Image processing method and apparatus and information storage medium storing image information

• US 8,098,981 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Issued: 01/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Seo, Joon-kyu, Eo, Kil-su
• Primary Examiner(s): BLACKMAN, ROCHELLE ANN J
• Application Number:
  US11/506,881
• Publication Number:
  US 20070047943A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,975 Days
• Field of Search: 396/50, 396/54, 396/287, 396/286, 396/310, 396/311, 396/296, 345649-659, 345/950, 348/208.2, 348/208.3, 348/208.99, 348/333.01, 348/333.06
• US Class Current: 396/50
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/02 Bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 17/18 Signals indicating condition of a camera member or suitability of light indicating depth of field G03B13/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/60 Rotation of whole images or parts thereof
• 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 2101/00 Still video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3254 Orientation, e.g. landscape or portrait; Location or order of the image data, e.g. in memory
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders

Abstract

An image processing method and apparatus for automatically rotating an image and a display unit, and an information storage medium storing image information. The apparatus including a photographing unit which generates image data and a rotation sensing unit which generates rotational information of a rotation state of the photographing unit. When an object is photographed, the rotation information of the image is obtained and stored together, and when the image is displayed, the rotation is analyzed and the image and display unit are automatically rotated. When an image including moving picture information is watched, an image always optimized to be horizontal without additional work by a user can be seen.

Claims

1. An image processing method of photographing an object and generating image information, comprising:

photographing the object by a photographing apparatus and generating image data;

obtaining rotation information of the photographing apparatus from a rotation sensing unit; and

storing the image data and rotation information in a memory,

wherein the rotation information represents orientation of the photographing apparatus and the rotation sensing unit is configured to determine the orientation of the photographing apparatus when the object is photographed by the photographing apparatus,

wherein the storing in the memory comprises adding the rotation information to a header of the image data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the obtaining of the rotation information comprises obtaining a rotation value based on a gravitational direction by measuring a rotation state of the photographing apparatus with a gravity sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of the image data comprises photographing the object and generating moving pictures, and the obtaining of the rotation information comprises obtaining the rotation information of the moving pictures intermittently.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the rotation information is obtained when the image data is generated.

5. The method of claim 3, the rotation information of the moving pictures is obtained periodically.

6. An image processing method of displaying image information comprising:

reading image data and rotation information of the image data included in the image information;

determining a rotation angle of a display unit on which the image data is output using the rotation information;

rotating the display unit by the rotation angle; and

outputting the image data on the display unit.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the rotation information includes a rotation value based on the gravitational direction indicating a rotation state of a photographing apparatus that generated the image data, and

the determining of the rotation angle comprises determining an angle corresponding to the rotation value as the rotation angle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining of the rotation angle comprises determining the rotation angle as 0°

if the absolute value of the rotation value is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the image data is moving picture data and the determining of the rotation angle and rotating the display unit are performed intermittently.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the rotation angle and rotating the display unit are performed periodically.

11. An image processing method of displaying image information comprising:

reading image data and rotation information of the image data included in the image information;

determining a direction of the image data and a target direction of displaying the image data by analyzing size information and the rotation information included in the image data;

rotating the image data based on the target direction when the direction of the image data is different from the target direction;

rotating the display based on the target direction when a direction of a display unit on which the image data is output is different from the target direction; and

outputting the rotated image data on the display unit.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the rotation information comprises a rotation value from the gravity direction indicating the rotation state of the photographing apparatus when the image is taken.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotating of the image data comprises determining that the direction of the image data is different from the target direction when the rotation value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and modifying the image data to image data of the target direction.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the predetermined value is 45°

.

15. An image processing method of photographing an object, and generating and displaying image data comprising:

photographing the object by a photographing apparatus and generating image data;

obtaining rotation information of the photographing apparatus;

determining a rotation angle of a display unit on which the image data is output using the rotation information;

rotating the display unit based on the rotation angle; and

outputting the image data on the display unit.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the obtaining of the rotation information comprises obtaining a rotation value based on a gravitational direction by measuring the rotation state of the photographing apparatus with a gravity sensor, and

the determining of the rotation angle comprises determining an angle corresponding to the rotation value as the rotation angle.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising storing the image data and the rotation information in a memory.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the rotation information is obtained when the image data is generated.

19. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a photographing unit which photographs an object and generates image data;

a rotation sensing unit which generates rotation information by measuring the rotation state of the photographing unit; and

a control unit which stores image information including the image data and the rotation information in a memory,

wherein the rotation information represents orientation of the photographing unit and the rotation sensing unit is configured to determine the orientation of the photographing apparatus when the object is photographed by the photographing unit,

wherein the storing in the memory comprises adding the rotation information to a header of the image data.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the rotation sensing unit includes a gravity sensor and obtains a rotation value of the photographing unit based on the gravitational direction.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the photographing unit takes moving pictures of the object and the rotation sensing unit obtains intermittently the rotation information of the photographing apparatus when the moving pictures are taken.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the rotation sensing unit obtains the rotation information periodically.

23. An image processing apparatus displaying image information comprising:

a rotation driving unit which drives a rotation of a display unit; and

a control unit which reads the image information from a memory, outputs the image data on the display unit, determines a rotation angle of the display unit using rotation information, and commands the rotation driving unit to rotate the display unit.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the rotation information includes a rotation value indicating a rotation state from a gravitational direction of a photographing apparatus when the image is taken, and

the control unit determines an angle corresponding to the rotation value as the rotation angle.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the image data is moving picture data, the rotation information is intermittent rotation information of the moving pictures, and the control unit determines intermittently the rotation angle of the display unit and commands the rotation driving unit to rotate the display unit.

26. An image processing apparatus which generates and displays image information, comprising:

a photographing unit which photographs an object and generates image data;

a rotation sensing unit which generates rotation information by measuring the rotation state of the photographing unit;

a rotation driving unit which drives rotation of a display unit; and

a control unit which stores in a memory image information, including the image data and the rotation information, reads the image information from the memory, outputs the image data on the display unit, determines the rotation angle of the display unit by using the rotation information and commands the rotation driving unit to rotate the display unit.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the rotation sensing unit includes a gravity sensor and obtains a rotation value of the photographing unit from the gravity direction, and the control unit determines an angle corresponding to the rotation value as the rotation angle.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the photographing unit takes moving pictures of the object, the rotation sensing unit obtains the rotation information of the moving pictures intermittently, and the control unit determines the rotation angle of the display unit intermittently and commands the rotation driving unit to rotate the display unit.

29. An information storage medium which stores image information wherein the image information comprises:

one or more files including image data; and

rotation information of the image data from a rotation sensing unit of a photographing apparatus,

wherein the rotation information represents orientation of a photographing apparatus when an object corresponding to the image data is photographed by the photographing apparatus and the rotation sensing unit is configured to determine the orientation of the photographing apparatus,

wherein the storing in the memory comprises adding the rotation information to a header of the image data.

30. The information storage medium of claim 29, wherein the rotation information includes a rotation value indicating a rotation state based on a gravitational direction of a photographing apparatus when the image is taken.

31. The information storage medium of claim 30, wherein the rotation information is stored in a header of the one or more files.

32. The information storage medium of claim 31, wherein the image data is moving picture data, and the rotation information includes intermittent rotation information of the moving picture data.