JP5069986B2 - Image evaluation method, image processing apparatus, camera, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image evaluation method, an image processing device, a camera having the image processing device, and a program .

A digital image taken by a digital camera or the like is output as a video and displayed on a display / playback device such as a television monitor. These are generally realized in a form called a “slide show”. When a slide show is generated from digital images recorded and stored in a memory card or the like, the display order of the images is changed according to the priority set for these digital images (a value indicating the user's favorite degree with respect to the digital images). There is known an image reproduction apparatus and a program configured to be determined (see, for example, Patent Document 1). There is also known an image reproduction device and a program configured to change the display time of the display target image based on the priority of digital images displayed in a slide show (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2006-279118 A JP 2006-157324 A

  However, in the conventional method, when a slide show is displayed, it is premised that the user manually picks up the images of the main subject one by one and registers the priority (favorites). There was a problem of taking time and effort.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an image evaluation apparatus for setting priority and the like for a digital image based on information on main subjects registered in advance, and a camera having the image evaluation apparatus Another object of the present invention is to provide an image evaluation method, a feature information registration method, a slide show generation method, and a program capable of executing these methods.

In order to solve the above problems, an image evaluation method according to the present invention includes an evaluation object stored in a storage unit based on feature information stored in the feature information storage unit and an initial point associated with the feature information. An image evaluation method for evaluating an image and updating the priority stored in the storage unit in association with the evaluation target image based on the evaluation result , wherein each evaluation target image includes a feature A first step of determining whether or not any of the feature information stored in the information storage unit is included, and when it is determined in this first step that the evaluation target image includes the feature information Adds the total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image to the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit, and any of the feature information is included in the evaluation target image. Not In this case, the method includes a second step of subtracting the total value of the initial points of all feature information stored in the feature information storage unit from the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit. And

In such an image evaluation method, the feature information storage section stores display attribute reference value associated with the feature information storage unit associated with the evaluation object image, when displaying the evaluation target image stores display attribute information is a display mode, in a first step, when it determines that the information includes the feature information in the evaluation subject image, the display attribute reference feature information included in the evaluation target image It is preferable to have a third step of updating the display attribute information associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit by the value.

In such an image evaluation method, the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information are set to display presence / absence of enlarged display as a display mode. When the display attribute information is updated in the third step, enlarged display is performed. It is preferable to give priority to not.
In such an image evaluation method, a display time as a display mode is set in the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information, and when the display attribute information is updated in the third step, the display time is short. It is preferable to prioritize the direction.

The image processing apparatus according to the present invention stores a feature information storage unit that stores feature information and an initial point associated with the feature information, and stores an evaluation target image and a priority associated with the evaluation target image. And for each evaluation target image, it is determined whether or not any of the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is included in the evaluation target image, and the feature information is included in the evaluation target image. When it is determined that the evaluation target image is added, the total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image is added to the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit. When it is determined that the feature information is not included, the total value of the initial points of all the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is subtracted from the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit. and the evaluation unit Characterized in that it has a.

In such an image processing device, the feature information storage unit stores a display attribute reference value associated with the feature information, and the storage unit displays the evaluation target image associated with the evaluation target image. Display attribute information is stored, and when the evaluation unit determines that the evaluation target image includes feature information, the evaluation unit uses the display attribute reference value of the feature information included in the evaluation target image. It is preferable to update the display attribute information associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit.

In such an image processing apparatus, the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information are set to display presence / absence of enlarged display, and the evaluation unit does not perform enlarged display when updating the display attribute information. Is preferred.
In such an image processing apparatus, the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information are set with a display time as a display mode, and the evaluation unit should select a shorter display time when updating the display attribute information. It is preferable to give priority.

Also, such image processing apparatus extracts the evaluation object image and the priority, and the display attribute information from the storage unit, and outputs as a slideshow determines the display mode based on the priority and the display attribute information for each evaluation target image It is preferable to have a slide show generation unit.

In such an image processing apparatus, when the slide show generation unit determines that the priority associated with the evaluation target image is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold when determining the display mode , the evaluation target image Display attribute information associated with the image to be evaluated is determined as a display mode of the image to be evaluated, and when the priority associated with the image to be evaluated is determined to be smaller than a predetermined threshold, the image is associated with the image to be evaluated. It is preferable to determine the display mode of the evaluation target image by changing the display attribute information.

In such an image processing apparatus, when the slide show generation unit determines that the priority set for the evaluation target image is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the display mode is set so as not to be enlarged and displayed. It is preferable to determine to shorten the time.

In addition, such an image processing apparatus preferably includes a registration unit that extracts feature information from an evaluation target image stored in the storage unit and registers the feature information in the feature information storage unit.

In such an image processing apparatus, the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is a subject image, and the registration unit includes a subject image included in the evaluation target image stored in the storage unit. It is preferable that the image of the subject included at a predetermined ratio or more with respect to the entire evaluation target image is registered in the feature information storage unit as the feature information.

In such an image processing apparatus, the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is an image of a subject, and the registration unit is photographed at a substantially central portion of the evaluation target image stored in the storage unit. It is preferable that the image of the subject is extracted, and the image of the subject is registered as feature information in the feature information storage unit.

In addition, a camera according to the present invention includes any one of the above-described image processing apparatuses , an optical system, and an image sensor that captures an image formed by the optical system, and the image captured by the image sensor is an evaluation target image. and having a an imaging unit to be stored in the storage unit as.

In addition, the program according to the present invention includes a feature information storage unit that stores feature information and an initial point associated with the feature information, and a storage that stores an evaluation target image and a priority associated with the evaluation target image. Each of the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit for each of the evaluation target images. When determining whether or not the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, the total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image, It is added to the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit, and when it is determined that no feature information is included in the evaluation target image, it is stored in the feature information storage unit The total value of the initial point of characteristic information of Te, characterized by having a step of subtracting from the priority associated with the evaluation object image storage unit.

When the image evaluation method, the image processing apparatus, the camera having the image processing apparatus, and the program according to the present invention are configured as described above, each evaluation object can be obtained simply by registering feature information (for example, an image of a main subject). It is possible to automatically set the priority (point indicating the degree of “favorite” for the image of the user) for the image, and further, it is possible to set attribute information (display attribute) according to each feature information Become.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the image evaluation apparatus (image evaluation system 12) according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a case where the image evaluation system 12 is applied to a digital camera 10 having an imaging unit 11 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the digital camera 10 is connected to a display 20 that is a display / playback device via a video output line 30. The digital camera 10 is provided with a slide show function for displaying recorded digital images on the display 20 in a predetermined layout or order or randomly.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the digital camera 10 displays an image capturing unit 11, an image evaluation system 12 that evaluates a digital image captured by the image capturing unit 11, and a slide show generated by a slide show generating unit 17 described later. And a video output unit 18 for outputting to the video output unit 20. In addition, the image evaluation system 12 includes an image storage unit 13 that stores a digital image captured by the imaging unit 11, a main subject storage unit 14 that stores information on a main subject used in the evaluation of the digital image, An evaluation unit 15 that evaluates a digital image, a registration unit 16 that registers information on a main subject in the main subject storage unit 14, and a slide show generation unit that generates a slide show using the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13. 17. In this digital camera 10, the image pickup unit 11 includes an optical system and an image pickup device, and detects an image formed on the image pickup surface of the image pickup device by the optical system to obtain a digital image. Are stored and recorded in the image storage unit 13.

  The digital image stored in the image storage unit 13 has a data structure 50 shown in FIG. 3 and includes a header area 51, an attribute information area 52, and an image information area 53. Here, the attribute information area 52 is a part in which attribute information of a digital image is stored, a priority area 52a in which priority is stored, an enlarged display area 52b in which enlarged display information is stored as display attribute information, and a display The display time area 52c stores display time information as attribute information. The image information area 53 is a part in which the digital image itself captured by the imaging unit 11 is stored. In the following description, a case where the priority is expressed by a numerical value (point) will be described as an example. As such a data structure, Exif (Exchangeable image file format) standardized by JEIDA is known. Here, the priority level and the display attribute information may be stored in the image storage unit 13 in association with the image instead of being stored in the area of the digital image.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the main subject storage unit 14 sets feature information (image of the main subject in this embodiment) and its feature correspondence information as one record (this record is called “main subject information 140”). A plurality of main subject information 140 can be stored, and includes a main subject name column 14a, a main subject image column 14b, and a subject attribute 14c. The subject attribute 14c includes an initial information column 14d and an enlarged display column 14e. And a display time column 14f. FIG. 5 shows a registration screen G1 for registering main subject information 140 in the main subject storage unit 14 by the registration unit 16, and the main subject image 100 stored in the main subject image column 14b and the main subject. The main subject name 104 stored in the name column 14a, the initial point 105 stored in the initial information column 14d (as described above, the priority is expressed by a numerical value. Are displayed), and enlarged display information 108 stored in the enlarged display column 14e and display time information 109 stored in the display time column 14f are displayed. Here, the initial point 105 can be increased or decreased by operating the up button 106 or the down button 107. Further, the enlarged display information 108 is configured to be able to select “permitted” and “impossible”, and the display time information 109 is configured to be able to select “long”, “standard”, and “short”. The attribute information input on the registration screen G1 is stored in the main subject storage unit 14 by the registration unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main subject image 100 can be composed of a plurality of images, for example, a front image 101, a left side image 102, and a right side image 103, and this data structure will be described later. Depends on the matching process. The main subject image 100 can be registered by allowing the user to select from the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13 of the digital camera 10. For example, the registration unit 16 reads out the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13, extracts the subject images captured in each digital image, and selects the images of the subjects that have been captured as the main subject image. It is also possible to configure to register as 100. Alternatively, a method of registering an image of a subject moving to a substantially central portion of each digital image as the main subject image 100, or displaying a digital image on the display 20, for example, to allow the user to select a subject ( It is also possible to make a selection by operating a cursor or the like.

  Now, image evaluation processing by the evaluation unit 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. For example, the evaluation unit 15 is activated at the timing when the imaging unit 11 captures an image and the digital image is registered in the image storage unit 13, and processing is performed on the registered digital image. In the following description, this digital image registered by the imaging unit 11 is referred to as an “evaluation target image 130”. First, the evaluation unit 15 reads all of the main subject image 100, the initial point 105, the enlarged display information 108, and the display time information 109 of the main subject information 140 registered in the main subject storage unit 14 (step S60). Further, the evaluation target image 130 is read from the image storage unit 13 (step S61). The evaluation target image 130 is subjected to matching processing for each main subject image 100 constituting each of the main subject information 140, and whether or not the main subject image 100 is included in the evaluation target image 130 is determined. A discrimination process is performed (step S62).

  The main subject determination process S62 will be described in detail. First, one of the main subject information 140 read in the above-described step S60 is selected (step S621), and the main image of the evaluation target image 130 and the selected main subject information 140 is selected. A matching process with the subject image 100 is performed (step S622). As a method of this matching processing, for example, a feature point of the main subject image 100 is extracted, and it is checked whether or not this feature point is included in the evaluation target image 130 (for example, a correlation value is calculated). Evaluate). If it is determined that the main subject image 100 is included (step S623), the initial point 105 corresponding to the main subject image 100 is added to the addition point P (step S624). Then, it is determined whether or not the display time information 109 and the enlarged display information 108 are registered in the subject attribute 14c of the main subject information 140 corresponding to the main subject image 100 (step S625). The display time information 109 and the enlarged display information 108 are set in the selected display attribute E (step S626). However, at this time, when the display time information 109 and the enlarged display information 108 are already set in the selected display attribute E, “short” is given priority for the display time, and “impossible” for the enlarged display. ”. On the other hand, when it is determined in step 623 that the selected main subject image 100 is not included in the evaluation target image 130, the initial point 105 corresponding to the main subject image 100 is added to the subtraction point M (step S627). Then, it is determined whether or not all the main subject information 140 has been evaluated (step S628), and the above-described steps S621 to S627 are repeatedly processed until all the main subject information 140 is evaluated.

  When it is determined in the above-described main subject determination process S62 that the evaluation target image 130 includes at least one of the main subject images 100 included in all the main subject information 140 (step S63), the evaluation target image ( The added point value P is added to the priority set in the priority area 52a of the attribute information area 52 of the digital image 130 (step S64), and the selected display attributes are added to the enlarged display area 52b and the display time area 52c, respectively. E is set (step S65). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S63 that none of the main subject images 100 is included in the evaluation target image 130, the priority area 52a constituting the attribute information area 52 of the evaluation target image 130 is set. The subtraction point value M is subtracted from the current priority (step S66).

  As described above, when the evaluation subject image 130 and the main subject image 100 of the main subject information 140 are matched, and the main subject image 100 is included in the evaluation target image 130, the initial point of the main subject is set as the priority. If none is included, the initial points of all the main subjects are added together and subtracted from the priority, thereby accurately reflecting the user's favorite degree with respect to the evaluation target image 130 on the priority. Can do.

  The evaluation unit 15 reads the digital image (evaluation target image 130) stored in the image storage unit 13, performs the above-described image evaluation process, displays the result on the display 20 or the like, and displays the evaluation target image. It is also possible to configure the user to be able to modify the attribute information related to the subject set to 130. FIG. 8 shows a setting screen G2 displayed by the evaluation unit 15. The evaluation object image 130, the frame 201 indicating the detected main subject, the main subject name 202, the initial point 203 of the subject, and the image evaluation process And the priority level 204 set in step S1 is displayed. The priority 204 can be increased or decreased by operating the up button 205 or the down button 206, and the increased / decreased result is added to the attribute information area 52 of the corresponding digital image in the image storage unit 13 by the evaluation unit 15. Remembered.

  9 shows the processing of the slide show generation unit 17 for generating and displaying a slide show of the digital images evaluated as described above in the digital camera 10 based on the attribute information set as described above. I will explain. When the slide show generating unit 17 is executed, first, among the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13, the number of digital images for which priority is set in the attribute information unit 52 is counted (step S71). Then, a slide show template (background or decoration displayed together with the digital image or effect or design such as music) is selected (step S72). At this time, the template may be selected by displaying a template registered for the user on the display 20 or the like, or may be configured to be automatically selected by the slide show generating unit 17. good.

  Next, one digital image for which priority is set is selected and read from the image storage unit 13 (step S73). Then, the priority set in the attribute information area 52 of the read digital image is compared with a predetermined threshold (step S74), and if the priority is smaller than the threshold, the attribute of the digital image is next. It is determined whether or not the display time set in the information area 52 is set to “long” (step S75). If it is set to “long”, the display time is set to “standard” ( Step S76). Further, the enlarged display is set to “impossible” (step S77). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S74 that the priority is equal to or higher than the threshold value, the attribute information of the digital image is not changed. Here, the threshold value can be, for example, an average value of priorities set for the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13. Then, it is determined whether or not all the digital images for which priority is set have been read from the image storage unit 13 (step S78), and the above-described processing S73 to all digital images for which priority is set. Repeat S77. As described above, when all the digital images for which priority is set are read from the image storage unit 13 and display attributes are set, a slide show is output to the display 20 via the video output unit 18.

  The slide show generating unit 17 displays the file name of the digital image for which priority is set among the digital images stored in the image storage unit 13 and the display attribute information (the display time and the enlarged display described above). It is also possible to generate a slide show list as a list, read out digital images from the image storage unit 13 based on the list, and output a slide show.

  When the digital camera 10 is provided with the image evaluation system 12 as described above, the main subject information is registered in the main subject storage unit 14 in advance, whereby attribute information on the digital image stored in the image storage unit 13 ( Setting of display attributes such as priority and enlarged display / display time can be automatically performed. Therefore, it is easy to generate and display a slide show. In addition, by making it possible to set the presence / absence of enlarged display and the length of display time for each digital image as such display attributes, it is possible to increase variations in digital image output by a slide show. In other words, when displaying a slide show, even if an image of a woman of a strange age is a “favorite image (priority set image)”, his / her face is magnified (zoomed in) when displayed on a large screen. ) And even if there are people who do not like to be displayed for a long time, in addition to lengthening the display time of a specific favorite photo, depending on the subject settings It is possible to set whether zooming in is possible or not.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the image evaluation system 12 is provided in the digital camera 10 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the image evaluation system 12 is provided with the image evaluation system. When configured as an image display device, this image evaluation system is mounted on a server connected to the network, and a digital image is transferred to this server from a terminal (digital camera, mobile phone, PDA or personal computer) connected to the network Thus, the same effect can be obtained even if it is configured to be evaluated.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the usage method of the digital camera provided with the image evaluation system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the said digital camera. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the data structure of a digital image. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the data structure of a main subject memory | storage part. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the structure of a registration screen. It is a flowchart which shows an image evaluation process. It is a flowchart which shows a main subject discrimination | determination process. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the structure of a setting screen. It is a flowchart which shows the production | generation and display process of a slide show.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Digital camera 11 Imaging part 12 Image evaluation system (image evaluation apparatus)
13 Image storage unit (storage unit)
14 main subject storage section (feature information selection section, feature information storage section) 15 evaluation section 16 registration section 52 attribute information section (attribute area)
52a Priority area 52b Enlarged display area 52c Display time area 100 Main subject image (feature information) 105 Initial point (attribute information)
108 Enlarged display information (display attribute reference value) 109 Display time information (display attribute reference value)
130 Images to be evaluated

Claims (16)

Based on the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit and the initial point associated with the feature information, the evaluation target image stored in the storage unit is evaluated, and the evaluation result is associated with the evaluation target image. An image evaluation method for updating the priority stored in the storage unit ,
A first step of determining for each of the evaluation target images whether the evaluation target image includes any of the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit; and
When it is determined in the first step that the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, a total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image is stored in the storage unit. Is added to the priority associated with the evaluation target image, and when it is determined that none of the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, all of the feature information storage unit stores An image evaluation method comprising: a second step of subtracting a total value of the initial points of the feature information from the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit . The feature information storage section stores the display attribute reference value associated with the feature information,
The storage unit, the associated evaluation target image, and stores the display attribute information is a display mode when displaying the evaluation target image,
When it is determined in the first step that the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, the display attribute reference value of the feature information included in the evaluation target image is used to store the feature information in the storage unit. The image evaluation method according to claim 1, further comprising a third step of updating the display attribute information associated with the evaluation target image .   In the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information, presence or absence of enlarged display as the display mode is set,
  3. The image evaluation method according to claim 2, wherein, in the third step, when updating the display attribute information, priority is given to not performing enlarged display. 4.   In the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information, a display time as the display mode is set,
  The image evaluation method according to claim 2, wherein, in the third step, when updating the display attribute information, priority is given to a display time shorter. A feature information storage unit for storing feature information and an initial point associated with the feature information;
A storage unit for storing the evaluation target image and the priority associated with the evaluation target image ;
For each of the evaluation target images, it is determined whether or not any of the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is included in the evaluation target image, and the feature information is included in the evaluation target image. When it is determined that the evaluation target image is included, the total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image is added to the priority associated with the evaluation target image in the storage unit, and the evaluation When it is determined that none of the feature information is included in the target image, the total value of the initial points of all the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is used as the evaluation target of the storage unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: an evaluation unit that subtracts from the priority associated with an image.   The feature information storage unit stores a display attribute reference value associated with the feature information,
  The storage unit stores display attribute information associated with the evaluation target image, which is a display mode when displaying the evaluation target image,
When the evaluation unit determines that the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, the evaluation target of the storage unit is determined based on the display attribute reference value of the feature information included in the evaluation target image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display attribute information associated with an image is updated.   In the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information, presence or absence of enlarged display as the display mode is set,
  The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the display attribute information is updated, the evaluation unit gives priority to not performing enlarged display.   In the display attribute reference value and the display attribute information, a display time as the display mode is set,
  The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when the display attribute information is updated, the evaluation unit gives priority to a display time shorter. A slide show generation unit that extracts the evaluation target image , the priority level, and the display attribute information from the storage unit, determines a display mode based on the priority level and the display attribute information for each evaluation target image, and outputs the display mode as a slide show The image processing apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising: When the slide show generation unit determines that the priority associated with the evaluation target image is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold when determining the display mode, the slide show generation unit associates with the evaluation target image. When the display attribute information is determined as a display mode of the evaluation target image and it is determined that the priority associated with the evaluation target image is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the display associated with the evaluation target image The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the attribute information is changed and determined as a display mode of the evaluation target image. When the slide show generation unit determines that the priority set for the evaluation target image is smaller than a predetermined threshold, the display mode is set so as not to perform enlarged display and to shorten the display time. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the determination is performed. According to any one of claims 5-11, characterized in that it comprises a registration unit for extracting the feature information from the evaluation target image stored in the storage unit is registered in the feature information storage unit Image processing device . The feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is an image of a subject,
The registration unit extracts an image of the subject included in the evaluation target image stored in the storage unit, the image the feature of an object included against entire evaluation target image at a predetermined ratio or more The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the image processing apparatus is configured to be registered in the feature information storage unit as information. The feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is an image of a subject,
The registration unit extracts an image of the object being photographed at a substantially central portion of the evaluation object image stored in the storage unit, registered in the feature information storage unit an image of the subject as the feature information The image processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the image processing apparatus is configured to do so. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 14 ,
An image pickup device that includes an optical system and an image pickup device that picks up an image formed by the optical system, and stores an image picked up by the image pickup device as the evaluation target image in the storage portion ; camera. It is executed by a computer having a feature information storage unit that stores feature information and an initial point associated with the feature information, and a storage unit that stores an evaluation target image and a priority associated with the evaluation target image. A program
Reading the evaluation target image from the storage unit and determining, for each evaluation target image, whether or not any of the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit is included in the evaluation target image. ,as well as,
When it is determined that the feature information is included in the evaluation target image, the total value of the initial points of the feature information included in the evaluation target image corresponds to the evaluation target image in the storage unit. The initial point of all the feature information stored in the feature information storage unit when it is determined that none of the feature information is included in the evaluation target image. Subtracting the total value from the priority associated with the image to be evaluated in the storage unit .

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