Information presenting apparatus, information presenting method, and computer program

• US 8,386,934 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2008
• Issued: 02/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takakura, Hiroki, Masuda, Hiroki, Kurata, Masatomo, Hayashi, Masakazu, Kojima, Yuji, Tanaka, Yoshiki
• Primary Examiner(s): PITARO, RYAN F
• Application Number:
  US12/060,656
• Publication Number:
  US 20080256450A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,792 Days
• Field of Search: 715/723, 715/727, 715/838, 715/775
• US Class Current: 715/723
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/447 Temporal browsing, e.g. timeline
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/745 the internal structure of a single video sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/109 Time management, e.g. calendars, reminders, meetings or time accounting
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/329 on a disc [VTOC]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

In an information presenting apparatus, information associated with each of one or more motion images stored in a storage apparatus is displayed at a location corresponding to a file production time in the form of a calendar view. A plurality of frames of representative images are extracted from each motion image in accordance with a specified frame extraction method. Thumbnail images of the respective extracted representative images are produced, and each thumbnail image is related to a playback position in the motion image. The resultant thumbnail images are managed as a set of motion image thumbnail images in accordance with a production time of the motion image. Information associated with each motion image is displayed at a location corresponding to the production time of the motion image in the form of the calendar view. Thumbnail images associated with each motion image are displayed in an expanded form in the order of time.

Claims

1. An information presenting apparatus adapted to present, to a user, information associated with each motion image stored in a storage apparatus, comprising:

frame selection method specifying means for identifying highlighrs scenes based on evaluating audio data associated with a motion image to obtain scenes including a specified person;

frame extraction means for extracting a plurality of representative images from the motion image in accordance with the identified highlight scenes;

motion image thumbnail image management means for producing thumbnail images of each of the extracted representative images, relating each thumbnail images to a playback position in the motion image, and managing the thumbnail images as a set of motion image thumbnail images in accordance with a capturing time at which the motion image was captured; and

image drawing means for drawing information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus, at a location corresponding to the capturing time of the motion image, on a calendar,

wherein when the image drawing means presents the information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus on the calendar, the image drawing means draws at least one thumbnail image in the set of motion image thumbnail images, for each motion image, in an expanded form in which the at least one thumbnail image is arranged in time order, and

wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a frame at which a zoom operation occurs.

2. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame extraction means extracts the plurality of representative images at regular intervals.

3. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising operation accepting means for accepting an operation performed by the user.

4. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising motion image playback means for, in response to selecting the at least one thumbnail image drawn by the image drawing means by the user via the operation accepting means, playing back a motion image starting from a playback position corresponding to the selected thumbnail image.

5. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image drawing means draws the at least one thumbnail image such that when the information associated with the motion image stored in the storage apparatus is presented on the calendar, the image drawing means initially draws a single thumbnail image that is expanded into a plurality of thumbnail images included in a set of motion image thumbnail images associated with the motion image or such that a plurality of expanded motion image thumbnail images are collapsed into a single thumbnail image, depending on a thumbnail image display mode specified by the user via the operation accepting means.

6. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the image drawing means draws the at least on thumbnail image included in the set of motion image thumbnail images in the expanded manner in the time order, the image drawing means draws the the at least one thumbnail image in a manner in which a film roll expands along which the thumbnail images included in the set of motion image thumbnail images are presented in an expanded manner in the order.

7. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image drawing means expands the thumbnail images in an animation format that indicates the manner in which the film roll expands, so that the progress of drawing the thumnail images in the expanded manner is displayed to the user.

8. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the highlight scenes are identified further based on evaluating image data associated with the motion image.

9. An information presenting method of presenting, to a user, information associated with each motion image stored in a storage apparatus, comprising the steps of:

identifying highlight scenes based on evaluating audio data associated with a motion image to obtain scenes including a specified person;

extracting a plurality of representative images from the motion image in accordance with the identified highlight scenes;

managing motion image thumbnail images, by producing thumbnail images of the each of the extracted representative images, relating each thumbnail images to a playback position in the motion image, and managing the thumbnail images as a set of motion image thumbnail images in accordance with a capturing time at which the motion image; and

drawing an image of information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus, at a location corresponding to the capturing time of the motion image, on a calendar,

wherein in the image drawing step, when the information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus is presented on the calendar, at least one thumbnail image in the set of motion image thumbnail images associated with the motion image are expanded in time order, and

wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a frame at which a zoom operation occurs.

10. The information presenting method according to claim 9, wherein the highlight scenes are identified further based on evaluating image data associated with the motion image.

11. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a face image of the specified person.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program executable by a computer to perform a process of presenting, to a user, information associated with each motion image stored in a storage apparatus, the process comprising the steps of:

identifying highlight scenes based on evaluating audio data associated with a motion image to obtain scenes including a specified person;

extracting a plurality of representative images from the motion image in accordance with the identified highlight scenes;

managing motion image thumbnail images, by producing thumbnail images of the each of the extracted representative images, relating each of the thumbnail images to a playback position in the motion image, and managing the thumbnail images as a set of motion image thumbnail images in accordance with a capturing time at which the motion image; and

drawing an image of information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus, at a location corresponding to the capturing time of the motion image, on a calendar,

wherein in the image drawing step, when the information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus is presented on the calander, at least one thumbnail image in the set of motion image thumbnail images associated with the motion image are expanded in the time order, and

wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a frame at which a zoom operation occurs.

13. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium according to claim 12, wherein the highlight scenes are identified further based on evaluating image data associated with the motion image.

14. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a frame at which a scene change occurs.

15. An information presenting apparatus adapted to present, to a user, information associated with each motion image stored in a storage apparatus, comprising:

frame selection method specifying unit adapted to identify highlight scenes based on evaluating audio data associated with a motion image to obtain scenes including a specified person;

frame extraction unit adapted to extract a plurality of representative images from the motion image in accordance with the identified highlight scenes;

motion image thumbnail image management unit adapted to produce thumbnail images of each of the extracted representative images, relating each of the thumbnail images to a playback position in the motion image, and managing the thumbnail images as a set of motion image thumbnail images in accordance with a capturing time at which the motion image was captured; and

image drawing unit adapted to draw information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus, at a location corresponding to the capturing time of the motion image, on a calendar,

wherein when the image drawing unit presents the information associated with each motion image stored in the storage apparatus on the calendar, the image drawing unit draws at least one thumbnail image in the set of motion image thumbnail images, for each motion image, in an expanded form in which the at least one thumbnail image is arranged in time order, and

wherein the audio data associated with the motion image is evaluated to obtain highlight scenes including a frame at which a zoom operation occurs.

16. The information presenting apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the highlight scenes are identified further based on evaluating image data associated with the motion image.