Image displaying system, image displaying apparatus and machine readable medium storing thereon machine executable instructions

• US 20050036054A1
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Published: 02/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ono, Shuji, Mino, Kazuhiro, Yoda, Akira, Ito, Wataru, Ohtsuka, Shuichi, Yamada, Masahiko
• Application Number:
  US10/857,600
• Publication Number:
  US 20050036054A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/21 Intermediate information storage H04N1/387, H04N1/41 take precedence ; for control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32358; indexing, editing G11B27/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/698 for achieving an enlarged field of view, e.g. panoramic image capture

Abstract

An image displaying system for displaying an image operable to change a displayed image according to a direction of a image displaying apparatus, including: an image storing unit storing thereon the image; a displaying unit operable to display the image, the displaying unit being carried by a user; a photographing unit operable to photograph exterior as a plurality of photographed images, the photographing unit being carried with the displaying unit all together; a travel distance computing unit operable to compute a travel distance of the displaying unit by analyzing the plurality of photographed images which are photographed by the photographing unit at different times; and a display control unit operable to change the image, which is different from the photographed images, based on the travel distance computed by the travel distance computing unit and to causes the displaying unit to display the image.

Claims

1. An image displaying system for displaying image, comprising:

an image storing unit storing thereon the image;

a displaying unit operable to display the image, said displaying unit being carried by a user;

a photographing unit operable to photograph exterior as a plurality of photographed images, said photographing unit being carried with said displaying unit all together;

a travel distance computing unit operable to compute a travel distance of said displaying unit by analyzing the plurality of photographed images which are photographed by said photographing unit at different times; and

a display control unit operable to change the image, which is different from the photographed images, based on the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit and to causes said displaying unit to display the image.

2. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

said image storing unit associates change information for changing the image with the travel distance of said displaying unit, and

said display control unit causes said displaying unit to display the changed image based on the change information on the image associated with the travel distance computed by said distance computing unit referring to said image storing unit.

3. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 2, wherein

said image storing unit associates a relative direction of each of a plurality of images with respect to a direction of one of the images with each of the plurality of images, and stores them, and

said display control unit selects the image to be displayed on said displaying unit according to the relative direction.

4. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 2, wherein

said photographing unit is fixed to a rear surface of said displaying unit,

said travel distance computing unit computes a direction change of said displaying unit,

said display control unit selects an image stored on said image storing unit so that difference between direction of the image being displayed and direction of the selected image corresponds to the direction change of said displaying unit, and updates the image being displayed on said displaying unit to the selected image.

5. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 2, wherein

said image storing unit stores the original image, of which angle of view is wider than that of the image to be displayed, and further stores a position in the original image as the change information, and

said display control unit identifies the position in the original image based on change of direction of said displaying unit by referring to said image storing unit, trims the image from the original image so that the trimmed image is displayed on said displaying unit, and causes said displaying unit to display the image.

6. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 5, further comprising an original image generation unit operable to generate the original image by composing the plurality of photographed images photographed by said photographing unit, and to cause said image storing unit to store the generated original image.

7. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said original image generation unit computes a travel distance of said photographing unit during photographing the plurality of photographed images, and associates the computed travel distance with the position in the image.

8. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said original image generation unit associates the associated travel distance and the position in the image with the original image, and stores them on said image storing unit.

9. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said original image generation unit sets one of the plurality of photographed images as a reference position image, and computes a travel distance of said photographing unit based on the other photographed images with respect to the reference position image.

10. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 6, wherein said original image generation unit computes a travel distance of said displaying unit during photographing the plurality of photographed images, associates the computed travel distance with the position in the original image, and causes said image storing unit to store them.

11. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a user photographing unit operable to photograph the user, said photographing unit being located on a side of said displaying unit, wherein

said original image generation unit computes the travel distance of said displaying unit during photographing the plurality of photographed images based on a user image photographed by said user photographing unit.

12. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 5, wherein

said photographing unit comprises a fish-eye lens, and

the image displaying system further comprises an original image generation unit operable to generate the original image by correcting distortion of the photographed images photographed by said fish-eye lens and to cause said image storing unit to store the original image.

13. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a user photographing unit operable to photograph a user; and

a ranging unit operable to compute change of distance between said user photographing unit and the user based on an image photographed by said user photographing unit, wherein

said display control unit scales up the image on said displaying unit as the distance between the user and said user photographing unit decreases.

14. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 13, further comprising an image photographing unit operable to photograph the image and causes said image storing unit to store the image, wherein

said display control unit raises photographing magnification of said image photographing unit as the distance between the user and said user photographing unit decreases.

15. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 14, wherein said image photographing unit

is located apart from said displaying unit and said display control unit,

receives instruction about the photographing magnification from said display control unit over radio,

changes the photographing magnification of the image based on the received instruction, and

transmits the photographed images to said display control unit over radio.

16. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said display control unit displays a pointer pointing a part of the image on said displaying unit, and changes the part pointed by the pointer as change of the image based on the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit.

17. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 16, further comprising an instruction input unit operable to receive an instruction from the user to change a position of the pointer, wherein

said travel distance computing unit computes the travel distance based on the photographed images of which the resolution is lower than the photographed images photographed in normal condition when said instruction input unit receives an instruction to change a position of the pointer.

18. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 17, wherein

said photographing unit comprises a plurality of image sensors provided corresponding to a plurality of pixels of each of the photographed images, and

said instruction input unit generates the photographed images based on pixel signals output from a part of said image sensors, and supplies said travel distance computing unit with them when said instruction input unit receives an instruction to change a position of the pointer.

19. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said photographing unit comprises:

an optical lens positioned between said plurality of image sensors and a subject; and

an automatic focus unit operable to focus said optical lens on the subject, and

said automatic focus unit brings said optical lens out of focus from the subject and causes it to photograph images when said instruction input unit receives an instruction to change a position of the pointer.

20. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 17, wherein

said photographing unit photographs a dynamic image at a predetermined frame rate, and

said travel distance computing unit increases the frame rate of said photographing unit photographing the dynamic image when said instruction input unit receives an instruction to change a position of the pointer.

21. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said travel distance computing unit performs image processing to increase contrast of the photographed images and computes the travel distance based on the photographed images of which the contrast has been increased when said instruction input unit receives an instruction to change a position of the pointer.

25. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 16, wherein

said travel distance computing unit computes at least one of velocity and acceleration of said displaying unit as the travel distance, and

said display control unit moves a point on the display screen for a distance proportional to the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit.

22. The image displaying system as claimed in 16, wherein

said photographing unit further comprises a focusing unit operable to measure a distance to a subject appeared on the photographed images,

said travel distance computing unit computes the travel distance based on a distance to the subject measured by said focusing unit and on change of a position of the subject appeared on the photographed images, and

said display control unit computes an amount of change of position of the pointer based on the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit.

23. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 22, wherein

when a plurality of subjects are appeared on the photographed images, said focusing unit measures a distance to each of the subjects, and

said travel distance computing unit detects a subject among the plurality of subjects of which the distance measured by said focusing unit is the smallest, and computes the travel distance based on change of distance to the subject and on change of position of the subject.

24. The image displaying system as claimed in claim 23, wherein said travel distance computing unit computes the travel distance further based on a ratio of the amount of change of the position of the subject, of which the distance is the smallest, to amount of change of position of each of the other subjects, of which the distances are different from the subject.

26. An image displaying apparatus operable to display an image, the image displaying apparatus being carried by a user, comprising:

a displaying unit operable to display the image;

a photographing unit operable to photograph exterior as a plurality of photographed images, said photographing unit being carried with said displaying unit all together;

a travel distance computing unit operable to compute a travel distance of said displaying unit by analyzing the plurality of photographed images which are photographed by said photographing unit at different times; and

a display control unit operable to change the image, which is different from the photographed images, based on the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit and to causes said displaying unit to display the image.

27. A machine-readable medium storing thereon a plurality of machine executable instructions for controlling an image displaying apparatus operable to display an image, the image displaying apparatus being carried by a user, when executed by a machine, the machine executable instructions causing the image displaying apparatus to:

display the image on a displaying unit;

photograph a plurality of images of exterior using a photographing unit, said photographing unit being carried with said displaying unit all together;

compute a travel distance of said displaying unit using a travel distance computing unit by analyzing the plurality of photographed images which are photographed by said photographing unit at different times; and

change the image, which is different from the photographed images, based on the travel distance computed by said travel distance computing unit, and cause said displaying unit to display the image.