JP2013135446A - Imaging apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for easily making a subject and name information correspondent from a display image.SOLUTION: Among a plurality of subjects recognized as faces of persons, a subject is determined as a principal subject. When the subject can be identified by referring to storage means storing therein information identifying that subject, name information of the subject is displayed. Regarding a non-principal subject, on the other hand, corresponding name information is displayed on the condition where both the non-principal subject and the principal subject can be identified on the basis of feature information stored in the storage means.

Description

  The present invention relates to an imaging apparatus and a control method thereof.

  Among conventional image processing apparatuses, there is an imaging apparatus that has a function of displaying information related to a subject when the captured subject is learned and the subject is recognized thereafter (Patent Document 1). reference).

JP 2010-263639 A

  Here, consider a situation in which the person who is the main subject at the center of the screen is not learned, and the person at the edge of the screen is learned and personal information is displayed. In this case, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, there is a problem that the main person in the image and the person displaying the personal information are not easily understood by the user of the imaging apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of this point, and intends to provide a technique that facilitates associating a subject with name information from a display image.

In order to solve this problem, for example, an imaging apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an imaging device having imaging means,
Detecting means for detecting a predetermined subject image included in an image obtained by imaging with the imaging means;
Classifying means for classifying the subject detected by the detecting means into a main subject and a non-main subject other than the main subject;
Storage means for storing feature information for uniquely identifying a subject and name information representing the subject; and feature information stored in the storage means among subjects in an image obtained by the imaging means Display control means for displaying the corresponding name information in the vicinity of the subject for the subject,
The display control means includes
When the main subject classified by the classification means can be identified according to the feature information stored in the storage means, corresponding name information is displayed,
For the non-main subject classified by the classification means, corresponding name information is displayed on condition that both the non-main subject and the main subject can be specified by the feature information stored in the storage means. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, even when name information is displayed for a plurality of subjects in a captured image, it is promised that one of them is name information of a main subject. Therefore, the operator of the imaging apparatus can suppress erroneously determining that the name information of the main subject is the name information of the non-main subject, and can also erroneously determine the name information of the non-main subject as the name information of the main subject. Can be suppressed.

Configuration block diagram of an embodiment for carrying out the present invention The flowchart which shows the processing content in 1st Embodiment The flowchart which shows the processing content in 2nd Embodiment The flowchart which shows the processing content in 3rd Embodiment It is a figure which shows the data structure of subject information. It is a figure which shows the example of a display in embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a digital camera as an imaging device will be described. However, as will be apparent from the following description, the present invention can be applied to a general-purpose information processing apparatus such as a portable terminal incorporating a camera or a personal computer incorporating or connecting an imaging unit. It is not limited to.

  First, an apparatus configuration common to each embodiment will be described, and then the processing content of each embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital camera 100 according to the embodiment. In the figure, 10 is a photographing lens, 12 is a mechanical shutter having an aperture function, 14 is an image sensor that converts an optical image into an electrical signal, and 16 is an A / D converter that converts an analog signal output of the image sensor 14 into a digital signal. It is a vessel. A timing generation circuit 18 supplies a clock signal and a control signal to the image sensor 14 and the A / D converter 16, and is controlled by the memory control circuit 22 and the system control circuit 50. In addition to the twelve mechanical shutters, the accumulation time can be controlled as an electronic shutter by controlling the reset timing of the eighteen image sensors, and can be used for moving image shooting and the like.

  An image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined pixel interpolation processing and color conversion processing on the data from the A / D converter 16 or the data from the memory control circuit 22. Further, an electronic zoom function is realized by performing image cutting and scaling processing by 20 image processing circuits. The image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined calculation processing using the captured image data, and the system control circuit 50 controls the exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement control unit 42 based on the obtained calculation result. TTL AF processing, AE processing, and EF processing are performed. Further, the image processing circuit 20 performs predetermined arithmetic processing using the captured image data, and also performs TTL AWB (auto white balance) processing based on the obtained arithmetic result.

  A memory control circuit 22 controls the A / D converter 16, the timing generation circuit 18, the image processing circuit 20, the memory 30, and the compression / decompression circuit 32. The data of the A / D converter 16 is written into the memory 30 via the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22, or the data of the A / D converter 16 is directly written via the memory control circuit 22.

  Reference numeral 28 denotes an image display unit composed of a TFT LCD or the like. Display image data written in the memory 30 is displayed by the image display unit 28 via the memory control circuit 22. If the image data captured using the image display unit 28 is sequentially displayed, the electronic viewfinder function can be realized. Further, the image display unit 28 can arbitrarily turn on / off the display according to an instruction from the system control circuit 50. When the display is turned off, the power consumption of the image processing apparatus 100 can be greatly reduced. I can do it.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a memory for storing captured still images and moving images, and has a sufficient storage capacity to store a predetermined number of still images and a predetermined time of moving images. This makes it possible to write a large amount of images to the memory 30 at high speed even in continuous shooting or panoramic shooting in which a plurality of still images are continuously shot. The memory 30 can also be used as a work area for the system control circuit 50.

  Reference numeral 31 denotes a non-volatile memory composed of a flash ROM or the like. The program code executed by the system control circuit 50 is written in the nonvolatile memory 31, and the program code is executed while being read sequentially. In addition, an area for storing system information and an area for storing user setting information are provided in the nonvolatile memory, and various information and settings are read and restored at the next startup.

  Reference numeral 32 denotes a compression / decompression circuit that compresses and decompresses image data by adaptive discrete cosine transform (ADCT) or the like, reads an image stored in the memory 30, performs compression processing or decompression processing, and stores the processed data in the memory 30. Write to.

  Reference numeral 40 denotes an exposure control unit that controls the shutter 12 having a diaphragm function, and has a flash light control function in conjunction with the flash 48. Reference numeral 42 denotes a distance measurement control unit that controls focusing of the photographing lens 10, and 44 denotes a zoom control unit that controls zooming of the photographing lens 10. A flash 48 has an AF auxiliary light projecting function and a flash light control function. The exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement control unit 42 are controlled using the TTL method. Based on the calculation result obtained by calculating the captured image data by the image processing circuit 20, the system control circuit 50 performs the exposure control unit 40 and the distance measurement. The controller 42 is controlled. A system control circuit 50 controls the entire image processing apparatus 100 and incorporates a processor.

  Reference numerals 60, 62, 64, 66, 70, and 72 are operation units for inputting various operation instructions of the system control circuit 50. Consists of multiple combinations. Here, a specific description of these operation units will be given.

  Reference numeral 60 denotes a mode dial switch, which can switch and set various function modes such as power-off, automatic shooting mode, shooting mode, panoramic shooting mode, moving image shooting mode, playback mode, and PC connection mode. Reference numeral 62 denotes a shutter switch SW1, which is turned ON during the operation of the shutter button, and instructs to start operations such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (automatic exposure) processing, and AWB (auto white balance) processing. A shutter switch SW2 64 is turned on when the operation of the shutter button is completed. In the case of flash photography, after performing EF (flash pre-emission) processing, the image sensor 14 is exposed for the exposure time determined by the AE processing. In the case of flash photography, light is emitted during this exposure period, and light is shielded by the exposure control unit 40 simultaneously with the end of the exposure period, thereby completing the exposure to the image sensor 14. When the shutter switch is operated to give an imaging and recording instruction, a signal read from the imaging device 14 is written as image data in the memory 30 via the A / D converter 16 and the memory control circuit 22. Then, development processing using computations in the image processing circuit 20 and the memory control circuit 22 is performed. Thereafter, the processed image data is read from the memory 30 and compressed by the compression / decompression circuit 32. Thereafter, the compressed and encoded image data is written as a file on the recording medium 200.

  Reference numeral 66 denotes a display changeover switch, which can change the display of the image display unit 28. With this function, when photographing using the optical viewfinder 104, it is possible to save power by cutting off the current supply to the image display unit such as a TFT LCD. Reference numeral 70 denotes an operation unit composed of various buttons, a touch panel, a rotary dial, and the like, including a menu button, a set button, a macro button, a multi-screen playback page break button, a flash setting button, a single shooting / continuous shooting / self timer switching button, and the like. . Menu move + (plus) button, menu move-(minus) button, playback image move + (plus) button, playback image move-(minus) button, shooting quality selection button, exposure compensation button, date / time setting button, etc. There is also.

  Reference numeral 72 denotes a zoom switch unit as a zoom operation unit for a user to instruct a magnification change of a captured image. Hereinafter, the zoom switch 72 is also referred to. The zoom switch 72 includes a tele switch that changes the imaging field angle to the telephoto side and a wide switch that changes the imaging angle of view to the wide angle side. By using the zoom switch 72, the zoom control unit 44 is instructed to change the imaging field angle of the photographing lens 10 and becomes a trigger for performing an optical zoom operation. In addition, it also serves as a trigger for electronic zooming change of the imaging angle of view by image cropping by the image processing circuit 20 or pixel interpolation processing.

  Reference numeral 74 denotes a subject detection unit that detects a subject image (person's face image) in the image. In general, it is determined whether or not the face is a person's face from parts such as a person's eyes, nose, mouth, and their arrangement, and the subject detection unit in the present embodiment is also the same.

  A power source 86 includes a primary battery of an alkaline battery, a secondary battery such as a NiCd battery, a NiMH battery, or a Li ion battery, an AC adapter, and the like. Reference numeral 90 denotes an interface with a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk, and reference numeral 92 denotes a connector for connecting to a recording medium such as a memory card or hard disk. Reference numeral 104 denotes an optical viewfinder, which can take an image using only the optical viewfinder without using the electronic viewfinder function of the image display unit 28. A communication unit 110 has various communication functions such as USB, IEEE1394, LAN, and wireless communication. Reference numeral 112 denotes a connector for connecting the image processing apparatus 100 to another device by the communication unit 110 or an antenna in the case of wireless communication. Reference numeral 200 denotes a recording medium such as a memory card or a hard disk. The recording medium 200 includes a recording unit 202 composed of a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, or the like, an interface 204 with the image processing apparatus 100, and a connector 206 for connecting to the image processing apparatus 100.

  Note that the nonvolatile memory 31 stores characteristic information for specifying the subject. FIG. 5 shows subject information registered in the nonvolatile memory 31. The subject information includes a display name, a detailed name, and feature information that are displayed when the subject can be identified. In this embodiment, since the subject to be recognized is a person's face, the feature information is information for specifying the person's face that has been imaged. Face recognition (subject detection unit 74) and techniques for extracting the features of the person from the face and identifying the person are known, and details thereof are omitted here. Note that the registration of a new person's face is realized by imaging the person and giving a registration instruction from the operation unit. In this case, the system control circuit 50 performs a process of recognizing the face image of the person being imaged and extracting feature information from the recognized face image. Then, the display name and the detailed name are input by the user, and the feature information is written in the nonvolatile memory 31 in the format shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the subject information is composed of three fields, but it is needless to say that personal information such as the gender, address, telephone number, and mail address of each individual may be included. If this apparatus has a communication means for connecting to the Internet, for example, an image can be transmitted from the mail address to the person. These pieces of information (excluding feature information) are stored in the file header when an instruction to record as an image file (shutter switch) is operated.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, it is detected during through image display (displaying the image being captured on the image display unit 28 or the optical viewfinder 104) according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Processing related to display / erasure of the display name for the face will be described. In the first embodiment, this processing is performed based on the size of the face. Specifically, the face of the maximum size in the image obtained during imaging is classified as the main subject, and the face of other sizes is classified as the non-main subject. Only when the face of the main subject is registered as the subject information, the name information (see FIG. 5) is included in the vicinity of the face registered as the subject information among all the faces in the image being captured including the main subject. 5 “display name”). In other words, if the face of the main subject is not registered as subject information, even if there is a face registered as subject information among the faces of the non-main subject, name information is displayed in the vicinity of the face. Do not show. Hereinafter, an example of processing for realizing this will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the name display control process for the face detected during the through image display in the first embodiment. Each process in the name display process is realized by the system control circuit 50 developing the program stored in the nonvolatile memory 31 in the memory 30 and executing it.

  The system control circuit 50 detects the face by the image processing circuit 20 from the data input from the image sensor 14 (S301). If a face is detected as a result of S301, the system control circuit 50 determines whether the size of the face detected this time is the largest among the detected faces (S302).

  If the detected face size is the largest among the detected faces, the system control circuit 50 displays the color of the face frame displayed on the face whose face size is no longer the maximum. The white color, which is the frame color displayed on the face with the maximum length, is changed from gray to gray and displayed on the image display unit 28 (S303). Next, the system control circuit 50 displays, on the image display unit 28, a white face frame, which is the frame color displayed on the face with the largest face size, on the currently detected face (S304). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the face detected this time has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information (S305). In other words, it is equivalent to determining whether or not the person of the face image detected this time can be specified by the feature information of the subject information stored in the nonvolatile memory 31. If it is determined that the face detected this time has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 displays the display name registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 below the currently detected face in the image display unit. (S306). On the other hand, when the face detected this time is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 determines that faces other than the face detected this time have been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information. It is determined whether it has already been determined (S307). As a result of S307, when it is determined that a face other than the currently detected face has been registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, the system control circuit 50 displays the display name displayed below the face. It erases (S308).

  As a result of S302, when the size of the face detected this time is not the maximum among the detected faces, the system control circuit 50 is a frame color displayed on the face detected this time on the face whose size is not the maximum. A gray face frame is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S309). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether subject information has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 for the face detected this time (S310). As a result of S310, when the face detected this time has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 determines that the face having the largest face size among the detected faces has already been stored in the nonvolatile memory. It is determined whether or not it has been registered in 31 as subject information (S311). As a result of S <b> 311, when the face having the largest face size is registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 among the detected faces, the system control circuit 50 displays the nonvolatile information below the currently detected face. The name registered in the memory 31 is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S312).

  When the user presses the shutter switch (SW2) 64, the series of operations for recording a still image or a moving image is performed. At the same time, the subject information (excluding feature information) of the face detected by the image processing circuit 20 is also recorded in the header information of the still image or moving image. If the face detected by the image processing circuit 20 is registered in advance in the non-volatile memory 31, it is determined whether the name is displayed or deleted for the face detected during the through image display. Regardless of the result, personal information is always recorded in the header information.

  FIGS. 6A to 6D are views showing the contents displayed on the image display unit 28 by determining whether to display or delete the name for the face detected during the through image display.

  FIG. 4A shows the display contents when the process shown in FIG. 2 is performed in a scene where face (I) and face (II) exist. The face (I) has the largest size among the detected faces, and the subject information has been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, and the face (II) is the size of the face among the detected faces. Is not the maximum, but the personal information has been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance. As shown in the figure, for a subject person in the captured image, when the person's face recognition is successful and the main subject with the largest size is registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the subject is captured. Among all the subjects in the image (two faces in the figure), the display name is displayed in the vicinity (directly in the figure) of the subject (including the main subject) for which subject information is registered. Then, a white frame is displayed on the main subject in the captured image, and a gray frame is displayed on the non-main subject.

  In FIG. 6B, the face I) has the largest face size among the detected faces, and is registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, and the face (II) is the detected face. Among them, the face size is not maximum, and the subject information is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31. In the case of the face (II) that is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31, only a gray frame is displayed in order to notify that the face has been recognized. On the other hand, the face (I) is imaged and has the maximum size among the recognized faces, so a white frame is displayed, and since it is also a registered face, its display name is also displayed.

  In FIG. 6C, the face (I) has the largest face size among the detected faces, the subject information is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, and the face (II) is the detected face. Among them, the size of the face is not the maximum, and the subject information is registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance. As shown in the figure, even if the face (II) is registered as subject information, the face (II) is displayed when the maximum size face (I) is not registered as subject information. The name is not displayed.

  In FIG. 6D, the face (I) has the largest face size among the detected faces and is not registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, and the face (II) is the detected face. Among them, the face size is not the maximum, and the subject information is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance. In this case, as a matter of course, the display name is not displayed.

  In the first embodiment, the frame color displayed on the main subject with the largest face size is white, and the frame color displayed on the face of the non-main subject with the largest face size is gray. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In short, if the color of the frame of the main subject is the first color, the color of the frame of the non-main subject may be a second color different from the first color. Further, it may be distinguished not by color but by frame shape and pattern.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the face of the maximum size is classified as the main subject and the face image of the main subject is registered as the subject information (the face image is identified from the subject information). The name information (display name) corresponding to the main subject is displayed. For a non-main subject, name information (display name) corresponding to a position near the non-main subject is satisfied only when the condition that both face images of the non-main subject and the main subject are registered as subject information is satisfied. ) Is displayed. As a result, the display name of at least one subject is displayed when the main subject is registered as subject information, and the operation is easy for the device user to understand.

[Second Embodiment]
Hereinafter, referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, whether the name is displayed or deleted for the face detected during the through image display according to the second embodiment of the present invention is based on the position of the face. An example of processing will be described. In the second embodiment, the face closest to the center position of the image being captured is classified as the main subject. Then, only when the face of the main subject is registered as subject information, the name (““ ”in FIG. 5) is included in the vicinity of the face registered as subject information among all the faces in the image being captured that include the main subject. Display name "). In other words, if the face of the main subject is not registered as subject information, even if there is a face registered as subject information in the face of the non-main subject, the name is not displayed near the face. Hereinafter, an example of processing for realizing this will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the name display process for the face detected during the through image display in the second embodiment. Each process in the name display process is realized by the system control circuit 50 expanding and executing the program stored in the nonvolatile memory 31 in the memory 30 as in the first embodiment.

  The system control circuit 50 detects the face by the image processing circuit 20 from the data input from the image sensor 14 (S401). If a face is detected as a result of S401, the system control circuit 50 determines whether the position of the face detected this time is closest to the center in the area displayed on the image display unit 28 among the detected faces. It is determined whether or not (S402). That is, it is determined whether or not the face of interest is the main subject.

  As a result of S402, when it is determined that the face position detected this time is closest to the center among the detected faces, the system control circuit 50 displays the face on the face whose face is no longer near the center. The image frame is changed from white, which is the frame color displayed on the face whose face is closest to the center, to gray, which is the frame color displayed on a face whose face is not near the center. (S403). Next, the system control circuit 50 displays, on the image display unit 28, a white face frame, which is a frame color displayed on the face closest to the center, on the face of interest detected this time (S404). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the face detected this time has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information (S405). In other words, it is equivalent to determining whether or not the person of the face image detected this time can be specified by the feature information of the subject information stored in the nonvolatile memory 31. As a result of S405, when the face detected this time has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 stores in the nonvolatile memory 31 near the face detected this time (lower in the embodiment). The registered display name is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S406).

  As a result of S405, when the face detected this time is not registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as the subject information, the system control circuit 50 replaces the face detected this time with the face whose position is not closest to the center. Then, it is determined in advance whether or not the subject information is registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 (S407). As a result of S407, if the subject whose face position is no longer near the center is registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 instead of the face detected this time, the system control circuit 50 replaces the face detected this time. The name displayed below the face whose face is no longer closest to the center is deleted (S408).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S402 that the position of the face detected this time is not near the center among the detected faces, that is, if it is determined that the face of interest is a non-main subject, the system control circuit 50 A gray face frame, which is a frame color displayed on a face whose face is not near the center, is displayed on the image display unit 28 on the detected face of interest (S409). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the face of interest detected this time has been registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 (S410). As a result of S410, when the target face detected this time has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 determines that the face located closest to the center of the image among the detected faces is It is determined whether or not the subject information has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 (S411). As a result of S411, when the face whose position is closest to the center among the detected faces has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 moves below the target face detected this time. The display name registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S412).

  When the shutter switch (SW2) 64 is pressed by the user, the series of operations for recording a still image or a moving image is performed and detected by the image processing circuit 20 in the header information of the still image or the moving image. The subject information of the face (display name, official name, etc., excluding feature information) is also recorded. If the face detected by the image processing circuit 20 has been registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, the determination result of whether to display or delete the name for the face detected during the through image display Regardless, the subject information is always recorded in the header information.

  The display process of the second embodiment will be described as follows with reference to FIGS. 6 (A) to 6 (D).

  FIG. 6A shows a face (I) in which the position of the face is the closest to the center among the detected faces and is registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, and In the scene where the face position is not near the center and the face (II) in which the subject has already been registered exists in the nonvolatile memory 31, the display contents when the processing shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, for a subject person in the captured image, the person's face recognition succeeds, and the main subject closest to the center position in the image is registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information. In this case, among all the subjects (two faces in the figure) in the captured image, the display name is displayed in the vicinity (directly below in the figure) of the subject (including the main subject) for which subject information is registered. To do. Then, a white frame is displayed on the main subject in the captured image, and a gray frame is displayed on the non-main subject.

  FIG. 6B shows a face (I) in which the position of the face is closest to the center among the detected faces and has been registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, and among the detected faces. 3 is a display content when the processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed in a scene where the face position is not near the center and the face (II) that has not been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information exists.

  FIG. 6C shows a face (I) whose face position is closest to the center among the detected faces and is not registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, and among the detected faces. This is the display content when the processing shown in FIG. 3 is performed in a scene where the face position is not near the center and the face (II) that has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information exists. As shown in the figure, even if the face (II) is registered as subject information, if the face (I) closest to the center of the image is not registered as subject information, the face (II) ) The display name is not displayed.

  FIG. 6D shows the face (I) whose face position is closest to the center among the detected faces and is not registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, and among the detected faces. FIG. 3 shows display contents when the process shown in FIG. 3 is performed in a scene where the face position is not near the center and there is a face (II) that has not been previously registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information.

  In the second embodiment, the frame color displayed on the main subject closest to the center position of the image is white and the frame color displayed on the other non-subjects is gray. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Absent. In short, any display form may be used as long as the main subject and the non-main subject can be distinguished.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the main subject is recognized only when the face closest to the center position of the image is recognized as the main subject and the face of the main subject is registered as subject information. In addition, a display name is displayed in the vicinity of a face in which subject information is registered among non-main subjects. As a result, the display name of at least one subject is displayed when the main subject is registered as subject information, and the operation is easy for the device user to understand.

  In the second embodiment, the face closest to the center position of the image is recognized as the main subject. However, the main subject may be determined based on the size and position. For example, it may be a main subject of the maximum size among subjects within a predetermined distance from the center of the image. Conversely, a subject closest to the center position of the image may be used as a main subject among subjects of a certain size or larger (allowing the user to set the lower limit).

[Third Embodiment]
Hereinafter, an example of changing the display form of the display name based on whether or not the face detected during the through image display is the main subject according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. . The definition of the main subject may be either the maximum size face as in the first embodiment or the face closest to the center position of the image in the second embodiment. For convenience, the main subject in the third embodiment will be described as the face of the maximum size recognized in the image, as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of display name display processing for a face detected during through image display in the third embodiment. Each process in the display process is realized by the system control circuit 50 developing and executing a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 31 in the memory 30.

  The system control circuit 50 detects the face by the image processing circuit 20 from the data input from the image sensor 14 (S601). If a face is detected as a result of S601, the system control circuit 50 determines whether the currently detected face is the main subject (S602). As a result of S602, when the face detected this time is determined as the main subject, the system control circuit 50 uses the frame color displayed on the face of the main subject as the color of the face frame displayed on the face that is no longer the main subject. The white color is changed to gray, which is the frame color displayed on the face other than the main subject, and displayed on the image display unit 28 (S603).

  Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether a face that is no longer the main subject instead of the currently detected face has been registered in advance in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information (S604). As a result of S604, when a face that is no longer the main subject is registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 in place of the face detected this time, the system control circuit 50 displays the face below the face that is no longer the main subject. The background color of the character string constituting the display name is changed from white, which is the background color displayed in the face name of the main subject, to gray, which is the background color displayed in the face name other than the main subject (non-main subject) The image is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S605).

  Next, the system control circuit 50 displays a white face frame, which is a frame color displayed on the face of the main subject, on the face detected this time on the image display unit 28 (S606). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the face detected this time is registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 (S607). As a result of S607, if it is determined that the face detected this time has already been registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, the system control circuit 50 is registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 below the face detected this time. The display name is displayed on the image display unit 28 in a white background color that is the background color displayed in the name of the face of the main subject (S608).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S602 that the currently detected face is not the main subject, that is, it is determined to be a non-main subject, the system control circuit 50 displays a frame to be displayed on the face of the non-main subject on the currently detected face. A gray face frame as a color is displayed on the image display unit 28 (S609). Next, the system control circuit 50 determines whether or not the face detected this time is registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 (S610). As a result of S610, when the face detected this time has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the system control circuit 50 displays the display name registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 below the currently detected face. Are displayed on the image display unit 28 in a gray background color that is a background color to be displayed on the non-main subject (S611).

  When the user presses the shutter switch (SW2) 64, the series of operations for recording a still image or a moving image is performed and detected by the image processing circuit 20 in the header information of the still image or the moving image. The subject information of the face (excluding feature information) is also recorded.

  The processing result of the third embodiment can also be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 6A shows a face that has been determined as a main subject and has been registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, and a face that has been determined as a non-main subject, This is a display content when the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed in a scene where there is a face (II) whose subject information has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31. As shown in the figure, since the main subject (I) has already been registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 as subject information, the frame and the background of the display name are white. On the other hand, since the non-main subject (II) has already been registered in the non-volatile memory 31 as subject information, the frame and the background of the display name are gray in the color of the non-main subject.

  FIG. 6B shows a face determined as a main subject, a face (I) registered in advance as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, a face determined as a non-main subject, and This is a display content when the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed in a scene where a face (II) that is not registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31 exists.

  FIG. 6C shows a face determined as a main subject and a face (I) that has not been previously registered as subject information in the nonvolatile memory 31, and a face determined as a non-main subject, and is non-volatile in advance. FIG. 4 shows the display contents when the processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed in a scene where the face (II) registered as subject information in the sex memory 31 exists. As shown in the figure, even if the face (II) is registered as subject information, if the main subject is not registered as subject information, the frame and display name are displayed for the face (II). Not.

  FIG. 6D shows a face determined to be a main subject, a face (I) whose personal information is not registered in the nonvolatile memory 31 in advance, and a face determined to be other than the main subject, and This is a display content when the process shown in FIG. 4 is performed in a scene in which the face (II) whose personal information has not been registered exists in the nonvolatile memory 31.

  In the third embodiment, the frame color displayed on the face of the main subject is white, the background of the display name is white, and the frame color displayed on the face of the non-main subject and the background of the display name are gray. It is not limited to this. In short, any display form may be used as long as the main subject and the non-main subject can be distinguished.

  In the embodiment described above, the face of the maximum size or the face closest to the center position of the image among the detected faces is recognized as the main subject. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various known techniques are used. Can be applied. For example, the main subject may be determined from the addition result of a size evaluation value that increases as the face increases and a position evaluation value that increases as the face position approaches the center position of the image. Alternatively, in addition to these evaluation values, the history evaluation value added to the face selected as the main subject immediately before, or the higher the number of times selected as the main subject during the immediately preceding predetermined frame, the higher the value The main subject may be determined from the result of adding the frequency evaluation values. In other words, regardless of the method of recognizing the main subject, if the face that is the main subject is not registered as subject information, even if there is a face registered as subject information among the faces of the non-main subject, Any structure that does not display a name in the vicinity of the face may be used.

(Other examples)
The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

Claims (7)

An imaging device having imaging means,
Detecting means for detecting a predetermined subject image included in an image obtained by imaging with the imaging means;
Classifying means for classifying the subject detected by the detecting means into a main subject and a non-main subject other than the main subject;
Storage means for storing feature information for identifying the subject and name information representing the subject;
Display control means for displaying corresponding name information in the vicinity of the subject for the subject having the characteristic information stored in the storage means among the subjects in the image obtained by the imaging means. ,
The display control means includes
When the main subject classified by the classification means can be identified according to the feature information stored in the storage means, corresponding name information is displayed,
For the non-main subject classified by the classification means, corresponding name information is displayed on condition that both the non-main subject and the main subject can be specified by the feature information stored in the storage means. An imaging apparatus characterized by the above. The subject detected by the detecting means is a human face image,
The imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the classifying unit classifies the face image into the main subject and the non-main subject based on at least one of a face image size and a face image position.   The imaging according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the display control means displays a background of a character string constituting name information of the main subject and the non-main subject in different colors. apparatus.   The display control means displays a frame surrounding the main subject in a first color, and displays a frame surrounding the non-main subject in a second color different from the first color. Item 4. The imaging device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. An imaging apparatus control method comprising: an imaging unit; and storage means for storing feature information for specifying a subject and name information representing the subject,
A detecting step in which a detecting unit detects a predetermined subject image included in an image obtained by imaging with the imaging unit;
A classifying step for classifying the subject detected in the detection step into a main subject and a non-main subject other than the main subject;
Display control means for displaying the corresponding name information in the vicinity of the subject for the subject having the feature information stored in the storage means among the subjects in the image obtained by the imaging means. A process,
In the display control step,
When the main subject classified in the classification step can be identified according to the feature information stored in the storage means, corresponding name information is displayed,
For the non-main subject classified in the classification step, corresponding name information is displayed on condition that both the non-main subject and the main subject can be specified by the feature information stored in the storage means. A method for controlling an image pickup apparatus. A program for causing a computer to function as an imaging device by being read and executed by a computer having an imaging unit and storage unit for storing feature information for specifying the subject and name information representing the subject. And
The computer,
Detecting means for detecting a predetermined subject image included in an image obtained by imaging with the imaging means;
Classifying means for classifying the subject detected by the detecting means into a main subject and a non-main subject other than the main subject,
Among the subjects in the image obtained by the imaging means, the subject having the characteristic information stored in the storage means is caused to function as display control means for displaying corresponding name information in the vicinity of the subject,
The display control means includes
When the main subject classified by the classification means can be identified according to the feature information stored in the storage means, corresponding name information is displayed,
For the non-main subject classified by the classification means, the corresponding name information is displayed on condition that both the non-main subject and the main subject can be specified by the feature information stored in the storage means. Program.   A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 6.

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