IMAGE PHOTOGRAPHING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME

• US 20110085061A1
• Filed: 09/23/2010
• Published: 04/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Byoung Woo
• Application Number:
  US12/888,526
• Publication Number:
  US 20110085061A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/240.99
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/611 where the recognised objects include parts of the human body
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2430/20 Processing of the output signals of the acoustic transducers of an array for obtaining a desired directivity characteristic H04R2203/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/004 for microphones H04R29/007 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

An image photographing apparatus to adjust gain and directivity of a signal input via a microphone according to the position of a subject, and a method of controlling the same. The image photographing apparatus includes a face recognition unit to detect a face of a subject, a control unit to calculate a distance between the subject and the image photographing apparatus according to zoom ratio information of the image photographing apparatus and the size of the face and to calculate a position angle of the subject according to the zoom ratio information of the image photographing apparatus and a position coordinate of the subject, and an audio processing unit to adjust gain of a signal input via a microphone according to the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject and to adjust directivity of the signal input via the microphone according to the position angle of the subject.

Claims

1. A method of controlling an image photographing apparatus, the method comprising:

calculating a distance between the image photographing apparatus and a subject according to a zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus and a facial size of the subject; and

adjusting gain of a signal input via a microphone according to the distance.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a position angle of the subject and adjusting directivity of the signal input via the microphone according to the position angle of the subject.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the calculating of the position angle of the subject includes checking a position coordinate of the subject and calculating the position angle proportional to a distance between the position coordinate and a central coordinate of a screen of the image photographing apparatus.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the calculating of the position angle of the subject includes correcting the position angle proportional to the distance between the position coordinate and the central coordinate of the screen of the image photographing apparatus according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculating the position angle of the subject.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject includes estimating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to the facial size of the subject, correcting the estimated distance according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the estimating of the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to the facial size of the subject includes estimating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to a table in which the facial size of the subject is mapped to the distance.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting of the gain of the signal input via the microphone according to the distance includes adjusting the intensity of the gain of the signal input via the microphone in proportion to the distance.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a face recognition audio mode with the image photographic apparatus.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

when it is determined that the face recognition audio mode is selected, detecting a face of the subject of an image input into the image photographing apparatus.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the detecting the face of the subject comprises:

extracting a feature value of the face.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the detecting the face of the subject comprises:

detecting the face of the subject using template matching.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

when the face of the subject is detected, calculating a facial size and estimating a distance of the subject using the calculated facial size.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

correcting the estimated distance between the subject and the image forming apparatus according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus.

14. A method of controlling an image photographing apparatus, the method comprising:

calculating a position angle of a subject according to a zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus and a position coordinate of the subject; and

adjusting directivity of a signal input via a microphone according to the position angle.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the calculating of the position angle of the subject includes checking a position coordinate of the subject and calculating the position angle proportional to a distance between the position coordinate and a central coordinate of a screen of the image photographing apparatus.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the calculating of the position angle of the subject includes correcting the position angle proportional to the distance between the position coordinate and the central coordinate of the screen of the image photographing apparatus according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculating the position angle of the subject.

17. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

calculating a distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to a facial size of the subject and the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus; and

adjusting gain of the signal input via the microphone according to the distance.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the calculating of the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject includes estimating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to the facial size of the subject, correcting the estimated distance according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the estimating of the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to the facial size of the subject includes estimating the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject according to a table in which the facial size of the subject is mapped to the distance.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein the adjusting of the gain of the signal input via the microphone according to the distance includes adjusting the intensity of the gain of the signal input via the microphone in proportional to the distance.

21. The method according to claim 14, further comprising:

receiving a selection of a face recognition audio mode with the image photographic apparatus.

22. The method according to claim 15, further comprising:

when it is determined that the face recognition audio mode is selected, detecting a face of the subject of an image input into the image photographing apparatus.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the detecting the face of the subject comprises:

extracting a feature value of the face.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the detecting the face of the subject comprises:

detecting the face of the subject using template matching.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

when the face of the subject is detected, calculating a facial size and estimating a distance of the subject using the calculated facial size.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:

correcting the estimated distance between the subject and the image forming apparatus according to a zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus.

27. An image photographing apparatus comprising:

a face recognition unit to detect a face of a subject;

a control unit to calculate a distance between the subject and the image photographing apparatus according to zoom ratio information of the image photographing apparatus and a size of the face; and

an audio processing unit to adjust gain of a signal input via a microphone according to the distance.

28. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the control unit estimates the distance between the image photographing unit and the subject according to the size of the face of the subject, corrects the estimated distance according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculates the distance between the image photographing apparatus and the subject.

29. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the audio processing unit adjusts the intensity of the gain of the signal input via the microphone in proportion to the calculated distance.

30. An image photographing apparatus comprising:

a control unit to calculate a position angle of a subject according to zoom ratio information of the image photographing apparatus and a position coordinate of the subject; and

an audio processing unit to adjust directivity of a signal input via a microphone according to the position angle.

31. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the control unit checks the position coordinate of the subject and calculates the position angle proportional to a distance between the position coordinate and a central coordinate of a screen of the image photographing apparatus.

32. The image photographing apparatus according to claim 30, wherein the control unit corrects the position angle proportional to the distance between the position coordinate and the central coordinate of the screen of the image photographing apparatus according to the zoom ratio of the image photographing apparatus, and calculates the position angle of the subject.