IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CORRELATING POSITION DATA WITH IMAGE DATA

• US 20100094546A1
• Filed: 10/14/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NK Works Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Koji Ujino
• Inventors: UJINO, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,813,872 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3623 using a camera or code reader, e.g. for optical or magnetic codes
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams

Abstract

A navigation system includes a processing unit for generating route data relating to a route along which a vehicle has actually traveled, from position data acquired by a position acquiring unit, an image data acquiring section for acquiring image data, a first storage section for storing the image data acquired by the image acquiring unit according to groups of respective destinations, and a second storage section for storing the route data generated by the processing unit. A link data generating section is provided for correlating the respective destinations with the respective route data via link data. An outputting unit is configured to extract a group linked to a destination by the link data in response to a manual designation of a route data stored in the second storage section or to a manual or automatic designation of a designation included in that route data and then to output the image data included in that group from the first storage section to an outputting section.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. An image processing system comprising:

an image data acquiring section for acquiring image data obtained by a digital camera;

a data storing section for storing data;

a processing unit for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring section in the data storing section;

position acquiring means for acquiring position data; and

a portable-sized apparatus body including a map data storing section for storing map data indicative of position of the position data acquired by the position acquiring means and an outputting section for outputting the data stored in the data storing section;

wherein said processing unit is configured to effect a position data storing operation for continuously acquiring the position data by the position acquiring means and storing the data in the data storing section, an image data storing operation for storing the image data acquired by the image data acquiring section in the data storing section, a link data generating operation for generating link data for correlating the position data with the image data, and a link data storing operation for storing the link data in the data storing section; and

said processing unit is further configured to effect an outputting operation for causing said outputting section to output the position data stored in the data storing section, the map data indicative of the position of the position data and the image data correlated with the position data.

17. The image processing system according to claim 16, wherein further comprising link processing means for effecting the generation of the link data, said link processing means being operable to compare timing data for specifying the time of acquisition of the position data with photographic date data annexed to the image data and to generate link data which link timing data and photographic data agreeing with or similar to each other,

18. The image processing system according to claim 16, wherein said apparatus body includes a display unit;

and

said processing unit causes the display unit to display the map data corresponding to the position data and the image data correlated with the position data.

19. The image processing system according to claim 16, wherein said position acquiring means comprises a GPS unit for acquiring the position data by receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites.

20. The image processing system according to claim 17, wherein said position acquiring means comprises a GPS unit for acquiring the position data by receiving radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites, said GPS unit storing, together with the position data, a time of the acquisition of the position data as said timing data;

said link processing means effects said linking operation for linking timing data and photographic data agreeing with or similar to each other, an automatic link mode in which photographic date data included in Exif data annexed to the image data obtained by the digital camera and the timing data agreeing therewith or similar thereto are linked to each other; and

said link processing means effects also a correction link mode operation in which all photographic date data included in the Exif data annexed to the image data obtained by the digital camera are shifted by a same value and then the shifted photographic date data and the timing data are correlated with each other.

21. The image processing system according to claim 16, wherein said image data acquiring section acquires image data from a storage medium used in the digital camera;

and

if said processing unit determines that the storage medium is set to said image data acquiring section, the unit discriminates the plurality of image data stored in that storage medium and stores in the data storage section only image data excluding the image data stored already in the data storing section.