JP2014216800A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor capable of producing image appreciation more effectively, by authenticating a person appearing in an image read from a recording medium, and making an image to be displayed together in association with a display image, as the related image of that person.SOLUTION: An image processor includes display means for displaying any one of a plurality of related images simultaneously with a slide show image, authentication means for authenticating a person appearing in an image read from a recording medium, or the like, and control means for determining a related image to be displayed by the display means, depending on the person authenticated by the authentication means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that captures, records, and reproduces still images and moving images.

  A conventional image processing apparatus associates a display image displayed in a slide show with a captured image taken when the display image is displayed, and displays the previous display image and the captured image in one screen in the slide show. Some of them can enhance the effect of viewing the image. Moreover, what has the confirmation mode for confirming the effect in advance is proposed (refer patent document 1).

JP 2009-218956 A

  However, in the mode (hereinafter referred to as confirmation mode) for confirming the effect in advance using the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document (hereinafter referred to as confirmation mode), an image associated with the display image (hereinafter referred to as viewing) is displayed. The person image) cannot be displayed because there is no person other than the operator in front of the image processing apparatus. In addition, since there is no person other than the operator, even if a guide of only characters appears instead of the image displayed in association with the display image described above, which person is displayed in the viewer image during actual actual playback. I have no idea what will be done. In view of this, an object of the present invention is to display a viewer image that is displayed in association with a display image in a confirmation mode by searching for a person related to the display image from a storage medium and displaying it as a viewer image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus that can determine which person will appear at the time of reproduction and can make slide show reproduction more effective.

The image processing apparatus of the present invention includes a reading unit that reads an image from a storage medium,
Display means for displaying one of a plurality of related images simultaneously with the main image;
Person authentication means for authenticating a person appearing in the image from the image obtained by the reading means;
Control means for determining a related image to be displayed by the display means in accordance with the authentication result of the person authenticated by the person authentication means;
It is characterized by having.

  According to the present invention, the image displayed in association with the display image is a person related to the person appearing in the slide show, and the image of the related person is searched from the storage medium and displayed as a viewer image. It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus that can determine which person appears in the actual slide show reproduction, and can make the slide show reproduction more effective and more effective.

Configuration block diagram of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention Flowchart of processing for superimposing and displaying an image related to a person appearing in a slide show on a slide show display image in the embodiment The figure which shows the example of the slide show display image in an Example. The figure which shows the area which superimposes and displays a related image on the slide show display image in an Example. The figure which shows the state by which the image of the person who appears in the present slide show of the slide show in an Example was superimposed and displayed. Composition of face evaluation values in the embodiment Flowchart of processing for displaying a list of related images of a designated person in the embodiment Configuration of authentication registration database recorded in nonvolatile memory 56 in the embodiment The figure which shows the relationship between the slide show display image and its related image in an Example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, a photographing lens 103 is a lens group including a zoom lens and a focus lens. The shutter 101 is a shutter having an aperture function. The imaging unit 22 is an imaging device configured with a CCD, a CMOS device, or the like that converts an optical image into an electrical signal. The A / D converter 23 converts an analog signal into a digital signal. The A / D converter 23 is used to convert an analog signal output from the imaging unit 22 into a digital signal. The barrier 102 covers the imaging system including the imaging lens 103 of the image processing apparatus 100, thereby preventing the imaging system including the imaging lens 103, the shutter 101, and the imaging unit 22 from being dirty or damaged.

  The image processing unit 24 performs resizing processing such as predetermined pixel interpolation and reduction and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 23 or the data from the memory control unit 15. The image processing unit 24 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control unit 50 performs exposure control and distance measurement control based on the obtained calculation result. Thereby, AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and EF (flash pre-emission) processing of the TTL (through-the-lens) method are performed. The image processing unit 24 further performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained calculation result.

  Output data from the A / D converter 23 is directly written into the memory 32 via the image processing unit 24 and the memory control unit 15 or via the memory control unit 15. The memory 32 stores image data obtained by the imaging unit 22 and converted into digital data by the A / D converter 23 and image data to be displayed on the display unit 28. The memory 32 has a storage capacity sufficient to store a predetermined number of still images, a moving image and sound for a predetermined time.

  The memory 32 also serves as an image display memory. The display unit 28 is an image display unit composed of an LCD or the like, and image display data written in the memory 32 is displayed on the display unit 28 via the memory control unit 15. The system control unit 50 generates a display control signal in accordance with a program, and controls each unit of the image processing apparatus 100 so as to generate a video signal to be displayed on the display unit 28 and output it to the display unit 28. The display unit 28 displays video based on the output video signal. Note that the image processing apparatus 100 itself may include an interface for outputting a video signal to be displayed on the display unit 28, and the display unit 28 may be configured with an external monitor (such as a television). The electronic viewfinder function can be realized by sequentially displaying the image data captured using the display unit 28. Further, the image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control unit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be greatly reduced. I can do it.

  The nonvolatile memory 56 is an electrically erasable / recordable memory, and for example, an EEPROM or the like is used. The nonvolatile memory 56 stores constants, programs, and the like for operating the system control unit 50. Here, the program is a program for executing various flowcharts described later in the present embodiment.

  The system control unit 50 controls the entire image processing apparatus 100. By executing the program recorded in the non-volatile memory 56 described above, each process of the present embodiment to be described later is realized. A system memory 52 is a RAM. In the system memory 52, constants and variables for operation of the system control unit 50, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 56, and the like are expanded. The system control unit also performs display control by controlling the memory 32, the display unit 28, and the like.

  The system timer 53 is a time measuring unit that measures the time used for various controls and the time of a built-in clock.

  The operation unit 70 is an operation unit for inputting various operation instructions to the system control unit 50.

  Each operation member of the operation unit 70 is appropriately assigned a function for each scene by selecting and operating various function icons displayed on the display unit 28, and functions as various function buttons. Examples of the function buttons include an end button, a return button, an image advance button, a jump button, a narrowing button, and an attribute change button. For example, when a menu button is pressed, various setting menu screens are displayed on the display unit 28. The user can make various settings intuitively using the menu screen displayed on the display unit 28, and the four-way button and the SET button.

  The power control unit 80 includes a battery detection circuit, a DC-DC converter, a switch circuit that switches a block to be energized, and the like, and detects whether or not a battery is installed, the type of battery, and the remaining battery level. Further, the power control unit 80 controls the DC-DC converter based on the detection result and an instruction from the system control unit 50, and supplies a necessary voltage to each unit including the recording medium 200 for a necessary period.

  The power supply unit 30 includes a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a lithium battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li battery, an AC adapter, or the like. The recording medium I / F 18 is an interface with the recording medium 200 such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 is a recording medium such as a memory card for recording a captured image, and includes a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like.

  In the above-described image processing apparatus 100, it is possible to perform photographing using central one-point AF or face AF. Central one-point AF is to perform AF on one central position in the shooting screen. Face AF is to perform AF on the face in the shooting screen detected by the face detection function.

  The face detection function will be described. The system control unit 50 sends the face detection target image data to the image processing unit 24. Under the control of the system control unit 50, the image processing unit 24 applies a horizontal bandpass filter to the image data. In addition, under the control of the system control unit 50, the image processing unit 24 applies a vertical bandpass filter to the processed image data. By these horizontal and vertical band pass filters, edge components are detected from the image data.

  Thereafter, the system control unit 50 performs pattern matching on the detected edge components, and extracts a candidate group of eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Then, the system control unit 50 determines an eye pair that satisfies a preset condition (for example, distance between two eyes, inclination, etc.) from the extracted eye candidate group. Narrow down the candidate group of only those with. Then, the system control unit 50 associates the narrowed-down eye candidate group with other parts (nose, mouth, ears) that form the corresponding face, and passes a preset non-face condition filter. , Detect the face. The system control unit 50 outputs the face information according to the face detection result, and ends the process. At this time, feature quantities such as the number of faces are stored in the system memory 52.

  As described above, it is possible to analyze the image data displayed or reproduced and display the live view, extract the feature amount of the image data, and detect the subject information. In this embodiment, face information is taken as an example of subject information. However, subject information includes various information such as red-eye determination, eye detection, eye-brow detection, and smile detection.

  Note that the face AE, the face FE, and the face WB can be performed simultaneously with the face AF. The face AE is to optimize the exposure of the entire screen according to the brightness of the detected face. The face FE is to perform flash dimming around the detected face. The face WB is to optimize the WB of the entire screen according to the detected face color.

[Example]
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 13, an example in which an image related to a character in a slide show display image is displayed as a viewer image on the slide show display image in the confirmation mode will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of processing for superimposing and displaying an image related to a person appearing in the slide show on the slide show display image in the confirmation mode in the embodiment. Each process is realized by the system control unit 50 expanding and executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 in the system memory 52.

  In step S <b> 201, the system control unit 50 uses the operation unit 70 to start processing when the user selects a slide show confirmation mode for the image processing apparatus.

  In S202, the user selects who the slide show to be confirmed in the confirmation mode is to be viewed in the actual reproduction. For example, “Family” is selected when viewing with the grandfather or grandmother of the person appearing in the slide show, and “Friend” is selected when viewing with a friend. The system control unit 50 stores this information in the memory device 32.

  In S203, the slide show in the confirmation mode is started according to the user's instruction. In S204, the system control unit 50 extracts a person appearing in the slide show from the slide show image to be reproduced, and acquires the face image of the person. In S205, the system control unit 50 calculates a face evaluation value for the face detected in S204. FIG. 6 shows a configuration of face evaluation values in the embodiment. There are two elements of the face evaluation value: the face position and the face size. The sum of the values of these two elements becomes the face evaluation value. The value of the face position is 5 when the face exists inside the 30% area of the center of the shooting area. When the face exists in an area of 30 to 59% of the center of the photographing area, the value is 3. The value is 1 when the face is present outside the 59% center region of the imaging region. The value of the face size is 5 when the face size is 200 × 200 pixels or more. When the face size is 50 × 50 pixels to 199 × 199 pixels, it is 3. 1 when the face size is 49 × 49 pixels or less.

  In S206, the face information extracted in S205 is sent to the face authentication module, and a matching registered person is detected. In S207, based on the information recorded in the attribute of the authentication registration DB registered in the image processing apparatus, the user who has been authenticated in S206 is matched with the person who the user input in S203 wants to show the slide show. The registration information is listed.

  In S208, the persons listed in S207 are generally selected from the person images registered in the authentication registration DB, and are superimposed and displayed as viewer images of the slide show display image in the confirmation mode.

  In S209, if there is still another overlapping area, the information listed in S207 is used to display sequentially using the module of S208. The process is continued until there is no overlap area, and when there is no overlap area, this process ends.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process of listing candidates for images to be displayed in a superimposed manner in a slide show in the confirmation mode using authentication registration D.B. Each process is realized by the system control unit 50 expanding and executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 56 in the system memory 52.

  In S301, the system control unit 50 generates feature data of the designated person, and determines whether or not the feature data matches the person feature data in the authentication database. If the designated person matches the person in the authentication registration database, the process proceeds to S302. If the designated person does not match the person in the authentication registration database, the process ends. FIG. 8 shows the configuration of the authentication registration database recorded in the nonvolatile memory 56 in the embodiment. I is personal information of a registered person and is recorded by a user input operation by the operation unit 70. II is attribute information of a registered person such as “family” and “friend” and is recorded by a user input operation by the operation unit 70. However, if no input operation is performed, “None” is displayed. III is the characteristic data of the registered person. IV is a thumbnail image of a registered person.

  In S302, the system control unit 50 determines whether or not the attribute information of the person who has been authenticated in S301 in the authentication registration database in S301 is “None”. If the attribute information is not “None”, the process proceeds to S303, and if the attribute information is “None”, the process ends.

  In S303, the system control unit 50 reads the person appearing in the slide show display image, the related image and attribute information, and the input to the other party who wants to view the slide show input in S203. In S304, the street attribute is searched from the input to the partner who wants to show the slide show read in S303, and it is determined whether or not the related person of the person appearing in the slide show can be searched from the authentication registration DB. If the search is not possible, the process is terminated. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the slide show display image and the related image.

  In S305, the information of related persons searched in S304 is listed. In the case of listing, for example, if the input to the person who wants to show the slide show is a friend, the person who has been listed many times in the past will be higher in the list, or if the input to the person who wants to show the slide show is a relative, It is more preferable that the higher person is higher in the list.

  In S306, the system control unit 50 determines whether there is a related image that has not been determined yet, except for the related image of the slide show display image that has already been determined in S305. If there is a related image that has not been determined, the process proceeds to step S3074. If there is no related image that has not been determined, the process ends.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the relationship to be displayed superimposed on the slide show display image is the person related to the person appearing in the slide show, and the image of the related person is searched from the storage medium and displayed as the viewer image. Thus, it is possible to determine which person appears in the actual slide show reproduction, and to make the slide show reproduction more effective and effective.

  The present invention is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus reads the program code. It is a process to be executed. In this case, the program and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 103 Shooting lens 101 Shutter 22 Imaging part 23 A / D converter 102 Barrier 100 Image processing apparatus

Claims (8)

Reading means for reading an image from a storage medium;
Display means for displaying one of a plurality of related images simultaneously with the main image;
Person authentication means for authenticating a person appearing in the image from the image obtained by the reading means;
Control means for determining a related image to be displayed by the display means in accordance with the authentication result of the person authenticated by the person authentication means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image processing unit that captures an object scene and an image of a person obtained by the imaging unit are registered in the person authentication unit and displayed as a related image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays a related image corresponding to the main image so as to be superimposed on the main image. The control means determines to display the related image on the display means when the attribute of the authentication information of the person appearing in the image obtained by the reading means matches the attribute of the authentication information of the related image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The control means, when a plurality of persons appearing in the image obtained by the reading means are authenticated, displays an authentication image of a person who is mutually related to the authenticated persons as a related image from the authentication information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. When a plurality of persons appearing in the image obtained by the reading means are authenticated, the control means identifies a main person among the authenticated persons, and displays a related image of a main viewer. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein display is performed with priority. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein attribute information of the authentication information is registered with a family as the main person. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the main person is attribute information of the authentication information registered as a friend.