JP5052663B2 - Camera and image display method of camera - Google Patents

Description

 The present invention relates to a camera for recording map information of a shooting position in a shot image, and more specifically, a camera that can effectively display a shooting location and an image such as a trip by effectively using a digital image. It is about.

 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, car navigation systems and mobile phone navigation systems have been developed using position detection means for obtaining position information of the current location by positioning using a global positioning system (GPS) using satellites. Then, using such a system, for example, a photographed object is identified from the photographing point and the direction of photographing, and where the photographed image data was photographed and in which direction the photographed image was photographed. There is known a technique that makes it possible to easily confirm whether an object is present (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for switching the scale of a map display depending on how crowded landmarks are, and an example in which the same concept is applied to navigation is also known (for example, Patent Document 3). reference).
JP-A-2005-39702 JP 2002-131070 A JP 2002-71368 A

 However, with respect to the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, when actually traveling, it is more important to be a simple, small and light camera than a camera with a complicated mechanism, In many cases, I want to know information about where I was, rather than what it is.

 In addition, the device described in Patent Document 2 describes that the scale of the map display is switched depending on how crowded the landmarks are, but does not include an opportunity unique to the camera technology of shooting points. That is, it has happened that the shooting point cannot be understood at a glance only by the position.

 Furthermore, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 3, the same idea as that of Patent Document 2 described above is applied to navigation, and the shooting point is not described.

 The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a camera and a camera display method that allow a user to easily know a shooting location and display an image in an easy-to-view manner.

 That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a photographing unit that captures an image, a photographing position detecting unit that receives data relating to a photographing position of the image, and obtains a photographing position from the received data, landmark position information, Landmark search means for searching for a landmark close to the shooting position and a position from the database having the name, a shot image composition determination means for determining whether or not the shot image is a vertical composition, and If the captured image composition determining means determines that the composition is not vertical, the direction determining means for determining the alignment direction of the line connecting the detected shooting position and the landmark, and the direction determining means The display layout of the captured image and the map is switched so that the arrangement direction is the longitudinal direction for displaying the map, and the captured image composition determination And it is judged that the vertical composition is characterized by comprising a display switching means for switching the display layout to display side by side the captured image and the map.

 According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the direction determining means determines whether the photographing position and the landmark position are aligned in the east-west direction or in the north-south direction. It is characterized by that.

 The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 2, wherein the display switching means determines that the shooting position and the landmark position are aligned in the east-west direction by the direction determination means. When the shooting position and landmark position are displayed in the east-west direction, and it is determined that the shooting position and landmark position are aligned in the north-south direction, the shooting position and landmark position are in the north-south direction. The display layout is switched so as to display on the screen.

 According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the database according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the database includes a map including main landmark position information and a plurality of scales, and the position of the landmark close to the shooting position. And a determining means for determining the scale of.

 The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 4, wherein the switching means controls switching of the scale of the displayed map in accordance with the landmark.

 The invention according to claim 6 shoots an image, receives data related to the shooting position of the image to acquire the shooting position, and uses a landmark position information and a database having the name, the landmark close to the shooting position. If the photographed image composition determination means determines that the photographed image composition is not a vertical composition, the photographing position and the land are further determined. The arrangement direction of the lines connecting the marks is determined, the display layout of the photographed image and the map is switched so that the arrangement direction determined by the direction determination means is the longitudinal direction for displaying the map, and the imaging is performed. When the image composition determination means determines that the composition is vertical, the display layout is switched so that the captured image and the map are displayed side by side.

 According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a camera and a camera image display method that allow a user to easily know a shooting location and display an image in an easy-to-see manner.

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

 First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a camera according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

 In FIG. 1, a microcontroller (CPU) 11 is a control means that controls the entire camera. The CPU 11 determines the operation state of the switch 18a and executes a camera operation desired by the user by controlling each block described later according to a predetermined sequence. Connected to the CPU 11 are an imaging unit 12, a search engine unit 13, a memory 16, and an operation unit 18 including a display unit 17 and an operation switch 18a. The CPU 11 has functions of display control means, determination means, switching means, and reading means in addition to the control means.

 The photographing unit 12 has a photographing function of the camera, and includes a photographing lens, an image sensor, an image processing circuit, and the like, and a photographing sequence is executed by a photographing operation command from the CPU 11. The photographing result is recorded in the memory 16 via the CPU 11 and displayed on the display unit 17. The display unit 17 includes, for example, a 2.5 to 3 inch liquid crystal display (LCD). In recent years, LCDs have become larger due to user demands, making it easier to see images, and large liquid crystals have a large amount of information. Therefore, not only one screen but also multiple screens can be displayed. It is becoming tolerable.

 The GPS unit 14 is a position detection unit that receives a position signal by radio waves from a satellite (not shown) and forms a latitude / longitude information signal. This technology has become widespread in car navigation systems and has become familiar to more people in recent years due to the specifications for mobile phone navigation. In order to construct these navigation systems from this position information, it is necessary to have a database of roads and buildings on the map as position information.

 However, in the present invention, since the purpose is not to perform navigation, the database 15 need only have map information roughly divided into several levels. Each level corresponds to, for example, the world map, where the shooting location corresponds to where in the country, to the detailed level that can be displayed on a municipal basis, and the scale varies depending on the level. ing. The search engine unit 13 serving as a search means searches for the location where the user took a picture using the GPS information and the database 15.

 The operation unit 18 includes the operation switch 18a described above, and is used to select various modes of the camera, to instruct to determine and search, to select a display screen, which will be described later, and so on. It corresponds to.

 With the camera having such a configuration, it is conceivable that applications such as specifying a shooting location, displaying a map, searching, and the like are applied by the position detection function.

 For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, it is not possible to know where the photograph was taken from only the image displayed on the LCD 25 of the display unit 17. However, in the camera of the present invention, the display method is switched, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the display of the LCD 25 is divided, and the photographed image is displayed on the screen 25a and the map is displayed on the screen 25b. In addition, the shooting location can be displayed on the portion of the screen 25c. Thus, the user and the person viewing the image can understand where the image was taken, and can enjoy the image while recalling various things.

 However, in this way of enjoying, there is no place name that many people know on the screen 25b on which the map is displayed, and the state of the road is simply as in the screen 25b shown in FIG. If it is only displayed, it will be meaningless to anyone. In order to prevent this from happening, the present invention makes it possible for many people to display a park, a facility, etc. on a map so that many people know a station and a building, I am trying to enjoy it.

 A camera with such a specification has a meaningless map as shown in FIG. 2C by the CPU 11 switching the database 15 or switching the display method of the LCD 25 according to a sequence as shown in FIG. Instead, as shown in FIG. 2B, a map with an appropriate amount of information can always be displayed.

 FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

 First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the camera executes a photo shooting (shooting mode) sequence. Here, if a photograph is taken, the process proceeds to step S2, and if not, the process proceeds to step S21 described later.

 When a photograph is taken, focus is performed in step S2, and exposure control is performed in subsequent step S3. Next, when exposure control is performed in step S3, photographing processing is performed in step S4. By this photographing process, the image of the subject captured by the image sensor described above is converted into an electric signal, and the digitally processed image is further compressed and recorded in the memory 16 in step S5. In step S <b> 6, a signal is input from the GPS unit 14, and the search engine unit 13 searches for position information of the shooting position.

 Next, it is determined whether or not the GPS detection result in step S6 is OK. Here, when the GPS information cannot be obtained due to radio wave conditions or the like, the process proceeds to step S8, and the information obtained by the previous GPS unit 14 is substituted. If the GPS detection result is OK in step S7, step S8 is skipped.

 By the way, it is necessary to determine which map is to be used to display the map from the database of different hierarchies composed of maps of different scales with respect to the position information of the photographing position thus obtained. If the scale is too large, it becomes a map of only roads and open areas as shown in the screen 25b shown in FIG. 2 (c), and the user cannot know the information of the shooting position 27. This is because the display becomes meaningless. Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to make the scale smaller and display the state around the shooting position in an easy-to-understand manner.

 Accordingly, in step S9, “n = 5” representing the map of the hierarchy containing the map with the smallest scale is selected by the operation unit 18, and the shooting position is searched from the database 15 in the subsequent step S11. Here, in step S11, it is determined whether or not there is a landmark in the map screen. As a result, if the landmark exists, the map at that time (in this case, the hierarchy of n = 5) is displayed in step S14. However, in step S11, if the map is like the screen 25b shown in FIG. 2C and the landmark is not included in the same screen as the shooting position 27, the process goes to step S12. Transition.

 In step S12, a value n indicating the hierarchy is determined. Here, since “n = 1” is the whole world map level, it cannot be less than this. Further, when using on the earth, it is not necessary to make n smaller than 1. Therefore, if “n = 1” in step S12, the process proceeds to step S14. If “n> 1,” the process proceeds to step S13, and the value of n is decremented, and then the process proceeds to step S10. . That is, the map scale is reduced by one step at steps S12 and S13 until it is determined at step S11 that there is a landmark.

 Thus, in step S14, as shown in FIG. 2B, a map showing the landmark 28 together with the shooting position 27 is displayed on the LCD 25. Then, in the following step S15, it is determined whether or not the map display matches the user's preference. Here, it is determined by, for example, a user operation by the operation unit 18, and if OK, the process proceeds to step S16, and if not, the process proceeds to step S19.

 If the map displayed in step S15 is OK, the process proceeds to step S16 to determine whether to switch the display center of the map or to perform shift control. As a result, if the current display is acceptable, the map image is attached to the image taken in step S18. Thereafter, this sequence ends. On the other hand, if the display state of the map is not satisfactory, the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, an operation such as shifting the center of the displayed map is performed. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S16.

 In addition, when the landmark display is not necessary or when it is desired to view in a larger map, the hierarchy can be switched in steps S19 and S20. That is, if it is different from the displayed map hierarchy in step S19, the process proceeds to step S20, the hierarchy is switched, and then the process proceeds to step S14. Furthermore, when it is not necessary to attach map information, it transfers to step S21 from step S19 and the process to that effect is performed. Thereafter, this sequence ends.

 In step S1, when processing other than the shooting mode is performed, the process proceeds to step S22, and GPS detection is performed. Here, the GPS unit 14 is actuated to detect the position as needed. As a result, when it is determined in step S23 that detection is impossible, the previous result is referred to in the same manner as in steps S7 to S8 described above. In this way, position determination is performed according to the user's movement as much as possible.

 In step S25, it is determined whether the user has set the camera to the playback mode. If the playback mode is set, the process proceeds to step S26. If not, the process proceeds to step S1. In step S26, it is determined whether or not to perform an image search. When performing an image search, the process proceeds to step S27, and an image obtained by the search is displayed. On the other hand, when the image search is not performed, the process proceeds to step S28, and the photograph (image) taken last time is displayed.

 Next, in step S29, it is determined whether or not to perform map display by the user. Here, when the user operates the operation unit 18, it is determined whether to display only a photograph or to display both a photograph and a map. When it is desired to display both a photograph and a map, a predetermined operation by the user is performed, and it is determined in step S30 whether or not a map is attached to the image. If a map is attached, the process proceeds to step S31, and the screen of the LCD 25 is divided and a map is displayed together with a photograph, as shown in FIG. 2B. If no map is attached in step S30, only characters (place names) are associated with the image, and the process moves to step S32 to display the place names. On the other hand, when it is operated in step S29 that the map is not displayed, only a photograph as shown in FIG. 2A is displayed on the LCD 25, and the above-described steps S30 to S32 are skipped.

 In step S33, it is determined whether or not to change the image displayed on the LCD 25. If the user wants to see another image, the process proceeds to step S26 according to the operation of the operation unit 18, and the image is searched again. If the displayed image is not changed, the process proceeds to step S34 to determine whether or not to end the display of the image. As a result, if the display is not finished yet, the process proceeds to step S33. When the display is finished, the process proceeds to step S35, and the display end process on the LCD 25 is performed. Then, this sequence ends.

 As described above, according to the first embodiment, the landmark and the shooting position are simultaneously displayed on the map on the same screen, so that many people can immediately understand where the shot image is. In addition, it is possible to provide a camera that can inflate the image and enjoy the appreciation.

 In addition, since the scale of the map can be changed according to the situation, it is possible to select the optimum display so that a wider area name, country name, etc. can be easily recognized than a detailed place name.

 Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

 In the first embodiment described above, the map scale is determined such that the shooting position and the landmark are shown on the map on the same screen. In the second embodiment, first, the landmark and the shooting position are determined. Is obtained, and the scale of the map is obtained from the distance difference.

 In the second embodiment described below, the configuration and basic operation of the camera are the same as those of the camera of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. In these configurations and operations, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the illustration and description thereof will be omitted, and only different operations will be described.

 FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera according to the second embodiment of the present invention. However, in this flowchart, the processing operations of steps S41 to S48 and steps S59 to S72 are the same as the processing operations of steps S1 to S8 and steps S22 to S35 of the flowchart of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, in order to avoid duplication of explanation, the explanation here is omitted on the assumption that the processing operation of each corresponding step is performed.

 When the processing operations in steps S41 to S48 are performed, in step S49, GPS information at the time of shooting is set as GPSP (specifically, latitude and longitude information). In step S50, the search engine unit 13 performs a landmark search in the vicinity of the database 15. Thereby, it detects similarly as GPS information, and this is set as GPSL.

 Next, in step S51, the difference between GPSP and GPSL described above is calculated as a distance L in the CPU. In subsequent step S52, the scale is determined from the distance L calculated in step S51. For example, if the distance difference is 1 km, when displayed on the LCD 25 as a difference within a distance of about 1 cm (because it is larger than that), a map reduced to 1/1000000 or more is selected and displayed. Is done.

 The scale map thus determined is displayed in step S53. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the photographed image (screen 25a) and the map (screen 25b) are displayed side by side so that the user can see and view each other. In step S54, the user determines whether or not such a display is acceptable.

 If there is an operation that the determination result is OK, the process proceeds to step S55, and the captured image and the map determined to be OK in step S54 are recorded in association with each other. Here, this is expressed as “map attachment”. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S56, and the image that is “attached to the map” in step S55 and the file name indicating the map are managed by the name of the landmark. Thereafter, this sequence ends.

 If it is not OK in step S54, the process proceeds to step S57 to determine whether map information is unnecessary. Here, if it is determined that it is not necessary, the map ends without attaching the map. On the other hand, if another map is desired, the process proceeds to step S58, and after another landmark is searched, the process proceeds to step S51. As a result, when the user does not desire, the specification is such that the captured image can be displayed simultaneously with another landmark.

 As described above, according to the second embodiment, a map display at an optimum scale can be quickly performed by the function of calculating two pieces of GPS information in the form of distance.

 Also, when a landmark that the user does not want is selected, another candidate is immediately selected, and the image is managed as a file by the landmark name. It becomes easy.

 Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

 In the third embodiment, as in the first and second embodiments described above, a map is not associated at the time of shooting, but only GPS information is attached at the time of shooting.

 In the third embodiment described below, the configuration and basic operation of the camera are the same as those of the cameras of the first and second embodiments shown in FIGS. Therefore, with respect to these configurations and operations, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions, and illustrations and descriptions thereof will be omitted, and only descriptions of different operations will be described.

 FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the camera according to the third embodiment of the present invention. However, in this flowchart, the processing operations of steps S81 to S88 and steps S90 to S93 are the same as the processing operations of steps S1 to S8 and steps S22 to S25 in the flowchart of FIG. 3 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, in order to avoid duplication of explanation, the explanation here is omitted on the assumption that the processing operation of each corresponding step is performed.

 When the processing operations in steps S81 to S88 are performed, in subsequent step S89, only GPS information is attached and recorded in the memory 16 in association with the captured image. Thereafter, this sequence ends.

 If the shooting mode is not set, the processing operation of steps S90 to S93 is performed, and then the process proceeds to step 94. In step S94, the captured image is selected and displayed on the LCD 25. Then, in the subsequent step S95, the GPS information attached to the image is called up by the CPU 11 of the camera. Then, in step S98, the landmark having GPS information within a predetermined radius centered on the photographing position is obtained as a search engine by the values X (radius) and n (hierarchy) preset in steps S96 and S97. The data is retrieved from the database 15 by the unit 13.

 Here, the predetermined radius is initially X = 500 m as preset in step S96. However, if it is determined in step S98 that there is no landmark within the radius Xm from the shooting position, the process proceeds to steps S99 and S100, and the hierarchy is increased by one and the radius X is also 1000 m, 2000 m, and 4000 m. , ... and the search range is expanded.

 Thus, when a landmark is found in step S98, the process proceeds to step S101, and a map of a range including the landmark is displayed on the LCD 25 together with the image.

 As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is not necessary to attach the landmark and the map information itself indicating the shooting position, and the file size can be reduced.

 (Fourth Embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

 In the first to third embodiments described above, the direction of the map displayed on the LCD 25 is not particularly specified. On the other hand, in the fourth embodiment, the layout on the LCD 25 is switched depending on whether the alignment direction of landmarks and shooting points on the map is the east-west direction or the north-south direction.

 In the fourth embodiment described below, the configuration and basic operation of the camera are the same as those of the cameras of the first to third embodiments shown in FIGS. Therefore, with respect to these configurations and operations, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions, and illustrations and descriptions thereof will be omitted, and only descriptions of different operations will be described.

 As shown in FIG. 6A, when the landmark 28 and the shooting position 27 are aligned in the east-west direction, which is the left-right direction in the drawing, the map is displayed with the longitudinal direction of the screen sideways. . That is, the map is displayed as shown in the screen 25b1 in the figure, and the photographed image is displayed on the screen 25a1. On the other hand, when the landmark 28 and the photographing position 27 are in the north-south direction, which is the vertical direction in the drawing, the map is displayed with the longitudinal direction of the screen vertical. Therefore, a map is displayed as shown on the screen 25b2 in FIG. The screen 25a2 is a shooting screen.

 In addition, when the shooting screen is a vertical composition, a map can be displayed in a relatively large range on the LCD 25 whose longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction. Therefore, as shown in the screens 25a3 and 25b3 shown in FIG. Are arranged.

 An operation of map display for making such a layout device will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

 When the map display sequence is started, first, in step S111, GPS information GPSP of the photographing position of the camera is obtained. Next, in step S112, GPS information GPSL indicating the landmark position near the shooting position is obtained. In step S113, it is determined whether or not the captured image has a vertical composition. As a result, if it is a vertical composition, the process proceeds to step S117, and a parallel display as shown in FIG. 7 is selected. On the other hand, if it is not a vertical composition, the process proceeds to step S114.

 In step S114, it is determined whether the shooting position GPSP and the landmark position GPSL are aligned in the east-west direction or in the north-south direction. Here, when both are arranged in the east-west direction, the process proceeds to step S115, and a display state as shown in FIG. 6A is selected. In this case, LEW in the figure indicates that the shooting position 27 and the landmark 28 are in the east-west direction. On the other hand, when the shooting position and the landmark position are aligned in the north-south direction, the process proceeds to step S116, and a display state as shown in FIG. 6B is selected. In this case, LNS in the figure indicates that the shooting position 27 and the landmark 28 are in the north-south direction.

 Thereafter, in step S118, the captured image and the map are displayed in accordance with any display format selected in steps S115 to S117.

 As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the map display and the display of the captured image can be performed easily in a narrow range so that the user can obtain various information while viewing the image and the map. You can enjoy a variety of imaginations.

 As described above, according to the present invention, when the user enjoys shooting on a trip or the like, it is possible to easily grasp where the photograph was taken, and when showing it to other people, It is possible to provide a digital camera that can generate an image that easily explains the situation at that time.

 Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the camera by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The example displayed on LCD25 of a camera is shown, (a) shows the example which displayed only the picked-up image, (b) shows the example which displayed the picked-up image, the map, and the shooting place, c) is a diagram showing an example in which a captured image and a map are displayed. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the camera according to the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the camera according to the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the camera according to the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. 4A and 4B illustrate a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example of screen display when a landmark 28 and a shooting position 27 are aligned in the east-west direction, and FIG. It is the figure which illustrated the display of the screen when the position 27 was located in a line in the north-south direction. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a screen in the case of a vertical composition, illustrating a fourth embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the map display operation | movement of the camera according to the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Microcontroller (CPU), 12 ... Image pick-up part, 13 ... Search engine part, 14 ... GPS part, 15 ... Database, 16 ... Memory, 17 ... Display part, 18 ... Operation part, 25, 25a, 25b ... Screen, 27 ... shooting position, 28 ... landmark.

Claims (6)

In a camera that has the function of simultaneously displaying the shooting position and nearby landmarks on a map,
Photographing means for photographing an image;
A photographing position detecting means for receiving data relating to the photographing position of the image and acquiring the photographing position from the received data;
Landmark search means for searching for a landmark close to the shooting position and its position from a database having the landmark position information and its name;
Photographed image composition determining means for determining whether or not the photographed image is a vertical composition;
If the photographed image composition determining means determines that the composition is not a vertical composition, the direction determining means for determining the arrangement direction of the lines connecting the detected photographing position and the landmark,
The display layout of the photographed image and the map is switched so that the arrangement direction determined by the direction determination means is the longitudinal direction for displaying the map, and the vertical composition is determined by the captured image composition determination means. A display switching means for switching a display layout so that the captured image and the map are displayed side by side;
A camera comprising:   The camera according to claim 1, wherein the direction determination unit determines whether the photographing position and the landmark position are aligned in the east-west direction or in the north-south direction.   When the direction switching unit determines that the shooting position and the landmark position are aligned in the east-west direction, the display switching unit displays the shooting position and the landmark position in the east-west direction, and the shooting position The display layout is switched so as to display so that the shooting position and the landmark position are in the north-south direction when it is determined that the landmark positions are aligned in the north-south direction. camera.   2. A database having a map composed of main landmark position information and a plurality of scales, and determining means for determining the scale of the map from the positions of landmarks close to the shooting position. Camera described in.   The camera according to claim 4, wherein the switching unit switches and controls a scale of the displayed map according to the landmark. An image display method of a camera having a function of simultaneously displaying a shooting position and a nearby landmark on a map,
Take a picture,
Receive data related to the shooting position of the above image to obtain the shooting position,
Search for landmarks close to the shooting position and their positions from the database of landmark position information and their names,
Determine whether the captured image is a vertical composition,
If it is determined by the photographed image composition determination means that the composition is not a vertical composition, the arrangement direction of the line connecting the photographing position and the landmark is further determined,
The display layout of the photographed image and the map is switched so that the arrangement direction determined by the direction determination means is the longitudinal direction for displaying the map,
An image display method for a camera, wherein when the photographed image composition determining means determines that the composition is a vertical composition, the display layout is switched so that the photographed image and the map are displayed side by side.

Images