Portable telephone capable of recording a composite image

• US 7,652,693 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2003
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Miyashita, Akihiro, Nakanishi, Kiyoshi, Tsumura, Toshiyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): HERNANDEZ, NELSON D
• Application Number:
  US10/529,407
• Publication Number:
  US 20050221857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,401 Days
• Field of Search: 348/239, 348/218.1, 348/333.11, 348/333.12, 348/584, 382/209, 715/723
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0044 for image preview or review, e.g. to help the user position a sheet
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00456 for layout preview, e.g. page layout
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3872 Repositioning or masking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2007/145 Handheld terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/262 Studio circuits, e.g. for mixing, switching-over, change of character of image, other special effects ; Cameras specially adapted for the electronic generation of special effects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/272 Means for inserting a foreground image in a background image, i.e. inlay, outlay

Abstract

An object of the invention is to provide a mobile telephone capable of generating a highly flexible composite image for the user. The mobile telephone of the invention includes image memory (16) for recording a base image, mask image memory (17) in which a plurality of types of mask image data representing mask images to specify the combining positions of combination object images with each base image and the image pickup areas when the combination object images are picked up by a camera section (11) are stored corresponding to the base images, and a CPU (12) for reading the mask image data selected by the user from the mask image memory (17), displaying the mask image based on the read mask image data on a display section (15), recording the image to be combined, picked up based on the displayed mask image in RAM (14), combines the recorded image to be combined at the combining position of the base image specified by the selected mask image data, and recording a composite image resulting from the combining in the image memory (16).

Claims

1. A mobile telephone including an image pickup unit and a base image record section for recording a base image, and having an image processing function of combining a combination object image picked up by the image pickup unit and the base image to generate a composite image, the mobile telephone comprising:

a composite image record section which records the composite image;

a mask image data record section which records a plurality of types of mask image data representing mask images to specify a combining position of the combination object image to be combined with the base image on the base image and an image pickup area for picking up the combination object image by the image pickup unit, the mask image data corresponding to the base image;

a reading unit which reads the mask image data selected from among the plurality of types of mask image data from the mask image data record section;

a display unit which displays a preview image generated by combining the base image and the mask image based on the mask image data read by the reading unit on a display, wherein the displayed preview image shows the image pickup area on the base image such that the base image surrounds the displayed image pickup area, and wherein subsequent to displaying the preview image, the display unit displays the composite image showing the combination object image as a through image on the base image and located within the image pickup area;

a combination object image holding unit which holds the combination object image which is picked up in accordance with the mask image of the preview image displayed on the display;

an image combining unit which combines the combination object image held by the combination object image holding unit with the base image at the combining position specified by the mask image data; and

a recording unit which records a composite image combined by the image combining unit in the composite image record section,

wherein the plurality of types of mask image data recorded in the mask image data record section include the mask image data representing a plurality of types of mask images corresponding to the base image;

wherein the display unit one at a time sequentially displays on the base image the plurality of types of mask images corresponding to the base image, and each of the sequentially displayed mask images is displayed with the base image until its corresponding combination object image is picked-up and held, and each of the sequentially displayed mask images is one at a time sequentially displayed with the base image and all previously picked-up and held combination object images that correspond to one of the sequentially displayed mask images;

wherein the combination object image holding unit holds a plurality of combination object images which are picked up in accordance with the plurality of types of mask images displayed on the display; and

wherein the image combining unit combines each of the plurality of combination object images, held by the combination object image holding unit, with the base image at the combining position based on the mask image to specify the image pickup area of the combination object image.

2. The mobile telephone as set forth in claim 1 wherein the preview image is generated by combining the base image and the each of the plurality of mask images on the display when the display unit displays each of the plurality of mask images on the display.

3. The mobile telephone as set forth in claim 2 wherein when the combination object image which is picked up based on each of a plurality of types of image pickup areas specified by the mask image data is already held in the combination object image holding unit, the display unit combines the held combination object image with the base image at the combining position based on the mask image to specify the image pickup area for picking up the held combination object image and displays the composition image on the display.

4. The mobile telephone as set forth in claim 1 wherein whenever the image pickup unit picks up an image based on the mask image displayed on the display and the picked-up combination object image is held by the combination object image holding unit, the image combining unit combines the held combination object image with the base image in order;

and

wherein after the image combining unit combines all the combination object images with the base image, the recording unit records a composite image provided by the image combining unit in the composite image record section.

5. The mobile telephone as set forth in claim 1 wherein when a picking up of the combination object image to be combined with the base image is canceled on the way, the image combining unit combines the combination object image, which is picked up by the image pickup unit and which is held by the combination object image holding unit before the picking up of the image is canceled, with the base image.

6. The mobile telephone as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of the sequentially displayed mask images is automatically one at a time sequentially displayed with the base image and all previously picked-up and held combination object images that correspond to one of the sequentially displayed mask images.