JP2010068190A - Digital camera, image processing apparatus and digital camera system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily recognize the figure of a facial expression that is intended by photographer. <P>SOLUTION: A level evaluating part 31 compares the facial expression, with the facial expression level data being stored beforehand in a face expression level data storage part 35 for each of a plurality of figures in an object image and evaluates the level of the face expression of each object figure. A trimming part 42 trims the partial image of the object figure evaluated as being at the highest level by the level evaluation part 31 from the object image, and a liquid crystal display 37 displays a trimmed image trimmed by the trimming part 42. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a digital camera having a function of automatically photographing by recognizing facial expressions of a subject.

  Recent digital cameras are equipped with a smile detection automatic shooting function that automatically starts shooting when the subject is imaged, the person image is analyzed, and the person's facial expression is recognized as a smile. This function is widely used because it can surely capture a smiling face of a subject without missing a photo opportunity (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-42319 A

  However, when a subject including a plurality of persons is automatically photographed by such a smile detection automatic photographing function of the digital camera, only one of them is smiling, but other people may not be smiling. Although the photographer intends to photograph a smile with the smile detection automatic photographing function, there is a problem that the obtained image includes a facial expression that is not a smile.

(1) A digital camera according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an image of a subject person to generate a subject image, a facial expression detection unit that detects a predetermined facial expression of the subject person from the subject image, and a facial expression detection Automatic photographing means for automatically photographing based on a detection result of the means, facial expression level data storage means for storing a plurality of facial expression levels representing the degree of expression related to a predetermined facial expression as facial expression level data, and subject image The facial expression of each of the plurality of subject persons is compared with the facial expression level data, and a level evaluation means for evaluating the degree of the facial expression of each of the subject persons and the highest evaluation by the level evaluation means from the subject image Trimming means for trimming the partial image of the subject person and a display means for displaying the image. And displaying the trimmed image is trimmed by.

  According to the digital camera of the present invention, when a plurality of persons are shown in a photographed image obtained by detecting a predetermined facial expression of a subject person in a subject image and performing automatic photographing, a predetermined one of those persons is represented. The image of the person with the highest facial expression level is cropped and displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the image of a person with a facial expression unintended by the photographer from being mixed into the image of the person with a predetermined facial expression intended by the photographer.

Hereinafter, a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
-First embodiment-
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera includes a photographic lens 11, an aperture 12, an image sensor 13, a buffer memory 14, an image processing unit 15, an image recording unit 16, and a control unit 20. Further, the digital camera includes a face detection unit 21, a face data storage unit 22, a level evaluation unit 31, a facial expression data storage unit 32, a facial expression setting unit 33, an automatic photographing unit 34, a facial expression level data storage unit 35, and display control. A unit 36 and a liquid crystal display 37 are provided. The digital camera further includes a facial expression photographing mode setting unit 40, an image reproduction unit 41, and a trimming unit 42.

  The photographing lens 11 includes a plurality of lenses including a zoom lens and a focus lens, and forms a subject image on the image sensor 13. In FIG. 1, for the sake of simplicity, the taking lens 11 is shown as a single lens. The imaging element 13 generates an image signal by photoelectrically converting the subject light L1 from the photographing lens 11.

  The image signal output from the image pickup device 13 is sent to the image processing unit 15 via the buffer memory 14, where predetermined various image processing is performed. At the stage before the start of shooting, the image signal from the image sensor 13 is sent to the liquid crystal display 37 via the buffer memory 14, the image processing unit 15, and the control unit 20, and displayed as a through image. At the photographing stage, the image signal from the image sensor 13 is sent to the image recording unit 16 via the buffer memory 14 and the image processing unit 15, and recorded in the nonvolatile memory 16a.

  The image recording unit 16 records the image information and attribute information related to the image in association with each other in the memory 16a.

  The face detection unit 21 inputs through image data sent from the image sensor 13 via the buffer memory 14, the image processing unit 15, and the control unit 20, and the through image data is stored in the face data storage unit 22 in advance. The face of the subject person in the through image is detected by comparing with the existing face data. When there are a plurality of subject persons, all faces are detected individually. The detected face area image is sent from the face detection unit 21 to the control unit 20. The face data storage unit 22 stores, for example, feature point data relating to the shape of eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips.

  For the face detection, for example, a detection method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-16573 can be used. In this detection method, feature points are extracted from an input image to detect the face area, face size, etc. of the subject. The feature points include end points of eyebrows, eyes, nose, lips, and face contour points, such as the head vertex and the lower end point of the chin.

  As other face detection, for example, a detection method disclosed in JP-A-2005-157679 can be used. In this detection method, first, a luminance difference between two pixels in an input image is learned as a feature amount, and an estimated value indicating whether or not a face exists in a predetermined region in the input image based on the feature amount. And when the estimated value is 1 or more, it is determined that a face exists in the predetermined area.

  The level evaluation unit 31 inputs an image of the face area detected by the face detection unit 21 via the control unit 20, and the facial expression of the image of the face area is stored in the facial expression data storage unit 32 in advance. By comparing with the facial expression data of the face, it is detected that the facial expression of the subject person in the face area image corresponds to the predetermined facial expression data. This facial expression detection is performed at regular time intervals.

There are various types of facial expressions such as a smiling face, a crying face, an angry face, a surprised face, and a sleeping face, and the facial expression data storage unit 32 stores a plurality of facial expression data including smile data.
The facial expression setting unit 33 is an operation unit for setting the type of facial expression of the subject person from the outside, and can set a plurality of facial expressions including a smile. When the facial expression setting unit 33 sets a predetermined facial expression, the level evaluation unit 31 detects that the facial expression of the subject person in the image corresponds to the set facial expression.

  When the level evaluation unit 31 detects a facial expression of an image in the face area, a detection method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-42319 can be used. In this detection method, for example, in order to detect a smile, the type of facial expression is determined based on whether the face of the detected image is close to the two facial expressions of a smile and a normal face. .

When the level evaluation unit 31 detects that the facial expression of the subject person is the facial expression set by the facial expression setting unit 33, the level evaluation unit 31 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 20.
The automatic photographing unit 34 performs automatic photographing of the subject by outputting operation signals to the photographing lens 11, the diaphragm 12, and the image sensor 13 based on the signal emitted from the control unit 20 in response to the detection signal from the level evaluation unit 31. . In this automatic photographing, every time the level evaluation unit 31 detects a predetermined facial expression, for example, a smile, one image is taken.

  The facial expression level data storage unit 35 has a plurality of facial expressions that can be set by the facial expression setting unit 33 as the degree of each facial expression (facial expression level value) at intervals of 10% from 10% to 100%. The facial expression level data is stored for each facial expression level. For example, as the smile level increases to 10%, 20%, 30%,..., The smile level increases from a smile level to a big smile level.

Furthermore, the level evaluation unit 31 detects the degree of facial expression (expression level) of all the subject persons in the captured image automatically captured by the automatic capturing unit 34 described above. That is, the level evaluation unit 31 compares the facial expression level of the facial region image in the captured image obtained by the automatic photographing with the predetermined facial expression level data in the facial expression level data storage unit 35 to thereby determine the facial region. It is detected that the facial expression level of the subject person in the image corresponds to a predetermined facial expression level. When there are a plurality of subject persons, the facial expression levels of all are detected individually.

  As a method for determining the degree of smile, for example, a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-46591 can be used. This determination method evaluates the degree of smile for the smile of the input partial image, and calculates a smile evaluation value. When evaluating smiles, calculate the evaluation points for the shape of each element of the eyebrows, pupils, and lips by referring to the smile data stored in advance. Value.

  The display control unit 36 controls display on the liquid crystal display 37. In other words, the display control unit 36 displays the through image on the liquid crystal display 37, displays the photographed image temporarily recorded in the buffer memory 14, and reproduces the photographed image stored in the memory 16a of the image recording unit 16. The display mode when performing is controlled. In addition, the display control unit 36 displays only a captured image on the liquid crystal display 37 or displays a captured image to which attribute information is added.

  The liquid crystal display 37 displays a through image, displays a photographed image temporarily recorded in the buffer memory 14 and a photographed image stored in the memory 16a, and displays a photographed image according to a command from the display control unit 36. Display related attribute information.

  The facial expression shooting mode setting unit 40 is an operation unit that sets ON / OFF a mode for executing automatic shooting when a predetermined facial expression of a subject person, for example, a smile is detected.

  The image reproduction unit 41 is an operation unit that searches and reproduces information such as a captured image stored in the memory 16 a of the image recording unit 16.

  The trimming unit 42 generates a partial image for one of a plurality of persons in the captured image, that is, performs trimming. This trimming is performed according to a predetermined evaluation signal that is issued from the level evaluation unit 31 and is input to the trimming unit 42 via the control unit 20.

The digital camera configured as described above operates as follows.
First, the facial expression photographing mode setting unit 40 is turned ON, and the facial expression setting unit 33 sets, for example, a smile as a facial expression type.

  The face detection unit 21 compares the through image with the face data in the face data storage unit 22 to individually detect the faces of a plurality of subject persons in the through image. In this through image, two subject persons 101 and 102 are laughing together as shown in FIG.

  The level evaluation unit 31 compares the face image of the subject person detected by the face detection unit 21 with the smile data of the facial expression data storage unit 32 to detect the smile of the subject person. The level evaluation unit 31 outputs a detection signal to the control unit 20 by detecting this smile. When the control unit 20 receives the detection signal, the control unit 20 outputs a signal to the automatic photographing unit 34. The automatic photographing unit 34 outputs an operation signal to the photographing lens 11, the diaphragm 12, and the image sensor 13 in accordance with a signal emitted from the control unit 20, and automatically photographs a subject from which a smile is detected, as shown in FIG. A captured image corresponding to the through image obtained is obtained. A photographed image obtained by automatic photographing is recorded in the memory 16a together with attribute information indicating that this image is a smile-detected image.

Thereafter, when the user operates the image reproduction unit 41 to reproduce the captured image that has been automatically captured, the captured image is read from the memory 16a. The level evaluation unit 31 compares the facial expression of each subject person in the read captured image with the smile level data in the facial expression level data storage unit 35, evaluates the smile level of each subject person, and smiles each person. Calculate the level value.
Assume that the level evaluation unit 31 evaluates the smile of the subject person 101 with a smile level value of 80% and the smile of the subject person 102 with a smile level value of 40%. If there is a person who is not smiling among the subject persons, the level evaluation unit 31 evaluates the facial expression of the person as a smile level value of 0%. As described above, the photographed image whose smile level is evaluated is recorded in the memory 16a again together with the smile level value for each subject person.

  Further, the level evaluation unit 31 determines the person with the highest smile level value in the captured image and outputs a determination signal to the control unit 20. This determination signal includes a signal for identifying a person with the highest smile level value and smile level information of the person. When the determination signal is input, the control unit 20 outputs a signal to the trimming unit 42. The trimming unit 42 trims the partial image of the person with the highest smile level value according to the signal issued from the control unit 20, and the trimmed image of the person 101 with the highest smile level value is shown in FIG. Thus, the smile level value is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37.

  In addition, when the captured image by smile detection recorded in the memory 16a is reproduced by the image reproduction unit 41, as shown in FIG. 4, the images of the two subject persons 101 and 102 have their respective smile level values. It is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37 together with 80% and 40%.

  As described above, in the digital camera according to the present embodiment, when automatic shooting by smile detection is performed and the captured image is reproduced, only the image of the person with the highest smile level is trimmed and displayed. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an image that most reflects the photographer's intention to automatically photograph a smile. In addition, it is possible to easily recognize the person most highly evaluated and its facial expression.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of subject persons are photographed, and only the image of the person with the highest smile level is trimmed and reproduced and displayed. For example, the present invention can be used for a smile competition game as described below. .
That is, a plurality of subject persons are taken as athletes, and the photographer calls out to the athletes “laughing”, and detects and automatically shoots at the moment the athlete laughs. The camera trims and reproduces and displays the image of the person with the highest smile level value for this captured image. It is assumed that the person displayed and reproduced is the winner of the smile competition game. Since the camera determines the timing of shooting and the evaluation of the smile level, an objective winner determination can be made.

In such a game, various variations can be considered.
For example, there are various types of smiles in smiles, such as bitter laughter, shy laughter, and friendly laughter. Therefore, a game in which the evaluation level is variable depending on the type of laughter and the level values are competed. Further, facial expressions may include not only smiles but also crying faces and angry faces.

A modification of this embodiment will be described next.
When a smile is detected and automatic photographing is performed, instead of trimming and displaying only the person with the highest smile level value, all persons having a predetermined smile level value or more can be trimmed and displayed. This makes it possible to trim and display all the smiling faces with a smile level or higher during automatic smile shooting.
Further, in the case of the above-described smile competition game, not only automatic smile shooting, but also when the photographer makes a call to the athlete such as “smile”, the shutter operation button may be manually depressed.

-Second Embodiment-
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Since the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment does not have a photographing function and an image processing function, the image processing apparatus is generally configured by removing these functions from the digital camera according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same components as those in the block diagram shown in FIG.

  In the image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of photographed images photographed by an external imaging device are recorded in the memory 10 a of the image recording unit 10. Each of the plurality of photographed images is a portrait image obtained by photographing one subject person, and personal information for identifying the person in the image is added and recorded in the memory 10a. For example, a portrait image obtained by photographing the subject persons A, B, and C is recorded in the memory 10a.

The image reproducing unit 41 instructs to reproduce the image of the subject person Mr. A, Mr. B, or Mr. C from the image recorded in the memory 10a by an external operation.
The image selection unit 50 reads a plurality of images of the subject person Mr. A, Mr. B, or Mr. C from the memory 10 a based on an instruction from the image reproduction unit 41.

The image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment operates as follows.
First, for example, a smile is set as the facial expression type by the facial expression setting unit 33.
Next, when the operator sets the playback mode by the image playback unit 41 and sets the subject person Mr. A, a plurality of portrait images of Mr. A are read from the memory 10a by the image selection unit 50. The read portrait images of Mr. A may be temporarily recorded in the buffer memory.

  The level evaluation unit 31 sequentially compares the face portion of Mr. A of each portrait image read out with the smile level data of the facial expression level data storage unit 35, and evaluates the smile level of Mr. A of each portrait image. Then, the smile level value of Mr. A for each portrait image is calculated. The level evaluation unit 31 calculates the smile level value of Mr. A for each portrait image when a smile is detected, but sets the smile level value to 0% when no smile is detected.

  Subsequently, the level evaluation unit 31 determines the smile of Mr. A having the highest smile level value from the portrait images in which a smile is detected, and outputs a determination signal to the control unit 20. This determination signal includes a signal for identifying the portrait image of Mr. A having the highest smile level value and smile level information. When the determination signal is input, the control unit 20 outputs a signal to the display control unit 36. The display control unit 36 displays a portrait image of Mr. A having the highest smile level value on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37 in accordance with a signal issued from the control unit 20.

Further, since the level evaluation unit 31 calculates the smile level value of Mr. A for each portrait image, it is possible to send a signal corresponding to the smile level value to the control unit 20. The display control unit 36 inputs a signal corresponding to the smile level value via the control unit 20, and in response to the signal, portrait images of Mr. A are sequentially displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37 in descending order of the smile level value. Display. Furthermore, the display control unit 36 can add a smile level value to each portrait image of Mr. A and display it on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37.
The smile level value of Mr. A calculated by the level evaluation unit 31 may be recorded as attribute information of the captured image file recorded in the memory 10a.

In the present embodiment, a captured image captured by an external imaging device is recorded in the memory 10a of the image recording unit 10, a plurality of portrait images of the same person are selected by the image selection unit 50, and the selected port is selected. The smile level value of the person in the rate image is calculated. For example, the following can be performed using such a function.
That is, it is possible to objectively evaluate which of the two photographed images of the same person with different photographing dates and times is excellent by comparing the smile level values. In particular, by comparing a photographed image that has just been photographed with a previously photographed image, there is a possibility of obtaining a hint for photographing a satisfactory smile image.
Similarly, an objective evaluation of an image can be performed even when the photographing apparatus and the photographing place are different.

  In the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the image selection unit 50 identifies personal information added to an image and selects a plurality of portrait images of the same person, so that the selection operation can be facilitated. Play.

Modifications of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment are as follows.
The image selection unit 50 identifies a personal information added to the image and selects a portrait image. When recording a captured image in the memory 10a, the image selection unit 50 creates a folder for each subject that stores the captured image of the same person. By doing so, there is no need to select an image when using an image in this folder.

-Third embodiment-
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
The digital camera according to the third embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the digital camera according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 6, the same components as those in the block diagram shown in FIG.

  The digital camera according to the present embodiment has a game mode function that allows a game to be played using captured images. That is, it is possible to play a game in which a predetermined rule is set for the type of facial expression, at least two persons are photographed, the facial expression of the photographed subject person is discriminated, and victory or defeat is determined based on the rule.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the game mode setting unit 45 is an operation unit that sets ON / OFF a mode for executing the above-described game. When the game mode is set to ON, a game based on a predetermined rule can be started.

The facial expression determination unit 51 is a component similar to the level evaluation unit 31 described in the first and second embodiments. However, the facial expression level evaluation is not performed, and the facial expression of the photographed subject person is It is determined which facial expression corresponds to a predetermined one. When the facial expression determination unit 51 determines a predetermined facial expression, the facial expression determination unit 51 outputs a determination signal to the control unit 20.
The superiority or inferiority determination unit 52 stores the rule that the smile wins the angry face, the angry face wins the crying face, and the crying face wins the smile like the Janken play, and inputs the result determined by the facial expression determination unit 51 Then, based on the above-described rules, the winning or losing is determined for the facial expressions of two or more subject persons.

The digital camera configured as described above operates as follows.
When the photographer shouts “Jankenpon” or the like on a plurality of subject persons, each of the plurality of subject persons exhibits a facial expression of a smile, an angry face, or a crying face. The photographer takes a picture of the facial expression with a shutter release according to the shout.

In the following description, the subject persons D and E are the players of this game.
The face detection unit 21 compares the faces of the subject persons D and E in the captured image with the face data stored in the face data storage unit 22 and detects the faces of the two persons individually.

  The facial expression discriminating unit 51 individually compares the facial images of the subject persons D and E detected by the face detecting unit 21 with the facial expression data of the smile, angry face, and crying face in the facial expression data storage unit 32. The facial expression of the subject person is determined as D smiling and E angry. The facial expression determination unit 51 outputs a determination signal indicating the determination result to the control unit 20.

  Based on the determination signal from the facial expression determination unit 51, the superiority / inferiority determination unit 52 determines that the smiling subject person D wins over the angry face subject person E, determines the superiority or inferiority of both facial expressions, and the subject person D wins Output a signal.

  The trimming unit 42 trims the partial image of the subject person D from the captured image based on the victory signal of the subject person D, and displays the trimmed image on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37 via the display control unit 36. Is done. When displaying the cropped image of the subject person B, the message “You win!” May be displayed together with the image. Further, the message text is not limited to a normal word, and a quote or a maxim may be added to the image. For example, there are quotes such as “Fuku come to the laughing gate”, and quotes such as “Let's live laughing and crying for a lifetime”.

  Further, by saving the trimmed image of the subject person B in the memory 16a, the trimmed image stored in the memory 16a can be reproduced by setting the image reproduction unit 41 to the reproduction mode.

  As described above, with the digital camera according to the present embodiment, a game can be enjoyed using the captured images of two or more persons.

  In the present embodiment, the operation in the case where, for example, a smile, an angry face, and a crying face are set as the types of facial expressions has been described, but other facial expressions may be used. Also, the user may customize the superiority or inferiority of the facial expression.

-Fourth embodiment-
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The digital camera according to the fourth embodiment has a configuration similar to the digital camera according to the first and third embodiments. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in the block diagrams shown in FIGS.

  Similarly to the digital camera according to the third embodiment, the digital camera according to the present embodiment also has a game mode function that allows a game to be played using a photographed image. That is, the degree of change (change amount) of the facial expression of the same person is measured for two shot images obtained by performing two shootings, and the change amount of each person is compared. You can play a game to determine the person with the largest number.

  Referring to FIG. 7, the game mode setting unit 46 is an operation unit that sets ON / OFF a mode for executing the above-described game. When the game mode is set to ON, a game described later can be started.

  The face change detection unit 61 measures the degree of change of the feature point accompanying the change of the facial expression in the two face images. The feature points include eyebrow, eye, nose, lip end points, and face contour points such as the lower end point of the chin and the left and right end points of the cheek. Since these feature points are stored as partial images such as eyebrows and eyes in the face part data storage unit 62, the face change detection unit 61 recognizes, for example, the upper end point of the eyebrows or the left and right end points of the lips in the face image. it can. Therefore, the change amount of the upper end point of the eyebrow or the distance between the left and right end points of the lips can be measured between two face images of the same person.

  The face change determination unit 62 comprehensively evaluates the amount of change of each part of the face measured by the face change detection unit 61, compares the total amount of change of each of a plurality of persons, and has the largest change. Determine the person. Comprehensive evaluation means that the maximum amount of change varies depending on each part of the face, and weighting is performed in consideration of this point, and the amount of change of each part is added up.

The digital camera configured as described above operates as follows.
First, the game mode setting unit 46 is turned on. The subject persons F and G are the players of this game.
First, the normal facial expressions of the subject persons F and G are manually shot one by one. Next, manual shooting of strange facial expressions of the subject persons F and G is performed one by one. This strange facial expression is an abnormal facial expression different from the person's normal facial expression. These two captured images are recorded in the buffer memory 14.

  The face detection unit 21 reads a total of four captured images recorded in the buffer memory 14 via the control unit 20, and compares the captured images of the subject persons F and G with the face data in the face data storage unit 22. The two faces of F and G in the captured image are individually detected.

  The face change detection unit 61 compares the two face images of the subject person F detected by the face detection unit 21, recognizes feature points based on the face part data in the face part data storage unit 62, and the subject person F The total amount of change f of the face part is measured. Similarly, the face change detection unit 61 compares two face images of the subject person G, recognizes feature points based on the face part data in the face part data storage unit 62, and totals the face parts of the subject person G. The amount of change g is measured.

  The face change determination unit 62 compares the total change amount f of the facial part of the subject person F measured by the face change detection unit 61 with the total change amount g of the face part of the subject person G, and f> g. If so, the subject person F wins, and if f <g, the subject person G wins. For example, if the subject person F is the winner, a photographed image of the funny face of the subject person F is displayed on the screen of the liquid crystal display 37 via the display control unit 36. Similarly, when there are three or more athletes, the total amount of change of the facial parts of each subject person is compared, and the person with the largest amount of change is determined as the winner.

  Further, by storing the photographed image of the winner in the memory 16a, the image stored in the memory 16a can be reproduced by setting the image reproducing unit 41 to the reproduction mode.

  As described above, with the digital camera according to the present embodiment, a game can be enjoyed using captured images of a plurality of persons.

  In the present embodiment, the normal facial expressions of the subject persons D and E are photographed one by one, and the strange facial expressions are photographed one by one. However, one group photo of the subject persons D and E with a normal facial expression, One picture may be taken with a strange facial expression. In this case, the total amount of change of the subject persons D and E is measured between the group photo image of the normal facial expression and the group photo image of the strange facial expression, and the magnitude of the total amount of change between the two is determined. Determine the winner.

-Fifth embodiment-
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of a digital camera system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
The digital camera system according to the fifth embodiment includes two digital cameras (camera A and camera B), and camera A and camera B are connected by a wireless communication network.

  The camera A includes a recording medium 81, a liquid crystal display 82, a wireless communication unit 83, and a level evaluation unit 84, and the camera B includes a recording medium 91, a liquid crystal display 92, and a wireless communication unit 93. The recording media 81 and 91 are, for example, memory cards that record images taken with a camera. The liquid crystal displays 82 and 92 display captured images recorded on the recording media 81 and 91 and display text, symbols, and the like. The wireless communication units 83 and 93 transmit and receive image data and text data through a wireless communication network such as so-called WiFi.

  Furthermore, the level evaluation unit 84 of the camera A has the same configuration and function as the level evaluation unit 31 described in the first and second embodiments, and the expression level relating to a predetermined facial expression of a person in the captured image. For example, the smile level related to smile is evaluated.

  The operation of the digital camera system configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, the wireless communication units 83 and 93 and the level evaluation unit 84 constituting the camera are not shown.

  In this digital camera system, a person image is sent between cameras using communication, a predetermined camera evaluates the degree of expression of the person in the image, and a game can be played in which the player wins or loses according to the evaluation level. Hereinafter, a game in which a person with a higher smile level value wins will be described using evaluation results of two images (for example, a smile level value).

  8 and 9, a predetermined image a is read from the images recorded on the recording medium 81 of the camera A, and the predetermined image b is read from the images recorded on the recording medium 91 of the camera B. And its thumbnail image are read out. FIG. 9A schematically shows this state.

  The image b and its thumbnail image are transmitted from the wireless communication unit 93 of the camera B to the camera A, and the image b is deleted from the recording medium 91 when transmitted from the camera B to the camera A. FIG. 9B schematically shows this state. The image A and the image b exist in the camera A, and the broken line of the camera B indicates that the image b is deleted. However, the thumbnail image of the image b is stored as it is.

  The level evaluation unit 84 of the camera A evaluates the smile level related to the smile of the person in the received image b and also evaluates the smile level related to the smile of the person in the image a recorded in the recording medium 81. The smile level values of the images a and b, which are evaluation results, and the thumbnail images of the images a and b are displayed on the liquid crystal display 82 of the camera A, and from the wireless communication unit 83 to the wireless communication unit. 93 and displayed on the liquid crystal display 92 of the camera B.

  In FIG. 10, since the smile level value of the image a is 80% and the smile level value of the image b is 60%, the camera A having the image a wins. Therefore, the message 85 indicating that the thumbnail image a and the level value are 80%, the thumbnail image b and the level value is 60%, and “A wins” is displayed on the liquid crystal display 82 of the camera A. Since the camera A transmits the evaluation result and the thumbnail image a to the camera B as described above, the thumbnail image a and the level value 80% and the thumbnail image b and the level value 60% are also displayed on the liquid crystal display 92 of the camera B. And a message 95 “Winning A” is displayed. The image b is stored in the recording medium 81 of the camera A and is lost from the camera B.

In FIG. 11, since the smile level value of the image a is 60% and the smile level value of the image b is 80%, the camera B having the image b wins. In this case, the wireless communication unit 83 of the camera A transmits both the image a and the image b to the camera B together with the level values 60% and 80%. At this time, both the image a and the image b are deleted from the recording medium 81 as indicated by broken lines in FIG.
As a result, a message 86 of thumbnail images a and b, a level value of 80%, a level value of 60%, and “B wins” is displayed on the liquid crystal display 82 of the camera A. On the other hand, on the liquid crystal display 92 of the camera B, similarly, a message 96 indicating that the thumbnail image a and the level value are 60%, the thumbnail image b and the level value is 80%, and “B wins” is displayed. Of course, both the image a and the image b are stored in the recording medium 91 of the camera B.

As described above, in the digital camera system according to the present embodiment, it is possible to send a picture using communication, evaluate the picture, and enjoy a game that competes for victory or defeat depending on the evaluation level.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above as long as the characteristics are not impaired.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a digital camera according to a first embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the through image displayed on the liquid crystal display of the digital camera by embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the trimming image displayed on the liquid crystal display of the digital camera by embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the picked-up image displayed on the liquid crystal display of the digital camera by embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital camera which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the digital camera system which concerns on 5th Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state at the time of the operation | movement start of the digital camera system which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state at the time of completion | finish of operation | movement of the digital camera system which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows another state at the time of completion | finish of operation | movement of the digital camera system which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10, 16: Image recording unit 20: Control unit 31, 84: Level evaluation unit 32: Facial expression data storage unit 33: Facial expression setting unit 34: Automatic imaging unit 35: Facial expression level data storage unit 36: Display control unit 37 : Liquid crystal display 40: Facial expression shooting mode setting unit 41: Image reproduction unit 42: Trimming unit 45, 46: Game mode setting unit 50: Image selection unit 51: Facial expression determination unit 52: Superiority / decision determination unit 61: Face change detection unit 62: Face part data storage unit 71: Face change determination unit 81, 91: Recording medium 82, 92: Liquid crystal display 83, 93: Wireless communication unit

Claims (12)

Imaging means for imaging a subject person and generating a subject image;
Facial expression detection means for detecting a predetermined facial expression of the subject person from the subject image;
Automatic photographing means for performing automatic photographing based on the detection result of the facial expression detecting means;
Facial expression level data storage means for storing, as facial expression level data, a plurality of facial expression levels that express the expression level related to the predetermined facial expression in stages;
Level evaluation means for comparing the facial expression of each of a plurality of subject persons in the subject image with the facial expression level data and evaluating the degree of the facial expression of each of the subject persons;
Trimming means for trimming a partial image of a subject person evaluated as the highest level by the level evaluation means from the subject image;
Display means for displaying an image,
The digital camera characterized in that the display means displays a trimmed image trimmed by the trimming means. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein
The level evaluation means quantifies the highest level,
The digital camera characterized in that the display means displays the trimmed image with the level value digitized by the level evaluation means added thereto. The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein
It further comprises image recording means for recording an image on a recording medium,
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the image recording unit records the trimmed image and the subject image on the recording medium. The digital camera according to claim 3, wherein
The level evaluation means quantifies the degree of facial expression of each of the subject persons,
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the display means adds each level value quantified by the level evaluation means to each of the subject persons in the subject image. Image recording means for recording a plurality of photographed images on a recording medium;
Selecting means for selecting a plurality of images of the same person from the captured images recorded on the recording medium;
Facial expression level data storage means for storing, as facial expression level data, a plurality of facial expression levels that express the expression level related to a predetermined facial expression in stages;
Level evaluation means for comparing the facial expression of each of the plurality of images selected by the selection means with the facial expression level data and evaluating the degree of facial expression of the person in the plurality of images;
Display means for displaying an image,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the display unit displays an image of a facial expression evaluated as the highest level by the level evaluation unit among the plurality of images selected by the selection unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5.
The image processing apparatus, wherein the display means sequentially displays the plurality of images in descending order of the degree of facial expression of a person. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6,
The level evaluation means quantifies the degree of facial expression of the person in the plurality of images,
The image processing apparatus characterized in that the display means adds the level value quantified by the level evaluation means to the image to be displayed. Imaging means for photographing a subject and generating a subject image;
Facial expression determination means for determining whether the facial expressions of at least two persons in the subject image correspond to first, second and third facial expressions;
A rule that the first facial expression is superior to the second facial expression, the second facial expression is superior to the third facial expression, and the third facial expression is superior to the first facial expression. The superiority or inferiority determination means for determining which facial expression of the two persons is superior based on the determination result of the facial expression determination means,
Trimming means for trimming an image of a person with excellent facial expression from the subject image;
Display means for displaying an image,
The digital camera characterized in that the display means displays a trimmed image trimmed by the trimming means. The digital camera according to claim 1 or 8,
The digital camera according to claim 1, wherein the display means displays the trimmed image with a message of a predetermined quote or maxim corresponding to the predetermined facial expression. Imaging means for photographing a plurality of persons twice with different facial expressions, and generating each photographed image;
A determination means for comparing the facial expression before the change and the facial expression after the change for the same person with respect to the photographed images of the plurality of persons, and determining a person with the largest change;
A digital camera comprising display means for displaying the photographed image of the determined person. Image recording means for recording a photographed image on a first recording medium, first display means for displaying the photographed image, first data communication means for transmitting and receiving photographed image data, and a predetermined face of a person in the photographed image A first digital camera comprising level evaluation means for evaluating a facial expression level relating to facial expressions;
A second digital camera comprising image recording means for recording a photographed image on a second recording medium, second display means for displaying the photographed image, and second data communication means for transmitting and receiving photographed image data; With
The second data communication means transmits the second photographed image recorded on the second recording medium to the first digital camera,
The level evaluation means evaluates the degree of facial expression related to the predetermined facial expression of the person of the transmitted second photographed image, and the person of the first photographed image recorded on the first recording medium. Evaluating the degree of expression related to the predetermined facial expression,
The first display means displays evaluation results of the first and second captured images,
The first data communication means transmits the evaluation result to the second digital camera,
The digital camera system, wherein the second display means displays the evaluation result. The digital camera system according to claim 11, wherein
The second digital camera transmits the second photographed image to the first digital camera and deletes it from the second recording medium, and the first digital camera is transferred from the second digital camera. Temporarily recording the transmitted second photographed image on the first recording medium;
When the evaluation result is higher in the first captured image than in the second captured image, the first digital camera stores the second captured image in the first recording medium,
When the evaluation result is lower in the first captured image than in the second captured image, the first digital camera transmits the second captured image to the second digital camera. A digital camera system, wherein the digital camera system is deleted from the first recording medium, and the first photographed image is transmitted to the second digital camera and deleted from the first recording medium.

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