KR20070093604A - Apparatus and method for picture-taking device with wide screen picture ratio - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for photographing an image are provided to obtain an image of a wide screen type aspect ratio even through a camera for capturing an image of a general aspect ratio is used. A photographing unit(110) photographs an image. A driving unit(140) moves the photographing unit from a reference position by a predetermined distance. An image processing unit(120) compresses the first image signal and the second image signal in a predetermined compression type, and then respectively stores the compressed images in the first storing unit(160) and the second storing unit(170). Herein, the first image signal is obtained at the place where the photographing unit is moved from the reference position in a left direction by the first distance, and the second image signal is obtained at a place where the photographing unit is removed from the reference position in a right direction by the second distance.

Description

Apparatus and method for picture-taking device with wide screen picture ratio}

1A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1B and 1C are exemplary views illustrating a motion of a photographing unit in the image photographing apparatus shown in FIG. 1A.

2A is an exemplary diagram illustrating a first image signal and a second image signal acquired by an image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2B is an exemplary diagram illustrating a screen displayed on an image capturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an image capturing method having a wide screen aspect ratio according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of playing back an image captured in a wide screen mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings>

100: video recording device 110: recording unit

120: image processing unit 130: display unit

140: drive unit 150: recess

160: first storage unit 170: second storage unit

180: input unit

The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method capable of providing an image having a wide screen aspect ratio by using an image photographed by a camera having a general aspect ratio.

Recently, the functions of portable devices have been gradually diversified and advanced. For example, in the case of a mobile phone, not only a simple call function but also a function of playing a music file, capturing a moving picture, a still picture, and the like has been provided.

The user can shoot a video using such a portable device, and then connect it to a digital TV, etc., so that the user can enjoy the video shot through the larger screen.

However, cameras mounted in conventional portable devices usually provide a 4: 3 aspect ratio, while fixed devices such as digital TVs provide a 16: 9 aspect ratio.

Therefore, even when the portable device and the fixed device are connected, and the user wants to enjoy the video shot by the portable device through the large screen of the fixed device, there is a problem that the user's satisfaction decreases due to different screen ratios.

As a method for solving this problem, there is a method of mounting a camera on the portable device that provides the same aspect ratio as that provided by the fixed device, but this increases the manufacturing cost of the portable device.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for providing an image having a wide screen aspect ratio using an image captured by a camera having a general aspect ratio.

However, the objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, an image photographing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a photographing unit for photographing an image, a driving unit for moving a position of the photographing unit by a predetermined distance from a reference position, and the photographing unit from a first reference position The first storage unit compresses the first image signal acquired at the position moved to the left by the interval and the second image signal acquired at the position moved to the right by the second interval from the reference position by a predetermined compression method. And an image processor configured to store the second storage unit.

In order to achieve the above object, an image capturing method according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes receiving a first image signal from a photographing unit moved to a left side by a first interval from a reference position, and right by a second interval from the reference position. Receiving a second image signal from a photographing unit which is moved to a second state; and compressing the first image signal and the second image signal by a predetermined compression method and storing the first image signal and the second image signal in a first storage unit and a second storage unit, respectively. do.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings, and the advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings.

However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be embodied in various different forms, and the present embodiments merely make the disclosure of the present invention complete and common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Hereinafter, an image capturing apparatus and method having a wide screen aspect ratio according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying block diagram or the drawings of the processing flowchart. At this point, it will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and combinations of flowchart illustrations may be performed by computer program instructions. Since these computer program instructions may be mounted on a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment, those instructions executed through the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing equipment may be described in flow chart block (s). It will create means to perform the functions. These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer usable or computer readable memory that can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement functionality in a particular manner, and thus the computer usable or computer readable memory. It is also possible for the instructions stored in to produce an article of manufacture containing instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block (s). Computer program instructions It is also possible to mount on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, so that a series of operating steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer-implemented process to perform the computer or other programmable data processing equipment. It is also possible for the instructions to provide steps for performing the functions described in the flowchart block (s).

In addition, each block may represent a portion of a module, segment, or code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing a specified logical function (s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, the two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the corresponding function.

First, the image capturing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A to 2B. 1A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image capturing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1B and 1C are photographing units 110 of the image capturing apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A. Exemplary diagrams illustrating the movement of h). FIG. 2A illustrates the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 acquired by the image capturing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B illustrates the first image signal 210 of FIG. 2A. And an example of an image 230 having a wide screen aspect ratio generated based on the second image signal 220.

The image capturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be configured as a digital device. Here, the digital device is a device having a digital circuit capable of processing digital data, and examples thereof include a digital camera, a digital video recorder, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone, and the like.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1A, the image capturing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include an input unit 180, a photographing unit 110, a driving unit 140, an image processing unit 120, and a second processing unit. The first storage unit 160, the second storage unit 170, the display unit 130, and the controller 150 are configured to be included.

The input unit 180 receives a user's command. For example, the input unit 180 receives a selection signal for an image capturing mode, a signal for recording a captured image, a signal for reproducing a recorded image, and the like. Although not shown in the drawing, the input unit 180 includes a plurality of function keys, for example, a power key for supplying power to a photographing apparatus, a shooting mode setting key for setting an image capturing mode, and a recording key for recording a captured image. And a playback key for playing back the recorded video. These function keys generate a predetermined key signal when applied by a user, and the generated key signals are provided to the controller 150 to be described later.

The photographing unit 110 acquires image data. The photographing unit 110 includes a camera sensor (not shown) and a signal processor (not shown). More specifically, when the light reflected from the subject enters through the lens, the camera sensor (not shown) converts the brightness and color values of red, green, and blue of the image received through the lens into electrical signals. Such a camera sensor (not shown) may be implemented as a charge coupled device (CCD) called a “charge coupled device” or a “solid-state imaging device”. A CCD is a device in which transistors are constantly arranged according to the intensity of light. The information provided from each transistor is gathered together to form an image as a whole. At this time, the quality of the image depends on the number of particles of the CCD, the more the number of particles can recognize the image more accurately. The CCD applied to the embodiment of the present invention is a CCD capable of receiving an image having an aspect ratio of 4: 3. For example, a horizontal × vertical pixel is 174 × 144, 320 × 240, 640 × 480, Examples include 800 × 600, 1024 × 768, 1280 × 1204, and 1600 × 1200 CCDs.

The signal processor (not shown) converts the analog image signal output from the CCD into a digital signal. The signal processor (not shown) converts the image analog signal output from the CCD into 0 and 1 digital signals. That is, the signal processor (not shown) serves to change the color information of each photoelectric change particle of the CCD into the bitized data. The signal processor (not shown) may be implemented with, for example, a digital signal processor (DSP), but is not limited thereto.

The photographing unit 110 as described above may be controlled by the driving unit 140 to be described later. For more detailed description, reference will be made to FIGS. 1B and 1C. 1B and 1C illustrate various embodiments of the movement of the photographing unit 110.

First, FIG. 1B shows the photographing unit 110 moved to the left by the first interval from the reference position and to the right by the second interval from the reference position. The first interval and the second interval may have the same size or different sizes depending on how to implement the driving unit 140 to be described later. However, the sum of the first interval and the second interval may include an image signal (hereinafter, referred to as a 'first image signal') input when the photographing unit 110 moves to the left by the first interval from the reference position. An image 230 having the same aspect ratio as the wide screen when the input unit 110 synthesizes an input image signal (hereinafter referred to as a “second image signal”) when the unit 110 moves to the right by a second interval from the reference position. It is preferable that it is the range which can obtain. More specifically, in order to obtain an image having a wide screen aspect ratio of 16: 9, for example, an image signal of 256 × 144 pixels is required for each of width and height. When the image signal of 174 × 144 pixels can be received, the sum of the moving intervals of the photographing unit 110 is a range in which 96 pixels of the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 can overlap each other. It is preferable.

FIG. 1C illustrates the photographing unit 110 rotating about a reference point by a first angle in a counterclockwise direction, and rotating around the reference point by a second angle in a clockwise direction. As described above with reference to FIG. 1B, the size of the first angle and the size of the second angle may have the same size or different sizes depending on the method of implementing the driving 140 to be described later. However, the magnitude of the first angle and the magnitude of the second angle may correspond to the first image signal 210 and the photographing unit 110 input when the photographing unit 110 rotates by the first angle. When the input second image signal 220 is synthesized, it is preferable that the image 230 having the same aspect ratio as the wide screen can be obtained.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C, the driving unit 140 controls the positional movement of the photographing unit 110. The driving unit 140 may be implemented with, for example, a step motor and an electromagnet, but is not limited thereto.

The image processor 120 compresses the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 provided by the signal processor (not shown) in a predetermined compression scheme, for example, a Motion Picture Experts Groups (MPEG) -4 scheme. . The compressed first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 are stored in the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170, which will be described later.

In addition, when the image processor 120 reproduces the stored image signal in the wide screen mode, the first image signal 210 is compressed and stored in the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170, respectively. ) And the second image signal 220 are decoded, and then predetermined image processing is performed. For example, the image processor 120 may apply a predetermined filter, for example, a median filter, to a region overlapping the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220, and thus, the two image signals. Synthesize. As a result, a video signal 230 having a wide screen aspect ratio is generated.

The display 130 displays the command processing result in a visual form. For example, the display unit 130 serves to display an image 230 having a wide screen ratio generated by the image processor 120.

The first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170 store the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220, respectively. Such storages include cache, read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable Programmable ROM (Ipyrom), electrically Erasable Programmable ROM (Ipyrom) and flash memory. Or a nonvolatile memory device such as a flash memory, a volatile memory device such as a random access memory (RAM), or a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD). Do not. The first video signal and the second video signal are track atoms specified by MPEG-4 Part1: System (ISO / IEC 14496-1) in the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170, respectively. )

The controller 150 controls the components of the image capturing apparatus 100 according to the key signal provided from the input unit 180. For example, when a signal for executing recording is provided through the input unit 180 while the image capturing mode is designated as the wide screen mode, the controller 150 controls the driving unit 140 so that the capturing unit 110 controls the reference position. It can be moved to the left and right respectively by the first interval and the second interval with respect to. As a result, the photographing unit 110 may receive the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220.

Meanwhile, although not shown in the drawing, the image capturing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include an expansion unit for expansion with a fixed device such as a digital TV and another digital device. For example, the expansion unit may be connected to the digital TV through a cable to display an image captured by the image capturing apparatus 100 through the digital TV.

Next, an image capturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 3. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an image capturing method for a wide screen in the image capturing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the controller 150 of the image capturing apparatus 100 determines whether a photographing function is executed (S310).

As a result of the determination, when the photographing function is not executed (S310, NO), the controller 150 controls the components in the image capturing apparatus 100 according to a signal input through the input unit 180 (S320). For example, when a key for turning off the power is applied, the controller 150 turns off the power of the image capturing apparatus 100.

As a result of the determination, when the photographing function is executed (S310, YES), the controller 150 enables the image inputted through the photographing unit 110 to be displayed on the display 130. That is, preview is executed. Thus, before the recording is executed, the user can check the image input through the photographing unit 110 (S330).

Thereafter, the controller 150 determines whether the recording function is executed (S340). As a result of the determination, when the recording function is not executed (S340, NO), the controller 150 continuously performs the preview operation (S330). As a result of the determination, when the recording function is executed (S340, Yes), the controller 150 determines whether the currently set image capturing mode is the wide screen mode (S350).

As a result of determining the type of the shooting mode, when the currently set shooting mode is not the wide screen mode (S350, NO), that is, in the normal mode, the controller 150 receives an image input through the capture unit 110. The signal may be compressed and stored by the image processor 120 in a predetermined compression scheme, for example, MPEG-4 (S360). At this time, the compressed video signal is stored in the first storage unit 160 or the second storage unit 170 as a track atom specified in MPEG-4 Part1: System (ISO / IEC 14496-1). .

As a result of determining the type of the shooting mode, when the currently set shooting mode is the wide screen mode (S350, YES), the controller 150 controls the driving unit 140. As a result, the photographing unit 110 is moved from the reference position to the left and the right by the first interval and the second interval, respectively, so that the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 can be received at each position. (S380). In this case, the sum of the moving intervals of the photographing unit 110 is the first image signal 210 and the photographing unit 110 received when the photographing unit 110 moves to the left by the first interval from the reference position. When the second image signal 220 inputted when moving to the right by the second interval from the position is synthesized, it is preferable that the image has the same aspect ratio as the wide screen. More specifically, in order to obtain an image having a wide screen aspect ratio of 16: 9, for example, an image signal of 256 × 144 pixels is required for each of width and height. When the image signal of 174 × 144 pixels can be input, the sum of the moving intervals of the photographing unit 110 is a range in which 96 pixels of the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 may overlap. Is preferably. As such, the positional movement of the photographing unit 110 is repeatedly performed while recording is performed.

After the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 input through the photographing unit 110 are respectively compressed by the image processing unit 120 by a predetermined compression method, for example, the MPEG-4 method, Each is stored in the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170 (S390).

Next, an image reproducing method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of reproducing an image captured in the wide screen mode in the image capturing apparatus 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, the controller 150 of the image capturing apparatus 100 determines whether an image reproducing function is executed (S410).

As a result of the determination, when a function of reproducing the image is executed (S410, Yes), the controller 150 determines whether the current image reproducing mode is the wide screen mode (S420).

As a result of determining the type of the image reproduction mode, when the current image reproduction mode is the normal mode (S420, NO), the controller 150 allows the stored image signal to be decoded by the image processor 120 (S430). . In this case, when the image to be reproduced is an image recorded in the normal photographing mode, the image processor 120 reads and decodes the image from any one of the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170. do. If the image to be reproduced is an image recorded in the wide screen photographing mode, the image processor 120 reads and decodes a corresponding image signal from any one of the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170.

On the other hand, as a result of determining the type of the video playback mode, when the current video playback mode is a wide screen mode (S420, Yes), the controller 150 is the first video signal 210 stored in the first storage unit 160 And the second image signal 220 stored in the second storage unit 170 may be decoded by the image processor 120, respectively (S440).

As such, when the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 respectively stored in the first storage unit 160 and the second storage unit 170 are decoded, the image processing unit 120 performs a first operation. Predetermined image processing is applied to the image signal 210 and the second image signal 220. More specifically, the image processor 120 applies a predetermined filter, for example, a median filter, to a region overlapping the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220. For example, when the first image signal 210 and the second image signal 220 each include 174 × 144 pixels in width × length, the image processor 120 may display the first image signal 210 as shown in FIG. 2A. ) And a median filter is applied to a region corresponding to 96 pixels of the second image signal 220.

Thereafter, the image processor 120 synthesizes the two image signals to generate an image signal having a wide screen aspect ratio (S450). For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2B, an image signal having a wide screen aspect ratio is generated.

As such, the image signal having the wide screen aspect ratio generated by the image processor 120 is displayed through the display 130 (S460).

With reference to the drawings exemplified as above, an image capturing apparatus and method having a wide screen aspect ratio according to the present invention has been described, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and drawings disclosed herein, and the invention Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea.

As described above, according to the image capturing apparatus and method having the wide screen aspect ratio according to the present invention, there are one or more of the following effects.

First, there is an advantage that an image having a wide screen aspect ratio can be provided using an image photographed by a camera having a general aspect ratio.

Claims (5)

Shooting unit for taking an image; A driving unit which moves the position of the photographing unit by a predetermined interval from a reference position; And Compressing a first image signal acquired at a position where the photographing unit is moved to the left by the first interval from the reference position and a second image signal acquired at a position where the photographing unit is moved to the right by the second interval from the reference position The image capturing apparatus having a wide screen aspect ratio comprising an image processor for compressing in a manner to be stored in the first storage unit and the second storage unit, respectively. The method of claim 1, When the image reproducing mode is a wide screen mode, the image processor performs a predetermined image processing on a region overlapping the first image signal and the second image signal, and then synthesizes the image signal having a wide screen aspect ratio. Imaging device with a widescreen aspect ratio to create. The method of claim 1, And the image processing unit has a wide screen aspect ratio which decompresses any one of the first image signal and the second image signal and displays the same through the display unit when the image reproduction mode is a normal reproduction mode. Receiving a first image signal from a photographing unit moved to the left by a first interval from a reference position; Receiving a second image signal from a photographing unit moved to the right by a second interval from the reference position; And And compressing the first image signal and the second image signal by a predetermined compression method and storing the first image signal and the second image signal in a first storage unit and a second storage unit, respectively. The method of claim 4, wherein When the image reproduction mode is a wide screen mode, a predetermined image processing is performed on a region overlapping the first image signal and the second image signal, and then synthesized to generate an image signal having a wide screen aspect ratio. If is the normal mode, the image capture method having a wide screen aspect ratio further comprising the step of decompressing and displaying any one of the first image signal and the second image signal.

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