Digital camera, and image synthesizer and method of controlling the same

• US 6,801,251 B1
• Filed: 11/17/1999
• Issued: 10/05/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Photo Film Co Limited (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nihei, Kaname, Kawaoka, Yoshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): Garber, Wendy R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tillery, Rashawn N
• Application Number:
  US09/442,245
• Time in Patent Office: 1,784 Days
• Field of Search: 348/231, 348/232, 348/233, 348/333.02, 348/231.3, 348/231.5, 340/933
• US Class Current: 348/231.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00143 Ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00167 Processing or editing H04N1/00196 - H04N1/00201 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00188 Printing, e.g. prints or reprints H04N1/0019, H04N1/00196 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0019 on souvenir-type products or the like, e.g. T-shirts or mugs
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/765 Interface circuits between an apparatus for recording and another apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/772 the recording apparatus and the television camera being placed in the same enclosure
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/775 between a recording apparatus and a television receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/907 using static stores, e.g. storage tubes or semiconductor memories H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

The present invention is directed to identifying photographs to be handed to attendants at a wedding reception, for example. In front of a seat in which the attendant at the wedding reception sits, an Ir light emitting device which transmits a seat code for identifying the attendant is placed. The seat code is received, to record data representing the seat code, and the attendant is photographed, to record image data representing an image of the attendant in correlation with the seat code on a memory card of a digital camera. An attendant file including the seat code and the name of the attendant is previously created. The image of the attendant which is obtained by the photographing, the name of the attendant and so forth are related to each other using the seat code. A print is obtained from a composite image in which the image of the attendant and the name of the attendant is synthesized with a template image. The attendant to which the print is to be handed can be confirmed by seeing the name.

Claims

1. An image synthesizer comprising:

a first reading device for reading, from an image file storing image data of a plurality of frames respectively representing subject images which are obtained by photographing the subjects in correlation with identification codes respectively specifying the plurality of subjects, the image data and the identification codes;

a second reading device for reading, from a subject identification file storing subject identification information including the identification codes for the plurality of subjects, the subject identification information;

an output device for synthesizing to output the image data and the subject identification information which are related to each other by the identification code, among the image data obtained by the first reading device and the subject identification information obtained by the second reading device;

an input device for inputting template image data representing a template image in which a plurality of synthesis areas are defined, and

the output device synthesizing the image data and data representing the subject identification information with the template image data fetched by the input device such that the subject image and the subject identification information are placed in the synthesis areas.

2. The image synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the output device outputs a signal representing the image data and a signal representing the subject identification information.

3. The image synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the output device performs image synthesis of the image data representing the subject and image data representing the subject identification information to output.

4. The image synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the output device synthesizes the subject image represented by the image data and the subject identification information with a template image to output.

5. The image synthesizer according to claim 4, wherein the output device includes a printer printing the synthesized composite image.

6. The image synthesizer according to claim 1, wherein the first reading means reads the image data from a memory card which is loadable on and unloadable from a digital camera.

8. An image synthesizer according to claim 1 wherein the identification information and the image data are individually and uniquely correlated.

9. The image synthesizer of claim 1, wherein the image file storing image data is stored to a first storage device which is read by the first reading device, and the subject identification file is stored to a second storage device which is read by the second reading device, wherein the first and second storage devices comprise separate media.

7. A method of controlling the operation of a digital camera, comprising the steps of:

inputting identification data determined in correspondence with a subject;

photographing the subject, to obtain image data representing an image of the subject;

recording the image data obtained by the photographing and the inputted identification data on a recording medium in correlation with each other;

registering identification codes of identification data for which image data have not been input; and

receiving an identification code corresponding to a respective segment of the identification data when photographing the subject;

wherein said recording step correlates the respective segment of the identification data with the image data based on the received identification code; and

wherein the respective segment comprises name information associated with the identification code.