JP4240867B2 - Electronic album editing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electronic album editing apparatus that edits an electronic album based on image data taken with a digital camera or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Frequently, photos taken at that time are presented as albums to commemorate various events such as weddings and parties. For example, when attendees add comments for congratulations and encouragement to a photo taken at a wedding reception, they make an album and give it to the bride and groom.
[0003]
Conventionally, in such a case, so that attendees can write comments etc. on the spot, take a picture with an instant camera, etc., and give the photograph to the person to be photographed so that the name and comment are described in the photograph The method was general. Then, I organized the albums and pasted them to create an album.
[0004]
However, the above method has a problem that the photographer needs to give the photographed photograph one by one to the photographed person or collect the passed photograph, which is troublesome because it takes time and effort. In some cases, the photographer accidentally brought back the photo and could not retrieve it.
[0005]
In addition, for example, it takes time for a photographer to write a comment on a photograph with a writing instrument during or after a reception, and there is a problem that an ongoing event cannot be seen or a meal cannot be eaten. In particular, when there was no preparation of writing utensils, it had to be written by borrowing from others or waiting for their turn.
[0006]
Furthermore, in the process of laying out, pasting, and creating an album of the collected photos, work for classifying the photos into groups such as relatives, friends, etc. occurs, but it is performed while viewing each photo one by one. This operation also has a problem that it takes time and labor. In particular, if the person who performs the work and the person to be photographed are not acquainted with each other, it is not known which group the person belongs to, and it takes more time and labor to examine it, which makes it difficult to create an album.
[0007]
As described above, from photography to album creation, it takes a lot of time and effort to write comments and edit layouts, which is a heavy burden on those who perform this work.
[0008]
On the other hand, in the case of image data taken with a digital camera or the like, text can be synthesized in the image, but it is necessary to input characters from the camera or computer, etc., and generally it is faster to write directly on a developed or printed photo. It was not used effectively. Software for creating electronic albums is also available on the market, but the operator must select the images, and the layout is determined by the same effort and time as arranging the developed or printed photos. It was over.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an electronic album editing apparatus that can easily create an electronic album by reducing the amount of work from photography to editing to album creation. To do.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
  2. The electronic album editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image / audio data interface means for capturing image data and audio data corresponding to the image data, recording means for managing and storing the image data and the audio data, and the audio data Voice data conversion means for converting the data into text data;Text attribute identification means for separating the text data converted by the voice data conversion means into a plurality of meaningful character strings, and giving a title or comment attribute to each separated character string;Text converted by the voice data converting meansIn the data, the text to which the comment attribute is given by the text attribute identification means is placed inside the corresponding image.Then, an image / text synthesizing unit for synthesizing the text and the corresponding image, a search / sorting unit for searching and sorting the image synthesized with the text, an image by arranging the images based on the sorting result, and an album An album creating means for creating,The audio data includes comment data uttered by a subject included in an image based on the image data, and the text arranged inside the image is the comment converted into text, and the image The text synthesis means extracts a face part included in the corresponding image and places the text at a position that does not overlap the face part.It is characterized by that.
[0011]
  According to this configuration,For example, a comment expressed in a voice saying “Congratulations” is converted into text data and synthesized inside the image.Easy album editing.
[0013]
  AlsoThe comment expressed in voice like “congratulations” of the photographed person is converted into text data and synthesized into the image of the photographed person.
[0015]
  AlsoText data converted from audio data can be divided into multiple parts and attributes such as photo titles and subject comments can be assigned. For example, the title is outside the image and the comment is below the person in the image. For example, you can select any attribute and combine each text automatically into the corresponding image. This simplifies the text insertion and layout work on the image, and allows easy album editing. Furthermore, since the image data can be classified in detail by increasing the attributes, it is possible to perform advanced search and sorting by combining a plurality of keywords.
[0017]
  AlsoThe image / text synthesis means recognizes the pattern of the image, for example, avoids a portion corresponding to a human face, and automatically synthesizes the text converted from the voice data at an appropriate position in the image. This simplifies text insertion and layout work on images, and makes album editing easy.
[0018]
  Claim2The electronic album editing apparatus described in claim1The album creating means automatically retrieves image data selected from the plurality of image data searched and sorted by the search / sort means and displayed in a list on a frame screen created in advance in the selected order. It is characterized by creating an album by laying out.
[0019]
According to this configuration, the image data or the image data synthesized with the text is automatically laid out on the frame screen in the selected order, so that the photo layout work is simplified and the album can be easily created. .
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic album editing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the electronic album editing apparatus 100 mainly includes an image / audio data interface unit 11 for receiving image data and corresponding audio data from an image / audio data recording unit 200 such as a digital camera or a personal computer, and an image. Recording means 12 for recording data and corresponding voice data, voice data converting means 13 for converting voice data into text data, text attribute identifying means 14 for identifying the attribute of the converted text data, and an image based on the text of the text data Search / sort means 15 for searching and sorting data, image / text synthesis means 16 for synthesizing text data and images, album creating means 17 for arranging images based on the sort result and creating an album, electronic album editing device Control the operation of each part of 100 The control unit 18, the input unit 19 including various operation switches, the display unit 300 for displaying image data by connecting to the display unit 300 such as an external monitor, and the album created by connecting to the printing unit 400 are printed. Printing interface means 21 for printing.
[0021]
In this embodiment, image data and corresponding audio data are taken into the electronic album editing apparatus 100 from an external device such as a digital camera, a personal computer, a mobile phone, or a PDA (personal digital assistant).
[0022]
The image / sound data interface unit 11 receives the image data processed by the image / sound data recording unit 200 by a predetermined method and stores it in the recording unit 12 of the electronic album editing apparatus. The image data can be captured from the image / audio data recording unit 200 by either a wired or wireless method.
[0023]
Further, the image / audio data interface means 11 may be constituted by a reading device corresponding to a removable recording medium (for example, a card type IC memory called smart media). The recording medium is not limited to a memory card, and various forms such as a PC card, a magnetic disk, and a magneto-optical disk are possible. In this case, if the recording medium storing the image data is inserted into the image / audio data interface means 11 and read out, the image data capturing is completed.
[0024]
The image / audio data interface unit 11 also performs decompression processing of the compressed image / audio data.
[0025]
The recording means 12 comprises a main body built-in memory, and stores various data such as image data and corresponding audio data, converted text data, image data obtained by synthesizing text, and arrangement order of image data constituting the album. Various control programs are also stored.
[0026]
The voice data conversion means 13 converts the voice data into text data by a known method using voice recognition software or the like. Note that the converted text data is stored in association with the corresponding image data and audio data.
[0027]
The text attribute identification unit 14 is a block that separates and identifies the converted text data, and recognizes the text by separating it into a plurality of character strings using a non-recorded part or a marker part inserted when voice is input. An attribute is assigned to each character string, and a plurality of text information can be held in one image data.
[0028]
The search / sort means 15 searches and sorts image data based on the text of the text data. The search and sort results are displayed on the thumbnail image list display (index screen) of the extracted image data.
[0029]
The image / text synthesizing unit 16 includes an image processing unit that synthesizes text data having a selected attribute with a corresponding image. The text can be placed either inside or outside the image. When combining inside the image, the face of the person in the image data is recognized by pattern extraction by contour and color extraction by image processing, and the text is the face of the person. Automatically arrange so that it does not overlap the image. A known method may be used for pattern recognition. The arrangement of the text is determined by determining a plurality of preset candidate positions (for example, the upper right part of the image) in order from the highest priority. Also, the processing method when the number of text colors, fonts, sizes, and characters exceeds the predetermined number (whether to wrap and display or reduce the font size, etc.) is set in advance in the initial setting of the electronic album editing apparatus. .
[0030]
The album creating means 17 arranges images on a mount (frame screen) designated in advance based on the sorting result of the search / sort means 15 to create an album.
[0031]
The control means 18 is a block including a central processing unit (CPU), and is a processing unit that performs overall control of each circuit of the electronic album editing apparatus 100. The operation is controlled in accordance with an input signal from the input means 19, and execution commands such as text conversion of voice data, search / sorting of image data, text synthesis, album creation, and various arithmetic processes are performed.
[0032]
The input unit 19 includes switches and buttons of the electronic album editing apparatus 100, and transmits execution of various operations to the control unit 18.
[0033]
The display interface unit 20 is a connection unit for displaying image data and each page of the created album by connecting a display unit 400 such as a monitor.
[0034]
The printing interface unit 21 is a connection unit for printing an image or a created album by connecting a printing unit 500 such as a printer.
[0035]
Next, the operation of the electronic album editing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the album editing flow of the electronic album editing apparatus according to this embodiment.
[0036]
First, image / sound data is taken in via the image / sound data interface unit 11 (S101). When the image / audio data recording unit 200 is a digital camera, the image / audio data is stored in the recording unit 12 of the electronic album editing apparatus 100 through a connection cable. Further, as described above, when the image / audio data recording means 200 is various recording media, the corresponding recording medium is attached to the image / audio data interface means 11 constituted by the reading device of each recording medium, and the The data is stored in the recording means 12 and the data is taken in.
[0037]
Next, data processing of the captured image / sound data is performed (S102). Details of this data processing will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
[0038]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the flow of data processing of image / audio data. First, the control means 18 reads image / sound data stored in the recording means 12 of the electronic album editing apparatus 100 (S201), and determines whether sound data is added to the read image data (S202). .
[0039]
When voice data is added, the voice data is converted into text data by the voice data conversion means 13 (S203).
[0040]
By the way, audio data is recorded with a plurality of pieces of information separated. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram conceptually showing the structure of audio data and text data. For example, in FIG. 4, the congratulations “congratulations” are recorded after the name “Sato” of the subject. As a recording break, a non-recording part or a marker part is used. Such audio data is created, for example, when a subject takes a picture of his / her name, describes his congratulations, and records it when taking a picture with a digital camera. In addition, when recording with a digital camera, for example, the photographer first records “wedding” and then records the audio data, and then asks the subject to say “Congratulations”. Can be created. In this case, the title is “wedding” and the comment is “congratulations”.
[0041]
In order to process the information separately recorded by these delimiters by dividing them into attributes such as title and comment as shown in FIG. 4, for example, it is necessary to separate the converted text data by the attribute. Therefore, the converted text data is separated and identified for each attribute by the text attribute identification means 14 (S204). The text data is stored in the recording means 12 in association with image data and audio data corresponding to each attribute. Note that the type and contents of information (attributes) included in the audio data can be determined by initial setting (not shown in the flowchart) of the electronic album editing apparatus.
[0042]
Next, it is selected whether or not the text data is to be combined with the image (S205). If the text data is to be combined, the text layout format is selected (S206). The arrangement format is a setting of which attribute text data is to be combined in the image. For example, in FIG. 4, the text of the attribute “title” is placed in the lower center of the image and the text of the attribute “comment” is added. The schematic diagram of the synthesized image when it sets so that it may synthesize | combine in the image is shown. Of course, both texts may be set to be combined in the image, or only one of the texts may be set to be combined. Further, when there are many types of attributes, a more complicated arrangement can be set.
[0043]
When the arrangement format is selected, the face image of the image data is extracted and pattern recognition is performed before actually combining (S207). Then, the text data is automatically synthesized so as to avoid the face portion of the person in the image and prevent the text from overlapping the face (S208). The size, font, color, and processing method when the text is long (the number of characters is large) when combining are executed according to predetermined settings.
[0044]
This completes the image / audio data processing. The above data processing is performed on all the image data stored in the recording unit 12 of the electronic album editing apparatus 100, and the image data combined with the text is stored in the recording unit 12. The data to be stored may be information such as the attribute, position, size, font, etc. of the text to be arranged in the image.
[0045]
Next, returning to FIG. 2 again, the album print mode is set (S103). The print mode is selected according to the number of images to be displayed on one page of the album when printing out. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, “single display” for displaying one image per page, “multi” for displaying a plurality of images, and “INDEX (index) for displaying small thumbnail images”. 3 mode can be selected. When “Multi” is selected, the number of images to be displayed on one page can also be designated. When “single-sheet display” or “multi” is selected, a multi-page mount (frame image) is created, and the album is completed by printing and filing them. “INDEX (index)” is for confirmation, and the displayed page is one page or a small number of pages.
[0046]
Next, the size, layout, etc. of the paper for printing out are selected (S104). Here, it is desirable that a mount (frame image) on which a photograph (image data) is pasted can also be selected. A plurality of types of frame images, such as plain (white) and flower patterns, are set in advance.
[0047]
When the settings relating to print output are completed, all thumbnail images of the recorded image data are displayed in a list (S105). The display content can be confirmed by the display means 300 connected to the display interface means 20.
[0048]
Next, an image to be adopted for the album is selected from the list (S106). The selection of images may be performed by selecting thumbnail images one by one, or search / sorting means 15 performs search and extraction based on text data of each attribute already stored in association with image data. May be. For example, when two attributes, title and comment, are provided, it is possible to extract only an image whose title is “wedding” or to extract an image including the characters “congratulations” in the comment. . Furthermore, a search such as extracting all images having text data in the attribute of title is also possible.
[0049]
Search and extraction with a plurality of keywords can also be performed. When a plurality of keywords are set, AND search and OR search can be performed. As described above, when searching and extracting an image using a keyword, the keyword is input or set according to a graphical user interface (GUI) screen displayed on the display unit 300. After extraction, only the selected images are displayed as a list of thumbnail images.
[0050]
Next, the arrangement method of the images selected for the album is selected (S107). It is selected whether thumbnail images in the list are selected one by one to determine the order of the image data (S108), or whether the order of the image data is automatically sorted by the search / sort means 15. When selecting automatic, first, the sort mode is selected (S109).
[0051]
In this embodiment, three modes of “text data”, “recording time”, and “random” can be selected. In “text data”, image data is sorted based on text data having an arbitrary attribute. For example, if the title is the name of the subject, the images are arranged in order of name if the title is sorted in alphabetical order. In “recording time”, the image data is sorted based on the shooting date and time information added to the image data. “Random” sorts image data randomly. When a mode is selected, automatic sorting is executed (S110), and the order of image data is determined.
[0052]
The image data whose order is determined manually or automatically is automatically pasted on a predetermined mount (frame screen) in the determined order, and a preview display as shown in FIG. 5 is performed (S111). . Next, it is selected whether or not to perform print output as an album (S112). When printing, the number of sheets is set (S113), and printing is executed (S114). Printing is executed by the printing unit 400 connected to the printing interface unit 21.
[0053]
When album printing is completed or not selected, album-related data such as print settings and image arrangement order are stored in the recording means 12 (S115), and the album editing operation is completed (S116). By reading the stored album-related data again, it is possible to reproduce an electronic album having the same configuration.
[0054]
Any input or selection relating to the album editing can be executed through the input unit 19 of the electronic album editing apparatus 100 while viewing a GUI (graphical user interface) screen displayed on the display unit 300 connected to the display interface unit 20. .
[0055]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the internal configuration of the electronic album editing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, an imaging unit 22, a lens 23, a recording unit 24, and an audio output unit 25 are added to the functions of the above-described electronic album editing apparatus, and a so-called digital camera integrated type is configured.
[0056]
The imaging means 22 includes a CCD as an imaging device, converts an optical image of a subject formed on the light receiving surface of the CCD through a lens 23 and a diaphragm device (not shown) into an electronic image signal, and performs image signal processing. It is a block. The CCD mounted in this embodiment has a so-called electronic shutter function that controls the charge accumulation time (shutter speed) of each light receiving sensor according to the timing of the shutter gate pulse. Further, zooming operation, automatic focus adjustment (AF) operation, automatic exposure adjustment (AE) control and the like of the lens 22 are performed in accordance with an input signal from the control means 18. An image signal processing circuit (not shown) in the block captures an image signal in accordance with an instruction from the control means 18, and performs predetermined processing such as color separation, gain adjustment, A / D conversion, and the like based on the received image signal. , Generation of luminance signal (Y signal) and color difference signal (C signal), gamma correction processing, compression processing and other signal processing are performed.
[0057]
The recording means 24 is composed of a microphone for recording sound data added to the image data at the time of photographing or after photographing, and the sound output means 25 is composed of a speaker for reproducing the recorded sound data.
[0058]
In the present embodiment, display means 26 such as an LCD or an organic EL display is configured on the electronic album editing apparatus side. The input means 19 includes a shutter button for capturing an image, a recording button for recording sound, a marker switch for recording a delimiter marker during sound recording, and the like. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.
[0059]
Next, the operation of the electronic album editing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the album editing flow of the electronic album editing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0060]
First, a subject image is shot by the image pickup means 22, and voice data is recorded by the recording means 24 (S301). The image signal is subjected to analog signal processing, converted to a digital signal, processed again, and temporarily stored in the recording unit 12 through the image / audio data interface unit 11 (S302). Here, when displaying on the display means 26 for image monitors, the temporarily stored image data can be read out and sent to the display for display. Further, it is desirable that the image data after photographing is compressed and stored by the image / audio data interface means 11. Depending on the shooting mode, recording may be performed without the compression process.
[0061]
Audio data can be recorded at the same time as shooting. For example, image data acquisition may be performed at the moment the shutter button is pressed, and audio recording may be continued while the shutter button is being pressed. Further, when the recorded image data is being reproduced on the display means 26, if the recording button is pressed, recording can be performed and audio data can be added to the image data. Can be added.
[0062]
In order to record a plurality of pieces of information in audio data and add attributes, as shown in FIG. 4, create a non-recording part that does not emit any sound during recording for a predetermined number of seconds or the same as a marker during recording. Press the switch to record the break (marker). The non-recording portion and the marker portion are converted into predetermined text (symbol) when converted into text data by the voice data converting means 13, and this is detected by the text attribute identifying means 14 to identify the attribute of the text data. The
[0063]
Since the steps after the data processing (S303) of the created image / sound data are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.
[0064]
In the second embodiment, since the image pickup means 22 and the recording means 23 are incorporated in the electronic album editing apparatus side, connection and operation for capturing image / audio data are not required, and image acquisition is easy. Yes.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
  As described above, according to the electronic album editing apparatus of the present invention,For example, the comment that the photographer expressed as "congratulations" at the wedding is converted into text data and combined with the image of the photographed person, so text insertion and layout work can be performed on the image. Simplified and easy album editing.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic album editing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of electronic album editing for the electronic album editing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a data processing flow of image / audio data in the electronic album editing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram conceptually showing the structure of audio data and text data and how the text is synthesized at different positions for each attribute.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement example of image data to be displayed on one page of an electronic album to be created.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of an electronic album editing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of electronic album editing for the electronic album editing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Image / sound data interface means
12 Recording means
13 Voice data conversion means
14 Text attribute identification means
15 Search / sort means
16 Image / text synthesis means
17 Album creation means
18 Control means
19 Input means
20 Display I / F
21 I / F for printing
22 Imaging means
23 Lens
24 Recording means
25 Display means
100 electronic album editing device
200 Image / sound data recording means
300 Display means
400 printing means
500 Electronic album editing device (with camera function)

Claims (2)

Image / audio data interface means for capturing image data and audio data corresponding to the image data;
Recording means for managing and storing the image data and the audio data;
Voice data conversion means for converting the voice data into text data;
Text attribute identification means for separating the text data converted by the voice data conversion means into a plurality of meaningful character strings, and giving a title or comment attribute to each separated character string;
An image in which the text to which the comment attribute is given by the text attribute identification unit in the text data converted by the voice data conversion unit is placed inside the corresponding image and the text and the corresponding image are combined. / Text synthesis means,
Search / sort means for searching and sorting images combined with the text;
Album creation means for creating an album by arranging images based on the sorting result;
With
The audio data includes comment data uttered by a subject included in an image based on the image data, and the text arranged inside the image is the comment converted into text,
The electronic album editing apparatus, wherein the image / text synthesizing unit extracts a face part included in the corresponding image and arranges the text at a position not overlapping the face part . The electronic album editing apparatus according to claim 1,
The album creating means automatically lays out the image data selected from the plurality of image data searched / sorted by the searching / sorting means and displayed in a list on the frame screen created in advance in the selected order. An electronic album editing device characterized by creating an album by doing so .

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