Information provision apparatus, information provision system and information provision method

• US 8,259,176 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Issued: 09/04/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Misawa, Takeshi, Mikami, Sumie, Koshiba, Masaaki, Yamazaki, Akihisa, Ota, Motoari
• Primary Examiner(s): Moise, Emmanuel L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kim, Edward
• Application Number:
  US11/723,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20070222797A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,993 Days
• Field of Search: 348143-161
• US Class Current: 348/158
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present invention, it is possible to visually show both of information which is originally visually recognizable and information which is originally not seen that have been provided from equipment on the same image, so that it is possible to grasp the content of information and the source of providing the information corresponding to or in association with each other. Furthermore, it is possible to view information difficult to visually recognize together with visually recognizable information, and it is possible to clearly grasp, in addition to information which can be visually obtained at the place where a user currently stays, information related to the visually obtained information, from an image visually indicating the association.

Claims

1. An information provision apparatus, comprising:

an acquisition section which captures, by an imaging element, an image in which a subject thereof is an equipment, wherein said equipment is configured to optically provide visually recognizable information and information difficult to visually recognize, to continuously acquire by said acquisition section an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information and said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize,

said information difficult to visually recognize being provided by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said equipment;

a display control section which converts said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize acquired by the acquisition section to visually recognizable picture information and displays said visually recognizable picture information and the image including said visually recognizable information on a display device, said picture information being superimposed on the image including said visually recognizable information; and

a display setting section which sets a characteristic of a picture visually indicating association between said visually recognizable information and said visually recognizable picture information,

wherein the display control section controls the display device to display the picture visually indicating the association on the image according to the characteristic set by the display setting section,

wherein the picture visually indicating the association includes at least any one of a picture in which the picture information is arranged near the visually recognizable information in the image, a picture in which a line positioned between the visually recognizable information in the image and the picture information is shown, a picture in which a words frame from the visually recognizable information in the image and the picture information arranged in the words frame are shown. a picture in which gradual appearance of the picture information from the visually recognizable information in the image is shown, and a picture in which the visually recognizable information in the image and the picture information are alternately displayed.

said information provision apparatus further comprising;

a recording section which records at least one of the image and the picture information in a condition that the picture information is visually associated with the visually recognizable information or in a condition that the picture information is not visually associated with the visually recognizable information,

a recording setting section which sets whether or not to record the image in the condition that the picture information is visually associated with the visually recognizable information, whether or not to separately record the information difficult to visually recognize or whether or not to separately record the image.

wherein the recording section records. according to the setting by the record setting section, the image in the condition that the picture information is visually associated with the visually recognizable information, separately records each of the image and the information difficult to visually recognize in the condition that the picture information is not visually associated with the visually recognizable information. separately records the information difficult to visually recognize or separately records the image,

further comprising a movement setting section which sets a destination position to which the picture information is to he moved on the display section,

wherein the display section moves the picture information to the movement destination position set by the movement setting section and displays the information at the position.

said information provision apparatus further comprising a display enable/disable setting section which sets whether or not to display the picture information,

wherein the display section displays or does not display the picture information according to the setting made by the display enable/disable setting section.

2. An information provision system, comprising:

an information provision section which optically provides visually recognizable information, and also provides information difficult to visually recognize by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said information provision section;

an acquisition section that captures, by an imaging element, an image in which a subject thereof is the information provision section, thus acquiring an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information, and said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize;

a display control section which converts the optically provided information difficult to visually recognize acquired by the acquisition section to visually recognizable picture information and displays said visually recognizable picture information and said image including said visually recognizable information on a display device, said visually recognizable picture information being superimposed on said image including said visually recognizable information; and

a display setting section which sets a characteristic of a picture visually indicating association between said visually recognizable information and said visually recognizable picture information,

wherein the display control section controls the display device to display the picture visually indicating said association on the image according to the characteristic set by the display setting section.

3. An information provision method, comprising the steps of:

capturing, by an imaging element, an image in which a subject thereof is an equipment, wherein said equipment is configured to optically provide visually recognizable information and information difficult to visually recognize, to continuously acquire by said capturing an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information, and said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize,

wherein said information difficult to visually recognize is provided by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said equipment;

converting said acquired information difficult to visually recognize to visually recognizable picture information, and displaying said visually recognizable picture information and said image including said visually recognizable information on a display device, said picture information being superimposed on said image including said visually recognizable information; and

setting a characteristic of a picture visually indicating association between said visually recognizable information and said visually recognizable picture information; and

displaying said picture visually indicating the association on the image according to the set characteristic.

4. An information provision apparatus, comprising:

an acquisition section which captures, by an imaging element, an image in which a subject thereof is an equipment, wherein said equipment is configured to optically provide visually recognizable information, information difficult to visually recognize, and classification information classifying the information difficult to visually recognize, to continuously acquire by said acquisition section, an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information, said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize and the classification information,

said information difficult to visually recognize being provided by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said equipment;

a display classification setting section which sets, using said classification information, information to be displayed from among said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize which has been acquired by the acquisition section; and

a display control section which converts said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize selected by the display classification setting section using said classification information to visually recognizable picture information, and displays said visually recognizable picture information and said image on the display device, said picture information being superimposed on said image.

5. An information provision apparatus, comprising:

an acquisition section which captures, by an imaging element. an image in which a subject thereof is an equipment, wherein said equipment is configured to optically provide visually recognizable information, information difficult to visually recognize, and trigger information which is information specifying a source of providing information related to the visually recognizable information. to continuously acquire by said acquisition section an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information, said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize and the trigger information,

said information difficult to visually recognize being provided by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said equipment;

a display control section which converts said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize acquired by the acquisition section to visually recognizable picture information, and displays at least one of said visually recognizable picture information and the trigger information on the image including said visually recognizable information in association with the image on the display device;

an information selection section which selects desired trigger information among the trigger information displayed on the display device; and

a related information provision section which acquires and provides related information from a provision source specified by the trigger information selected by the information selection section,

wherein

the trigger information includes the address of a content data delivery source; and

the related information provision section comprises a communication section which connects to the address of the content data delivery source included in the trigger information selected by the information selection section to acquire the related information, and

wherein

the trigger information includes the telephone number of the source of providing the visually recognizable information; and

the related information provision section comprises a telephone conversation section which connects to the telephone number included in the trigger information selected by the information selection section to transmit and receive at least conversation voice.

6. An information provision apparatus, comprising:

an acquisition section which captures by an imaging element, an image in which a subject thereof is an equipment, wherein said equipment is configured to optically provide visually recognizable information and information difficult to visually recognize, to continuously acquire by said acquisition section an image including said optically provided visually recognizable information and said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize,

said information difficult to visually recognize being provided by controlling a frequency of a blink of one or more light emitters included in said equipment;

an area recognition section which recognizes an area for which the equipment provides visually recognizable information; and

a display control section which converts said optically provided information difficult to visually recognize acquired by the acquisition section to visually recognizable picture information, and displays said visually recognizable picture information on a display device in a condition that said visually recognizable picture information is superimposed on the area in the image including the visually recognizable information, which has been recognized by the area recognition section, in a manner that the picture information fits to the area.