JP2003219329A - Printer incorporated camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer incorporated camera capable of controlling the number of outputted pictures due to detection of the number of people in a photographed image and adjusting an output image field angle through detection of people arrangement information in the photographed image in order to maximally utilize advantages of picture outputs at a photographing site by means of a printer integrated into a digital camera. <P>SOLUTION: The printer incorporated camera is configured to comprise: an imaging means for an object; a detection means for detecting the number of people in an input image from an output signal of the imaging means; a print number control means for being operated in response to an output of the detection means; and a means for printing an image in response to the control. The number of people detection means detects and counts the number of faces of human beings in the input image to automatically detect the number of people. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer-integrated digital camera.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since a printer-integrated camera can print on the spot when it is taken and hand it to the other party,
Often used in venues for entertainment where multiple people gather. At that time, if it is not possible to print quickly immediately after photographing, it is meaningless as a printer integrated type.

Achieving the above objectives becomes very difficult, especially when it is necessary to take a plurality of group photos frequently, especially in a venue for entertainment.

A method of detecting a face in digital image data is known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-3452
According to this, the face can be detected by extracting the region where the skin color is dominant and performing the face feature analysis in the extracted image. From the detection result, it is easy to obtain the number of people and the arrangement information.

A method of switching the operation setting of the camera by a built-in visual axis detecting means when looking into the finder is known (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-333258). This can be used to set the number of people in the image.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a digital camera integrated with a printer is provided with a built-in printer in order to take full advantage of enabling the image output at a shooting site. An object of the present invention is to provide a printer-integrated camera capable of controlling the number of output sheets by detecting the number of persons and adjusting the angle of view of an output image by detecting human layout information in a captured image.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an imaging means for an object, a detection means for detecting the number of persons in an input image from an output signal of the imaging means, and an output of the detection means. The printer-integrated camera is configured to include a print number control unit that operates according to the above and a unit that prints an image according to the control.

The present invention also includes a viewfinder which is a means for confirming an input image, a means for displaying a number of people selection frame in the viewfinder screen, and a detecting means for detecting a line of sight to the viewfinder screen. A printer-integrated camera is configured to include means for extracting the number of persons information from the detection means, means for controlling the number of printed sheets that operates according to the number of persons information, and means for outputting an image according to the control. And

Further, according to the present invention, the image pickup means for the subject, the detection means for detecting the human arrangement in the input image from the output signal of the image pickup means, and the print angle adjusting means for operating according to the output of the detection means. And a means for printing an image according to the adjustment, the printer-integrated camera is configured.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.

The image pickup means 102 forms an image on the surface of the image pickup device, an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting the formed image, an image pickup device output signal, and an RG of each pixel.
The image processing means outputs as B level image data.

The image data output from the image pickup device 102 is held in the memory 105 after the photographing is completed.

The image data output from the image pickup means 102 is input to the finder 101, and the displayed image is used for visually confirming the subject.

In parallel with the subject confirmation, the image data is input to the face detecting means 103 to detect the face area in the input image. The face area is discriminated from other areas and converted into a format capable of counting the number (104).

The number of people is counted (106) from the face extraction data after conversion, and is stored in the memory 105 as the number of people information after the photographing is completed.

The image data, the number of people data, and the mode information set by the user, which are held in the memory, are decoded by the controller 107, and the corresponding printing conditions are loaded into the image output device 108. The image output device automatically prints a desired number of sheets.

FIG. 2 shows a flow of operation control.

First, the user sets an operation mode (201).

As modes, Simultaneous printing mode (ON / OFF) Multiple print mode (ON / OFF) Limited number of people mode (ON / OFF, limited number of people n) Is prepared.

Upon confirmation from the viewer (202), the face detecting means incorporated therein automatically recognizes the human face in the image in the viewfinder (207). Information on the number of people is acquired by this face extraction, and the shutter is pressed to end the shooting (20
3) At the same time, they are held together with the image data (208, 206).

At 204, it is judged whether the simultaneous printing mode is ON or OFF.

When the simultaneous printing mode is ON, the operation is further performed according to the detailed setting. If off, end.

At 205, ON / OFF of the multiple print mode is determined.

When the multiple printing mode is ON, further detailed settings are followed. When it is OFF, the number of printed sheets = 1 is determined (214).

At 209, the number-of-people information (208) held by the face detection is loaded.

At 210, it is determined whether the number of people limitation mode is ON or OFF.

When the number of people limitation mode is OFF, the number of printed sheets is determined by the detected number of persons (212).

When the number-of-people limitation mode is ON, the detected number of people is the limited number n set in 201.
It is determined whether there is more (211).

When the number of persons exceeds n, the number of printed sheets is determined by n (213).

If the number of people is less than n, the number of printed sheets is determined by the detected number of people (212).

At 215, the designated number of prints is output, and the process ends.

FIG. 3 shows face extraction and data conversion for counting the number of people.

After the face area is extracted, the value 1 is assigned to one pixel at the center of each extracted area, and the values of all other pixel positions are assigned to 0. This data is rescanned, and the number of pixels assigned to 1 is counted, so that information on the number of persons can be easily obtained.

As the data used for face detection, data stored in the memory may be used. Further, the number of persons information can be directly input to the controller for control without passing through the memory (broken line in FIG. 1).

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

The image pickup means 402 forms an image of a subject on the surface of the image pickup element, an image pickup element for photoelectrically converting the formed image, an image pickup element output signal, and RG of each pixel.
The image processing means outputs as B level image data.

The image data output from the image pickup means 402 is input to the finder 401, and the displayed image is used for visually confirming the subject. Also, when looking through the finder,
Enter the number of people in the line of sight on the selection screen at the top. The line-of-sight detection device 403 detects the line of sight and transmits information on the number of selected persons to the display device 404, so that the number of selected persons is colored in the viewfinder so that the number of selected persons can be known in real time. To do.

The image data output from the image pickup device 402 is held in the memory 405 after the photographing is completed.

The number-of-people information detected by the line-of-sight detecting device 403 is held in the memory 405 after the photographing is completed.

The image data, the number of people data, and the mode information set by the user, which are held in the memory 405, are decoded by the controller 406, and the corresponding printing conditions are loaded into the image output device 407.

The image output device automatically prints a desired number of sheets.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of operation control.

First, the user sets an operation mode (501).

As a mode, Simultaneous printing mode (ON / OFF) Multiple print mode (ON / OFF) Is prepared.

At the time of confirmation from the viewfinder (502), the desired number of people is simultaneously input from the line of sight on the number of people selection screen displayed on the upper part of the viewfinder (507). At the same time when the shutter is pressed to finish photographing (503), they are held together with the image data (506, 508).

At 504, it is determined whether the simultaneous printing mode is ON or OFF.

When the simultaneous printing mode is ON, the operation is further performed according to the detailed setting. If off, end.

At 505, ON / OFF of the multiple print mode is determined.

When the plural print mode is ON, the number-of-people information (508) is loaded and set as the number of prints.

When it is OFF, the number of printed sheets = 1 is determined (510).

At 511, the designated number of prints is output, and the process ends.

FIG. 6 shows the viewfinder screen. The desired number of people is selected by shifting the colored position of the numbers displayed on the upper part of the screen for selection by visual line input.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

The image pickup means 702 forms an image on the surface of the image pickup device, an image pickup device for photoelectrically converting the imaged image, an image pickup device output signal, and RG of each pixel.
The image processing means outputs as B level image data.

The image data output from the image pickup device 702 is held in the memory 705 after the photographing is completed.

The image data output from the image pickup means 702 is input to the finder 701, and the displayed image is used for visual confirmation of the subject.

In parallel with the confirmation of the subject, the image data is input to the face detecting means 703 to detect the face area in the input image. The face area is discriminated from other areas and converted into a format in which human placement can be confirmed (704).

The layout information is stored in the memory 705 after the photographing is completed.

The image data, the layout data, and the mode information set by the user, which are held in the memory 705, are decoded by the controller 707, and the corresponding printing conditions are loaded into the image output device 708.

The image output device automatically prints with the optimized angle of view.

FIG. 8 shows a flow of operation control.

First, the user sets an operation mode (801).

As a mode, Simultaneous printing mode (ON / OFF) Angle of view adjustment mode (ON / OFF) Is prepared.

Upon confirmation from the viewer (802), the face detecting means incorporated therein automatically recognizes the human face in the image in the viewfinder (807). The human placement information is acquired by this face extraction, and the shutter is pressed to end the photographing (803), and at the same time, they are held together with the image data (806, 808).

At 804, ON / OFF of the simultaneous printing mode is determined.

When the simultaneous printing mode is ON, the operation is further performed according to the detailed setting. If off, end.

At 805, it is determined whether the angle of view adjustment mode is ON or OFF.

When the view angle adjustment mode is ON, the arrangement information is loaded and the view angle is optimized (809).

At 810, the image is output and the process ends.

FIG. 9 shows before and after the adjustment of the angle of view.

First, the face layout information is acquired through the data conversion after the face region extraction shown in FIG. Based on the information, all faces are grouped to determine the face area. The area is enlarged by a predetermined magnification in each of the top, bottom, left, and right to determine the human placement area. Further, the human placement area is enlarged at a predetermined magnification, and the print angle of view adjustment is completed with the optimized angle of view.

The data used for face detection may be data stored in the memory. Further, the human placement information can be directly input to the controller for control without passing through the memory (broken line in FIG. 7).

[0074]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the means for detecting the number of people is built-in and the information is applied to the image output, so that the shooting can be performed more quickly immediately after the shooting. It became possible to distribute to the target people. This is very effective in applications where the digital camera is integrated with the printer.

Further, by simultaneously holding the human arrangement information and adjusting the angle of view, it is possible to output a higher quality image as a group photograph or the like.

[0076]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation flow diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of conversion from face detection to detection data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an operation flow diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a screen for selecting the number of people by line-of-sight input.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an operation flow diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing angle-of-view adjustment.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 finder 102 image pickup means 103 face detection means 105 memory 107 controller 108 image output device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04N 5/91 H04N 5/91 J 5C062 F term (reference) 2H102 AA71 BB08 BB25 CA34 2H104 AA19 BC00 BC06 BC07 5C022 AA13 AB68 AC02 AC42 5C052 AA17 AB04 DD02 EE02 EE03 FA02 FA03 FB01 FC01 FC06 FC08 5C053 FA04 FA08 LA01 LA03 5C062 AA01 AB17 AB22 AB23 AB40 AC02 AC04 AC05 AC58 AE01 AF07 BB03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup means for a subject, a detection means for detecting the number of persons in an input image from an output signal of the image pickup means, a print number control means which operates according to the output of the detection means, and an image under the control. A printer-integrated camera, which is provided with a means for printing. 2. The printer-integrated camera according to claim 1, wherein the number-of-people detecting means automatically detects the number of people by detecting and counting the number of human faces in the input image. 3. The printer-integrated camera according to claim 1, further comprising a mode for limiting the number of printed sheets as the number of printed sheets controlling means. 4. A viewfinder which is a means for confirming an input image, a means for displaying a frame for selecting the number of people in the viewfinder screen, a detecting means for detecting a line of sight to the viewfinder screen, and the detecting means. A printer-integrated camera comprising: means for extracting the number of people information from the printer; means for controlling the number of printed sheets that operates according to the number of people information; and means for outputting an image in accordance with the control. 5. An image pickup means for a subject, and a detection means for detecting a human arrangement in an input image from an output signal of the image pickup means,
A printer-integrated camera, comprising: a print angle adjustment unit that operates according to the output of the detection unit; and a unit that prints an image according to the adjustment. 6. The printer-integrated camera according to claim 5, wherein the position of the human face in the input image is automatically detected as the human placement detecting means.