JP4423318B2 - Image processing apparatus, imaging apparatus, control method for image processing apparatus, and control method for imaging apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an imaging apparatus, a control method for the image processing apparatus, and a control method for the imaging apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for assigning a keyword to image data.

  A technique for adding various attribute information to image data captured by a digital camera or the like is known. The attribute information is used to search for a desired image file, for example. In addition, in order to inform the user of the location where the image data was captured and the situation at the time of capturing, the attribute information is displayed when displaying the image on the display of the digital camera or when printing the image on a print medium such as paper. In addition, display or printing is also performed.

  An exchangeable image file format (Exif) is known as a technique for adding attribute information to image data. Exif was developed by JEIDA (Japan Electronics Industry Promotion Association) and version 1.0 was issued in October 1996 and version 1.1 was issued in May 1997.

  In Exif, attribute information of image data captured by a digital camera is expressed using (1) a tag indicating basic information of the image, (2) a tag indicating image generation information, and (3) a tag indicating GPS information. Is possible. As an example of (1), information such as the width and height of the captured image, the bit depth of the pixel, and the name of the photographer are defined. As an example of (2), information such as image generation date / time, update date / time, and digital camera settings (exposure time, F value, shutter speed, etc.) at the time of shooting are defined. Furthermore, as an example of (3), information such as latitude, longitude, altitude, etc. of the shooting location is defined.

  Such attribute information is included in an image file together with image data in accordance with a format defined by the standard, and is used by a digital camera or another device (such as a printer or a personal computer (PC)). Thereby, for example, it is possible to perform image processing suitable for the shooting situation.

  When information that cannot be acquired by the imaging apparatus (for example, subject information or photographer information) is added to image data as attribute information, the user usually needs to import an image file into the PC and use application software on the PC. . At this time, the user needs to input attribute information using a keyboard or the like. As a result, information that cannot be acquired by the imaging apparatus can be added to the image data as attribute information.

  However, the task of capturing an image on a PC and inputting attribute information with a keyboard is complicated for the user.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for connecting a portable terminal to the Internet and automatically adding the acquired information to the photographed image when storing the photographed image in a portable terminal having a wireless telephone function and a camera. To do. Patent Document 1 also proposes a technique for adding a voice input by a user from a call microphone of a portable terminal to a captured image.
JP 2005-236729 A

  However, if acquisition of attribute information is completely automated as in the technique of Patent Document 1, attribute information that is less interesting to the user is assigned to the image data, or conversely, attribute information that is more interested is not given. Is more likely to do. In other words, there is a high possibility that the attribute information effective for searching the image data is not appropriately given.

  On the other hand, if the user manually specifies the attribute information, the desired attribute information can be added to the image data. However, as described above, the manual specification of the attribute information is complicated for the user. Even when voice is used as in the technique of Patent Document 1, an additional work is required for the user to input voice to each captured image, which is complicated for the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a technique that makes it possible to give more appropriate attribute information to image data while suppressing an increase in a user's work burden. With the goal.

In order to solve the above-described problem, the first aspect of the present invention provides image receiving means for receiving image data captured by an imaging device and attribute information of the image data, and text data including a word associated with the image data. Receiving text receiving means; extracting means for extracting words from the text data; selecting means for selecting word candidates associated with the image data from the extracted words based on attribute information of the image data; and the selection In response to receiving the designation information by the designation information receiving means , a storage means for storing the word in association with the image data in the storage device, a designation information receiving means for receiving the designation information for designating the image data, A word for transmitting a word stored in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information to the transmission source of the designation information To provide an image processing apparatus characterized by comprising a signal means.

  The second aspect of the present invention is an image storage means for storing captured image data and attribute information of the image data in a storage device, and the image data and the attribute information of the first aspect of the present invention. An image transmission means for transmitting to the image processing apparatus, a designation information transmission means for transmitting designation information for designating image data to the image processing apparatus, and a word transmitted by the word transmission means of the image processing apparatus in response to the designation information There is provided an imaging device comprising: a word receiving unit that stores the received word in association with image data indicated by the designation information in the storage device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing device control method comprising: an image receiving step of receiving image data captured by an imaging device and attribute information of the image data; and a word associated with the image data. A text receiving step for receiving text data, an extraction step for extracting a word from the text data, and a selection step for selecting a word candidate associated with the image data from the extracted word based on attribute information of the image data. A storage step for storing the selected word in association with the image data in a storage device, a designation information receiving step for receiving designation information for designating image data, and a response to reception of the designation information by the designation information receiving step. Then, the word stored in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information is transmitted to the transmission source of the designation information. To provide a method for controlling an image processing apparatus characterized by comprising: a word transmission step of signal, the.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for an imaging apparatus, comprising: an image storage step of storing captured image data and attribute information of the image data in a storage device; and the image data and the attribute information. An image transmission step for transmitting to the image processing device of the first aspect of the present invention, a designation information transmission step for transmitting designation information for designating image data to the image processing device, and a response to the designation information. An image pickup apparatus comprising: a word reception step for receiving a word transmitted by a word transmission means; and a word storage step for storing the received word in association with image data indicated by the designation information in the storage device. A control method is provided.

  Other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following description of the best mode for carrying out the invention.

  With the above configuration, according to the present invention, it is possible to give more appropriate attribute information to image data while suppressing an increase in the work burden on the user.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The individual embodiments described below will help to understand various concepts from the superordinate concept to the subordinate concept of the present invention.

  The technical scope of the present invention is determined by the claims, and is not limited by the following individual embodiments. In addition, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the present invention.

  Before describing the details of the embodiment, the basic concept of the present invention will be described. In the present invention, in order to give more appropriate attribute information to image data, text data (typically a comment on the image) input by the user who viewed the image is used. This is based on the idea that text data input by a user who has viewed an image will include many words that appropriately represent the image. In addition, the image information of the image data is used together to selectively extract words that more appropriately represent the image from words included in the text data. Here, the shooting information is information related to shooting conditions of image data, and is included in, for example, Exif.

  In the following embodiments, a so-called blog (details will be described later) is used for inputting text data. This is based on the following idea. That is, if the user is requested to input text data only for attribute information addition, the input operation becomes complicated for the user. However, if the text data input for other purposes (for example, the purpose of releasing the captured image data to the other person together with the explanation) is reused, it is possible to suppress the additional burden on the user. . In addition, text data (that is, comments) input by others may be posted on the blog, and if this is used, the burden on the user can be further reduced. Accordingly, in each of the following embodiments, a blog will be described as an example. However, any text system other than a blog can be used as long as text data input for some purpose can be reused without imposing an additional burden on the user. You may use the system.

[First Embodiment]
<Blog>
A blog is a website for publishing opinions about one's thoughts and social events, commentary on things, information on other websites, etc., and record and add notes and commentary along with the URL of the web page. It is a website. It was named Weblog in the sense of recording the Web. In a broad sense, it includes general websites about information recorded relatively frequently in time series, such as the author's personal experience, diary, and topics not necessarily limited to the web related to a specific topic. Currently, the term blog is often used in a broad sense. Also, software or services that provide such a website creation function may be referred to as a blog. Furthermore, a blog that is updated by sending an e-mail by a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone is called a moblog, a blog that is published mainly with photo images is called a photolog, and a video blog that distributes video content is called a vlog. Normally, text and images are attached to posted content. The term blog may include homepages that add information in a diary style.

  When new information is added to a Web page, in the past Web site, the HTML file of the target Web page has been edited and published (uploaded) again using a computer that the user owns. On the other hand, in a blog, it is possible to automatically add information in a diary style simply by registering new information on a website for an administrator on the Internet.

  Furthermore, the blog has a function of registering comments and trackbacks for written information. Although commenting is a technology that is similar to conventional electronic bulletin boards, it enables viewers to write opinions and additional information for each piece of information registered in a blog. The trackback includes a function of transmitting a trackback Ping from its own blog and a function of receiving a trackback Ping from the partner's blog. Using this, it is possible to link each other's blog with your blog. Viewers can read related blogs by simply following the trackback. The track back will be described in detail in the second embodiment.

<System configuration>
Next, a general blog system configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The blog system 100 includes a client device 101 such as a mobile phone or a personal computer (PC) that can be connected to the Internet 102, and a Web server 103 that is a type of an image processing device connected to the Internet 102.

  The Web server 103 includes a blog content database (DB) 104 and a template database (DB) 105. Information is stored in the blog content DB 104 in units called entries. An entry is an individual article constituting a blog, and includes information such as text sentences, links, and images posted by an administrator (owner) and a viewer.

  The administrator can browse the Web page on the Web server 103 that provides the blog service using the browser of the client device 101. When the administrator posts an entry on the browser, the entry data is stored in the blog content DB 104 of the Web server 103 for each item such as date / time, category, contributor (ie, administrator). Next, when the administrator updates the Web site, the Web server 103 refers to necessary data from the blog content DB 104 based on various templates, and generates a static HTML file for each entry.

  In order to automatically generate various pages from entries, a template DB 105 different from the blog content DB 104 is used. The template DB 105 collectively manages decoration information called a style sheet (character color / size, background color, background image, etc.). A Web page is formed by combining an HTML file created from the entry and a style sheet.

  In the present embodiment, a system that uses such a blog system 100 and adds attribute information to a captured image will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the blog system 200 according to the first embodiment. The blog system 200 includes an imaging device 201, a user terminal 202 that is a client device, a Web server 203 that is a server device, a network 204, and an access point 205. The user terminal 202 is not limited to one, and a plurality of user terminals 202 may be provided.

  The imaging device 201 is connected to the network 204 via the access point 205. Further, the user terminal 202 and the Web server 203 are connected to each other via the network 204. The network 204 is a wide area network such as the Internet.

  The Web server 203 includes databases (DB) 206a, 206b,. . . 206n can be accessed. These DBs are classified according to the shooting mode when the image data is imaged by the imaging apparatus 201, and each DB holds words closely related to the shooting mode. These DBs are stored in, for example, the storage device 663 of the Web server 203 (see FIG. 6B).

  For example, the person information database (DB) 206a holds noun information (last name, name, relationship, etc.) related to a person. The landscape information database (DB) 206b holds noun information (place names, building names, etc.) related to the landscape. The sports information database (DB) 206n holds noun information related to sports (sport names, sports team names, sponsor names, etc.). The words held by each DB are used as candidates for attribute information (words) associated with image data.

  In this embodiment, the DBs 206a, 206b,. . . 206n are provided in the storage device 663, but are not limited thereto. The storage device may have any configuration as long as the Web server 203 can acquire word candidates based on some shooting information (or for each set value of shooting information).

  The Web server 203 can also access a blog content database (DB) 207. The blog content DB 207 holds text sentences, link information, images, and a management table (see FIG. 3) posted by the administrator and the viewer using the user terminal 202.

  A date information database (DB) 208 holds information such as year, month, day, and time. The location information database (DB) 209 holds place name information. The date information DB 208 and the position information DB 209 may also be included in the second storage device. The first storage device and the second storage device are mass storage devices such as hard disks, for example. Further, the first storage device and the second storage device may exist on the same mass storage device. The storage capacity of the large-capacity storage device is preferably a large capacity in units of GB (gigabytes) and TB (terabytes), but is not limited thereto.

<Management table>
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the management table in the blog content DB 207. As shown in FIG. The management table includes fields for an imaging device ID, an image ID, shooting information, text data, and a selection keyword.

  The imaging device ID field stores an ID that uniquely identifies the imaging device. This ID is stored in a flash ROM or the like (see FIG. 6A) of the imaging apparatus 201 when the imaging apparatus 201 is shipped from the factory. The image ID field stores an ID for uniquely identifying an image in the imaging apparatus 201. The shooting information field stores shooting information (see FIG. 4) when image data is captured by the imaging apparatus 201. The text data field stores text data posted by a blog administrator and viewer. The selected keyword field stores a word (keyword) selected as attribute information to be added to the image data (a selection method will be described later with reference to FIG. 8).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the shooting information includes setting values related to setting items such as shooting date and time, shooting location, shooting mode, shooting lens setting, and imaging device setting. In the example of FIG. 4, for example, the setting value of the setting item “shooting mode” is “portrait mode”. The imaging information is generated by the imaging device 201 when the imaging device 201 captures image data.

<Configuration of Imaging Device 201>
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the back surface of the imaging apparatus 201. The imaging apparatus according to the present embodiment includes not only what is generally called a digital still camera but also various devices including imaging means and communication means such as a so-called camera-equipped mobile phone. A shutter button 501 is provided on the upper surface of the imaging apparatus 201 at the upper right corner. In the lower right corner, a mode selection dial 502 for setting a photographing mode for image data is provided. Shooting modes include auto, manual, scene mode (digital macro, portrait, night snap, kids & pets, party / indoor, underwater, sports), stitch assist, and video modes.

  A display screen 503 of a liquid crystal display device is provided at the center of the back surface of the imaging device 201. The display screen 503 displays an image captured by the imaging unit, an image read from a memory card attached to the imaging device 201, an image for various settings of the imaging device 201 (that is, a GUI), and the like. . On the right side of the display screen 503, an up / down / left / right key 504 and a menu button 505 used for various settings are provided, and an execution button 506 is provided at the center of the up / down / left / right key 504.

  FIG. 6A is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the imaging apparatus 201. Reference numeral 601 denotes a lens unit, and reference numeral 602 denotes a shutter having an aperture mechanism. Reference numeral 603 denotes an image sensor for outputting light passing through the lens unit 601 as an electrical signal, for example, a CCD unit. Reference numeral 604 denotes an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output from the CCD unit 603 into a digital signal. Reference numeral 605 denotes an SSG unit that supplies a synchronization signal to the CCD unit 603 and the A / D converter 604. Reference numeral 606 denotes a signal processing unit that executes various image processing, compression, and decompression.

  A DMA controller 607 performs high-speed data transfer between the respective blocks via the system bus 620. Reference numeral 608 denotes a DRAM, which is used as a main memory of the imaging apparatus 201. The DRAM 608 is also used as a buffer memory at the time of shooting. A flash ROM 609 stores a firmware program and the like. Reference numeral 610 denotes an aperture control unit that controls the aperture of the shutter 602. Reference numeral 611 denotes a lens control unit that controls the lens unit 601 such as driving a lens for AF (autofocus) and driving a lens for zooming.

  A CPU 612 executes various types of control in the imaging apparatus 201 by executing a firmware program loaded from the flash ROM 609 using the DRAM 608 as a work area. Reference numeral 613 denotes a display control unit which controls the display device 616 including a TFT liquid crystal display.

  Reference numeral 614 denotes a memory card controller which performs control for reading / writing data from / to a memory card 617 such as a compact flash (registered trademark) (CF) card or a secure digital (registered trademark) (SD) card. The memory card controller 614 functions as an image storage unit that stores captured image data and the captured information in a memory card 617 that is a storage device. Reference numeral 615 denotes an input device, which includes a keypad, a zoom lever, a power switch, a shutter button, and the like for performing various operations on a menu screen displayed on the display device 616. The input device 615 corresponds to the shutter button 501 and the mode selection dial 502 shown in FIG.

  Reference numeral 618 denotes a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with another imaging device or a nearby access point. Reference numeral 619 denotes a position specifying unit that includes a GPS or the like and specifies the position of the imaging apparatus 201. Reference numeral 620 denotes a system bus, which is a transmission path for data transferred between blocks.

<Configuration of Web Server 203>
FIG. 6B is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the Web server 203. The Web server 203 includes a communication unit 651 that communicates with the imaging device 201, the user terminal 202, and the like via the network 204.

  The communication unit 651 includes an image receiving unit 652 that receives image data and shooting information thereof, an image transmitting unit 653, and a text receiving unit 654 that receives text data. Further, a word transmitting unit 655 that transmits a word to be added to the image data, and a designation information receiving unit 656 that receives designation information for designating the image data are provided. The text receiving unit 654 also receives information about the user who has input the received text data. In response to a request from a client device such as the user terminal 202, the image transmission unit 653 generates and transmits display data for displaying image data (for example, HTML data including a reference to the image data).

  The Web server 203 also includes a storage unit 657, an extraction unit 658, an acquisition unit 659, a selection unit 660, an addition unit 661, a cancellation unit 662, and a storage device 663.

  The function of each unit in the Web server 203 is realized by dedicated hardware, by a CPU (not shown) executing a program, or a combination thereof.

  The storage device 663 can include the above-described first storage device and second storage device, and is implemented by, for example, a hard disk. The storage device 663 may be included in the Web server 203, or may be provided outside the Web server 203 so as to be able to communicate with the Web server 203.

  The storage unit 657 stores the image data received by the image reception unit 652 in the storage device 663. The storage unit 657 also stores the word selected by the selection unit 660 as the word to be added to the image data in the storage device 663 in association with the image data.

  The extraction unit 658 extracts words from the text data received by the text reception unit 654 by, for example, morphological analysis.

  The acquisition unit 659 acquires from the storage device 663 word candidates to be added (associated) to the image data based on the photographing information received by the image reception unit. The word candidates acquired here are, for example, words stored in various DBs such as the person information DB 206a in FIG.

  The selection unit 660 selects words included in the word candidates acquired by the acquisition unit 659 from among the words extracted by the extraction unit 658. The selection unit 660 stores the selected word in the storage device 663 in association with the image data via the storage unit 657.

  The adding unit 661 uses the user information received by the text receiving unit 654 to add auxiliary information to the word selected by the selecting unit 660 (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8).

  The cancellation unit 662 cancels the selection of the word selected by the selection unit 660 when a predetermined condition is satisfied (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8).

<Process flow>
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of processing performed between the imaging device 201, the access point 205, the Web server 203, and the user terminal 202. In the following description, it is assumed that the imaging apparatus 201 can communicate with the network 204 via the access point 205 and can transmit captured image data and imaging information thereof to the Web server 203. However, the captured image data and the shooting information thereof may be transmitted to the Web server 203 from the user terminal 202 after being captured by the user terminal 202. Further, it is assumed that the user terminal 202 and the Web server 203 can communicate via the network 204.

  In step S701, the imaging device 201 captures image data according to a user instruction. In step S702, the imaging apparatus 201 generates shooting information (see FIG. 4) of the captured image. In step S <b> 703, the imaging apparatus 201 receives an instruction to upload image data from a user who is a blog administrator. In S <b> 704 and S <b> 705, the imaging apparatus 201 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 205. In step S <b> 706, the imaging apparatus 201 transmits the image data, the shooting information thereof, the imaging apparatus ID, and the image data ID to the Web server 203 via the access point 205. These transmitted data are received by the image receiving unit 652 of the Web server 203.

  In step S <b> 707, the Web server 203 creates a blog entry based on the data received in step S <b> 706 and stores it in the blog content DB 207. In step S <b> 708, the Web server 203 creates a management table (see FIG. 3) based on the shooting information, the imaging device ID, and the image data ID, and stores the management table in the blog content DB 207. Thereby, the administrator and the viewer of the blog can use the user terminal 202 to browse the image of the entry on the Web page and write a comment. At this time, the image transmission unit 653 of the Web server 203 transmits display data for displaying image data to the user terminal 202 in response to a request from the user terminal 202. The user terminal 202 that has received the display data performs display by display data (in this embodiment, display of a Web page including an image).

  In step S <b> 709, the blog administrator or viewer writes a comment on the image using the user terminal 202. In S710, the user terminal 202 transmits the text data including the comment written in S709 to the Web server 203, and the text receiving unit 654 of the Web server 203 receives the text data.

  The comment can be created by the photographer or the blog administrator before uploading in S703. For example, in the case of a camera-equipped mobile phone, a comment can be input by using a key of the mobile phone. In this case, the image and the comment are transmitted together in S706.

  In step S <b> 711, the Web server 203 registers the received text data in the blog content DB 207. The text data is stored in the text data field of the management table (see FIG. 3) in the blog content DB 207. Since the management table is created for each entry, the image data registered in the entry and the management table are associated with each other and can be referred to each other.

  In step S712, the Web server 203 selects a word (keyword) associated with the image data from the text data (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 8). In step S713, the selection unit 660 of the Web server 203 stores the selected keyword in the selection keyword field of the management table via the storage unit 657. The number of keywords is not limited to one, and a plurality of keywords may be used.

  The processing from S709 to S713 can be executed a plurality of times. That is, whenever a blog administrator or viewer adds a comment to a specific image (S709), a keyword is selected (S710 to S713).

  Next, a process for acquiring a keyword by the user will be described.

  In S714 and S715, the imaging apparatus 201 establishes a wireless connection with the access point 205. In step S <b> 716, the imaging apparatus 201 makes a keyword acquisition request to the Web server 203. At this time, the imaging apparatus 201 transmits designation information for designating specific image data, such as information including the imaging apparatus ID and the image ID, to the web server 203. The designation information is a designation information receiving unit of the web server 203. 656.

  In step S717, the word transmission unit 655 of the Web server 203 searches the management table in the blog content DB 207 for a line including the received imaging device ID and information that matches the image ID. When such a line is not found, the word transmission unit 655 notifies the imaging apparatus 201 to that effect, and the imaging apparatus 201 disconnects the wireless connection. When such a line is found, the word transmission unit 655 transmits the keyword described in the selected keyword field to the transmission source of the designation information (that is, the imaging device 201). That is, the word transmission unit 655 transmits the keyword to the transmission source of the designation information in response to the designation information. At this time, the word transmission unit 655 transmits the imaging device ID and the image ID together with the keyword to the imaging device 201.

  In step S719, the imaging apparatus 201 registers the keyword received from the Web server 203 in the storage device (memory card 617 or the like) as attribute information of the corresponding image data (word storage) (details will be described later with reference to FIG. 13). ). The registered attribute information of the image can be used as a keyword for searching for an image in the imaging apparatus 201.

  Note that the designation information transmission is not limited to the imaging apparatus 201, and for example, the user terminal 202 may be used. In this case, the user terminal 202 receives a keyword (word reception).

  Further, the Web server 203 may not only transmit only the keyword, but also add the keyword to the designated image data and transmit the image data including the keyword to the imaging apparatus 201. In this way, since it is not necessary to mount the function for adding the keyword transmitted from the Web server 203 to the image data in the image capturing apparatus 201, more image capturing apparatuses 201 can handle more keywords.

<Keyword selection process>
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of the keyword selection process in S712 of FIG.

  In step S <b> 801, the extraction unit 658 of the Web server 203 performs word decomposition on the text data received by the text reception unit 654. Word decomposition is realized by using a conventional method such as morphological analysis, for example.

  In S802, the extraction unit 658 determines whether there is an unprocessed noun among the words obtained in S802. If a noun exists, the process proceeds to S803, and if it does not exist, the process proceeds to S811. Note that when a word other than a noun may be selected as a keyword, S802 may be read as "Is there an unprocessed word?"

  In step S803, the extraction unit 658 makes an inquiry to the blog content DB 207 and acquires shooting mode information held in the shooting information field of the management table. Then, depending on the shooting mode, S804a, S804b,. . . , Go to any of S804n.

  S804a, S804b,. . . In step S804n, the acquisition unit 659 selects the person information DB 206a, the landscape information DB 206b,. . . The word candidate associated with the image data is acquired from the sports information DB 206n.

  In S805, the selection unit 660 uses the noun extracted from the text data as a search key, and determines whether there is a matching word in the DB. The DB to be searched is not limited to the above database (206a, 206b, 206n). For example, when the shooting mode is the macro shooting mode, it is possible to search a macro information DB (not shown) in which names such as flowers and insects are stored. Further, for example, when the shooting mode is the night view mode, it is possible to search a night view information DB (not shown) in which the night view attractions are stored. If the search target noun is found in the DB (that is, included in the word candidate acquired by the acquisition unit 659), the process proceeds to S806. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S807.

  In S806, the selection unit 660 registers the search target noun in the selected keyword field of the management table. In addition, the adding unit 661 adds information of high importance to the noun to be registered. Note that the information added by the adding unit 661 is not limited to the importance level, and may be any information as long as it is identification information that can be distinguished from the information added in S810 described later.

  In S807 and S808, the acquisition unit 659 acquires word candidates from the date information DB 208 and the position information DB 209. In step S809, the selection unit 660 determines whether the same noun as the search target noun in step S805 is present in the date information DB 208 or the position information DB 209. If it exists, the process proceeds to S810, and if it does not exist, the process returns to S802.

  In S810, the selection unit 660 registers the search target noun in the selected keyword field of the management table. Further, the adding unit 661 adds information of low importance to the noun to be registered (other identification information may be used as in S806).

  As described above, the processing of S802 to S810 is performed for all nouns (or all words).

  Thereafter, in S811, the cancel unit 662 of the Web server 203 determines whether or not the number of registered keywords is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, in S812, the cancellation unit 662 cancels the registration of the keyword to which the information of low importance is added (that is, cancels the selection by the selection unit 660). By this processing, keywords highly relevant to the image data are selected carefully.

  Note that the acquisition unit 659 may acquire word candidates based on setting items other than the shooting mode, or may acquire word candidates based on a plurality of setting items. That is, the storage device 663 stores word candidates for each setting value of each setting item of the shooting information. Then, the acquisition unit 659 acquires, from the storage device 663, word candidates stored in association with each of one or more predetermined setting values included in the imaging information received by the image reception unit 652.

  A specific example of the keyword selection process will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a comment posted on a blog. Reference numeral 901 denotes an image area, reference numeral 902 denotes a display area for comments posted by the blog manager, and reference numeral 903 denotes a display area for comments posted by the viewer.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image area 901 is captured in the landscape mode. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image area 901 is captured in the person mode. It can be understood from FIGS. 10 and 11 that a keyword is selected according to the intention of the photographer.

<Attribute information addition processing>
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a detailed flow of attribute information addition processing in S719 of FIG.

  In step S1201, the imaging apparatus 201 compares the imaging apparatus ID written in the flash ROM 609 of the imaging apparatus 201 with the imaging apparatus ID received in step S718 in FIG. 7, and ends the process if they do not match.

  If they match, in S1202, the imaging apparatus 201 determines whether or not unprocessed image data exists in the memory card 617. If there is, in S1203, one of the unprocessed image data is imaged. Get an ID.

  In step S1204, the imaging apparatus 201 compares the image ID acquired in step S1203 with the image ID received in step S718 in FIG. If they do not match, the processing of S1202 to S1204 is repeated until there is no unprocessed image data.

  In step S1205, the imaging apparatus 201 registers the keyword received in step S718 of FIG. 7 as attribute information of the image data with the matching image ID.

  Through the above processing, irrelevant keywords are prevented from being erroneously registered as image data attribute information.

<Examples of registration and use of attribute information>
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the structure of an Exif compressed data file of a captured image. Reference numeral 1301 denotes a JPEG file recording format, in which an application marker segment (APP1) is inserted immediately after the SOI marker representing the head of the file, and Exif additional information is described in APP1. Reference numeral 1302 denotes an internal configuration of the APP1, and the APP1 includes an APP1 marker, an Exif identification code, and an attached information body. The attached information has a TIFF structure including a file header, and can record a maximum of two IFDs (0th IFD, 1st IFD). In the 0th IFD, auxiliary information regarding the compressed image (main image) is recorded. A thumbnail image can be recorded in the 1st IFD. An Exif IFD 1303 exists in order to record Exif-specific attached information in the 0th IFD. Attached information of the 0th IFD Exif IFD starts with the version information and can record user information. There is a maker note area in the user information, and the maker note operation is left to the maker, and the maker enters individual information. By registering attribute information (that is, a keyword) in this maker note portion, the imaging apparatus 201 can store image data and attribute information in association with each other in a memory card 617 serving as a storage device.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example when the imaging apparatus 201 uses a keyword to perform an image search. First, when the user selects a search menu using the menu button 505, a menu screen 1401 is displayed on the display screen 503. Menu items on the menu screen 1401 include shooting modes that can be selected by the imaging apparatus 201.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of the imaging apparatus 201 when a landscape is selected on the menu screen 1401 of FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, a new menu item 1501 is displayed. Menu item 1501 includes a keyword received by imaging apparatus 201 from Web server 203. The user can instruct start of image search by selecting a specific keyword from the menu item 1501.

  Also, the imaging apparatus 201 displays the GUI shown in FIG. 14 on the display screen 503 at the time of shooting, and the user selects a keyword that can be selected in FIG. 15 to register it as shooting attribute information of the shot image. Is also possible.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the Web server 203 selects attribute information associated with image data from text data posted for image data posted on a blog. At the time of selection, the Web server 203 acquires attribute information candidates based on shooting information (for example, shooting mode) of image data. Then, the Web server 203 selects a word included in the acquired candidate from the words extracted from the text data.

  This makes it possible to give more appropriate attribute information to the image data while suppressing an increase in the work burden on the user.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, a configuration in which comments and trackbacks by blog viewers are remarkably used will be described. That is, in the first embodiment, a comment (902 in FIG. 9) by a blog administrator (a user who transmitted image data to the Web server 203) and a comment (903 in FIG. 9) by a viewer (another user). Were treated in the same row. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, a word selected based on text data input by the administrator is distinguished from a word selected based on text data input by the viewer. Thereby, there is an advantage that a word considered to have a deeper relationship with the image data is preferentially selected as attribute information.

  Here, the track back will be described. When a blog administrator refers to a blog article and posts a comment on his / her site, it is common to create a link to the original article, but simply by linking, the administrator of the original article It is not easy to know where the link is from. The trackback has a mechanism for notifying the link source site of the information that “the link is made from such an article”, and the URL, title, and summary of the content of the link source article are transmitted. This notification mechanism is called track back Ping.

  Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a management table in the blog content DB 207. The difference from the first embodiment (see FIG. 3) is that a URL field of a trackback destination is added. The text data field is divided into a text data field by an administrator and a text data field by a viewer. The text data by the viewer includes a sentence (comment) by the viewer and a sentence of the trackback destination.

  The management table is created for each entry as in the first embodiment. When the entry receives the trackback Ping, the Web server 203 registers the data in the trackback destination URL field and the viewer text data field of the management table.

  The text receiving unit 654 (see FIG. 6B) receives, as user information, information regarding which of the administrator and the viewer has input text data.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for the Web server 203 to extract keywords from text data based on shooting information in the management table (see FIG. 16). In FIG. 17, steps that perform the same processing as in FIG. 8 are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

  The difference from the first embodiment is that S1701 to S1704 are added. Only the additional part will be described below.

  The process of S1701 is performed when a noun extracted from text data exists in the DB corresponding to the shooting mode. The adding unit 661 determines whether or not the text data to be processed is in the browser text data field. If it is in the field of the viewer text data, the process proceeds to S1702, and if not, the process proceeds to S806.

  In S1702, keyword registration processing is performed in the same manner as in S806, but the adding unit 661 adds information indicating medium importance to the noun to be registered. The information added by the adding unit 661 is not limited to the importance level, and any information may be used as long as it is identification information that can be distinguished from the information added in S806. That is, identification information for distinguishing between a word selected based on text data input by the administrator and a word selected based on text data input by another user (viewer) is added to the selected word. The

  In S1703, the cancel unit 662 determines whether or not the number of registered keywords is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (in spite of the cancel process in S812). If it is equal to or greater than the threshold value, in S1704, the cancellation unit 662 cancels the registration of the keyword to which the medium importance information is added (that is, cancels the selection by the selection unit 660).

  As a result, when the number of selected keywords is too large, selection of keywords derived from the comments of the viewer or the trackback is canceled. Usually, an administrator's comment is considered to be more related to image data than a viewer's comment or trackback. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the total number of keywords is reduced while leaving more appropriate keywords. Can do.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image area in FIG. 9 is captured in the landscape mode in the second embodiment. Information indicating medium importance is added to the word “Ginkakuji” written only in the display area 903 of the comment of the viewer.

  FIG. 19 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of processing performed between the imaging apparatus 201, the access point 205, the Web server 203, and the user terminal 202. In FIG. 19, steps in which processing similar to that in the first embodiment (see FIG. 7) is performed are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The difference from the first embodiment is only the operation in S1901.

  In step S1901, the Web server 203 transmits importance level information to the imaging apparatus 201 in addition to the selected keyword, imaging apparatus ID, and image ID. The imaging apparatus 201 stores the received importance information in the manufacturer note part of the Exif file together with the keyword.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of the imaging apparatus 201 when a landscape is selected on the menu screen 1401 of FIG. Unlike FIG. 15, the menu item 2001 displays an item “others”. When “Other” is selected, a menu item 2002 is further displayed. The menu item 2002 displays a keyword (“Ginkakuji” in the example of FIG. 20) selected based on the comment of the viewer and the trackback. Thereby, the administrator of the blog can visually distinguish the keyword based on the comment that he / she wrote and the keyword based on the comment from another person or the track back on the imaging device 201.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the Web server 203 distinguishes between a word selected based on text data input by an administrator and a word selected based on text data input by a viewer. Identification information is added to the selected word (keyword). And when reducing the total number of keywords, the selection of the keyword selected based on the text data input by the viewer is cancelled.

  Thereby, while suppressing an increase in the total number of keywords, words that are considered to have a deeper relationship with the image data are preferentially selected as attribute information.

[Other Embodiments]
In order to realize the functions of the above-described embodiments, a recording medium in which a program code of software embodying each function is recorded may be provided to the system or apparatus. The functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reading and executing the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention. As a recording medium for supplying such a program code, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or the like can be used. Alternatively, a CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, or the like can be used.

  The configuration for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is not limited to executing the program code read by the computer. Including the case where the OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. It is.

  Further, the program code read from the recording medium may be written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, the CPU of the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments may be realized by the processing. Is included.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of a general blog system. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the blog system which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the management table in a blog content database in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the imaging | photography information which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view of the back of the imaging device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the Web server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of processing performed between the imaging device, the access point, the Web server, and the user terminal in the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed flow of the keyword selection process in S712 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the comment posted on the blog. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image area in FIG. 9 is captured in landscape mode in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image region in FIG. 9 is captured in the person mode in the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed flow of the attribute information addition process in S719 of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the Exif compression data file of a picked-up image. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen display when the imaging device which concerns on 1st Embodiment uses a keyword, and performs an image search. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of the imaging apparatus when a landscape is selected on the menu screen of FIG. 14. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the management table in a blog content database in 2nd Embodiment. In a 2nd embodiment, it is a flow chart which shows an algorithm in which a Web server performs keyword extraction from text data based on photography information in a management table. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of keywords that are selected when the image data of the image region in FIG. 9 is captured in landscape mode in the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure of processes performed between an imaging device, an access point, a Web server, and a user terminal in the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of the imaging apparatus when “landscape” is selected on the menu screen of FIG. 14 in the second embodiment.

Claims (12)

Image receiving means for receiving image data captured by the imaging device and attribute information of the image data;
Text receiving means for receiving text data including words associated with the image data;
Extraction means for extracting words from the text data;
Selecting means for selecting, from the extracted words, word candidates associated with the image data based on attribute information of the image data;
Storage means for storing the selected word in a storage device in association with the image data;
Designation information receiving means for receiving designation information for designating image data;
In response to receiving the designation information by the designation information receiving means, a word transmission means for sending a word stored in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information to a transmission source of the designation information;
Images processor you comprising: a. In the storage device, word candidates associated with image data are stored in association with setting values of attribute information,
The selection unit selects a word candidate to be associated with the image data from words extracted and stored in the storage device in association with a setting value of the received attribute information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The text receiving means receives user information indicating a user of a device that has transmitted the text data;
Depending on whether or not the user indicated by the user information is the user who transmitted the image, the word selected based on the text data input by the user who transmitted the image data to the image processing apparatus, and other words The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an adding unit that adds, to the selected word, identification information that distinguishes the selected word based on text data input by a user.   The selection means selects a word selected based on text data input by a user who has transmitted the image in preference to a word selected based on text data input by another user. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3.   When the number of the selected words is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, there is further provided cancellation means for canceling the selection of the selected word based on the text data input by the other user among the selected words. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3. The attribute information, the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the image data is the image capture mode when photographing. The shooting mode, according to claim 6, characterized in that it comprises mode for shooting a person mode for shooting a scenery mode for shooting sport, at least one of mode for macro shooting An image processing apparatus according to 1. Image storage means for storing captured image data and attribute information of the image data in a storage device;
Image transmitting means for transmitting the image data and the attribute information to the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
Designation information transmitting means for transmitting designation information for designating image data to the image processing apparatus;
Word receiving means for receiving words transmitted by the word transmitting means of the image processing apparatus in response to the designation information;
Word storage means for storing the received word in the storage device in association with image data indicated by the designation information;
An imaging apparatus comprising: A control method for an image processing apparatus, comprising:
An image receiving step of receiving image data captured by the imaging device and attribute information of the image data;
A text receiving step of receiving text data including words associated with the image data;
An extraction step of extracting words from the text data;
A selection step of selecting a word candidate to be associated with the image data from the extracted word based on attribute information of the image data;
Storing the selected word in association with the image data in a storage device;
A designation information receiving step for receiving designation information for designating image data;
In response to receiving the designation information by the designation information receiving step, a word transmission step of transmitting a word stored in the storage device in association with image data indicated by the designation information to a transmission source of the designation information;
An image processing apparatus control method comprising: A method for controlling an imaging apparatus,
An image storage step of storing captured image data and attribute information of the image data in a storage device;
An image transmission step of transmitting the image data and the attribute information to the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 ;
A designation information transmission step of transmitting designation information for designating image data to the image processing apparatus;
A word receiving step of receiving a word transmitted by the word transmitting unit of the image processing apparatus in response to the designation information;
A word storage step of storing the received word in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information;
An image pickup apparatus control method comprising: Computer
Image receiving means for receiving image data picked up by the image pickup device and attribute information of the image data;
Text receiving means for receiving text data including a word associated with the image data;
Extraction means for extracting words from the text data;
Selecting means for selecting, from the extracted words, word candidates to be associated with the image data based on attribute information of the image data;
Storage means for storing the selected word in the storage device in association with the image data;
Designated information receiving means for receiving designated information for designating image data;
In response to receiving the designation information by the designation information receiving means, a word transmission means for sending a word stored in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information to a transmission source of the designation information;
Program to function as. Computer
Image storage means for storing captured image data and attribute information of the image data in a storage device;
Image transmitting means for transmitting the image data and the attribute information to the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 ,
Designation information transmitting means for transmitting designation information for designating image data to the image processing apparatus;
Word receiving means for receiving a word transmitted by the word transmitting means of the image processing apparatus in response to the designation information;
Word storage means for storing the received word in the storage device in association with the image data indicated by the designation information;
Program to function as.

Images