PHOTOGRAPH STICKER CREATING APPARATUS, AND A METHOD OF GENERATING PHOTOGRAPH STICKER

• US 20160142580A1
• Filed: 09/29/2015
• Published: 05/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/14/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FuRyu Corporation
• Original Assignee: FuRyu Corporation
• Inventors: ARAKI, Sadayasu, IMAI, Koki, SAKAHARA, Wakako, INAGAKI, Ryoko, OKADA, Tsuneo, TAKEMURA, Yoshiko
• Granted Patent: US 9,596,376 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/024 for printing on segmented surfaces, e.g. sticker sheets, label rolls
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00148 Storage information retrieval G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00167 Processing or editing H04N1/00196 - H04N1/00201 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00175 from a still image storage medium H04N1/00172, H04N1/0018 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00183 Photography assistance, e.g. displaying suggestions to the user
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00278 with a printing apparatus, e.g. a laser beam printer
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00289 in a video photo booth or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2154 the still video camera incorporating a hardcopy reproducing device, e.g. a printer

Abstract

A photograph sticker creating apparatus includes an image pickup device that generates a shot image, a storage device that stores a plurality of composite-use images to be combined with shot images, a compositing processor that combines the shot image and the composite-use image to generate a composite image, a printing device that prints the composite image on a sticker sheet, a display processor that generates and displays a selection screen allowing the user to select a composite-use image from a plurality of composite-use images, and a direction receiving device that receives selection of composite-use image performed by the user on the selection screen. The display processor combines a predetermined portrait image with the selected composite-use image and does not combine the portrait image with a composite-use image other than the selected composite-use image, to generate and display the selection screen.

Claims

1. A photograph sticker creating apparatus, comprising:

an image pickup device configured to shoot an image of a user to generate a shot image;

a storage device configured to store a plurality of composite-use images, each composite-use image to be combined with the shot image;

a compositing processor configured to combine the shot image generated in the image pickup device and the composite-use image to generate a composite image;

a printing device configured to print the composite image on a sticker sheet;

a display processor configured to generate and display selection screen which allows the user to select a desired composite-use image to be used for the composite image from a plurality of composite-use images, the selection screen including the plurality of composite-use images disposed in an image selection region; and

a direction receiving device configured to receive selection of the composite-use image performed by the user on the selection screen,

wherein the display processor combines a predetermined portrait image with the composite-use image selected by the direction receiving device and does not combine the portrait image with a composite-use image other than the selected composite-use image, in the image selection region, to generate and display the selection screen.

2. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processor generates and displays the selection screen so as to simultaneously display a composite-use image which is selected by the direction receiving device and is combined with the portrait image, and a composite-use image which is other than the composite-use image selected by the direction receiving device and is not combined with the portrait image.

3. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processor generates and displays the selection screen so as to alternately display a composite-use image which is selected by the direction receiving device and is combined with the portrait image, and a composite-use image which is the composite-use image selected by the direction receiving device and is not combined with the portrait image.

4. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processor makes a displaying method of a composite-use image which is selected by the user and is combined with the portrait image, different from a displaying method of a composite-use image which is other than the composite-use image selected by the user and is not combined with the portrait image.

5. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the display processor makes the composite-use image which is selected by the user and is combined with the portrait image, different from the composite-use image which is other than the composite-use image selected by the user and is not combined with the portrait image, in terms of at least one of a saturation, a brightness, a tone, a size, color inversion and movement of the composite-use image.

6. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the display processor displays a guidance image that prompts a user to strike a pose at the time of shooting an image, and

the guidance image is changed in accordance with the composite-use image selected by the direction receiving device.

7. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the display processor displays the plurality of composite-use images over a plurality of pages on the selection screen,

the direction receiving device receives a selection of a desired page by the user from the plurality of pages, and

in the case of displaying the plurality of composite-use images over the plurality of pages, the display processor makes a displaying method of objects related to a page selected by the direction receiving device different from a displaying method of objects related to a page not selected by the direction receiving device.

8. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display processor displays information indicating a ranking of the composite-use image based on frequency of selection on the selection screen.

9. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit configured to notify the user of information affirming appropriateness of the selection of the composite-use image selected by the direction receiving device.

10. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the selection screen has a first region in which a plurality of selectable composite-use images are arranged and a second region in which a composite-use image which is selected on the selection screen, and

in the second region, the composite-use image is displayed, combined with the portrait image.

11. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the direction receiving device receives, from the user, a direction to interchange displayed positions of selected composite-use images, when a plurality of composite-use images are selected and displayed on the selection screen,

the display processor changes the displayed positions of the selected composite-use images based on the direction received by the direction receiving device, and

the compositing processor associates the shot image generated in the image pickup device with the composite-use image in accordance with the changed displayed position of the composite-use image, and combines the associated images with each other.

12. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the direction receiving device receives, prior to shooting of images, the direction to interchange the displayed positions of the selected composite-use images.

13. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the direction receiving device receives, after shooting of images, the direction to interchange the displayed positions of the selected composite-use images.

14. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite-use image includes a foreground image and/or a background image.

15. The photograph sticker creating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a predetermined number of composite-use images are managed as one composite-use image group, and

the direction receiving device selects composite-use images for each of composite-use image groups on the selection screen.

16. A method of creating a photograph sticker comprising:

shooting an image of a user to generate a shot image with an image pickup device;

generating a selection screen which allows the user to select a desired composite-use image to be used for the composite image from a plurality of composite-use images stored in a predetermined recording medium, the selection screen including the plurality of composite-use images disposed in an image selection region;

displaying the selection screen on a display unit;

receiving selection of the composite-use image performed by the user on the selection screen;

combining the shot image generated in the image pickup device and the composite-use image selected on the selection screen to generate a composite image; and

printing the composite image on a sticker sheet with a printing device,

wherein, in the generating the selection screen, on an image selection region, a predetermined portrait image is combined with the selected composite-use image, and the predetermined portrait image is not combined with a composite-use image other than the selected composite-use image, thereby to generate the selection screen.