JP2011203975A - Display device, display method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display an image so that a user may not lose an interest in viewing the image in which the use is liable to take an interest without generating a load on the user, in a display device, a display method, and a program.SOLUTION: The display device includes an image selection part for selecting image data stored in a storage part, a display part for displaying the image data selected by the image selection part for a given period of time, a close attention detection part for detecting that a user has paid close attention to the image data displayed by the display part, and an update part for updating an attention time and a display time for the image data to which close attention has been paid in a database in which the attention time and the display time for a plurality of image data are stored when the close attention detection part has detected that the user has paid close attention. The image selection part is constituted so as to succeedingly select image data to be selected and displayed in the display part based on the attention time and the display time stored in the database.

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device that displays an image stored in a storage device, a display method, and a program. The present invention also relates to a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the procedure of such a display method.

  In this specification, the “user” of the display device includes an arbitrary viewer who views an image displayed on the display device, and is not limited to the owner of the display device.

  Since the digital camera can store the captured image in a storage device such as a memory, it does not take time and effort to store the captured image without degrading the negative as in the case of a conventional silver salt camera. For this reason, digital cameras are rapidly spreading. In addition, the digital camera can easily display the image stored in the storage device by using a display device called a digital photo frame instead of the conventional album. The digital photo frame displays images selected by the user (or viewer), automatically selects and displays images in an order according to information such as the imaging order, or selects images randomly. Can be displayed.

  When images are selected and displayed in the order corresponding to the imaging order, the same images are always displayed in the same order, so that the user gets bored quickly especially when the number of stored images is relatively small. On the other hand, when the number of stored images is relatively large, images of the same imaging time or on-site continue many times, and the next imaging time or on-site image does not appear easily, so an image that is likely to be of interest to the user is displayed. Difficult to do.

  When images are selected and displayed at random, the possibility that the user gets bored is reduced as compared with the case where images are selected and displayed in order. However, when viewed in units of a relatively long time, an image that is not easily displayed is generated, or on the contrary, an image that is frequently displayed is generated. This is because when images are selected and displayed at random, all images are selected with the same probability, but images that are not of interest to the user are difficult to remain in the user's memory so that they are not easily displayed. This is because an image that is felt and is of interest to the user is likely to remain in the user's memory, and thus appears to be displayed frequently.

  It has also been proposed to automatically select and display images in an order according to information indicating the degree of interest of each image of the user, such as a history of images selected by the user in the past (for example, Patent Documents). 1 and Patent Document 2). However, in this proposed method, information indicating the degree of interest such as a selection history can be generated only after the user manually selects an image, which causes a load on the user. Furthermore, for example, even if an image was a user's interest two years ago, there is a possibility that the user is not so interested now, so this proposed method always displays an image that the user is likely to be interested in. I can't do it.

  It has also been proposed to switch an image to be displayed when the user's line of sight deviates from the displayed image (for example, Patent Document 3). However, in this proposed method, only a different image is displayed when the user's line of sight deviates from the image, and therefore, it is not possible to always display an image that the user is likely to be interested in.

  A digital signage or digital signage is a display device (also referred to as an advertising medium) that displays images and information on a display, projector, etc. using digital technology, but is similar to the above photo frame. Problem arises.

JP 2006-173983 A JP 2006-157324 A JP 2008-219286 A JP-A-8-76006

  In the conventional display method, there is a problem that it is difficult to display an image that the user is likely to be interested in without getting tired without causing a load on the user.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a display device, a display method, and a program that can display an image that is easy for a user to be interested without causing a load on the user.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an image selection unit that selects image data stored in the first storage unit, a display unit that displays the image data selected by the image selection unit for a certain period of time, and the user A gaze detection unit that detects that the image data displayed on the display unit has been gaze, and a database that stores gaze times and display times for a plurality of image data when the gaze detection unit detects gaze of the user An update unit that updates a gaze time and a display time of the gaze image data, and the image selection unit selects next based on the gaze time and the display time stored in the database, and A display device for selecting image data to be displayed is provided.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, an image selection step of selecting image data stored in a storage unit, a display step of displaying the image data selected in the image selection step on a display unit for a predetermined time, and a user A gaze detection step for detecting that the image data displayed on the display unit has been gaze and a database storing gaze times and display times for a plurality of image data when the gaze detection step detects the gaze of the user An update step of updating a gaze time and a display time of the gaze image data, and the image selection step selects next on the display unit based on the gaze time and the display time stored in the database. A display method for selecting image data to be displayed is provided.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for causing a computer to select image data stored in a storage unit and display the image data on a display unit for a certain period of time, wherein the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit. A gaze detection procedure for detecting the gaze time of the image data that has been gazeed with respect to a database that stores gaze times and display times for a plurality of image data when the gaze detection procedure detects gaze of the user; An update procedure for updating a display time is caused to be executed by the computer, and the image selection procedure should be selected by the computer based on the gaze time and the display time stored in the database and displayed on the display unit. A program for selecting image data is provided.

  According to the disclosed display device, display method, and program, it is possible to display an image that the user is likely to be interested in without getting bored without causing a load on the user.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of a display apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus in 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the image selection process in 1st Example. It is a figure explaining gaze time and display time. It is a figure explaining an example of a gaze detection process. It is a figure explaining the other example of a gaze detection process. It is a flowchart explaining the gaze detection process of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining an example of a gaze and display frequency update process. It is a flowchart explaining an example of a flag setting process. It is a figure explaining the data in a database. It is a flowchart explaining an example of a file deletion process. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the display apparatus in 2nd Example of this invention. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the image selection process in 2nd Example. It is a figure explaining the data in a database. It is a flowchart explaining an example of an algorithm selection process. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a computer system.

  In the disclosed display device, the display method, and the program, when the image stored in the database is selectively displayed, the next selection is based on the time when each image is watched by the user and the time when each image is displayed. The image to be displayed.

  Embodiments of the disclosed display device, display method, and program will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a display device. In this example, the display device is applied to a digital photo frame. The display device 1 includes a housing 11, and the housing 11 is provided with a support portion 11 </ b> A, a display portion 12, and a camera 13. As will be described later, the display unit 12 determines an image to be selected and displayed next on the basis of the time when each image is watched and the time when each image is displayed, thereby allowing the storage unit (not shown) to display. The stored image is selectively displayed. The camera 13 is used to detect whether or not the user has gazed at the image displayed on the display unit 12. In addition, although the display part 12 and the camera 13 are integrally provided in the housing | casing 11, the display part 12 and the camera 13 may be provided separately.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a display device in the first embodiment of the present invention. The display device 1 includes a display unit 12, a camera 13, a gaze detection unit 14, an image selection unit 15-1, a display image determination unit 16, a clock (or timer) 17, a reading unit 18, which are connected as shown in FIG. For example, it has a storage unit 21-1 that stores a database formed by a table, and a storage unit 22 that stores image data. The display unit 12 can be formed by a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and the camera 13 can be formed by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or the like. Note that at least the storage units 21-1 and 21-22 may be provided in the display device 1 or may be externally connected to the display device 1. For example, the storage unit 22 may be externally connected to the display device 1 via a network (not shown). The storage units 21-1 and 21 can be formed by a single storage unit. On the other hand, the storage unit 22 may be detachably attached to the memory card display device 1 such as an SD memory card (Secure Digital Memory Card).

  The database stored in the storage unit 21-1 stores image file names, gaze times, display times, and the like. As will be described later, the image selection unit 15-1 selects an image to be displayed based on the gaze time and display time of each image, and supplies the file name of the selected image to the display image determination unit 16. The display image determination unit 16 supplies the file name of the selected image to the reading unit 18 as the file name of the image determined to be displayed, and the reading unit 18 stores image data related to the image with the supplied file name. 22 and displayed on the display unit 12.

  On the other hand, the camera 13 images a user who is viewing the display unit 12 of the display device 1 and supplies the imaged data to the gaze detection unit 14. The gaze detection unit 14 detects whether or not a user who is viewing an image displayed on the display unit 12 (hereinafter also referred to as a display image) gazes at the display image. Gaze means a state in which the user looks at the display image with a line of sight, and includes a state in which the display image is instantaneously viewed. When the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze, the display image determination unit 16 recognizes the file name of the display image at that time, and supplies the file name of the display image at that time to the clock 17. The clock 17 uses the time at which the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time) as the gaze time and the display time, and the display image file at that time with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-1. It functions as an update unit that updates the watch time and display time of the name. The gaze time of the image of each file name indicates the time when the user gazes at the display image of the file name, and the display time of the image of each file name is the time when the display image of the file name is displayed on the display unit 12. Indicates.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image selection processing in the first embodiment. The image selection processing in FIG. 3 can be executed by the image selection unit 15-1, the display image determination unit 16, and the clock 17. In FIG. 3, step S1 randomly selects three image file names from the database in the storage unit 21-1. In step S2, the file name of the image having the newest display time among the three selected images is removed from the selection candidates. Step S2 is executed in order to prevent the same image from being repeatedly displayed in a relatively short time when, for example, a gaze detection failure occurs, but may be omitted. In step S3, the file name with the older gaze time is selected from the remaining two selected images. Step S3 is executed to prevent the same image from being repeatedly displayed in a relatively short time, but may be omitted. In step S4, the file name of the selected image is supplied to the reading unit 18 via the display image determining unit 16, so that the image data of the selected image is read from the storage unit 22 and is displayed on the display unit 12 for a predetermined time. indicate. The fixed time is, for example, about 15 seconds to 5 minutes in the case of a general digital photo frame, but is not limited to such a range.

  In step S <b> 5, it is determined from the detection output of the gaze detection unit 14 whether or not it has been detected that the user gazes at the display image being displayed on the display unit 12. If the decision result in the step S5 is YES, a step S6 is a gaze of the image whose display is determined by the display image determination unit 16 at the time when the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time). As the time, the gaze time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-1. On the other hand, whether the determination result in step S5 is NO, or after step S6, step S7 is the display image determination unit 16 indicating the time (ie, the current time) when the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze. As the display time of the image determined to be displayed, the display time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-1. After step S7, the process returns to step S1.

  Thus, when the gaze detection unit 14 detects that the user gazes at the display image while the image is displayed on the display unit 12, the time at that time is overwritten with the gaze time for the file name of the display image. Updated. On the other hand, regardless of whether or not the user gazes at the display image, when the display of the display image is finished and the next selected image is displayed, the time at that time is the display time for the file name of the display image. It is overwritten and updated. Therefore, by repeating the image selection process of FIG. 3, an image that the user has not viewed for a relatively long time can always be displayed on the display unit 12 with appropriate random elements.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the gaze time and the display time. In FIG. 4, the image A is displayed on the display unit 12 at the display time 10:00, the image B is displayed on the display unit 12 at the display time 10:05, and the image C is displayed on the display unit 12 at the display time 10:10. The case where it was done is shown. In this case, for example, when the user gazes at the image B displayed on the display unit 12 at time 10:08, the gaze time of the image B is maintained at 10:08, and the gaze times of the images A and C are not updated. For this reason, the last gaze time is maintained as it is. When the image data of the new image is stored in the storage unit 22, there is no display time and gaze time for the new image, so that a sufficiently old time such as a preset reference time is set as the display time for the new image. And the initial value of the gaze time can be set. 4 shows the display time and the gaze time of the images A to C for convenience of explanation, the gaze time and the display time for the image file name are stored in the database in the storage unit 21-1. Although the time is shown in hours: minutes, the time display method is not particularly limited as long as the time can be displayed. For example, the time can be displayed by 1 March 2010, 10:00, an elapsed time from a preset reference time, or the like.

  Next, gaze detection processing by the gaze detection unit 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. The gaze detection process itself that detects whether or not the user is gazing at the image displayed on the display unit 12 includes Patent Document 4, and various gaze detection processes have been proposed. In many gaze detection processes, the user's line of sight is observed to determine where the user is looking, and the probability of gazing at the target is calculated. Although the gaze detection process in a present Example is not specifically limited, The example of a gaze detection process is demonstrated below.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of gaze detection processing. In this example, the camera 13-1 of the display device 1 observes the user's eyeball 500, and the gaze detection unit 14 gazes at the display unit 12 of the display device 1 from the direction of the eyeball 500 observed by the camera 13-1. Judge whether or not.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another example of gaze detection processing. In this example, the user's eyeball 500 is irradiated with infrared rays from a light emitting element 13-3 such as a light emitting diode (LED) provided in the display device 1, and a camera provided beside the light emitting element 13-1. A Purkyne image reflected on the eyeball 500, that is, a corneal reflection image is confirmed by 13-2. 6A shows the relationship between the display device 1 and the user's eyeball 500, and FIG. 6B shows a Purkinje image 511 that appears on the user's eyeball 500 by infrared irradiation, together with the eyes 501 and black eyes 502. FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the gaze detection process of FIG. In FIG. 7, a captured image from the camera 13-2 is input in Step S <b> 31, and Step S <b> 32 determines whether there is a user's face area in the input captured image by a known method. The face area can be detected by preparing a template in which the input captured image has two eyes, the nasal muscles pass and the mouth is under the nose, and template matching is performed on the input captured image. If the decision result in the step S32 is YES, a step S33 extracts the region RB of the eyeball 500 from the face region detected in the step S32. In step S34, the area of the black eye 502 is calculated from the face area extracted in step S32. The process ends if the decision result in the step S32 is NO.

  When determining whether or not there is a face area in step S32, the positions of the eyes 501 and 501 are information that determines the determination. Therefore, in step S33, the position of the eyes 501 in the input captured image is determined by a known method. Extraction is relatively easy. Further, by binarizing the position of the extracted eye 501 and further performing threshold processing or the like, the area of the black eye 502 in the input captured image can be calculated relatively easily in step S34.

  In step S35, the light emitting element 13-3 is turned on to irradiate the user's eyeball 500 with infrared rays. It is desirable to perform step S35 as soon as possible from the extraction of the region RB of the eyeball 500 in step S33. In step S36, the user including the eyeball 500 is imaged by the camera 13-2. In step S37, the region RA of the eyeball 500 is extracted from the captured image from the camera 13-2. In step S38, the light emitting element 13-3 is turned off.

  In step S39, the position of the Purkinje image is calculated from the difference between the regions RA and RB of the eyeball 500. Depending on the imaging environment, noise such as illumination may appear in the eyeball 500, but by calculating the difference between the region RB of the eyeball 500 where the Purkinje image does not appear and the region RA of the eyeball 500 where the Purkinje image appears. It is possible to cancel out noise and obtain only infrared reflection. In step S40, it is determined whether or not the position of Purkinje is the center of the area of the black eye 502. If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to step S41, and if the determination result is NO, the process proceeds to step S42. In step S41, it is determined that the user is gazing at the image displayed on the display unit 12 of the display device 1, and the process ends. On the other hand, step S42 determines that the user is not gazing at the image displayed on the display unit 12 of the display device 1, and the process ends.

  Needless to say, it may be determined whether or not the user is gazing at the image displayed on the display unit 12 of the display device 1 based on the position of the black eye in the user's white eye.

  In FIG. 2, the gaze time and the display time are stored for the file name of each image in the database in the storage unit 21-1, but information such as the number of gazes and the number of display times is further stored in the database. May be.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of gaze and display count update processing. The gaze and display count update processing in FIG. 8 can be executed by the image selection unit 15-1, the display image determination unit 16, and the clock 17 in FIG. In FIG. 8, step S51 determines whether or not there is a user at a position where the display unit 12 of the display device 1 can be viewed based on the captured image from the camera 13, and the process ends when the determination result is NO. To do. As described above, in the gaze detection process, a face area is extracted. Therefore, based on whether the face area is extracted or the like, it is determined whether or not the user is at a position where the display unit 12 of the display device 1 can be viewed. It is also possible. If the decision result in the step S51 is YES, a step S52 selects an image to be displayed on the display unit 12. In step S53, the image selected in step S52 is displayed on the display unit 12. Step S52 corresponds to steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 3, and step S53 corresponds to step S4 in FIG.

  In step S54, for example, it is determined whether or not the user gazes at the image displayed on the display unit 12 by the gaze detection process of FIG. If the decision result in the step S54 is YES, a step S55 updates the gaze time of the display image. Steps S54 and 55 correspond to steps S5 and S6 in FIG. After step S55, step S56 updates the database in the storage unit 21-1 by incrementing the number of gazes of the display image.

  If the determination result in step S54 is NO, or after step S56, step S57 updates the display time of the display image. Step S54 corresponds to step S7 in FIG. In step S58, the database in the storage unit 21-1 is updated by incrementing the display image display count, and the process ends.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the flag setting process. The flag setting process in FIG. 9 can be performed when step S56 in FIG. 8 is completed, when the user performs some operation, or at regular time intervals.

  In FIG. 9, if the number of times of display does not exceed the threshold value, the error is statistically relatively large and the reliability of the degree of interest (or the degree of interest) X decreases, so step S61 is performed on the file name of the display image. Then, it is determined whether or not the number of display times stored in the database in the storage unit 21-1 exceeds a threshold value, for example, 10,000 times, and the process ends if the determination result is NO. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S61 is YES, a step S62 calculates an interest degree X represented by X = (number of times of gaze) / (number of times of display). The expression for calculating the degree of interest X is not limited to the expression in this embodiment, and any expression that can determine whether or not the user is interested in the display image may be used. In step S63, it is determined whether or not the interest degree X is larger than the first interest degree threshold, for example, X> 0.9. If the decision result in the step S63 is YES, a step S64 determines that the user is interested in the display image, performs an appropriate process such as setting a print flag, and the process ends. The print flag indicates, for example, that the user is interested in the display image and intends to print with a printer (not shown). On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S63 is NO, a step S65 decides whether or not the interest degree X is smaller than the second interest degree threshold, for example, X <0.1, and the decision result If NO is NO, the process ends. If the decision result in the step S65 is YES, a step S66 decides that the user is not interested in the display image, performs an appropriate process such as setting a deletion flag, and the process ends. The deletion flag indicates, for example, that the user is not interested in the display image and plans to delete from the storage unit 21-1 (or 22).

  FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining data stored in the database in the storage unit 21-1. FIG. 10 shows a case in which a gaze time, a display time, a gaze count, a display count, an interest level (X), a print flag, and a deletion flag are stored for the file name of each image. Also, the print flag and the delete flag that are marked with a circle indicate the flags that are set (or set to ON), respectively. By storing the data as shown in FIG. 10 in the database in the storage unit 21-1, the user can easily confirm the image scheduled to be printed by referring to the print flag, By referring to the deletion flag, the image scheduled for deletion can be easily confirmed.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the file deletion process. The file deletion process in FIG. 11 can be executed by the image selection unit 15-1, the display image determination unit 16, and the clock 17 in FIG. In FIG. 11, step S71 initializes count i to i = 0. In step S72, it is determined whether i is equal to or greater than the number of images stored in the storage unit 21-1 (that is, the number of retained images). If the determination result is YES, the process ends. On the other hand, if the decision result in the step S72 is NO, a step S73 decides whether or not a deletion flag is set for the image of the i-th file stored in the storage unit 22. If the decision result in the step S73 is YES, the process is ended, and a step S74 displays the image of the i-th file on the display unit 12. In step S75, the user is asked to confirm the deletion of the image of the i-th file. When the user confirms deletion of the image of the i-th file from the input device (not shown) and the determination result in step S75 is YES, step S76 displays the image of the i-th file in the storage unit 21-1. Delete from the database. The determination result in step S73 or step S75 is NO, or after step S76, the process proceeds to step S77. In step S77, the count i is incremented to i = i + 1, and the process returns to step S72.

  By the file deletion process using the deletion flag, the usable storage capacity of the storage unit 21-1 (or 22) can be ensured by a relatively simple process.

  As is apparent from the file deletion process in FIG. 11, the file print process can be similarly performed by referring to the print flag. In the case of the file printing process, it is not the deletion flag but the print flag that is confirmed, and a step of printing the file and deleting the print flag is performed instead of step S76. Further, an image supplied to the display unit 12 may be output to the printer.

  By providing a deletion flag, even if a large number of image files are stored in the database in the storage unit 21-1 and organization is desired, it is possible to easily delete image files that the user has determined unnecessary. Can be searched and deleted. In addition, by providing a print flag, the user plans to print even when a large number of image files are stored in the database in the storage unit 21-1 and only a specific image is desired to be printed. You can easily search for and print the image file you have created.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of a display device in the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, the same parts as those in FIG. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 21-2 stores one database for each of a plurality of users. The personal identification unit 19 identifies a user individual who is viewing the image displayed on the display unit 12 of the display device 1A based on a captured image input from the camera 13 by a known identification method such as template matching. Perform personal identification processing. The personal identification unit 19 selects one database corresponding to the identified user individual among the plurality of databases in the storage unit 21-2. The database selected in this way is used for selecting an image to be displayed and updating the gaze time and display time of the image. The image selection unit 15-2 selects an image to be displayed based on the gaze time and display time of each image stored in the selected database, and supplies the file name of the selected image to the display image determination unit 16 To do. Needless to say, each database may store the number of gazes, the number of times of display, the degree of interest X, the print flag, the deletion flag, and the like, as in FIG.

  The identification method employed by the personal identification unit 19 is not limited to the identification method based on the captured image input from the camera 13. In addition, when a plurality of users are viewing a display image at the same time, one user may be selected based on the priority order assigned to each individual user, and the image display for the selected user may be controlled. .

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image selection processing in the second embodiment. The image selection processing of FIG. 13 can be executed by the image selection unit 15-2, the display image determination unit 16, and the clock 17 for the user personal database identified by the personal identification unit 19. In FIG. 13, in step S11, file names of four images are randomly selected from the database in the storage unit 21-2. In step S12, the file name of the image having the latest display time among the four selected images is excluded from the selection candidates. Step S12 is executed in order to prevent the same image from being repeatedly displayed in a relatively short time when, for example, a gaze detection failure occurs, but may be omitted. In step S13, the file name of the image with the newest display time among the remaining three selected images is removed from the selection candidates. In step S14, the file name of the image with the latest gaze time in the other user's database is selected from the remaining two selected images. Step S14 is executed in order to provide a common topic among a plurality of users (for example, between families) by selecting an image that one of the plurality of users has recently watched, but may be omitted. . In step S15, the file name of the selected image is supplied to the reading unit 18 via the display image determining unit 16, so that the image data of the selected image is read from the storage unit 22 and displayed on the display unit 12 for a predetermined time. indicate. The fixed time is, for example, about 15 seconds to 5 minutes in the case of a general digital photo frame, but is not limited to such a range.

  In step S <b> 16, it is determined from the detection output of the gaze detection unit 14 whether or not it has been detected that the user gazes at the display image being displayed on the display unit 12. If the decision result in the step S16 is YES, a step S17 gazes the image whose display is determined by the display image determining unit 16 at the time when the gaze detecting unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time). As the time, the gaze time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-2. On the other hand, whether the determination result in step S16 is NO, or after step S17, step S18 is a display image determination unit 16 that indicates the time when the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time). As the display time of the image determined to be displayed, the display time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated in the database in the storage unit 21-2. After step S18, the process returns to step S11.

  Thus, when the gaze detection unit 14 detects that the user gazes at the display image while the image is displayed on the display unit 12, the time at that time is overwritten with the gaze time for the file name of the display image. Updated. On the other hand, regardless of whether or not the user gazes at the display image, when the display of the display image is finished and the next selected image is displayed, the time at that time is the display time for the file name of the display image. It is overwritten and updated. Therefore, by repeating the image selection process of FIG. 13, an image that the user has not watched for a relatively long time or an image for providing a common topic with other users is always displayed as an appropriate random element. Can be displayed on the display unit 12.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining data stored in a database in the storage unit 21-2. Here, for convenience of explanation, there are N users (N is a natural number of 2 or more), and the storage unit 21-2 stores databases D1, D2,. . . , DN (only D4 is shown) is stored. In FIG. 14, the same parts as those of FIG. FIG. 14 shows a case where a gaze time, a display time, a gaze count, a display count, an interest level (X), a print flag, and a deletion flag are stored for each image file name in each of the databases D1 to DN. . Also, the print flag and the delete flag that are marked with a circle indicate the flags that are set (or set to ON), respectively. By storing the data as shown in FIG. 14 in the database in the storage unit 21-2, each user can easily confirm the image scheduled to be printed by referring to the print flag. By referring to the deletion flag, the image scheduled for deletion can be easily confirmed.

  Processing for deleting an image with reference to a deletion flag and printing an image with reference to a print flag can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. In addition, an image with a deletion flag is displayed in the database for at least one of the N users, and the user deletes the image file after asking confirmation from one user or administrator. , Only when there is one image that is flagged for deletion in the database for all N users, that image is displayed and the administrator is asked to confirm and delete the file of that image, If there is one image that is flagged for deletion in the database for the user, processing such as automatically deleting the image file can be performed.

  In the case of the image selection process of FIG. 13, the image that has not been watched for the longest time from all of the plurality of users is always excluded from the selection candidates in step S <b> 14 and may not be permanently displayed on the display device. Therefore, a selection algorithm according to the user's preference may be selected by enabling selection of image selection candidates by a plurality of selection algorithms. In this way, by making the selection algorithm selectable according to the user's preference, the user's interested image is displayed preferentially, or the user's interested image is displayed for a relatively long time. It is possible to select and display highly flexible images, such as displaying images that are not present for a relatively short time (or vice versa).

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating an example of algorithm selection processing. The algorithm selection process in FIG. 15 can be executed by the image selection unit 15-1 (or 15-2), the display image determination unit 16, and the clock 17 in FIG. In FIG. 15, step 81 generates a variable R. For example, the variable R may be generated using a random number or may be generated so as to be reset when the value reaches a predetermined value after incrementing by one. M (M is a natural number of 2 or more) different image selection algorithms ALG1, ALG2,. . . , ALGM (only shown up to ALG4) are executed by steps S82-1 to S82-M (only shown up to S82-4) according to the value of the variable R. For example, if R = 1 to 5, step S82-1 is executed, if R = 6, 7, step S82-2 is executed, if R = 8, step S82-3 is executed, and R = In case of 9, step S82-4 is executed. Among the M selection algorithms ALG1 to ALGM, for example, an image selection algorithm for selecting images of all files from all databases, an image selection algorithm as shown in FIG. 3, an image selection algorithm as shown in FIG. It is. Steps S81 and S82-1 to S82-M can be executed by the image selection unit 15-1 (or 15-2).

  The step S83 supplies the image data of the selected image by supplying the file name of the image selected by the image selection algorithm selected according to the value of the variable R to the reading unit 18 via the display image determining unit 16. The data is read from the storage unit 22 and displayed on the display unit 12 for a predetermined time. The fixed time is, for example, about 15 seconds to 5 minutes in the case of a general digital photo frame, but is not limited to such a range. In step S84, it is determined from the detection output of the gaze detection unit 14 whether it has been detected that the user gazes at the display image being displayed on the display unit 12. If the decision result in the step S84 is YES, a step S85 gazes the image whose display is determined by the display image determining unit 16 at the time when the gaze detecting unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time). As the time, the gaze time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-1 (or 21-2). On the other hand, the determination result in step S84 is NO, or after step S85, step S86 shows the time when the gaze detection unit 14 detects the user's gaze (that is, the current time) as the display image determination unit 16. The display time of the file name of the display image at that time is updated with respect to the database in the storage unit 21-1 (or 21-2) as the display time of the image determined to be displayed by the above. After step S86, the process returns to step S81.

  In this way, by adopting the algorithm selection process of FIG. 15, it is possible to select and display an image more suited to the user's preference.

  FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer system. A computer system 100 illustrated in FIG. 16 has a configuration in which a CPU 101, a storage unit 102, an interface (I / F) 103, an input device 104, and a display unit 105 are connected by a bus 106. The CPU 101 controls the entire computer system 100 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 102. The storage unit 102 can be formed of a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magneto-optical recording medium, and the like, stores various types of data including the above-described program and the above-described database, and performs intermediate operations performed by the CPU 101. It also functions as a temporary memory for temporarily storing results and calculation results. The storage unit 102 corresponds to at least one of the storage unit 21-1 (or 21-2) and the storage unit 22. The I / F 103 can receive a captured image from the camera 13 and can receive data stored in the storage unit 102 from a network (not shown). The input device 104 can be formed by a keyboard or the like. The display unit 105 can be formed by a display or the like, and corresponds to the display unit 12 described above. The input device 104 and the display unit 105 may be formed of an input / output device having functions of both the input device and the display unit, such as a touch panel.

  The CPU 101 causes the computer system 100 to function as the display device 1 (or 1A) by executing a program stored in the storage unit 102. That is, the program causes the CPU 101 to realize the functions of the gaze detection unit 14, the image selection unit 15-1 (or 15-2), and the display image determination unit 16 of the display device 1 (or 1A). The program may further cause the CPU 101 to realize the functions of the clock 17 and the reading unit 18 and the function of the personal identification unit 19. In other words, the program causes the CPU 101 to execute the processing procedure of the display device 1 (or 1A), and may be stored in an appropriate computer-readable storage medium including the storage unit 102.

  Therefore, the CPU 101 can execute the processes of FIGS. 3, 7, 8, 11, 13, and 15. When the CPU 101 executes the file deletion process of FIG. 11, when the user asks the user to confirm the deletion of the image of the i-th file in step S75, the user confirms the deletion of the image of the i-th file from the input device 104. can do.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the image displayed by the display device is a still image, but a moving image (video) may be displayed. In this case, the moving image is formed by a predetermined number of continuous still images. Further, by providing the display device with an audio reproduction unit and a speaker, the corresponding audio data stored together with the image in the storage unit may be output simultaneously with the display of the image stored in the storage unit. Furthermore, the output of audio data stored in the storage unit in advance may be switched in synchronization with the switching of the display screen.

The following additional notes are further disclosed with respect to the embodiment including the above examples.
(Appendix 1)
An image selection unit for selecting image data stored in the first storage unit;
A display unit for displaying the image data selected by the image selection unit for a certain period of time;
A gaze detection unit that detects that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection unit detects the gaze of the user, an update unit that updates the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database that stores gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data,
The display device, wherein the image selection unit selects image data to be next selected and displayed on the display unit based on a gaze time and a display time stored in the database.
(Appendix 2)
The database is provided for each of a plurality of users,
A personal identification unit for identifying a user who is viewing image data displayed on the display unit, and selecting a database corresponding to the identified user as a database used for updating by the updating unit and selection by the image selecting unit; The display device according to appendix 1, further provided.
(Appendix 3)
The image selection unit includes a gaze time and a display time stored in a database corresponding to the identified user with respect to the image data displayed on the display unit, and a database corresponding to a user other than the identified user. The display device according to appendix 2, wherein image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected based on the gaze time and the display time stored in.
(Appendix 4)
The display device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the image selection unit selects image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit from among a plurality of different image selection algorithms.
(Appendix 5)
The database includes a gaze time and a display time for the plurality of image data, a degree of interest of the user for the plurality of image data, a print flag indicating image data that the user intends to print, and the user The display device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, which stores at least one piece of information among deletion flags indicating that deletion from the database is scheduled.
(Appendix 6)
The display device according to any one of appendices 1 to 5, further comprising a second storage unit that stores the database.
(Appendix 7)
The display device according to any one of appendices 1 to 6, wherein the first storage unit is detachably attached to the display device.
(Appendix 8)
An image selection step of selecting image data stored in the storage unit;
A display step of displaying the image data selected by the image selection step on the display unit for a certain period of time;
A gaze detection step of detecting that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection step detects the gaze of the user, it includes an update step of updating the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database storing gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data,
The said image selection process is a display method which selects the image data which should be selected next and displayed on the said display part based on the gaze time and display time which were stored in the said database.
(Appendix 9)
The database is provided for each of a plurality of users,
Identifying a user who is viewing the image data displayed on the display unit, and selecting a database corresponding to the identified user as a database to be used for updating by the updating step and selection by the image selecting step. The display method according to appendix 8, further including:
(Appendix 10)
The image selection step includes a gaze time and display time stored in a database corresponding to the identified user with respect to the image data displayed by the display unit, and a database corresponding to a user other than the identified user. The display method according to appendix 9, wherein image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected based on the gaze time and the display time stored in.
(Appendix 11)
The display method according to any one of appendices 8 to 10, wherein in the image selection step, image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected from a plurality of different image selection algorithms.
(Appendix 12)
The database includes a gaze time and a display time for the plurality of image data, a degree of interest of the user for the plurality of image data, a print flag indicating image data that the user intends to print, and the user 12. The display method according to any one of appendices 8 to 11, wherein at least one piece of information among deletion flags indicating that deletion from the database is scheduled is stored.
(Appendix 13)
A program for causing a computer to select image data stored in a storage unit and display it on a display unit for a certain period of time,
A gaze detection procedure for detecting that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection procedure detects the gaze of the user, an update procedure for updating the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database storing gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data To run
The image selection procedure is a program for causing the computer to select image data to be next selected and displayed on the display unit based on a gaze time and a display time stored in the database.
(Appendix 14)
The database is provided for each of a plurality of users,
A personal identification procedure for identifying a user who is viewing the image data displayed on the display unit, and selecting a database corresponding to the identified user as a database used for updating by the updating procedure and selection by the image selecting procedure. The program according to appendix 13, which is further executed by the computer.
(Appendix 15)
The image selection procedure includes a gaze time and display time stored in a database corresponding to the identified user for the image data displayed on the display unit, and a database corresponding to a user other than the identified user. 15. The program according to appendix 14, wherein the image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected based on the gaze time and display time stored in.
(Appendix 16)
The program according to any one of appendices 13 to 15, wherein in the image selection procedure, image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected from a plurality of different image selection algorithms.
(Appendix 17)
A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to any one of appendices 13 to 16.

  The disclosed display device, display method, and program have been described above by way of examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various modifications and improvements can be made within the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

1, 1A Display device 12 Display unit 13, 13-1, 13-2 Camera 14 Gaze detection unit 15-1, 15-2 Image selection unit 16 Display image determination unit 17 Clock 18 Reading unit 21-1, 21-2 22 Memory unit

Claims (5)

An image selection unit for selecting image data stored in the first storage unit;
A display unit for displaying the image data selected by the image selection unit for a certain period of time;
A gaze detection unit that detects that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection unit detects the gaze of the user, an update unit that updates the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database that stores gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data,
The display device, wherein the image selection unit selects image data to be next selected and displayed on the display unit based on a gaze time and a display time stored in the database. The database is provided for each of a plurality of users,
A personal identification unit for identifying a user who is viewing image data displayed on the display unit, and selecting a database corresponding to the identified user as a database used for updating by the updating unit and selection by the image selecting unit; The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:   The image selection unit includes a gaze time and a display time stored in a database corresponding to the identified user with respect to the image data displayed on the display unit, and a database corresponding to a user other than the identified user. The display device according to claim 2, wherein image data to be selected next and displayed on the display unit is selected based on a gaze time and a display time stored in the display. An image selection step of selecting image data stored in the storage unit;
A display step of displaying the image data selected by the image selection step on the display unit for a certain period of time;
A gaze detection step of detecting that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection step detects the gaze of the user, it includes an update step of updating the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database storing gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data,
The said image selection process is a display method which selects the image data which should be selected next and displayed on the said display part based on the gaze time and display time which were stored in the said database. A program for causing a computer to select image data stored in a storage unit and display it on a display unit for a certain period of time,
A gaze detection procedure for detecting that the user gazes at the image data displayed on the display unit;
When the gaze detection procedure detects the gaze of the user, an update procedure for updating the gaze time and display time of the gaze image data with respect to a database storing gaze time and display time for a plurality of image data To run
The image selection procedure is a program for causing the computer to select image data to be next selected and displayed on the display unit based on a gaze time and a display time stored in the database.