Apparatus, method and computer program product for using images in contact lists maintained in electronic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9571675-B2
Application number	US-82403007-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2007
Priority date	Jun 29, 2007
Publication date	Feb 14, 2017
Grant date	Feb 14, 2017

Abstract

An electronic device having a memory, a display, control apparatus and a data processor. When the data processor executes a program stored in the memory of the electronic device, the electronic device receives an image containing a person, the image further containing a face component, the face component containing the face of the person; displays the image on the display; locates the face component within the image; emphasizes the face component; receives image annotation information concerning the face component; and saves the image annotation information to the memory of the electronic device. The image annotation information may take the form of contact information for use in a contact database. A method uses the face component to locate other images in the database that also contain the person, and adds the annotation information to those images.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electronic device comprising:
at least one memory configured to store an image database; an image annotation database; and at least one program configured to control the electronic device when executed;
at least one display device configured to display visual information;
control apparatus configured to receive control commands from a user of the electronic device; and
at least one data processor configured to execute the at least one program, wherein when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is configured to receive an image; to perform face detection on the image to locate face components; in response to detection of at least one face component containing a face of at least one person, to save image annotation information identifying the location of the face component within the image to the image annotation database; to present the image using the display to a user so that the at least one face component is emphasized; to receive additional image annotation information selected by the user, the additional image annotation information concerning the at least one person; and to save the additional image annotation information to the image annotation database; and to allow the user to launch communication operations from the image in response to an image being annotated with annotation information, wherein when an image is first displayed, an icon is superimposed over a portion of the image containing a person to indicate whether a communication operation can be launched to the person contained in the image, and in response to an annotation that has not been created for the person, a communication operation cannot be initiated targeting the person.

2. The electronic device of claim 1 where the additional image annotation information comprises contact information.

3. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein to present the image to the user so that the at least one face component is emphasized further comprises to set off the face component with a graphical component when displaying the at least one image, the graphical component serving to distinguish the at least one face component from the remaining portion of the image.

4. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein to present the image to the user so that the at least one face component is emphasized further comprises to zoom the image when displaying the image so that the at least one face component occupies substantially all of the display.

5. The electronic device of claim 1 where the at least one program comprises face detection instructions that perform automated face detection when executed and wherein to perform face detection on the image further comprises to execute the face detection instructions so that automated face detection is performed on the image.

6. The electronic device of claim 1 where the at least one program comprises face component identification instructions that perform user-directed face component identification when executed and wherein to perform face detection on the image further comprises to execute the face component identification instructions; and to receive user commands entered with the control apparatus specifying the location of the face component within the image.

7. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein the at least one program comprises face recognition instructions and wherein when the face recognition instructions are executed the electronic device is further configured to search the image database using the at least one face component for other images containing the at least one person; and to save information to the at least one memory identifying other images containing the at least one person.

8. The electronic device of claim 7 wherein when the face recognition instructions are executed the electronic device is further configured to perform validation operations wherein the images located by the face recognition instructions using the face component are presented to the user to validate that the images do, in fact, contain the at least one person; and to save information to the at least one memory identifying other images containing the at least one person only for images validated by the user as containing the at least one person.

9. The electronic device of claim 7 wherein when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is further configured to detect the location of face components in the other images containing the at least one person; and to save to the image annotation database image annotation information identifying the locations of the face components in the other images.

10. The electronic device of claim 1 where when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is further configured to assign a unique identifier to the at least one face component, wherein the unique identifier is used to identify only face components containing the face of the at least one person.

11. The electronic device of claim 1 wherein when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is further configured to display an interactive graphical user interface for receiving annotation information; and wherein to receive additional image annotation information selected by a user further comprises to receive commands entered with the control apparatus specifying the additional image annotation information concerning the face component; and to display the additional image annotation information in the interactive graphical user interface.

12. The electronic device of claim 11 wherein when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is further configured to compare the additional image annotation information entered with the control apparatus to annotation information pre-existing in the image annotation database as the additional image annotation information is entered with the control apparatus; and, if a likely match is found, to display the likely matching annotation information pre-existing in the image annotation database in the interactive graphical user interface.

13. The electronic device of claim 12 wherein when the at least one program is executed the electronic device is further configured to present a choice to the user to confirm that the likely matching pre-existing annotation information is, in fact, a correct match for the face component; and to receive a response from the user identifying the likely matching pre-existing annotation information as a correct match.

14. The electronic device of claim 1 where the additional image annotation information is pre-existing in the at least one memory prior to receipt of the image containing the at least one person, and wherein to receive additional image annotation information further comprises to receive at least one command identifying the pre-existing additional image annotation information as concerning the face component.

15. The electronic device of claim 14 where the pre-existing additional image annotation information comprises a contact entry in a contact database.

16. The electronic device of claim 14 wherein to receive additional image annotation information further comprises to present the pre-existing additional image annotation information to the user in an interactive graphical user interface; to receive edits to the pre-existing additional image annotation information, creating edited annotation information; and to replace the pre-existing additional image annotation information with the edited information.

17. The electronic device of claim 1 further comprising an image capture device configured to capture images.

Assignees

• Wang Kongqiao
• Nokia Technologies Oy

Inventors

• Wang Kongqiao

Classifications

• H04N1/00437

  Intelligent menus, e.g. anticipating user selections · CPC title

• H04N2201/3273

  Display · CPC title

• H04N1/00408

  Display of information to the user, e.g. menus · CPC title

• H04N2201/3247

  Data linking a set of images to one another, e.g. sequence, burst or continuous capture mode · CPC title

• H04N2201/3209

  of a telephone number · CPC title