JP2010197711A - Image display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow horizontal images as well as vertical images to be always displayed in proper directions by automatically determining a vertical direction of images. <P>SOLUTION: A sky part is discriminated on the basis of blue and white included in an image. The image is displayed as it is when the sky part exists at a prescribed or higher ratio in an upper half of the image, but when the sky part exists at the prescribed or higher ratio in a right or left half of the image, the image is displayed in a display part after being rotated so that the side where blue and white exist at the prescribed or higher ratio is placed the upper side. Furthermore, the sky part may be discriminated on the basis of white and gray for an image captured in a cloudy day in consideration of weather information, and the sky part may be discriminated on the basis of an orange color for an image captured in early morning or evening in consideration of time information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image display device that displays digital still image data captured by a digital camera or the like, and in particular, when information indicating a shooting direction (vertical or horizontal) is not stored in the captured image data. Even so, the present invention relates to an image display apparatus that can display an image in an appropriate orientation as long as it is a landscape image including the sky.

  In recent years, digital still images taken with a digital camera or mobile phone can be taken from a memory card and displayed as a photo frame, or multiple images can be switched and displayed using the slideshow function, making it easy to take digital photos on a daily basis. Digital photo frames that can be enjoyed for a while are beginning to spread.

  A conventional example of such a digital photo frame is described in, for example, the following Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-65031). The image display frame described in Patent Document 1 includes an operation unit on the back of the back cover and a memory card throttle on a side surface (thickness portion) of the back cover. The operation unit includes a power button, a switching button, and an operation key. Etc. are arranged on the back of the case back. By providing the operation unit on the back cover, the image processing unit, internal memory, rigid board, flexible board, etc. can be housed inside the back cover, so that the frame can be made thin and uniform in thickness. Yes.

  By the way, if you shoot with the camera body in landscape orientation, the photo will become a landscape image, and if you shoot with the camera in portrait orientation, it will become a portrait image, but if you display these photographic images in a digital photo frame, you can still display the landscape image as it is. If the vertical image is displayed as it is, the image is displayed in a form that is rotated 90 degrees.

  Therefore, when displaying a vertical image, it is necessary to display the image by rotating it 90 degrees so that the upper side of the image is on the screen. In that case, it is sufficient to rotate the image 90 degrees by manual operation, but it is troublesome to perform manual operation one by one.

  Therefore, in the field of digital cameras, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-341087), posture detection means for detecting that the shooting posture is a vertical shooting posture, Means for recording longitudinal shooting information indicating that the image was taken in a posture, and when reproducing the image, it is determined whether or not the image has been taken vertically based on the vertical shooting information, and according to the determination result A technique for rotating an image 90 degrees and displaying it on a display unit has been developed.

  However, such a method requires a mounting space for incorporating the posture detection means into the camera body, which causes problems such as an increase in the size of the device and an increase in cost as the number of parts increases.

  In view of this, there has been proposed a technique capable of performing appropriate processing according to the orientation of a captured image without incorporating posture detection means in the camera body. For example, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-186930), imaging in which a character including a captured image is recognized from a plurality of different directions and the orientation of the captured image is determined based on the recognition result. A device has been proposed.

  In this way, when displaying the captured image, the user himself can appropriately process without requiring a troublesome operation such as rotating the captured image according to the orientation of the captured image, There is no need for posture detection means in the camera body.

JP 2006-65031 A JP 2009-10777 A JP 2008-300098 A

  If a digital photo frame as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is used, an image taken with a digital camera or a mobile phone can be displayed and enjoyed without a computer. However, such a digital photo frame is a simple one that simply captures image data and displays it on the display means, and does not have an image processing function like a digital camera or a computer.

  Therefore, when image data captured using a digital camera such as those disclosed in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 are stored and displayed in a digital photo frame, the image is captured in portrait orientation or in landscape orientation. It is necessary to determine and display whether the image was taken. If the digital camera that captured the image is disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the digital camera has posture detection means, the vertical shooting information indicating that the image was shot in the vertical shooting posture is recorded in the image data. Therefore, in the digital photo frame, an image can be displayed in an appropriate orientation based on this information.

  However, as shown in Patent Document 3, there is no character in the captured image in image data captured using a digital camera that does not have posture detection means and discriminates the orientation of the captured image from the characters included in the captured image. If it is included, information indicating the direction of shooting can be recorded in the image data, but if the captured image does not include characters, information indicating the direction of shooting cannot be recorded, and the digital photo frame can be recorded. When image data is captured and displayed, there is a problem that it is impossible to determine whether the image data is in portrait orientation or landscape orientation.

  In view of such a problem, the present invention is directed to the vertical direction (vertical orientation) of an image even when information indicating the posture at the time of shooting is not recorded in the image data, and even when characters are not included in the image data. It is an object of the present invention to automatically discriminate whether the image is photographed or photographed in landscape orientation so that the vertical image can be properly displayed by being rotated 90 degrees.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is directed to display means for displaying image data, color discrimination means for discriminating a specific color included in the image, and the color discrimination means. When the empty portion is determined to be at a predetermined ratio or more in the left and right half of the image, the image is displayed on the display means with the empty portion being at a predetermined ratio or more on the upper side. The display control means is provided.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is characterized in that in the invention according to claim 1, an empty portion is discriminated by blue.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, an empty portion is discriminated by blue and white.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1, further comprising weather information reading means for reading the weather information added to the image data, taking into account the weather information read by the weather information reading means. And determining an empty portion.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 5 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 4, when the weather information is clear, the sky part is discriminated by blue and white, and when the weather information is cloudy, white and gray The sky part is discriminated by, and when the weather information is rain, the sky part is discriminated by black and gray.

  The invention according to claim 6 of the present application is the invention according to claim 1 or 4, further comprising time information reading means for reading the time information added to the image data, and the time information read by the time information reading means. In consideration of this, it is characterized by determining an empty portion.

  Further, in the invention according to claim 7 of the present application, in the invention according to claim 6, when the time information is a daytime time, the sky part is discriminated by blue and white, and the time information is an early morning or evening time. When the time information is orange, the sky part is discriminated, and when the time information is evening time, the sky part is discriminated by black.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a display unit for displaying image data, a color determination unit for determining a specific color included in the image, and a weather information reading unit for reading weather information added to the image data. And when the weather information read by the weather information reading means is snow, the color discriminating means discriminates a white portion in the image, and the display means displays the image with the white portion having a predetermined ratio or more downward. And a display control means for displaying on the screen.

  The image display device of the present invention has the following effects. That is, in the invention according to claim 1, when the color discriminating means discriminates the empty portion in the image, and when it is determined that the empty portion is at a predetermined ratio or more in the left and right half of the image, the empty portion Since the image is displayed with the side with a predetermined ratio or more on the upper side, if it is a landscape image including the sky, the upward direction of the image is automatically determined based on the position of the sky part, and the vertical image is It can be displayed properly after being rotated 90 degrees.

  In the invention according to claim 2, since the sky portion is discriminated by blue in the image display device according to claim 1, the upward direction of the image is automatically set for a landscape image including a blue sky. The vertical image can be displayed properly.

  In the invention according to claim 3, in the image display device according to claim 1, the sky portion is discriminated based on blue and white. It is possible to automatically determine and display a vertical image appropriately.

  In the invention according to claim 4, in the image display device according to claim 1, the sky information is determined in consideration of the weather information read by the weather information reading means. According to the weather condition at the time, the sky part can be properly determined and the vertical image can be displayed properly.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the fourth aspect, when the weather information is clear, the sky part is discriminated by blue and white, and when the weather information is cloudy, white and gray When the weather information is rain, the sky part is discriminated based on black and gray, so the sky is determined based on the sky color according to the weather condition when the image was captured. The vertical image can be displayed properly.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the image display device according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the time information added to the image data is taken into account to determine the empty part, so that the image is captured. In accordance with the time when it is done, it is possible to appropriately determine an empty part and display a vertical image appropriately.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image display device according to the sixth aspect, when the time information is a daytime time, the sky portion is discriminated by blue and white, and the time information is an early morning or evening time. When the time information is evening time, the sky part is determined by black, so the sky part corresponding to the time when the image was captured is determined. It is possible to discriminate the sky part based on the color and display the vertical image appropriately.

  In the invention according to claim 8, when the weather information added to the image data is snow, the color discriminating means discriminates the white portion in the image, and the side where the white portion is a predetermined ratio or more is set to the lower side. Since the image is displayed, even if the weather is snow when the image is picked up, it is possible to determine the downward direction based on the snow white accumulated on the ground or the like and display the vertical image appropriately.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the digital photo frame which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the digital photo frame based on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the image read into the image display apparatus. It is a figure which shows the state which rotated 90 degree | times and displayed on the display part the image of FIG. 3 (B). It is a flowchart which shows the display process of this invention.

  Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples and drawings. However, the embodiments shown below exemplify a digital photo frame for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and are not intended to identify the present invention as this digital photo frame. The present invention can be equally applied to the image display devices of other embodiments included in the claims.

(1) Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a digital photo frame according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the digital photo frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the digital photo frame 10 according to the present embodiment includes a display unit 11 provided on the front surface of a rectangular flat housing and a stand 20 provided on the back center of the housing. . A power switch 21 is provided at the lower corner of the front surface of the housing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the digital photo frame 10 includes a display unit 11, an operation unit 12, a built-in memory 13, an external memory interface 14, a photo sensor 15, a power supply control unit 16, a data communication module 17, an audio output unit 18, and a control. The unit 19 is provided. The display unit 11 corresponds to the display unit of the present invention, and the control unit 19 has functions of a color determination unit, weather information reading unit, time information reading unit, and display control unit of the present invention.

  The display unit 11 includes an LCD module 11-1 configured by a liquid crystal display provided on the front surface side of the digital photo frame 10, and an LED 11-2 and an LED backlight controller 11-3 provided on the back surface thereof. Under the control of the control unit 19, the digital image data (for example, JPEG file) read from the memory card or the like is reproduced and displayed on the LCD module 11-1, and in the present invention, the LED is displayed by the control unit 19 as described later. By controlling the backlight controller 11-3, an image of the button arrangement corresponding to the operation buttons of the operation unit 12 is superimposed and displayed by the LED 11-2.

  The operation unit 12 includes a plurality of operation buttons 12-1 provided on the back side of the digital photo frame 10, and a sensor 12-2 for detecting that the user has touched these operation buttons. . Here, as a sensor for detecting that the user has touched these operation buttons, for example, a capacitive or pressure-sensitive touch sensor can be used.

  A plurality of operation buttons include a menu button for displaying the menu screen on the display unit 11, a screen erasing button for stopping the slide show playback, a return button for returning to the normal slide show playback, setting items, and image data. Next button to play the next image data to switch between, select the setting item, Previous button to play the previous image data, select the setting item, rotate the image data A rotation button for selecting the setting item, a brightness button for selecting a setting item and adjusting the brightness of the display unit 11, a determination button for pausing slide show reproduction and confirming the selected setting, and the like. It is composed of

  The built-in memory 13 stores music data (SDRAM 13-1, which is a work memory in which data that needs to be temporarily stored by the control unit 19 described later is stored, or a memory card ( For example, it is composed of a NAND flash memory 13-2 including a user area in which an MP3 format music file is stored. As described later, the music data may be obtained by copying from a portable storage medium such as an SD memory card, or may be obtained by downloading from a predetermined server via a WLAN.

  The external memory interface 14 includes a slot 24 for inserting an SD memory card or a memory stick, and an SD adapter 14-1 for reading / writing the inserted memory card, an MS adapter 14-2 for reading / writing the inserted memory stick, A USB connector 14-3 having a port 25 for inserting a USB memory is used.

  The photo sensor 15 is for detecting ambient brightness in order to automatically adjust the brightness and brightness of the display unit 11, and the detected control signal is output to the control unit 19. The photo sensor 15 is more preferably provided on the front side of the digital photo frame 10.

  The power control unit 16 supplies power to each unit in the digital photo frame 10. The supplied electric power may be obtained from an external power supply through a power adapter, or may be obtained from a charging place (not shown) provided in the digital photo frame 10 or the like.

  The data communication module 17 includes a WLAN module 17-1 that transmits and receives data by wireless communication, an SIR (Serial IrDA) module 17-2 that performs short-range data communication using infrared rays, and the like. The audio output unit 18 includes a D / A converter (DAC), an amplifier, a speaker, and the like in order to reproduce and output music data read from a memory card or the like.

  The control unit 19 includes a microprocessor as a main component, generates various clock pulses as in a general computer device, and controls the operation of each unit based on a control program stored in the NAND flash memory 13-2. . The SDRAM 13-1 stores data that needs to be temporarily stored during program execution.

  Further, the control unit 19 responds to an operation input from the operation unit 12, a JPEG format image file (JPEG file) recorded as image data on an SD memory card or memory stick inserted in a slot (not shown). Is copied to the user area of the NAND flash memory 13-2 and stored, or image data such as an SD memory card or image data stored in the NAND flash memory 13-2 is displayed on the display unit 11 as a slide show. To do.

  Further, the control unit 19 stores an MP3 format music file (MP3 file) recorded as music data on an SD memory card or a memory stick inserted into the slot according to an operation input from the operation unit 12. -2 is copied to the user area and stored, or music data such as an SD memory card or music data stored in the NAND flash memory 13-2 is reproduced and output from the audio output unit 18.

  In such a digital photo frame 10, according to the present invention, when image data is read from an SD memory card or a memory stick inserted into a slot and displayed, an empty space is displayed based on the color included in the image data. The image is displayed on the display unit 11 with the empty portion being determined to be above a predetermined ratio in the left and right half of the image when the empty portion is determined. .

  For example, when the image data as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B is read, it is searched in which part of the image the sky is. When the sky is present in the upper half of the image in a predetermined ratio or more (for example, 70% or more) as in the image of FIG. 3A, the image is displayed on the display unit 11 as it is. On the other hand, as shown in the image of FIG. 3B, when the left and right halves have a predetermined ratio or more, a rotation process is performed so that the side where the sky is a predetermined ratio or more is on the upper side. Display as shown.

  In this case, in this embodiment, the sky part is discriminated by searching for blue in the blue sky based on the color information of each pixel forming the image. However, in consideration of the case where there is a cloud, the sky portion may be determined based on whether the total of blue and white is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio.

  Next, the display processing of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, image data for one sheet is read (step S1). Then, the blue portion in the read image is searched (step S2), and it is determined whether or not a blue portion of a predetermined ratio or more is detected (step S3).

If a blue portion of a predetermined ratio or more is detected in step S3, it is determined whether or not a predetermined ratio or more is present in the upper half of the image (step S4). Is displayed on the display unit 11 (step S5). If a blue portion is present in a predetermined ratio or more in the left and right halves instead of the upper half of the image, the image is rotated 90 degrees so that the blue portion is on the top and displayed on the display unit 11 (step S6).
On the other hand, if a blue portion of a predetermined ratio or more is not detected in step S3, the sky cannot be detected, and the top and bottom of the image are unknown, so that the image is displayed on the display unit 11 without being rotated for the time being (step S7). The user looks at it and operates the image rotation button provided in the digital photo frame 10 if the image is displayed sideways. The control unit 19 of the digital photo frame 10 determines whether or not the image rotation button has been operated (step S8). When the image rotation button is operated, the image is rotated by 90 degrees and displayed on the display unit 11 ( Step S9).

If an image is displayed in step S5, step S6, or step S9, it is determined whether or not switching for the next image display is instructed (step S10), and if switching is instructed, the process returns to step S1 to return to the next. Read the image data and repeat the same process.
(2) Embodiment 2 In this embodiment, weather information at the time of shooting is added to the image data and recorded, and at the time of image reproduction, the weather information added to the image is taken into consideration, and the vertical direction of the image Judgment was made. The weather information is, for example, the daytime when the user manually inputs the weather when shooting with the camera, or based on the intensity of light from the illuminance sensor provided on the camera and the time of day. The weather is judged and held so that it is sunny.

If the weather information is “clear”, the vertical direction of the image is determined based on the blue portion in the image, as in the first embodiment. If the weather information is “cloudy”, it is determined that the sum of white and gray is higher than a predetermined ratio in one half. If the weather information is “rain”, it is determined that the sum of black and gray is higher than a predetermined ratio in one half. Further, if the weather information is “snow”, it is determined that the one in which the white color is present in a half of one side or more is lower.
(3) Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, time information at the time of shooting is added to the image data and recorded, and at the time of image reproduction, the time information added to the image is taken into consideration, and the vertical direction of the image. Judgment was made. The time information can be used since the shooting date and time is recorded for each photo in a normal digital camera.

  If the time is early morning or evening, it is determined that the orange color, which is the color of sunrise or sunset, is present at a predetermined ratio or more in one half. If the time is daytime, it is determined that the sum of blue and white is higher than a predetermined ratio in one half. Furthermore, if the time is evening, it is determined that the one where black is present at a predetermined ratio or more in one half is higher.

  As described above, according to the image display device of the present invention, if the image is a landscape image including the sky, the upward direction of the image is automatically determined based on the position of the sky portion, and the vertical image is It can be displayed properly after being rotated 90 degrees.

10 .... Digital photo frame 11 .... Display unit 11-1 ... LCD module 11-2 ... LED
11-3... LED backlight controller 12... Operation unit 12-1 ... operation button 12-2 ... sensor 13 ... built-in memory 13-1 ... SDRAM
13-2 ... NAND type flash memory 14 ... External memory interface 14-1 ... SD adapter 14-2 ... MS adapter 14-3 ... USB connector 15 ... Photo sensor 16 Power source control unit 17 Data communication module 17-1 WLAN module 17-2 SIR module 18 Voice output unit 19 Control unit

Claims (8)

Display means for displaying image data;
Color discriminating means for discriminating a specific color included in the image;
The color discriminating means discriminates an empty part in the image, and when it is determined that the empty part has a predetermined ratio or more in one half of the left and right sides of the image, the side having the empty part more than the predetermined ratio is set to the upper side. An image display device comprising: display control means for displaying an image on the display means.   The image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an empty portion is discriminated from blue.   The image display device according to claim 1, wherein an empty portion is discriminated from blue and white.   2. The image according to claim 1, further comprising weather information reading means for reading the weather information added to the image data, wherein the sky portion is determined in consideration of the weather information read by the weather information reading means. Display device.   When the weather information is clear, the sky part is determined by blue and white. When the weather information is cloudy, the sky part is determined by white and gray. When the weather information is rain, black and gray. The image display device according to claim 4, wherein an empty portion is discriminated.   5. The time information reading means for reading the time information added to the image data is provided, and an empty portion is determined by taking into account the time information read by the time information reading means. Image display device.   When the time information is daytime, the sky part is determined by blue and white, and when the time information is early morning or evening time, the sky part is determined by orange, and the time information is evening time. The image display device according to claim 6, wherein an empty portion is determined by black. Display means for displaying image data;
Color discriminating means for discriminating a specific color included in the image;
Weather information reading means for reading the weather information added to the image data;
When the weather information read by the weather information reading means is snow, the color discriminating means discriminates the white portion in the image and displays the image on the display means with the white portion having a predetermined ratio or more down. An image display device comprising: a display control unit.

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