Image output method, image output device, and image output program

• US 20090220159A1
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: 138 East LCD Advancements Limited (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Tanaka, Takashige, Matsuzaka, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,170,299 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/243 by compensating for image skew or non-uniform image deformations
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/165 using facial parts and geometric relationships
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/167 using comparisons between temporally consecutive images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3247 Data linking a set of images to one another, e.g. sequence, burst or continuous capture mode

Abstract

Provided is an image output method of outputting predetermined image data from plural pieces of image data, the method including: acquiring a group including plural pieces of image data which are similar to each other; detecting a face turning angle with respect to a face image plane included in an image indicated by each image data belonging to the same group and a face rotation angle indicating a rotation angle in the face image plane; and outputting image data, in which the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are smaller than those of other image data, among the image data belonging to the same group.

Claims

1. An image output method of outputting predetermined image data from plural pieces of image data, the method comprising:

acquiring a group including plural pieces of image data which are similar to each other;

detecting a face turning angle with respect to a face image plane included in an image indicated by each image data belonging to the same group and a face rotation angle indicating a rotation angle in the face image plane; and

outputting image data, in which the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are smaller than those of other image data, among the image data belonging to the same group.

2. The image output method according to claim 1, wherein, among the image data belonging to the same group, the image data, in which the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are smaller than those of the other image data and the face is larger than that of the other image data, is output.

3. The image output method according to claim 1, wherein two eyes and a mouth of the face included in the image indicated by each image data belonging to the same group are detected, and the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are detected on the basis of the positional relationship between the eyes and the mouth.

4. The image output method according to claim 1, wherein the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are detected on the basis of a thumbnail image attached to each image data.

5. An image output device for outputting predetermined image data from plural pieces of image data, the device comprising:

a group acquiring unit acquiring a group including plural pieces of image data which are similar to each other;

a detecting unit detecting a face turning angle with respect to a face image plane included in an image indicated by each image data belonging to the same group and a face rotation angle indicating a rotation angle in the face image plane; and

a selecting unit outputting image data, in which the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are smaller than those of other image data, among the image data belonging to the same group.

6. A computer-readable image output program for executing a function for outputting predetermined image data from plural pieces of image data on a computer, the function comprising:

a group acquiring function acquiring a group including plural pieces of image data which are similar to each other;

a detecting function detecting a face turning angle with respect to a face image plane included in an image indicated by each image data belonging to the same group and a face rotation angle indicating a rotation angle in the face image plane; and

a selecting function outputting image data, in which the face turning angle and the face rotation angle are smaller than those of other image data, among the image data belonging to the same group.