Image-area extracting method for visual telephone

• US 5,990,930 A
• Filed: 07/24/1998
• Issued: 11/23/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shibata, Kikuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Kuntz, Curtis A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ramakrishnaiah, Melur
• Application Number:
  US09/121,872
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 348/14, 348/15, 348/20
• US Class Current: 348/14.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/141 between two video terminals, e.g. videophone telephonic communication systems combined with television receiver for reception of entertainment or information matter H04M11/085

Abstract

A visual telephone terminal that allows the user to easily designate any desired area to be extracted from an image being shown on a display portion by an area-extracting frame or form prepared by using numeral keys and stored in storing means, requiring no additional cost. On the numeral keys on the visual telephone terminal, the user selects a numeral key corresponding to a start point of area-extracting frame or form, moves the start point to a desired position and fixes it at the position by pressing the start point key, then performs similar operations for selecting and deciding the second point, thus forming the area-extracting form on the image.

Claims

1. An image-area extracting method for visual telephone terminal provided with a video displaying means for receiving a video signal transmitted over a communication channel through a communication control portion, converting the received signal by a converting portion and displaying a received video image by a display control portion, and an image storing means for storing the received video image, wherein an objective area (e.g., a face area) can be extracted from an image being displayed by an area-extracting frame line formed by using analogy of a layout of numeral keys arranged on the visual telephone terminal.

2. An image-area extracting method for visual telephone terminal as defined in claim 1, wherein the image-area extracting frame used is stored in the image storing portion to be used later for promptly specifying a desired objective area on the image by fixing one point of the image-area extracting frame as a reference point at a desired position on the image and then adjusting the position of a diagonal point relative to the reference point to expand or compress the frame enclosing the desired objective area by using the numeral keys arranged on the visual telephone terminal.