Image processing apparatus, image processing method and program

• US 20110122275A1
• Filed: 10/21/2010
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nakao, Daisuke, Kawai, Tetsuro
• Granted Patent: US 9,407,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/80 Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/951 by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes: a specific sound detecting section detecting a specific sound generated during motion in a specific motion of a target object included in an image group including a plurality of images which continues in a time-series manner; a valid sound range setting section setting, as a valid sound range, a range in the time axis for determination of whether the specific sound is valid on the basis of a user manipulation; and a selecting section selecting a predetermined number of motion transition images representing transitions of the specific motion from a selection range of the image group in the time axis, with reference to a detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, in a case where the specific sound is detected in the set valid sound range.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a specific sound detecting section which detects a specific sound generated during motion in a specific motion performed by a target object included in an image group including a plurality of images which continues in a time-series manner;

a valid sound range setting section which sets, as a valid sound range, a range in the time axis for determination of whether the specific sound detected by the specific sound detecting section is valid on the basis of a user manipulation; and

a selecting section which selects a predetermined number of motion transition images representing transitions of the specific motion from a selection range of the image group in the time axis, with reference to a detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, in a case where the specific sound is detected in the set valid sound range.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the user manipulation is a specific manipulation received when the specific motion is terminated or a timer setting manipulation for such a setting that a termination time of the specific motion becomes a termination time of a time counter, and

wherein the valid sound range setting section sets the valid sound range with reference to a position in the time axis where the specific manipulation is received in a case where the user manipulation is the specific manipulation, and sets the valid sound range with reference to the termination time of the time counter by means of the timer setting manipulation in a case where the user manipulation is the timer setting manipulation.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the valid sound range setting section narrows the valid sound range set in the case where the user manipulation is the specific manipulation compared with the valid sound range set in the case where the user manipulation is the timer setting manipulation.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determining section which determines, as the selection range, a predetermined range before and after the detection position, in the time axis, of the specific sound detected in the set valid sound range,

wherein the selecting section selects the motion transition images in the determined selection range.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an object distance calculating section which calculates a distance to the target object; and

a delay time calculating section which calculates a delay time of the detected specific sound on the basis of the calculated distance,

wherein the selecting section corrects the detection position of the detected specific sound in the time axis on the basis of the calculated delay time and selects the motion transition images from the selection range, with reference to the corrected detection position, in a case where the corrected detection position exists in the set valid sound range.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the selecting section makes close a selection interval in a range narrower than the selection range having, as a central position, the detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, compared with other selection intervals, with respect to the selection interval of the motion transition images in the selection range.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a synthetic image generating section which generates a synthetic image representing the motion transitions of the target object by arranging and synthesizing the plurality of selected motion transition images in a time-series manner.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storing section which stores the specific sounds and the valid sound ranges relating to a plurality of types of specific motions; and

a manipulation receiving section which receives a designating manipulation for designating a desired specific motion from among the plurality of types of specific motions in which the specific sounds and the valid sound ranges are stored,

wherein the specific sound detecting section detects the specific sound relating to the designated specific motion, and

wherein the valid sound range setting section sets the valid sound range relating to the designated specific motion on the basis of the user manipulation.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the valid sound range setting section sets the valid sound range on the basis of a user manipulation relating to an image capturing operation when the image group is generated.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the specific change detecting section detects the specific change using at least one of a characteristic amount extracted from each image forming the image group and a characteristic amount extracted on the basis of a sound relating to each image forming the image group.

10. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a specific sound detecting section which detects a specific sound generated during motion in a specific motion performed by a target object included in an image group including a plurality of images which continues in a time-series manner;

a specific change detecting section which detects a specific change in the time axis between the respective images forming the image group;

a valid sound range setting section which sets, as a valid sound range, a range in the time axis for determination of whether the specific sound detected by the specific sound detecting section is valid on the basis of a position in the time axis in which the specific change is detected; and

a selecting section which selects a predetermined number of motion transition images representing transitions of the specific motion from a selection range of the image group in the time axis, with reference to a detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, in a case where the specific sound is detected in the set valid sound range.

12. An image processing, method comprising the steps of:

setting, on the basis of a user manipulation, a range in the time axis for determination of whether detection of a specific sound generated during motion in a specific motion performed by a target object included in an image group including a plurality of images which continues in a time-series manner is valid, as a valid sound range; and

selecting a predetermined number of motion transition images representing transitions of the specific motion from a selection range of the image group in the time axis, with reference to a detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, in a case where the specific sound is detected in the set valid sound range.

13. A program which allows a procedure to be executed on a computer, the procedure comprising the steps of:

setting, on the basis of a user manipulation, a range in the time axis for determination of whether detection of a specific sound generated during motion in a specific motion performed by a target object included in an image group including a plurality of images which continues in a time-series manner is valid, as a valid sound range; and

selecting a predetermined number of motion transition images representing transitions of the specific motion from a selection range of the image group in the time axis, with reference to a detection position of the specific sound in the time axis, in a case where the specific sound is detected in the set valid sound range.