Image display method, program, and image display apparatus

• US 8,023,032 B2
• Filed: 01/27/2009
• Issued: 09/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Yoshikawa, Tomoyasu, Aratani, Shuntaro, Ohno, Tomoyuki, Miyamoto, Katsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ye; Lin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cowan; Euel K
• Application Number:
  US12/360,298
• Publication Number:
  US 20090142005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 966 Days
• Field of Search: 34833301-33307, 715/790, 715/791, 715/764, 382/214, 382/190, 345/665, 345/629, 345/421
• US Class Current: 348/333.05
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/16 Human faces, e.g. facial parts, sketches or expressions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4184 providing storage capabilities, e.g. memory stick
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4221 Dedicated function buttons, e.g. for the control of an EPG, subtitles, aspect ratio, picture-in-picture or teletext
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4312 involving specific graphical features, e.g. screen layout, special fonts or colors, blinking icons, highlights or animations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/44008 involving operations for analysing video streams, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in the video stream arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of video in broadcast systems H04H60/59
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8153 comprising still images, e.g. texture, background image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/45 Picture in picture , e.g. displaying simultaneously another television channel in a region of the screen

Abstract

A table is allocated indexes corresponding to display positions on a monitor screen, respectively, and data indicating an unexposed part at each of the display positions is stored in each index of the table. Focal position information is acquired from Exif header information on image data of an image, and a location of one of the indexes in the table at which no image data is registered is searched in an ascending order of the indexes. According to the table, the images are arranged so that the focal position of each image differs from the unexposed part at the display position of the image.

Claims

1. An image display method of displaying a plurality of images on a screen with overlaps, the method comprising the steps of:

specifying a face area of an object contained in each of the plurality of images by means of automatic face detection;

determining a display position on the screen of each of the plurality of images, so such that the specified face area of an image is not hidden by other images; and

displaying the plurality of images on the screen with overlaps in accordance with the determined display position of each image,

wherein said determining step includes determining the display position on the screen of the image such that a partial area including a focal position of an image is not hidden by other images, when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified in said specifying step.

5. An image display method according to claim 1, wherein said determining step includes determining the display position on the screen of an image such that a partial area including a plurality of focal positions of the image is not hidden by other images, when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified in said specifying step.

6. An image display method according to claim 1, wherein said determining step includes determining the display position on the screen of an image such that a partial area including a central position of an image is not hidden by other images, when no focal position of the image is acquired.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer-executable program for causing a computer to perform a method according to claim 1.

2. An image display apparatus for displaying a plurality of images on a screen with overlaps, comprising:

a face specifying unit that specifies a face area of an object contained in each of the plurality of images by means of automatic face detection;

a determination unit that determines a display position on the screen of each of the plurality of images, such that the specified face area of an image is not hidden by other images; and

a displaying unit that displays the plurality of images on the screen with overlaps in accordance with the determined display position of each image,

wherein said determination unit further determines the display position on the screen of an image such that a partial area including a focal position of an image is not hidden by other images when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified by said face specifying unit.

8. An image display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said determination unit determines the display position on the screen of an image such that a partial area including a plurality of focal positions of an image is not hidden by other images, when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified by said specifying unit.

9. An image display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said determination unit further determines the display position on the screen of an image such that a partial area including a central position of an image is not hidden by other images, when no focal position of an image is acquired.

3. An image display method of displaying a plurality of images on a screen with overlaps, the method comprising the steps of:

specifying a face area of an object contained in each of the plurality of images by means of automatic face detection;

determining a display position on the screen of each of the plurality of images such that the specified face area of an image is not hidden by other images; and

displaying the plurality of images on the screen with overlaps in accordance with the determined display position of each image,

wherein said determining step includes determining the display position on the screen of the image such that a partial area including a central position of an image is not hidden by other images, when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified in said specifying step.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a computer-executable program for causing a computer to perform a method according to claim 3.

4. An image display apparatus for displaying a plurality of images on a screen with overlaps, comprising:

a face specifying unit that specifies a face area of an object contained in each of the plurality of images by means of automatic face detection;

a determination unit that determines a display position on the screen of each of the plurality of images such that the specified face area of each image is not hidden by other images; and

a displaying unit that displays the plurality of images on the screen with overlaps in accordance with the determined display position of each image,

wherein said determination unit further determines the display position on the screen of the image such that a partial area including a central position of an image is not hidden by other images, when no face area of any object contained in an image is specified by said face specifying unit.