Patent Application
20170214849
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a) to Patent Application No. 105102415 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Jan. 26, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a photo recording system, and particularly to a method of automatically recording baby photos and a baby photo recording system.
Related Art
With the prevalence of mobile computing devices, Apps have become software development projects for many software designers. There is a great variety of Apps, and the software designers also develop lots of Apps for applications such as photo management or diary. However, although the current Apps can provide an edit screen for users to add baby photos and edit texts, the users need to take photos in advance and manually add the photos after screening the photos on their own.
In view of the above problems, embodiments of the present invention propose a method and system of automatically recording baby photos and a computer program product, which can automatically capture baby photos according to a set shooting condition, and in a preset period, select a representative photo from the captured photos according to a set screening condition. Thus, users can save the process of repeatedly photographing and screening photos, and can directly enjoy the result of browsing photos of the growing process of the baby.
In an embodiment, the method of automatically recording baby photos includes: generating multiple image frames by shooting a baby; analyzing the image frames, to capture at least one of the image frames meeting a shooting condition as at least one target photo; storing the target photo; selecting, under a screening condition, one of the target photos in each preset period as a representative photo respectively; and placing the representative photos into a record template to form a photo record.
In another embodiment, the baby photo recording system includes: an image module, an analysis module, a screening module, at least one network transmission module, and at least one network receiving module. The image module may generate multiple image frames by shooting a baby. The analysis module analyzes the image frames, to capture at least one of the image frames meeting a shooting condition as at least one target photo. The screening module selects, under a screening condition, one of the target photos in each preset period as a representative photo respectively. The network transmission module transmits image data, the image data including at least one of the image frames, the at least one target photo, and the representative photos. The network receiving module receives the image data transmitted by the network transmission module.
In a further embodiment, the baby photo recording system includes: a network photographic device and a first remote processing device. The image module, the analysis module, and a first network transmission module are sequentially electrically connected to be disposed in the network photographic device, and a first network receiving module and the screening module are sequentially electrically connected to be disposed in the first remote processing device. The first network transmission module transmits the at least one target photo to the first network receiving module, to let the first remote processing device screen out a representative photo from the at least one target photo.
In another embodiment, the baby photo recording system includes: a network photographic device and a first remote processing device. The image module and a first network transmission module are sequentially electrically connected to be disposed in the network photographic device, and a first network receiving module, the analysis module, and the screening module are sequentially electrically connected to be disposed in the first remote processing device. The first network transmission module transmits the image frames to the first network receiving module, to let the first remote processing device capture at least one target photo from the image frames and screen out a representative photo therefrom.
In another embodiment, the baby photo recording system includes: a network photographic device and a first remote processing device. The image module, the analysis module, the screening module, and a first network transmission module are sequentially electrically connected to be disposed in the network photographic device, and a first network receiving module is disposed in the first remote processing device. The first network transmission module transmits the representative photos selected by the screening module to the first network receiving module.
In the foregoing embodiments, the first remote processing device may further include a recording module that places the representative photos into a record template to form a photo record.
In some embodiments, the baby photo recording system further includes a second remote processing device, to be online with the first remote processing device. A second network transmission module is disposed in the first remote processing device and electrically connected to the screening module, and a second network receiving module is disposed in the second remote processing device. The second network transmission module selects representative photos and transmits the representative photos to the second network receiving module. The second remote processing device further includes a recording module, electrically connected to the second network receiving module, to place the representative photos in a record template to form a photo record.
In a yet another embodiment, a computer program product is executed by a remote processing device, and cooperates with the baby photo recording system. The computer program product includes a communication module and a record generation module. The communication module receives, via a network interface, the representative photo in each default period transmitted from the network transmission module. The record generation module places the representative photos in a record template to form a photo record.
It should be understood that, when “an embodiment” is described in the following, it indicates that the technical features, structures or characteristics described in combination with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. The expressions “in an embodiment” and “in some embodiments” appearing in the description may involve many different embodiments, and individual embodiments or other embodiments do not conflict with each other.
It should be understood that, when one element being “connected to” another element is described in the following, it may mean that two elements are directly connected or there is an intermediate element therebetween. On the contrary, when one element is “directly connected to” another element, there is no intermediate element.
The terms used herein are only for description of special embodiments, but are not used to limit the present invention. For example, identical element symbols in the full text represent identical elements. Although the terms such as “first” and “second” are used herein to describe different elements, the order of the elements is not limited by the terms. Herein, the term “and/or” used includes any or all combinations of one or more of the listed items. It should be understood that the singular forms “one” and “the” may also include plural forms, unless definitely indicated in the context.
It should also be understood that, when the term “include” or “have” is used in the description to describe existence of a certain feature, step, element and/or component, existence or addition of one or more other features, steps, elements, components and/or a combination thereof is not excluded.
In addition, “electrically connected” described hereinafter refers to making two devices or elements transfer an electrical signal therebetween by electrical coupling and/or electrical conduction.
Referring to
The network photographic device 110 may be a wired network camera, a wireless network camera or a digital camera or digital camcorder with a networking function, that is, the first network transmission module 113 may support wired network communication (e.g., Ethernet) and/or support wireless network communication (e.g., Wireless Fidelity, Wi-Fi) and can be connected to the Internet or a local area network. The first remote processing device 120 may be a computer device (e.g., server) having a great number of computing resources (e.g., processing power or storage capacity), and may be mounted to a rack or other stationary structures. However, the first remote processing device 120 may also be any computer unit providing information for other devices. Therefore, the first remote processing device 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention does not specifically limit the nature of the computing resources. Sometimes, a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a mobile device (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, etc.) may serve as the first remote processing device 120. The second remote processing device 130 may be an electronic device that can be connected to the Internet and/or a local area network, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer or a mobile device (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, etc.).
In the network photographic device 110, the image module 111 includes components such as a lens and an image sensor, and can generate multiple image frames by shooting a baby. The image frames can be output in a video stream or be stored as one or more video files. The image module 111 can fixedly shoot towards a certain direction. In some embodiments, the image module 111 further includes a steering head, a drive motor, and a control chip, and can control a shooting direction automatically or under an external control.
The analysis module 112 may include a processor (not shown) having a computing capability, such as a microprocessor, a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD) or a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The analysis module 112 may include a storage unit (not shown), which may be a built-in non-transient memory built in the processor or an external non-transient memory located outside the processor and may store setting parameters including a shooting condition. In addition, the storage unit may also temporarily store image frames to be analyzed, for the processor to determine to capture which image frame or image frames meeting the shooting condition. In other words, after receiving the image frames output by the image module 111, the analysis module 112 may analyze the image frames. When the analyzed image frames meet the shooting condition, it may capture the image frames meeting the shooting condition as target photos. The captured target photos are stored in the storage unit. After analysis, the image frames temporarily stored in the storage unit may be deleted, and only desired target photos are kept, whereby the demand of storage capacity can be reduced. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in the case of having a sufficient storage capacity, the image frames may be kept continuously, to facilitate later use in need.
Herein, the shooting condition may be a detection parameter such as particular facial expressions (such as smile, cry, angry, yawn) and/or particular body movements (such as kick, wave, turn over) of the baby. The shooting condition may include one or more detection parameters. In the case of multiple detection parameters, the detection parameters may have an “AND” logic, “OR” logic, “NOT” logic or other logic relations therebetween.
In an embodiment, the shooting condition further includes a body variation amplitude. If the body variation amplitude is less than a default value than a previous image frame, the image is not captured, thereby reducing the data computing load.
In an embodiment, the analysis module 112 only analyzes one region in the image frames, to reduce the computing amount.
The first network transmission module 113 is connected to the Internet and/or the local area network, and can transmit one or more target photos to the first remote processing device 120. In addition, as required, the first network transmission module 113 may further transmit one or more of the image frames to the first remote processing device 120. In an embodiment, the network photographic device 110 may further include another network receiving module (not shown), and can receive, directly or via the first remote processing device 120, the shooting condition transmitted by the second remote processing device 130 via the Internet or the local area network, to set parameters. That is to say, the user can operate the second remote processing device 130 to set the shooting condition. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the shooting condition may also be preset.
In the first remote processing device 120, the first network receiving module 121 receives image data (i.e., target photos and/or image frames) transmitted by the first network transmission module 113. The screening module 122 includes a computing unit and a storage medium (not shown). The storage medium may be a hard disc, a solid-state drive, a memory card or a pen drive, etc. The computing unit may be a single-core or multi-core central processing unit. The storage medium may store the image data received by the first network receiving module 121, and may store the parameter setting including a screening condition. The computing unit selects, under the screening condition, one from the target photos in each preset period (e.g., one weak, one day, one hour or several hours, etc.) respectively as a representative photo. The selected representative photo is stored in the storage medium and can be transmitted by the second network transmission module 123 via the Internet and/or the local area network. The first network receiving module 121 and the second network transmission module 123 may support wired network communication (e.g., Ethernet) and/or support wireless network communication (e.g., Wi-Fi). Moreover, the first network receiving module 121 and the second network transmission module 123 may be integrated to the same network chip, and can receive and transmit data at the same time. Herein, the first network receiving module 121 may also receive the screening condition transmitted by the second remote processing device 130, to set parameters. That is to say, the user can operate the second remote processing device 130 to set the screening condition. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited thereto, and the screening condition may also be preset.
Herein, the screening condition may screen sequentially according to at least one part of the detection parameters. For example, target photos of smile are first screened, then target photos having a wave action are selected from the target photos of smile, next the target photos are screened under a condition of kicks, and finally target photos having smile, wave and kick actions at the same time can be selected. In other words, the screening condition may include multiple detection parameters, and the detection parameters have priority therebetween. The relation between the detection parameters, in addition to the “AND” logic, may also be other logic relations, such as “OR” logic and “NOT” logic.
In some embodiments, the screening condition may also, according to an image quality parameter of the target photos, for example, clarity and/or brightness, cause the screened target photos to be clear rather than out-of-focus photos or photos with inadequate or excessive brightness. That is to say, screening may be conducted with respect to the facial expressions and/or body movements, and then screening is conducted with respect to the image quality parameter. However, the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the order, and vice versa.
In some embodiments, the analysis module 112 of the network photographic device 110 analyzes the image frames, to record a time stamp corresponding to image frames meeting the shooting condition in metadata. After the first network transmission module 113 of the network photographic device 110 transmits the image frames and the metadata to the first remote processing device 120, the screening module 122 of the first remote processing device can analyze the image frames corresponding to the time stamp according to the metadata, to capture the image frames meeting the shooting condition as target photos.
Through the above baby photo recording system, a representative photo in each preset period can be stored automatically. The second remote processing device 130 can obtain the representative photo in each preset period from the first remote processing device 120, enabling the user to easily recall changes in the growing process of the baby.
Referring to
The first network transmission module 212 of the network photographic device 210 transmits the image frames generated by the image module 211 to the first remote processing device 220 via the Internet and/or a local area network. The first network receiving module 221 of the first remote processing device 220 receives the image frames transmitted by the network photographic device 210, and hands the image frames over to the analysis module 222 for analysis, and image frames meeting a shooting condition are captured as target photos. Then, the screening module 223 may select, under the shooting condition, one from the target photos in each default period as a representation photo. The second network transmission module 224 can, according to a request from the second remote processing device 230, transmit the representative photo to the second remote processing device 230 via the Internet and/or the local area network. In some embodiments, the analysis module 222 and the screening module 223 may be integrated together, and can capture target photos and select representative photos with a single processor (or computing unit), and store the target photos and the representative photos with a single storage unit (or storage medium). In addition, the storage unit and/or the storage medium may also store the received image frames, for the second remote processing device 230 to access.
Referring to
As shown in
The first remote processing device 320 of this embodiment includes a first network receiving module 321 and a recording module 322. The recording module 322 may place the representative photos in a record template to form a photo record 700. Different from the first and second embodiment, the first remote processing device 320 of this embodiment obtains one or more representative photos from the network photographic device 310, without screening the image frames or analyzing the target photos on its own.
Referring to
Referring to
The hardware architecture of the first remote processing device (320, 420, 520) of the third to fifth embodiments may be the same as that shown in
Referring to
The communication module 810 may receive a representative photo in each default period via the network interface 610. The record generation module 820 stores one or more record templates, for the user to select a record template to be used, and places the representative photos in the selected record template to form a photo record 700 in the form of a file, which is stored in the recording unit 630. The record generation module 820 may read the photo record 700 stored in the recording unit 630, and display the photo record via the screen 640.
In the first and second embodiments, the communication module 810 may further receive other target photos which are not representative photos from the first remote processing device (120, 220) via the network interface 610. In the third embodiment, the communication module 810 may receive other target photos which are not representative photos from the network photographic device 310 via the network interface 610. In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the recording module (423, 524) of the first remote processing device (420, 520) has stored all the target photos. Therefore, in the first to fifth embodiments, the photo browsing module 830 may display multiple target photos (including representative photos and non-representative photos) corresponding to a particular period (e.g., one weak, one day, one hour or several hours, etc., which may generally match the foregoing preset period) via the screen 640. The photo browsing module 830 may detect an input of the user via an input interface 650 (e.g., a touch screen, a mouse, a keyboard, etc.), and in response to the input, selects one of the target photos corresponding to the particular period as an alternate photo. The record generation module 820 changes a representative photo in the photo records 700 corresponding to the particular period to the alternate photo. Thus, the user can replace the representative photos automatically selected originally by the baby photo recording system as other target photos at will according to preference.
The photo update module 840 may receive an updated photo imported externally (e.g., another App or file management system). The record generation module 820 may change a representative photo in the photo record 700 corresponding to a particular period into the updated photo. Thus, the user can replace the representative photo with another photo not captured by the baby photo recording system at will according to preference.
In some embodiments, as the screening module (122, 223) of the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the screening module 313 of the network photographic device 310 also stores representative photos of respective preset periods, the user may also change one or more representative photos stored by the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310 into the alternate photo or updated photo.
Herein, how the one or more representative photos stored by the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310 are changed is additionally explained. The communication module 810 may establish a link with the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310, and the photo browsing module 830 may read and display the representative photos stored by the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310, for the user to select. The communication module 810 may transmit the alternate photo selected by the user which is detected by the photo browsing module 830, or transmit the updated photo received by the photo update module 840. Hence, the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310 can change the corresponding representative photo into the received alternate photo or updated photo.
In addition, at the beginning of executing the computer program product by the processing unit 620, the communication module 810 can connect the first remote processing device (120, 220) or the network photographic device 310 which stores representative photos via a network interface 610, to confirm whether the representative photos are changed. If yes, the communication module 810 may download a new representative photo, and the record generation module 820 may replace the representative photo corresponding to a preset period with the downloaded new representative photo. Thus, the user, if having multiple remote processing devices (i.e., first remote processing device (320) or second remote processing device (130, 230)), can keep consistency between the photo records 700 of the remote processing devices.
The desktop setting module 850 may periodically (e.g., every day) set the representative photo as an operating system scenery of the second remote processing device (130, 230) or the first remote processing device (320, 420, 520). For example, if the preset period is every day, the desktop setting module may set the latest representative photo of every day as an operating system scenery. The user can see different baby photos every day, thus providing freshness and interestingness.
Referring to
The text editing module 860 may provide a text edit region 920, and can receive a text input via the input interface 650 and add input texts to the record template, to form annotations corresponding to the representative photo 910. Thus, the user can add literal descriptions for each representative photo 910, so that memory will be left when the user recalls the photo record 700.
The community module 870 may provide a shared link 930 corresponding to the representative photo 910, and the community module 870, in response to a trigger from a certain shared link 930, may upload the corresponding representative photo 910 to a community platform via the communication module 810, so that photos can be shared with friends of the user via the community platform.
The setting module 880 may provide a set screen (not shown), and can, in response to an input of the user via the input interface 650, generate a parameter setting (e.g., the foregoing shooting condition and/or screening condition). The communication module 810 may transmit the parameter setting to the network photographic device (110, 210, 310, 410) or the first remote processing device (120, 220).
In combination with the first to fifth embodiments, the baby photo recording system includes a image module (111, 211, 311, 411, 511), an analysis module (122, 222, 312, 412, 522), a screening module (122, 223, 313, 422, 523), at least one network transmission module (which refers to the first network transmission module (113, 212) and the second network transmission module (123, 224) in the first and second embodiments; and refers to the first network transmission module (314, 413, 512) in the third to fifth embodiments), and at least one network receiving module (which refers to the first network receiving module (121, 221) and the second network receiving module (131, 231) in the first and second embodiments; and refers to the first network receiving module (321, 421, 521) in the third to fifth embodiments), and can automatically record photos of a baby, and select a representative photo 710 in a preset period. The at least one network transmission module and the at least one network receiving module are disposed in different positions but can cross geographical restrictions to allow the user to browse the photo record 700 presenting the representative photos 710. In some embodiments, the baby photo recording system further includes a recording module (132, 232, 322, 423, 524) located in the second remote processing device (130, 230) and the first remote processing device (320, 420, 520), electrically connected to a network receiving module (i.e., the second network receiving module (131, 231), the first network receiving module (321, 421, 521)).
It should be particularly noted that, although the embodiment is described with two devices (e.g., the network photographic device 310 and the first remote processing device 320) or three devices (e.g., the network photographic device 110, the first remote processing device 120, and the second remote processing device 130), the present invention is not limited thereto. Herein, description is given based on a sixth embodiment. Referring to
Further, compared with the hardware shown in
Referring to
In an embodiment, step S1020 further includes the following steps: (1) analyzing the image frames; (2) storing a time stamp corresponding to the image frames meeting the shooting condition in metadata; and (3) searching and capturing the image frames corresponding to the time stamp according to the metadata. Target images can be quickly found according to the time stamp stored by the metadata, to facilitate screening in the subsequent step S1040.
To sum up, the method of automatically recording baby photos and the baby photo recording system proposed in the embodiments of the present invention can automatically record baby photos in each default period, and the user can set a screening condition on his/her own. In addition, the photo record 700 generated automatically enables the user to browse the photos conveniently.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 105102415 | Jan 2016 | TW | national |
