Abstract:
A photo sharing system with a face recognition function includes a photo browser and a photo sharing platform. The photo browser allows a user to browse plural photos, and includes a user interface that shows the plural photos; a photo classification module that is activated to automatically classify the plural photos into groups according to face images contained in the plural photos and identified by the face recognition function while showing the groups of photos on the user interface for selection; and a photo transmission module that is activated to automatically pack and transmit a selected one of the groups of photos to a photo sharing platform in the cloud. The photo sharing platform includes a photo file management module that manages at least a photo folder that stores the selected group of photos.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/397,033, filed Feb. 15, 2012, and currently pending. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a photo sharing system, and more particularly to a photo sharing system with a face recognition function. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In modern life, various daily activities are recoded by shooting photos to store associated histories of the activities. In addition, a photo sharing method is a way of making contact with friends or family to communicate life experience and emotion. 
     There are several photo sharing methods for sharing photos to others. For example, the photos may be shared to other persons through e-mail boxes or the photos may be published on personal web pages or social networking websites. 
     Conventionally, during the process of sharing photos, the photos need to be successively browsed by the user, then the photos to be shared to the same person are stored in a folder, and finally the photos are transmitted to an electronic mail or uploaded to the social networking website. However, if the number of photos and the amount of persons for receiving the shared photos are too huge, the procedures of successively browsing the photos and manually classifying the photos are time-consuming and troublesome. 
     Therefore, there is a need of providing an improved photo sharing system in order to increase the efficacy of sharing photos. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a photo sharing system with a face recognition function in order to increase the efficacy of sharing photos. 
     The present invention relates to a photo sharing system with a face recognition function comprising a photo browser and a photo sharing platform. The photo browser is included in an electronic device that allows a user to browse plural photos by operating the electronic device, and comprises a user interface that shows the plural photos; a photo classification module that is activated to automatically classify the plural photos into groups according to face images contained in the plural photos and identified by the face recognition function while showing the groups of photos on the user interface for selection; and a photo transmission module that is activated to automatically pack and transmit a selected one of the groups of photos to a photo sharing platform. The photo sharing platform is included in a cloud server in communication with the electronic device through an internet The photo sharing platform comprises a photo file management module that manages at least a photo folder that stores the selected group of photos received from the electronic device to be accessible by a specified receiver. 
     In an embodiment, the photo browser further comprises a browsing history recording module for recording a browsing history of each photo, and the browsing history is transmitted to the photo sharing platform from the photo transmission module, wherein the photo sharing platform further comprises a photo recommendation module for gathering statistics and performing analysis on the browsing history of the photo, thereby generating at least one recommendation message, wherein the browsing history includes a name of a person who browses the photo, a number of times the photo is browsed, a time length of browsing the photo in each browsing action, a number of times the photo is downloaded to any electronic device, a name of a folder of any electronic device which stores the photo, and a number of times the photo is re-shared. 
     In an embodiment, different groups of photos respectively denote different receivers, and an indicative information of each of the receivers is shown on the user interface and combined with a corresponding one of the groups of photos. The photo transmission module can be activated to automatically select, pack and transmit one of the groups of photos with an operation on the indicative information of the corresponding receiver. For example, the indicative information is an image face. 
     In an embodiment, the photo classification module is activated with an operation on one of the classification selective items shown on the user interface. For example, the classification selective items include one classifying the photos according to numbers of the face images respectively contained in the photos, and another one classifying the photos according to identities of the face images respectively contained in the photos. 
     In an embodiment, the photo browser further comprises a face address book creating module that allows the user to create or update a face address book to include information of a face image, a name, a telephone number, a user account in the photo sharing platform and contact data of the specified receiver. 
     In an embodiment, the photo sharing platform further comprises a sharing notification module that generates and issues a photo sharing notice of the selected group of photos to the specified receiver. If the specified receiver has no user account in the photo sharing platform, the photo sharing notice may be sent to the specified receiver through an electronic mail box, a short message or a social networking website account. If the specified receiver has a user account in the photo sharing platform, the photo sharing notice may be shown on a user interface of a photo browser of the receiver. When the photo sharing notice is shown on the user interface of the photo browser of the specified receiver, the photo sharing notice may contain a face image of a photo sharer and a face image of the specified receiver. 
     The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is schematic functional block diagram illustrating a photo sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  schematically illustrates plural photos shown on the user interface of the photo sharing system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  schematically illustrates a method of classifying photos by the photo sharing system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  schematically illustrates a face address book created by the photo sharing system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  schematically illustrates a method of classifying photos according to the amount of persons by the photo sharing system of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  schematically illustrates the photo folders in the photo sharing platform of the photo sharing system of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 7  schematically illustrates a photo sharing notice shown on the user interface of the photo browser in the photo sharing system of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     For obviating the drawbacks encountered from the prior art, the present invention provides a photo sharing system with a face recognition function.  FIG. 1  is schematic functional block diagram illustrating a photo sharing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the photo sharing system  1000  comprises a photo browser  10  and a photo sharing platform  20 . In this embodiment, the functions of the photo browser  10  and the photo sharing platform  20  are implemented by executing associated application programs. The photo browser  10  is installed in an electronic device  100 . The photo sharing platform  20  is installed in a cloud server  300 . The photo browser  10  may be also installed in another electronic device  30 . In accordance with the present invention, an example of the electronic device includes but is not limited to a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a smart phone, a tablet personal computer, a small television, or the like. 
     In a case that the photo browser  10  is installed in the electronic device of a user, the electronic device may share photos to the cloud server including the photo sharing platform  20  and another electronic device including the photo browser  10  through the internet. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  again. The photo browser  10  is installed in the electronic device  100 . Moreover, the photo browser  10  comprises a use interface  11 , a photo classification module  12 , a photo transmission module  13 , a browsing history recording module  14 , and a face address book creating module  15 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the photo browser  10  is also installed in the electronic device  100 . The photo sharing platform  20  is installed in the cloud server  300 , and comprises a photo file management module  21 , a sharing notification module  22 , and a photo recommendation module  23 . 
       FIG. 2  schematically illustrates plural photos shown on the user interface of the photo sharing system of the present invention. By operating the photo browser  10  of the electronic device  100 , a user interface  11  is displayed on the screen of the electronic device  100 . In  FIG. 2 , six photos with photo numbers  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5  and  6  are shown on the use interface  11 . Each of photos  1 ˜ 6  contains the image of at least one of five different persons A, B, C, D and E. In this embodiment, the person A is the photo sharer, and the persons B, C, D and E are four candidate receivers. That is, the person A (i.e. the user) may share the photos  1 ˜ 6  to the four candidate receivers B, C, D and E. The photo classification module  12  of the photo browser  10  is used for classifying the to-be-shared photos  1 ˜ 6  into groups. In this embodiment, the photo classification module  12  may classify the photos according to two kinds of selective items. For example, the photo classification module  12  may classify the photos  1 ˜ 6  according to the person or the photo attribute. 
       FIG. 3  schematically illustrates a method of classifying photos by the photo sharing system of the present invention. Please refer to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . The user interface  11  as shown in  FIG. 2  provides two photo classification selective items  111  and  112 . By clicking the selective item  111 , the photos are classified according to the face image. By clicking the selective item  112 , the photos are classified according to the amount of persons. Please refer to  FIG. 3 . In a case that the selective item  111  is clicked by the user A, the photo classification module  12  will utilize a face recognition technology to classify the photos  1 ˜ 6  according to the face images of the persons A˜E. Consequently, a photo classification message as shown in  FIG. 3  is generated. In this embodiment, the photo classification message includes five photo groups GA, GB, GC, GD and GE. The photo group GA denotes the photos including the image of the person A (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2  and  5 ). The photo group GB denotes the photos including the image of the person B (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2 ,  4  and  6 ). The photo group GC denotes the photos including the image of the person C (e.g. the photos  1  and  4 ). The photo group GD denotes the photos including the image of the person D (e.g. the photos  4  and  5 ). The photo group GE denotes the photos including the image of the person E (e.g. the photos  3 ,  4  and  5 ). 
     The face address book creating module  15  of the photo browser  10  is used for creating a face address book.  FIG. 4  schematically illustrates a face address book created by the photo sharing system of the present invention. The face address book includes face images and contact data associated with plural contact persons. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the contents of the face address book include but are not limited to face images, names, photo sharing platform accounts, e-mail accounts, mobile phone numbers and Facebook accounts associated with the contact persons. 
     By means of the data of the face address book, the photo classification module  12  may show the face image FA of the person A in front of the photos including the image of the person A (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2  and  5 ). The face image FA of the person A may facilitate the user to immediately recognize the persons contained in each photo group. Similarly, the face images FB, FC, FD and FE of the persons B, C, D and E are respectively shown. Moreover, if the data associated with the face image of any person are not contained in the face address book, after the classifying operation is completed by the photo classification module  12 , an inquiring message is generated to inquire the user whether the data associated with the face image of this person will be created or not. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 3  again. After the classifying operation is completed, the face images of the persons included in the photos of each photo groups will be shown. Consequently, the user may clearly realize the candidate receivers corresponding to the plurality of browsed photos and the photos to be received by the corresponding candidate receivers. Then, the user may determine whether the photos will be transmitted to the candidate receivers or not. For example, if the user wants to share photos to the persons B and D, the user may simply click the face images FB and FC of the persons B and D. In this way, the photo groups corresponding to the persons B and D may be transmitted from the photo transmission module  13  to photo sharing platform  20  according to the user&#39;s selection. 
       FIG. 5  schematically illustrates a method of classifying photos according to the amount of persons by the photo sharing system of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the photos are classified according to the amount of persons contained in the images of the photos and the area percentage of the face image relative to the photo by the photo classification module  12 . That is, the photos shown in  FIG. 5  are classified according to the amount of face images and the area percentage of the face image relative to the photo. For example, if the amount of face images contained in a photo is 1 and the area of the face image is greater than one half of the photo area, the photo is considered as an individual photo. After the photo is considered as the individual photo, the photo sharing system will further judge whether the photo has a monochromic color. If the photo has a monochromic color, the photo is considered as a certificate photo used to apply for a certificate. Optionally, according to the area percentage, the photo sharing system may judge whether the photo is a half-length photo or a full-length photo. Optionally, according to the location of the face, the illuminating condition of the face, the orientation of the face and the expression of the face, the photo sharing system may judge whether the photo is a self-portrait photo. Whereas, if the amount of face images contained in a photo is more than 1, the photo is considered as a multi-person photo. According to the amount of face images contained in the photos  1 ˜ 6 , the photos  1 ˜ 6  may be classified into two groups G 1  and G 2 . The group G 1  includes the individual photos, the self-portrait photos or the certificate photos (e.g. the photos  3  and  6 ). The group G 2  includes the multi-person photos (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2 ,  4  and  5 ). Under this circumstance, the user may share only the multi-person photos while the individual photos are not shared. 
       FIG. 6  schematically illustrates the photo folders in the photo sharing platform of the photo sharing system of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 6 , after the to-be-shared photos are transmitted from the photo transmission module  13  to the photo sharing platform  20 , the photos are stored in the cloud server  300  through the photo file management module  21 . The cloud server  300  has plural photo folders corresponding to respective receivers. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the photo folder  51  (A-A) indicates that this photo folder is created by the person A and used for storing the photos of the user A. The photo folder  52  (A-B) indicates that this photo folder is used for storing the photos shared to the user B by the user A. Similarly, the photo folder  53  (A-C) indicates that this photo folder is used for storing the photos shared to the user C by the user A. Similarly, the photo folder  54  (A-D) indicates that this photo folder is used for storing the photos shared to the user D by the user A. Similarly, the photo folder  55  (A-E) indicates that this photo folder is used for storing the photos shared to the user E by the user A. Generally, these photo folders are created for these receivers by the photo sharer. In this embodiment, the photo sharer is the user A. 
     In the above embodiments, since the user wants to share photos to the persons B and D, the photos including the image of the person B (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2 ,  4  and  6 ) will be stored in the photo folder  52  (A-B) and the photos including the image of the person D (e.g. the photos  4  and  5 ) will be stored in the photo folder  54  (A-D). Of course, the photos including the image of the person A (e.g. the photos  1 ,  2  and  5 ) may be stored in the photo folder  51  (A-A) to be served as a backup copy. 
     After the photos to be shared to the persons B and D are received by the photo sharing platform  20 , the sharing notification module  22  will issue a photo sharing notice to the persons B and D. Another electronic device with the photo browser  10  may be operated by the person B to be connected to the photo sharing platform  20  of the cloud server, so that the photo sharing notice is shown on the user interface  11  of the photo browser  10 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , a photo sharing notice N is shown on the photo browser  10  of the electronic device of the person B. The photo sharing notice N contains the face images of the sharer A and the receiver B. By means of the photo sharing notice N, the receiver B may immediately realize that the photo sharer is the person A. Of course, the photo sharing notice N may be acquired by the person D in the similar manner. 
     In the photo sharing system of the present invention, since the photos are classified by the photo classification module  12 , the efficacy of sharing information is enhanced. Alternatively, the photos may be successively browsed by the user, and the to-be-shared photos may be manually transmitted. 
     For performing the photo sharing operation through the photo sharing platform  20 , the user needs to previously apply for a user account of the photo sharing platform  20 . If the receiver has no user account of the photo sharing platform, the photo sharing notice may be sent to the receiver through an electronic mail box, a mobile phone short message or a social networking website account. Once the photo sharing notice is received by the receiver, the photos may be viewed by the receiver through any electronic device including the photo browser  10 . 
     In the photo sharing system of the present invention, the browsing history of each photo is recorded in the photo browser  10 . Moreover, as the photo is shared, the browsing history will be stored in the photo sharing platform  20 . An example of the browsing history includes but is not limited to a name of a person who browses the photo (i.e. the persons who have viewed the photo), a name of the receiver who receives the photo (i.e. the he persons who have received the photo), a time length of browsing the photo in each browsing action, a name of a folder for storing the downloaded photo by the receiver (e.g. the folder name “My favorite”, the folder name “Desktop”, the folder name “Recycle bin” or other folder name), and the number of times the photo is re-shared. The time length of browsing the photo in each browsing action denotes the time period of browsing the photo by the receiver. If the time length of browsing the photo is relatively longer, it is presumed that the shared photo is liked by the receiver to a higher extent. If the photo is downloaded from the photo sharing platform  20  to the photo folder with the folder name “My favorite” or “Desktop”, it means that he shared photo is liked by the receiver to a higher extent. Whereas, if the photo appears in the photo folder with the folder name “Recycle bin”, it means that the shared photo is less liked by the receiver. Of course, after the photo is received by the receiver, the photo may be shared to other persons. The browsing history of re-sharing the photo will be recorded in the browsing history recording module. 
     The photo recommendation module  23  of the photo sharing platform  20  is used for gathering statistics and performing analysis on the browsing history of the photo, thereby generating at least one recommendation message. For example, if a photo containing the images of the persons A, B and C is only shared to one or more specified persons (e.g. the person C) according to the browsing history corresponding to the photo, the photo recommendation module  23  will issue a recommendation message to user. The recommendation message may inquire the user whether the photo will be issued to any of the persons contained in the photo. Alternatively, if the number of times a specified photo has been shared is greater than a specified value, the recommendation message may inquire the user whether the photo will be printed on a photo paper or not. 
     From the above description, the photo sharing system of the present invention utilizes a face recognition technology to classify the photos in order to provide the useful reference information to the user. Moreover, if the photo is a multi-person photo to be shared to many receivers, the efficacy of sharing photos will be largely enhanced. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.