image acquired in step S1 (step S9). That is, the illumination brightness of the illumination unit 16 is adjusted based on the acquired environmental brightness value, and an image based on the image data acquired in step S1 is displayed according to the acquired parameters of brightness, contrast, and saturation.

  Next, the CPU 10 determines whether or not it is a display update time (step S10). Whether or not it is the display update time is determined by whether or not the frame period (that is, the imaging period) has come. If it is determined in step S10 that it is not the display update time, it remains in step S10 until the display update time comes, and if it is determined that it is the display update time, the process returns to step S1.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, when the process of displaying the image data captured by the CCD 5 is started, the captured image data is periodically acquired, and the acquired image data is used. An environmental luminance value is acquired, and a plurality of types of display image quality parameters (parameters related to display quality) including display luminance (backlight irradiation luminance) corresponding to the acquired environmental luminance value and the set display mode are acquired from the memory 12. In addition, since the image is displayed based on the acquired display image quality parameter, it is possible to prevent unnatural coloring and display lacking in definition while considering the surrounding brightness.

  In addition, when the image quality setting mode is set to “automatic”, what is the image data rendered by analyzing the color components of the acquired image data? Since the display mode is set based on the estimated result, it is possible to set a display mode suitable for the surrounding environment and the drawn (captured) image. In addition, when the image quality setting mode is “manual”, the display mode selected by the user is set, so that the display can be performed in the display mode desired by the user.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, the automatic adjustment of the display image quality when displaying captured image data such as when displaying a through image or when shooting a moving image has been described. However, in the second embodiment, an image is displayed. The display image quality is automatically adjusted during data reproduction.

C. Operation of Digital Camera 1 In the second embodiment, the imaging apparatus of the present invention is realized by using the digital camera 1 having the same configuration as that shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the operation of the digital camera 1 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the playback mode is set by the user's operation of the mode switching key and the image data to be displayed is selected, the CPU 10 reads the selected image data from the flash memory 14 and causes the image display unit 15 to display the selected image data. Is started (step S11). At this time, when still image data is selected, the still image is continuously displayed on the image display unit 15, and when moving image data is selected, frames are sequentially displayed at a predetermined cycle from the first frame of the moving image data. Is displayed.

  Next, the CPU 10 causes the CCD 5 to take an image and obtains one piece of image data (step S12). The acquired image data is YUV data that has been subjected to image processing by the image generation unit 9. Next, the CPU 10 causes the environmental luminance acquisition circuit 101 to acquire an environmental luminance value from the luminance component of the acquired image data (step S13). The environmental luminance value may be detected based on the luminance component obtained by the optical sensor 18 provided separately from the CCD 5. In this case, it is not necessary to capture and acquire image data in step S12.

Next, the CPU 10 refers to the state of each flag in the setting table 1021 of the mode setting circuit 102 to determine whether or not the image quality setting mode is currently set to “automatic” by the user's operation of the key input unit 11 or the like. That is, it is determined whether or not the flag is set to “automatic” in the image quality setting mode (step S14).
If it is determined in step S14 that the image quality setting mode is set to "automatic", the color component (RGB) of the pixel in the image data (YUV data) acquired in step S1 is acquired from the entire area for the estimation circuit 104. Then, it is inferred from the color of which the image is to be displayed, and the image to be displayed “what is drawn?” From the degree of bias of the specific color in the entire area of the image data (step S15). The currently displayed image data is the currently displayed image data when a still image is reproduced and displayed, and when the moving image is reproduced and displayed, the currently displayed image data. Or it is the image data of the frame displayed most recently. Next, the CPU 10 sets a display mode based on the estimated image content (step S16), and proceeds to step S18.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that “manual” is set in the image quality setting mode, the CPU 10 refers to the state of each flag in the setting table 1021 of the mode setting circuit 102 and sets the display mode ( The process proceeds to step S17) and step S18. Note that the image quality setting mode may be changed to “automatic” or “manual” during the reproduction mode. In step S18, the CPU 10 reads from the memory 12 display image quality parameters (irradiance luminance, brightness parameters, etc.) corresponding to the set display mode and the environmental luminance value detected in step S13.

  Next, the CPU 10 adjusts the image quality (display image quality) of the image to be displayed based on the acquired display image quality parameter (step S19). That is, the illumination brightness of the illumination unit 16 is adjusted based on the acquired environmental brightness, and an image based on the image data selected in step S11 is displayed according to the acquired parameters of brightness, contrast, and saturation. . Next, the CPU 10 determines whether or not it is the display update time (step S20), and if it is determined that the display update time has come, the process returns to step S12. The display update time is a frame cycle (cycle for displaying a frame) in the case of moving image reproduction, and is a display cycle of the still image in the case of still image reproduction.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the image data recorded in the flash memory 14 is reproduced and displayed, the image data is periodically acquired by the CCD 5, and the environment is based on the acquired image data. A luminance value is detected, a display image quality parameter including display luminance corresponding to the detected environmental luminance value and the set display mode is acquired from the memory 12, and an image quality of an image to be displayed is adjusted based on the acquired display image quality parameter As a result, it is possible to prevent unnatural color development and display lacking in definition while considering ambient brightness during playback display.

  In addition, when the image quality setting mode is set to “automatic”, what is the image data rendered by analyzing the color components of the acquired image data? Since the display mode is set based on the estimated result, it is possible to set a display mode suitable for the surrounding environment and the drawn (captured) image. In addition, when the image quality setting mode is “manual”, the display mode selected by the user is set, so that the display can be performed in the display mode desired by the user.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the first and second embodiments, the image data is analyzed to infer “what is being drawn”, and the display mode is set according to the estimated result, or is selected by the user. In the third embodiment, the remaining battery level is further monitored, and when the remaining battery level falls below a predetermined value, the display mode is automatically switched to “power save”. Is.

D. Configuration of Digital Camera FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a schematic electrical configuration of the digital camera 1 that implements the imaging apparatus of the present invention. 1 is basically the same as the configuration for the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. 1, but includes a power supply circuit 20 and a power supply voltage detection circuit 21 in addition to the block diagram shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same component as the component of FIG.
The power supply circuit 20 includes a battery 201 and a voltage control unit that controls the voltage of the battery 201 to a predetermined voltage, and supplies a predetermined voltage controlled by the voltage control unit to each unit of the digital camera 1. The circuit 21 detects the remaining battery level of the battery 201 by acquiring the voltage value of the battery 201. The voltage value of the battery 201 detected by the power supply voltage detection circuit 21 is sent to the CPU 10.

E. Operation of Digital Camera 1 The operation of the digital camera 1 in the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This operation is performed in parallel with the operation shown in FIG. 2 or FIG.
First, in step S <b> 31, the CPU 10 causes the power supply voltage circuit 21 to detect the remaining battery level of the battery 201 and acquires the detected remaining battery level from the power supply voltage circuit 21.

  Next, in step S32, the CPU 10 determines whether or not the acquired remaining battery level is lower than a predetermined value. If it is determined in step S32 that the acquired remaining battery level is not lower than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S33, and the CPU 10 determines whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed. If it is determined in step S33 that the predetermined period has not elapsed, the process stays in step S33 until it elapses. If it is determined that the predetermined period has elapsed, the process returns to step S31 as it is. Thereby, the battery remaining amount of the battery 201 can be acquired at a predetermined cycle interval.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S32 that the acquired remaining battery level is lower than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S34, and the CPU 10 determines whether or not “power save” is set as the current display mode. If it is determined in step S34 that “power save” is not set as the current display mode, the process proceeds to step S35, and the CPU 10 switches the display mode to “power save”. The set “power save” cannot be changed unless the remaining amount of the battery exceeds a predetermined value due to charging of the battery 201.
Then, according to the power save set in step S34, the environmental luminance value is acquired in step S7 of FIG. 2, and the irradiation luminance and brightness parameters of the illumination unit 16 are adjusted based on the acquired environmental luminance value in step S8. Is done.

  Note that not all display image quality parameters for the currently set display mode are changed to the power save display image quality parameter, but only the display quality parameter for the illumination brightness is changed from the currently set display mode to “Power Save”. Switching may be set. In this case, it is possible to change the setting to a display mode other than power saving by automatic setting or manual setting by the user even after step S35, but only the display image quality parameter of irradiation luminance is not changed. This is because the power consumption increases as the irradiation luminance value of the illumination unit 16 increases, and if only this irradiation luminance value is suppressed, the battery is not burdened.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that “power save” is currently set as the display mode, the process proceeds to step S36, and the CPU 10 disables setting change to a display mode other than “power save”. In this case, when the battery 201 is charged and the remaining battery amount exceeds a predetermined value, the setting change impossibility is canceled. Even after step S36, the image quality setting mode may be changed to a display mode other than power saving by “automatic” or “manual”, but the irradiation luminance is not changed. Like that.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, when the remaining battery level of the battery 201 is less than a predetermined value, the display mode “power save” cannot be set and the display mode cannot be changed to another display mode. Therefore, the power consumption can be suppressed by suppressing the irradiation luminance of the illumination unit 16, and the remaining battery remaining amount can be used efficiently. As a result, the use time of the digital camera can be lengthened.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
In the third embodiment, the display mode is set to “power save” when the remaining amount of the battery 201 is less than a predetermined value. However, in the fourth embodiment, the display mode is set to “power save”. The power consumption is reduced while keeping the currently set display mode without switching to “power save”.

F. Configuration of Digital Camera 1 In the fourth embodiment, the imaging apparatus of the present invention is realized by using the digital camera 1 having the same configuration as that shown in FIG. The display image quality parameter table for each display mode is different. In the fourth embodiment, among the various types of display image quality parameters stored in the display image quality parameter table for each display mode, only the illumination brightness is stored according to the remaining battery level.

FIG. 11A is a table 123 ′ showing the image quality parameter of the irradiation luminance in the display image quality parameter table 123 when the display mode is “Vivid”. FIG. 11B shows the parameter of the irradiation luminance, the environmental luminance value, and the like. It is a figure which shows the relationship graph. Other types of display image quality parameters other than the irradiation luminance are the same as those in FIG.
From FIG. 11A, it can be seen that the irradiation luminance is stored in accordance with LEVEL3, LEVEL2, LEVEL1, LEVEL0 and a plurality of levels (stages).

  This LEVEL indicates that the remaining battery level is high, LEVEL3 corresponds to the case where the battery 201 has a sufficient remaining battery level, and LEVEL0 corresponds to the case where the battery 201 has almost no remaining battery level (the battery will soon be exhausted). It corresponds to. LEVEL2 corresponds to a case where the remaining battery level is half, and LEVEL1 corresponds to a case where the remaining battery level is considerably low. That is, the remaining amount of the battery gradually decreases in the order of LEVEL3 → LEVEL2 → LEVEL1 → LEVEL0.

Referring to FIG. 11, the irradiation luminance when the remaining battery level is LEVE3 has an upper limit of 1239 (cd / m ² ). The upper limit of the irradiation luminance when the remaining battery level is LEVLE2 is the irradiation luminance when the environmental luminance value 7 is lower than the environmental luminance value 15, that is, 644 (cd / m ² ). Further, the upper limit of the irradiation luminance when the remaining battery level is LEVEL 1 is the irradiation luminance when the environmental luminance value 5 is lower than the environmental luminance value 7, that is, 458 (cd / m ² ). The upper limit of the irradiation luminance when the remaining battery level is LEVEL 0 is 260 (cd / m ² ), that is, the irradiation luminance when the environmental luminance value 3 is lower than the environmental luminance value 5. That is, the lower the level (the lower the remaining battery level), the lower the upper limit of the luminance value (the upper limit of the luminance value is greatly limited). Note that the display image quality parameter of the irradiation luminance shown in FIG. 9 directly indicates the value of the luminance (as seen in FIG. 10, it can be seen that it is the irradiation luminance (cd / m ² )). The numerical value is different from the luminance display image quality parameter table.
The display image quality table when the display mode is “bright” has been described. Similarly, in other display modes, the luminance of the display image quality parameter of the irradiation luminance is set according to the low battery level (small LEVEL). The upper limit of the value is reduced.

G. Operation of Digital Camera 1 The operation of the digital camera 1 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the display mode is set in step S5 or step S6 in FIG. 2 or step S16 or step S17 in FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S51 in FIG. 12, and the CPU 10 stores the remaining battery level of the battery 201 in the power supply voltage circuit 21. The detected battery remaining amount is acquired from the power supply voltage circuit 21.

  Next, in step S52, the CPU 10 determines the level of the remaining battery level based on the detected remaining battery level. Here, it is determined which level the current battery level corresponds to among the four levels of LEVEL3, LEVEL2, LEVEL1, and LEVEL0. It should be noted that the number of level steps may be two, or five or more.

Next, in step S53, the CPU 10 determines the luminance value corresponding to the environmental luminance value detected in step S2 of FIG. 2 or step S13 of FIG. 8 from the display image quality parameter of the determined LEVEL irradiation luminance of the set display mode. To get.
For example, when the set display mode is “bright” and the determined level is level 2, the brightness value corresponding to the detected environmental brightness value is acquired from the irradiation brightness parameter of LEVEL 2 in FIG.

  Then, in step S54, the CPU 10 acquires values corresponding to the LV values detected from the display image quality parameters (brightness, contrast, saturation) other than the illumination brightness of the set display mode, respectively, and step S8 in FIG. Or it progresses to step S19 of FIG. Thereby, in step S8 of FIG. 2 or step S19 of FIG. 8, the irradiation luminance of the illumination unit 16 is automatically adjusted based on the acquired luminance value, and in accordance with the acquired parameters of brightness, contrast, and saturation. An image based on the image data acquired in step S1 is displayed.

  As a result, the illumination brightness value can be reduced according to the current battery level without changing the set display mode, so power consumption can be reduced, and the remaining battery level can be efficiently used. Can be used. As a result, the use time of the digital camera can be lengthened.

  As described above, in the fourth embodiment, not only the display image quality parameter of each level of irradiation luminance is provided for each display mode in accordance with the remaining battery level of the battery 201, but also the level of irradiation luminance is determined by the battery. Since the upper limit of the brightness value is greatly restricted as the level is low, the power consumption can be reduced by changing the illumination brightness without changing the set display mode. It can be used efficiently. As a result, the use time of the digital camera can be lengthened.

  In addition, without providing a plurality of luminance parameters for each level, one luminance parameter is provided as in the first and second embodiments (providing a LEVEL3 parameter), and the current remaining battery level is low. Accordingly, the upper limit value of luminance may be decreased.

[Modification]
H. Each of the above embodiments can be modified as follows.

  (1) In each of the above embodiments, a display image quality parameter table storing a plurality of types of display image quality parameters is provided for each display mode. However, display image quality parameters for each display mode are stored for each type of display image quality parameter. A display image quality parameter table may be provided. In other words, multiple types of display image quality parameters such as brightness, brightness, and contrast are stored for each display mode, such as real and dynamic, but display of each display mode is performed for each type of display image quality parameter such as brightness and brightness. The image quality parameter may be stored. Hereinafter, an example in that case will be described in detail.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electrical schematic configuration of the digital camera 1 in the modified example (1), which is basically the same as the configuration for the digital camera 1 shown in FIG. The stored display image quality parameter tables are different. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the same component as the component of FIG.
The memory 12 in FIG. 13 stores a brightness parameter table 126 that stores irradiation brightness parameters in each display mode, a brightness parameter table 127 that stores brightness parameters in each display mode, and a contrast parameter in each display mode. A contrast parameter table 128 and a saturation parameter table 129 storing saturation parameters for each display mode are provided.

  FIG. 14 shows the contents of the brightness parameter table 126 stored in the memory 12 in the modification (1) and a relationship graph between the environmental brightness value based on the brightness parameter table and the irradiation brightness in each display mode. 15 shows the contents of the brightness parameter table 127 and a relationship graph between the environmental brightness value based on the brightness parameter table and the brightness of each display mode.

  FIG. 16 shows the contents of the contrast parameter table 126 and a relationship graph between the environmental luminance value based on the contrast parameter table and the contrast of each display mode. FIG. 17 shows the contents of the saturation parameter table 127 and the color saturation. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the environmental luminance value based on the degree parameter table and the display mode again.

For example, when the brightness parameter table 127 in FIG. 15 is viewed, it can be seen that the brightness parameters for each display mode in FIGS. 3 to 7 are stored. Note that the values stored in the luminance parameter table of FIG. 14 directly indicate the luminance values (the luminance (cd / m ² ) can be seen from FIG. 14). It is different from the numerical value of luminance for each display mode in FIG.

  Then, according to the set display mode and the detected environmental brightness value, each type of display image quality parameter is acquired from the brightness parameter table 126, the brightness parameter table 127, the contrast parameter table 128, and the saturation parameter table 129, respectively. (Step S7 in FIG. 2 and Step S18 in FIG. 8).

  As described above, since the table storing the parameters of each display mode for each parameter type is provided, it is possible to make design changes and customization by the user as compared with the display image quality parameter table for each display mode. it can. Also, as shown in FIG. 17, when only 3 patterns of saturation are prepared, it is better to store parameters for each parameter type in the table than to provide a display image quality parameter table for each display mode. Storage capacity to be reduced.

  (2) In each of the above embodiments, the display image quality parameter table stores a plurality of display image quality parameters such as irradiation brightness up, irradiation brightness down, brightness, and contrast as display image quality parameters. It is also possible to store only the parameters relating to the display luminance of up and the irradiation luminance down, and to adjust only the irradiation luminance based on the parameters.

  (3) In each of the above embodiments, the display image quality parameter table for each display mode is stored in the memory 12, and the detected environmental luminance value and the set display mode are supported from the stored display image quality parameter table. The display image quality parameter to be read is read out, but the display image quality parameter may be calculated by calculation based on the detected environmental brightness value and the set display mode.

  (4) In each of the above embodiments, face recognition processing may be used as another method for evaluating and estimating the image content of the image data. In this case, a display mode of “skin color priority” may be provided as the display mode, and when a face is recognized by the face recognition process, the display mode of “skin color priority” may be automatically selected. In short, any method capable of discriminating the image contents may be used. In this case, a display mode and display image quality parameters corresponding to the determined image contents are provided.

  (5) In each of the above embodiments, the illumination brightness is automatically adjusted based on the detected environmental brightness value and the display image quality parameter corresponding to the set display mode, and brightness, contrast, saturation, The image based on the image data is displayed according to the sharpness. However, when the user manually adjusts the finder brightness by operating the finder brightness adjustment button, the display brightness is adjusted based on the manual adjustment. You may do it. In this case, the processing is performed based on display image quality parameters other than the parameters related to the backlight.

  (6) In the first embodiment, the environmental brightness value is detected each time image data is captured by the CCD 5, and the image quality is automatically detected based on the detected LV value and the set display mode. Although the adjustment is performed, the LV value is detected from image data captured at predetermined intervals (every second, every 30 frames, etc.), and the image quality is automatically adjusted based on the detected LV value. It may be. Similarly, in the second embodiment, the LV value is detected for each imaging cycle of the CCD 5, or for each frame cycle (frame display cycle) or still image display cycle, and the detected LV value. However, the automatic adjustment of the image quality may be performed by detecting the LV value at predetermined intervals (for example, every second, every 30 frames, etc.).

  (7) In the above embodiments, the imaging device has been described. However, a display device that displays a screen such as an image may be used. In this case, it is necessary to provide the optical sensor 18 in the display device.

  (8) In each of the above embodiments, as a method of analyzing and estimating image data, the type of file data such as image data to be displayed, document data, drawing data, or the like to be displayed is determined. The display mode may be automatically set according to the determined file format type.

  (9) In each of the above embodiments, a plurality of display modes are provided. However, a display mode may not be provided. In this case, one display image quality parameter table is stored. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent display that lacks unnatural color and fineness while considering ambient brightness.

  (10) Moreover, the aspect which combined the said modification (1) thru | or (9) arbitrarily may be sufficient.

  (11) In the present embodiment, the image display unit 17 is described as a device that requires illumination of the illumination unit 16, but is not limited thereto, and examples thereof include an organic EL and a plasma display. It is also applicable to a self-luminous display device such as a surface conduction electron-emitting device display. In that case, the light emission luminance (display luminance) of the device itself is adjusted instead of the irradiation luminance of the illumination unit 16. can do.

  Finally, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the image display device and the imaging device of the present invention are applied to the digital camera 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the main point is that Any device can be used as long as the device can display this.

(A) is a block diagram of the digital camera 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a diagram showing storage contents of a setting table 1201. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the digital camera 1 of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the content of the display image quality parameter table 121 in display mode "real", and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the display image quality parameter table 122 in display mode "dynamic", and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the display image quality parameter table 123 in display mode "bright", and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the display image quality parameter table 124 in display mode "only for night", and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content and its relationship graph in the display image quality parameter table 125 in display mode "power saving". It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the digital camera 1 of 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram of digital camera 1 of a 3rd embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the digital camera 1 of 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display image quality parameter of the brightness | luminance of the display image quality parameter table in display mode "bright", and its related graph. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the digital camera 1 of 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram of digital camera 1 in a modification. It is a figure which shows the content of the luminance parameter table 126 which memorize | stored the irradiation luminance of each display mode, and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the brightness parameter table 127 which memorize | stored the brightness of each display mode, and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the contrast parameter table 128 which memorize | stored the contrast of each display mode, and its relationship graph. It is a figure which shows the content of the saturation parameter table 129 which memorize | stored the saturation of each display mode, and its relationship graph.

Explanation of symbols

1 Digital Camera 2 Shooting Lens 3 Lens Drive Block 4 Aperture 5 CCD
6 Driver 7 TG
8 Unit circuit 9 Image generator 10 CPU
11 Key input section 12 Memory 13 DRAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Flash memory 15 Driver 16 Illumination part 17 Image display part 18 Optical sensor 19 Bus 20 Power supply circuit 21 Power supply voltage detection circuit

Claims (11)

Display means;
Storage means for storing the items related to the display quality of the target displayed on the display means and the brightness in association with each other;
Luminance value acquisition means for acquiring the luminance value of the surrounding environment;
Display brightness adjusting means for adjusting the display brightness of the display means according to the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means;
In accordance with the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquisition means, a corresponding item is read from the storage means, and a display quality setting means for setting parameters of this item;
Display control comprising: display control means for controlling the display means so as to display the object with display brightness adjusted by the display brightness adjusting means and parameters set by the display quality setting means apparatus. Further comprising mode setting means for setting the brightness of the surrounding environment and the parameter of the item in association with the display mode;
The display quality setting means includes
When the display mode is set by the mode setting unit, the display quality of the target is set by a parameter corresponding to the set display mode in addition to the luminance value acquired by the luminance value acquisition unit. The display control apparatus according to claim 1. Mode storage means for storing a plurality of display modes;
Selecting means for selecting an arbitrary display mode from among a plurality of display modes stored in the storage means;
The display control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: The target is an image, and further includes a guessing means for guessing the content drawn on the image based on the color component of the image,
The display control apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the selection unit selects an arbitrary display mode from the plurality of display modes based on a result estimated by the estimation unit. Power supply means;
Power supply capability determining means for determining the power supply capability of the power supply means;
Changing means for changing the display mode selected by the selection means according to the determination result by the power supply capacity determination means;
The display control apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: Power supply means;
A power supply capability determining means for determining the power supply capability of the power supply means,
5. The display luminance adjusting unit adjusts the display luminance according to a result of determination by the power supply capability determining unit in addition to the luminance value acquired by the luminance value acquiring unit. The display control apparatus according to any one of the above. Further comprising an imaging means,
The luminance value acquisition means includes
The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a luminance value of an ambient environment is acquired based on a luminance component of an image captured by the imaging unit. A light sensor,
The brightness determination means includes
The display control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a brightness value of an ambient environment is acquired based on brightness obtained by the optical sensor. Further comprising illumination means for illuminating the display means,
The display control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit controls the degree of irradiation by the illumination unit according to the luminance value of the surrounding environment acquired by the luminance value acquisition unit. . The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the item related to display quality is at least one of brightness, contrast, and saturation. A computer having a display unit,
Luminance value acquisition means for acquiring the luminance value of the surrounding environment,
Display brightness adjusting means for adjusting the display brightness of the display unit according to the brightness value acquired by the brightness value acquiring means;
In accordance with the luminance value acquired by the luminance value acquisition means, the item is read from the memory in which the item related to the display quality of the target to be displayed and the luminance are associated and stored, and the parameter of the read item is set Display quality setting means,
Display control means for controlling the display unit to display the target with the display brightness adjusted by the display brightness adjusting means and the parameters set by the display quality setting means;
A display control program characterized by functioning as

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