Electronic device, image storage method, and program

Abstract

To provide an electronic device, an image storage method, and a program that enable a user to easily manage image data.SOLUTION: An electronic device 1 includes an image acquisition unit 141, a storage unit 150, and an image storage unit 144. The image acquisition unit 141 acquires image data captured from an imaging target subject and image data for identification information recognition captured from the imaging target subject. The storage unit 150 stores the image data. The image storage unit 144 performs image recognition on the image data for identification information recognition acquired by the image acquisition unit 141 to acquire identification information for identifying the imaging target subject, and stores the image data in the storage unit 150 in association with the acquired identification information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic device, an image storage method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a publication publishing and distribution system that reads text articles, photographs, advertisements, etc. from publications such as newspapers and magazines for each headline item, edits them into various types of page data such as sequential photographs, 3D images, videos, and audio, converts them into file formats that can be displayed in a web browser, and distributes them via a web server. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-293939 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The publication publishing and distribution system described in Cited Document 1 had a problem in that when reading a publication that is issued multiple times, such as a newspaper, if data from publications with different publication dates are mixed together, it becomes difficult to manage the data, making it difficult for users to find and operate the desired data.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device, an image saving method, and a program that enable a user to easily manage image data. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the electronic device according to the present invention is to an image acquisition unit that acquires image data captured from a photographing object and image data for identification information recognition captured from the photographing object; A storage unit that stores the image data; and an image storage unit that performs image recognition on the identification information recognition image data acquired by the image acquisition unit to acquire identification information for identifying the object to be photographed, and stores the image data in the storage unit in association with the acquired identification information. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an electronic device, an image saving method, and a program that enable a user to easily manage image data. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are a top view and a bottom view showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an electronic device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image of image data for identification information recognition captured by a capturing unit in the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing candidates of image data to be displayed on a display unit in an image playback mode according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing candidates of image data displayed on the display unit in the image management mode according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 5 is a flowchart of an image saving process executed by the electronic device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a side view of an electronic device according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] (Embodiment 1) An electronic device 1 according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. The electronic device 1 according to the first embodiment is an electronic magnifying glass that photographs an object and displays the photographed image on a screen.

[0010] 1A and 1B are a top view and a bottom view, respectively, showing a configuration of an electronic device 1 according to embodiment 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic device 1 includes an imaging unit 110, a display unit 120, an operation unit 130, a housing 200, and a grip unit 210.

[0011] The photographing unit 110 is a photographing device that photographs an opposing photographing object. The photographing unit 110 is disposed on one side of the housing 200 and exposed from the housing 200. The photographing unit 110 may include an imaging element including a lens and a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor, but is not limited thereto. As a part of the photographing unit, a light (not shown) that illuminates the photographing object may be provided.

[0012] The display unit 120 is a display device that displays an image to the user. The photographing unit 110 is disposed on a surface of the housing 200 different from the surface on which the photographing unit 110 is disposed, and is exposed from the housing 200. The display unit 120 may include a liquid crystal display, but is not limited to this. The display unit 120 may be a touch panel that displays an image to the user and accepts input by touching the user.

[0013] The operation unit 130 is a user interface that receives input by being operated by a user. The operation unit 130 is disposed to be exposed on at least one of the housing 200 and the grip unit 210. The operation unit 130 may include, but is not limited to, a plurality of buttons and switches. Inputs received by the operation unit 130 may include, but are not limited to, turning on and off the power of the electronic device 1, enlarging and reducing the image to be displayed, adjusting brightness, operating the screen, saving and deleting the displayed image, and starting and ending an image saving mode to be described later.

[0014] The housing 200 is a housing in which the photographing unit 110, the display unit 120, the operation unit 130, the grip unit 210, and the processing unit 140, the storage unit 150, and the communication unit 160 described below are arranged. The housing 200 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, with the photographing unit 110 arranged on one surface, the display unit 120 arranged on a surface not adjacent to the surface on which the photographing unit 110 is arranged, and the photographing unit 110 and the grip unit 210 arranged on one of the surfaces on which the photographing unit 110 is not arranged. The housing 200 may be made of metal or resin, but is not limited to this.

[0015] The grip unit 210 is gripped by a user when the user uses the electronic device 1. The grip unit 210 is connected to the imaging unit 110 of the housing 200 and one of the surfaces on which the imaging unit 110 is not arranged. The grip unit 210 may be made of metal, resin, or wood, but is not limited to these.

[0016] Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of electronic device 1 according to embodiment 1. As shown in Fig. 2, electronic device 1 includes an imaging unit 110, a display unit 120, an operation unit 130, a processing unit 140, a storage unit 150, and a communication unit 160.

[0017] The processing unit 140 is a circuit that performs processing by executing a program stored in the storage unit 150. The processing unit 140 includes an image acquisition unit 141, an image correction unit 142, an image display unit 143, an image storage unit 144, and an image management unit 145. The processing unit 140 may include, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but is not limited to this.

[0018] The image acquiring unit 141 controls the photographing unit 110 to photograph an image, and acquires image data photographed by the photographing unit 110 from the photographing unit 110. When the user operates the operation unit 130 to instruct the start of image display and the image acquiring unit 141 acquires a signal indicating the start of image display, the image acquiring unit 141 controls the photographing unit 110 to start photographing, and acquires the image data.

[0019] Image correction unit 142 receives the image data acquired by image acquisition unit 141 and performs image correction on the transmitted image data. Image correction unit 142 performs, for example, keystone correction as image correction, and corrects the image captured by imaging unit 110 so that it appears as if the image was captured from directly above the subject, but the image correction performed by image correction unit 142 is not limited to this.

[0020] Image display unit 143 receives the image data corrected by image correction unit 142, and controls display unit 120 to display the image of the acquired image-corrected image data. Image display unit 143 also controls display unit 120 to display a display prompting the user to perform an operation, an image of the image data stored in storage unit 150, and a screen showing candidates for image data stored in storage unit 150.

[0021] The image display unit 143, in accordance with user operations via the operation unit 130, displays an image of the image data transmitted from the image correction unit 142 or an image of the image data stored in the memory unit 150 by enlarging or reducing the image, changing the brightness, or moving the image.

[0022] The image saving unit 144 stores the image data, which has been subjected to image correction by the image correcting unit 142, in the storage unit 150 in association with the date, which is identification information for identifying the photographed object.

[0023] The process of recognizing a date by image storage unit 144 will be described below. When a user operates operation unit 130 to instruct start of image storage mode and image storage unit 144 acquires a signal indicating an instruction to start the image storage mode, image storage unit 144 causes image display unit 143 to control display unit 120 to display a screen that prompts the user to capture an image including the date.

[0024] When the user moves the electronic device 1 to a position where an image including the date can be captured, and the user operates the operation unit 130 to instruct the image capture unit 130 to capture an image including the date, the image capture unit 141 controls the capture unit 110 to capture an image, and transmits the acquired image data as image data X for identification information recognition to the image storage unit 144. The image storage unit 144 analyzes the transmitted image data X for identification information recognition, and recognizes the date from a portion indicating the date included in the image.

[0025] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an image of image data X for identification information recognition captured by the capturing unit 110. Fig. 3 uses an image of a newspaper as an example. As shown in Fig. 3, the image storage unit 144 analyzes the image data X for identification information recognition, and extracts the date by performing image recognition on the portion showing the date surrounded by a dotted line.

[0026] The process of image storage by image storage unit 144 will be described. When the user moves electronic device 1 to a position where an image that the user wants to store can be captured, and the user operates operation unit 130 to instruct storage of the image, image acquisition unit 141 controls shooting unit 110 to capture an image, and transmits the acquired image data to image correction unit 142. Image correction unit 142 performs image correction on the transmitted image data, and transmits the image data after image correction to image storage unit 144. Image storage unit 144 associates the transmitted image data with the date recognized from identification information recognition image data X, and stores the transmitted image data in memory unit 150 in the order of transmission, i.e., the order of capture.

[0027] In the storage unit 150, the image data that has been subjected to image correction by the image correction unit 142 is stored in groups by date.

[0028] The image storage unit 144 stores the image data transmitted from the image correction unit 142 in association with the same recognized date, which is the first identification information, until it recognizes another date, which is the second identification information.

[0029] The image management unit 145 displays the image of the image data stored in the storage unit 150 by the image saving unit 144, and deletes the image data.

[0030] When the user operates operation unit 130 to instruct the start of the image playback mode and image management unit 145 acquires a signal indicating the instruction to start the image playback mode, image management unit 145 causes image display unit 143 to control display unit 120 to display a screen showing candidates for image data stored in memory unit 150. The candidates for image data stored in memory unit 150 are grouped and displayed by date associated with the image data by image saving unit 144.

[0031] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing candidates for image data to be displayed by the display unit 120 in the image playback mode. As shown in Fig. 4, the image management unit 145 controls the image display unit 120 to display the date associated with the image data, the number of pieces of image data associated with the same date, and the date the image was saved, and presents the image data to be displayed to the user in a selectable manner.

[0032] When the user operates operation unit 130 to select one of the displayed dates, image management unit 145 causes image display unit 143 to control display unit 120 to display the image data associated with the selected date in the order in which they were taken.

[0033] When the user operates operation unit 130 to instruct the start of the image management mode and image management unit 145 acquires a signal indicating the instruction to start the image management mode, image management unit 145 causes image display unit 143 to control display unit 120 to display a screen showing candidates for image data stored in memory unit 150. The candidates for image data stored in memory unit 150 are displayed for each date that image saving unit 144 has associated with the image data.

[0034] The image management unit 145 performs image data locking, which is a setting for preventing image data from being deleted, moved, or automatically deleted, in accordance with a user's input via the operation unit 130. The image management unit 145 deletes, moves, or locks image data for each date associated with the image data.

[0035] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing candidates for image data displayed by the display unit 120 in the image management mode. As shown in Fig. 5, the image management unit 145 controls the image display unit 143 to display the date associated with the image data, the number of pieces of image data associated with the same date, the date the image was saved, and whether or not it is locked, and presents the image data to be operated on to the user in a selectable manner. In the example of Fig. 5, the image data to be deleted is presented to the user in a selectable manner.

[0036] When image storage unit 144 stores image data in storage unit 150, image management unit 145 acquires the free space of storage unit 150. If image management unit 145 determines that the free space of storage unit 150 is not sufficient to store the image data, image management unit 145 automatically deletes the image data from among unlocked image data in ascending order of associated date until it determines that the free space of storage unit 150 is sufficient to store the image data, thereby increasing the free space of storage unit 150.

[0037] The storage unit 150 is a storage device that stores the programs executed by the processing unit 140 and data instructed to be stored by the processing unit 140. The storage unit 150 may include, but is not limited to, a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM).

[0038] The communication unit 160 is a communication interface that communicates with other devices to exchange signals. The communication unit 160 may include, but is not limited to, a wireless communication interface including an antenna or a wired communication interface including a connector.

[0039] The processing unit 140 may transmit and store the data stored in the storage unit 150 to an external device via the communication unit 160. The processing unit 140 may transmit data to an external device via the communication unit 160 and store the data directly in an external device without storing the data in the storage unit 150.

[0040] 6 is a flowchart of the image saving process executed by the electronic device 1 according to Embodiment 1. The image saving process will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

[0041] When the image saving process is started, the image saving unit 144 of the processing unit 140 causes the image display unit 143 to control the display unit 120 to display a screen that prompts the user to take an image including the date (step S101).

[0042] When a screen is displayed prompting the user to take an image including the date, the image acquisition unit 141 controls the photographing unit 110 to take an image in accordance with the user's operation via the operation unit 130, and transmits the acquired image data to the image storage unit 144 as image data X for identification information recognition (step S102).

[0043] When the identification information recognition image data X is transferred, the image storage unit 144 analyzes the identification information recognition image data X transferred, and recognizes the date from the portion indicating the date included in the image (step S103).

[0044] When the date is recognized, the image acquisition unit 141 controls the photographing unit 110 to photograph an image in accordance with the user's operation via the operation unit 130, and transmits the obtained image data to the image correction unit 142 (step S104).

[0045] When the image data is transmitted, the image correction unit 142 performs image correction on the transmitted image data, and transmits the image data after image correction to the image storage unit 144 (step S105).

[0046] When the image data that has undergone image correction is transmitted, the image storage unit 144 associates the transmitted image data with the date recognized from the identification information recognition image data X and stores the image data in the memory unit 150 (step S106).

[0047] When the image data is stored, the image storage unit 144 judges whether or not the user has operated the operation unit 130 to instruct the image storage process (image storage mode) to end (step S107). If it is determined that no instruction has been given (step S107: NO), the process returns to step S104.

[0048] If it is determined that the instruction has been given (step S107: YES), the image saving process ends.

[0049] By being configured as described above and executing the image storage process, the electronic device 1 according to the first embodiment can facilitate the user's management of image data.

[0050] The electronic device 1 of embodiment 1 stores image data in association with a date, thereby enabling the image data to be stored in an organized manner without the user having to give it any special indexing, making it easy for the user to find stored image data that they wish to view, delete, or protect.

[0051] The electronic device 1 of embodiment 1 performs image correction on image data before displaying and saving it, thereby eliminating the need for the user to perform complex positioning or angle determination of the electronic device 1 in order to photograph the subject, and can display and save the subject in a form that is easy for the user to view.

[0052] When there is insufficient free space to store image data when saving the image data, the electronic device 1 of embodiment 1 automatically deletes image data beginning with the oldest image data, thereby enabling new data to be saved reliably without any special operation by the user.

[0053] (Embodiment 2) A description will now be given of the electronic device 1 according to the embodiment 2. The electronic device 1 according to the embodiment 2 operates in a newspaper mode suitable for reading newspapers and storing images obtained by photographing newspapers.

[0054] When the user operates operation unit 130 to instruct the start of newspaper mode and image storage unit 144 acquires a signal indicating an instruction to start newspaper mode, image storage unit 144 causes image display unit 143 to control display unit 120, as in the image storage mode, to display a screen prompting the user to take an image including the date.

[0055] When the user moves the electronic device 1 to a position where an image including the date can be captured, and the user operates the operation unit 130 to instruct capture, the image acquisition unit 141 controls the capture unit 110 to capture an image, and transmits the acquired image data as image data X for identification information recognition to the image storage unit 144. The image storage unit 144 analyzes the transmitted image data X for identification information recognition, and recognizes the date from a portion indicating the date included in the image.

[0056] When the user moves electronic device 1 to a position where the part of the newspaper that the user wants to view can be photographed, image acquisition unit 141 controls photographing unit 110 to photograph an image, and transmits the acquired image data to image correction unit 142. Image correction unit 142 performs image correction on the transmitted image data, and transmits the image data after image correction to image display unit 143. When image display unit 143 receives the image data after image correction by image correction unit 142, it changes the size of the image so that one paragraph of the newspaper is displayed on the entire screen of display unit 120, and causes the image of the image-corrected image data to be displayed on display unit 120.

[0057] When the user operates operation unit 130 to instruct saving of an image, similarly to the image saving mode, image acquisition unit 141 controls shooting unit 110 to shoot an image and transmits the acquired image data to image correction unit 142. Image correction unit 142 performs image correction on the transmitted image data and transmits the image data after image correction to image saving unit 144. Image saving unit 144 associates the transmitted image data with the date recognized from identification information recognition image data X, and stores the image data in memory unit 150 in the order they were captured.

[0058] With the above configuration, the electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment achieves the same effects as the electronic device according to the first embodiment.

[0059] The electronic device 1 of embodiment 2 can display an image suitable for reading the newspaper without any special operation by the user by changing the size of the image so that one paragraph of the newspaper fills the entire screen.

[0060] The electronic device 1 of embodiment 2 stores image data in association with a date while the newspaper mode is in operation, in the same manner as in the image saving mode, so that the user can create electronic scrapbooks organized by the date of the newspaper being viewed simply by performing an operation to instruct the user to save the image while viewing the newspaper.

[0061] (Modification) Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is merely an example, and the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, the embodiment of the present invention can be applied in various ways, and all embodiments are included in the scope of the present invention.

[0062] The electronic device 1 may be connected to the housing 200 and may include a leg-shaped stand 220 capable of supporting the entire electronic device 1. Fig. 7 is a side view of the electronic device 1. As shown in Fig. 7, the electronic device 1 is grounded by the stand 220 and is placed facing the object O to be photographed so as to be able to photograph the object O.

[0063] When the image storage unit 144 recognizes multiple dates from the identification information recognition image data X, the image display unit 143 may control the display unit 120 to display all the recognized dates and allow the user to select one of the displayed dates. The image storage unit 144 stores the image data in association with the date selected by the user.

[0064] 3, the image storage unit 144 extracts the date by performing image recognition on the portion in which the date and the day of the week are written, but this is not limited to this. Image recognition may also be performed on the portion in which the Gregorian calendar year or era name is written.

[0065] Although the image storage unit 144 recognizes the date from the image, this is not limited to this. It may also recognize identification information capable of identifying the photographed object, including the newspaper name and issue number, from the image and store the image data in association with the recognized identification information.

[0066] Although the electronic device 1 according to the second embodiment is described as operating in a newspaper mode suitable for reading newspapers and saving images, this is not limited to this. In the newspaper mode, any object including magazines, books, and pamphlets may be read and images may be saved, and the name of the mode is not limited to the newspaper mode.

[0067] In addition to being able to provide electronic devices that already have the configuration for realizing the functions of the present invention, existing electronic devices can also function as the electronic devices of the present invention by applying a program. That is, by applying a program for realizing the functions of the electronic devices exemplified in the embodiment and the modification so that a CPU or the like that controls the existing electronic devices can execute the program, the existing electronic devices can function as the electronic devices of the present invention.

[0068] Moreover, the method of applying such a program is arbitrary. For example, the program can be applied by storing it in a computer-readable storage medium such as a flexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc)-ROM, or a memory card. Furthermore, the program can be superimposed on a carrier wave and applied via a communication medium such as the Internet. For example, the program can be posted and distributed on a bulletin board (BBS: Bulletin Board System) on a communication network. Then, the program can be started and executed under the control of an OS (Operating System) in the same way as other application programs, thereby enabling the above processing to be performed.

[0069] Although the above describes a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and the present invention includes the invention described in the claims and its equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1...electronic device, 110...capturing unit, 120...display unit, 130...operation unit, 140...processing unit, 141...image acquisition unit, 142...image correction unit, 143...image display unit, 144...image storage unit, 145...image management unit, 200...housing, 210...holding unit, 220...stand, O...object to be photographed, X...image data for identification information recognition.

Claims

1. an image acquisition unit that acquires image data captured from a photographing object and image data for identification information recognition captured from the photographing object; A storage unit that stores the image data; and an image storage unit that performs image recognition on the identification information recognition image data acquired by the image acquisition unit to acquire identification information for identifying the object to be photographed, and stores the image data in the storage unit in association with the acquired identification information. electronic equipment.

2. an image correction unit that performs image correction on the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit, The image storage unit stores the image data corrected by the image correction unit in the storage unit.

2. The electronic device according to claim 1.

3. the image saving unit performs image recognition on the image data for identification information recognition acquired by the image acquisition unit to acquire first identification information, and stores the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit during the period from when the first identification information is acquired until when second identification information different from the first identification information is acquired in the storage unit in association with the first identification information.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. an image management unit that deletes the image data stored in the storage unit for each of the identification information associated with the image data; 3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

5. the image management unit acquires free space in the storage unit when the image storage unit stores the image data in the storage unit, and when it determines that the free space is not sufficient for storing the image data in the image storage unit, deletes the image data already stored in the storage unit for each of the identification information associated with the image data.

5. The electronic device according to claim 4.

6. When the image storage unit acquires a plurality of pieces of identification information from the image data for identification information recognition, the image storage unit allows a user to select the identification information to be associated with the image data from among the plurality of pieces of identification information.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

7. A display unit that displays the image data acquired by the image acquisition unit.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

8. The object to be photographed is a newspaper, The identification information is information indicating a date.

3. The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2.

9. Acquire image data captured from a photographing object and image data for identification information recognition captured from the photographing object; performing image recognition on the acquired image data for identification information recognition to acquire identification information for identifying the photographing object, and storing the image data in association with the acquired identification information; How to save images.

10. On the computer, acquiring image data photographed from a photographing object and image data for identification information recognition photographed from the photographing object; performing image recognition on the acquired image data for identification information recognition to acquire identification information for identifying the photographing object, and storing the image data in association with the acquired identification information; program.

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