JP4703325B2 - Automatic photography equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic photography apparatus that provides a user with photographic images photographed by photographing means in the form of printed matter, and more particularly to an automatic photography apparatus that executes a plurality of sessions with a limited time limit during one game. About.

  In the automatic photo shooting device, a plurality of sessions are executed in one game, such as a shooting session in which a user takes a photo, an editing session in which editing input for a shot photo image is received, and a layout session in which a layout of a photo print is specified. However, since it is necessary to keep the rotation rate at a certain level or higher, each session as described above is executed within a predetermined time limit so that it takes from the start to the end of one game. In many cases, there is an upper limit on the operating time.

  In addition, since the number of visits by users varies depending on individual stores, days of the week, etc., some automatic photography apparatuses can change the operating time of one game on the store side. Therefore, in busy stores and busy days, shorten the operating time to increase the turnover rate of the device, and if you can not expect many stores, increase the operating time to increase user satisfaction. It is possible to make adjustments such as attracting revisited stores.

  Conventionally, such adjustment of the operation time has been performed by either extending or shortening the time limit of each session equally or by setting the time limit individually for each session.

However, with the former method, even if the entire operation time is shortened, it is not possible to make detailed settings according to the needs of each store, such as not wanting to make the editing session too short. In the latter method, it takes time to set the operation time, so that it is not easy to change the operation time every day or in a store where many automatic photography apparatuses are installed.
JP 2002-330371 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to individually set the time limit of a plurality of sessions so that the requests for each store can be finely handled, and at the same time, it is possible to easily perform this setting work. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic photographing apparatus.

  In addition, the present invention provides an automatic photography apparatus that improves the convenience of setting work by making it possible to set in advance the time limit of each session for a plurality of business days. For that purpose.

  In addition, the present invention repeats for each predetermined number of days according to the settings for a predetermined number of days registered in advance, and automatically sets the time limit for each session, thereby eliminating the need for daily setting work. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an automatic photography apparatus that can.

The present invention
An automatic photography apparatus in which a plurality of sessions each having a specified time limit are executed during one game,
A setting set recording means capable of recording a plurality of setting sets that are combinations of the time limits of the sessions;
Time limit setting means for accepting designation of the time limit of each session for each setting set,
Each of the sessions is executed according to any one setting set selected from the plurality of setting sets.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to further include a daily setting recording means for recording designation of the setting set for each day.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the daily setting recording unit records designation of the setting set for each day of the week.

  The plurality of sessions in each of the inventions preferably include an editing session for accepting editing on a photographic image and / or a layout session for setting a print layout of the photographic image.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the time limit can be individually specified for each session as the setting set, it is possible to set detailed operating conditions according to the request of each store. In addition, since the operating condition can be changed by selecting any setting set from a plurality of setting sets, the operating condition can be easily set in a short time.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the daily operating conditions can be set in advance in the daily setting recording means, and the troublesomeness of setting the operating conditions every day can be eliminated.

  According to the invention of claim 3, by setting the operating conditions for each day of the week in advance, the setting of the operating conditions for each day is automatically repeated every week thereafter. This eliminates the need to set operating conditions on a daily or regular basis. Further, in the invention of claim 3, the device operates according to the setting set in which the operation time is set to be short on the day of the week when busy is expected, and the setting is set to have a long operation time on the day of the week on which the number of visitors is considered to decrease. The device can be rationally operated, for example, by making the device operate according to the set.

  In the invention of claim 4, the editing session and / or the layout session which is a session that occupies a large part of the operating time of the apparatus or a session that is considered to have a high degree of influence on the satisfaction of the user due to the length of the time limit. The time limit can be set individually.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of the internal structure of an automatic photography apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a housing 10 provided in the automatic photography apparatus 1.

  As shown in the figure, the automatic photographing apparatus 1 is composed of a housing 10 and a photographing booth 20. On the front of the housing 10, a CCD camera 11 for taking a photographic image of a user is used. A lighting device 13 for irradiating the photographing booth 20 with illumination light from a touch panel monitor 12, a flashlight 13a, and the like for receiving various operation inputs from a person and displaying a photographic image photographed by the CCD camera 11. There are provided a speaker 14 for outputting sound effects, a coin insertion slot 15 for accepting a usage fee of the apparatus, a photo discharge slot 16 for discharging a photo print, and the like.

  Further, a door 17 with a key for maintenance management and the like is attached below the housing 10, and the operating condition of the automatic photographing apparatus 1 is set by opening the door 17 and operating the management button 18. Various management operations can be performed.

  The housing 10 incorporates a personal computer 30 for controlling the operation of the apparatus 1 and a printer 41 (see FIG. 3) for printing photographic images.

  The photography booth 20 is a space for accommodating users who take photographs, and a chair 21 on which a user can sit at the time of photography is installed behind the photography booth 20.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a system configuration of the automatic photography apparatus 1.

  The personal computer 30 includes a CPU 32, a ROM 33, a RAM 34, and an interface (I / F) 35 that are connected to each other via a bus 31, and the interface 35 has an external recording for reading a hard disk 36, a DVD-ROM, and the like. A media drive 37 is connected.

  The hard disk 36 includes a program recording area 36a in which a game program for causing the automatic photography apparatus 1 to execute a gaming operation, a management program for accepting settings such as operating conditions of the automatic photography apparatus 1, and the like are being recorded. Game information recording area 36b for recording video and audio data to be output to the game, various image data used for editing, etc., and management information recording area 36c for recording management information such as setting set data and weekly reservation data Etc. are provided.

  The setting set data defines time limits for each of the character selection session, the photo selection session, the editing session, and the layout session, which are sessions executed by the automatic photography apparatus 1, and in this embodiment, Two sets of setting set data (data of “setting set 1” and “setting set 2”) are recorded. The weekly reservation data is data that specifies which of the above two setting sets is valid for each day of the week from Monday to Sunday.

  The ROM 33 stores a basic program for controlling the personal computer.

  The RAM 34 temporarily records work data such as an image to be edited and contents of editing input by the user.

  The interface 35 includes a CCD camera 11, a touch panel monitor 12, an illumination control device 38 for controlling the illumination device 13, an acoustic control device 39 connected to the speaker 14, and a usage fee inserted into the coin insertion slot 15. An external device such as a coin processing unit 40 and a printer 41 for printing a photographic image are connected to each other, and a predetermined signal is exchanged between the CPU 32 and each of these devices.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process executed in setting the operation time of the automatic photography apparatus 1.

  When an operator (such as a store manager) opens the door 17 and operates the management button 18, the management program in the program recording area 36a is activated and a management menu is displayed on the touch panel monitor 12 (step 1).

  In the management menu, a plurality of icons for setting various operating conditions of the automatic photography apparatus 1 are displayed. When an icon assigned to the operating time setting is selected from the icons, Then, the setting set data is read from the management information recording area 36c (step 2), and the operation time setting screen 50 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the touch panel monitor 12 (step 3).

  As shown in the figure, the operating time setting screen 50 displays four time limit designation areas 51 to 54, a setting set selection button 55, a weekly reservation button 56, a save button 57, and a return button 58.

  The time limit specification areas 51 to 54 correspond to a character selection session, a photo selection session, an editing session, and a layout session, which are sessions executed by the automatic photography apparatus 1, and each of these areas includes a time display unit. 51a-54a and setting gauges 51b-54b are arranged.

  The time display sections 51a to 54a display the time limit of each session for “setting set 1” or “setting set 2” as a digital value, and “setting set 1” read in step 2 in the initial state. Data about is displayed.

  The setting gauges 51b to 54b include markers 51c to 54c and left and right arrow marks 51d to 54d and 51e to 54e. Depending on the positions of the markers 51c to 54c on the setting gauges 51b to 54b, the time display parts 51a to 54a are displayed. The displayed time limit is displayed so that it can be easily understood visually, and by touching the arrow marks 51d to 54d and 51e to 54e, the markers 51c to 54c can be moved left and right to change the time limit of each session. It has become.

  The setting set selection button 55 is used to select a setting set for which the time limit is to be set. Every time the setting set selection button 55 is touched, the display of the button 55 changes from “setting set 1” to “setting set”. 2 ”→“ setting set 1 ”, and accordingly, the data displayed in the time limit designation areas 51 to 54 is also switched to the data for the changed setting set.

  Therefore, the data about the setting set selected by the setting set selection button 55 can be changed by the above operation in each time limit designation area 51 to 54.

  The save button 57 is for saving the set time limit. When the save button 57 is touched, the time limit of each session set at that time is recorded in the management information recording area 36c as set set data. . The return button 58 is for ending the time limit setting operation. When the return button 58 is touched, the process returns to step 1 and the display on the touch panel monitor 12 is switched to the management menu.

  When the weekly reservation button 56 is touched on the operating time setting screen 50, reading of weekly reservation data from the management information recording area 36c is executed (step 4), and the weekly reservation screen shown in FIG. 60 is displayed (step 5).

  As shown in the figure, on the weekly reservation screen 60, two time limit display portions 61a and 61b, a day of week table 62, a time limit setting button 63, a save button 64 and a return button 65 are displayed.

  Of these, the day-of-week table 62 is an option for displaying Monday-Sunday day-of-week display column 62a and setting set options ("setting set 1" and "setting set 2") provided corresponding to each day-of-week column 62a. A column 62b is provided.

  In the option column 62b, the character notation indicating the enabled setting set is highlighted, and is displayed according to the weekly reservation data read in step 4 in the initial state. In the illustrated state, “setting set 1” is valid from Monday to Friday, and “setting set 2” is valid on Saturday and Sunday.

  Further, in this day of the week table 62, by touching one of the options in each option column 62b, the setting set of the option can be effectively switched, and the desired option is touched for each day of the week. By doing so, it is possible to designate which of “setting set 1” and “setting set 2” is valid on each day of the week.

  In the time limit display units 61a and 61b, the time limit of each session and the total operation time for “setting set 1” and “setting set 2” are displayed, respectively. Therefore, the setting set for each day of the week can be selected while looking at the time limit display unit 61.

  The save button 64 is used to save the setting designated in the day table 62. When the save button 57 is touched, data specifying which setting set is valid for each day is managed as weekly reservation data. It is recorded in the recording area 36c.

  The time limit setting button 63 and the return button 65 are buttons for ending designation of day setting data. When these buttons are touched, the processing returns to step 3 or 1 respectively, and the display on the touch panel monitor 12 is The operation time setting screen 50 or the management menu can be switched.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation during operation of the automatic photography apparatus 1.

  When the automatic photographing apparatus 1 is turned on, the CPU 32 is activated, specifies the day of the current day based on the built-in timer (step 11), and about that day of the week based on the weekly reservation data in the management information recording area 36c. A valid setting set is identified (step 12).

  Subsequently, setting set data for the specified setting set is read from the management information recording area 36c (step 13), and the time limit of each session is set according to this (step 14).

  Thereafter, the automatic photographing apparatus 1 enters a standby state for charging a usage fee (step 15).

  When the coin processing unit 41 transmits a signal that detects the insertion of the prescribed fee, the CPU 32 activates the game program, and sequentially selects a character selection session (step 16), a shooting session (step 17), and a photo selection session (step). 18) The editing session (step 19) and the layout session (step 20) are executed.

  That is, in step 16, a plurality of character options such as “Mermaid” and “Snow White” are displayed as options on the touch panel monitor 12, and the user selects a desired character option by touching one of the options. can do. The time during which the character option can be selected is within the time limit for the character selection session set in step 14, and the process proceeds to step 17 as the time limit elapses. Note that if the time limit elapses without the user selecting a character option, one of the predetermined character options is automatically selected.

  In the subsequent step 17, a plurality of times of photography with the CCD camera 11 are repeatedly executed. In the shooting session, an image of the selected character is displayed on the touch panel monitor 12, or the sound of the character is output from the speaker 14, and a photograph is taken while executing an effect according to the selected character option. proceed.

  In the subsequent step 18, a plurality of photographic images taken in step 17 are displayed on the touch panel monitor 12, and the user can select a predetermined number of photographic images to be printed by touching them. . The time during which the user can select a photographic image is within the time limit for the photo selection session set in step 14, and the process automatically proceeds to step 19 as the time limit elapses. If this time limit elapses without the user selecting a predetermined number of photographic images, one of the predetermined photographic images (for example, the first, third, fifth, seventh photographed images, etc.) ) Is automatically selected.

  In the following step 19, the photographic image selected in step 18 and a plurality of icons assigned with various functions for editing input are displayed on the touch panel monitor 12, and the user uses these icons to display the photographic image. Can be edited. The time during which the user can edit the photographic image is within the time limit for the editing session set in step 14, and when the time limit has elapsed, the process automatically proceeds to step 20.

  In the following step 20, layout setting is accepted. That is, the photographic image taken in step 18 or the photographic image edited in step 19 and the recommended layout prepared in advance are displayed on the touch panel monitor 12, and the user operates the touch panel monitor 12. Accordingly, the photographic image and layout to be printed are determined. The time during which the user can perform layout setting is within the time limit for the layout session set in step 14, and the process proceeds to step 21 as the time limit elapses. If this time limit elapses without completing the layout setting, one of the predetermined photographic images and layout is automatically selected.

  The photographic image and layout data selected and edited in steps 18 to 20 are transmitted to the printer 41 to print the photographic print, and the photographic print is delivered to the user from the photo discharge port 16 (step 21). .

  As described above, the game process of one game by the automatic photography apparatus 1 is completed, and the process returns to Step 11 to execute the game process for the next user.

Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited by this embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. For example, the above-described embodiment In the above description, the setting set recording unit records two types of setting sets. However, the setting set recording unit may be configured to record an arbitrary number of setting sets of three or more.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the daily setting recording unit records the designation of the setting set for each day of the week has been described. However, the daily setting recording unit records the designation of the setting set for each day for one month. Alternatively, the designation of the setting set for each day may be recorded by specifying the date.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the setting of the time limit for the four sessions of the character selection session, the photo selection session, the editing session, and the layout session is performed according to the setting set recorded in the setting set recording unit has been described. How to divide sessions in one play or how to select a session for which a time limit is set according to a setting set is arbitrary. An automatic photography apparatus in which the setting of the session time limit is performed according to any setting set selected from a plurality of setting sets is included in the scope of the present invention.

Explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the automatic photography apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The front view of the housing | casing with which the automatic photography apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention is provided. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing which shows the system configuration | structure of the automatic photography apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows the process performed in the setting of the working time of the automatic photography apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows an operation time setting screen. Explanatory drawing which shows a weekly reservation screen. The flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of the operation | movement of the automatic photography apparatus concerning one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Automatic photography apparatus 10 Housing | casing 11 CCD camera 12 Touchscreen monitor 13 Illumination device 14 Speaker 15 Coin insertion slot 16 Photo discharge slot 17 Door 18 Management button 20 Shooting booth 21 Chair 30 Personal computer 31 Bus 32 CPU
33 ROM
35 Interface 36 Hard disk 37 External recording medium drive 38 Illumination control device 39 Sound control device 40 Coin processing unit 41 Printer 50 Operating time setting screen 60 Weekly reservation screen

Claims (4)

An automatic photography apparatus in which a plurality of sessions each having a specified time limit are executed during one game,
A setting set recording means capable of recording a plurality of setting sets that are combinations of the time limits of the sessions;
Time limit setting means for accepting designation of the time limit of each session for each setting set,
The time limit setting means further includes an input switching means for receiving an input of the time limit of each session for each setting set,
The input switching means is configured to combine display of the setting set and switching to another setting set,
The recorded each session was an automatic photographing apparatus characterized by being executed in accordance with any one of the settings set selected from the plurality of configuration sets.   2. The automatic photographing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a daily setting recording unit for recording designation of the setting set for each day.   3. The automatic photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the daily setting recording unit records the setting set designation for each day of the week.   The automatic processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of sessions include an editing session for accepting editing of a photographic image and / or a layout session for setting a print layout of the photographic image. Photography device.

Images