IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS, ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PROVIDING SERVER, AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FILTERING SYSTEM

• US 20100149399A1
• Filed: 05/30/2008
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Sato, Takahiro, Ikeda, Yoichi, Mukai, Tsutomu, Oshima, Mitsuaki, Yamaoka, Masaru
• Granted Patent: US 8,264,584 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/333.20
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/51 Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/20 in augmented reality scenes
• 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 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32203 Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4314 for fitting data in a restricted space on the screen, e.g. EPG data in a rectangular grid
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4755 for defining user preferences, e.g. favourite actors or genre retrieval personalisation and generation of user profiles for the retrieval of video data G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6581 Reference data, e.g. a movie identifier for ordering a movie or a product identifier in a home shopping application
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3273 Display
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 : for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17318 : Direct or substantially direct transmission and handling of requests

Abstract

Only landmark information desired by a user out of a plurality of landmark information transmitted from a map server is displayed. An image capturing apparatus (102) includes: an imaging unit (114) that captures a digital image; a communication unit (112) that obtains a plurality of additional information from a predetermined map server (120) that holds the plurality of additional information each corresponding to an object included in the digital image captured by the imaging unit (114); a display-information extracting unit (113) that selects additional information to be displayed from among the plurality of additional information obtained by the communication unit (112); and an overlaying display processing unit (116) and a display unit (117) that display only the additional information selected by the display-information extracting unit (113) from among the plurality of additional information, to be overlaid on the digital image captured by the imaging unit (114).

Claims

1-54. -54. (canceled)

55. An image capturing apparatus, comprising:

an imaging unit configured to capture a digital image;

an image-capturing position obtaining unit configured to obtain image-capturing position information indicating a position in which the digital image is captured;

an image-capturing direction obtaining unit configured to obtain image-capturing direction information indicating a direction in which the digital image is captured;

an additional-information obtaining unit configured to obtain a plurality of additional information from an additional-information storing device that stores the plurality of additional information, the plurality of additional information each corresponding to a predetermined object and each including object position information indicating a position of a corresponding one of the objects;

a selecting unit configured to divide, into sub-fields, a view space determined by the image-capturing position information and the image-capturing direction information, and select, for each of the sub-fields, corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than a count that is set in a corresponding one of the sub-fields, from among the plurality of additional information including the plurality of object position information respectively indicating the positions included in the sub-fields; and

a display unit configured to display the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information overlaid on the digital image, the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information being selected by said selecting unit.

56. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 55,

wherein each of the objects corresponding to the plurality of additional information is categorized into one of hierarchical levels, and a second object is categorized into a second hierarchical level lower than a first hierarchical level, the second object being a portion of a first object categorized into the first hierarchical level,

each of the plurality of additional information further includes hierarchical information indicating a corresponding one of the hierarchical levels to which the objects belong, and

said selecting unit is configured to select a lowest hierarchical level from among the hierarchical levels for each of the sub-fields, and a corresponding one of the plurality of additional information, the lowest hierarchical level corresponding to one or more of the plurality of additional information respectively including the plurality of object position information and the plurality of hierarchical information, the corresponding one of the plurality of additional information including:

(i) a corresponding one of the plurality of object position information indicating a position in a corresponding one of the sub-fields; and

(ii) a corresponding one of the plurality of hierarchical information indicating the lowest hierarchical level, and the one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than the set count.

57. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 55,

wherein said selecting unit is configured to select the one or more of the plurality of additional information to be displayed and having the count not larger the set count, in at least one of the sub-fields, and not to select any of the plurality of additional information in the sub-fields other than the at least one of the sub-fields.

58. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 55,

wherein the sub-fields are fields obtained by dividing the view space according to a distance from the position indicated by the image-capturing position information.

59. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 58, further comprising

a zoom ratio obtaining unit configured to obtain zoom ratio information indicating a zoom ratio used when said imaging unit captures the digital image,

wherein said selecting unit is configured:

to select at least one of the sub-fields according to the zoom ratio indicated by the zoom ratio information, from among the sub-fields, to select a corresponding one of the plurality of additional information to be displayed and having the count not larger than the set count, in the selected one of the sub-fields, and not to select any of the plurality of additional information to be displayed in the sub-fields other than the selected one of the sub-fields; and

to select a corresponding one of the sub-fields that is more distant from the position indicated by the image-capturing position information, as the zoom ratio indicated by the zoom ratio information is higher.

60. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 55,

wherein the sub-fields are fields obtained by dividing a view angle of the view space per predetermined unit angle.

61. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 55, further comprising:

a detailed-information request receiving unit configured, when a zoom operation for enlarging an image of an object included in the digital image is performed, to receive the zoom operation as a detailed-information obtainment request of detailed information of the object that has been enlarged; and

a detailed-information obtaining unit configured, when said detailed-information request receiving unit receives the detailed-information obtainment request, to obtain the detailed information of the enlarged object, from a detailed information holding device that stores the detailed information of the enlarged object.

62. An additional information providing apparatus, comprising:

a database that holds a plurality of additional information each of which corresponds to a predetermined object and includes object position information indicating a position of a corresponding one of the objects;

a receiving unit configured to receive position information indicating a predetermined position and direction information indicating a predetermined direction from an other device;

a selecting unit configured to divide, into sub-fields, a view space oriented in the direction indicated by the direction information with respect to the position indicated by the position information, and select, for each of the sub-fields, corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than a count that is set in a corresponding one of the sub-fields, from among the plurality of additional information including a plurality of object position information respectively indicating positions included in the sub-fields; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit, to the other device, the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information selected by said selecting unit.

63. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 62,

wherein each of the objects corresponding to the plurality of additional information is categorized into one of hierarchical levels, and a second object is categorized into a second hierarchical level lower than a first hierarchical level, the second object being a portion of a first object categorized into the first hierarchical level,

each of the plurality of additional information further includes hierarchical information indicating a corresponding one of the hierarchical levels to which the objects belong, and

said selecting unit is configured to select a lowest hierarchical level from among the hierarchical levels for each of the sub-fields, and a corresponding one of the plurality of additional information, the lowest hierarchical level corresponding to one or more of the plurality of additional information respectively including the plurality of object position information and the plurality of hierarchical information, the corresponding one of the plurality of additional information including:

(i) a corresponding one of the plurality of object position information indicating a position in a corresponding one of the sub-fields; and

(ii) a corresponding one of the plurality of hierarchical information indicating the lowest hierarchical level, and the one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than the set count.

64. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 62,

wherein said selecting unit is configured to select the one or more of the plurality of additional information to be displayed and having the count not larger the set count, in at least one of the sub-fields, and not to select any of the plurality of additional information in the sub-fields other than the at least one of the sub-fields.

65. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 62,

wherein the sub-fields are fields obtained by dividing the view space according to a distance from the position indicated by the image-capturing position information.

66. The additional information providing apparatus according to claim 65,

wherein said selecting unit is configured to further receive zoom ratio information indicating a zoom ratio from the other device, the zoom ratio being used when a digital image is captured in the position indicated by the position information and in the direction indicated by the direction information,

said selecting unit is configured:

to select at least one of the sub-fields according to the zoom ratio indicated by the zoom ratio information, from among the sub-fields, to select a corresponding one of the plurality of additional information to be displayed and having the count not larger than the set count, in the selected one of the sub-fields, and not to select any of the plurality of additional information to be displayed in the sub-fields other than the selected one of the sub-fields; and

to select a corresponding one of the sub-fields that is more distant from the position indicated by the image-capturing position information, as the zoom ratio indicated by the zoom ratio information is higher.

67. The image capturing apparatus according to claim 62,

wherein the sub-fields are fields obtained by dividing a view angle of the view space per predetermined unit angle.

68. A method, comprising:

capturing a digital image;

obtaining image-capturing position information indicating a position in which the digital image is captured;

obtaining image-capturing direction information indicating a direction in which the digital image is captured;

obtaining a plurality of additional information from an additional-information storing device that stores the plurality of additional information, the plurality of additional information each corresponding to a predetermined object and each including object position information indicating a position of a corresponding one of the objects;

dividing, into sub-fields, a view space determined by the image-capturing position information and the image-capturing direction information, and selecting, for each of the sub-fields, corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than a count that is set in a corresponding one of the sub-fields, from among the plurality of additional information including the plurality of object position information respectively indicating the positions included in the sub-fields; and

displaying the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information overlaid on the digital image, the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information being selected in said selecting.

69. A method for use in an additional information providing apparatus that stores a plurality of additional information each of which corresponds to a predetermined object and includes object position information indicating a position of a corresponding one of the objects, said method comprising:

receiving position information indicating a predetermined position and direction information indicating a predetermined direction from a predetermined other device;

dividing, into sub-fields, a view space oriented in the direction indicated by the direction information with respect to the position indicated by the position information, and selecting, for each of the sub-fields, corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information having a count not larger than a count that is set in a corresponding one of the sub-fields, from among the plurality of additional information including a plurality of object position information respectively indicating positions included in the sub-fields; and

transmitting, to the other device, the corresponding one or more of the plurality of additional information selected in said selecting.