Abstract:
An image combining method for an image combining apparatus which stores a plurality of template images and combines a shooting-date-and-time-attached shot image with the template images, the image combining method includes assigning a time attribute representing a period to the template images, extracting the shooting date and time information of the shot image, comparing a period assigned to the templates with the extracted shooting date and time of the shot image and selecting the template images having the period, which includes the shooting date and time, as candidate templates, displaying a list of the selected candidate templates, and selecting a template according to the operation by the user from the list of the displayed candidate templates.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-165513, filed Jun. 6, 2005, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to an image combining technique for combining a shot image with templates.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0005]     When an image picked up by a digital camera is loaded into a personal computer (PC) or the like and printed out, the image is often combined with the template representing illustration or landscape and the resulting image is printed out.  
         [0006]     A wide variety of patterns corresponding to the shooting environment are prepared for the templates. A method of acquiring information about the place and time from the GPS mounted on the camera and searching for a template suitable for the image has been disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-10068.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an image combining apparatus which stores a plurality of template images and combines a shooting-date-and-time-attached shot image with the template images, the image combining apparatus comprising: a time attribute assigning section which assigns a time attribute representing a period to the template images; a shooting date and time extracting section which extracts the shooting date and time information of the shot image; a first template selecting section which compares a period assigned to the templates by the time attribute assigning section with the shooting date and time of the shot image extracted by the shooting date and time extracting section and selects the template images having the period, which includes the shooting date and time, as candidate templates; a template list displaying section which displays a list of the candidate templates selected by the first template selecting section; and a second template selecting section which selects a desired template from the list of the candidate templates displayed by the template list displaying section.  
         [0008]     According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an image combining method for an image combining apparatus which stores a plurality of template images and combines a shooting-date-and-time-attached shot image with the template images, the image combining method comprising: a time attribute assigning step of assigning a time attribute representing a period to the template images; a shooting date and time extracting step of extracting the shooting date and time information of the shot image; a first template selecting step of comparing a period assigned to the templates in the time attribute assigning step with the shooting date and time of the shot image extracted in the shooting date and time extracting step and selecting the template images having the period, which includes the shooting date and time, as candidate templates; a template list displaying step of displaying a list of the candidate templates selected in the first template selecting step; and a second template selecting step of selecting a template according to the operation by the user from the list of the candidate templates displayed in the template list displaying step.  
         [0009]     According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a program which runs on an image combining apparatus that stores a plurality of template images and combines a shooting-date-and-time-attached shot image with the template images, the program comprising the processes of: assigning a time attribute representing a period to the template images; extracting the shooting date and time information of the shot image; comparing a period assigned to the templates with the extracted shooting date and time of the shot image and selecting the template images having the period, which includes the shooting date and time, as candidate templates; displaying a list of the selected candidate templates; and further selecting a template according to the operation by the user from the displayed list of the candidate templates.  
         [0010]     According to a fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a recording medium which stores a program running on an image combining apparatus that stores a plurality of template images and combines a shooting-date-and-time-attached shot image with the template images, the program including: a time attribute assigning step of assigning a time attribute representing a period to the template images; a shooting date and time extracting step of extracting the shooting date and time information of the shot image; a first template selecting step of comparing a period assigned to the templates in the time attribute assigning step with the shooting date and time of the shot image extracted in the shooting date and time extracting step and selecting the template images having the period, which includes the shooting date and time, as candidate templates; a template list displaying step of displaying a list of the candidate templates selected in the first template selecting step; and a second template selecting step of selecting a template according to the operation by the user from the list of the candidate templates displayed in the template list displaying step.  
         [0011]     Advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING  
       [0012]     The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiment given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows a list display screen for templates;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image combining apparatus;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  shows a linkage between tables and processing programs;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  shows the contents of a calendar table;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  shows the contents of a time table;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  shows an example of a time category;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  shows the contents of a calendar category setting table;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  shows an example of keywords;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart to help explain a general procedure for a template registering process;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a flowchart to help explain a procedure for a template selecting process; and  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a flowchart to help explain a procedure for a template selecting process. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0024]     The basic idea of a template selecting method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained.  
         [0025]     In the invention, templates are caused to correspond to images on a day basis, a week basis, a month basis, and a season basis. A day means one of the days ranging from January 1 to December 31. A week means one of the weeks ranging from the first week of January to the fifth week of December. A month means one of the months ranging from January to December. A season is, for example, one of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The days, weeks, months, seasons are referred to as calendar categories.  
         [0026]     One template is caused to correspond to only one of the day, week, month, and season calendar categories. It is not caused to correspond to the latter redundantly.  
         [0027]     Therefore, specifying a day of the month makes it possible to identify a template corresponding to the day. In addition, specifying a week of the month makes it possible to identify a template corresponding to the week. Specifying a month makes it possible to identify a template corresponding to the month. Moreover, specifying a season makes it possible to identify a template corresponding to the season.  
         [0028]     Furthermore, a template is caused to correspond to “time.” “Time” dealt with in the present invention does not mean such actual time as XX:YY, but means an ambiguous time zone, such as dawn, morning, daytime, or evening. The “time” is referred to as a time category.  
         [0029]     Specifying the “time” makes it possible to identify a template corresponding to the “time.” In the shot image, shooting date and time and a keyword, or scene shooting setting information, are recorded as attendant information. The shooting date in the attendant information correspond to the aforementioned day, week, month, and season. Moreover, the hours: minutes shooting in the attendant information correspond to the aforesaid “time.” Therefore, it is possible to extract the corresponding template according to the shooting date and time in the attendant information.  
         [0030]     Next, using a concrete example, the operation including up to selecting a template will be explained.  
         [0031]     For example, suppose an image obtained by photographing a landscape of a South Pacific resort is selected. The shooting date and time is 14:18:06 on Aug. 3, 2004.  
         [0032]     First, from the shooting date, a template corresponding to the calendar category “day, week, month, season” is extracted. Then, according to the shooting time 14:18:06, “daytime” is identified from the time category “morning, daytime, evening, . . . ” and a template registered in the time category is searched for. Then, a template registered in both of the time category and calendar category is extracted.  
         [0033]     In the extraction, a template in a narrower calendar category is given priority. Specifically, a template is extracted in this order: day&gt;week&gt;month&gt;season. For example, if a common template was registered on August 3, the template is used. If a common template was not registered on August 3 and a common template was registered in the first week of August, the template is used. As described above, giving priority to a template with a narrower scope in selection enables a more suitable template to be extracted.  
         [0034]      FIG. 1  shows a list display screen for templates.  
         [0035]     In the list display screen  10 , an image display area  11 , a template display area  12 , and an operation area  13  are provided. In the operation area  13 , there are provided a switching box  14 , an OK button  15 , and a cancel button  16 .  
         [0036]     In the image display area  11 , an image arbitrarily selected by the user is displayed. In the template display area  12 , a template extracted on the basis of shooting date and time information about the image is displayed together with the image.  
         [0037]     The user can select the desired one from the templates displayed in the template display area  12 .  
         [0038]     Using a mouse, the user clicks the desired template and operates the OK button  15 , thereby selecting the template.  
         [0039]     When the desired template is not displayed in the template display area  12 , the user operates the switching box  14 , which enables the user to switch the selection of templates.  
         [0040]     A time switching box  14   a  of  FIG. 1  shows that “daytime” has been selected as the time category. A calendar switching box  14   b  shows that “day” has been selected as the calendar category.  
         [0041]     When the user selects “morning” as the time category in the time switching box  14   a , a template satisfying the condition is selected and displayed in the template display area  12 . In addition, when the user selects “month” as the calendar category in the calendar switching box  14   b , a template satisfying the condition is selected and displayed in the template display area  12 .  
         [0042]     When a keyword has been recorded in the attendant information about the shot image, a calendar category is identified using the keyword. For instance, when “firework” has been set as the keyword, “season” is specified for the calendar category on the basis of a table previously provided.  
         [0043]     The configuration of the image combining apparatus  20  to realize the template selecting operation will be explained with reference to a block diagram shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0044]     The image combining apparatus  20  includes a display section  21 , a communication section  22 , an operation section  23 , a data storage section  24 , a program memory  25 , and a processing section  26 .  
         [0045]     The display section  21  is a CRT or a TFT liquid-crystal display which displays an image or the like. The communication section  22  exchanges data with an external unit (not shown). The operation section  23  is an input device for receiving an operation instruction input by the user, such as a keyboard or a mouse. The data storage section  24  stores necessary data for the operation of selecting the image transmitted from an external unit (not shown) and templates. In the program memory  25 , a program operating on the image combining apparatus  20  is recorded. The processing section  26  controls the operation of the image combining apparatus  20  comprehensively.  
         [0046]      FIG. 3  shows the linkage between individual tables stored in the data storage section  2  and individual processing programs stored in the program memory  25 .  
         [0047]     The data storage section  24  includes a template database  30 , a calendar table  31 , a time table  32 , and a calendar category setting table  33 .  
         [0048]     In the template database  30 , images used as templates are stored. Template IDs are assigned as identification data to the individual templates.  
         [0049]      FIG. 4  shows the contents of the calendar table  31 . In the calendar table  31 , template IDs are stored in such a manner that they correspond to the respective calendar categories. In the calendar table  31 , there are provided a day sheet, a week sheet, a month sheet, and a season sheet. The template IDs are stored in such a manner that they correspond to the calendar elements of the respective sheets. As described above, one template ID is recorded in any one of the day sheet, week sheet, month sheet, and season sheet, and is never recorded redundantly.  
         [0050]      FIG. 5  shows the contents of the time table  32 . In the time table  32 , template IDs are stored in such a manner that they correspond to the individual time categories.  FIG. 6  shows an example of the time categories. The time categories of  FIG. 6  are illustrative and not restrictive. For instance, the time categories may be classified in other ways.  
         [0051]      FIG. 7  shows the contents of a calendar category setting table  33 . In the calendar category setting table  33 , calendar categories corresponding to the individual keywords are stored.  FIG. 8  shows an example of keywords. The keywords of  FIG. 8  are illustrative and not restrictive. For instance, the keywords may be classified in other ways.  
         [0052]     Next, the individual processing programs shown in  FIG. 3  will be explained.  
         [0053]     A template registering section  41  not only reads template images and stores them in the template database  30  but also stores the template IDs in the corresponding categories of the calendar table  31  and time table  32 .  
         [0054]     An image selecting section  42  is a user interface which helps the user select the desired image. An image shooting date and time and keyword acquiring section  43  identifies a calendar category on the basis of the shooting date and time, or attendant information, or the keywords. A shooting time analyzing section  44  identifies a time category on the basis of the shooting time. A template selecting section  45  refers to each table on the basis of the identified calendar category and time category and selects candidate templates. A combining section  46  combines the selected template with the image. A displaying section  47  displays the combined images in list form.  
         [0055]     Referring to FIGS.  9  to  11 , the procedure for realizing the image combining operation will be explained. The procedure explained below is the main part of the procedure of the image combining method. Therefore, the functions explained in  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 8  are included in the image combining method, even if some of them are not included in the explanation below.  
         [0056]      FIG. 9  is a flowchart to help explain the basic procedure for a template registering process.  
         [0057]     When the user starts up the template registering section  41  and specifies an image to be used as a template, the template registering section  41  creates a unique template ID in step S 01  and allocates the template ID to the template. The image used as the template is not limited to the images stored in the template database  30  and may be an image taken in from an external unit (not shown) via the communication section  22 .  
         [0058]     Next, the user selects day, week, month, and season, or the category to which the template belongs, from a combo box displayed.  
         [0059]     If Yes in step S 02 , or if the selected category is day, the shooting day is identified from the shooting date of the template in step S 06  and the template ID is registered in the corresponding day of the day sheet of the calendar table  31 .  
         [0060]     If Yes in step S 03 , or if the selected category is week, the shooting week is identified from the shooting date of the template in step S 06  and the template ID is registered in the corresponding week of the week sheet of the calendar table  31 .  
         [0061]     If Yes in step S 04 , or if the selected category is month, the shooting month is identified from the shooting date of the template in step S 06  and the template ID is registered in the corresponding month of the month sheet of the calendar table  31 .  
         [0062]     If Yes in step S 05 , or if the selected category is season, the season is identified from the shooting date of the template in step S 06  and the template ID is registered in the corresponding season of the season sheet of the calendar table  31 .  
         [0063]     After the template ID has been registered in the calendar table  31 , “time” is identified from the shooting time of the template and the template ID is registered in the corresponding time of the time table  32 .  
         [0064]     While in the embodiment, the storage positions of the calendar table  31  and time table  32  have been determined on the basis of the shooting date, the storage positions of the calendar table  31  and time table  32  may be determined on the basis of the user&#39;s specification.  
         [0065]      FIGS. 10 and 11  are flowcharts for an image combining process.  
         [0066]     In step S 11 , the image selecting section  42  selects a desired image. The image to be selected may be an image recorded in the template database  30  or an image transmitted via the communication section  22  from the outside.  
         [0067]     Next, the image shooting date and time and keyword acquiring section  43  reads the shooting date and time of the image from the attendant information on the image in step S 12  and acquires a keyword in step S 13 .  
         [0068]     Suppose the shooting date and time are always recorded in the image. However, the keyword may not be recorded in the image.  
         [0069]     In step S 14 , the shooting time analyzing section  44  searches for the day sheet of the calendar table  31  and retrieves the template ID recorded in the shooting day.  
         [0070]     In step S 15 , the shooting time analyzing section  44  searches for the week sheet of the calendar table  31  and retrieves the template ID recorded in the shooting week.  
         [0071]     In step S 16 , the shooting time analyzing section  44  searches for the month sheet of the calendar table  31  and retrieves the template ID recorded in the shooting month.  
         [0072]     In step S 17 , the shooting time analyzing section  44  searches for the season sheet of the calendar-table  31  and retrieves the template ID recorded in the corresponding season on the basis of the shooting date and time.  
         [0073]     In step S 20 , a check is made to see if a keyword has been allocated to the image.  
         [0074]     If No in step S 20 , or if no keyword has been assigned to the image, an initial category is extracted on the basis of the calendar table  31  in step S 21 . Specifically, a search is made for a category where one or more template IDs have been recorded on the corresponding date in this order of priority: day sheet&gt;week sheet&gt;month sheet&gt;season sheet. Then, the retrieved category is used as the initial category.  
         [0075]     If Yes in step S 20 , or if a keyword has been assigned to the image, the calendar category setting table  31  is searched and the category corresponding to the keyword is extracted in step S 22 . Then, the category is used as the initial category.  
         [0076]     In step S 23 , “time” is identified from the time in the shooting date and time, and the template ID registered in the corresponding time of the time table  32  is extracted. Then, the template ID in the initial category is collated with the template IDs registered in the corresponding time of the time table  32 . The template IDs coinciding with the former and the number N of the template IDs are taken out.  
         [0077]     The combining section  46  reads in the corresponding template on the basis of the template IDs coinciding with the one in the initial category in step S 24  to step S 27  of  FIG. 11  and combines the template with the image. In step S 28 , the displaying section  47  displays a list of the combined images on the display section  21 .  
         [0078]     The user can select a desired template from the list of the combined images displayed. That is, the user can select the desired template by selecting the desired image from the list of images shown in  FIG. 1  and pressing the OK button.  
         [0079]     On the other hand, if No in step S 30 , or if the desired template is absent, it is possible to switch calendar categories or time categories again and display a list of combined images again. The switching of calendar categories or time categories is done by operating the time switching box  14   a  or calendar switching box  14   b  shown in  FIG. 1 .  
         [0080]     If Yes in step S 31 , or if calendar categories are switched, the template selecting section  45  extracts the category ID corresponding to the specified calendar category condition, for example, day, week, month, season, or all.  
         [0081]     If Yes in step S 34 , or if time categories have been switched, the template selecting section  45  extracts the category corresponding to the condition for the specified time category. Then, the template IDs satisfying the conditions for both of the specified calendar category and time category and the number N of the template IDs are extracted.  
         [0082]     Then, the image list displaying process and selecting process in step S 24  and subsequent steps are executed.  
         [0083]     If No in step S 34 , or if time categories have not been switched, the template IDs satisfying the condition for the specified calendar category and the number of N of the template IDs are extracted.  
         [0084]     Then, the image list displaying process and selecting processes in step S 24  and subsequent steps are extracted.  
         [0085]     On the other hand, if No in step S 31  and Yes in step S 32 , or if only time categories have been switched, the category ID satisfying the condition for the specified time category is extracted. Then, the template IDs satisfying the conditions for both of the specified calendar category and time category and the number N of the template IDs are extracted.  
         [0086]     Then, the image list displaying process and selecting process in step S 24  and subsequent steps are executed.  
         [0087]     In the embodiment explained above, templates are selected on the basis of the date and time that the image was shot, and the selected templates are combined with the image, thereby displaying a list of the combined images.  
         [0088]     The list displays can be switched according to the following categories: day, week, month, season, and all. Moreover, the list displays can be switched according to time categories using the concept of time as a reference.  
         [0089]     Furthermore, it is possible to specify a calendar category from the keyword attached to the image.  
         [0090]     Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the trouble of selecting a template suitable for the selected image.  
         [0091]     Each function explained in the embodiment may be configured using hardware or may be realized using software by causing a computer to read a program in which each function has been written. Moreover, each function may be configured to switch between software and hardware as needed.  
         [0092]     Furthermore, each function may be realized by causing a computer to read a program stored in a recording medium (not shown). The recording medium of the embodiment may use any recording format, as long as a program can be recorded in the medium and a computer can read the program from the medium.  
         [0093]     Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiment shown and described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.