JP2009140047A - Method and device for making composite picture - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for making a composite picture that enables a general user to easily make a face image of one's taste. <P>SOLUTION: In a memory card, multiple kinds of parts data such as eyes, noses, mouths are previously stored for every kind, and the face image displayed at a display part of a camera-equipped mobile phone is combined with the parts data being read from the memory card. The composite picture is transmitted to a receiving server, and an image processing server connected to the receiving server automatically executes the predetermined processing specified by the user and delivers the image to the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a montage photo creation method and apparatus, and more particularly to a novel montage photo creation method and apparatus using a memory card and a camera-equipped mobile phone.

(Conventional technology)
Montage photo (montage
de photographies (French) is a photograph that takes a part of several photos and combines them into one (in a broad sense). Especially, from the testimony of criminal witnesses, etc. Similar things are gathered and synthesized and used for suspect capture purposes (a narrow montage photo). An apparatus for such an application stores an enormous amount of part data in an external storage device of a host computer, has a large system, and cannot be used by anyone for personal use. Such devices are sometimes used to identify suspects by pattern matching against an enormous criminal list. Therefore, the apparatus which starts is very expensive (prior art 1).

The montage photograph is used for, for example, an extended use of an electronic notebook, that is, a game (Prior Art 2 / Patent Document 1). This device has a transparent touch sensor on the display screen, and various inputs can be made with a touch pen. When a specific part of a face photograph shown on the display screen, such as eyes, nose, mouth, or eyebrows, is specified with a touch pen, the part data stored in advance in the memory is read, and the part data is aligned with the specified position. And synthesize to a predetermined human phase. At this time, the processor of the electronic notebook generates a random number, and reads and synthesizes part data not corresponding to the position selected by the user. Thus, the completed human phase becomes unexpected by the user, and is provided as a “happy laugh” game with this unexpectedness. Also, in an arcade game, first take a picture of yourself, display it on the monitor, synthesize it with parts data such as wig (beard), wig (wig), eyebrows, etc., print it on a sticker and enjoy it A creation device is known (prior art 3 / patent document 2). These game-like photo sticker photographing machines have been widely used especially for young girls (junior high school and high school students) for the last 10 years.
JP-A-9-167250 JP 2005-12667 A

(Problems of conventional technology)
As described above, the apparatus of the prior art 1 is limited to a special purpose and cannot be used by general users. Further, the apparatus of Patent Literature 1 has a configuration that is different from the user's setting, and the user cannot create and enjoy his / her favorite composite photo. Further, it is necessary to provide a transparent touch sensor on the display unit of the apparatus and use a touch pen. Furthermore, the device of Patent Document 2 must be configured with a blue curtain in the background, perform chroma key processing for extracting only a person image, and can be enjoyed only in a limited place such as a game center. .

Here, a problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a montage photo creation method and apparatus that allows a general user to easily create a favorite facial image, particularly for young girls. Other problems will become apparent from the specification, drawings, and claims.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention stores a plurality of types of part data such as eyes, nose and mouth in advance in a memory card and displays them on the display unit of the camera-equipped mobile phone. Provided is a montage photo creation method for synthesizing the part data read from the memory card with a face image. According to this configuration, a simple configuration of a memory card that stores part data and a mobile phone with a camera allows a general user to easily and versatilely create a montage photo without being limited to the place of use. it can. In particular, the image used as the base for creating a montage photo (referred to as a base image in this application) can be taken as digital data with a mobile phone with a camera, so various montage photos based on one's face can be easily created. can do. It is also possible to save the base image and create it later.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can take various forms within the scope of the claims, and is not limited to the following embodiments. Absent.

(System configuration example)
An outline of a system in which the present invention is implemented will be described with reference to FIG. The present invention includes a camera-equipped mobile phone 1 and a memory card 2 that is inserted into and removed from a memory card slot (not shown) of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. The memory card 2 can be composed of, for example, an SD card (Secure Digital Card). The camera-equipped mobile phone 1 includes a main body operation unit 11 and a display unit 12 configured integrally therewith. The main body operation unit 11 is provided with a numeric keypad 110, up / down / left / right instruction keys 111, an enter key 112, and other various buttons necessary for operating the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. Although not shown in the figure, a CCD camera is provided on the back of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1, and the photographer confirms the subject displayed on the display unit 12 and presses the enter key 112 to display the subject as a digital image. Taken as.

The camera-equipped mobile phone 1 includes a communication control unit 30 that controls transmission / reception of the phone, Internet connection, and packet communication, an image processing unit 31 that executes processing of various images such as JPEG images, and a control of the display unit 12. Display control unit 32, application program 33 for executing various applications of camera-equipped mobile phone 1, and external memory control unit 34 for reading and writing data in the memory card (see FIG. 2). The image processing unit 31 is configured using, for example, a JAVA (registered trademark) virtual module. The application program 33 is displayed on the display unit 12 of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 when there is a montage photo creation application of the present invention, that is, when there is an instruction to read out the part data stored in the memory card 2. Processing for overwriting the face image is also executed. These hardwares are controlled centrally by the CPU. The display unit 12, the operation unit 13 (including the numeric keypad 110 and other keys) included in the main body operation unit 11, and the CCD camera 14 are connected to the hardware via an I / O (input / output) interface (not shown). It is appropriately controlled by the wear. In addition, the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 is connected to the public telephone line 41 and the Internet network 42 in a wireless manner by the function of the communication control unit 30.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the data structure of the memory card 2. The memory card 2 stores a plurality of parts data (image data) such as head (forehead and hairstyle), eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, etc. for each address (a specific image is omitted in the figure). ing). The head part data may include images with various hats. In addition, part data such as a mustache and a beard may be provided as appropriate. Furthermore, pierced image data may be added to the nose and mouth. In addition, a makeup mode may be provided in the menu of the application program 32, and image data such as eyes with eye shadows or curled eyelashes, or image data with various colors of lipstick may be further provided. The more part data, the better. Each part data is managed by the application program 32 by an address. The application program 32 is preferably installed in the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 in advance, but may be downloaded from a server and used.

(Usage example)
The montage photo is created with the memory card 2 mounted in the memory card slot of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. FIG. 4 shows a state in which a menu screen appears on the display unit 12 of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. As shown in the figure, the mode includes photography mode, photo selection mode, montage photo creation mode, and distribution service mode.

<Photo mode>
Under the instruction of the application program 32, the user can take a self-photo as a base by the photo shooting function of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. At the time of shooting, a frame 51 to which the face portion of the subject should be fitted is displayed on the display unit 12 (see FIG. 5). Adjust the camera position so that it fits in the top, bottom, left, and right frames. When you press button A to shoot, a message “Do you want to save” is displayed. Press button A to save, button D to shoot again, or button B to end shooting without saving. Is pressed (FIG. 6A). When the saving is completed, a message to that effect is displayed (FIG. 6B). The shooting position instruction may be indicated by a horizontal line of the eye position and a vertical line of the nose position in addition to the frame, or may be performed by other methods.

<Image selection mode>
After saving the photos, the mode may be shifted to the montage photo creation mode, or the photos may be displayed in a list together with the photos taken and saved in the past, and an arbitrary one may be selected before the transition.

  In the former case, after the image is saved with the button A, when the button A is pressed again, the menu screen of FIG. 4 is displayed again. Then, the montage photo creation mode may be selected. In the latter case, when returning to the menu screen and selecting the image selection mode, a list of images taken in the past is displayed as shown in FIG. To select the desired image.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the selected image is enlarged and displayed on the monitor, and the message “Is this photo OK?” Is displayed. If OK, button A is pressed. Press button B to return to the original list display.

<Montage photo creation mode>
When the base image for creating the montage photo is selected in FIG. 8, the mode automatically shifts to the montage photo creation mode. When the user selects the montage photo creation mode first on the menu screen, the application program 32 shifts to the image selection mode in FIG. 7 and causes the user to select a base image. When the montage photo creation mode is entered, as shown in FIG. 9, the application program 32 first has an oblong frame (cursor) on the head (including the forehead and above and including the hair) as an initial position. 52 is displayed. The cursor 52 is used to instruct the application program 32 where the user overwrites the part data. The cursor 52 can be sequentially shifted from eyebrow → eye → nose → mouth by an up / down instruction using the up / down / left / right instruction key 111. When the user wants to change the eye image, the user moves the cursor to the eye position and presses button A to enter the eye image change mode. Then, the application program 32 sequentially reads out the eye part data individually from the eye part data storage area of the memory card, and synthesizes and displays the image at the eye position (position designated by the cursor) of the original image. . When the user operates the left key of the up / down / left / right key 111, new image data is sequentially read one by one, and an image synthesized with the read data is displayed. Fine-tune the position of the synthesized part with the up / down / left / right buttons. If necessary, the synthesized part image is enlarged by button B and reduced by button D. The degree of enlargement / reduction can be adjusted by the number of times the button is pressed. In this way, when the synthesized image matches the user's image, the button A is pressed and saved (FIG. 10).

As usage, for example, an image when changing the hairstyle, an image when dyeing hair, a virtual image when shaping eyes and nose, an image when applying makeup,
It is possible to create an image of dressing up with various hats. Also in the case of boys, the image of white hair, the rejuvenation image when the hair is dyed black, the image when the hairstyle is changed (all back, skin head, chamfer, half cut, mohawk, punch perm,禿 (bald / M-shaped baldness, other bald heads, etc.), celebrity and celebrity hairstyles, recently popular hairstyles, etc., images of piercing nose and lips (especially young people), images of growing cocoons It is possible to create and enjoy virtual images of various variations, regardless of age or gender, such as images that have changed the times (images with a little mess, images of the Heian nobility wearing a cocoon hat, etc.).
Furthermore, by increasing the number of types of parts data such as legal lines as used in humanities, cheeks (bulges and shavings), cancer bones, jaws, etc., a wider variety of age groups and facial features will be provided. A rich image can be created. In addition, if part data such as masks and glasses is prepared, it can be used, for example, to create suspicious person information that hesitates in the vicinity.

<Distribution service mode>
Further, the distribution service mode may be selected on the menu screen. When the distribution service menu is selected, more detailed service contents, for example, “Deco-mail”, “Puzzle game”, and “Find mistakes” are displayed (FIG. 11). When enjoying these distribution service applications, first, an image that has been captured and saved in the past (either an original image or a montage photo) may be read and any one selected (FIG. 12). . Then, since the selected image is displayed in an enlarged manner, the button A is pressed when transmitting to the server, and the button B is pressed when selecting again (FIG. 13). When the transmission is completed, a message “Transmission completed. Download URL sent by e-mail” is displayed (FIG. 14). (The download URL will be described later). Then, when button A is pressed, the screen returns to the menu screen. Regardless of which service is selected, the image selected by the user is transmitted to a server (receiving server) operated by the service provider. In the case of selecting the deco-mail service, the material for deco-mail is automatically created by the image processing program of the image processing server (computer) connected to the receiving server and distributed to the user. In the case of the puzzle game selection, the image data transmitted by the user is divided into, for example, 9 (length 3 × width 3) and distributed to the user. When the mistake search service is selected, a minute change is applied to a part of the image data transmitted by the user and the image data is distributed to the user. In this way, various distribution services can be provided using the server.

  In addition, a group may be configured by specific users, and their own images and montage photos may be uploaded to the server, and the albums of the members of the group may be stored. In this case, only a user registered in advance with administrator authority can be viewed. For example, if a group is formed with alumni, cousin associations, etc., it is possible to achieve new communication with friends, distant relatives, acquaintances, and the like. Moreover, you may comprise so that a school official can confirm nearby suspicious person information (a montage photograph is included).

(User authentication example)
It should be noted that user authentication is preferably performed when the distribution service is charged. That is, when a distribution service is selected on the menu screen, the application program 32 displays a license key input screen (FIG. 15). When the user purchases the memory card 2 in which the part data that is the content is recorded, the license key is described as a code number unique to the user in the product description included in the package of the memory card 2. Therefore, when the user inputs this license key and confirms it with button A, it is transmitted to the receiving server (FIG. 16). The receiving server registers the sent license key and the transmitted individual identification number (or telephone number) of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 as a set, and notifies the user of the completion of user registration (FIG. 17). After registration is completed, access from the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 is executed unconditionally.

(Delivery method example)
FIG. 18 is a first example of image distribution, in which the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 receives distribution directly (automatically) from the server. That is, the distribution is received from the server by the action of the application program 32 itself of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1.

FIG. 19 shows an example in which distribution is received from the server by the e-mail function of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1. In this case, when the user transmits an image to the receiving server, the receiving server notifies the user of a reception completion notification. The receiving server transmits the transmitted image data to the image processing server to execute image processing. When the image processing server completes the image processing, the image is transmitted to the receiving server. The receiving server distributes the processed image to the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 as an attachment to the e-mail. In this case, it is necessary to register the e-mail address of the camera-equipped mobile phone 1 in addition to the registration by inputting the license key described above.

FIG. 20 shows an example in which the receiving server notifies the user of the URL to which the user is to receive the processed image. As shown in the figure, when the user transmits his / her own image to the receiving server, the receiving server notifies the user of the URL and transmits the received image data to the image processing server. The image processing server processes the image according to the user's specification and transmits it to the receiving server. When the user accesses the notified URL, the processed image data can be acquired from the URL.

As described above, according to the present invention, a simple configuration of a memory card storing a part data and a mobile phone with a camera, and a general user can easily and versatilely montage photos without being limited to a place of use. Can be created. In addition, a new type of communication can be achieved among a plurality of people using a server.

1 is a system configuration example for executing the present invention. It is a hardware structural example of the mobile phone with a camera of this invention. It is an example of the data structure of the memory card of this invention. It is an example of an initial menu screen when creating a montage photo. It is an example of a screen display at the time of basic image photography by the present invention. (A) It is an example of a display screen at the time of preserve | saving a base image. (B) It is an example of a display screen when the base image is completely stored. It is an example of a display screen when displaying the base image list for montage photo creation. It is an example of a screen display when the base image for montage photographs is selected. It is the example of a screen display at the time of creating a montage photograph. It is a screen display example (model) of the created montage photograph. It is an example of a delivery service menu selection screen. It is an example of a screen display at the time of server transmission image selection. It is an example of a screen display when the image for distribution is selected. It is an example of a screen display when an image is transmitted to a server. It is a display example of a license key input screen. It is an example of a screen display after inputting a license key. It is an example of a screen display when license key registration is completed. It is the 1st example of a method of image delivery. It is the 2nd method example of image delivery. It is a 3rd example of an image delivery method.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mobile phone with camera 2 Memory card 11 Main body operation part 12 Display part 13 Operation part 14 CCD camera 30 Communication control part 31 Image processing part 32 Display control part 33 Application program 34 External memory control part 41 Public telephone line 42 Internet network 51 Frame 52 Cursor 110 Numeric Keypad 111 Up / Down / Left / Right Instruction Key 112 Enter Key

Claims (7)

A plurality of types of parts data such as eyes, nose and mouth are stored in advance in the memory card for each type, and the face image displayed on the display unit of the camera-equipped mobile phone is read from the memory card. A method of creating a montage photo, wherein the part data is synthesized. The part data selection is such that the first part data read from the memory card is temporarily displayed at the position selected by the user, and the next part data is displayed sequentially thereafter according to the user's operation. The method of creating a montage photo according to claim 1. 3. The montage photo creation method according to claim 2, wherein the part data temporarily displayed is moved vertically or horizontally from the temporarily displayed position, or enlarged or reduced by a user operation. A montage photograph created by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is transmitted to a receiving server, and a predetermined process designated by a user is automatically executed by an image processing server connected to the receiving server, An image delivery method comprising delivering to a user. A unique license key is preset in the memory card purchased by the user, and the user registers the license key in the receiving server in association with his / her mobile phone when receiving the first distribution service. The image delivery method according to claim 4. An application program for a camera-equipped mobile phone that synthesizes part data such as eyes, nose, mouth, etc. stored in advance in a memory card with a face image displayed on the display unit of the camera-equipped mobile phone. A montage photo creation device comprising a combination of a memory card that stores a plurality of types of parts data such as eyes, nose, mouth and the like in advance and a camera-equipped mobile phone comprising the application program according to claim 6 .