Color information providing device, commodity providing device, color information providing method, commodity providing method, and commodity production method

Abstract

The present invention collects various colors and effectively provides commodities using the colors. Provided is a color information providing device that includes: an acquisition means for acquiring an image which has a prescribed theme; an extraction means for extracting a color included in the image; a recording means for recording color information in which the image, the extracted color, and related information related to a spot associated with the color are associated with each other; and a providing means for providing the color information.

Description

Color information providing device, product providing device, color information providing method, product providing method, and product production method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a color information providing device, a product providing device, a color information providing method, a product providing method, and a product production method.

[0002] The colors of common art supplies such as crayons and paints are adopted based on the color names and chromaticity reference values ​​defined by the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) (for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

[0003] "Color names and color samples for crayons and pastels in the Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS)," [online], http: / / www.natubunko.net / color / toola04.html, [accessed August 21, 2023]

[0004] In reality, there are many unnamed colors in addition to colors with defined names. If we could collect unnamed colors and manufacture products using those colors, we could provide products with a wide variety of colors.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to collect various colors and effectively provide products using those colors.

[0006] A color information providing device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes an acquisition means for acquiring an image including a predetermined subject, an extraction means for extracting a color included in the image, a recording means for recording color information that associates the image, the extracted color, and related information relating to a location linked to the color, and a providing means for providing the color information.

[0007] Furthermore, a product provision device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a manufacturing means for manufacturing a product using a color included in color information provided by the color information provision device described above, a display means for displaying related information associated with the color on the product, and a product provision means for providing the product in association with the image associated with the color.

[0008] Furthermore, a merchandise production method according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes the steps of acquiring an image including a predetermined subject, extracting a color contained in the image, and, based on color information that associates the image, the extracted color, and related information related to a location linked to the color, manufacturing a merchandise that uses the color contained in the color information, displays the related information associated with the color, and is associated with the image associated with the color.

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to collect various colors and effectively provide products using those colors.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration of a product provision system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a color information providing device 10. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a product provision device 20. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a color database D110. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing processing procedures in the color information providing device 10 and the product provision device 20. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer 1000.

[0011] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals denote the same or similar components.

[0012] <System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of a product provision system 1 according to the present embodiment. The product provision system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a color information providing device 10 and a product provision device 20. The color information providing device 10 and the product provision device 20 are communicatively connected to each other via a communication network N, such as the Internet, an intranet, a wireless LAN, or mobile communications. For convenience of illustration, only one color information providing device 10 and one product provision device 20 are shown; however, the product provision system 1 may include multiple color information providing devices 10 and multiple product provision devices 20. Note that, in the present invention, the term "means" does not simply mean physical means, but also includes cases where the functions of the "means" are realized by software. Furthermore, the functions of one "means" or device may be realized by two or more physical means or devices, and the functions of two or more "means" or devices may be realized by a single physical means or device.

[0013] The color information providing device 10 is an information processing device that extracts a predetermined color from the colors contained in an image based on, for example, an image containing a predetermined subject, and provides information containing the extracted color. The color information providing device 10 may be configured using one or more computers, or may be configured using a virtual server (such as a cloud server).

[0014] The product providing device 20 is, for example, an information processing device that manufactures products using colors included in the color information provided by the color information providing device 10 and provides the products to consumers, etc. The product providing device 20 may be configured using one or more computers, or may be configured using a virtual server (such as a cloud server).

[0015] <Functional Configuration> (Color Information Providing Device) The color information providing device 10 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the color information providing device 10. The color information providing device 10 includes an acquiring unit 101, an extracting unit 102, a recording unit 103, and a providing unit 104. Each of these units is realized, for example, by using a storage area such as the memory 1002 shown in FIG. 6 or by the processor 1001 executing a program stored in the storage area. Furthermore, some or all of the units included in the color information providing device 10 may be replaced by manual operation.

[0016] The acquisition means 101 has a function of acquiring an image including a predetermined subject.

[0017] The "predetermined subject" is a theme for determining the color to be extracted, and may be, for example, an object existing on Earth. Specifically, the subject may be a natural region or topography such as the ocean or a mountain. The subject may also be a facility or area such as an aquarium or a city.

[0018] For example, if the subject is the sea, the acquisition means 101 may acquire satellite images of some sea areas on Earth taken by an artificial satellite.

[0019] Satellite images are images of observation data obtained by artificial satellites. Satellite images can capture the colors of natural features such as the oceans and mountains on Earth from a space perspective.

[0020] The images acquired by the acquisition unit 101 may also be images taken from the ground or from within the atmosphere. That is, the images acquired by the acquisition unit 101 may include images of scenery taken by a camera or a smartphone, or images read from photographs. Unlike the above-mentioned satellite images, such images can capture the colors of scenery such as nature, buildings, and cities from the perspective of a person on the ground.

[0021] Hereinafter, an image containing a predetermined subject will be referred to as a "subject image."

[0022] The acquiring unit 101 may acquire, for example, a subject image in a data format (JPEG, GeoTIFF, etc.) that can be handled by an information processing device via wired or wireless communication. The subject image may be acquired, for example, from a server of a business that handles satellite images, or from a terminal of a person who owns the subject image.

[0023] The acquisition means 101 may also acquire a plurality of subject images.

[0024] The extraction unit 102 extracts colors contained in the acquired subject image. For example, this includes extracting the color of a specific pixel contained in the subject image based on the RGB values ​​of the pixel. The extraction unit 102 may select the pixel by performing processing based on a predetermined criterion. Alternatively, the extraction unit 102 may extract colors based on pixels selected by the judgment of a person viewing the subject image.

[0025] The extraction unit 102 may also refer to a part or all of an area included in the subject image and extract a color that represents that area from the color sample. For example, this includes determining which color in the color sample the area most closely resembles when viewed as a whole.

[0026] A "color sample" is, for example, a list of colors arranged in order of hue, and then arranged in order of brightness and saturation, and includes samples bound together in a book or in data format.

[0027] The extraction unit 102 may also determine an appropriate color sample by executing processing based on a predetermined criterion. Furthermore, the extraction unit 102 may determine a color sample based on a color sample selected visually by a person.

[0028] The recording means 103 associates the subject image acquired by the acquisition means 101, the color extracted by the extraction means 102, and related information that is information related to the color, and records them as "color information" in a database (hereinafter referred to as the "color database").

[0029] The recording means 103 may also record a plurality of pieces of color information in the color database based on a plurality of subject images.

[0030] The "related information" is information related to a location associated with a color, and includes, for example, coordinate information indicating a position on the earth corresponding to the location from which the color was extracted. The coordinate information may be latitude information and longitude information.

[0031] The related information may also include location information corresponding to the location of the photographer or the photographing device that captured the subject image. The location information may be, for example, information obtained by a Global Positioning System (GPS), information indicating the location in units of a postal code, information indicating the location in units of an address, etc.

[0032] The related information may also include information indicating the time or hour when the subject image was acquired (hereinafter referred to as "time information"). The time information may be information indicated in units of years, months, days, or other granularity.

[0033] The color database D110 will now be described with reference to Fig. 4, which shows an example of the color database D110.

[0034] The color database D110 is a database that stores, for example, subject images, colors extracted from the subject images, and information related to the colors in association with each other. As shown in FIG. 4 , the color database D110 includes, for example, items such as [Subject], [Location], [Image], [Color], [Coordinate Information], [Time Information], [Location Information], and [Description]. The subject D11 stores, for example, information indicating a theme for determining the color to be extracted. The location D12 stores, for example, a name indicating the location where the subject image was captured. The image D13 stores information indicating the subject image data. The color D14 stores, for example, information indicating the color extracted from the subject image. The information indicating the color may be, for example, an identification code of a color chip in a color sample or an RGB value. The coordinate information D15 stores, for example, information indicating the coordinates corresponding to the location where the color extracted from the subject image appears. The location information D16 stores, for example, information regarding the location where the subject image was captured. The time information D17 stores, for example, information indicating the date and time when the subject image was acquired. The description D18 stores, for example, information about the location that became the subject of the color and an explanation of the background of how the color appeared in that location.

[0035] In this way, the recording means 103 records the colors extracted from the subject image in the color database D110. This makes it possible to read color information based on the subject using, for example, an information processing device.

[0036] The providing unit 104 has a function of providing color information. For example, the providing unit 104 transmits color information stored in the color database D110 to the product provision device 20. The providing unit 104 may also transmit color information to the product provision device 20 without storing the color information in the color database D110.

[0037] (Product Provision Device) The product provision device 20 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the product provision device 20. The product provision device 20 includes a manufacturing unit 201, a display unit 202, and a product provision unit 203. Each of these units is realized by, for example, a processor 1001 executing a program stored in a storage area such as a memory 1002 shown in FIG. 6. Furthermore, some or all of the units included in the product provision device 20 may be replaced by manual operations.

[0038] The manufacturing means 201 is a means for manufacturing a product using the color included in the color information provided by the color information providing device 10. The manufacturing means 201 includes, for example, a system or equipment for manufacturing a product, but is not limited to this, and also includes a method for manufacturing a product by hand.

[0039] For example, the manufacturing means 201 selects "DIC-d," a color related to "western Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas" included in color information on the theme of "sea," from the color database D110 shown in FIG. 4, as the color to be used for the product to be manufactured, and manufactures the product.

[0040] The "product" may be, for example, art supplies such as crayons, paints, etc. The product may also be, but is not limited to, a water bottle, clothing, miscellaneous goods, etc.

[0041] The display means 202 displays, on a product manufactured by the manufacturing means 201, related information associated with the color used in the product. The display means 202 may display the related information, for example, by printing latitude and longitude information on the manufactured product. Furthermore, for example, the display means 202 may include a means for expressing the related information by the shape of the product. The display means 202 includes, for example, a system or equipment for displaying the related information, but is not limited to this, and also includes a means for manually displaying information. It should be noted that the manufacturing means 201 may be equipped with the functions of the display means 202, and the related information may be displayed on the product at any timing during manufacturing.

[0042] For example, the display unit 202 displays, on a product manufactured using the color, coordinate information (24.98503, -76.36213), which is related information corresponding to the color "DIC-d" included in the color information shown in Figure 4. This makes it possible to display, on the product, information related to the place where the color used in the product originated.

[0043] The product providing unit 203 provides the manufactured product in association with a theme image that corresponds to the color used in the product. The product providing unit 203 includes, for example, a system or equipment for providing the product, but is not limited to this, and also includes a system for providing the product manually.

[0044] For example, when providing a product manufactured with the theme of "sea," the product providing means 203 provides a theme image (satellite image, photograph, video, etc.) of the color used in the product in association with the product. Specifically, a satellite image of the ocean area from which the color used in the product was extracted and a link to the image are displayed on the product packaging or on a web page introducing the product, and provided to consumers. This allows the consumer to compare the color used in the product with an image of the place where the color was extracted.

[0045] Regarding the functional configuration described above, the color information providing device 10 may be configured to include some or all of the manufacturing means 201, the display means 202, and the product providing means 203 included in the product providing device 20. The product providing device 20 may be configured to include some or all of the acquisition means 101, extraction means 102, recording means 103, provision means 104, and color database D110 included in the color information providing device 10. That is, the various processes and means according to this embodiment may be executed by the color information providing device 10, the product providing device 20, or the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20 in cooperation with each other. Furthermore, the color database D110 may be configured to be located outside the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20. Furthermore, the means of the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20 may be realized by being separated into multiple devices.

[0046] 5, a specific product production processing procedure performed by the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20 in the product providing system 1 will be described. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the processing procedure in the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20.

[0047] First, in the color information providing device 10, the acquiring means 101 acquires a subject image (step S01). For example, if the subject is "the sea," a satellite image of the ocean on Earth captured by an artificial satellite is acquired.

[0048] Next, the extraction unit 102 extracts a color contained in the acquired subject image (step S02). For example, a specific pixel contained in the acquired satellite image of the ocean is selected, and the color of the pixel is extracted. This extraction may be performed, for example, by determining the color of the selected pixel based on a color sample.

[0049] Next, the recording means 103 records color information that associates the subject image, the extracted color, and related information of the color in the color database D110 (step S03). For example, as shown in Figure 4, a satellite image of the ocean "west of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas," a color (DIC-d) extracted from the satellite image, and coordinate information (24.98503, -76.36213) corresponding to the point where the color was extracted are associated and recorded in the color database D110.

[0050] Then, the providing unit 104 provides the above-mentioned color information (step S04). For example, the color information stored in the color database D110 is transmitted to the product providing device 20.

[0051] Next, the product providing device 20 produces a product using the color included in the color information provided by the color information providing device 10 (step S05). For example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the color included in the color information is "DIC-d," the producing means 201 produces a crayon using that color.

[0052] Next, the product provision device 20 displays, on the manufactured product, related information associated with the color used in the product (step S06). For example, if the color used in the manufactured crayon is "DIC-d" as shown in FIG. 4, the display means 202 displays coordinate information (24.98503, -76.36213), which is related information associated with the color. The display is made in a format appropriate for the manufactured product. For example, when manufacturing crayons, the coordinate information may be printed on the crayon body.

[0053] Finally, the product provision device 20, through the product provision means 203, provides the product with the related information displayed in association with a theme image, which is an image corresponding to the color used in the product (step S07). For example, when providing a set of crayons with the theme of "the sea," a satellite image of the ocean area from which the color used in each crayon was extracted is displayed on the product packaging or on a web page introducing the product, and is provided together with the product. In this way, for example, when a consumer picks up a crayon with the "color at coordinates '24.98503, -76.36213'," the consumer can also see a satellite image of the ocean in "west Eleuthera Island, Bahamas," which includes the coordinates, and can specifically recognize the location on Earth from which the color was extracted.

[0054] <Hardware Configuration> With reference to FIG. 6, an example of a hardware configuration in which the color information providing device 10 and the product providing device 20 are realized by a computer 1000 will be described.

[0055] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a computer 1000. As shown in Fig. 6, the computer 1000 includes, for example, a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage device 1003, an input I / F unit 1004, a data I / F unit 1005, a communication I / F unit 1006, and a display unit 1007.

[0056] The processor 1001 is a control unit that controls various processes in the computer 1000 by executing programs stored in the memory 1002 .

[0057] The memory 1002 is a storage medium such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), etc. The memory 1002 temporarily stores the program code of the program executed by the processor 1001 and data required when the program is executed.

[0058] The storage device 1003 is a non-volatile storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), flash memory, etc. The storage device 1003 stores an operating system and various programs for implementing the above-mentioned components.

[0059] The input I / F unit 1004 is a device for receiving input from a user. Specific examples of the input I / F unit 1004 include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, various sensors, and a wearable device. The input I / F unit 1004 may be connected to the computer 1000 via an interface such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0060] The data I / F unit 1005 is a device for inputting data from outside the computer 1000. A specific example of the data I / F unit 1005 is a drive device for reading data stored in various storage media. The data I / F unit 1005 may be provided outside the computer 1000. In this case, the data I / F unit 1005 is connected to the computer 1000 via an interface such as a USB.

[0061] The communication I / F unit 1006 is a device for performing data communication via the Internet N with devices external to the computer 1000 via a wired or wireless connection. The communication I / F unit 1006 may be provided external to the computer 1000. In this case, the communication I / F unit 1006 is connected to the computer 1000 via an interface such as a USB.

[0062] The display unit 1007 is a device for displaying various types of information. Specific examples of the display unit 1007 include a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and a display of a wearable device. The display unit 1007 may be provided outside the computer 1000. In this case, the display unit 1007 is connected to the computer 1000 via, for example, a display cable. Furthermore, when a touch panel is used as the input I / F unit 1004, the display unit 1007 can be configured as an integral part of the input I / F unit 1004.

[0063] <Summary> According to the embodiment described above, the color information providing device 10 extracts colors contained in a subject image, records color information that associates the subject image, the extracted colors, and related information about the colors, and provides the information. This makes it possible to collect and provide unnamed colors. Furthermore, the product providing device 20 manufactures products using the collected colors and provides the products that display related information about the colors in association with the subject image of the colors. This makes it possible to effectively provide products using the collected colors.

[0064] The above-described embodiments are intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The flowcharts, sequences, elements included in the embodiments, as well as their arrangements, materials, conditions, shapes, sizes, etc., are not limited to those exemplified and may be modified as appropriate.

[0065] 1...product provision system, 10...color information provision device, 20...product provision device, 101...acquisition means, 102...extraction means, 103...recording means, 104...provision means, 201...manufacturing means, 202...display means, 203...product provision means, 1001...processor, 1002...memory, 1003...storage device, 1004...input I / F unit, 1005...data I / F unit, 1006...communication I / F unit, 1007...display unit.

Claims

1. An apparatus for providing color information, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires an image including a predetermined theme; an extraction unit that extracts a color included in the image; a recording unit that records color information in which the image, the extracted color, and associated information related to a location associated with the color are associated with each other; and a providing unit that provides the color information.

2. The apparatus for providing color information according to claim 1, wherein the image includes a satellite image taken by an artificial satellite, and the associated information includes coordinate information indicating a position on the earth corresponding to the location where the color was extracted.

3. The apparatus for providing color information according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the associated information includes time information indicating the time when the image was acquired or taken, instead of or in addition to the location.

4. The apparatus for providing color information according to claim 1, wherein the image includes an image taken from the ground or within the atmosphere, and the associated information includes position information indicating a position on the earth of the location where the image was taken.

5. The apparatus for providing color information according to claim 1, wherein the extraction unit extracts a color from a color sample with reference to the color included in the image.

6. The apparatus for providing color information according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires a plurality of images including the predetermined theme, and the recording unit records a plurality of pieces of color information extracted based on the plurality of images.

7. A commodity providing apparatus, comprising: a manufacturing unit that manufactures a commodity using a color included in the color information provided by the apparatus for providing color information according to any one of claims 1 to 5; a display unit that displays associated information associated with the color on the commodity; and a commodity providing unit that provides the commodity in association with the image associated with the color.

8. A method for providing color information, comprising: a step of acquiring an image including a predetermined theme; a step of extracting a color included in the image; a step of recording color information in which the image, the extracted color, and associated information related to a location associated with the color are associated with each other; and a step of providing the color information.

9. A method for providing a commodity, comprising: a step of manufacturing a commodity using a color included in the color information provided by the method for providing color information according to claim 7; a step of displaying associated information associated with the color on the commodity; and a step of providing the commodity in association with the image associated with the color.

10. A step of acquiring an image including a predetermined theme, a step of extracting a color included in the image, and a product using the color included in the color information, which is based on the color information in which the image, the extracted color, and related information related to a point associated with the color are associated, and which displays the related information associated with the color and manufactures a product associated with the image associated with the color. A product production method including the steps.

Images