JP2011043931A - Information processing apparatus, display control method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily grasp contents generated in various locations. <P>SOLUTION: A location information acquiring unit 320 acquires location information of contents. A group setting unit 330 sets multiple photographing areas by categorizing multiple contents based on the location information. An azimuth calculating unit 340 calculates an azimuth from a reference location in each photographing area based on the location information. A photographing area categorizing unit 350 categorizes multiple photographing areas of each specified azimuth based on the calculated azimuth. A photographing area arrangement determining unit 360 determines an arrangement order of the photographing area in each specified azimuth based on distance from the reference location, and determines the arrangement of the multiple photographing areas according to the determined arrangement order. A display controlling unit 370 displays an image indicating the reference location and displays an image indicating the multiple photographing areas arranged in each specified azimuth so as to approximately radially extend from the image indicating the reference location based on the determined arrangement. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, and more particularly to an information processing apparatus that displays content such as an image file, a display control method, and a program that causes a computer to execute the method.

  In recent years, imaging devices such as a digital still camera and a digital video camera (for example, a camera-integrated recorder) that capture an image of a subject such as a landscape or a person to generate an image and record the generated image as an image file have become widespread. Yes. In addition, there is an imaging apparatus capable of recording the generated image in association with position information related to the position at the time of imaging.

  Also, when displaying an image recorded in this way, based on the position information associated with the image, the image is displayed in an overlapping manner at a position on the map corresponding to the location where the image was taken. An information processing apparatus such as a personal computer has been proposed. For example, there has been proposed an image reproducing device that displays a thumbnail image created based on a captured image by mapping the thumbnail image to a position on a map corresponding to position information associated with the captured image (for example, Patent Documents). 1).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-110111 (FIG. 1)

  According to the above-described conventional technology, since the thumbnail image is displayed at a position corresponding to the shooting location on the map, the user can intuitively grasp the shooting location of the image corresponding to each thumbnail image. Further, by performing a zoom-in operation or a zoom-out operation on the displayed map, it is possible to view an image taken in an area included in the map changed according to the operation on one screen.

  In this way, when viewing a captured image, a plurality of images can be viewed together on a single screen based on the shooting location within a certain area. Here, for example, an image taken by a person living in Tokyo has a relatively large number of images in the suburbs of Tokyo that are within the scope of life, and images of other regions (for example, Hokkaido and the United Kingdom that were traveled) Expected to be relatively low. For this reason, when grasping the contents of images taken within the living range and images taken in other regions, a map of each region is displayed by performing a zoom-in operation or a zoom-out operation. It is assumed that each image is displayed.

  However, if it is possible to easily grasp a plurality of images that are close to or away from home, taking into account the orientation, it is possible to enjoy the captured images even more happily. Conceivable.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to easily grasp content generated in various places.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a first aspect of the present invention is to classify a plurality of contents by classifying the plurality of contents based on the position information for a plurality of contents associated with the position information. A group setting unit for setting the group, an azimuth calculating unit for calculating the direction from the reference position for each group based on the position information, and the plurality of groups for each specific direction based on the calculated direction Information processing apparatus, display control method, and program for causing computer to execute the method, including classification unit for classification, and display control unit for classifying and displaying each image representing each of the plurality of groups for each specific orientation It is. Thereby, a plurality of contents are classified and a plurality of groups are set, the azimuth from the reference position is calculated for each group, the plurality of groups are classified for each specific azimuth based on the calculated azimuth, Each image representing each of the groups is classified and displayed for each specific direction.

  In the first aspect, the display control unit may display the images representing each of the plurality of groups side by side according to a certain rule for each specific orientation. This brings about the effect | action that each image showing each of a some group is displayed side by side with a fixed rule for every specific azimuth | direction.

  In the first aspect, the display control unit displays an image representing the reference position and displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups so as to extend substantially radially from the image representing the reference position. You may make it display in order for every specific azimuth | direction. Thus, an image representing the reference position is displayed, and images representing each of the plurality of groups are displayed side by side in a specific direction so as to extend substantially radially from the image representing the reference position.

  Further, in the first aspect, the arrangement order determined by determining the arrangement order of the images representing the group for each specific orientation based on the distance from the reference position to the position specified by the position information. And further comprising an arrangement determining unit that determines the arrangement of each image representing each of the plurality of groups, and the display control unit displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups based on the determined arrangement. You may make it make it. Accordingly, the arrangement order of the images representing the groups for each specific orientation is determined, the arrangement of each image representing each of the plurality of groups is determined according to the determined arrangement order, and a plurality of images are determined based on the determined arrangement. This brings about the effect that each image representing each of the groups is displayed.

  In the first aspect, the arrangement determining unit arranges the adjacent groups apart from each other by a predetermined range when the distance between the adjacent groups exceeds the reference in the determined arrangement order. As described above, the arrangement may be determined. Thereby, when the distance between adjacent groups exceeds the reference, there is an effect that the groups are arranged apart from each other by a predetermined range.

  In the first aspect, the position information is position information related to a position where the content is generated or updated, and the group setting unit defines a predetermined range area to which the content belongs based on the position information. The plurality of groups may be set based on the specified area specified for each content. Accordingly, an area of a predetermined range to which each content belongs is specified for each content based on the position where the content is generated or updated, and a plurality of groups are set based on the specified area.

  In the first aspect, the group setting unit may change the size of the region according to a distance from the reference position to a position specified by the position information. This brings about the effect | action of changing the magnitude | size of an area | region according to the distance from a reference position to the position specified by position information.

  In the first aspect, the group setting unit may change the size of the area according to the position specified by the position information. This brings about the effect | action of changing the magnitude | size of an area | region according to the position specified by position information.

  In the first aspect, the display control unit may display a sign related to the area as an image representing a group corresponding to the area. Thereby, the effect | action of displaying the label | marker relevant to an area | region as an image showing the group corresponding to the area | region is brought about.

  In the first aspect, the specific azimuth is set to any of the four azimuths, eight azimuths, 16 azimuths, and 32 azimuths, and the display control unit represents each of the plurality of groups. You may make it display each image classified for every range showing the said specific azimuth | direction. This brings about the effect | action that each image showing each of several groups is classified and displayed for every range showing a specific azimuth | direction.

  The first aspect may further include an operation receiving unit that receives a selection operation for selecting an image representing the displayed group, and the display control unit receives the selection operation when the selection operation is received. A list of contents belonging to the group corresponding to the selected image may be displayed. As a result, when a selection operation for selecting an image representing a displayed group is accepted, an effect of displaying a list of contents belonging to the group corresponding to the selected image is brought about.

  In addition, in the first aspect, the image display device further includes a detection unit that detects an image region that is being watched by a user from among the images that represent each of the plurality of groups that are displayed. The image area being watched and other image areas may be changed to different display modes. This brings about the effect that the image area being watched by the user and the other image area are displayed in different display modes.

  In addition, in the first aspect, the display control unit further includes an operation receiving unit that receives a selection operation for selecting any one of the images representing the plurality of displayed groups. When the selection operation is accepted, the peripheral area of the selected image and the other area may be changed to different display modes. Thus, when a selection operation for selecting any one of the images representing each of the plurality of displayed groups is received, the peripheral area of the selected image is different from the other areas. The display mode is brought about.

  In the first aspect, date and time information is associated with the plurality of contents, and the group setting unit classifies the plurality of contents into predetermined date units based on the date and time information. You may make it set the said group about each content. This brings about the effect that a plurality of contents are classified by a predetermined date and time, and a group is set for each classified content.

  Further, in the first aspect, an orientation calculation unit that calculates an orientation from a reference position for each content based on the location information for a plurality of content associated with location information, and based on the calculated orientation And a display control unit including a classification unit that classifies the plurality of contents for each specific direction, and a display control unit that classifies and displays each image representing each of the plurality of contents for each specific direction. A method and a program for causing a computer to execute the method. Thus, the azimuth from the reference position is calculated for each content, a plurality of contents are classified for each specific orientation based on the calculated azimuth, and each image representing each of the plurality of contents is classified for each specific orientation. It brings about the effect of displaying.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that content generated in various places can be easily grasped.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration example of an imaging device 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration example of an imaging apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the file structure of the image file memorize | stored in the content memory | storage part 161 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the memory content of the title information storage part 230 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the memory content of the imaging area arrangement | positioning information storage part 240 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the imaging area arrangement configuration template 400 hold | maintained by the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination part 360 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the setting method which sets the reference | standard position in the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the setting method of the imaging area in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the setting method of the imaging area in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the azimuth | direction calculation method of the imaging | photography area by the azimuth | direction calculation part 340 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the azimuth | direction calculation method of the imaging | photography area by the azimuth | direction calculation part 340 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination method by the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination part 360 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows roughly the place where imaging | photography was performed using the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen for displaying the imaging | photography area display screen on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging | photography area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the content list screen which displays the list of the contents which belong to the imaging | photography area selected by the user displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging area title change screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the imaging area arrangement | positioning information generation process by the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the group setting process in the process sequence of the imaging area arrangement | positioning information generation process by the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination process in the process sequence of the imaging area arrangement information generation process by the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the content reproduction process by the imaging device 100 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging | photography area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the imaging | photography area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the size of the imaging | photography area set by the group setting part 330 in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the reference | standard position contained in the imaging area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and an imaging area group. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the gaze azimuth | direction in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and the process target azimuth | direction used as the process target made inconspicuous. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the reference | standard position contained in the imaging area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and an imaging area group. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the reference | standard position contained in the imaging area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and an imaging area group. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the display control process by the imaging device 100 in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the imaging area arrangement configuration template 850 currently hold | maintained by the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination part 360 in the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows typically the imaging area arrangement configuration template 860 currently hold | maintained by the imaging area arrangement | positioning determination part 360 in the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the reference | standard position contained in the imaging area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and an imaging area group.

Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described. The description will be made in the following order.
1. First embodiment (display control: an example in which a plurality of contents are grouped for each shooting area and the shooting areas are classified and displayed for each direction)
2. Second embodiment (group setting control: an example of grouping a plurality of contents by changing the size of a shooting area)
3. Third embodiment (display control: an example in which the direction in which the user gazes is different from the other direction)
4). Modified example

<1. First Embodiment>
[External configuration example of imaging device]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration example of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows an external appearance of the imaging apparatus 100 in the imaging operation state on the front side (that is, the lens surface directed toward the subject). Here, the imaging operation state means, for example, a state where the power is turned on, and the non-imaging operation state means, for example, a state where the power is turned off. FIG. 1B shows an external appearance of the imaging device 100 on the back side (that is, the surface of the input / output panel 210 facing the photographer).

  The imaging apparatus 100 includes a lens cover 101, a lens 102, an AF (Auto-Focus) illuminator 103, a zoom lever 201, a shutter button 202, a playback button 203, a power button 204, and an input / output panel 210. Prepare. The imaging device 100 is realized by a digital still camera, a digital video camera, or the like that can capture an image of a subject, generate image data, record the image data as a still image file or a moving image file, and display the image data. . The imaging device 100 is an example of an information processing device described in the claims. Note that other operation members are also provided in the imaging apparatus 100, but illustration and description thereof will be omitted.

  The lens cover 101 is a cover that covers each device provided on the front side of the imaging apparatus 100. The lens cover 101 can be moved in the vertical direction. In the non-imaging operation state, the lens cover 101 and the AF illuminator 103 can be covered by moving the lens cover 101 upward in the vertical direction.

  The lens 102 is a lens (including a zoom lens and a focus lens) that collects light from the subject.

  The AF illuminator 103 is AF auxiliary light and is also used as a self-timer lamp. By using the AF illuminator 103, focusing (focusing) can be easily performed even in a dark place.

  The zoom lever 201 is an operation member used when performing a zoom operation (TELE / WIDE).

  The shutter button 202 is an operation member that is pressed when shooting a still image or a moving image.

  The play button 203 is an operation member that is pressed when playing back recorded still image content or moving image content. For example, when the shooting area display screen shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, the user presses the playback button 203 to set the playback mode.

  The power button 204 is an operation member used when the imaging apparatus 100 is turned on / off.

  The input / output panel 210 displays various images and receives an operation input from the user by detecting a contact operation on the input / output panel 210. The input / output panel 210 is also referred to as a touch screen.

[Example of internal configuration of imaging device]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The imaging apparatus 100 includes a lens unit 110, an imaging element 120, a TG (Timing Generator) 121, an analog signal processing unit 130, an A / D (Analog / Digital) conversion unit 140, and a digital signal processing unit 150. Prepare. The imaging apparatus 100 also includes a recording unit 160, a control unit 170, a nonvolatile memory 181, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 182, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 183. In addition, the imaging apparatus 100 includes a motor driver 190, an actuator 191, an operation unit 200, an input / output panel 210, and a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal processing unit 220.

  The lens unit 110 is an optical system that includes a zoom lens for continuously changing a focal length, a focus lens for adjusting focus, a diaphragm, and the like, and collects light from a subject and outputs it to the image sensor 120. . The lens unit 110 is mechanically connected to an actuator 191 for moving a zoom lens, a focus lens, and the like, adjusting a diaphragm, and the like.

  The image sensor 120 is an image sensor disposed on the optical path of light from a subject incident through the lens unit 110, and operates according to a timing signal supplied from the TG 121, thereby entering the incident subject image. To form an image signal. That is, the image sensor 120 generates and generates an image signal (analog signal) corresponding to the amount of received light by receiving light from a subject incident through the lens unit 110 and performing photoelectric conversion. The obtained image signal is supplied to the analog signal processing unit 130. As the image sensor 120, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) type or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type solid-state image sensor can be used.

  The TG 121 is a timing generator that supplies a timing signal to the image sensor 120 based on the control of the control unit 170. The exposure time in the image sensor 120 is controlled by this timing signal.

  The analog signal processing unit 130 performs analog signal processing such as amplification on the image signal (analog signal) supplied from the image sensor 120 based on the control of the control unit 170, and the analog signal processing is performed. The image signal is supplied to the A / D converter 140.

  The A / D conversion unit 140 performs A / D conversion on the image signal (analog signal) supplied from the analog signal processing unit 130 based on the control of the control unit 170, and an image obtained by A / D conversion. A signal (digital signal) is supplied to the digital signal processing unit 150.

  The digital signal processing unit 150 performs digital signal processing such as noise removal processing on the image signal (digital signal) supplied from the A / D conversion unit 140 based on the control of the control unit 170. Then, the digital signal processing unit 150 supplies an image signal (image data) subjected to the digital signal processing to the input / output panel 210. In this way, the digital signal processing unit 150 supplies the image signal that has been subjected to the digital signal processing to the input / output panel 210, and displays an image corresponding to the image signal (a so-called through image). The digital signal processing unit 150 generates an image of a focus frame (AF frame) used for focus control based on the control of the control unit 170, and supplies the image to the input / output panel 210 for display.

  Further, the digital signal processing unit 150 compresses the image signal supplied from the A / D conversion unit 140 by a predetermined encoding method, and supplies the compressed image signal to the recording unit 160 to be recorded as an image file. Let As this encoding method, for example, a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) method can be used. The digital signal processing unit 150 expands the compressed image data recorded in the recording unit 160 and supplies the expanded image data to the input / output panel 210 for display. The digital signal processing unit 150 acquires image data and information recorded in the recording unit 160 and supplies the acquired image data to the control unit 170.

  The recording unit 160 is a recording device that records the image signal supplied from the digital signal processing unit 150 as a still image file (still image content) or a moving image file (moving image content). The recording unit 160 records each piece of information supplied from the digital signal processing unit 150. Further, the recording unit 160 supplies the recorded file and each information to the digital signal processing unit 150. As the recording unit 160, for example, a removable recording medium such as a disk such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a semiconductor memory such as a memory card can be used. Further, the recording unit 160 may be built in the imaging apparatus 100 or may be detachable from the imaging apparatus 100.

  The control unit 170 controls each unit constituting the imaging apparatus 100 by executing a program recorded in the ROM 182. In addition, the control unit 170 performs various processes according to a user operation on the touch panel 212 or an operation signal output from the operation unit 200. The control unit 170 is realized by, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control performed by the control unit 170 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The nonvolatile memory 181 is a nonvolatile memory that stores data (such as various setting information) that needs to be retained even when the power of the imaging apparatus 100 is turned off. As the nonvolatile memory 181, for example, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or a flash memory can be used.

  The ROM 182 is a memory that stores a program executed by the control unit 170 and data necessary for the control unit 170 to execute the program.

  The RAM 183 is a memory that temporarily stores programs and data necessary for the control unit 170 to perform various processes, and is used as a work area for an execution program of the control unit 170.

  The motor driver 190 is a motor driver that drives the actuator 191 based on the control of the control unit 170.

  The actuator 191 is driven based on the control of the motor driver 190 to adjust the diaphragm constituting the lens unit 110 and move the focus lens constituting the lens unit 110.

  The operation unit 200 is an operation reception unit that receives operation content operated by the user, and supplies an operation signal corresponding to the received operation content to the control unit 170. The operation unit 200 corresponds to, for example, the zoom lever 201, the shutter button 202, the playback button 203, and the power button 204 shown in FIG.

  The input / output panel 210 includes a display panel 211 and a touch panel 212. The display panel 211 is a display panel that displays an image corresponding to the image signal based on the image signal supplied from the digital signal processing unit 150. For example, an image captured by the image sensor 120 is displayed on the input / output panel 210 (so-called through image display). Various menu screens are displayed on the input / output panel 210. As the display panel 211, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, or the like can be used.

  The touch panel 212 is a touch panel that is placed on the display panel 211 so as to pass through the screen of the display panel 211 and receives an operation input from the user by detecting an object that touches the display surface. When a user presses a desired position on the operation screen displayed on the display panel 211 by touching a finger or the like, the touch panel 212 detects a coordinate of the pressed position and an operation signal corresponding to the detected coordinate. Is output to the control unit 170. And the control part 170 will perform a predetermined | prescribed process based on the acquired operation signal, if the operation signal is acquired. As the touch panel 212, for example, a touch panel that converts contact on the display surface into an electrical signal using a dedicated sensing device and outputs the converted electrical signal to the control unit 170 can be used. Further, as the touch panel 212, for example, an optical sensor type touch panel capable of detecting an object close to or in contact with the display surface may be used.

  The GPS signal processing unit 220 calculates position information based on a GPS signal received by a GPS signal receiving antenna (not shown), and outputs the calculated position information to the control unit 170. The calculated position information includes each data regarding the position such as latitude, longitude, altitude at the time of imaging. In the first embodiment of the present invention, an example in which position information calculated based on a GPS signal is used is shown. However, position information acquired by another position information acquisition method may be used. . For example, position information may be derived using access point information by a wireless local area network (LAN) existing in the vicinity, and the position information may be acquired and used.

  Here, an imaging operation using the imaging apparatus 100 will be described. For example, when the shutter button 202 shown in FIG. 1 is pressed by the user, a release signal is supplied from the operation unit 200 to the control unit 170. When the release signal is supplied to the control unit 170, the control unit 170 controls the digital signal processing unit 150 to compress the image signal supplied from the A / D conversion unit 140 to the digital signal processing unit 150. The compressed image signal is recorded in the recording unit 160 as an image file. When the image file is recorded, the position information calculated by the GPS signal processing unit 220 is recorded in the image file. This image file will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[Functional configuration example of imaging device]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The imaging apparatus 100 includes a content storage unit 161, a title information storage unit 230, a shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240, an operation reception unit 300, a map information storage unit 311, a reference position setting unit 312, and a reference position holding. Part 313. In addition, the imaging apparatus 100 includes a position information acquisition unit 320, a group setting unit 330, an orientation calculation unit 340, a shooting area classification unit 350, a shooting area arrangement determination unit 360, a display control unit 370, and a display unit 380. And a title rewriting unit 390. The reference position setting unit 312, the position information acquisition unit 320, the group setting unit 330, the orientation calculation unit 340, the shooting area classification unit 350, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360, the display control unit 370, and the title rewriting unit 390 are illustrated in FIG. This corresponds to the control unit 170 shown in FIG.

  The content storage unit 161 stores content such as an image file, and supplies the stored content to the position information acquisition unit 320 and the display control unit 370. Note that the content storage unit 161 corresponds to, for example, the recording unit 160 illustrated in FIG.

  The title information storage unit 230 stores conversion information for converting the position information of each shooting area set by the group setting unit 330 into a label such as a place name attached to each shooting area. Here, the shooting area is an area of a predetermined range set based on the shooting position of the content. The shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The contents stored in the title information storage unit 230 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that the title information storage unit 230 corresponds to, for example, the recording unit 160 illustrated in FIG.

  The shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 stores shooting area arrangement information related to the arrangement of the shooting area determined by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360, and supplies the stored shooting area arrangement information to the display control unit 370. To do. The contents stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 corresponds to, for example, the recording unit 160 illustrated in FIG.

  The operation accepting unit 300 is an operation accepting unit that accepts an operation input from a user. The operation content corresponding to the accepted operation input is used as a reference position setting unit 312, a position information acquisition unit 320, a display control unit 370, and a title rewriting unit. To 390. For example, when an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information is received, the operation reception unit 300 outputs the operation content to the position information acquisition unit 320 and the display control unit 370. In addition, when a designation operation for designating the reference position is received by the user, the operation content is output to the reference position setting unit 312. Further, when an instruction operation for rewriting the reference position or the title of the shooting area is accepted, the operation accepting unit 300 outputs the operation content to the title rewriting unit 390. Further, when an instruction operation for displaying the shooting area display screen is received, the operation reception unit 300 outputs the operation content to the display control unit 370. This shooting area display screen is a screen that is displayed based on the shooting area arrangement information stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240. For example, as shown in FIG. Are displayed side by side. The operation receiving unit 300 corresponds to, for example, the operation unit 200 and the touch panel 212 illustrated in FIG.

  The map information storage unit 311 stores map data for displaying a map on the display unit 380, and supplies the stored map data to the reference position setting unit 312 and the display control unit 370. For example, the map data stored in the map information storage unit 311 is data specified by latitude and longitude, and is divided into a plurality of regions with a certain latitude width and longitude width as a unit. The map information storage unit 311 corresponds to, for example, the recording unit 160 illustrated in FIG.

  The reference position setting unit 312 acquires position information (for example, latitude and longitude) from the map information storage unit 311 according to the operation content from the operation reception unit 300, and sets the reference position specified by the user. is there. Then, the reference position setting unit 312 causes the reference position holding unit 313 to hold the reference position designated by the user. The setting of the reference position will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The reference position holding unit 313 holds the reference position set by the reference position setting unit 312 and supplies the held reference position to the group setting unit 330 and the direction calculation unit 340. The reference position holding unit 313 corresponds to, for example, the RAM 183 shown in FIG.

  The position information acquisition unit 320 acquires each content stored in the content storage unit 161 according to the operation content from the operation reception unit 300, and acquires position information from the acquired content. The obtained position information is supplied to the group setting unit 330.

  The group setting unit 330 classifies each content based on the location information of each content supplied from the location information acquisition unit 320 and sets a plurality of shooting areas. That is, the group setting unit 330 identifies the shooting area to which each content belongs for each content based on the position information of each content, and sets a plurality of groups based on the specified plurality of shooting areas. Specifically, the group setting unit 330 sets contents belonging to the same shooting area as the same group. For this reason, the following description will be made assuming that the shooting area corresponds to the group. Then, the group setting unit 330 outputs shooting area information including information regarding the set plurality of shooting areas and information regarding content belonging to each shooting area to the orientation calculation unit 340. An example in which the shooting area is changed based on the reference position held by the reference position holding unit 313 will be described in the second embodiment of the present invention. The method for setting the shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

  The azimuth calculation unit 340 calculates the azimuth for each shooting area based on the reference position held in the reference position holding unit 313 and the shooting area information output from the group setting unit 330. Then, the orientation calculation unit 340 outputs the calculated orientation for each shooting area and shooting area information to the shooting area classification unit 350. Note that the direction calculation method for each shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The shooting area classification unit 350 classifies each shooting area for each specific direction (for example, eight directions) based on the direction for each shooting area output from the direction calculation unit 340. The classification result and shooting area information Is output to the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360. The classification method for each azimuth of the shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The photographing area classification unit 350 is an example of a classification unit described in the claims.

  The shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 determines the arrangement of the plurality of set shooting areas based on the classification result output from the shooting area classification unit 350 and the shooting area information. Then, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 causes the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 to store shooting area arrangement information related to the determined arrangement of the shooting area. Further, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 converts the set position information of each shooting area into a sign such as a place name using the conversion information stored in the title information storage unit 230, and the converted sign is displayed. It is stored in association with each shooting area. That is, a sign indicating a group corresponding to the shooting area is stored in association with each group. The method for determining the arrangement of the shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 is an example of an arrangement determination unit described in the claims.

  The display control unit 370 displays various images on the display unit 380 according to the operation content from the operation reception unit 300. For example, when the operation receiving unit 300 receives an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information, the display control unit 370 acquires map information for displaying a map from the map information storage unit 311, and the map Is displayed on the display unit 380. In addition, when an instruction operation to display the shooting area display screen is received, the display control unit 370 acquires shooting area arrangement information stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240, and shooting is performed based on the acquired shooting area arrangement information. An area display screen is displayed on the display unit 380.

  The display unit 380 is a display unit that displays various images based on the control of the display control unit 370. The display unit 380 corresponds to, for example, the display panel 211 illustrated in FIG.

  The title rewriting unit 390 rewrites the title of the reference position or the shooting area in the shooting area arrangement information stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 in accordance with the operation content from the operation receiving unit 300. Note that the rewriting of the title of the reference position or the shooting area will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

[Image file configuration example]
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a file structure of an image file stored in the content storage unit 161 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The example shown in FIG. 4 schematically shows the file structure of a still image file recorded according to the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File system) standard. DCF is a file system standard for realizing mutual use of images via recording media between devices such as digital still cameras and printers. In addition, in DCF, file name assignment and folder configuration are defined when recording on a recording medium based on Exif (Exchangeable image file format). Exif is a standard for adding image data and camera information to an image file, and defines a format (file format) for recording an image file. FIG. 4A shows a configuration example of the image file 250, and FIG. 4B shows a configuration example of the attached information 251.

  The image file 250 is a still image file recorded according to the DCF standard, and is composed of attached information 251 and image information 254 as shown in FIG. The image information 254 is, for example, image data generated by the image sensor 120, resolution-converted by the digital signal processing unit 150, and compressed in JPEG format.

  The attached information 251 includes attribute information 252 and a maker note 253, as shown in FIG. 4B. The attribute information 252 is attribute information regarding the image file 250 and includes, for example, GPS information, shooting update date / time, image size, color space information, manufacturer name, and the like. The GPS information includes, for example, position information such as latitude and longitude (for example, TAGID = 1000001 to 1000004).

  The maker note 253 is generally an area where user-specific data is recorded, and is an extended area where each maker can freely record information (TAGID = 37500, MakerNote). Note that position information such as GPS information may be recorded in the maker note 253. In the embodiment of the present invention, an example in which position information recorded in an image file is used is shown. However, position information is recorded in a management file for managing contents, and this position information may be used. Good.

[Contents of title information storage section]
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the stored contents of the title information storage unit 230 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The title information storage unit 230 stores conversion information for converting position information into a sign (for example, a character) representing a place or the like. Specifically, the position information 231 and the shooting area title 232 are stored in the title information storage unit 230 in association with each other.

  The position information 231 stores data for specifying a location corresponding to the sign stored in the shooting area title 232. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, an example in which a location corresponding to the sign stored in the shooting area title 232 is specified by one position (latitude and longitude) is shown. In FIG. 5, specific numerical values of latitude and longitude stored in the position information 231 are omitted.

  The shooting area title 232 stores marker data (for example, text data and bitmap data) indicating a location or the like given to each shooting area set by the group setting unit 330. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a character is shown as an example of a sign indicating a place or the like. As characters such as places attached to each shooting area set by the group setting unit 330, for example, tourist destinations such as “XX Hills”, “XX Land”, “XX Park”, and a land such as an amusement park The name of the mark can be used. As other characters, for example, a place name corresponding to an administrative division such as “Minato-ku, Tokyo, OO chome” can be used. As the unit of this administrative division, for example, it can be a country unit, a prefecture unit, or a municipality unit.

  Here, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 determines whether the latitude and longitude stored in the position information 231 are included in any of the shooting areas set by the group setting unit 330. Then, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 records the shooting area including the latitude and longitude stored in the position information 231 in association with the characters stored in the shooting area title 232 in association with the latitude and longitude. . In addition, when one shooting area includes two or more latitudes and longitudes stored in the position information 231, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 associates the shooting area with one of the latitudes and longitudes. The characters stored in the title 232 are recorded in association with each other. In this case, for example, characters stored in the shooting area title 232 may be added in association with the latitude and longitude close to the center position of the shooting area. Further, each character stored in the shooting area title 232 in association with two or more latitudes and longitudes may be recorded in association with each other.

[Example of stored contents of shooting area arrangement information storage unit]
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the storage contents of the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 in the first embodiment of the present invention. The shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 stores shooting area arrangement information related to the shooting area arrangement determined by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360. Specifically, the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 stores reference position identification information 241, reference position information 242, and reference position title 243 in association with each other. The shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 stores shooting area arrangement information 244, shooting area size 245, shooting area position information 246, shooting area title 247, and content list 248 in association with each other.

  The reference position identification information 241 stores identification information for identifying the reference position. For example, identification information “# 2001”, “# 2002”, and the like are stored in the order set by the user.

  The reference position information 242 stores position information related to the reference position (for example, latitude and longitude).

  The reference position title 243 stores a title assigned to the reference position. For example, the character “house” input by the user is stored.

  The shooting area arrangement information 244 stores information related to the shooting area arrangement determined by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360. Specifically, information on each position (south 1, north 1, etc.) in the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. 7 is stored.

  The shooting area size 245 stores the size of the shooting area set by the group setting unit 330.

  The shooting area position information 246 stores the position information of the shooting area set by the group setting unit 330. For example, the position information of the content corresponding to the center position among the contents belonging to each shooting area is stored as the position information of the shooting area.

  The shooting area title 247 stores the title assigned to each shooting area. For example, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 converts the position information of each shooting area into a sign such as a place name, and the converted sign is stored as a shooting area title. When the title is rewritten by the title rewriting unit 390, the rewritten title is stored.

  The content list 248 stores information (eg, content address) for acquiring content belonging to each shooting area. In FIG. 6, “# 1011”, “# 1015”, and the like are schematically shown as the content list 248.

[Shooting area layout example]
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 held by the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 is a template used when the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 determines the arrangement of shooting areas. The shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 is for arranging the shooting areas classified into eight directions by the shooting area classification unit 350 in accordance with certain rules.

  The imaging area arrangement configuration template 400 is, for example, a template for arranging rectangles that represent imaging areas in approximately eight radial directions with the reference position 401 as the center. In FIG. 7, characters (North, Northeast, etc.) indicating each direction and numbers indicating the arrangement order are shown in a rectangle indicating the position where each shooting area is arranged.

  The shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 arranges the shooting areas classified into eight directions by the shooting area classification unit 350 for each direction. In this case, for example, when a plurality of shooting areas are classified in one direction (for example, north), the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 sets the arrangement order based on the distance from the reference position to each shooting area. decide. Then, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 determines the arrangement in accordance with the determined arrangement order, for example, “north 1”, “north 2”, “north 3”, “north 4”, “north 5”. . Further, information regarding the arrangement determined in this way is stored as shooting area arrangement information in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 shown in FIG. Note that a method for determining the arrangement of the shooting area using the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

  When the shooting area display screen is displayed on the input / output panel 210, the display control unit 370 displays each shooting area according to the arrangement configuration of the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400. This display example is shown in FIG.

[Reference position setting example]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of a setting method for setting the reference position in the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, illustration of the configuration other than the shutter button 202 and the input / output panel 210 in the imaging device 100 is omitted for ease of explanation. Here, when generating shooting area arrangement information, it is necessary to set a reference position. When the reference position is set on the input / output panel 210, for example, an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information is performed on a menu screen (not shown) displayed on the input / output panel 210. In this instruction operation, a designation operation for designating an area where the reference position is to be set is performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, when the user's house 261 is set as the reference position, an operation input for causing the input / output panel 210 to display a reference position setting screen 270 including a map corresponding to the area where the house 261 exists. Is done. Note that the map information for displaying the map included in the reference position setting screen 270 is acquired from the map information storage unit 311 by the display control unit 370 according to the designation operation from the user. Alternatively, map information may be stored in a map information storage device other than the imaging device 100, and the map information may be acquired from the map information storage device via a network such as the Internet. When the reference position is set, the reference position may be set in another device (such as a personal computer) other than the imaging device 100, and the set content may be transferred to the imaging device 100 and stored.

  The reference position setting screen 270 displays a map of the area designated by the user, and includes a “decision” button 271, a “cancel” button 272, a “return” button 273, and arrow buttons 274 to 277. Is displayed. In the address display area 278, the address of the area displayed on the reference position setting screen 270 is displayed.

  The “decision” button 271 is a button that is pressed when the reference position in the selected state is confirmed. The “Cancel” button 272 is a button that is pressed when canceling the selected reference position. The “return” button 273 is a button that is pressed when returning the reference position setting screen 270 displayed on the input / output panel 210 to a predetermined screen. For example, when each screen transitions by a plurality of hierarchical structures, when the “return” button 273 is pressed, a screen one level above the reference position setting screen 270 displayed on the input / output panel 210 Is displayed. The arrow buttons 274 to 277 are buttons that are pressed when moving the map displayed on the reference position setting screen 270 up, down, left, or right.

  Here, a case where the house 261 is set as the reference position on the reference position setting screen 270 will be described. First, the user designates the house 261 as a reference position on the map displayed on the input / output panel 210. As this designation method, for example, a designation method in which the user designates a position to be designated by pressing with a finger on the input / output panel 210 can be used. Thus, when the reference position is designated by the user operation, the user is notified that the designated position (house 261) is in the selected state. For example, by enclosing the designated position (house 261) with a dotted circle 262, it is notified that the designated position (house 261) is in a selected state.

  Subsequently, when the designated position (the house 261 surrounded by the dotted circle 262) is to be determined as the reference position, the desired position (the house 261) is surrounded by the dotted circle 262, and “ The user presses the “OK” button 271. By this pressing, the reference position setting unit 312 causes the reference position holding unit 313 to hold the position surrounded by the dotted circle 262 as the reference position (for example, the latitude and longitude of the designated position). Here, when canceling the specified position (the house 261 surrounded by the dotted circle 262), the user presses the “Cancel” button 272 while the specified position is surrounded by the dotted circle. To do. By this pressing, the dotted circle is erased, and a new reference position can be designated.

  As a method for specifying the reference position, for example, a coordinate position on the map may be specified by inputting an address, and the reference position may be specified using this coordinate position. In addition, by performing a drag operation with the map displayed on the input / output panel 210, the reference position may be designated by moving the reference position to a predetermined position on the screen (for example, the center position of the screen). . Further, the reference position may be designated using the position information calculated by the GPS signal processing unit 220. For example, the position specified by the position information calculated by the GPS signal processing unit 220 (for example, the current position of the user) can be used as the reference position. In this designation method using position information by GPS, the reference position can be designated without any user operation. For example, the initial setting of the imaging apparatus 100 may be used.

[Example of shooting area settings]
9 and 10 are diagrams schematically showing a method for setting a photographing area in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 schematically shows a positional relationship on the map between the house 410 set as the reference position by the user and the contents A to Z photographed by the user using the imaging device 100. The contents A to Z are contents stored in the content storage unit 161. In FIG. 9, the contents A to Z are shown as white circles arranged at positions specified by the position information associated with the contents A to Z. In addition, symbols (A to Z) representing each content are attached to each circle. The direction in FIG. 9 is indicated by a map symbol 411.

  FIG. 10 shows only the contents A to H among the contents A to Z shown in FIG. 9 in an enlarged manner. In addition, the example illustrated in FIG. 10 illustrates a shooting area setting method in which the shooting settings for the contents A (421) to H (428) are set by the group setting unit 330.

  First, the position information acquisition unit 320 acquires each content stored in the content storage unit 161, and acquires position information from the acquired content. Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 sets a shooting area based on the position information of each content acquired by the position information acquisition unit 320. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, it is assumed that determination processing is performed in the order of contents A (421) to H (428).

  For example, the group setting unit 330 sets the shooting area EA (431) including the position of the content A (421) based on the position information of the first content A (421). The shooting area EA (431) is, for example, a circle whose center position is the position specified by the position information of the first content A (421). In FIG. 10, for example, the radius of the imaging area EA (431) is R1. The shooting area EA (431) includes contents B (422) and C (423), but does not include contents D (424) to H (428). The radius R1 of the shooting area EA (431) can be set to, for example, 500 m.

  Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 determines whether the position of the content B (422) is included in the shooting area EA (431) based on the position information of the next content B (422). Here, since the shooting area EA (431) includes the position of the content B (422), the group setting unit 330 determines that the content B (422) belongs to the shooting area EA (431).

  Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 determines whether the position of the content C (423) is included in the shooting area EA (431) based on the position information of the next content C (423). Here, since the shooting area EA (431) includes the position of the content C (423), the group setting unit 330 determines that the content C (423) belongs to the shooting area EA (431).

  Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 determines whether or not the position of the content D (424) is included in the shooting area EA (431) based on the position information of the next content D (424). Here, the shooting area EA (431) does not include the position of the content D (424). Therefore, the group setting unit 330 sets a new shooting area EB (432) including the position of the content D (424) based on the position information of the content D (424). Similarly to the shooting area EA (431), the shooting area EB (432) is, for example, a circle centered on the position specified by the position information of the content D (424), and the radius is R1. In addition, it is assumed that the contents E (425) to H (428) are included in the shooting area EB (432).

  Similarly, the group setting unit 330 sets the contents E (425) to H (428) in the shooting area EA (431) or EB (432) based on the position information of the contents E (425) to H (428). ) Are included in order. Here, contents E (425) to H (428) are included in the shooting area EB (432). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the contents A (421) to H (428) can be classified into any one of the shooting areas EA (431) and B (432). Here, when there is content included in two or more shooting areas, for example, it can be determined that it belongs to the shooting area closest to the center position of the circle corresponding to each shooting area. Alternatively, one content may belong to two or more shooting areas. Similarly, the shooting areas can be set for the contents I to Z shown in FIG.

[Example of shooting direction calculation and classification based on direction]
11 and 12 are diagrams schematically illustrating a shooting area orientation calculation method by the orientation calculation unit 340 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 11A schematically shows a direction calculation method in the case of calculating the direction of the shooting area EA (431). In the example shown in FIG. 11A, the position specified by the position information of the reference position (house 410) set by the user operation is shown as Z1 (x1, y1). A position specified by position information of the content A (421) corresponding to the center position among the contents A to C belonging to the shooting area EA (431) is indicated as Z2 (x2, y2). Further, the direction in FIG. 11A is indicated by a map symbol 411.

First, the azimuth calculation unit 340 calculates the latitude difference value L1 and the longitude of the position Z1 (x1, y1) of the reference position (house 410) and the position Z2 (x2, y2) of the imaging area EA (431). The difference value L2 is calculated. Subsequently, the azimuth calculation unit 340 sets the north as 0 degrees (or 360 degrees), the east as 90 degrees, and the south as 180 degrees based on the calculated latitude difference value L1 and longitude difference value L2. Then, the angle θ1 corresponding to the direction when the west is 270 degrees is calculated. For example, the angle θ2 can be obtained by the following trigonometric formula.
θ2 = tan ⁻¹ (L2 / L1)

For this reason, the angle θ1 can be obtained by the following equation.
θ1 = 360 (degrees) −θ2

  The numerical value indicating this angle is sometimes referred to as an azimuth angle. In this example, the azimuth is calculated based on the difference value between the latitude and longitude. However, the azimuth may be calculated by another azimuth calculation method using the latitude and longitude.

  FIG. 11B schematically shows a determination method for determining the orientation of the shooting area based on the orientation calculated by the orientation calculation method shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 11B, when north is 0 degree (360 degrees), east is 90 degrees, south is 180 degrees, and west is 270 degrees, east, west, south, north, southwest An example of a determination method for determining the azimuth of the shooting area in any one of the azimuths in units of 45 degrees, such as northeast. In FIG. 11B, the azimuth in units of 45 degrees is represented on the circle 440 by white circles (azimuths 441 to 448). Further, for example, a range representing the north azimuth 441 is θ10 (337.5 degrees <θ10 ≦ 22.5 degrees), and a range representing the northwest azimuth 448 is θ11 (292.5 degrees <θ11 ≦ 337.5 degrees). To do. In the example shown in FIG. 11A, it is assumed that the calculated angle θ1 is included in the range θ11 (292.5 degrees <θ11 ≦ 337.5 degrees) representing the northwest direction. In this case, the shooting area classification unit 350 classifies the shooting area EA (431) into the northwest direction 448.

  As described above, the group setting unit 330 classifies the contents A to Z into a plurality of shooting areas based on the position information, and the shooting area classification unit 350 further classifies the plurality of shooting areas into eight directions and sets each shooting area. Determine the orientation. FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the determined content and the shooting area.

  FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the reference position (house 410) on the map and the contents A to Z when the contents A to Z are classified into a plurality of shooting areas and each shooting area is classified into eight directions. Show. The example shown in FIG. 12 shows an example in which the contents A to Z shown in FIG. 9 are classified into a plurality of shooting areas, and each shooting area is classified into eight directions. In FIG. 12, the positional relationship between the reference position (house 410) and the contents A to Z is the same as in FIG. In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals as those of the orientations 441 to 448 shown in FIG.

  When the shooting area exists across a plurality of directions, for example, the direction in which the center position of the shooting area exists can be determined as the direction of the shooting area based on the position information of the shooting area.

  FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the reference position (house 410) on the map and the contents A to Z when the contents A to Z are classified into a plurality of shooting areas and each shooting area is classified into eight directions. Show. The example shown in FIG. 12 shows an example in which the contents A to Z shown in FIG. 9 are classified into a plurality of shooting areas, and each shooting area is classified into eight directions. In FIG. 12, the positional relationship between the reference position (house 410) and the contents A to Z is the same as in FIG. In FIG. 12, the same reference numerals as those of the orientations 441 to 448 shown in FIG.

[Example of shooting area arrangement determination]
As shown in FIG. 12, the shooting areas EF (436) and EG (437) are classified in the southeast direction 444, and the shooting areas EA (431) and EB (432) are classified in the northwest direction 448. . Thus, when a plurality of shooting areas are classified in the same direction, the arrangement is determined based on the distance from the reference position.

  For example, when determining the arrangement of the shooting areas EA (431) and EB (432) classified in the northwest azimuth 448, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 determines the shooting area EA (431 from the reference position (house 410). ) And EB (432). In this example, the distance is calculated based on the position of the content corresponding to the center position among the contents belonging to each shooting area.

  For example, a circle passing through the content A (421) corresponding to the center position of the imaging area EA (431) with the reference position (house 410) as the center position is indicated by a dotted circle 451. A circle passing through the content D (424) corresponding to the center position of the shooting area EB (432) with the reference position (house 410) as the center position is indicated by a dotted circle 452. In this case, the distance from the reference position (house 410) to the shooting area EA (431) is the distance L11, and the distance from the reference position (house 410) to the shooting area EB (432) is the distance L12. Here, since L12 <L11, it is determined that the shooting area EB (432) is closer to the reference position (house 410) than the shooting area EA (431). Therefore, when the arrangement is determined for the northwest azimuth 448, the arrangement is determined in the order of the shooting area EB (432) → the shooting area EA (431). Similarly, for the shooting areas EF (436) and EG (437) classified in the southeast direction 444, the distance of each shooting area is calculated, and the shooting area EF (436) is calculated from the shooting area EG (437). Is also determined to be close to the reference position (house 410). Therefore, when the arrangement is determined for the southeast azimuth 444, the arrangement is determined in the order of the shooting area EF (436) → the shooting area EG (437).

  FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing a shooting area arrangement determining method by the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The example shown in FIG. 13 shows an arrangement example in the case where the shooting areas EA (431) to EG (437) are classified into eight directions as shown in FIG.

  The shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 determines the arrangement of the shooting areas EA (431) to EG (437) classified into eight directions based on the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. When a plurality of shooting areas are classified in the same direction, the arrangement is determined based on the distance from the reference position (house 410) as described above. That is, for the northwest azimuth, the shooting area EB (432) is arranged at the position of northwest 1 shown in FIG. 7, and the shooting area EA (431) is arranged at the position of northwest 2 shown in FIG. Similarly, for the southeast azimuth, the imaging area EF (436) is arranged at the position of southeast 1 shown in FIG. 7, and the imaging area EG (437) is arranged at the position of southeast 2 shown in FIG. The imaging areas EA (431) to G (437) shown in FIG. 13 are assigned the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG.

[Display example of each shooting area]
FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing a place where photographing is performed using the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14A shows the Japanese archipelago, and FIG. 14B shows Tokyo 23 wards.

  In FIG. 14A, places 461 to 467 in which shooting is performed using the imaging device 100 in Japan (excluding Tokyo 23 wards) are indicated by circles. A reference position (house 460) designated by the user is also indicated by a circle. Here, it is assumed that the reference position (house 460) is, for example, Saitama City △△ machi 2-chome in Saitama Prefecture. Also, it is assumed that the content shot at each of the places 461 to 467 is classified into the same shooting area for each place by the group setting unit 330. The shooting areas corresponding to Nikko 461, Yamagata Castle Remains 462, Akita □□ Park 463, Iwate ▽▽ Land 464, and Sapporo Art Forest 465 are classified in the northeast direction by the shooting area classification unit 350. In addition, the shooting areas in the northeast direction are determined by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 in the order of Nikko 461, Yamagata Castle Remains 462, Akita Park 463, Iwate ▽▽ Land 464, and Sapporo Art Forest 465. And On the other hand, the shooting areas corresponding to Izu 466 and Naha 467 are classified in the southwest direction by the shooting area classification unit 350, and the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 determines the arrangement in the order of Izu 466 and Naha 467. And Each name shown in FIG. 14A is given to each shooting area as a shooting area title.

  In FIG. 14B, places 468 to 474 where the photographing was performed using the imaging device 100 in the 23 wards of Tokyo are indicated by circles. Here, the content shot in each of Korakuen 468, Sensoji Temple 469, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office 470, Imperial Palace 471, Meiji Jingu Shrine 472, Yumenoshima 473 and Haneda Airport 474 is classified into the same shooting area for each place by the group setting unit 330. Shall. The shooting areas corresponding to Korakuen 468, Sensoji Temple 469, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office 470, Imperial Palace 471, Meiji Jingu Shrine 472, Yumenoshima 473 and Haneda Airport 474 are classified by the shooting area classification unit 350 into the south direction. In addition, each shooting area is determined by the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 in the order of Korakuen 468, Sensoji Temple 469, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office 470, Imperial Palace 471, Meiji Jingu 472, Yumenoshima 473, and Haneda Airport 474. Further, it is assumed that the name shown in FIG. 14B is given to each shooting area as a shooting area title.

  In FIGS. 14A and 14B, a place where photographing is performed using the imaging apparatus 100 and a circle indicating a reference position designated by the user schematically indicate each position. The size of the shooting area set by the group setting unit 330 is different.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example (operation screen 500) for displaying an imaging area display screen on the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 can store shooting area arrangement information regarding a plurality of reference positions. For this reason, the operation screen 500 displays reference position selection buttons 501 to 503 for selecting one or more reference positions stored in the imaging area arrangement information storage unit 240 shown in FIG. In addition, on the operation screen 500, an “OK” button 504 and a “RETURN” button 505 are displayed. The reference position selection button 501 corresponds to the house 460 shown in FIG.

  A “decision” button 504 is a button that is pressed when the reference position selection button in the selected state is confirmed. A “return” button 505 is a button that is pressed when the operation screen 500 displayed on the input / output panel 210 is returned to a predetermined screen.

  When the shooting area display screen is displayed on the input / output panel 210, for example, an instruction operation for displaying the operation screen 500 shown in FIG. 15 is performed on a menu screen (not shown) displayed on the input / output panel 210. Subsequently, on the operation screen 500, the user presses a desired reference position selection button from the reference position selection buttons 501 to 503. For example, on the operation screen 500, it is assumed that the reference position selection button 501 is pressed and the “OK” button 504 is pressed. In this case, a shooting area display screen for each location 460 to 474 shown in FIG. 14 is displayed. An example of this display is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the shooting area display screen (shooting area display screen 510) displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The display example shown in FIG. 16 is displayed based on the shooting area arrangement information generated for each location 460 to 474 shown in FIG. In other words, the display control unit 370 displays the shooting area display screen 510 based on the shooting area arrangement information stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 (shooting area arrangement information regarding the locations 460 to 474 shown in FIG. 14). Let

  On the shooting area display screen 510, a reference position and shooting area group 511, a “change title” button 512, and a “return” button 513 are displayed. The “change title” button 512 is a button that is pressed when changing the reference position and the reference position constituting the shooting area group 511 or the title of each shooting area. A “return” button 513 is a button that is pressed when the shooting area display screen 510 displayed on the input / output panel 210 is returned to the operation screen 500.

  The reference position and the shooting area group 511 are displayed based on the layout determined by the shooting area layout determination unit 360 based on the shooting area layout configuration template 400 shown in FIG. Here, nothing is displayed for the rectangular area in which the shooting area is not arranged among the rectangles constituting the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. In addition, on the shooting area display screen 510, each shooting area is displayed in a different manner for every eight directions. For example, it is possible to display different colors for every eight directions. In the example shown in FIG. 16, an example is shown in which different diagonal lines are added for every eight directions.

  For example, when displaying content belonging to a desired shooting area among the shooting areas displayed on the shooting area display screen 510, the user performs a pressing operation to press the desired shooting area. For example, when displaying content belonging to Izu 466, the user performs a pressing operation of pressing a portion of Izu 466. By this pressing operation, content belonging to Izu 466 can be displayed. This display example is shown in FIG.

  When the reference position displayed on the shooting area display screen 510 or the title of the shooting area is changed, the user presses the reference position or shooting area where the user changes the title after pressing the “change title” button 512. Press the button. For example, when changing the title of Korakuen 468, after the user presses the “change title” button 512, the user performs a pressing operation of pressing the part of Korakuen 468. By this pressing operation, a title change screen for changing the title of Korakuen 468 can be displayed. This display example is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a content list screen (content list screen 520) that displays a list of content belonging to the shooting area selected by the user displayed on the input / output panel 210 in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. On the content list screen 520, a content display area 521, a scroll bar 522, up and down keys 523 and 524, a “decide” button 525, and a “return” button 526 are displayed.

  In the content display area 521, images 531 to 538 representing content belonging to the shooting area “Izu” are displayed. The images 531 to 538 representing the content are displayed by the display control unit 370 acquiring each content from the content storage unit 161 based on the content list 248 of the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 shown in FIG. Here, when the content is a still image content, the thumbnail image can be displayed. Further, when the content is a moving image content, a thumbnail image of a representative frame (for example, the first frame) can be displayed. These thumbnail images may be stored in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 in association with each shooting area.

  The scroll bar 522 and the up / down keys 523 and 524 are used when a scroll operation for moving the image displayed in the content display area 521 in the vertical direction to display another image is performed. The “decision” button 525 is a button that is pressed when the reproduction of the selected image is confirmed. A “return” button 526 is a button that is pressed when returning the content list screen 520 displayed on the input / output panel 210 to the shooting area display screen 510. In this example, the reproduction of the selected image is confirmed by pressing the “OK” button 525. However, for example, the reproduction of the image is confirmed only by a selection operation (for example, a touch operation or a cross key operation by the user) for selecting a desired image from a plurality of images displayed on the content list screen. Also good. These image reproduction determination methods may be changed by a user operation.

[Example of shooting area title change]
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of the shooting area title change screen (shooting area title change screen 540) displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a case where a change operation for changing the title of Korakuen 468 is performed on the shooting area display screen 510 shown in FIG. 16 is shown as an example.

  On the shooting area title change screen 540, an old title display area 541, a new title display area 542, a “decide” button 543, and a “return” button 544 are displayed.

  In the old title display area 541, the title attached to the reference position or shooting area to be changed is displayed.

  In the new title display area 542, a new title input by a user operation is displayed. The new title can be input using, for example, a character input button (not shown) provided on the shooting area title change screen 540 and the character input button. The input may be performed using another operation member of the imaging apparatus 100.

  The “decision” button 543 is a button that is pressed when a new title input by a user operation is confirmed. The “return” button 544 is a button that is pressed when returning the shooting area title change screen 540 displayed on the input / output panel 210 to the shooting area display screen 510.

  As described above, when a new title is input to the new title display area 542 by a user operation and the “OK” button 543 is pressed, the title rewriting unit 390 causes the shooting area of the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 to The contents of title 247 are rewritten. For example, the title of Korakuen 468 is rewritten from “Korakuen” to “rice with Mr. XX”. Further, in the shooting area display screen 510 displayed after this rewriting is performed, the inside of the rectangle corresponding to Korakuen 468 is changed to “rice with Mr. XX” and displayed.

  Here, for example, because the Tohoku region, Hokkaido, Okinawa, etc. are relatively far away, zoom-out operation is required to display images representing each content shot in these locations in correspondence with the positions on the map. To find a desired location. On the other hand, for example, Tokyo 23 Ward is a relatively narrow range, so when displaying images representing each content shot in these places in correspondence with the positions on the map, a zoom-in operation is performed, I will look for a place. For this reason, when displaying images representing each content shot in the Tohoku region, Hokkaido, Okinawa, etc. and the 23 wards of Tokyo, corresponding to the position on the map, perform a zoom-in or zoom-out operation. It is possible to look for a place. However, in this way, when searching for a desired place, it is necessary to perform a zoom-in or zoom-out operation, and there is a possibility that it cannot concentrate on the act of searching for desired content.

  On the other hand, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the shooting area corresponding to each content shot in the 23 wards of Tokyo, such as Tohoku region, Hokkaido, Okinawa, etc., can be displayed on the same screen. it can. Accordingly, the user can easily find a desired place intuitively without performing a zoom operation or the like. Even when the shooting area is displayed in this way, the perspective relationship between the azimuth from the reference position and the distance for each azimuth is correct, so that it is possible to search for desired content while retaining ease of searching for a map. Here, the perspective relation of the distance for each azimuth means that, for each azimuth, a closer one is arranged near and a far one is arranged far.

  In this way, even content with a relatively short distance from the reference position or a relatively distant place can be displayed on the same screen in consideration of the direction from the reference position. It is possible to provide a user interface with high listability. In addition, by moving the viewpoint up, down, left, and right within the same screen, it is possible to easily find a shooting area at a desired location, so that content generated in various places can be easily grasped.

[Operation example of imaging device]
FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of shooting area arrangement information generation processing by the imaging device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information has been performed by the user (step S901). If the instruction operation for generating the shooting area arrangement information is not performed, the monitoring is continued. On the other hand, when an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information is performed (step S901), the display control unit 370 displays a reference position setting screen for setting a reference position on the display unit 380 (step S902). ). For example, the reference position setting screen 270 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a reference position input operation has been performed on the reference position setting screen (step S903). When the reference position input operation is not performed (step S903), the monitoring is continued. On the other hand, when a reference position input operation is performed (step S903), group setting processing is performed (step S910). When an input operation for the reference position is performed, the reference position setting unit 312 causes the reference position holding unit 313 to hold the reference position corresponding to the input operation. The group setting process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that step S910 is an example of a group setting procedure described in the claims. Subsequently, a shooting area arrangement determination process is performed (step S930). This photographing area arrangement determination process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  Subsequently, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 stores the shooting area arrangement information related to the determined arrangement of the shooting area in the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 (step S904), and the operation of the shooting area arrangement information generating process is ended. .

  In this example, when an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information is performed by a user operation, the arrangement of shooting areas is determined for all the contents stored in the content storage unit 161. . However, for example, the arrangement of shooting areas may be sequentially determined each time shooting is performed by the imaging apparatus 100. Further, the arrangement of the shooting area may be determined on a daily basis, and the shooting area for each day may be set.

  FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating group setting processing (processing procedure of step S910 shown in FIG. 19) in the processing procedure of shooting area arrangement information generation processing by the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the position information acquisition unit 320 acquires each content stored in the content storage unit 161, and acquires position information from the acquired content (step S911). Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 acquires one piece of position information among the pieces of position information of each content (step S912). Then, it is determined whether or not the acquired one piece of position information is the first position information (step S913). When the acquired one piece of position information is the first position information (step S913), the group setting unit 330 sets a shooting area based on the position information (step S914). Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 classifies the content corresponding to the position information into the set shooting area (step S915).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether the classification into the shooting area has been completed for all the contents among the contents (step S916). When the classification of all the contents into the shooting area is completed (step S916), the group setting processing operation is ended. On the other hand, when the classification into the shooting area has not been completed for all the contents (step S916), the process returns to step S912.

  If the acquired one piece of position information is not the first position information (step S913), it is determined whether or not the position specified by the position information is included in the already set shooting area. (Step S917). When the position specified by the position information is included in the already set shooting area (step S917), the group setting unit 330 classifies the content corresponding to the position information in the shooting area (step S917). S918), the process proceeds to step S916. On the other hand, if the position specified by the position information is not included in the already set shooting area (step S917), the group setting unit 330 sets a new shooting area based on the position information ( Step S919). Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 classifies the content corresponding to the position information in the newly set shooting area (step S920), and proceeds to step S916.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the shooting area arrangement determination process (the process procedure of step S930 shown in FIG. 19) in the process procedure of the shooting area arrangement information generation process by the imaging device 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. is there.

  First, one shooting area is acquired (step S931). Subsequently, the azimuth calculation unit 340 calculates the azimuth of the shooting area based on the reference position held in the reference position holding unit 313 and the position of the shooting area (step S932). Note that step S932 is an example of an orientation calculation procedure described in the claims. Subsequently, the shooting area classification unit 350 classifies the shooting area for each direction based on the calculated direction (step S933). Step S933 is an example of a classification procedure described in the claims.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the acquired one shooting area is the first shooting area (step S934). When the acquired one shooting area is the first shooting area (step S934), the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 arranges the shooting area at the first position in the classified orientation (step S935). ). That is, in the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. 7, it is arranged at the first position of the azimuth (for example, “north 1” when the classified azimuth is “north”).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the arrangement of all the shooting areas among the shooting areas has been determined (step S936). When the arrangement of all the shooting areas has been determined (step S936), the operation of the shooting area arrangement determination process ends. On the other hand, when the arrangement of all the shooting areas has not been determined (step S936), the process returns to step S931.

  When the acquired one shooting area is not the first shooting area (step S934), it is determined whether another shooting area is arranged in the classified direction (step S937). If no other shooting area is arranged in the classified orientation (step S937), the process proceeds to step S935. On the other hand, when another shooting area is arranged in the classified orientation (step S937), the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 calculates the distance from the reference position to the current shooting area (step S938). ).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the calculated distance exceeds the distance of another shooting area arranged in the classified direction (step S939). If the calculated distance does not exceed the distance of other shooting areas, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 takes one acquired shooting at a position corresponding to the calculated distance in the classified orientation. The area is arranged (step S940), and the process proceeds to step S936. On the other hand, when the calculated distance exceeds the distance of other shooting areas, the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 places the acquired one shooting area at the farthest position in the classified orientation. (Step S941), the process proceeds to Step S936. That is, in the classified azimuth | direction, it arrange | positions in the position following the other imaging | photography area arrange | positioned in the furthest position.

  FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of content reproduction processing by the imaging apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for displaying the shooting area display screen has been performed by the user (step S951). For example, in the operation screen 500 shown in FIG. 15, one of the reference position selection buttons 501 to 503 is pressed, and an “instruction” button 504 is pressed to perform an instruction operation. When the instruction operation for displaying the shooting area display screen is not performed (step S951), the monitoring is continued. On the other hand, when an instruction operation for displaying the imaging area display screen is performed (step S951), the display control unit 370 obtains the imaging area arrangement information related to the reference position related to the instruction operation from the imaging area arrangement information storage unit 240. Obtain (step S952). Subsequently, the display control unit 370 displays a shooting area display screen based on the acquired shooting area arrangement information (step S953). For example, a shooting area display screen 510 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed. Step S953 is an example of a display control procedure described in the claims.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a shooting area selection operation has been performed on the shooting area display screen (step S954). When the shooting area selection operation is performed (step S954), the display control unit 370 acquires each content from the content storage unit 161 based on the content list 248 of the shooting area arrangement information storage unit 240 (step S954). S955). Subsequently, the display control unit 370 displays a list of each content on the display unit 380 based on each acquired content (step S956). For example, a list of thumbnail images of each content is displayed.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not a reproduction instruction operation has been performed for any of the contents displayed in a list (step S957). When a reproduction instruction operation is performed (step S957), the display control unit 370 performs a content reproduction process related to the reproduction instruction operation (step S958), and ends the content reproduction process operation. On the other hand, if the reproduction instruction operation has not been performed (step S957), it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for returning to the shooting area display screen has been performed (step S959). When the return instruction operation is not performed (step S959), the process returns to step S957, and when the return instruction operation is performed, the process returns to step S953.

  If no shooting area selection operation has been performed on the shooting area display screen (step S954), it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for changing the title of the shooting area has been performed (step S960). When the instruction operation for changing the title of the shooting area has not been performed (step S960), the process proceeds to step S962. On the other hand, when an instruction operation for changing the title of the shooting area is performed (step S960), the title rewriting unit 390 performs a title rewriting process of the shooting area (step S961).

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for deleting the photographing area display screen has been performed by the user (step S962). When an instruction operation for deleting the shooting area display screen is performed (step S962), the display control unit 370 deletes the shooting area display screen (step S963), and the operation of the content reproduction process is ended. On the other hand, if the instruction operation for deleting the shooting area display screen has not been performed (step S962), the process returns to step S954.

[Variation of shooting area arrangement determination]
In the above, an example in which the arrangement is determined based on the relative positional relationship from the reference position when a plurality of shooting areas are classified in the same direction has been described. However, for example, regarding a shooting area that is farther than a certain distance, it is also important for the user to intuitively grasp the distance. Therefore, in the following, in the case where a plurality of shooting areas are classified in the same azimuth, when the distance between adjacent shooting areas is more than a certain distance, an example of disposing them without closing them is shown. .

  FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the shooting area display screen (shooting area display screen 550) displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The display example shown in FIG. 23 is a modification of FIG. 16, and the shooting areas (Sapporo Art Forest 465 and Naha 467) whose distances between adjacent shooting areas are more than a certain distance are arranged with no gap between them. An example is shown. In this example, when the distance between adjacent imaging areas is 300 km or more, an example is shown in which the distance between the areas is not narrowed. Further, the amount to be opened is changed according to the distance between adjacent shooting areas. For example, when the distant distance is within a range of 300 km to 400 km, one of the rectangles constituting the imaging area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. Further, for example, when the distant distance is within a range of 400 km to 1000 km, three rectangles among the rectangles constituting the photographing area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. Further, for example, when the distance is 1000 km or more, five rectangles among the rectangles constituting the photographing area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG.

  For example, for Nikko 461, Yamagata Castle Remains 462, Akita □□ Park 463, Iwate ▽▽ Land 464 and Izu 466, the distance from the reference position (house 460) is less than 500 km, and the distance between adjacent shooting areas is 300 km. Less than. However, the Sapporo Art Forest 465 is assumed to be within a range of 400 km to 1000 km from the adjacent Iwate ▽▽ Land 464, and the Naha 467 is assumed to be 1000 km or more from the adjacent Izu 466. In this case, the arrangement of the Sapporo Art Forest 465 is changed from “Northeast 5” to “Northeast 8” in the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. In other words, the three rectangles are arranged. Further, the arrangement of Naha 467 is changed from “southwest 2” to “southwest 7” in the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. That is, five rectangles are opened.

  In this way, when the distance between adjacent shooting areas is more than a certain distance, the user can intuitively grasp the distance between the shooting areas by arranging the gaps between the shooting areas without closing them. it can.

  In the above description, an example in which a shooting area is set is determined based only on position information. However, the shooting area may be set using date and time information recorded in association with the content. For example, only content shot on the same day is classified into the same shooting area, and contents with different shooting dates even if the shooting position is the same are classified into other shooting areas. Further, when these shooting areas are arranged, the arrangement can be determined in the order of shooting dates.

  FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of the shooting area display screen (shooting area display screen 560) displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The display example shown in FIG. 24 is a modification of FIG. 16 and shows an example in which only the content shot on the same day is classified into the same shooting area and the arrangement is determined in the order of the shooting date.

  In Izu 466 shown to Fig.14 (a), the case where it image | photographed on February 7th and 8th two days using the imaging device 100 is assumed. For example, the position information acquisition unit 320 acquires each content stored in the content storage unit 161, and is included in the position information and date / time information (for example, the attached information 251 shown in FIG. 4B) from the acquired content. ) To get. Subsequently, the group setting unit 330 sets a shooting area based on the position information and date / time information of each content acquired by the position information acquisition unit 320. For example, the shooting area of February 7 and the shooting area of February 8 are set as the shooting area of Izu 466, and the shooting area to which the content belongs is set according to the shooting date. Further, the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 determines the arrangement of the shooting area on February 7 of Izu 466 and the shooting area of February 8 of Izu 466 in the order of shooting dates. For example, the shooting area of February 7 of Izu 466 is arranged in “southwest 1”, and the shooting area of February 8 of Izu 466 is arranged in “southwest 2”. Further, as shown in FIG. 24, “Izu (2/7)” is given as a title to the shooting area on February 7 of Izu 466, and “Izu ( 2/8) "is given as the title.

  As described above, by determining the arrangement of the shooting areas using the position information and the date and time information, for example, the contents can be classified and managed for each schedule at the travel destination.

[Modification of shooting area setting]
In the above, the example in which the shooting area is set based on the position of the content acquired first is shown. For this reason, there is a possibility that the position of the shooting area is largely changed according to the acquisition order of the position information of the content. Therefore, an example in which a shooting area is set in consideration of the entire content included in the shooting area will be described below.

  For example, the group setting unit 330 sets the shooting area EX1 including the position of the content AA1 based on the position information of the first content AA1. Subsequently, when the content AB1 included in the shooting area EX1 exists, an intermediate position of a line segment connecting the position corresponding to the content AA1 and the position corresponding to the content AB1 is set as the center position of the new shooting area EX1. To do. Subsequently, when the content AC1 included in the new shooting area EX1 exists, the center of gravity of the polygon (triangle) having the vertex corresponding to each of the contents AA1 to AC1 as the center of the new shooting area EX1. Position. In the same manner, new shooting areas EX1 are sequentially set based on the positions of the center of gravity related to a plurality of contents included in the shooting area.

  As described above, by setting the shooting area in consideration of the positions of the plurality of contents included in the shooting area EX1, it is possible to set the shooting area independent of the acquisition order of the position information of the contents.

<2. Second Embodiment>
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the example in which a plurality of contents are classified based on the shooting area of the same size has been described. In the second embodiment of the present invention, an example will be described in which a plurality of contents are classified by changing the size of the shooting area according to the distance from the reference position or the characteristics of the region. Note that the configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. For this reason, below, it demonstrates centering on a different part from the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Example of determining the shooting area size]
FIG. 25 is a diagram schematically illustrating the size of the shooting area set by the group setting unit 330 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Here, the group setting unit 330 is the same as in the first embodiment of the present invention, except that the size of the shooting area for classifying a plurality of contents is changed according to the distance from the reference position. .

  In FIG. 25, a reference position set by a user operation is set as a reference position 600. When the reference position 600 is the center, a circle with a radius of 10 km is a circle 602 and a circle with a radius of 100 km is a circle 604.

  For example, the group setting unit 330 sets a circle with a radius of 50 m as the shooting area 601 when the position specified by the position information associated with the content is within a range of 10 km from the reference position 600.

  Further, for example, when the position specified by the position information associated with the content is in the range of 10 km or more from the reference position 600 and less than 100 km, the group setting unit 330 creates a circle with a radius of 500 m. The shooting area 603 is set.

  For example, the group setting unit 330 sets a circle with a radius of 5000 m as the shooting area 605 when the position specified by the position information associated with the content is within a range of 100 km or more from the reference position 600. To do.

  In this way, the group setting unit 330 classifies content shot at a location that is relatively close to the reference position 600 based on a shooting area of a relatively small size. On the other hand, the group setting unit 330 classifies content shot at a location that is relatively far from the reference position 600 by a shooting area of a relatively large size. In this way, by changing the size of the shooting area according to the distance from the reference position 600, for example, when the reference position 600 is the user's house, the image is shot at various locations in the vicinity of the user's house. Content can be finely categorized by shooting location. For example, content shot in places such as a park in the vicinity of the user's house, a nearby shopping street, or near a child's school can also be classified into different shooting areas. On the other hand, when a user travels to another prefecture or a foreign country, content shot at various locations of the travel destination can be roughly classified at various locations in the travel. For example, when a user in Tokyo travels to Hokkaido, content shot in a relatively wide range of places in Hokkaido can be classified into the same shooting area. As described above, the range that the user wants to classify may differ greatly between the shooting in the neighborhood and the special shooting such as a trip, so the shooting area can be set according to the application. In FIG. 25, only the three size shooting areas are shown for ease of explanation, but the size of the shooting area may be set more finely.

  Further, the shooting area may be changed according to the position specified by the position information associated with the content. For example, when the position specified by the position information associated with the content is included in a famous landmark (for example, a famous theme park or zoo), the shooting area is large enough to include the landmark. May be set. In this case, for a famous landmark, a shooting area whose position and size are fixed may be set, and each content may be classified by this shooting area. In a mountainous area where there are few people, the shooting area may be set to a relatively large size. You may make it set the size of these imaging | photography areas by a user's manual operation.

  In this manner, by changing the shooting area according to the shooting location, the shooting area can be set according to the shooting behavior of the user.

<3. Third Embodiment>
In the first embodiment of the present invention, the example in which the shooting area display screen is displayed has been described. In the third embodiment of the present invention, an example will be described in which an orientation that is assumed to be watched by the user is distinguished from other orientations on the shooting area display screen. Note that the configuration of the imaging apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment of the present invention. For this reason, below, it demonstrates centering on a different part from the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

[Display control example]
FIG. 26 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the reference position and the shooting area group included in the shooting area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, for ease of explanation, a name in the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. 7 is used instead of the title attached to each shooting area. In addition, the example shown in FIG. 26 is substantially the same as the shooting area arrangement configuration template 400 shown in FIG. 7 except that the display mode is different for each direction.

  Here, consider a case where the user is looking at the shooting area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210. In this case, since a relatively large number of shooting areas are displayed adjacent to each other, the amount of information given to the user on one screen increases. For example, it is considered that the user can concentrate on viewing only a desired direction by performing a process of making the other direction other than the direction assumed to be watched by the user inconspicuous. Therefore, in the following, an example is shown in which other orientations other than the orientation assumed to be watched by the user are made inconspicuous.

  FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a gaze direction and a processing target direction that is a target of processing that is inconspicuous in the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The gaze azimuth 811 is an azimuth that the user is assumed to be gazing at, for example, eight azimuths. The processing target azimuth 812 is an azimuth that is a target of processing to be inconspicuous. The display control unit 370 holds information indicating these relationships. The display control unit 370 is an example of a detection unit described in the claims.

  FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the reference position and the shooting area group included in the shooting area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this example, an example in which a rectangle representing each imaging area corresponding to the processing target direction 812 is displayed in an inconspicuous color (for example, gray) is shown. In this example, the case where the user performs an operation using the cursor 820 will be described.

  For example, when the user performs an operation using the cursor 820, the display control unit 370 detects the position of the cursor 820 after movement, and detects the orientation corresponding to the position of the cursor 820 after movement. Subsequently, the display control unit 370 sets the azimuth corresponding to the position of the cursor 820 after the movement as the gaze azimuth 811 illustrated in FIG. 27, and specifies the processing target azimuth 812 corresponding to the gaze azimuth 811. For example, as shown in FIG. 28, when the azimuth corresponding to the position of the cursor 820 after movement is west, south, southeast, east, northeast, and north are specified as the processing target azimuth 812. Subsequently, the display control unit 370 displays the shooting area corresponding to the orientation specified as the processing target orientation 812 in an inconspicuous color. A display example in this case is shown in FIG.

  In this example, the case where the user performs an operation using the cursor has been described. For example, when the user operation is performed by the user's touch operation using the touch panel, the direction corresponding to the contact position is set as the gaze direction 811 above. Display control can be performed in the same manner as described above.

  Further, for example, a line-of-sight detection device that detects the position of the user's line of sight is provided in the imaging apparatus 100, the gaze direction is specified based on the user's line of sight detected by the line-of-sight detection device, and display control is performed as described above. You may make it perform. The line-of-sight detection device is an example of a detection unit described in the claims.

  In this example, the shooting area corresponding to the orientation specified as the processing target orientation 812 is displayed in an inconspicuous color (for example, gray), but for example, a sign (character, Thumbnail images, etc.) may be deleted. Alternatively, each shooting area itself may be erased and hidden. In these cases, a fade-out process may be performed. Here, the fade-out means visual expression in which the target shooting area is sequentially changed with time, for example. For example, as the time elapses, the target shooting area is sequentially blackened, and finally a black image can be obtained. FIG. 29 shows a display example for deleting the sign attached to each photographing area.

  FIG. 29 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the reference position and the shooting area group included in the shooting area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a display example is shown in which a sign attached to each imaging area corresponding to the processing direction 812 is deleted. Note that the example shown in FIG. 29 is the same as the example shown in FIG. 28 except that the method of changing the mode of each shooting area corresponding to the processing target orientation 812 is different, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

[Operation example of imaging device]
FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of display control processing by the imaging apparatus 100 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a user operation is performed using a cursor, and an example in which a rectangle representing each shooting area in the processing target direction is displayed in a conspicuous color (specific color) is shown.

  First, it is determined whether or not a cursor movement operation has been performed by the user (step S981). If the cursor movement operation has not been performed (step S981), the process proceeds to step S986. When the cursor movement operation is performed (step S981), the display control unit 370 detects the position of the cursor after the movement (step S982), and detects the azimuth corresponding to the detected position (step S983). ).

  Subsequently, the display control unit 370 specifies the processing target azimuth based on the detected azimuth (step S984). Subsequently, the display control unit 370 performs a process of changing each shooting area in the processing target direction to a specific color (step S985). Subsequently, it is determined whether or not an instruction operation for displaying another screen has been performed by the user (step S986). This instruction operation is, for example, an instruction operation for displaying a content list screen belonging to the shooting area selected by the user, or an instruction operation for returning to the previous screen. When the instruction operation is not performed (step S986), the process returns to step S981, and when the instruction operation is performed, the operation of the display control process is ended.

<4. Modification>
In the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the example in which the shooting areas are classified and arranged in eight directions has been described. However, as described above, they may be classified and arranged other than eight directions. Therefore, in the following, as an example of modification, an example in which the four azimuths and 16 azimuths are arranged is shown.

  FIG. 31 is a diagram schematically showing a shooting area arrangement configuration template 850 held by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 in a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In this example, it is assumed that the shooting area classification unit 350 classifies each shooting area into four directions. Here, the four directions mean the four directions of east, west, south, and north. Further, when each shooting area is classified into four directions, it is classified into 90-degree units. For example, when the north is 0 degree (360 degrees), the east is 90 degrees, the south is 180 degrees, and the west is 270 degrees, the range representing the north direction is θ21 (315 degrees <θ21 ≦ 45 degrees). The range representing the east orientation is θ22 (45 degrees <θ22 ≦ 135 degrees). Further, the range representing the south azimuth is θ23 (135 degrees <θ23 ≦ 225 degrees), and the range representing the west azimuth is θ24 (225 degrees <θ24 ≦ 315 degrees).

  The shooting area arrangement configuration template 850 is a template used when the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 determines the arrangement of shooting areas. The imaging area arrangement configuration template 850 is, for example, a template for sequentially arranging imaging areas in substantially four directions around the reference position 851. In FIG. 31, characters (north, east, etc.) indicating each direction and numbers indicating the arrangement order are shown in a rectangle indicating the position where each shooting area is arranged. Moreover, the boundary between each azimuth | direction is shown with a thick line. In the display, each shooting area is displayed according to the arrangement configuration of the shooting area arrangement configuration template 850.

  FIG. 32 is a diagram schematically showing a shooting area arrangement configuration template 860 held by the shooting area arrangement determination unit 360 in a modification of the embodiment of the present invention. In this example, it is assumed that the shooting area classification unit 350 classifies each shooting area into 16 directions. Here, the 16 orientations mean 16 orientations such as north, northeast, and northeast. Further, when each shooting area is classified into 16 azimuths, it is classified into 22.5 degree azimuths. For example, when the north is 0 degrees (360 degrees), the east is 90 degrees, the south is 180 degrees, and the west is 270 degrees, the range representing the north direction is θ31 (348.75 degrees <θ31 ≦ 11. 25 degrees). Further, the range representing the north-northeast direction is θ32 (11.25 degrees <θ32 ≦ 33.75 degrees).

  The shooting area arrangement configuration template 860 is a template used when the shooting area arrangement determining unit 360 determines the arrangement of the shooting areas. Here, the shape representing each imaging area can be a hexagon. Further, as the reference position 861, four hexagons at the center position are arranged. The imaging area arrangement configuration template 860 is a template for sequentially arranging imaging areas in a substantially radial manner in 16 directions with the reference position 861 as the center, for example. In FIG. 32, characters (north, east, etc.) indicating the respective directions and numbers indicating the arrangement order are shown in hexagons indicating the positions where the shooting areas are arranged. Moreover, the boundary between each azimuth | direction is shown with a thick line. In the display, each shooting area is displayed according to the arrangement configuration of the shooting area arrangement configuration template 860.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, only 4, 8, and 16 directions are shown, but other fixed intervals (for example, 32 directions) may be used. In addition, for example, a relatively narrow range is set for a direction where a user frequently visits for shooting, and a relatively wide range is set for a direction where a user rarely visits for shooting. You may make it do. These settings may be performed manually by the user. Moreover, although the example of a rectangle or a hexagon was shown as a shape showing an imaging | photography area, you may make it set it as shapes, such as another polygon and a circle. Moreover, although the example which makes the magnitude | size and shape of each imaging area the same was shown, you may make it change the magnitude | size and shape of each imaging area according to the number of the contents which belong, for example. FIG. 33 shows an example in which the size of each shooting area is changed according to the number of contents to which it belongs.

  FIG. 33 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the reference position and the shooting area group included in the shooting area display screen displayed on the input / output panel 210 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The display example shown in FIG. 33 is a modification of FIG. 26 and is the same as FIG. 33 except that the sizes of “South 4” and “East 4” are changed.

  FIG. 33 shows a display example when the number of contents belonging to the shooting areas of “South 4” and “East 4” is large. Thus, by changing the size of each shooting area according to the number of contents to which the user belongs, the user can intuitively grasp the amount of content included in the shooting area. Thereby, a user's favorite photographing area can be selected quickly.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, an example of using characters such as a place as a sign indicating a shooting area (group) has been described. However, for example, a thumbnail image of content belonging to the shooting area may be used. Good. For example, when the content belonging to the shooting area is a still image content, the thumbnail image can be used. When the content belonging to the shooting area is a moving image content, a thumbnail image of a representative frame (for example, the first frame) can be used.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, when an instruction operation for generating shooting area arrangement information is performed, an instruction operation for generating and storing shooting area arrangement information and displaying the shooting area display screen is performed. An example is shown in which the shooting area display screen is displayed in the case of being interrupted. However, for example, each time an instruction operation for displaying a shooting area display screen is performed, shooting area arrangement information is sequentially generated, and a shooting area display screen based on the generated shooting area arrangement information may be displayed. . For example, instead of displaying the operation screen 500 shown in FIG. 15, a desired map is displayed by a user operation, the reference position is designated by the user designating a desired position on the map, and this designation operation is photographed. The instruction operation for displaying the area display screen is used. Each time this instruction operation is performed, shooting area arrangement information is sequentially generated, and a shooting area display screen based on the generated shooting area arrangement information is displayed.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, an example has been shown in which an image representing a shooting area is displayed by being classified for each azimuth with a shooting area in which content is generated as a unit. However, for example, an image representing the content may be displayed by classifying the content itself as a unit and for each direction. That is, the direction from the reference position is calculated for each content based on the position information, each content is classified for each specific direction based on the calculated direction, and the classified content is arranged according to the shooting area arrangement configuration template. And display. In this case, for example, the thumbnail image of the content can be arranged and displayed at a position corresponding to the rectangle constituting the photographing area arrangement configuration template.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, an imaging apparatus such as a digital still camera has been described as an example. For example, information such as a portable media player capable of playing back content such as music, moving images, and still images. The embodiment of the present invention can be applied to a processing apparatus. Further, for example, the embodiment of the present invention can be applied to an information processing apparatus such as a personal computer capable of generating and displaying content such as document data. In the embodiment of the present invention, the example in which the position (imaging position) at which the image content is generated is used as the position information. However, for example, the position at which the content such as image data or document data is generated or updated is used. It may be used as position information.

  The embodiment of the present invention shows an example for embodying the present invention. As clearly shown in the embodiment of the present invention, the matters in the embodiment of the present invention and the claims Each invention-specific matter in the scope has a corresponding relationship. Similarly, the matters specifying the invention in the claims and the matters in the embodiment of the present invention having the same names as the claims have a corresponding relationship. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and can be embodied by making various modifications to the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  The processing procedure described in the embodiment of the present invention may be regarded as a method having a series of these procedures, and a program for causing a computer to execute the series of procedures or a recording medium storing the program May be taken as As this recording medium, for example, a CD (Compact Disc), an MD (MiniDisc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a memory card, a Blu-ray Disc (registered trademark), or the like can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Image pick-up device 101 Lens cover 102 Lens 103 AF illuminator 110 Lens part 120 Image pick-up element 121 TG
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 130 Analog signal processing part 140 A / D conversion part 150 Digital signal processing part 160 Recording part 161 Content storage part 170 Control part 181 Non-volatile memory 182 ROM
183 RAM
190 Motor Driver 191 Actuator 200 Operation Unit 201 Zoom Lever 202 Shutter Button 203 Play Button 204 Power Button 210 Input / Output Panel 211 Display Panel 212 Touch Panel 220 GPS Signal Processing Unit 230 Title Information Storage Unit 240 Shooting Area Arrangement Information Storage Unit 300 Operation Accepting Unit 311 Map information storage unit 312 Reference position setting unit 313 Reference position holding unit 320 Position information acquisition unit 330 Group setting unit 340 Orientation calculation unit 350 Shooting area classification unit 360 Shooting area arrangement determination unit 370 Display control unit 380 Display unit 390 Title rewriting unit

Claims (17)

A group setting unit that sets a plurality of groups by classifying the plurality of contents based on the position information for a plurality of contents associated with position information;
An azimuth calculating unit that calculates an azimuth from a reference position for each of the groups based on the position information;
A classification unit for classifying the plurality of groups into specific orientations based on the calculated orientation;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit configured to classify and display each image representing each of the plurality of groups for each specific orientation.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups side by side according to a certain rule for each specific orientation.   The display control unit displays an image representing the reference position, and displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups side by side for each specific orientation so as to extend radially from the image representing the reference position. 1. An information processing apparatus according to 1. Based on the distance from the reference position to the position specified by the position information, the arrangement order of the images representing the groups for each specific orientation is determined, and each of the plurality of groups is represented according to the determined arrangement order. It further comprises an arrangement determining unit that determines the arrangement of each image,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups based on the determined arrangement.   The arrangement determining unit determines the arrangement so that the adjacent groups are arranged apart from each other by a predetermined range when a distance between the adjacent groups exceeds a reference in the determined arrangement order. 4. The information processing apparatus according to 4. The position information is position information related to a position where the content is generated or updated,
The information processing according to claim 1, wherein the group setting unit specifies a predetermined range area to which the content belongs based on the position information for each content, and sets the plurality of groups based on the specified area. apparatus.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the group setting unit changes the size of the region according to a distance from the reference position to a position specified by the position information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the group setting unit changes a size of the area according to a position specified by the position information.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the display control unit displays a sign related to the area as an image representing a group corresponding to the area. The specific azimuth is an azimuth whose unit is any one of four azimuths, eight azimuths, 16 azimuths, and 32 azimuths,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit classifies and displays each image representing each of the plurality of groups for each range representing the specific orientation. An operation receiving unit that receives a selection operation for selecting an image representing the displayed group;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays a list of contents belonging to a group corresponding to the selected image when the selection operation is accepted. A detector that detects an image area being watched by the user from among the images representing each of the displayed groups;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit changes the image area being watched and another image area to different display modes. An operation receiving unit that receives a selection operation for selecting any one of the images representing each of the plurality of displayed groups;
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the selection operation is accepted, the display control unit changes a peripheral area of the image in the selected state and another area to a different display mode. Date and time information is associated with the plurality of contents,
The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group setting unit classifies the plurality of contents in units of a predetermined date and time based on the date and time information, and sets the group for each classified content. An azimuth calculating unit that calculates an azimuth from a reference position for each of the contents based on the position information for a plurality of contents associated with position information;
A classification unit for classifying the plurality of contents into specific orientations based on the calculated orientation;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a display control unit configured to classify and display each image representing each of the plurality of contents for each specific orientation. A group setting procedure for classifying the plurality of contents based on the position information and setting a plurality of groups for the plurality of contents associated with the position information;
An azimuth calculation procedure for calculating an azimuth from a reference position for each group based on the position information;
A classification procedure for classifying the plurality of groups into specific orientations based on the calculated orientation;
A display control method comprising: a display control procedure for displaying each image representing each of the plurality of groups by classifying the images for each specific orientation. A group setting procedure for classifying the plurality of contents based on the position information and setting a plurality of groups for the plurality of contents associated with the position information;
An azimuth calculation procedure for calculating an azimuth from a reference position for each group based on the position information;
A classification procedure for classifying the plurality of groups into specific orientations based on the calculated orientation;
A program for causing a computer to execute a display control procedure for classifying and displaying each image representing each of the plurality of groups for each specific orientation.