JP2011010133A - Photographing apparatus and information sharing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To support user's desired photography and arrangement of photographs.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a photographing apparatus comprising: a photographing section for photographing an image; a control section connected to the photographing section; and a storage device connected to the control section. The storage device holds information indicating positions of one or more photography recommended points. When the information indicating the positions is acquired, the control section retrieves the photography recommended points within a predetermined range including the acquired positions and outputs information indicating positions of the photography recommended points acquired by the retrieval.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging device that uses position information, and more particularly to an imaging device that presents recommended shooting locations around a current location and a moving route.

  When traveling and driving with a conventional photographing terminal, it is often done to take a commemorative photo at a famous place. As this sight information, a guidance terminal represented by car navigation already has a function of searching for a route to the site when a user searches for desired facility data and, for example, sets it as a destination. The user can follow the searched route and arrive at the site.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to the use of travel information. According to this technique, travel guide information composed of text or images is held in the photographing terminal as electronic data.

  On the other hand, there is a method of adding position information to a photographed image in order to organize images after photographing. The location information is given by a digital camera equipped with GPS, and the location information obtained by an independent GPS terminal outside the digital camera is synchronized with the captured image based on the time. There is.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique related to a navigation device that can more reliably associate photograph data captured by a digital camera with a travel history.

JP 2003-158655 A JP 2007-324986 A

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is not necessarily the user because of factors such as the fact that the direction of sunlight actually changes depending on the time of day, the optimal shooting location varies depending on the season, and the desired shooting target varies depending on user preferences. It cannot be said that it meets the needs. As a result, in some cases, the user may take a picture while compromising without knowing the optimum position and direction for taking a picture, even though there is a better shooting point in the vicinity. Especially during driving, once you start running, you may not be able to find the location where you want to stop easily, and even if you want to capture the same object again, you will likely give up.

  On the other hand, according to the technique disclosed in Patent Document 2, the position information acquired by GPS or the like generally has a large error, and therefore often deviates from the original shooting position. It will take time and effort to correct it.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and the object of the present invention is to present the nearest recommended shooting point to the user and guide the user to the desired point. Supporting the shooting of Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for facilitating tagging by presenting an appropriate place name or name character string at the time of photographing and asking the user for selection in order to facilitate image data organization after photographing.

  The present invention is an imaging device including an imaging unit that captures an image, a control unit connected to the imaging unit, and a storage device connected to the control unit, wherein the storage device includes one or more storage devices. Information indicating the position of the recommended shooting point and map information are held, and when the control unit acquires the information indicating the position, the control unit searches for the recommended shooting point within a predetermined range including the acquired position. Searching for a route to the recommended shooting point acquired by the search, and outputting information indicating the position of the recommended shooting point acquired by the search and information indicating the route acquired by the search It is characterized by.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to support a user's desired shooting at a point suitable for shooting.

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the imaging | photography terminal of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the whole imaging | photography position presentation of the 1st Embodiment of this invention, and an imaging | photography image place name provision process. It is explanatory drawing of the imaging | photography recommendation point table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the picked-up image attribute table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of arrangement | positioning of the area | region managed in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the area | region ID table contained in the map table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the road table contained in the map table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the road classification table contained in the map table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the note and background table contained in the map table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the background classification table contained in the map table of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the recommended point search and selection process performed in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the route calculation and guidance process performed in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the candidate place name presentation and selection process performed in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the screen displayed by the candidate place name presentation and selection process of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the recommended spot information of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and a recommended spot evaluation value information sharing system. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the server of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the imaging | photography recommendation point table of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the recommended point information sharing process performed in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the recommended spot evaluation information sharing process performed in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the captured image exchange process between imaging | photography terminals performed in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the photographing terminal 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The photographing terminal 100 is an apparatus such as a so-called digital camera that is used by a user to photograph a photographic image. The imaging terminal 100 includes a control unit 110, a position acquisition unit 120 connected to the control unit 110, a communication unit 130, an operation unit 140, a display unit 150, an imaging unit 160, a time acquisition unit 170, a secondary storage device 180, and a power source. Unit 190.

  The position acquisition unit 120 is an apparatus that acquires information indicating the current position of the photographing terminal 100. For example, the position acquisition unit 120 may be a GPS (Global Positioning System) terminal device. In that case, the position acquisition unit 120 calculates the current position (at least latitude and longitude) of the imaging terminal 100 based on signals received from a plurality of GPS satellites. Alternatively, the position acquisition unit 120 may be a device other than a GPS terminal device such as an inertial navigation device, or may be a combination of a plurality of types of devices as described above.

  The communication unit 130 is an interface for the photographing terminal 100 to communicate data with an external device. When the photographing terminal 100 communicates data via the network 135, the communication unit 130 is an interface for connecting to the network 135. When the photographing terminal 100 does not communicate data with an external device, the photographing terminal 100 may not include the communication unit 130.

  The operation unit 140 is an input device (for example, a button or a touch panel) that receives input from the user.

  The display unit 150 is an output device (for example, an image display device or a speaker) that outputs information to the user.

  The imaging unit 160 is an apparatus that captures an image in accordance with a user operation and outputs image data, and includes, for example, a lens (not shown) and an image sensor (not shown). The imaging unit 160 may further include a flash (not shown).

  The time acquisition unit 170 is an apparatus that acquires information indicating the current time, and may be a general clock, for example.

  The control unit 110 controls each unit of the photographing terminal 100. Details of specific control will be described later.

  The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111 and a primary storage device 112. The CPU 111 implements various functions by executing a program stored in the primary storage device 112.

  The primary storage device 112 is a semiconductor memory, for example, and stores a program executed by the CPU 111 and data referred to by the CPU 111.

  The secondary storage device 180 is a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a flash memory. The secondary storage device 180 stores a program executed by the CPU 111 and data referred to by the CPU 111. At least a part of these programs and data is copied to the primary storage device 112 as necessary, and is executed or referred to by the CPU 111.

  The secondary storage device 180 shown in FIG. 1 includes a recommended point search unit 181, a route calculation / guidance unit 182, a shooting position / orientation presentation unit 183, a shooting processing unit 184, a candidate place name presentation / selection unit 185, a map table 186, A recommended shooting point table 187 and a shot image attribute table 188 are stored. The recommended spot search unit 181, the route calculation / guidance unit 182, the shooting position / orientation presentation unit 183, the shooting processing unit 184, and the candidate place name presentation / selection unit 185 are programs executed by the CPU 111 of the control unit 110. The map table 186, the recommended shooting point table 187, and the shot image attribute table 188 include data that the CPU 111 refers to when executing the above program.

  The power supply unit 190 supplies power necessary for the operation of each unit of the photographing terminal 100. The power supply unit 190 includes, for example, a general battery. Furthermore, the power supply unit 190 may include a known control circuit that calculates the remaining battery level based on the history of the current supplied by the battery. Alternatively, the control unit 110 may calculate the remaining battery level as described above.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the entire photographing position presentation and photographed image place name assigning process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the control unit 110 acquires the position / time data 201 (step 210). The position / time data 201 includes information indicating a position and time (for example, the current position and current time of the photographing terminal 100) used as a search key in step 211 described later.

  For example, when searching for a recommended shooting point near the position where the user is currently located, the control unit 110 includes information indicating the current position of the shooting terminal 100 acquired by the position acquisition unit 120 and the current acquired by the time acquisition unit 170. The time may be acquired as the position / time data 201. Alternatively, when the user wants to search for a recommended shooting point near the destination to be visited, the control unit 110 uses the position information input to the operation unit 140 by the user and the estimated time of arrival at the position as the position / time data 201. You may get it.

  The position information may include coordinate values (for example, latitude and longitude) of the position, or information associated with the position, for example, a place name such as “Nikko City” or a subject to be imaged such as “Iroha Saka” It may contain proper names of things. The place name and the like are associated with the position (coordinates) by the map table 203 described later.

  The estimated time may be input by the user via the operation unit 140, or may be acquired by route search. Specifically, when the position information of the destination is input by the user, the control unit 110 searches the route from the current position to the destination with reference to the map table 203, and based on the search result, the destination You may expect an arrival time. This route search and arrival time prediction may be similar to that performed in a conventional car navigation system.

  Alternatively, when the user wants to search for a recommended shooting point in the vicinity of the route from the current location to the destination, the control unit 110 searches for the route from the current location to the destination as described above, and the entire searched route (or Information indicating the position of a plurality of points on the route and information indicating the time passing through the route may be acquired as the position / time data 201. Alternatively, a plurality of points on the route searched in this way and times passing through each of the plurality of points may be acquired as the position / time data 201.

  Furthermore, the user may input search conditions other than those described above. For example, the user may input the name of the shooting target, the type of shooting target, the type of user, and the like as search conditions. A search based on such a search condition will be described later (see FIG. 6).

  The position information and time information as described above are merely examples, and whatever position information and time information is acquired as the position / time data 201, the following processing can be executed using them as search keys. it can.

  Next, the control unit 110 refers to the recommended shooting point table 202 to search and select a recommended shooting point (step 211). Specifically, the control unit 110 searches the recommended shooting point table 202 using the position and time acquired in step 210 as search keys. Then, at least one shooting recommended point obtained as a search result is selected. Note that the recommended shooting point table 202 illustrated in FIG. 2 corresponds to the recommended shooting point table 187 illustrated in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 110 refers to the map table 203, calculates a route to the recommended shooting point selected in step 211, and guides the user to the recommended shooting point along the route (step 212). The map table 203 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the map table 186 shown in FIG.

  Next, the control unit 110 refers to the recommended shooting point table 202 and presents the shooting position and direction to the user (step 213).

  Next, the control unit 110 captures an image (step 214). For example, the user who has arrived at the recommended shooting point can operate the operation unit 140 to take a photograph of the presented orientation from the photographing position presented in step 213. The control unit 110 captures a photographic image by controlling the photographing unit 160 according to the operation. The control unit 110 stores captured image data in the secondary storage device 180.

  Next, the control unit 110 refers to the map table 203 and the recommended shooting point table 202 to present and select a candidate place name (step 215). Further, the control unit 110 stores the selected candidate place name in the captured image attribute table 204. The photographed image attribute table 204 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the photographed image attribute table 188 shown in FIG.

  In the above steps 211, 212, 213, 214, and 215, the CPU 111 of the control unit 110 has a recommended spot search unit 181, a route calculation / guide unit 182, a shooting position / orientation presentation unit 183, a shooting processing unit 184, and the like. It may be realized by executing the candidate place name presentation / selection unit 185.

  Next, details of the table referred to in each of the above steps will be described.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the recommended shooting point table 310 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The recommended shooting point table 310 illustrated in FIG. 3 corresponds to the recommended shooting point table 202 illustrated in FIG.

  Each record of the recommended shooting point table 310 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes information on the attribute of one recommended shooting point. Each record includes a recommended spot ID 311, an object name 312, a type 313, a recommended season 314, a recommended time zone 315, a target layer 316, a shooting position 317, a shooting direction 318, and a thumbnail image 319.

  Information for identifying each recommended shooting point is stored as the recommended point ID 311.

  As the object name 312, information indicating the name of the object photographed at each photographing recommendation point, for example, a character string such as “Iroha Saka” or “Nikko Toshogu” is stored. “Iroha Saka” is the name of the hill that is broken in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and is known as a famous spot for autumn leaves. “Nikko Toshogu” is the name of a famous shrine in Nikko.

  As the type 313, information indicating the type of an object to be photographed, for example, a character string such as “famous place / historic site”, “shrine / shrine”, “mountain”, or “railway” is stored. As the type 313 corresponding to one photographing recommended point, a plurality of character strings, for example, “famous places / historic sites” and “shrines and temples” may be stored.

  As the recommended season 314, information indicating a season in which shooting of the object is recommended is stored. For example, when the object is a spot of autumn leaves, “autumn” may be stored as the recommended season 314. As the recommended season 314, information indicating a period of any length such as “early April” may be stored in addition to “spring”, “summer”, “autumn”, or “winter”.

  As the recommended time zone 315, a time zone in which shooting of the object is recommended is stored. For example, when shooting in the evening becomes difficult due to the relationship between the terrain around the recommended shooting point and the position of the sun, information indicating a time zone other than the evening may be stored as the recommended time zone 315.

  As the target layer 316, information indicating the attribute of the user recommended to shoot the target object is stored. For example, when the object is preferred as a family trip commemorative photo, “family” may be stored as the object layer 316. Alternatively, for example, when the object is preferred as a commemorative photo of a couple of men and women, “couple” may be stored as the target layer 316. For example, when the object is preferred by a photograph lover, “photo lover” may be stored as the target layer 316. As the target layer 316, information indicating attributes not exemplified above may be stored, or information indicating a plurality of attributes may be stored.

  As the shooting position 317, information indicating the coordinates of the optimum position for shooting the object is stored.

  As the shooting direction 318, information indicating the optimum direction for shooting the object is stored.

  As the thumbnail image 319, image data indicating an example of a photographic image obtained by shooting an object from a recommended shooting point is stored.

  For example, “1001” and “1001” as the recommended spot ID 311, the object name 312, the type 313, the recommended season 314, the recommended time zone 315, the target layer 316, the shooting position 317, the shooting direction 318, and the thumbnail image 319 of the record 321, respectively. "Iroha Saka", "Sights / Historic Sites", "Autumn", "0800-1300", "Family", "(X1, Y1)", "35 °", and thumbnail images of Iroha Saka are stored. . This is because the shooting object recommended at the recommended shooting point identified by the identifier “1001” is an Iroha hill, and the Iroha hill is a famous spot for autumn leaves. Is recommended, shooting from 8 am to 1 pm is recommended, family photography is preferred, and shooting at a 35 ° angle from the coordinates (X1, Y1) is recommended. To be done.

  Note that the control unit 110 may display thumbnail images on the display unit 150, for example, automatically or in response to a request from the user (see FIG. 6). The user can determine the shooting position and the shooting direction with reference to the thumbnail image.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the captured image attribute table 410 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The photographed image attribute table 410 shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to the photographed image attribute table 204 shown in FIG.

  Each record of the photographed image attribute table 410 shown in FIG. 4 includes information related to one photographed photograph image. Each record includes an image ID 411, a file name 412, a shooting date and time 413, a shooting position 414, a shooting direction 415, a place name 416, and an object name 417.

  Information for identifying the photographed image is stored as the image ID 411.

  As the file name 412, information for identifying a file including data of the captured image is stored.

  As the shooting date / time 413, the shooting position 414, and the shooting direction 415, information indicating the date / time, position, and direction at which the image was shot is stored.

  As the place name 416, information indicating the place name of the position where the image is taken is stored.

  As the object name 417, a character string indicating the name of the photographed object is stored.

  For example, “2001”, “0001.jpg”, “200901011035”, “20091011035”, “image name 411”, “photographing date / time 413”, “photographing position” 414, “photographing direction” 415, “placement name” 416, and “object name” 417, respectively (X1, Y1) ”,“ 30 ”,“ Nikko City ”, and“ Iroha Saka ”are stored. This is because the data of the image identified by the identifier “2001” is stored as a file named “0001.jpg”, and the image is 30 from the coordinates (X1, Y1) at 10:35 on January 1, 2009. This is an image obtained by photographing the direction of °, indicating that the photographing position is Nikko-shi and the photographed object is a slope.

  When a new image is captured in step 214 of FIG. 2, the control unit 110 adds a new record for recording attribute information of the captured image to the captured image attribute table 410.

  Next, the map table 203 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5F. The map table 203 used in the present embodiment may be the same as that used in a conventional car navigation terminal or the like. 5A to 5F show examples of the map table 203. FIG.

  FIG. 5A is an explanatory diagram of an arrangement of areas managed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The imaging terminal 100 according to the present embodiment divides a space on a map corresponding to the real world into a lattice shape, and assigns an identification number (that is, an area ID) to each divided rectangular area. For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, a region ID “1” is assigned to a rectangular region 510 having an X coordinate from X1 to X2 and a Y coordinate from Y0 to Y1.

  FIG. 5B is an explanatory diagram of the area ID table 520 included in the map table 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The area ID table 520 includes information associating the area ID and coordinates of each rectangular area shown in FIG. 5A. Specifically, the region ID table 520 includes a region ID 521, a lower left coordinate 522, and an upper right coordinate 523.

  The area ID 521 is an identifier assigned to each area.

  The lower left coordinates 522 are the coordinates of the lower left corner point of each rectangular area (in other words, the coordinates of the point having the smallest X coordinate and the smallest Y coordinate among the points on the boundary line of each area).

  The upper right coordinates 523 are the coordinates of the upper right corner point of each rectangular area (in other words, the coordinates of the point having the largest X coordinate and the largest Y coordinate among the points on the boundary line of each area).

  In the example of FIG. 5B, “(X1, Y0)” and “(X2, Y1)” are stored as the lower left coordinate 522 and the upper right coordinate 523 corresponding to the value “1” of the area ID 521, respectively. This indicates that a region ID “1” is assigned to a rectangular region 510 having an X coordinate from X1 to X2 and a Y coordinate from Y0 to Y1, as shown in FIG. 5A.

  FIG. 5C is an explanatory diagram of the road table 530 included in the map table 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The road table 530 includes information regarding roads on the map. Specifically, the road table 530 includes a link ID 531, a region ID 532, a width 533, a road type code 534, point sequence data 535, a start node ID 536, and an end node ID 537.

  The link ID 531 is information for identifying a link, that is, a section of a road connecting two adjacent intersections.

  The area ID 532 is information for identifying an area (see FIG. 5A) to which each section identified by the link ID 531 belongs. For example, “1” is stored as the area ID 532 of the top record in FIG. 5C. This indicates that the section corresponding to the entry is included in a rectangular area 510 having an X coordinate from X1 to X2 and a Y coordinate from Y0 to Y1.

  The width 533 is information indicating the road width of each section.

  The road type code 534 is information indicating the type of road including the section identified by the link ID 531. This will be described later with reference to FIG. 5D.

  The point sequence data 535 is a set of coordinate values of points on the road in each section. Based on the point sequence data 535, the shape of the road in each section can be specified.

  The start point node ID 536 is information for identifying the start point of each section.

  The end node ID 537 is information for identifying the end point of each section.

  FIG. 5D is an explanatory diagram of a road type table 540 included in the map table 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The road type table 540 includes information associating information describing the road type (road type 541 in FIG. 5D) with a code for identifying the road type (code 542 in FIG. 5D).

  In the example of FIG. 5D, “1”, “2”, and “3” are stored as the codes 542 corresponding to the values “highway”, “national road”, and “prefectural road” of the road type 541, respectively. . This indicates that the code identifying the highway is “1”, the code identifying the national road is “2”, and the code identifying the prefectural road is “3”.

  For example, “1” is stored as the road type code 534 of the top record of the road table 530 in FIG. 5C. This indicates that the section corresponding to the record is a part of the highway.

  FIG. 5E is an explanatory diagram of the note / background table 550 included in the map table 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The note / background table 550 includes information on background features on the map. Specifically, the note / background table 550 includes a background ID 551, a region ID 552, a background type code 553, shape data 554, and a note character string 555. Here, the background features mean features other than roads on the map, such as rivers, railways, administrative boundaries, and the like.

  The background ID 551 is information for identifying each background feature.

  The area ID 552 is information for identifying an area to which each background feature identified by the background ID 551 belongs (see FIG. 5A). For example, “1” is stored as the area ID 552 of the first record in FIG. 5E. This indicates that the area 510 includes the background corresponding to the entry (in the example of FIG. 5E and FIG. 5F described later, the administrative district boundary “Tochigi Prefecture”).

  The background type code 553 is information indicating the type of each background feature. This will be described later with reference to FIG. 5F.

  The shape data 554 is information indicating the shape of each background feature. For example, as the shape data 554, coordinate values representing either a point graphic representing a map symbol or the like, a polygonal graphic representing a railway or the like, and a polygonal graphic representing a water area or a site are stored.

  Annotation character string 555 is a character string including information describing each background feature. For example, as the note character string 555, the name of a river, the name of a railway line, the name of a facility, the name of a prefecture, the name of a city, an address, or the like may be stored.

  FIG. 5F is an explanatory diagram of the background type table 560 included in the map table 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The background type table 560 includes information associating information describing the type of the background feature (background type 561 in FIG. 5F) and a code for identifying the type of the background feature (code 562 in FIG. 5F).

  In the example of FIG. 5F, the codes 562 corresponding to the values “river”, “railway”, “administrative district boundary”, and “facility name” of the background type 561 are “1”, “2”, “3”, and “3”, respectively. 4 ″ is stored. This indicates that the code identifying the river is “1”, the code identifying the railway is “2”, the code identifying the administrative district is “3”, and the code identifying the facility name is “4”.

  For example, “3” is stored as the background type code 553 of the first record of the note / background table 550 in FIG. 5E, and “Tochigi Prefecture” is stored as the note character string 555 of the record. This indicates that the background feature corresponding to the record is the administrative district boundary “Tochigi Prefecture”.

  Next, details of processing executed in each step of FIG. 2 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing recommended point search / selection processing executed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The recommended spot search / selection process shown in FIG. 6 is executed in step 211 of FIG.

  First, the control unit 110 acquires a recommended shooting point that matches the search condition by searching the recommended shooting point table 602 using the position / time data 601 as a search key (step 611).

  The position / time data 601 corresponds to the position / time data 201 acquired in step 210 of FIG. That is, the position / time data 601 may include, for example, information indicating the current position, the position of the destination, or the positions of a plurality of points on the route from the current position to the destination as the position information. As the current time, the estimated time of arrival at the destination, or the time of passing through a plurality of points on the route from the current position to the destination.

  The control unit 110 searches the recommended shooting point table 602 using the acquired position / time data 601 as a search key. The shooting recommendation spot table 602 shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the shooting recommendation spot table 202 shown in FIG. 2 and the shooting recommendation spot table 310 shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the control unit 110 searches the recommended shooting point table 602 for recommended shooting points within a predetermined range including the point indicated by the position / time data 601. Here, the recommended shooting point within a predetermined range including the point indicated by the position / time data 601 may be a recommended shooting point whose distance from the point indicated by the position / time data 601 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. However, it may be a recommended shooting point within a range that can be reached within a predetermined time from the point indicated by the position / time data 601.

  The distance between the point indicated by the position / time data 601 and the recommended shooting point is the coordinate value of the point indicated by the position / time data 601, the coordinate value indicated by the shooting position 317 of each record in the recommended shooting point table 310, and Can be calculated based on The arrival time from the point indicated by the position / time data 601 to the recommended shooting point is calculated based on the distance between the two points and the moving speed (for example, when walking or using a car). Can do. When a car is used for movement, road congestion information may be referred to. Such calculation of distance and arrival time can be realized by a method used in a conventional car navigation system.

  For example, by using the With function of SQL (Structured Query Language), it is possible to search for a coordinate value within an arbitrary range including coordinates given as a search condition. The Within function of SQL is described in, for example, Akira Shiro Tanaka, “Application package SQL / MM standardization trend”, IEICE technical report, Vol.99, No117 (DE99-4), June, 1999. .

For example, when the coordinate value of the position acquired as a search key is (X, Y), a recommended shooting point within a radius of 100 m can be searched by executing the following SQL.
SELECT * FROM Recommended shooting point table WHERE within (Recommended shooting point table. Shooting position, circle (point (X, Y) 100) = 1;
Or, for example, as a search key by the method described in Hideki Hayashi et al., "K-nearest neighbor search method for spatial data in embedded DBMS", Journal of the Database Society of Japan Vol.7, No2, pp.13-18 It is possible to search for k recommended shooting points in the vicinity of the selected position. According to this method, k records near the position acquired as the search key can be searched at high speed using the spatial index technique.

  The control unit 110 may further narrow down the recommended shooting points acquired by the above search based on the attribute information of the recommended shooting points. The attribute information of the recommended shooting point is, for example, the object name 312, the type 313, the recommended season 314, the recommended time zone 315, or the target layer 316 corresponding to the recommended shooting point.

  For example, the control unit 110 further searches for records in which the time acquired as the search key (that is, the time indicated by the position / time data 601) is included in the recommended time zone 315 among the records searched as described above. May be. When the position / time data 601 includes information indicating the date as the time information, the control unit 110 may further search for a record in which the recommended season 314 includes the date.

  Alternatively, when the user inputs a search key other than those described above, the control unit 110 may perform a narrow search similar to the above using the input search key.

  The user may input the name of a desired object to be photographed (for example, “Irohazaka”) or its type (for example, “famous place / historic site”) as a search key. Alternatively, the user may input the user type (for example, “family” when the user wants to take a picture during the family trip) as a search key. In that case, the control unit 110 searches for a record having the object name 312, the type 313, or the target layer 316 that matches the input search key among the records acquired by the search based on the position information.

  However, the control unit 110 may give the priority based on the attribute information in the next step 612 without executing the narrowing search based on the attribute information as described above in step 611.

  Next, the control unit 110 assigns a priority to the searched shooting recommended spot (step 612). Specifically, when a plurality of recommended shooting points are searched in step 611, the control unit 110 gives priority to each of these recommended shooting points.

  The priority is an index representing the degree of recommendation to the user. For example, the control unit 110 may give priority according to the ease of reaching the recommended shooting point. Specifically, for example, a higher priority may be given to the recommended shooting point as the distance or moving time from the position acquired as the search key to the position of the recommended shooting point is decreased.

  Or the control part 110 may provide the priority according to the high possibility that the user can take the photograph which he desires. Specifically, for example, when the time acquired as the search key is included in one recommended time zone 315 of the searched shooting recommended spot, the recommended shooting spot is higher than the recommended shooting spot that does not satisfy the condition. You may give priority.

  Alternatively, when a plurality of search keys are input as described above, the control unit 110 may give a higher priority to a recommended shooting point that matches more search keys.

  The control unit 110 may exclude from the search results other than the predetermined number of recommended shooting spots with higher priority among the recommended shooting spots searched in Step 611.

  Next, the control unit 110 displays the recommended shooting point acquired as a search result on the display unit 150 (step 613). The display unit 150 may display a list of recommended shooting points. The displayed list may include an object name 312 of each recommended shooting point, a shooting position 317, a thumbnail image 319, and the like. Or the control part 110 displays the map of the area | region containing the imaging | photography recommendation spot acquired as a search result based on the map table 203 on the display part 150, and the imaging | photography recommendation spot acquired as a search result on the map The thumbnail image 319 may be superimposed and displayed.

  The control unit 110 calculates the number of images that can be taken from now on the basis of at least one of the remaining battery level and the free space of the secondary storage device 180, and displays the recommended number of shooting points equal to or less than the calculated number. You may display on the part 150. FIG.

  As described above, the power supply unit 190 or the control unit 110 can calculate the remaining amount of the battery included in the power supply unit 190. The control unit 110 can calculate the number of images that can be captured from now on the basis of the calculated remaining battery level and the amount of power consumed to capture one image. The amount of power consumed to take an image also depends on whether or not the flash is used. The control unit 110 may calculate the number of images that can be captured using either the amount of power when the flash is used or the amount of power when the flash is not used, based on the recommended shooting time period. For example, it may be assumed that a flash is used for shooting at a recommended shooting point where the recommended shooting time is at night.

  Further, the control unit 110 calculates the upper limit of the number of images that can be taken from now on the basis of the free capacity of the secondary storage device 180 and the storage capacity necessary for storing data of one image. Can do.

  By displaying recommended shooting points that are less than or equal to the number of images that can be shot as described above, it is impossible to shoot due to a loss of shooting opportunities, that is, due to battery exhaustion, etc. even though there are still points suitable for shooting. Can be avoided.

  The user operates the operation unit 140 to select at least one of the recommended shooting locations displayed in step 613. The control unit 110 receives a selection by the user via the operation unit 140 (step 614).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing route calculation / guidance processing executed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The route calculation / guidance process shown in FIG. 7 is executed in step 212 of FIG.

  First, the control unit 110 displays a map of a region including the current position of the photographing terminal 100 based on the current location / recommended location data 701 and the map table 720 (step 711). Note that the map table 720 illustrated in FIG. 7 corresponds to the map table 203 described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5F. The current location / recommended point data 701 includes information indicating the coordinates of the current position of the imaging terminal 100 and information indicating the coordinates of the recommended shooting location selected in step 211. The coordinates of the current position of the imaging terminal 100 are acquired by the position acquisition unit 120.

  Next, the control unit 110 calculates a route from the current position of the photographing terminal 100 to the selected photographing recommended point (step 712). This route search can be executed by a known method. For example, when the starting point (for example, the current position) and the ending point (for example, the selected recommended shooting point) of the route are determined, the control unit 110 refers to the road table 530 and the road type table 540 included in the map table 720 to determine the shortest. A road data string corresponding to the route is calculated. The control unit 110 can determine the shortest path by representing a set of links as a graph composed of edges to which the path length of the link is given as a weight, and performing a calculation represented by the Dijkstra method.

  Next, the control unit 110 guides the user based on the route calculated in Step 712 (Step 713). Specifically, the control unit 110 outputs information necessary for guiding the user via the display unit 150. In order to perform this guidance, the control unit 110 refers to the map table 720 and the current location data 710. The current location data 710 includes the latest current location acquired by the location acquisition unit 120. The position acquisition unit 120 acquires the current position repeatedly at a predetermined timing (for example, periodically).

  Since the route search in step 712 and the guidance in step 713 are the same as those performed in a conventional car navigation terminal, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  When the control unit 110 compares the current location / recommended location data 701 with the current location data 710 and determines that the imaging terminal 100 has arrived at the recommended imaging location, the control unit 110 notifies the user that it has arrived at the recommended imaging location (step 714). ). For example, the control unit 110 may cause the display unit 150 to output a display for notifying the arrival at the recommended shooting point.

  When the photographing terminal 100 arrives at the recommended photographing point, the control unit 110 presents the photographing position and direction (step 213 in FIG. 2). For example, the control unit 110 displays a map including the recommended shooting point on the display unit 150, and displays the position and shooting direction of the recommended shooting point on the map based on the shooting position 317 and the shooting direction 318, respectively. Further, a thumbnail image 319 corresponding to the recommended shooting point may be displayed.

  The user can take a picture of the displayed shooting direction from the point displayed as described above with reference to the display unit 150 (step 214 in FIG. 2).

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which a route from the current position to the recommended shooting point is searched. However, when a destination that the user wants to go to is acquired in step 210, from the destination to the recommended shooting point. Or a route from a point on the route from the current position to the destination to a recommended shooting point may be searched. In this case, the current location / recommended location data 701 includes location information on the destination or location information on the route to the destination, instead of information on the current location.

  When the image is captured, the control unit 110 stores the captured image data in the secondary storage device 180. Further, the control unit 110 adds a new record to the photographed image attribute table 410 and stores the attribute information of the photographed image in the record.

  Specifically, the control unit 110 generates a unique identifier and stores it as an image ID 411. Further, the name of the file containing the data of the photographed image is stored as the file name 412. Further, the control unit 110 stores the time acquired by the time acquisition unit 170 as the shooting date and time 413 and stores the coordinates acquired by the position acquisition unit 120 as the shooting position 324.

  When the position acquisition unit 120 includes, for example, an orientation sensor (not shown) or the like, the control unit 110 stores the orientation acquired by the orientation sensor as the shooting direction 415. Alternatively, the control unit 110 may read the value of the shooting direction 318 corresponding to the recommended shooting point where the image was shot from the recommended shooting point table 310 and store the value as the shooting direction 415.

  Further, the control unit 110 reads the value of the object name 312 corresponding to the recommended shooting point where the image was shot from the recommended shooting point table 310 and stores the value as the target name 417.

  At this point, the place name 416 of the newly added record is blank.

  FIG. 8A is a flowchart showing candidate place name presentation / selection processing executed in the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The candidate place name presentation / selection process shown in FIG. 8A is executed in step 215 of FIG.

  First, the control unit 110 selects the image captured in step 214 of FIG. 2 (step 810). Further, the control unit 110 refers to the captured image attribute table 801 and reads a record corresponding to the selected image. The captured image attribute table 801 corresponds to the captured image attribute table 204 of FIG. At this time, the place name 416 of the read record is blank.

  Next, the control unit 110 searches the map table 802 (step 811). The map table 802 corresponds to the map table 203 in FIG. For example, the control unit 110 compares the value of the photographing position 324 of the photographed image with the shape data 554 of the note / background table 550 and compares the shape data 554 with the value of the photographing position 324 or the photographing position 324. The record having the shape data 554 whose distance from the head is within a predetermined value is searched. And the control part 110 acquires the value of the note character string 555 of the searched record as a candidate place name.

  Next, the control unit 110 causes the display unit 150 to display a list of candidate place names (step 812). An example of the screen displayed on the display unit 150 at this time will be described later with reference to FIG. 8B.

  Next, the control unit 110 stores the selected candidate place name as the place name 416 of the captured image attribute table 801 corresponding to the selected image.

  FIG. 8B is an explanatory diagram of a screen displayed by the candidate place name presentation / selection process according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The candidate place name presentation / selection screen 800 displayed on the display unit 150 in step 812 includes a captured image display area 841 and a tag character string display area 842.

  The captured image display area 841 displays the image captured in step 214 of FIG.

  In the tag character string display area 842, candidate character strings to be stored as attribute information of the photographed image are displayed. This character string candidate is acquired from the note character string 555 of the map table 802. In the example of FIG. 8B, “Iroha Saka”, “Nikko City”, and “Tochigi Prefecture” are displayed. Each of these candidates may be appropriate as attribute information indicating the point at which the image was taken, but the user is most likely to choose among these candidates so that he can easily organize the image later. You can select the string you think is appropriate.

  For example, if a user thinks that if a photograph taken of Iroha Saka is hit by a search using “Iroha Saka” as a search keyword, the user can easily organize the photo, the user selects “Iroha Saka” in Step 813. "Can be selected. In this case, the character string “Iroha Saka” is stored as the place name 416 of the record in the captured image attribute table 801 corresponding to the captured image.

  The user may select two or more place names presented as candidates. For example, when the user selects “Iroha Saka” and “Nikko City” in the example of FIG. 8B, the character strings “Iroha Saka” and “Nikko City” are recorded in the captured image attribute table 801 corresponding to the captured image. Is stored as a place name 416.

  7 to 8B show an example in which the place name selected from the map table 802 is stored as the place name 416, but the character string selected from the recommended shooting point table 310 is the place name 416 or other attribute information. It may be stored.

  For example, in step 811, the control unit 110 compares the value of the photographing position 324 of the photographed image with the photographing position 317 of the photographing recommendation point table 310 and performs photographing within a predetermined range including the value of the photographing position 324. A record having the position 317 may be searched. Then, the control unit 110 may store the value of the object name 312 of the searched record as the object name 417.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to guide the user to a point suitable for shooting near the current location of the user or a destination to be visited by the user. Furthermore, the user can select and assign photo attribute information that facilitates the user's organization of photos from appropriate candidates. These support the photographing of images desired by the user and the organization of the photographed images.

  In the above example, the search key in step 211 in FIG. 2 includes position information. However, a search using a search key that does not include position information may be executed in step 211. For example, when “shrines and temples” are designated as the search key, records whose type 313 value is “shrines and temples” among all the records in the recommended shooting point table 202 are searched. Then, a recommended shooting point corresponding to the searched record is displayed. Such a search can be executed, for example, when the user intends to decide the destination.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the information related to the recommended shooting point is held by the shooting terminal 100 and used only by the shooting terminal 100. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, information related to recommended shooting points is shared by a plurality of shooting terminals. Furthermore, an evaluation score is given to the information regarding the recommended shooting location, and the evaluation score is also shared by a plurality of shooting terminals.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the recommended spot information and recommended spot evaluation value information sharing system according to the second embodiment of this invention.

  The recommended spot information and recommended spot evaluation value information sharing system of this embodiment includes a server 910, a photographing terminal 920, and a network 930 connecting them. Although only one photographing terminal 920 is shown in FIG. 9, the present system may include a plurality of photographing terminals 920 connected to the network 930.

  The server 910 is a computer connected to the network 930. The server 910 of the present embodiment includes a recommended spot search / update unit 911 and a recommended shooting recommended spot table 912.

  The recommended spot search / update unit 911 searches and updates the sharing recommended shooting spot table 912 in response to a request from the shooting terminal 920.

  The sharing recommended shooting point table 912 stores information related to recommended shooting points shared by the plurality of shooting terminals 920.

  Details of the hardware configuration of the server 910 and the above-described units will be described later.

  The photographing terminal 920 is a device such as a so-called digital camera that is used by a user to take a photographic image. The photographing terminal 920 of this embodiment includes a recommended spot search unit 921, a route calculation / guidance unit 922, a photographing position / orientation presentation unit 923, a photographing processing unit 924, a candidate place name presentation / selection unit 925, a map table 926, and a recommended photographing point. A table 927 and a captured image attribute table 928 are provided.

  The map table 926 and the captured image attribute table 928 are the same as the map table 186 and the captured image attribute table 188 of the first embodiment, respectively, and thus description thereof is omitted. The recommended shooting point table 927 will be described later.

  The imaging terminal 920 of the present embodiment performs the process shown in FIG. 2 as with the imaging terminal 100 of the first embodiment except for some differences.

  The recommended spot search unit 921 searches the recommended shooting spot with reference to the recommended shooting spot table 927 as in step 211 of FIG. However, the recommended shooting point table 927 is updated based on the shared recommended shooting point table 912. This update will be described later (see FIG. 12).

  The route calculation / guidance unit 922 searches the route from the current position of the photographing terminal 920 to the destination (for example, the recommended photographing recommended point) with reference to the map table 926 as in step 212 of FIG. The user is guided along the route.

  The shooting position / orientation presentation unit 923 presents the recommended shooting point and the shooting direction from that point to the user, as in step 213 of FIG.

  The imaging processing unit 924 captures an image in accordance with an instruction from the user, similarly to step 214 in FIG.

  The candidate place name presentation / selection unit 925 presents place name candidates stored as attribute information of the photographed image, accepts at least one of the selections, and selects the selected place name as in step 215 of FIG. Stored in the photographed image attribute table 928. Further, the candidate place name presenting / selecting unit 925 of the present embodiment executes a process related to the evaluation point given to the information related to the recommended shooting point, as will be described later.

  The network 930 may be of any type as long as it provides a data transfer path between the server 910 and the photographing terminal 920. Typically, the network 930 is a so-called Internet.

  The photographing terminal 920 can acquire information stored in the shared photographing recommendation point table 912 from the server 910 via the network 930. Furthermore, the photographing terminal 920 can transmit information for updating the shared photographing recommendation point table 912 to the server 910 via the network 930.

  The network 930 may provide a data transfer path other than the Internet. For example, the photographing terminal 920 acquires the information stored in the shared recommended shooting point table 912 from the server 910 via a recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a memory card, and updates the shared recommended shooting point table 912. Information to do so may be transferred to the server 910. Alternatively, the photographing terminal 920 may execute data transfer with the server 910 via, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

  FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the server 910 according to the second embodiment of this invention.

  The server 910 includes a control unit 1010, a communication unit 1030, an operation unit 1040, a display unit 1050, and a secondary storage device 1060 that are connected to each other.

  The communication unit 1030 is connected to the network 930 and executes data transfer with the imaging terminal 920 via the network 930. When the network 930 is the Internet, the communication unit 1030 may be an interface for connecting to the Internet.

  Alternatively, when the photographing terminal 920 is connected to the server 910 via, for example, a USB, the communication unit 1030 may be an interface for connecting to the USB. Alternatively, when the imaging terminal 920 performs data transfer with the server 910 via a recording medium, the communication unit 1030 may be a reading / writing device for the recording medium. For example, when the storage medium is an optical disk, the communication unit 1030 may be an optical disk drive. Alternatively, when the recording medium is a memory card, the communication unit 1030 may be a memory card reader / writer. The server 910 includes a plurality of communication units 1030, and each of the communication units 1030 may be any one of the above.

  The operation unit 1040 is an input device (for example, a keyboard or a mouse) that receives input from the user.

  The display unit 1050 is an output device (for example, an image display device) that outputs information to the user.

  The control unit 1010 includes a CPU 1011 and a primary storage device 1012. The CPU 1011 realizes various functions (for example, the recommended spot search / update unit 911 illustrated in FIG. 9) by executing a program stored in the primary storage device 1012. Therefore, the processing executed by the recommended spot search / update unit 911 in the present embodiment is actually executed by the CPU 1011.

  The primary storage device 1012 is a semiconductor memory, for example, and stores a program executed by the CPU 1011 and data referred to by the CPU 1011.

  The secondary storage device 1060 is a nonvolatile storage device such as an HDD or a flash memory. The secondary storage device 1060 includes a program executed by the CPU 1011 (for example, a program for realizing the recommended spot search / update unit 911 shown in FIG. 9) and data referred to by the CPU 1011 (for example, shown in FIG. 9). A shared photographing recommendation point table 912) is stored. At least a part of these programs and data is copied to the primary storage device 1012 as necessary, and is executed or referred to by the CPU 1011.

  The hardware configuration of the photographing terminal 920 of the present embodiment is the same as that of the photographing terminal 100 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 1). That is, the photographing terminal 920 includes a control unit 110, a position acquisition unit 120, a communication unit 130, an operation unit 140, a display unit 150, a photographing unit 160, a time acquisition unit 170, a secondary storage device 180, and a power supply unit that are connected to each other. 190. The network 135 illustrated in FIG. 1 corresponds to the network (or storage medium) 930 illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Therefore, the communication unit 130 included in the photographing terminal 920 may be the same as the communication unit 1030 included in the server 910.

  The control unit 110 includes a CPU 111 and a primary storage device 112. The CPU 111 executes various functions (for example, the recommended spot search unit 921, the route calculation / guide unit 922, the shooting position / orientation presentation unit 923, the shooting shown in FIG. 9) by executing the program stored in the primary storage device 112. A processing unit 924 and a candidate place name presentation / selection unit 925) are realized. Therefore, in this embodiment, the processing executed by the recommended spot search unit 921, the route calculation / guidance unit 922, the shooting position / orientation presentation unit 923, the shooting processing unit 924, and the candidate place name presentation / selection unit 925 is actually the CPU 111. Executed by.

  The secondary storage device 180 is a program executed by the CPU 111 (for example, the recommended spot search unit 921, the route calculation / guide unit 922, the shooting position / orientation presentation unit 923, the shooting processing unit 924, and the candidate place name shown in FIG. A program for realizing the selection unit 925 and data referred to by the CPU 1011 (for example, the map table 926, the recommended shooting point table 927, and the shot image attribute table 928 shown in FIG. 9) are stored. At least a part of these programs and data is copied to the primary storage device 112 as necessary, and is executed or referred to by the CPU 111.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the sharing recommended shooting point table 1110 according to the second embodiment of this invention.

  The sharing recommended shooting point table 1110 illustrated in FIG. 11 corresponds to the shared shooting recommended point table 912 illustrated in FIG. 9.

  Each record of the recommended shooting recommended spot table 1110 shown in FIG. 11 includes information related to one recommended shooting spot. Each record includes a recommended spot ID 1111, an object name 1112, a type 1113, a recommended season 1114, a recommended time zone 1115, a target layer 1116, a shooting position 1117, a shooting direction 1118, a thumbnail image 1119, and an evaluation point 1120. Among these, the recommended spot ID 1111, the object name 1112, the type 1113, the recommended season 1114, the recommended time zone 1115, the target layer 1116, the shooting position 1117, the shooting direction 1118, and the thumbnail image 1119 are respectively those of the first embodiment. This is the same as the recommended spot ID 311, the object name 312, the type 313, the recommended season 314, the recommended time zone 315, the target layer 316, the shooting position 317, the shooting direction 318, and the thumbnail image 319 in the recommended shooting point table 310. Omitted (see FIG. 3).

  As the evaluation point 1120, a value indicating an evaluation regarding each recommended shooting point is stored. This value is input to the photographing terminal 920 by the user of the photographing terminal 920 and transmitted from the photographing terminal 920 to the server 910 via the network 930. In the example of FIG. 11, “3” is stored as the evaluation point 1120 of the recommended shooting point for shooting “Iroha Saka” (record 1121).

  Since the structure of the recommended shooting point table 927 of the shooting terminal 920 is the same as the recommended shooting point table for sharing 1110, the illustration is omitted. However, the same information as that stored in the recommended shooting recommended spot table 1110 is not always stored in the recommended shooting spot table 927.

  For example, the same information as the information stored in the recommended shooting recommended spot table 1110 may be stored in the recommended shooting spot table 927 when the shooting terminal 920 is shipped. Thereafter, when new information is added to the recommended shooting point table for sharing 1110, the update of the recommended shooting point table for sharing 1110 is reflected in the recommended shooting point table 927 by a recommended point information sharing process described later.

  Alternatively, the recommended shooting point table 927 may be empty when the shooting terminal 920 is shipped. In that case, the same information as the information stored in the recommended shooting recommended spot table 1110 is stored in the recommended shooting spot table 927 by the recommended spot sharing process executed after shipment. Thereafter, the recommended spot sharing process is repeatedly executed as necessary, and thereby the update of the sharing recommended shooting spot table 1110 is reflected in the recommended shooting spot table 927.

  Further, the evaluation point value of each recommended shooting point stored in the recommended shooting point table 927 does not necessarily match the value of the evaluation point 1120 of the recommended shooting point table for sharing 1110. For example, the value input by the user of the photographing terminal 920 may be stored as it is as the evaluation point of the recommended photographing point table 927, but the value of the evaluation point 1120 of the recommended photographing point table for sharing 1110 is from a plurality of photographing terminals 920. It may be an average value of the transmitted evaluation points.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing recommended spot information sharing processing executed in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The recommended spot information sharing process shown in FIG. 12 may be executed at an arbitrary time (for example, according to a request from the user, periodically, or when the photographing terminal is connected to the server). Alternatively, the recommended spot information sharing process may be executed as part of the recommended spot search / selection process (step 211) of FIG.

  First, the control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 920 specifies the current location (step 1211). For example, the coordinates of the current position of the imaging terminal 920 acquired by the position acquisition unit 120 of the imaging terminal 920 may be specified as the current location. Alternatively, a position input from the user via the operation unit 140 may be specified instead of the current location. At this time, a map stored in the map table 186 for designating the position may be displayed on the display unit 150, and a user-desired position may be designated on the map via the operation unit 140. When the recommended location information sharing process is executed as part of step 211, the current location, the destination, or a location on the route from the current location to the destination acquired as a search key in step 211 may be designated.

  Next, the control unit 110 transmits a search instruction using the point designated in step 1211 as a search key to the server 910 (step 1212).

  The control unit 1010 of the server 910 that has received the search instruction searches the sharing recommended shooting point table 1110 using the specified point as a search key (step 1213). This search may be executed in the same manner as in step 211 of the first embodiment.

  Next, the control unit 1010 transmits information (that is, a record) acquired as a result of the search to the photographing terminal 920 (step 1214).

  The control unit 110 of the imaging terminal 920 updates the recommended shooting location table 927 using the received search result (step 1215). Specifically, the control unit 110 adds a record received as a search result to the recommended shooting point table 927.

  Thereafter, in step 211, the recommended shooting point table 927 updated as described above is searched. As a result, it is possible to search for information on a new recommended shooting point that was not stored at the time of shipment of the shooting terminal 920.

  Note that FIG. 12 is merely an example of a procedure for acquiring information regarding recommended shooting points stored in the shared recommended shooting point table 1110 as a search result, and a search by another method may be executed.

  For example, when there is sufficient free space in the secondary storage device 180 of the photographing terminal 920, the control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 920 requests the server 910 to transmit all information stored in the recommended photographing recommended spot table 1110. May be. In this case, the server 910 transmits all the information stored in the shared recommended shooting point table 1110 to the shooting terminal 920 without executing the search in step 1213. The control unit 110 of the imaging terminal 920 updates the recommended shooting location table 927 using the received information (step 1215), and then executes step 211.

  Alternatively, when the control unit 110 of the imaging terminal 920 receives the search result transmitted in step 1214, the control unit 110 may use the received search result as it is as the search result in step 211. In that case, the control unit 110 may not execute Step 1215.

  In any of the above cases, a search based on the information stored in the recommended shooting recommended spot table 1110 is executed, and the search result is provided to the user.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a recommended spot evaluation information sharing process executed in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The recommended spot evaluation information sharing process shown in FIG. 13 may be executed at an arbitrary time point (for example, according to a request from the user, periodically, or when the photographing terminal is connected to the server). Alternatively, the recommended spot evaluation information sharing process may be executed as a part of the candidate place name presentation / selection process (step 215) of FIG. 2, for example.

  First, the control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 920 accepts designation of an evaluation point corresponding to the recommended photographing point (step 1311). For example, when the user is guided to the recommended shooting point selected in step 211 of FIG. 2 (step 212), and the user has shot an image at the recommended shooting point (step 214), the user moves to the recommended shooting point. A corresponding evaluation score may be input via the operation unit 140. The user can designate an evaluation point based on his / her subjectivity. For example, the evaluation point of the recommended shooting point where a more beautiful image can be shot may be set higher.

  Next, the control part 110 updates the imaging | photography recommendation point table 927 using the designated evaluation score (step 1312). Specifically, the evaluation score value of the record corresponding to the recommended shooting point for which the evaluation score is specified is overwritten by the specified evaluation score.

  Next, the control unit 110 transmits an evaluation score change instruction to the server 910 (step 1313).

  The control unit 1010 of the server 910 that has received the evaluation point change instruction updates the evaluation point 1120 of the sharing recommended shooting point table 912 using the specified evaluation point (step 1314). For example, when the control unit 1010 receives an instruction to change the evaluation point for the evaluation point 1120 of one recommended shooting point from the plurality of shooting terminals 920, the control unit 1010 calculates an arithmetic average of the evaluation points specified by the users of the plurality of shooting terminals 920. The evaluation score 1120 may be stored.

  This completes the update of the recommended shooting point table 927 and the shared recommended shooting point table 912.

  The evaluation score of each recommended shooting point stored in this way can be used as a reference when the user selects the recommended shooting point. For example, the evaluation score may be used as a priority in step 612 of FIG. Alternatively, in step 613 of FIG. 6, in addition to the searched list of recommended shooting points or the thumbnail image, evaluation points of each recommended shooting point may be displayed. The user can select, for example, a recommended shooting point that is expected to capture a more beautiful image based on the evaluation score.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating the inter-photographing-terminal photographed image exchange process executed in the second embodiment of the present invention.

  The imaging terminal 1 shown in FIG. 14 corresponds to the imaging terminal 920 of this embodiment. The photographing terminal 2 may be an apparatus equivalent to the photographing terminal 920. In that case, the photographing terminal 2 holds attribute information as shown in FIG. 4 regarding the images in addition to the data of the images photographed by the photographing terminal 2 itself. Alternatively, the photographing terminal 2 may hold only the photographing date and time as image attribute information, as in a conventional general digital camera. The photographing terminal 1 and the photographing terminal 2 are connected to each other via a network 930, for example.

  First, the control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 1 accepts designation of date and time (step 1411). For example, the user may specify a desired date and time using the operation unit 140.

  Next, the control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 1 transmits an instruction for replacement conditions to the photographing terminal 2 (step 1412). For example, the date and time designated in step 1411 or a predetermined time range including the date and time may be transmitted as the exchange condition. When the date / time range is designated in step 1411, the range may be transmitted as an exchange condition.

  The imaging terminal 2 that has received the exchange condition instruction searches for an image that matches the instructed exchange condition (step 1413). Specifically, the photographing terminal 2 was photographed at the date and time designated as the exchange condition with reference to the information indicating the date and time of photographing among the attribute information of the image data photographed and held by itself. Search for an image.

  Next, the photographing terminal 2 transmits image data obtained by the search to the photographing terminal 1 (step 1414).

  The control unit 110 of the photographing terminal 1 stores the received image data in the secondary storage device 180 (step 1415).

  Similar to the photographing terminal 920, when the photographing terminal 2 holds the attribute information as shown in FIG. 4, information other than the date and time may be designated as the exchange condition.

  For example, when coordinates are designated in step 1411, a predetermined radius range centered on the coordinates may be designated as the exchange condition. Alternatively, when a coordinate range is specified in step 1411, the range may be specified as an exchange condition. In that case, the photographing terminal 2 determines whether or not the value of the photographing position 414 of the attribute information held by itself is included in the range specified as the exchange condition, and the value of the photographing position 414 of the attribute information is used as the exchange condition. If it is included in the designated range, the image data corresponding to the attribute information is transmitted to the photographing terminal 1 as a search result (steps 1413 and 1414).

  Alternatively, when a place name is designated in step 1411, the place name may be designated as an exchange condition. In that case, the photographing terminal 2 determines whether or not the value of the place name 416 of the attribute information held by the photographing terminal 2 matches the place name specified as the exchange condition, and if it matches, searches for data corresponding to the attribute information. As a result, it is transmitted to the photographing terminal 1 (step 1413 and step 1414).

  Similarly, other items such as the name of the object to be photographed may be specified as the replacement condition.

  Alternatively, a search expression obtained by combining a plurality of conditions as described above by AND or OR may be specified as an exchange condition. In that case, in step 1413, the photographing terminal 2 searches for an image using the specified search expression.

  For example, when the user of the photographing terminal 1 travels with the user of the photographing terminal 2 and each user takes a picture at the travel destination, the photographed image can be easily obtained by executing the above-described photographing image exchange processing between the photographing terminals. Images can be exchanged. For example, after returning from a trip, the shooting terminal 1 and the shooting terminal 2 are connected via the network 930, and at least one of the date and time of the trip, the place name of the trip destination, and the name of the shooting target object is exchanged. By designating as a condition, images taken during a trip can be easily exchanged.

100 photographing terminal 110 control unit 111, 1011 CPU
112, 1012 Primary storage device 120 Location acquisition unit 130, 1030 Communication unit 135, 930 Network (or storage medium)
140, 1040 Operation unit 150, 1050 Display unit 160 Shooting unit 170 Time acquisition unit 180, 1060 Secondary storage devices 181, 921 Recommended point search units 182, 922 Route calculation / guide units 183, 923 Shooting position / direction presentation unit 184, 924 Shooting processing units 185 and 925 Candidate place name presentation / selection units 186, 203, 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, 720, 802, 926 Map tables 187, 202, 310, 602, 927 Recommended shooting point tables 188, 204 , 410, 801, 928 Photographed image attribute table 190 Power supply unit 910 Server 911 Recommended point search / update unit 912, 1110 Recommended shooting point table for sharing

Claims (23)

An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; a control unit connected to the imaging unit; and a storage device connected to the control unit,
The storage device holds information indicating the location of one or more recommended shooting locations, and map information,
The controller is
When the information indicating the position is acquired, the recommended shooting point within a predetermined range including the acquired position is searched,
Search for the route to the recommended shooting point acquired by the search,
An image capturing apparatus that outputs information indicating a position of the recommended shooting point acquired by the search and information indicating a route acquired by the search. The storage device further holds attribute information associated with each recommended shooting point,
When the control unit acquires attribute information in addition to the information indicating the position, the attribute information that matches the acquired attribute information among the recommended shooting points within a predetermined range including the acquired position The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographing recommended point associated with the camera is searched. The attribute information held by the storage device includes information indicating a recommended shooting time zone at each recommended shooting point,
When the control unit acquires the information indicating the time in addition to the information indicating the position, the imaging including the acquired time among the recommended shooting points within a predetermined range including the acquired position. 3. The photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recommended photographing point associated with a recommended time zone is searched. The photographing apparatus further includes a position acquisition unit connected to the control unit, and a time acquisition unit connected to the control unit,
The position acquisition unit acquires information indicating a current position of the imaging device,
The control unit acquires information indicating the current position from the position acquisition unit,
The time acquisition unit acquires the current time,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit acquires the current time from the time acquisition unit. The storage device further holds information associating information indicating the position of each recommended shooting point with information indicating a shooting direction,
The control unit, based on the information acquired by the position acquisition unit, outputs information indicating the shooting direction when it is determined that the shooting device has arrived at the recommended shooting point acquired by the search. The imaging device according to claim 4, characterized in that:   When a plurality of the recommended shooting points are acquired by the search, the control unit assigns a priority to each of the acquired recommended shooting points, and the acquired plurality of points based on the given priority 6. The photographing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein information indicating a position of a recommended photographing point is output.   The imaging apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit assigns the higher priority to a recommended shooting point closer to the acquired position among the plurality of acquired recommended shooting points. .   The control unit includes the recommended shooting not including the acquired time at a recommended shooting point associated with the recommended shooting time zone including the acquired time among the plurality of acquired recommended shooting points. The photographing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a higher priority is given to a recommended photographing point associated with a time zone.   The control unit causes the display unit to display information indicating the priority assigned to each recommended shooting point in addition to the acquired information indicating the position of each recommended shooting point. Item 7. The photographing device according to Item 6.   The control unit outputs only information indicating the positions of a predetermined number of the recommended shooting points in order from the assigned highest priority among the plurality of acquired recommended shooting points. The imaging device according to claim 6. The photographing apparatus further includes a battery that supplies power to the photographing unit,
The control unit calculates the number of images that can be taken from now on the basis of at least one of the remaining amount of the battery and the free capacity of the storage device,
The photographing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined number is the calculated number of images. The attribute information held by the storage device includes information indicating a recommended shooting season at each recommended shooting point,
When the control unit acquires the information indicating the season in addition to the information indicating the position, the shooting including the acquired season among the recommended shooting points within a predetermined range including the acquired position. The photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the photographing recommended point associated with the recommended season is searched. The attribute information held by the storage device includes information indicating the target user type,
When the control unit acquires the information indicating the user type in addition to the information indicating the position, the control unit matches the acquired user type among the recommended shooting points within a predetermined range including the acquired position. The photographing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the recommended photographing point associated with the target user type to be searched is searched. The photographing apparatus further includes an operation unit connected to the control unit,
The operation unit is input with information indicating a position,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit acquires information indicating the input position from the operation unit. The photographing apparatus further includes a position acquisition unit connected to the control unit and an operation unit connected to the control unit,
The position acquisition unit acquires information indicating a current position of the imaging device,
The control unit searches a route from the current position of the imaging device to the position input to the operation unit based on the map information,
The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the photographing recommended point within a predetermined range including positions of a plurality of points on the searched route is searched. The imaging apparatus further includes a position acquisition unit connected to the control unit,
The position acquisition unit acquires information indicating a current position of the imaging device,
The control unit, based on the map information, the route from the current position of the imaging device to the recommended shooting point acquired by the search, the recommended shooting point acquired by the search from the acquired position And at least one of a route from the current position of the photographing apparatus to the acquired position from the point on the route to the recommended photographing point acquired by the search. The imaging device according to claim 1. The photographing apparatus further includes a display unit connected to the control unit,
The storage device further holds an image acquired by previously shooting the shooting direction from each shooting recommended point,
The controller is
Based on the map information, display a map of an area including the recommended shooting point acquired by the search on the display unit,
2. The photographing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein among the held images, an image photographed from the photographing recommendation point acquired by the search is superimposed on the map and displayed on the display unit. An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; a control unit connected to the imaging unit; a position acquisition unit connected to the control unit; and a storage device connected to the control unit,
The storage device holds information associating a position on a map with one or more character strings including at least one of a name of the position and a name of an area including the position,
The position acquisition unit acquires information indicating a position of a spot where the image capturing unit has captured the image,
The controller is
After the photographing unit has photographed the image, the one or more character strings associated with a position within a predetermined range from the point where the image was photographed are searched,
Outputting the searched one or more character strings;
When one of the one or more output character strings is selected, information that associates the selected character string with the data of the captured image is stored in the storage device. . An information sharing system comprising a photographing device and a computer connected to the photographing device,
The imaging device includes an imaging unit that captures an image, a first control unit connected to the imaging unit, a first storage device connected to the control unit, a first storage unit connected to the network and the control unit. 1 communication unit,
The computer includes a second communication unit connected to the network, a second control unit connected to the second communication unit, and a second storage device connected to the second control unit,
The second storage device holds information indicating a position of one or more recommended shooting points and information indicating an evaluation of each recommended shooting point.
The first controller is
When acquiring the information indicating the position, based on the information held by the second storage device, search for the recommended shooting point within a predetermined range including the acquired position,
An information sharing system that outputs information indicating the position of the recommended shooting point acquired by the search based on the evaluation of each recommended shooting point. The first control unit, when acquiring information indicating the evaluation of the recommended shooting point, transmits information indicating the acquired evaluation to the computer,
The said 2nd control part updates the information which shows the evaluation of each said photography recommendation point which the said 2nd memory | storage device hold | maintains based on the information which shows the evaluation of the said photography recommendation point received. Item 20. The information sharing system according to Item 19. An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; a control unit connected to the imaging unit; a communication unit connected to the control unit; and a storage device connected to the control unit,
The communication unit is connected to another photographing device,
The storage device holds data of one or more images and attribute information associated with each image,
The controller is
When an exchange instruction including attribute information as an exchange condition is received from the other imaging device, the image associated with the attribute information that matches the received attribute information is searched,
An image capturing apparatus, wherein image data acquired by the search and attribute information associated with the acquired image are transmitted to the other image capturing apparatus. When acquiring the attribute information, the control unit transmits an exchange instruction including the acquired attribute information as an exchange condition to the other imaging device,
The image capturing apparatus according to claim 21, wherein image data and attribute information received from the other image capturing apparatus are stored in the storage device. An imaging apparatus comprising: an imaging unit that captures an image; a control unit connected to the imaging unit; and a storage device connected to the control unit,
The storage device stores information indicating the position of one or more recommended shooting locations, map information, and attribute information associated with each recommended shooting location,
The controller is
When the attribute information is acquired, the recommended shooting point associated with the attribute information that matches the acquired attribute information is searched,
Search the route from the current position of the imaging device to the recommended shooting location acquired by the search,
An image capturing apparatus that outputs information indicating a position of the recommended shooting point acquired by the search and information indicating a route acquired by the search.

Images