KR101456492B1 - Digital image processing apparatus facilitating the composition setting of the image and controlling method of the same - Google Patents

Abstract

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and a control method thereof for facilitating the composition of an image, and more particularly to a digital image processing apparatus and a control method thereof for generating a frame for displaying an outline of a subject and displaying an auxiliary UI Generating and displaying a user-friendly image.

Digital image processing device, composition, auxiliary UI

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus and a control method thereof,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a digital image processing apparatus and a control method thereof that assist a user in composing an image.

Digital cameras, camcorders, and other digital image processing devices have become widespread, so that many users can shoot their own images anywhere. However, such images are not always user-friendly. When the level of the user is high, various functions implemented in the digital image processing apparatus can be utilized, or the user can shoot images of his / However, it is often the case that general users do not like the brightness, color, etc. of the captured image. Also, the composition of the image related to where the position of the main subject is located in the image may cause the photographed image to be disliked by the photographer. If there is no theoretical knowledge about the composition of the image, it is not easy to compose the best image in each situation. Even if the subject is positioned at the center of the image, it is easy for the beginner to perform it depending on the senses not. Therefore, it is necessary to have an assistant function that can easily position the subject in a desired position, even if it is not a skilled person.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital image processing apparatus and a control method thereof for facilitating the configuration of a digital image.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus including an image pickup section for capturing an image of a subject, a frame generating section for generating a frame for recognizing the subject and displaying an outline of the subject, An auxiliary UI generating unit for generating an auxiliary UI displaying a distance from the boundary, and a display unit displaying the generated frame and the auxiliary UI.

In the present invention, the auxiliary UI may include lines connecting the frame and the outer boundary, and the auxiliary UI may further include, on one side of the lines, a number indicating a distance from the frame to the outer boundary, .

In the present invention, the auxiliary UI generation unit may convert the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at the center, or when the frame is located at a specific position set by the user.

In the present invention, the frame generation unit and the auxiliary UI generation unit may update the frame and the auxiliary UI as the subject moves.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method comprising the steps of: a) capturing an image of a subject; b) recognizing a subject as the captured image; c) D) generating an auxiliary UI indicating the distance of the frame from the border area, and e) displaying the frame and the dynamic UI.

In the present invention, the auxiliary UI may include lines connecting the frame and the outer boundary, and the auxiliary UI may further include, on one side of the lines, a number indicating a distance from the frame to the outer boundary, .

In the present invention, the color of the auxiliary UI is changed when f-1) the frame is located at the center, or f-2) when the frame is located at a specific position set by the user, And a step of converting the data.

Further, in the present invention, g) updating the frame and the auxiliary UI as the subject moves.

As described above, a frame indicating the outline of a subject is generated, and the user can easily grasp the composition at the time of photographing by displaying the distance of the frame away from the outer boundary of the image to the user.

In addition, at the center or at a specific position, it is displayed to the user that the subject is located at a desired position, so that the user can easily grasp the desired composition by zooming.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to Figs. 1 (a) to 6.

Fig. 1 (a) is a perspective view showing the outer shapes of the front and top surfaces of the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention. On the other hand, Fig. 1 (b) is a rear view showing the outer shape of the rear surface of the digital image processing apparatus of Fig. 1 (a).

1, the external components of the digital image processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention include a lens 111, a flash 112, a light emitting means 113, A shutter-release button 151, a power button 152, and the like on the front and top surfaces. In addition, various buttons as a user input unit are provided on the back of the digital image processing apparatus 100, and a display unit 140 is also provided.

The lens 111 is a portion for passing the image light of the object to image the image light to the image pickup element.

The flash 112 illuminates bright light instantly when photographing in a dark place. The flash 112 uses an automatic flash mode, a forced flash mode, a flash inhibition mode, a red-eye reduction mode, a slow synchro mode, have.

The auxiliary light emitting means 113 supplies auxiliary light to the subject so that the digital image processing apparatus 100 can automatically and quickly catch the focus when the amount of light is insufficient or at night.

The shutter-release button 151 generates an image photographing signal by the input of the photographer. When the photographer presses the shutter-release button 151 halfway to input a half-shutter signal, the digital image processing apparatus 100 adjusts the amount of light by focusing. Then, when the focus is adjusted and the amount of light is adjusted, the photographer can press the shutter-release button 151 completely to capture the image to be captured.

The power button 152 is a key input button disposed on the upper portion of the digital image processing apparatus 100 to supply power to the digital image processing apparatus 100 to operate.

The user input unit is composed of various key buttons, and is used by the user to operate necessary functions of the digital image processing apparatus 100. [ The user input unit includes a wide angle zoom button 153W, a telephoto-zoom button 153T, a mode button 154, an effect button 155, a function button 156, Button 157, and the like. The buttons are illustrative and may be configured in various configurations and shapes.

The display unit 140 is a liquid crystal display (LCD), and displays the image of the subject to be captured in real time, and displays the status information of the digital image processing apparatus 100 . In this embodiment, the display screen is formed of a liquid crystal display, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the display screen according to the present invention may include an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), a field emission display (FED), or the like.

1 (a) and 1 (b), a compact digital camera, that is, a digital camera in which a lens is integrally formed with a main body is shown as a digital image processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment . However, the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the digital image processing apparatus according to the present invention may be a single-lens reflex camera capable of attaching and detaching a lens.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the digital image processing apparatus shown in Fig. 1 (a) and Fig. 1 (b). The digital image processing apparatus 100 includes an image pickup unit 110, a frame generating unit 120, an auxiliary UI generating unit 130, a display unit 140, a user operating unit 150, and a storage unit 160 .

The imaging unit 110 captures an object and converts the image of the object into an electrical signal. The imaging unit 110 includes a lens 111 for passing image light from a subject and an imaging device (not shown) for converting the passed light into an electrical signal. As the image pickup device, a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) or a charge coupled device (CCD) can be used.

The frame generation unit 120 recognizes the subject from the image of the subject captured by the imaging unit 110 and generates a frame for displaying the outline of the subject. Accordingly, the frame generation unit 120 may include an object recognition unit and a UI generation unit.

That is, the object recognizing unit recognizes the object from the image captured by the imaging unit 110. The method of recognizing the subject may use a method disclosed in the prior art. For example, it is possible to use a method of extracting a boundary line of an object through frequency analysis of the captured image. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various object recognition methods may be used. Face recognition will also be an example of a method of recognizing the subject.

On the other hand, if the subject is recognized, the UI generation unit generates a frame indicating the outline of the recognized subject. The frame may be such that the entire subject is included, or may include only a part of the subject. When the entire object is included, the outermost points of the recognized object can be extracted and generated. On the other hand, the frame surrounding only the face region of the person may include only a part of the subject.

The auxiliary UI generating unit 130 generates an auxiliary UI for displaying the distance of the frame generated by the frame generating unit 120 from the outer boundary of the image.

The auxiliary UI may be displayed by lines connecting the frame and the outer border of the image. For example, when a frame of a quadrangle shape is generated, it may be composed of four lines connecting each of the faces on each side of the frame to an outer boundary of an opposite image. Meanwhile, the auxiliary UI may further include a number indicating a distance from the frame to an outer boundary of the image on one side of the lines so that the user can intuitively recognize the position of the frame.

On the other hand, the auxiliary UI generation unit 130 can convert the color of the generated lines or numbers under specific conditions. For example, the auxiliary UI may be converted when the frame is located at the center of the captured image. Or to convert the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at a specific location set by the user. Alternatively, the auxiliary UI generation unit 130 may change the size or thickness of the generated lines or numbers.

Furthermore, it is possible to form some of the lines of the auxiliary UI in the form of arrows so that the user can more easily recognize in which direction the subject should be moved. It is also possible to form it as the arrow progresses.

When the size of the subject is changed due to movement or zooming operation, the frame generation unit 120 and the auxiliary UI generation unit 130 may generate and update the frame and the auxiliary UI using the newly captured image will be.

The display unit 140 displays a UI, a preview image in the preview mode, and a playback image in the playback mode, which are provided according to the operation of the subject and the user by the user. In addition, the frame generation unit 120 and the auxiliary UI generation unit 130 can display the generated frames and the auxiliary UI, respectively. The display unit 140 may include a display driver for performing a function of reproducing images such as image data and image files, and a display screen for displaying the reproduced image so that the user can confirm the images.

The user input unit 150 may include a shutter-release button, a wide angle-zoom button, a telephoto-zoom button, a function button, and a button, as described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, A play button, and the like.

The storage unit 160 may store various signals, data, and algorithms for the operation of the digital image processing apparatus 100, and the like. Data may be temporarily stored in a RAM. The RAM may be a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or the like. A storage medium EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) in which the algorithm and the like are stored, and the like. Also, a memory card may be used as a storage medium for storing image files photographed and generated by the image pickup unit 110, attribute information for the image files, and the like. The memory card or the like may be built-in or removable external type.

The controller 170 performs overall control of the digital image processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention. A user can input an input signal from the user input unit 150 and generate a control signal corresponding to the input signal and apply the control signal to a portion to which the control signal is applied. In addition, it is possible to perform digital signal processing for converting an electrical signal applied from the image sensing unit 110 into a digital signal and then converting the electrical signal into a displayable image signal. On the other hand, the video signal processing refers to a series of signal processing such as white balance processing, noise removal, and color correction. Also, an image file is generated using the image signal generated by the shutter-release button signal input. The image file is compressed and generated in the JPEG format according to the Exif file format which is the image file standard.

Thus, a frame indicating the outline of the subject is generated, and the user can easily grasp the composition at the time of photographing by displaying the distance away from the outer boundary of the image to the user. In addition, in a specific composition, it is displayed to the user that the subject is in a desired position, so that the user can easily grasp the desired composition by zooming.

Hereinafter, a configuration of composing using the auxiliary UI will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in FIG. 3A, the digital image processing apparatus 100 captures an image of one person 300 as a subject. The frame generation unit 120 recognizes the person 300 and generates and displays a frame 310 surrounding the person 300. The auxiliary UI generation unit 130 generates and displays lines 320 connecting the upper, lower, left and right boundaries of the frame 310 with the boundaries of the image. On one side of the lines 320, a number 321 indicating the distance from the border of the image to the border of the frame 310 is generated and displayed.

The user places the person 300 in the center of the image as shown in FIG. 3 (b). This may be accomplished by the user moving the digital image processing apparatus 100, and the person 300 may be moved and executed. When the person 300 is positioned at the center of the image as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the auxiliary UI generating unit 130 may thicken the lines of the auxiliary UI. In FIG. 3 (b), only the lines of the auxiliary UIs are changed, but the number and thickness of the auxiliary UIs can be made thick. Or to convert the color of at least one of the lines 320 or numbers 321 of the auxiliary UI as described above.

By thus changing the auxiliary UI when the subject is located at the center of the image, the user can easily recognize that the subject is located at the center of the image. In addition, the user can easily know which position the subject should be moved to by the auxiliary UI in the center of the image.

4 is a view illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, FIG. 4 (a) shows a frame 400 and auxiliary UIs 420 and 421 after the person 400 is recognized as in FIG. 3 (a) . Meanwhile, in FIG. 4A, the person 400 is biased to the lower left side from the center of the image. That is, the user has to move the person 400 to the upper right side in order to center the person 400. Accordingly, the auxiliary UIs on the left and the bottom of the auxiliary UIs 420 and 421 can be represented in the form of arrows. Thus, the user can intuitively determine the direction in which the subject should be moved.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when the person 400 is positioned at the center, all the auxiliary UIs 420 and 421 can be expressed in the form of an arrow.

By thus changing the auxiliary UI when the subject is located at the center of the image, the user can easily recognize that the subject is located at the center of the image. In addition, the user can easily know which position the subject should be moved to by the auxiliary UI in the center of the image.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 4, it is described that the user takes a picture of a subject in the center of the subject. However, if the subject is located at a specific position, for example, It would be possible to change the auxiliary UI in some cases. In this case, the auxiliary UI in FIG. 4 may display the progress direction of the arrow so that the subject moves to a position according to the set composition.

5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, FIG. 5A shows a frame 510 and auxiliary UIs 520 and 521 after recognizing the person 500 as in FIG. 3 (a) .

However, if it is determined that the person 500 is too small and the zoom-action is performed, or if the person 500 approaches in the future, the size of the person 500 and the size of the frame do not match. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the frame generation unit 120 recognizes the person 500 and generates a frame 511, and the auxiliary UI generation unit 130 generates and displays the auxiliary UI again.

By doing this, the user can get the best composition in each situation.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, once the digital image processing apparatus is powered on, an image of a subject is captured (S60).

(61) recognizes the subject from the captured image, and generates a frame for displaying the outline of the subject (S62). A method of recognizing a subject is omitted in the description of FIG.

Meanwhile, an auxiliary UI indicating the distance from the outer boundary of the captured image to the frame is generated using the generated frame (S63). The auxiliary UI may include lines connecting the border of the image and the frame, and numbers located on one side of the lines.

The image of the subject is continuously captured in real time, and it is determined whether the position or size of the subject has been moved (S64).

When the position or size of the subject is changed, the operation of generating the frame and the auxiliary UI is repeated (S61 to S63). On the other hand, if there is no change in the position or size of the subject, it is determined whether the frame is positioned at the center of the image or at a specific position set by the user (S65).

If the frame is not positioned at the center or at a specific position of the image, the previous steps (S61 to S64) are repeated. If the frame is located at the center or at a specific position of the image, The color is converted (S66). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, the sub UI may be changed in thickness, arrow, or the like so that the user can recognize the sub UI.

Thus, a frame indicating the outline of the subject is generated, and the user can easily grasp the composition at the time of photographing by displaying the distance away from the outer boundary of the image to the user. In addition, at the center or at a specific position, it is displayed to the user that the subject is located at a desired position, so that the user can easily grasp the desired composition by zooming.

The foregoing description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present invention and are used for the purpose of illustrating the present invention only and not for limiting the scope of the present invention described in the claims or the claims. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the technical protection scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but should be defined by the claims.

1 (a) and 1 (b) are a front perspective view and a rear view illustrating an external appearance of a digital image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a digital image processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a view illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a digital image processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a digital image processing apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (12)

An imaging unit for capturing an image of a subject; A frame generation unit for recognizing the subject and generating a frame for displaying an outline of the subject; An auxiliary UI generation unit for generating an auxiliary UI for displaying a distance of the frame away from an outer boundary of the image; And And a display unit for displaying the generated frame and the auxiliary UI, Wherein the auxiliary UI includes lines connecting the frame and the outer boundary. delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the auxiliary UI further comprises a number indicating a distance from the frame to the outer boundary on one side of the lines. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the auxiliary UI generation unit converts the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at the center. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the auxiliary UI generation unit converts the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at a specific position set by the user. The method according to claim 1, The frame generation unit and the auxiliary UI generation unit And updates the frame and the auxiliary UI as the subject moves. a) capturing an image of a subject; b) recognizing a subject from the captured image; c) generating a frame indicating an outline of the recognized subject; d) generating an auxiliary UI that indicates the distance the frame is away from the outer boundary region of the image; And e) displaying the frame and dynamic UI, Wherein the auxiliary UI includes lines connecting the frame and the outer boundary. delete 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the auxiliary UI further comprises a number indicating a distance from the frame to the outer boundary on one side of the lines. 8. The method of claim 7, f-1) converting the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at the center. 8. The method of claim 7, f-2) converting the color of the auxiliary UI when the frame is located at a specific position set by the user. 8. The method of claim 7, g) updating the frame and the auxiliary UI according to the movement of the subject.

Images