JPH11112844A - Image processor, image processing method and computer readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display only desired video images among the video images photographed by a camera with high image quality. SOLUTION: After an initialization processing (S21), input from the camera is waited for (S22) and when photographed video signals and a camera parameter at the time of the photographing, an object distance for instance, are inputted from the camera, whether or not the object distance is larger than a prescribed threshold value is checked (S23). In the case that it is larger, it is judged as an unrequired video image such as the background or the like and the frame rate of the video image for instance as a moving image parameter is set low (S25). In the other case, it is judged as the desired image such as a photographed person or the like and the frame rate is set high (S24). Then, the thinning processing of the video signals is performed (S26) corresponding to the set frame rate and the processed video signals are displayed together with the object distance. Thus, only the desired video images are displayed with the high image quality, and in the case of the unrequired video images, image quality is lowered and a data amount is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and an image processing method suitable for use in a video display device or the like which captures video signals and parameters from an imaging means such as a video camera and outputs or displays the video signals and parameters on a network. The present invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some conventional video display devices can capture not only video captured by a camera but also camera parameters (photographing parameters) at the time of photography. The camera parameters include a pan / tilt angle and a zoom magnification of the camera at the time of shooting, a distance to a subject, and parameters related to exposure. As a method of measuring the distance to the subject,
A method of obtaining from the focal length adjusted by humans, a method of obtaining from the time until the ultrasonic wave emitted from the camera is reflected back to the subject, a method of shooting multiple images while changing the position of the focus lens, There is a method of obtaining from the lens position at the time of matching. Also, depending on the video display device, the value of the camera parameter to be handled can be extracted.

[0003]

In a video display apparatus, moving image parameters such as a frame rate and a compression ratio of a video, a compression method of video data, and the like are dynamically determined, and a video desired by a user is converted to a video other than the video. Sometimes you want to display with higher image quality. For example, if the video is desired by the user, the compression rate may be lowered to display a fine image, or the frame rate may be raised to display a smooth motion. In this manner, the image desired by the user can be displayed with high image quality to satisfy the user, while the image unnecessary for the user is reduced in image quality to reduce the data amount, and the load on the network and the image display device are reduced. And the amount of data required to store the entire video can be reduced.

[0004] In some cases, it can be determined from a camera parameter value whether or not an image is desired by a user. For example, T
In a system for transmitting a moving image captured to a network such as a V-phone, the distance to the subject is short when the camera is shooting a person, and the distance to the subject is long when the camera is shooting a background. It is desirable that the image display device used for such a purpose be such that if the distance to the subject is short, it is determined that the image is desired by the user, and the moving image parameters are changed to display a high quality image.

[0005] However, in order to realize the above-described function using the conventional video display device, the user has to perform an operation of viewing the camera parameter value and selecting an appropriate moving image parameter each time. In such a method, since the user must constantly monitor the camera parameters, there is a problem that the user is troublesome and cannot be applied to a purpose such as an unmanned monitoring device. In addition, since a person selects a moving image parameter, there is also a problem that it is difficult to immediately change a moving image parameter when a camera parameter value changes like a computer.

Accordingly, in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention has a mechanism for associating an imaging parameter value with a moving image parameter value, and processes an image based on a parameter value set by the user with a moving image parameter value desired by the user. It is intended to be able to display.

[0007]

In an image processing apparatus according to the present invention, a generating means for capturing a target image and generating an image signal and an imaging parameter at the time of image capturing, and the image capturing generated by the generating means are provided. There are provided setting means for setting moving image parameters according to the parameters, and output means for outputting an image signal to the network according to the moving image parameters set by the setting means.

In the image processing method according to the present invention, a generating step of capturing a target image and generating an image signal and an imaging parameter at the time of capturing, a moving image parameter in accordance with the imaging parameter generated in the generating step And an output step of outputting an image signal to the network according to the moving image parameters set in the setting step.

In the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, a capturing means for capturing a video signal captured by the capturing means and a capturing parameter value at the time of capturing, a moving image parameter corresponding to the capturing parameter value captured by the capturing means. There are provided setting means for setting a value, and processing means for processing the video signal using the moving image parameter value set by the setting means.

In the image processing method according to the present invention, a capturing step of capturing a video signal captured by an image capturing means and a capturing parameter value at the time of capturing, and a moving image parameter corresponding to the capturing parameter value captured in the capturing step. A setting step of setting a value and a processing step of processing the video signal using the moving image parameter value set by the setting step are provided.

A computer-readable storage medium according to the present invention stores a program for executing each step of the image processing method.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, first to third embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment will be described. The present embodiment relates to a video display device that captures an image captured by a camera and a camera parameter and displays the captured parameter to a user. In the video display device, a distance to a subject as a camera parameter captured by a capturing unit (eg, a pulse value of a drive motor of a focus lens). And a threshold value input by the user through the input unit, and the moving image parameter setting unit compares the threshold value. When the distance to the subject exceeds the threshold value, the video is displayed at a reduced frame rate as the moving image parameter.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the present embodiment, and shows a camera 11 such as a video camera and a video display device 12 as a video processing device. Video display device 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes an image capturing device 121 for capturing an image captured by the camera 11,
From a camera parameter capturing device 122, a display device 123 for displaying captured video and camera parameters, and a setting unit and a processing unit for setting moving image parameters from camera parameters. 124, a main storage device 125, a secondary storage device 126 as a storage medium according to the present invention for storing a control program according to a flowchart described later, an input device 127 for receiving an input from a user to determine a threshold value, It consists of a system bus 128 connecting the elements. Note that a semiconductor memory, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a magnetic medium, or the like may be used as the secondary storage device 126.

Next, the operation of the video display device 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S21,
Initialization such as a user inputting a threshold value from the input device 127 is performed. Next, the process proceeds to step S22, and enters a state of waiting for input of an image and camera parameters from the camera 11.
When the video and camera parameters are input from the video capturing device 121 and the camera parameter capturing device 122, the process proceeds to step S23, where the distance to the subject, which is one of the camera parameters, is compared with a preset threshold. If it is equal to or less than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S24, and the frame rate is set to a high value. On the other hand, if it is equal to or larger than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S25 to set the frame rate to a low value.

Next, proceeding to step S26,
At step S24 or S5, a frame thinning process is performed according to the currently set frame rate. Then, the process proceeds to step S27, where the display device 123 displays the video and the camera parameters. A control program for performing these controls is recorded in the secondary storage device 126, and is loaded into the main storage device 125 at the time of execution.
24.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, in a video display device that captures an image captured by a camera and camera parameters and displays the captured parameters to a user, a distance to a subject captured by a capture unit and a threshold value input by the user by an input unit are set as moving image parameters. When the distance to the subject exceeds the threshold value, the image is displayed and recorded at a reduced frame rate.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the present embodiment.
The video display device 32 in the present embodiment is obtained by adding a recording device 329 for recording the video captured from the camera 11 to the video display device 12 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the video display device 32,
Step S48 of recording the video and camera parameters in the recording device 329 after step S27 in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is added.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
The present embodiment is a video display device including a server device that captures and delivers video and camera parameters captured by a camera, and a client device that displays video data delivered from the server device to a user, The distance to the subject captured by the capturing means is compared with the threshold value input by the user by the input means by the video parameter setting means, and when the distance to the subject exceeds the threshold value, the frame rate is reduced and the video is delivered. To display.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the present embodiment.
A camera 41, a video display device including a server device 42 and a client device 43, and a network 44 are shown. The server device 42 includes a video capturing device 421 for capturing video data captured by the camera 41, a camera parameter capturing device 422 for capturing camera parameters at the time of capturing, a network interface 423 for delivering the captured video and camera parameters to the network 44, CPU 424 including a moving image parameter determining means for controlling each component and determining moving image parameters from camera parameters, a main storage device 425, a secondary storage device 426 for storing a control program, and an input from a user for determining a threshold value It comprises an input device 427 for receiving a request and a system bus 428 for connecting the above-mentioned components.

On the other hand, the client device 43 includes a network interface 431 for receiving video data and camera parameters delivered from the server device, and a display device 43 for displaying the received video and camera parameters.
2. CPU 433 and main storage 434 for controlling the above components, secondary storage 435 for storing a control program, system bus 43 for connecting the above components
7 is comprised.

Next, the operation of the server 42 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S61, initialization such as the user inputting a threshold from the input device 427 is performed. Next, the process proceeds to step S62, and enters a state of waiting for input of a video and camera parameters from the camera 41. When the video and camera parameters are input from the video capturing device 421 and the camera parameter capturing device 422, the process proceeds to step S63, where the distance to the subject, which is one of the camera parameters, is compared with a preset threshold. If it is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S64 to set the frame rate to a high value. On the other hand, if it is equal to or larger than the threshold, the process proceeds to step S65, and the frame rate is set to a low value.

Next, proceeding to step S66,
The thinning processing of the frame is performed in accordance with the frame rate currently set by S64 or S65. Then, the process proceeds to a step S67, wherein the network interface 42
At 3, the video and camera parameters are delivered.
A control program for performing these controls is stored in the secondary storage device 42.
6 is loaded into the main storage device 425 at the time of execution, and is executed by the CPU 424.

In each of the first to third embodiments, the user inputs the threshold value in the initialization processing.
The user may be allowed to input a new threshold while watching the video. Further, in each embodiment, only the frame rate among the moving image parameters of the video is changed, but other moving image parameters such as the image size, the number of colors, the compression ratio, and the compression method may be changed. .

In each embodiment, only the distance to the subject among the camera parameters is used, and it is determined whether or not the distance to the subject is equal to or greater than a certain threshold to determine the moving image parameter. Other camera parameters such as tilt angle, zoom magnification, and exposure-related parameters (such as shutter speed, aperture, and gain of CCD output) may be used. Furthermore, a more continuous relationship may be provided between the camera parameters and the moving image parameters.

Further, in the third embodiment, only the server device 42 has the input device 427 as the input means, but only the client device 43 has the input device, or the server device 42 and the client device 43 May have input means. The network in the third embodiment may be wireless or wired. According to this embodiment, there is an effect that the load on the network, in other words, the amount of moving image data on the network can be reduced without significantly affecting the image quality.

[0026]

According to the present invention, by processing a video signal with a moving image parameter corresponding to an imaging parameter value captured together with the video signal, the quality of the video signal can be changed according to the imaging parameter at the time of shooting. Thus, the load on the network or the load on the display device can be reduced. Thus, for example, when the video display device is used in a TV phone system, when the camera is capturing a person, that is, when the distance to the subject is short, the image quality is improved by increasing the frame rate or decreasing the compression ratio. When an image is displayed and the camera does not show a person, or when the distance to the clogged subject is long, the image quality can be reduced to reduce the amount of video data, and the load on the video display device can be reduced.

Further, by inputting the threshold value of the imaging parameter, it is possible to obtain the image quality desired by the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a video display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a video display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a video display device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 41 Camera 12, 32 Video display device 121, 421 Video capture device (capture means) 122, 422 Camera parameter capture device (capture means) 123, 432 Display device (display means) 124, 424, 433 CPU (setting means, Processing means) 125, 425, 434 Main storage device (setting means) 126, 426, 435 Secondary storage device (storage medium) 127, 427 Input device 329 Recording device

Claims (30)

[Claims] A generating unit configured to capture a target image and generate an image signal and an imaging parameter at the time of imaging; a setting unit configured to set a moving image parameter according to the imaging parameter generated by the generating unit; An output unit configured to output an image signal according to the moving image parameter set by the setting unit to a network. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting unit compares the value of the generated imaging parameter with a predetermined threshold, and sets a moving image parameter according to the comparison result. . 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an input unit for inputting the threshold value. 4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying an image corresponding to an image signal output from said output means to a network. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the value of the imaging parameter is at least one of a distance to a subject of an imaging unit, a pan / tilt angle, a zoom magnification, an exposure-related parameter, and the like. Image processing device. 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the value of the moving image parameter is at least one of a frame rate, an image size, the number of colors, a compression ratio, a compression method, and the like of the image signal. Image processing device. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising recording means for recording an image signal corresponding to the image signal generated by said generating means on a recording medium. 8. A generating step of capturing a target image and generating an image signal and an imaging parameter at the time of capturing, a setting step of setting a moving image parameter according to the imaging parameter generated in the generating step, Outputting an image signal according to the moving image parameters set in the setting step to a network. 9. The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein the setting step compares the value of the generated imaging parameter with a predetermined threshold value and sets a moving image parameter according to the comparison result. . 10. The image processing method according to claim 9, further comprising an input step of inputting the threshold value. 11. The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein said output step includes a display step of displaying an image corresponding to an image signal output to a network. 12. The value of the imaging parameter includes a distance to a subject of an imaging unit, a pan / tilt angle, a zoom magnification,
9. The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein the value is at least one of an exposure-related parameter and the like. 13. The method according to claim 8, wherein the value of the moving image parameter is at least one of a frame rate, an image size, the number of colors, a compression ratio, a compression method, and the like of the image signal. Image processing method. 14. The image processing method according to claim 8, further comprising a recording step of recording an image signal according to the image signal generated by said generating step on a recording medium. 15. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing each step constituting the image processing method according to claim 8. 16. A capturing means for capturing a video signal captured by the capturing means and a capturing parameter value at the time of capturing, and a setting means for setting a moving image parameter value according to the capturing parameter value captured by the capturing means. A processing unit for processing the video signal using the moving image parameter value set by the setting unit. 17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the setting unit compares the captured imaging parameter value with a predetermined threshold value and sets a moving image parameter value according to the comparison result. . 18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising input means for inputting said threshold value. 19. An image processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising display means for displaying a video signal processed by said processing means. 20. The imaging apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the imaging parameter value is at least one of a distance of the imaging unit to a subject, a pan / tilt angle, a zoom magnification, an exposure-related parameter, and the like. Image processing device. 21. The image according to claim 16, wherein the moving image parameter value is at least one of a frame rate, an image size, the number of colors, a compression ratio, a compression method, and the like of the video signal. Processing equipment. 22. The image processing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising recording means for recording the video signal processed by said processing means on a recording medium. 23. A capturing step of capturing a video signal captured by an image capturing means and a capturing parameter value at the time of capturing, a setting step of setting a moving image parameter value according to the capturing parameter value captured in the capturing step. A processing step of processing the video signal using the moving image parameter value set by the setting step. 24. The image processing method according to claim 23, wherein in the setting step, the captured imaging parameter value is compared with a predetermined threshold value, and a moving image parameter value is set according to the comparison result. . 25. The image processing method according to claim 24, further comprising an input step of inputting the threshold value. 26. The image processing method according to claim 23, further comprising a display step of displaying the video signal processed in said processing step. 27. The imaging apparatus according to claim 23, wherein the imaging parameter value is at least one of a distance of the imaging unit to a subject, a pan / tilt angle, a zoom magnification, an exposure-related parameter, and the like. Image processing method. 28. The image according to claim 23, wherein the moving image parameter value is at least one of a frame rate, an image size, the number of colors, a compression ratio, a compression method, and the like of the video signal. Processing method. 29. The image processing method according to claim 23, further comprising a recording step of recording the video signal processed in said processing step on a recording medium. 30. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program for executing each step constituting the image processing method according to claim 23.