JP7185130B2 - Management server, mobile terminal, management server control method, mobile terminal control method, control program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a management server and the like related to a photograph management service for managing image data that is a photographed image of a subject or an edited image thereof.

In recent years, as a service for providing the user with photographed image data generated by a photo sticker creating apparatus, together with a service for providing the user with a print sticker on which a photograph is printed, the photographed image is displayed on the mobile terminal owned by the user. As a result, services for providing images to users are spreading.

Such services are made possible by accessing image providing sites. The image providing site saves an image specified by the user among the images taken by the photo sticker creating apparatus, and allows the user to view the image.

A member ID and password are required to access the image providing site as described above. However, if the site is not used for a long period of time, the user may forget the member ID and password. Therefore, Patent Literature 1 describes a photo sticker creation device (photographing and editing device) that allows a user to log in using an image taken by the photo sticker creation device.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-184731 (published on October 22, 2015)

Certainly, with the above-described conventional technology, it is possible to log in to the image providing site using the image taken by the photo sticker creating device, so even if the user forgets the member ID or password, the image can be provided without performing complicated processing. You can log in to the site.

However, the above conventional technology only allows users to log in to the image providing site. The user must separately issue an image storage instruction to enable image browsing on the image providing site.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION One aspect of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to realize a management server or the like that reduces user operations necessary for enabling image browsing on an image providing site. be.

To solve the above problems, a management server according to an aspect of the present invention receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides photography and editing services via a communication network, and manages the image data. a management server that provides a management service, an authentication unit that authenticates whether or not a user accessing the image management service is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body; Triggered by being authenticated as the member by the authentication unit, the user can use the image data associated with the user among the image data received from the shooting and editing device in the image management service. and a saving processing unit that changes the state.

According to the above configuration, when the user is authenticated as a member of the image management service, the image data associated with the user can be used by the user in the image management service without further user operation. Be changed. Hence, no further user action is required for images to be provided in the image management service. This makes it possible to reduce user operations necessary for providing images in the image management service.

For example, if an image management service provides a service that allows users to view images, the operations required for users to view images can be reduced.

Further, according to the above configuration, the user can be authenticated using information about the user's body, so the authentication can be performed more easily than authentication such as inputting an ID and a password, for example.

In the management server according to one aspect of the present invention, the information about the user's body may be information about the user's face or part of the face.

According to the above configuration, the user can be authenticated using information on the face or part of the face. Therefore, authentication can be performed in a short period of time by a very simple operation in which the user takes a picture of his/her face or a part of the face, for example, using the photographing function of the mobile terminal of the user.

In the management server according to an aspect of the present invention, the user has a plurality of member attributes, and even if the number of image data to be changed by the storage processing unit differs according to the member attributes of the user, good.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to vary the number of image data whose storage state is to be changed according to the type of member.

In the management server according to the aspect of the present invention, the membership attributes include a paid member for which the user pays and a free member for which the user does not pay, , all of the image data of the user are changed to a state that can be used by the user by the image management service, and if the user is the free member, one of the image data of the user is transferred to the image management service may be changed to a state in which it can be used by the user.

According to the above configuration, in the case of paying members, the image management service changes all of the image data into a state in which the user can use it, so it is possible to give added value to paying members.

To solve the above problems, a mobile terminal according to an aspect of the present invention receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides photography and editing services via a communication network, and provides an image management device for managing the image data. a mobile terminal that can communicate with a management server that provides a service, and an authentication unit that authenticates whether or not a user of the mobile terminal is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body; , triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member by the authentication unit, among the image data received by the management server from the shooting and editing apparatus, image data associated with the user, and an instruction unit that transmits an instruction to the management server so that the user can use the image management service.

According to the above configuration, when the user is authenticated as a member of the image management service, the image data associated with the user can be used by the user in the image management service without further user operation. Be changed. Hence, no further user action is required for images to be provided in the image management service. This makes it possible to reduce user operations necessary for providing images in the image management service.

To solve the above-described problems, a management server control method according to an aspect of the present invention receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network, and manages the image data. a control method for a management server that provides an image management service, comprising: an authentication step of authenticating whether or not an accessing user is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body; Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member in the authentication step, the image data associated with the user among the image data received from the shooting and editing apparatus is transferred to the image management service. and a saving processing step of changing to a state that can be used by the user. Thereby, there exists an effect similar to the effect mentioned above.

A mobile terminal control method according to an aspect of the present invention receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network, and provides an image management service for managing the image data. A control method for a mobile terminal capable of communicating with a server, comprising: an authentication step of authenticating whether or not a user of the mobile terminal is a member of the image management service using information relating to the body of the user; Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member in the authentication step, the image data associated with the user among the image data received by the management server from the shooting and editing apparatus is transferred to the image. and an instruction step of sending an instruction to the management server to change to a state in which the user can use the management service. Thereby, there exists an effect similar to the effect mentioned above.

The mobile terminal according to each aspect of the present invention may be realized by a computer. In this case, the mobile terminal is realized by the computer by operating the computer as each part (software element) included in the mobile terminal. A control program for a mobile terminal and a computer-readable recording medium recording it are also included in the scope of the present invention.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image can be saved for viewing without requiring an image saving operation by the user. Therefore, user operations can be reduced.

3 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a management server according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a captured image management system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example configuration of the appearance of a photo sticker creating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the appearance of the photo sticker creating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, viewed from another angle; It is a figure explaining a user's movement in 1st Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a photographing unit provided in a photo sticker creating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a background portion provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an editing unit provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a post customer service section provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of a photo sticker creating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a mobile terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing according to the first embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure which shows the example of the member database based on 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image storage determination database according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an authentication example according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an authentication example according to the first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of an authentication unit of the mobile terminal according to the second embodiment of the present invention; It is a flow chart which shows a flow of processing concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart which shows a flow of processing concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. (a) and (b) are diagrams for explaining photographing by the photo sticker creating apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in the sixth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. (a), (b) is a figure which shows the example of a screen in 5th Embodiment of this invention.

[Embodiment 1]
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16. FIG. Configurations other than those described in specific embodiments below may be omitted as necessary, but are the same as those described in other embodiments. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as members shown in each embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof are omitted as appropriate. In addition, the configuration shapes and dimensions such as length, size, and width shown in each drawing do not reflect the actual shape and dimensions, and are changed as appropriate for clarity and simplification of the drawings. is doing.

(Photographed image management system 10)
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the captured image management system 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2 , the photographed image management system 10 includes a photo sticker creating device (photographing and editing device) 1 , a mobile terminal 6 and a management server 4 .

An outline of the captured image management system 10 will be described below. The photographed image management system 10 provides users with services (image management service, photographing and editing service) for realizing user photography, image editing, printing of images as photo stickers, and saving of images to image providing sites. offer. The photo-taking, image-editing, and photo-sticker printing services are provided by the photo-sticker creating apparatus 1 installed in stores such as game arcades. The image storage service is provided by the management server 4 that manages the image providing site. The user can store his or her captured image in the image providing site by operating the portable terminal 6 owned by the user.

Prior membership registration is required to save images on the image providing site. A user registers himself or herself as a free member on the image providing site. A free member does not need to pay a membership fee, but the image providing site is limited in the number of images that can be stored. In this embodiment, a free member can save only one image per game on the image providing site.

A user can change his or her membership attribute from a free member to a paid member. Paid members can save unlimited images on the image providing site in exchange for paying a certain membership fee (cost) on an ongoing basis. In this embodiment, all the captured images generated by one photo shoot can be saved in the image providing site.

The flow from photographing to image storage in the photographed image management system 10 will be briefly described below. One or more users pay the price to the photo sticker creating device 1 and play a game related to photography and image editing. The user shoots himself/herself as a subject during the game. The user selects several images to be edited from the images generated by shooting and edits them as desired. In addition, the user inputs his or her e-mail address into the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 in order to save the image on the image providing site later.

After the game ends, the user gets a photo sticker. On the other hand, the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 associates the generated image with the input user's e-mail address, and transmits the generated image to the management server 4 . The management server 4 sends an e-mail to the received e-mail address, instructing the user to save the received image on the image providing site. The user receives this mail on his/her mobile terminal 6 . The e-mail contains instructions for saving the image on the image providing site. The user follows the procedure and performs an operation on the mobile terminal 6 to save the image. As a result, the image is saved in the user-dedicated image storage area of the image providing site.

After saving the image to the image providing site, the user can log in to the image providing site using the portable terminal 6 or other desired device and download the image.

(Configuration of photo sticker creating device)
The configuration and function of each device constituting the captured image management system 10 will be described in detail below. First, the details of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 10. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example configuration of the appearance of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 mainly includes a photographing unit 11 , an editing section 12 , and a customer service section 13 . The photo sticker creating apparatus 1 is installed in a state in which the photographing unit 11 and the editing section 12 are in contact with each other, and the editing section 12 and the customer service section 13 are in contact with each other.

(Photographing unit 11)
The imaging unit 11 includes an imaging section 21 and a background section 22 . The photographing unit 21 and the background unit 22 are installed with a predetermined distance therebetween. Shooting control is performed in a shooting space that is a space formed between the shooting section 21 and the background section 22 .

The imaging unit 21 is a device that allows a user to control imaging. The photographing unit 21 is positioned in front of the user who enters the photographing space and is performing photographing control. A front panel 41 of the photographing unit 21, which constitutes a surface facing the photographing space, is provided with a touch panel monitor and the like used by the user during photographing control. Assuming that the left side and the right side as seen from the user in the shooting space are the left side and the right side, the left side of the imaging unit 21 is configured by the side panel 42A, and the right side is configured by the side panel 42B.

The background portion 22 is attached to the left end of the rear panel 51, which is a plate-shaped member positioned on the rear side of the user who is facing the front and performing shooting control, and has a plate shape narrower than the side panel 42A. and a side panel 52B (FIG. 4) which is a plate-shaped member attached to the right end of the rear panel 51 and narrower than the side panel 42B.

A side panel 42A that constitutes the left side of the photographing section 21 and a side panel 52A of the background section 22 are provided substantially on the same plane, and their upper portions are connected by a connecting section 23A that is a plate-like member. The side panel 42B forming the right side of the photographing section 21 and the side panel 52B of the background section 22 are provided on substantially the same plane, and their upper portions are connected by a connecting section 23B which is a plate-like member.

An opening formed by being surrounded by the side panel 42A of the photographing section 21, the connecting section 23A, and the side panel 52A of the background section 22 serves as the entrance/exit G1 of the photographing space. An opening formed by being surrounded by the side panel 42B of the photographing section 21, the connecting section 23B, and the side panel 52B of the background section 22 also serves as the entrance/exit G2 of the photographing space.

A background curtain unit 25 is provided above the background section 22 so as to be supported by the rear panel 51, the side panels 52A, and the side panels 52B. The background curtain unit 25 stores a plurality of roll-up background curtains having different colors or patterns and used as a background. The background curtain unit 25 operates in conjunction with photographing by a camera or the like provided in the photographing section 21. When photographing, for example, the curtain of a color selected by the user is lowered and the other curtains are rolled up.

As the background curtain stored in the background curtain unit 25, an elevating curtain using a plurality of curtains as one chromaki curtain may be prepared. In addition, a chromaki curtain is pasted in advance on the back panel 51 that serves as the back of the shooting space, and a plurality of types of background images for synthesis are prepared. You may enable it to synthesize|combine.

An opening surrounded by the front panel 41 of the photographing section 21, the connecting sections 23A and 23B, and the background curtain unit 25 is formed above the photographing space, and the ceiling strobe unit 24 is arranged so as to partially cover the opening. be provided. One end of the ceiling strobe unit 24 is fixed to the connecting portion 23A, and the other end is fixed to the connecting portion 23B. The ceiling strobe unit 24 incorporates a stroboscope that emits light toward the inside of the photographing space in accordance with photographing. A fluorescent lamp is provided inside the strobe that constitutes the ceiling strobe unit 24, and it also functions as lighting for the photographing space.

(editing department 12)
The editing unit 12 is a device that allows a user to perform editing control, which is processing for editing an image obtained by shooting control. The editing section 12 is connected to the photographing unit 11 so that one side surface thereof contacts the rear surface of the front panel 41 of the photographing section 21 . The editing unit 12 is provided with a configuration such as a tablet built-in monitor that is used by the user during editing control.

Assuming that the configuration of the editing unit 12 shown in FIG. 3 is the configuration on the front side, the configuration used for editing control is provided on the front side and the back side of the editing unit 12 so that two sets of users can edit at the same time. be provided.

The front side of the editing unit 12 is composed of a surface 71 that is perpendicular to the floor surface and substantially parallel to the side panel 42A, and an inclined surface 72 formed above the surface 71, and is used for editing control. The configuration used is provided on ramp 72 . A support portion 73A having a columnar shape and supporting one end of the lighting device 74 is provided on the left side of the slope 72 . A support portion 75 for supporting the curtain rail 26 is provided on the upper surface of the support portion 73A. A support portion 73B (FIG. 4) that supports the other end of the lighting device 74 is also provided on the right side of the slope 72 .

A curtain rail 26 is attached above the editing section 12 . The curtain rail 26 is configured by combining three rails 26A to 26C so that the shape of the curtain rail 26 is U-shaped when viewed from above. One ends of the parallel rails 26A and 26B are fixed to the connecting portion 23A and the connecting portion 23B, respectively, and both ends of the remaining rail 26C are joined to the other end.

A curtain is attached to the curtain rail 26 so that the inside of the space in front of the front and the space in front of the back of the editing unit 12 cannot be seen from the outside. The space in front of the front and the space in front of the back of the editing section 12 surrounded by the curtains attached to the curtain rails 26 serve as an editing space in which the user performs editing control.

(Post customer service department 13)
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the appearance of the photo sticker creating apparatus as seen from another angle. The post-service section 13 is a device that performs post-service and allows the user to perform operations for the post-service. The post-service includes a process of transmitting images (including edited images) to the management server 4, a process of having the user play a mini-game, a process of having the user answer a questionnaire, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the after-sales service department 13 has a plate-shaped housing with a predetermined thickness, and is connected to the editing department 12 so that the back surface thereof contacts the left side of the editing department 12. be provided. On the front of the post-service department 13, there are provided a tablet built-in monitor used by the user when operating the post-service, and an ejection port for ejecting sticker paper on which images (including edited images) are printed. A space in front of the front of the post-service department 13 becomes a post-service space in which the user waiting for the printing on the seal paper to perform operations for the post-service.

(User movement)
The flow of the photo sticker creation game and the movement of the user accompanying it will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram explaining movement of the user.

The user of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 can take a picture formed between the photographing section 21 and the background section 22 from the entrance G1 as indicated by the white arrow #1 or from the entrance G2 as indicated by the white arrow #2. After entering the space A1, the camera and the touch panel monitor provided in the photographing unit 21 are used to perform photographing control.

It should be noted that not all the images taken by the user are images to be printed on the sticker paper, and the images are sent to the mobile terminal 6 (or are (for transmission to the management server 4). This is because the preference of the user may differ between the image to be printed and the image to be sent to the mobile terminal 6 , and the user wants to take pictures with the transmission to the mobile terminal 6 in mind when taking pictures. It is intended to meet the user's intention.

After completing the shooting control, the user exits the shooting space A1 and moves to the editing space A2-1 using the doorway G1 as indicated by the white arrow #3, or exits the doorway G2 as indicated by the white arrow #4. Use to exit the shooting space A1 and move to the editing space A2-2.

The editing space A2-1 is an editing space on the front side of the editing section 12, and the editing space A2-2 is an editing space on the back side of the editing section 12. FIG. The screen display of the touch panel monitor of the photographing unit 21 or the like guides the user as to which space, the editing space A2-1 or the editing space A2-2, the user should move to. For example, the empty space of the two editing spaces is guided as the destination. The user who has moved to the editing space A2-1 or editing space A2-2 starts editing control. The user of the editing space A2-1 and the user of the editing space A2-2 can perform editing control at the same time.

After the editing control ends, printing of selected images (including edited images) is initiated. During image printing, the user who has finished editing control moves from the editing space A2-1 to the customer service space A3 as indicated by the white arrow #5 if the user has been performing editing control in the editing space A2-1. receive the post-hospital service, and perform the operation for the post-hospital service. Further, when the user who has finished editing control is performing editing control in the editing space A2-2, as indicated by the white arrow #6, the user moves from the editing space A2-2 to the post-service space A3, and After the customer is received in the space A3, the operation for the customer after the customer is performed.

When the printing of the image is finished, the user receives the sticker paper from the outlet provided in the after-sales service section 13, and ends the series of photo sticker making games.

(Composition of each member)
Next, the configuration of each member provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 will be described.

(Photographing unit 21)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the photographing unit 21 provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. The photographing unit 21 is configured by attaching a front panel 41, a side panel 42A, and a side panel 42B to a base portion 43 having a box-like shape.

The front panel 41 is positioned in front of the user who controls photography in the photography space A1, and the side panels 42A and 42B are positioned on the left and right sides of the user who controls photography in the photography space A1, respectively. A connecting portion 23A is fixed above the side panel 42A, and a connecting portion 23B is fixed above the side panel 42B.

A photographing/display unit 81 is provided approximately in the center of the front panel 41 . The photographing/display unit 81 is composed of a camera 91 , a front strobe 92 and a touch panel monitor 93 .

The camera 91 is composed of an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor), and photographs the user in the imaging space A1. A moving image captured by the camera 91 is displayed on the touch panel monitor 93 in real time. An image captured by the camera 91 at a predetermined timing such as when the user instructs to take a picture is saved as an image (still image).

A touch panel monitor 93 provided below the camera 91 is composed of a monitor such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and a touch panel stacked thereon. The touch panel monitor 93 has a function as a live view monitor that displays moving images captured by the camera 91, a function that displays various GUI (Graphical User Interface) images, and a function that receives user selection operations via the touch panel. there is On the touch panel monitor 93, a moving image after being synthesized with an image such as a background is displayed as appropriate.

An upper strobe 82 is installed on the front panel 41 above the position of the photographing/display unit 81 . A left strobe 83 is installed on the left, and a right strobe 84 is installed on the right. A lower strobe 85 is provided below the photographing/display unit 81 so that the upper surface of the base portion 43 partially protrudes.

The upper strobe 82 irradiates the user from above and forward. The left strobe 83 illuminates the user from the front left, and the right strobe 84 illuminates the user from the front right. The lower strobe 85 illuminates the user from below and in front.

A foot strobe 86 for illuminating the user's feet is also provided on the base portion 43 . Fluorescent lights are provided inside the upper strobe 82, the left strobe 83, the right strobe 84, the lower strobe 85, and the foot strobe 86, and together with the fluorescent lights inside the strobes that constitute the ceiling strobe unit 24, shooting is possible. It is used as lighting in the space A1. As will be described later, by adjusting the amount of light emitted by each fluorescent lamp, or by adjusting the number of fluorescent lamps that emit light, the brightness in the photographing space A1 can be adjusted according to the contents of the photographing control performed by the user. adjusted accordingly.

On the right side of the foot strobe 86, a coin insertion/return opening 87 into which the user inserts money is provided.

Spaces 43A and 43B formed on the left and right sides of the upper surface of the base portion 43 with the lower strobe 85 interposed therebetween are used as luggage storage areas for the user who controls photography to place luggage and the like. For example, in the vicinity of the ceiling of the front panel 41, a speaker for outputting sounds such as guide voices for shooting control, BGM (Background Music), and sound effects is provided.

(Background part 22)
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the background section 22 provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. As described above, the background curtain unit 25 is provided above the rear panel 51 . Approximately at the center of the background curtain unit 25, a rear central strobe 101 is attached to irradiate the user who is performing photography control within the photography space A1 from the rear center.

Above the rear panel 51 and at a position on the doorway G1 side, a rear left strobe 102 is attached to irradiate the user who is performing photography control in the photography space A1 from the left rear. In addition, above the rear panel 51 and at a position on the doorway G2 side, a rear right strobe 103 is attached to irradiate the user who is performing photography control in the photography space A1 from the right rear.

(editing department 12)
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the editing unit 12 provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, a tablet built-in monitor 131 is provided approximately in the center of the slope 72 in the editing section 12 . A touch pen 132A is provided on the left side of the tablet built-in monitor 131, and a touch pen 132B is provided on the right side.

The tablet built-in monitor 131 is configured by superimposing a tablet on a monitor such as an LCD, which enables operation input using touch pens 132A and 132B. The tablet built-in monitor 131 displays, for example, an editing screen that is a screen used for editing an image selected as an image to be edited. When two people edit at the same time, the touch pen 132A is used by one user and the touch pen 132B is used by the other user.

It should be noted that the image editing performed by the editing unit 12 is not necessarily the image that is to be printed. It can also be an edit for This is because there are differences in user preferences between images to be printed and images sent to the portable terminal 6 and used on the web. This is for responding to the user's desire to perform editing that is different from editing of an image.

(Post customer service department 13)
A post-customer service section 13 is provided on the left side of the editing section 12 . FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the after-sales service section 13 provided in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

A tablet built-in monitor 161 is provided in the upper center of the after-sales service section 13 . A touch pen 162A is provided on the left side of the tablet built-in monitor 161, and a touch pen 162B is provided on the right side. Similar to the tablet built-in monitor 131, the tablet built-in monitor 161 is configured by superimposing a tablet on a monitor such as an LCD so that operation input can be performed using the touch pen 162A or 162B. The tablet built-in monitor 161 displays a screen that is used in the post-service process such as a mini-game.

A non-contact type IC reader/writer 163 is provided below the tablet built-in monitor 161 , and a seal paper discharge port 164 is provided below the non-contact type IC reader/writer 163 . A speaker 165 is provided below the seal paper outlet 164 .

The non-contact IC reader/writer 163 communicates with the adjacent non-contact IC, reads data from the non-contact IC, and writes data to the non-contact IC.

At the sticker paper discharge port 164, a sticker paper printed with an image created by editing control by the user of the editing space A2-1, or a sticker paper created by editing control by the user of the editing space A2-2. The sticker paper on which the image is printed is ejected. A printer is provided inside the editing unit 12, and the image is printed by the printer.

The speaker 165 outputs sounds such as guidance voices, background music, and sound effects at the time of subsequent service.

(Internal configuration of photo sticker creating device 1)
Next, the internal configuration of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. The same symbols are attached to the same configurations as those described above. Duplicate explanations will be omitted as appropriate.

The control unit 201 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, executes a program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 206 or a storage unit 202, and controls the overall operation of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. A storage unit 202 , a communication unit 203 , a drive 204 , a ROM 206 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 207 are connected to the control unit 201 . Also connected to the control unit 201 are the photographing unit 21 , the editing unit 12 , the after-sales service unit 13 , and the printing unit 211 .

The storage unit 202 is composed of a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk or flash memory, and stores various setting information supplied from the control unit 201 . Information stored in the storage unit 202 is appropriately read by the control unit 201 .

A communication unit 203 is an interface of a network such as the Internet, and communicates with an external device under the control of the control unit 201 .

A removable medium 205 such as an optical disk or a semiconductor memory is appropriately mounted in the drive 204 . Computer programs and data read from the removable medium 205 by the drive 204 are supplied to the control unit 201 and stored in the storage unit 202 or installed.

The ROM 206 stores programs and data executed by the control unit 201 . A RAM 207 temporarily stores data and programs processed by the control unit 201 .

The photographing unit 21 performs processing related to user's photographing control in the photographing space A1. The photographing unit 21 includes a coin processing unit 221 , a background control unit 222 , a lighting control unit 223 , a camera 91 , a touch panel monitor 93 and a speaker 224 .

The coin processing unit 221 detects insertion of coins into the coin insertion/return port 87 . When the coin processing unit 221 detects that a predetermined amount of coins such as 300 yen has been inserted, the coin processing unit 221 outputs an activation signal indicating the fact to the control unit 201 .

The background control section 222 raises and lowers the background curtain housed in the background curtain unit 25 according to the background control signal supplied from the control section 201 . Background curtain selection may be made manually by the user.

The illumination control section 223 controls the light emission of each strobe in the imaging space A1 according to the illumination control signal supplied from the control section 201 . As described above, in addition to the strobes of the ceiling strobe unit 24, the photographing space A1 includes an upper strobe 82, a left strobe 83, a right strobe 84, a lower strobe 85, a foot strobe 86, and a background portion. 22, a central strobe 101 on the back, a left strobe 102 on the back, and a right strobe 103 on the back are provided. A fluorescent lamp is also provided inside each strobe.

In addition, the illumination control unit 223 adjusts the amount of light emitted by the fluorescent lamps provided inside each strobe, or adjusts the number of fluorescent lamps to emit light, thereby adjusting the stage of the shooting control performed by the user. Accordingly, the brightness in the photographing space A1 is adjusted.

Camera 91 performs photographing according to control by control unit 201 and outputs an image (image) obtained by photographing to control unit 201 . Further, when performing user authentication, which will be described later, the camera 91 captures a part of the user's body, the user's posture (pose), or the user's movement (gesture) as a still image or a moving image. An image (authentication image) for generating such information (image authentication information) may be captured and transmitted to the control unit 201 .

The editing unit 12A performs processing related to user's editing control in the editing space A2-1. The editing unit 12A includes a tablet built-in monitor 131 provided on the front side of the editing unit 12, touch pens 132A and 132B, and a speaker 231. FIG. The editing section 12B has the same configuration as the editing section 12A, and performs processing related to user's editing control in the editing space A2-2.

The tablet built-in monitor 131 displays an edit screen under the control of the control unit 201 and detects a user's operation on the edit screen. A signal representing the content of the user's operation is supplied to the control unit 201, and the image to be edited is edited.

The post-service department 13 performs processing related to post-service in the post-service space A3. The after customer service section 13 includes a tablet built-in monitor 161 , touch pens 162 A and 162 B, a non-contact IC reader/writer 163 and a speaker 165 .

The printing unit 211 is composed of a printer 241 and a sticker paper unit 242, which are configured to perform printing control. The printer 241 prints an image or an edited image obtained by editing control by the user on sticker paper stored in a sticker paper unit 242 attached to the printer 241 and discharges it to a sticker paper outlet 164 . . The follow-up customer service section 13 and the printing section 211, which are enclosed by a dashed-dotted line, are configured to perform processing related to follow-up customer service for users in the follow-up customer service space A3.

Further, in the processing related to print control, the printing unit 211 prints the photographed image (or the edited image) on the sticker paper, and acquires the image sent to the management server 4 in the margin (edge of the sticker paper, etc.). A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and a seal ID (ID for image acquisition) may be printed. A sticker ID is an identifier for uniquely identifying one or a plurality of images (including photographed images and edited images) generated during one game by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. An identifier for retrieving the generated image. A user accesses a URL for obtaining an image and inputs a sticker ID to display a web page (image obtaining page) for obtaining an image generated during one game by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. It can be displayed on the mobile terminal 6 .

This is because, for example, when accepting an input of an e-mail address from a user in the after-sales service section 13 or the like, the correct address cannot be accepted due to timeout or erroneous input, and information such as a URL for acquiring an image is sent to the user. This is to allow the user to acquire the image by accessing the URL printed on the sticker and entering the sticker ID when the image cannot be obtained.

Note that the printing unit 211 may print, for example, a predetermined e-mail address or a QR code (registered trademark) instead of the URL as the information for acquiring the image. When a predetermined e-mail address is printed, the user can receive an e-mail containing a URL for obtaining an image from the management server 4 by sending a blank e-mail to the predetermined e-mail address. can be done. Also, when the QR code is printed on the sticker paper, the user can directly access the image acquisition page by accessing the web page indicated by the QR code using the mobile terminal 6 .

(Management server 4)
Next, details of the management server 4 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of a management server 4 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the management server 4 mainly includes a control section 401 , a storage section 402 and a communication section 403 . The control unit 401 performs integrated control of each member provided in the management server 4 . The storage unit 402 stores various data used in the management server 4 . A communication unit 403 communicates with other devices constituting the captured image management system 10 .

Note that the management server 4 may periodically transmit the member information stored in the member database 422 of the storage unit 402 to the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 . Note that the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 may periodically download the member information. In this case, it is desirable that the management server 4 and the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 communicate with each other in the morning or at night when the communication load is relatively light, and transmit and receive the member information.

(Details of control unit 401)
As shown in FIG. 1 , the control unit 401 includes a communication control unit 411 , a mail creation unit 412 , a web page creation unit 413 , an image management unit (save processing unit) 414 and an authentication unit 415 .

(Communication control unit 411)
A communication control unit 411 controls communication by the communication unit 403 .

(Mail creating unit 412)
The mail creating unit 412 creates mail to be sent to the mail address of the user who has played with the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, the mail creating unit 412 uses data stored in the mail database 421 to create an email instructing saving of an image to be sent to the email address input from the communication control unit 411. , to the communication control unit 411 .

(Web page creating unit 413)
A web page creating unit 413 creates a web page to be displayed on the mobile terminal 6 or the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 (various monitors described later). In this embodiment, the web page creating unit 413 uses data stored in the web page database 423 to create a web page in response to an access request received from the mobile terminal 6 or the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, and communicates the web page. Output to the control unit 411 . Although the details will be described later, the web page creating unit 413 creates a web page according to the membership type of the user.

In the following description, "page" means data, such as a web page, that the management server 4 transmits to a communication terminal such as the mobile terminal 6 or the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 for display. The page usually contains text data and image data, and may also contain audio data and video data.

(Image management unit 414)
The image management unit 414 manages images provided to the user through the image providing site. In this embodiment, the image management unit 414 saves the image specified by the user among the images created by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 in the image database 424 . In other words, among the image data received from the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, the image data associated with the user is changed into a state in which the user can use the image management service.

(Authentication unit 415)
The authentication unit 415 receives a request for user authentication from the portable terminal 6 when logging in to the image management service, for example, and performs user authentication. The authentication unit 415 uses the image data (photographed image for authentication, login image) transmitted from the mobile terminal 6 to determine whether or not the user is a pre-registered member, and accesses the image providing site (image management service), and saves unsaved images in the user's my page, and includes an image data acquisition unit 4151 , a feature amount extraction unit 4152 , and a matching unit 4153 . In this embodiment, the login image and the personal identification data are assumed to be the user's face image, but they are not limited to this. As will be described later, other than the user's face image may be used as the login image and personal identification data.

The image data acquisition unit 4151 acquires the image data of the photographed image for authentication photographed by the portable terminal 6 from the portable terminal 6 via the communication unit 403 and transmits the image data to the feature quantity extraction unit 4152 .

The feature amount extraction unit 4152 extracts the feature amount of the image data transmitted from the image data acquisition unit 4151 and transmits the feature amount to the matching unit 4153 .

The collation unit 4153 collates the feature amount of the image data transmitted from the feature amount extraction unit 4152 with the user's personal identification data stored in the member database 422 .
Any technique may be used for the collation method. For example, to compare. As a result of the comparison, when the reliability is equal to or higher than the threshold, it is determined that the feature amount of the transmitted image data matches the personal identification data of the user stored in the member database 422 . Then, when the feature amount and the personal identification data match, the matching unit 4153 determines that the user authentication has succeeded, and permits (logs in) access to the user's My Page of the image providing site from the portable terminal 6. At the same time, an instruction is sent to the image management unit 414 to save, to the user's my page, the photographed images that have not been saved to the user's my page among the photographed images photographed by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 . My page is a unique page for each user on the image providing site. By accessing My Page, the user can view, for example, the captured images captured by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 and saved.

On the other hand, if the feature amount and the personal identification data do not match, the matching unit 4153 notifies the portable terminal 6 that the user authentication has failed.

If user authentication fails a predetermined number of times, authentication by member ID and password may be requested. Alternatively, if multiple types of authentication are possible, an operation to switch the authentication method to another authentication method may be performed to request authentication by the other authentication method.

(Details of storage unit 402)
As shown in FIG. 1, the storage unit 402 includes a mail database 421, a member database 422, a web page database 423, an image database 424, and an image storage determination database 425. FIG.

(mail database 421)
The mail database 421 stores various data for creating mails to be sent to users.

(Member database 422)
The member database 422 stores various information (member information) on users who are members of the image providing site. FIG. 13 shows an example of the member database 422. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, in the present embodiment, the member database 422 contains personal identification data (for example, face information) that identifies a user who uses the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 and information that identifies the user (user identification information). ) are stored for each user. User identification information includes, for example, the user's member ID, email address, nickname, password, date of birth, address, member attributes, membership date, and the terminal ID of the mobile terminal owned by the user. Membership attributes include, for example, paid members and non-paying members.

(Web page database 423)
The web page database 423 stores various data for creating web pages of image providing sites displayed on the mobile terminal 6 or the photo sticker creation device 1 (various monitors described later).

(Image database 424)
The image database 424 stores, among the user's images created by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, the images instructed by the user to be stored in the image providing site. In the image database 424 , images are stored separately for each user registered as a member in the member database 422 .

Although not shown, the storage unit 402 also has a temporary storage database for temporarily storing data such as images received from the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 .

(Image storage determination database 425)
The image storage determination database 425 records whether or not the user has stored the captured image captured by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 in my page. FIG. 14 shows an example of the image storage determination database 425. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the image storage determination database 425 records member IDs, passwords, e-mail addresses, sticker IDs, photographing dates and times photographed by a sticker machine, photographed image data, and whether images are to be saved. For example, if there are three pieces of image data A1, A2, and A3 taken by the user with the member ID "001", and A1 of them is stored in my page, as shown in FIG. Information indicating that the image is saved (indicated by a circle in FIG. 14) is recorded in the "whether or not the image is saved" corresponding to A1, and the "whether or not the image is saved" corresponding to A2 and A3 that are not saved is recorded. Information (indicated by x in FIG. 14) indicating that is not saved is recorded. Note that "NULL" may be recorded when not saved, and "NULL" may be deleted when saved.

(Details of communication unit 403)
In the present embodiment, the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 and the mobile terminal 6 are communication partners of the communication unit 403 . The communication unit 403 receives data from other devices and transmits data to other devices under the control of the communication control unit 411 .

(mobile terminal 6)
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the mobile terminal 6 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in this figure, the mobile terminal 6 mainly includes a control section 601 , a storage section 602 , a communication section 603 , an input section 604 , a display section 605 and a camera section 606 . The control unit 601 performs integrated control of each member provided in the mobile terminal 6 . The storage unit 602 stores various data used in the mobile terminal 6 . The mobile terminal 6 communicates with other devices constituting the captured image management system 10 . The input unit 604 is a device such as a touch panel for the user to input information to the mobile terminal 6 . A display unit 605 is a device for displaying information, such as a liquid crystal display device. A camera unit 606 is for photographing.

(Details of control unit 601)
As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit 601 includes a communication control unit 611, an input control unit 612, and a display control unit 613.

A communication control unit 611 controls communication by the communication unit 603 . The input control section 612 controls information input in the input section 604 and the camera section 606 . For example, an image captured by the camera unit 606 is transmitted to the management server 4 via the communication unit 603 . A display control unit 613 controls information display on the display unit 605 . For example, display control unit 613 outputs a web page input from communication control unit 611 to display unit 605 so that the web page can be displayed on display unit 605 .

(Member registration process)
In the photographed image management system 10, a user who has registered as a member of the image providing site can save the photographed image on the image providing site. A user registers himself/herself as a free member or a paid member in the image providing site according to a predetermined procedure. At that time, the user's own face image can be registered as personal identification data.

(Flow from login to image saving)
Next, with reference to FIG. 12, the flow of processing from logging in to the image providing site to saving the image in my page in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing. The flow chart shown here shows a case where the user logs into the image providing site using the portable terminal 6 after playing with the photo sticker creating device 1 .

As shown in FIG. 12, first, the user captures a facial image used for login with the mobile terminal 6 (S101). The mobile terminal 6 transmits the image data of the photographed face image (photographed image for authentication) to the management server 4 together with the terminal ID for identifying the mobile terminal 6 . It should be noted that the mobile terminal 6 may extract a feature amount for authentication from the image data and transmit only the extracted feature amount information to the management server 4 . Extraction of the feature amount can be executed by an application installed in the mobile terminal 6, for example. The authentication unit 415 of the management server 4, which has received the image data and the terminal ID, refers to the member database 422 and confirms whether or not personal identification data (characteristic amount) corresponding to the terminal ID is registered ( S102). If there is no registration (NO in S102), the management server 4 causes the portable terminal 6 to display a guide requesting registration of personal identification data (S103). The guidance display prompts the user to take a picture so as to register face information and register the user's own face in the member database 422 . It should be noted that the face information can be registered from the photo sticker creating device 1, that is, the fact that the image taken by the photo sticker creating device 1 can be used for registration may be provided. This can lead to utilization of the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 .

On the other hand, if there is registration (YES in S102), the feature amount extraction unit 4152 of the authentication unit 415 extracts the feature amount from the received image data (S104). Next, the matching unit 4153 compares the feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction unit 4152 and the feature amount (personal identification data) stored in the member database 422, and determines whether or not they match. (S105, authentication step). If they do not match (NO in S105), the management server 4 causes the portable terminal 6 to display login failure (S106). On the other hand, if they match (YES in S105), the authentication unit 415 refers to the image storage determination database 425 to check whether or not the user has an unsaved image (S107). Then, if there is an unsaved image (YES in S107), the image management unit 414 stores the image in the user's My Page, ie, the image database 424 (S108, save processing step).

Then, the management server 4 transmits information indicating the top page of the image providing site to the mobile terminal 6 (S109), and the top page of the image providing site is displayed on the mobile terminal 6 (S110).

In the above description, the image is stored in the my page, but the image may be stored in the mobile terminal 6 of the user in addition to or instead of the my page. In this case, in step S109, the image data of the image is transmitted to the mobile terminal 6 in addition to the top page of the image providing site.

As described above, the management server 4 according to the present embodiment receives image data via a communication network from a photography and editing device that provides photography and editing services, and provides an image management service for managing the image data. An authentication unit 415 which is a management server and authenticates whether or not a user accessing the image management service is a member of the image management service using information related to the user's body; Triggered by being authenticated as a member, the image data associated with the user among the image data received from the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 is made available to the user in the image management service. and an image management unit 414 to change.

(Example of form of user authentication)
An example of using face authentication (comparison of face images) as a method of authenticating a user has been described above. In this embodiment, the method of authenticating a user is not limited to face authentication. For example, a part of the face may be used for authentication, or a user's movement (gesture) or the like may be used. A specific description will be given with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16. FIG. 15 and 16 are diagrams for explaining a specific example of user authentication.

FIG. 15 shows an example of registering an iris as personal identification data for authentication and performing authentication. The iris image shown in 1501 in FIG. 15 can be generated, for example, by photographing with the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 under proper lighting conditions (with the flash turned off). Then, personal identification data can be generated from the iris image obtained by photographing in this way, and can be registered in the member database 422 of the management server 4 .

After that, when performing authentication, the mobile terminal 6 takes a picture of its own iris (near the eyes) and transmits it to the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 . The photo sticker creating apparatus 1 can perform user authentication by extracting a feature amount from the received iris image and comparing it with registered personal identification data.

(a) of FIG. 16 shows an example of a form in which user authentication is performed by combining a part of the user's body (for example, face) and the user's posture (pose). The figure shows the user taking a so-called V-sign pose to capture an authentication image. In this manner, user authentication may be performed by combining authentication based on a part of the body (for example, face authentication) and authentication based on the user's posture (pose). (b) of FIG. 16 shows a movement (gesture) of the user who draws the letter Z in the air with his fingertip. In this way, user authentication may be performed in a complex manner by combining the above-described authentication based on a part of the body and the authentication based on the user's movement. Specifically, a part with a change may be extracted from the moving image at a predetermined time, and the feature of the change may be used for authentication.

Further, (c) of FIG. 16 shows an example of an authentication image including a user's image and a signature (scribbling) peculiar to the user. In the figure, as a user-specific signature, a circle is drawn, and a signature S with ", (ten)" is shown in the circle. In this manner, user authentication may be performed by combining the above-described body part authentication and user-specific signatures (graffiti) in a complex manner.

Also, the part of the face may be not only the iris, but also the eyes, nose, mouth, retina, fingerprints, or a combination thereof. Body postures, such as poses and face orientations, can also be used, as well as motions such as waving hands and looking at the camera. Furthermore, the authentication image may be a still image or a moving image (live view LV).

As described above, it is possible to increase the success rate of user authentication even if the accuracy of authentication using a part of the body is not very high by combining authentication using a part of the body with another authentication method. can.

[Embodiment 2]
Another embodiment of the present invention will now be described below with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18. FIG. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

In this embodiment, the portable terminal 6 not only captures the image of the user but also performs user authentication for login. In other words, an application related to the image management service is installed in the mobile terminal 6, and the user can log in to the image management service using the function of the application.

FIG. 17 shows the main configuration of the authentication unit 614 included in the control unit 601 of the mobile terminal 6 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, an authentication unit 614 shown in FIG. 17 is included in the control unit 601 shown in FIG. 11 described above.

17, the authentication unit 614 includes an image acquisition unit 6141, a feature amount extraction unit 6142, an authentication feature amount acquisition unit 6143, and a matching unit 6144.

The image acquisition unit 6141 acquires an image (captured image for authentication) captured via the camera unit 606 and transmits it to the feature amount extraction unit 6142 .

The feature amount extraction unit 6142 extracts the feature amount of the image transmitted from the image acquisition unit 6141 and transmits the feature amount to the matching unit 6144 .

The authentication feature amount acquisition unit 6143 acquires the authentication amount feature amount (personal identification data) corresponding to the mobile terminal 6 from the management server 4 and transmits it to the matching unit 6144 .

The collation unit 6144 collates the image feature amount transmitted from the feature amount extraction unit 6142 and the personal identification data transmitted from the authentication feature amount acquisition unit 6143 . Then, when the feature amount and the personal identification data match, the matching unit 6144 determines that the user authentication has succeeded, and permits access to the user's My Page of the image providing site from the mobile terminal 6. An instruction is sent to the management server 4 to store, in the user's my page, the captured image that has not been stored in the user's my page, among the captured images captured by the sticker creating device 1 . On the other hand, if the feature amount and the personal identification data do not match, the matching unit 6144 causes the display unit 605 to display that the user authentication has failed.

Next, the flow of processing in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in this embodiment. It should be noted that the flowchart shown here shows the case where the user logs into the image providing site using the portable terminal 6 after playing with the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, like the flowchart shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 18, first, the user captures a face image used for login with the mobile terminal 6 (S201). The feature quantity extraction unit 6142 of the mobile terminal 6 extracts the feature quantity from the image data of the photographed face image (photographed image for authentication) (S202). Next, the authentication feature quantity acquisition unit 6143 of the mobile terminal 6 requests the authentication feature quantity (personal identification data) corresponding to the mobile terminal 6 from the management server 4 (S203). The management server 4, which has received the request for the personal identification data, determines whether or not the member database 422 has the personal identification data corresponding to the requesting mobile terminal 6 (S204). Then, if there is no corresponding personal identification data (NO in S204), the mobile terminal 6 is caused to display a guide requesting registration of the personal identification data (S205). On the other hand, if there is corresponding personal identification data (YES in S204), the management server 4 transmits the personal identification data to the portable terminal 6 (S206). In the portable terminal 6 that has received the personal identification data, the matching unit 6144 determines whether or not the feature amount extracted in step S202 matches the received personal identification data (S207, authentication step). If they do not match (NO in S207), the mobile terminal 6 displays a login failure on the display unit 605 (S208). On the other hand, if they match (YES in S207), the authentication unit 614 acquires the unsaved image from the management server 4 and displays the top page of the image providing site (S209). Further, an instruction to save the unsaved image is transmitted to the management server 4 (S210, instruction step). The management server 4 that has received the instruction to save the unsaved image from the mobile terminal 6 stores the unsaved image in the user's My Page, that is, the image database 424 (S211).

As described above, the mobile terminal 6 according to the present embodiment receives image data from the photo sticker creation device 1 that provides a photo shooting and editing service via a communication network, and provides an image management service for managing the image data. A mobile terminal 6 that can communicate with a management server 4 to be provided, and authenticates whether or not the user of the mobile terminal 6 is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body, Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member by the authentication unit, the management server 4 selects the image data associated with the user from among the image data received from the photo sticker creating apparatus 1. , an authentication unit (instruction unit) 614 for transmitting an instruction to the management server 4 so as to change the image management service to a state in which the user can use the image management service.

[Embodiment 3]
Another embodiment of the invention will now be described below with reference to FIG. For convenience of description, members having the same functions as those of the members described in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

In the present embodiment, processing when a plurality of face images are included in the login image will be described. FIG. 19 shows the flow of processing in this embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing in this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 19, first, the user captures a facial image used for login with the mobile terminal 6 (S301). The mobile terminal 6 transmits the image data of the photographed face image (photographed image for authentication) to the management server 4 . At this time, a terminal ID for identifying the mobile terminal 6 may also be transmitted. The authentication unit 415 of the management server 4 that has received the image data first determines whether the number of users included in the image data is one or more (S302). If there are more than one, the authentication unit 415 determines whether or not the terminal ID specifying the mobile terminal 6 is included (S303). If the terminal ID is included, the authentication unit 415 refers to the member database 422, identifies one person from the face image included in the image data using the personal identification data corresponding to the terminal ID, and proceeds to step S305. move on. On the other hand, if the terminal ID is not included (NO in S303), the authentication unit 415 identifies one of the multiple faces according to a predetermined criterion (S304). Predetermined criteria include, for example, face size, position, orientation, and the like. If it is the size of the face, identify the one that is photographed large. If it is the position of the face, identify the one in the center of the image. . Then, the process proceeds to step S305. Moreover, when the number of persons is one in step S302 (NO in S302), the process proceeds to step S305.

Then, the authentication unit 415 refers to the member database 422 to check whether personal identification data (characteristic amount) corresponding to the specified user is registered (S305). If there is no registration (NO in S305), the management server 4 causes the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 to display a guide requesting registration of personal identification data (S306). On the other hand, if there is registration (YES in S305), the feature amount extraction unit 4152 of the authentication unit 415 extracts the feature amount from the received image data (S307). Next, the matching unit 4153 compares the feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction unit 4152 and the feature amount (personal identification data) stored in the member database 422, and determines whether or not they match. (S308). If they do not match (NO in S308), the management server 4 causes the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 to display login failure (S309). On the other hand, if they match (YES in S308), the authentication unit 415 refers to the image storage determination database 425 to check whether or not the user has an unsaved image (S310). Then, if there is an unsaved image (YES in S310), the image management unit 414 stores the image in the user's My Page, ie, the image database 424 (S311).

Then, the management server 4 transmits information indicating the top page of the image providing site to the mobile terminal 6 (S312), and the top page of the image providing site is displayed on the mobile terminal 6 (S313).

[Embodiment 4]
In this embodiment, the face image of the user photographed by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 is used as the authentication face image, that is, the personal identification data stored in the member database 422 of the management server 4 . It should be noted that the photographing of the user in the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 may be performed for registration in the member database 422, or an image taken during play with the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 may be used for registration. may Note that when shooting during play, an image before editing by the user is used.

When an image to be used as personal identification data stored in the member database 422 of the management server 4 is captured by the photo sticker creation device 1 , the photo sticker creation device 1 transmits the image to the management server 4 . At this time, the mail address of the user or the terminal ID of the mobile terminal 6 is linked and transmitted. After receiving the image, the management server 4 identifies the user using the associated email address or terminal ID, associates the image with the identified user in the member database 422, and uses the image as personal identification data. Store.

In addition, when a plurality of users are included in the image captured by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, a frame or the like may be provided so that the faces of the users do not overlap. An example is shown in FIG. (a) of FIG. 20 shows an example in which two users are included in one image, and (b) in FIG. 20 shows an example in which three users are included in one image. As shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, when one image includes a plurality of users, the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 displays frames 2001 for the number of users, and each frame 2001 displays one user. users may be guided to enter. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the user's face overlaps and the feature amount cannot be extracted from the face image.

[Embodiment 5]
By using the face image described above, it is possible to automatically sort the albums on the user's My Page. In this embodiment, this automatic sorting of albums will be described.

As described above, my page is a page on which the user can view the photographed image (or edited image) photographed by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 for each user using the portable terminal 6 or the like. The child's My Page has an album function, and the user can set a plurality of albums in the My Page, assign a name to each album, and save images.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a photographed image photographed by the photograph sticker creating apparatus 1 is transmitted to the management server 4, and when the mobile terminal 6 logs in to the image management service managed by the management server 4, the photographed image is sent to the management server 4. The face of the subject in the image is authenticated and automatically sorted into any album on the user's My Page.

A user sets three albums, "Date", "Friend A", and "Friend B", in My Page. It is assumed that an image taken with B, who is a friend, is stored in "friend B".

In this case, if the user and his lover appear in the automatically saved image, the management server 4 authenticates the lover's face from the image and automatically stores the image in the album "date". save.

Similarly, if the user and A appear in the automatically saved image, the management server 4 authenticates A's face from the image and automatically saves the image in the album "friend A". do.

Also, when the user, A, and B appear in the automatically saved image, the image may be saved in both the album "friend A" and the album "friend B." If there is no album, for example, if C appears in the image, the user may be made to select whether or not to create an album for C.

Whether or not the image is a lover, whether it is A, and whether it is B, the faces of the lover, A, and B appearing in the images stored in the respective albums are determined. It can be judged by comparing with the image.

Also, instead of automatically saving to the album in My Page, it may be possible to confirm with the user whether to save to the album and to save according to the user's selection.

In addition, when the user and A appear in the automatically saved image, the image is saved in the user's album "friend A", and the image is also saved in the album of A's My Page. You may save.

Note that if an image contains a plurality of faces, one face may be prioritized and the image may be saved in the album of the user of that face. For example, if an image contains A and B, and A takes precedence, the image may be saved in the album "friend A".

Whether or not to give priority is determined by, for example, the size of the face (priority is given to the larger image), the position of the face (priority is given to the one in the center of the image), and the direction of the face (priority is given to the one facing the camera). Alternatively, each user's membership attributes (paying members are given priority), membership lifespan (longer is given priority), number of times played with the photo sticker creation device 1 (higher number is given priority), photo sticker The determination may be made based on the play frequency in the creation device 1 (the one with the greater number of times played within a predetermined period is given priority), or may be determined by combining these. Also, in the above example, priority may be given to the opposite case. In other words, if the size of the face is small, priority may be given to the one in the image. priority may be given to the person who is not facing the camera.

As described above, the management server 4 according to the present embodiment uses the face image included in the captured image captured by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 to convert the captured image when there is a login. It is stored in the storage area of the included image.

[Embodiment 6]
Next, with reference to FIGS. 21 and 22, a configuration for preventing a user other than the user who took the picture with the photo sticker creating apparatus 1 from acquiring the captured image (hereinafter also referred to as proxy acquisition) will be described. . Originally, only members of the image management service can acquire images. However, if proxy acquisition is performed, an acquirer who is a member can acquire a photographed image of a user who is not a member and pass it to the user.

By using the face image described above for logging into the image management service, it is possible to determine whether or not the logged-in user is the same as the user appearing in the image to be acquired. This makes it possible to determine whether or not image acquisition by the logged-in user corresponds to proxy acquisition.

More details will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 21 is a flow chart showing the flow of processing for determining whether image acquisition corresponds to proxy acquisition.

As shown in FIG. 21, first, the management server 4 acquires an image (login image) used for login (S401). Next, the management server 4 determines whether or not the image to be acquired (acquisition target image) includes the login image (S402). Specifically, it is determined whether or not the face image included in the login image is included in the acquisition target image. If the acquisition target image includes the face image included in the login image (YES in S402), the management server 4 determines that it is not acquisition by proxy, and terminates the proxy acquisition determination flow.

On the other hand, when the face image included in the login image is not included in the image to be acquired (NO in S402), the management server 4 determines that the image acquisition is a substitute acquisition (S403), and performs the login. This user is registered in the proxy acquisition table (S404). The proxy acquisition table is a table in which the history of proxy acquisition is recorded, and is updated each time the proxy acquisition is performed. In the proxy acquisition table, for example, the user account of the user who performed the proxy acquisition, the number of proxy acquisitions, and the number of email addresses linked to images determined to be acquired by proxy (number of unique email addresses). A certain agent number is associated and recorded.

Then, the management server 4 performs a penalty determination (S405), notifies the mobile terminal 6 of the result, and displays it (S406). The penalty determination is to determine the penalty to be given to the user based on the number of proxy acquisitions performed by the user in the past, the period of time, and the like.

For example, if the number of substitutions in a predetermined period is 10 times or less, "no penalty", if 11 times or more and less than 20 times, "caution", and if 21 times or more, "warning" can be displayed.

FIG. 22 shows a display example of penalties. FIG. 22(a) is a display example of "caution", and FIG. 22(b) is a display example of "warning". As shown in FIG. 22, in the case of "caution", the user is alerted, and in the case of "warning", it is displayed that the image cannot be acquired. Note that "caution" may be displayed in yellow and "warning" may be displayed in red. Also, if there is no penalty, it may be displayed in green.

As described above, the management server 4 according to the present embodiment, when there is a login to acquire a captured image taken by the photo sticker creating apparatus 1, the image used for the login and the acquisition target and determining whether the acquisition is appropriate or not according to whether or not the face image included in the image used for login is included in the image to be acquired. is.

Note that if the faces included in the login image and the acquisition target image are different, the configuration may be such that login itself cannot be performed. In this case, a warning display such as "You are not in the picture! Are there others?" may be displayed.

[Embodiment 7]
Alternatively, information such as a nickname included in the member database 422 may be acquired using a face image included in the login image, and the image may be tagged with the nickname. By being tagged, the image can be used without the user having to input the tag every time the image is set to be made public on an SNS or the like.

[Example of realization by software]
The control blocks (especially the control unit 401 and the control unit 601) of the management server 4 and the mobile terminal 6 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or realized by software. You may

In the latter case, the management server 4 and the mobile terminal 6 are provided with computers that execute instructions of programs, which are software for realizing each function. This computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes it, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. In addition, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for developing the above program may be further provided. Also, the program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. Note that one aspect of the present invention can also be implemented in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified in various ways within the scope of the claims, and can be obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in different embodiments. is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

1 photo sticker creation device 4 management server 6 portable terminal 10 photographed image management system 414 image management section (storage processing section)
415, 614 authentication unit

Claims (8)

A management server that receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network and provides an image management service that manages the image data,
an authentication unit that authenticates whether or not the accessing user is a member of the image management service by using information on the user's body;
Triggered by the fact that the user is authenticated as the member by the authentication unit, the image data associated with the user among the image data received from the shooting and editing device is transferred to the image management service. and a storage processing unit that changes to a state that can be used by the user ,
The information about the user's body is information about the user's face or a part of the face,
The authentication unit selects from a face image including a plurality of faces including the user's face or a part of the face, and uses at least one of the size, position, and orientation of the face included in the face image to identify the face of the user. A management server characterized in that it performs the authentication by specifying the The user has a plurality of membership attributes,
2. The management server according to claim 1 , wherein the number of image data items to be changed by said storage processing unit differs according to the membership attribute of said user. The membership attributes include paid members for which the user pays and free members for which the user does not pay,
When the user is a paid member, the storage processing unit changes all of the user's image data into a state in which the user can use the image data by the image management service, and when the user is the free member, the user's image data 3. The management server according to claim 2 , wherein one of the image data is changed into a state that can be used by the user by the image management service. A mobile terminal that receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network and is capable of communicating with a management server that provides an image management service for managing the image data,
an authentication unit that authenticates whether or not the user of the mobile terminal is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body;
Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member by the authentication unit, the image data associated with the user among the image data received by the management server from the shooting and editing apparatus is an instruction unit that transmits an instruction to the management server to change the image management service so that the user can use the image management service ;
The information about the user's body is information about the user's face or a part of the face,
The authentication unit selects from a face image including a plurality of faces including the user's face or a part of the face, and uses at least one of the size, position, and orientation of the face included in the face image to identify the face of the user. A mobile terminal , wherein the authentication is performed by specifying the A control method for a management server that receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network and that provides an image management service for managing the image data, comprising:
an authentication step of authenticating whether or not the accessing user is a member of the image management service using information on the body of the user;
Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member in the authentication step, the image data associated with the user among the image data received from the photographing/editing apparatus is transferred to the image management service. a save processing step that changes to a state that can be used by the user ;
The information about the user's body is information about the user's face or a part of the face,
In the authentication step, from a face image including a plurality of faces including the user's face or a part of the face, at least one of the size, position, and orientation of the face included in the face image is used to identify the face of the user. A method of controlling a management server, characterized in that the authentication is performed by specifying the A control method for a mobile terminal that receives image data from a photography and editing device that provides a photography and editing service via a communication network and can communicate with a management server that provides an image management service for managing the image data, comprising:
an authentication step of authenticating whether or not the user of the mobile terminal is a member of the image management service using information about the user's body;
Triggered by the fact that the user has been authenticated as the member in the authentication step, the image data associated with the user among the image data received by the management server from the shooting and editing apparatus is an instruction step of sending an instruction to the management server to change to a state in which the image management service can be used by the user ;
The information about the user's body is information about the user's face or a part of the face,
In the authentication step, from a face image including a plurality of faces including the user's face or a part of the face, at least one of the size, position, and orientation of the face included in the face image is used to identify the face of the user. A control method for a mobile terminal, characterized in that the authentication is performed by specifying the 5. A control program for causing a computer to function as the portable terminal according to claim 4 , the control program for causing the computer to function as the authentication section and the instruction section. A computer-readable recording medium recording the control program according to claim 7 .

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