Image processing apparatus, image processing method, program, and storage medium with length-to-breath image conversion and superimposing of images

• US 7,663,675 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2006
• Issued: 02/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Miura, Hiroya
• Primary Examiner(s): Ho; Tuan
• Assistant Examiner(s): WANG, KENT F
• Application Number:
  US11/394,486
• Publication Number:
  US 20060221210A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,418 Days
• Field of Search: 348/239, 348/333.02
• US Class Current: 348/239
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/431 Generation of visual interfaces for content selection or interaction; Content or additional data rendering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/531 being rotatable or detachable
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/633 for displaying additional information relating to control or operation of the camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/44504 Circuit details of the additional information generator, e.g. details of the character or graphics signal generator, overlay mixing circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/0122 the input and the output signals having different aspect ratios

Abstract

This invention prevents quality deterioration and positional shift of OSD when an image and the OSD are to be together displayed by LB display. An image processing apparatus having a function of superposing a second image on a first image includes a converter (103) which converts the length-to-breadth ratio of at least the first image, a first superposing unit (101) which superposes the second image on the first image before the length-to-breadth ratio is converted by the converter (103), and a second superposing unit (105) which superposes the second image on the first image after the length-to-breadth ratio is converted by the converter (103).

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus including a function of superposing a second image on a first image, comprising:

a converting device which converts a length-to-breadth ratio of at least the first image;

a first superposing device which superposes the second image on the first image before the length-to-breadth ratio is converted by said converting device; and

a second superposing device which superposes the second image on the first image after the length-to-breadth ratio is converted by said converting device,

wherein, when the first image converted by said converting device is to be displayed on a display device comprising a screen with a length-to-breadth ratio corresponding to the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image which is not converted by said converting device, said second superposing device superposes the second image on the first image such that the second image is displayed within an effective range of the first image displayed on the screen of said display device.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a case in which a positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important, said first superposing device superposes the second image on the first image, and then said converting device converts the length-to-breadth ratio of the superposed image, and, in a case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is not important, said converting device converts the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image, and then said second superposing device superposes the second image on the first image including the converted length-to-breadth ratio.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the second image comprises an auto-focus frame indicating an in-focus position on the screen.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the second image comprises a selection frame indicating that a predetermined region on the screen is selected.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the first image comprises a plurality of thumbnail images, and the second image comprises attribute information related to a thumbnail image.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is not important is a case in which the second image comprises arbitrary character information.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said converting device converts a squeezed image into a letter box image.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting device which, when the first image converted by said converting device is to be displayed on a display device comprising a screen with a length-to-breadth ratio corresponding to the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image which is not converted by said converting device, sets an arbitrary color as a color of a region except for an effective range of the first image displayed on the screen of said display device.

9. An image processing method of superposing a second image on a first image, comprising:

a conversion step of converting a length-to-breadth ratio of at least the first image;

a first superposition step of superposing the second image on the first image before the length-to-breadth ratio is converted in the conversion step; and

a second superposition step of superposing the second image on the first image after the length-to-breadth ratio is converted in the conversion step,

wherein, when the first image converted in the conversion step is to be displayed on a display device comprising a screen with a length-to-breadth ratio corresponding to the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image which is not converted in the conversion step, the second image is superposed on the first image in the second superposition step such that the second image is displayed within an effective range of the first image displayed on the screen of the display device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, in a case in which a positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important, the second image is superposed on the first image in the first superposition step, and then the length-to-breadth ratio of the superposed image is converted in the conversion step, and, in a case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is not important, the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image is converted in the conversion step, and then the second image is superposed on the first image including the converted length-to-breadth ratio in the second superposition step.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the second image comprises an auto-focus frame indicating an in-focus position on the screen.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the second image comprises a selection frame indicating that a predetermined region on the screen is selected.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is important is a case in which the first image comprises a plurality of thumbnail images, and the second image comprises attribute information related to a thumbnail image.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the case in which the positional relationship of the second image to the first image on a screen is not important is a case in which the second image comprises arbitrary character information.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein a squeezed image is converted into a letter box image in the conversion step.

16. The method according to claim 9, further comprising a setting step of, when the first image converted in the conversion step is to be displayed on a display device comprising a screen with a length-to-breadth ratio corresponding to the length-to-breadth ratio of the first image which is not converted in the conversion step, setting an arbitrary color as a color of a region except for an effective range of the first image displayed on the screen of the display device.

17. A computer readable storage medium storing a program which causes a computer to execute an image processing method cited in claim 9.