CONTROL DEVICE, OPERATION SETTING METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20110025854A1
• Filed: 06/14/2010
• Published: 02/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshizumi, Shingo
• Application Number:
  US12/814,877
• Publication Number:
  US 20110025854A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/169
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4147 PVR [Personal Video Recorder] H04N5/76 takes precedence ; arrangements for broadcast with accumulation-type receivers H04H20/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• 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 2201/0058 Docking-station, cradle or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/631 Graphical user interfaces [GUI] specially adapted for controlling image capture or setting capture parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/695 Control of camera direction for changing a field of view, e.g. pan, tilt or based on tracking of objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/77 between a recording apparatus and a television camera

Abstract

A control device includes an operation decision unit which inputs the information on image data and a subject detected in an image of the image data and decides the operations to be executed based on the position of the subject in the image in the case of a predetermined limitation position state.

Claims

1. A control device, comprising:

an operation decision means which inputs the information on image data and a subject detected in an image of the image data and decides the operations to be executed based on the position of the subject in the image in the case of a predetermined limitation position state.

2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a composition determination means which determines a composition of the image including the subject detected in the image of the image data obtained by imaging; and

wherein the limitation position state is a state in which the movable mechanism unit for changing a field-of-view range of an imaging unit is in a movable limitation position, and

wherein the operation decision means decides the operations to be executed when the subject position within the image of the image data in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained without moving the movable mechanism unit beyond the movable limitation position.

3. The control device according to claim 2,

wherein the operation decision means determines that the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained without moving the movable mechanism unit beyond the movable limitation position when the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition was not obtained until a predetermined time elapsed since the movable mechanism unit reached the movable limitation position as a result of the driving and control with respect to the movable mechanism unit by a subject position control means which drives and controls the movable mechanism unit so as to obtain the subject position within the image in accordance with the determined composition with respect to the movable mechanism unit.

4. The control device according to claim 3,

wherein the operation decision means executes a control for storing captured image data, which has been obtained at that time, in a storing medium when the operation decision means determines that the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained without moving the movable mechanism unit beyond the movable limitation position.

5. The control device according to claim 3,

wherein the operation decision means further includes a field-of-view range changing control means which drives and controls the movable mechanism unit such that a subject which is different from an already detected subject exists in the image of the image data when the operation decision means determines that the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained without moving the movable mechanism unit beyond the movable limitation position.

6. The control device according to claim 4 or 5,

wherein the operation decision means executes the control for storing the captured image data which has been obtained at that time in the storing medium when the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition can be obtained.

7. The control device according to claim 5,

wherein the operation decision means executes the control for storing the captured image data which has been obtained at that time in the storing medium when the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition can be obtained.

8. The control device according to claim 6,

wherein when the movable mechanism unit is in the movable limitation position, the operation decision means sets an enlarged margin with respect to a target position which is to be employed as the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition, and determines whether or not the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition has been obtained based on whether or not the subject is included in the target position to which this enlarged margin is set.

9. The control device according to claim 2,

wherein when the movable mechanism unit is in the movable limitation position, the operation decision means sets an enlarged margin with respect to a target position which is to be employed as the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition, and determines whether or not the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition has been obtained based on whether or not the subject is included in the target position to which this enlarged margin is set.

10. The control device according to claim 2,

wherein when the position with respect to this control device, which is represented by subject position information as the information on the detected subject, is the position in which the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained without moving the movable mechanism unit beyond the movable limitation position, the composition determination means excludes the detected subject from targets of the composition determination.

11. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a composition determination means which determines the composition of the image including the detected subject; and

a trimming frame decision means which decides a position of the trimming frame, which represents the range to be trimmed, in the horizontal and vertical directions from the image of the image data in the image of the image data so as to obtain image content in accordance with the determined composition,

wherein the limitation position state is a state in which the trimming frame does not stick out of the image of the image data, and a part of the edge of the trimming frame is overlapped with a part of the edge of the image frame of the image of the image data, and

wherein when the subject position in the image in accordance with the determined composition is not obtained if the trimming frame does not stick out of the image frame of the image of the image data further more from the limitation position state, the operation decision means executes the trimming with the trimming frame set in accordance with the limitation position state.

12. An operation setting method for an imaging device comprising the steps of:

inputting information on image data and a subject detected in an image in the image data;

deciding operations to be executed based on a subject position in the image in the case of a predetermined limitation position state.

13. A program for causing a control device to execute the steps of:

inputting information on image data and a subject detected in an image in the image data;

deciding operations to be executed based on a subject position in the image in the case of a predetermined limitation position state.

14. A control device, comprising:

An operation decision unit which inputs the information on image data and a subject detected in an image of the image data and decides the operations to be executed based on the position of the subject in the image in the case of a predetermined limitation position state.