Image information processing system, image information processing apparatus, image information outputting method, code information processing apparatus and program thereof

Abstract

An image information processing system, which processes image information of a customer wearing products, includes: a customer information database, storing customer information in association with customer code information; and a product information database, enabling storage of product information, concerning the products that the customer wears, in association with order code information. Acquisition of the image information of the customer in the state of wearing products is enabled by a digital camera, and by means of a trial fitting catalog preparation process, a trial fitting catalog, in which the image information acquired by the digital camera unit are included with the customer code information of the customer, who wore the products, and the order code information on the products, is prepared and output by a printer.

1 . An image information processing system, which processes image information of a customer wearing products, the image information processing system comprising: 
 a customer information database, which stores customer information in association with customer code information;    a product information database, enabled to store product information concerning the products, worn by the customer, in association with order code information;    an image information acquisition unit, enabled to acquire image information of the customer wearing the products; and    an output unit, which outputs the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit together with the customer code information of the customer who wore the products and the order code information of the products.    
   
   
       2 . The image information processing system according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 the output unit outputs the order code information in a state that is recognizable by an apparatus and a customer.    
   
   
       3 . The image information processing system according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 the customer information stored in the customer information database contains information indicating that the customer has put on products.    
   
   
       4 . The image information processing system according to  claim 1 , wherein 
 the order code information is information enabling batch ordering of a plurality of products.    
   
   
       5 . An image information processing system comprising: 
 a trial fitting catalog reading unit, enabled to read a trial fitting catalog containing image information of a customer wearing products and information on the customer who wears the products;    a recognition unit, which recognizes the information on the customer contained in the trial fitting catalog that has been read by the trial fitting catalog reading unit; and    a customer information reading unit, which reads, based on the information on the customer recognized by the recognition unit, customer information from a customer information database.    
   
   
       6 . The image information processing system according to  claim 5 , further comprising: 
 a product information reading unit, wherein    the trial fitting catalog that is read by the trial fitting catalog reading unit contains information on the products that have been worn,    the recognition unit recognizes the information on the products contained in the trial fitting catalog, and    the product information reading unit reads, based on the information on the products recognized by the recognition unit, product information from a product information database.    
   
   
       7 . The image information processing system according to  claim 6 , further comprising: 
 a customer information management unit, which makes the results of order processing, based on the product information read by the product information reading unit, be reflected and stored in the customer information database.    
   
   
       8 . An image information processing system comprising: 
 an image information acquisition unit, enabled to acquire image information of a subject wearing products;    a color information acquisition unit, which acquires color information on the products that have been worn;    a region recognition unit, which uses the color information acquired by the color information acquisition unit to recognize regions of the products in the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit;    a related product color information acquisition unit, which acquires color information on related products that differ in color from the products that have been worn; and    a generating unit, which generates converted image information by replacing the color information of the regions in the image information with the color information of the related products acquired by the related product color information acquisition unit.    
   
   
       9 . The image information processing system according to  claim 8 , wherein 
 the region recognition unit recognizes regions of color information, within fixed ranges from the color information acquired by means of the color information acquisition unit, as the regions of the products.    
   
   
       10 . The image information processing system according to  claim 8 , further comprising: 
 a code information generating unit, which generates code information to specify the related products contained in the converted image information generated by the generating unit; and    a printing unit, which prints together the converted image information generated by the generating unit and the code information generated by the code information generating unit.    
   
   
       11 . The image information processing system according to  claim 8 , wherein 
 the color information acquisition unit and the related product color information acquisition unit acquire color information from a product information database which stores product information.    
   
   
       12 . An image information processing system comprising: 
 an image information acquisition unit, enabled to acquire image information of a subject wearing products taken under predetermined illumination conditions;    a background image removal unit, which removes a background image besides the subject in the image information;    an illumination information acquisition unit, which acquires illumination information of the image taking that was performed under the illumination conditions;    a synthesis background image acquisition unit, which acquires a synthesis background image to be synthesized from an image information database that stores various image information;    a filtering process unit, which applies, on the basis of the illumination information acquired from the illumination information acquisition unit and illumination conditions assumed for the synthesis background image acquired from the synthesis background image acquisition unit, a filtering process on the image information after removal of the background image by the background image removal unit; and    a generating unit, which generates converted image information by synthesizing the image information, on which the filtering process has been applied by the filtering process unit, and the background image, acquired by the synthesis background image acquisition unit.    
   
   
       13 . The image information processing system according to  claim 12 , further comprising: 
 a color information acquisition unit, which acquires color information on the products that have been worn;    a region recognition unit, which uses the color information acquired by the color information acquisition unit to recognize regions of the products in the image information acquired by the image information acquisition unit; and    a related product color information acquisition unit, which acquires color information of related products that differ in color from the products worn,    wherein the generating unit generates the converted image information by replacing the color information of the regions in the image information with the color information of the related products acquired from the related product color information acquisition unit.    
   
   
       14 . The image information processing system according to  claim 12 , further comprising: 
 a code information generating unit, which generates code information to specify the products and/or the related products; and    a printing unit, which prints together the converted image information generated by the generating unit and the code information generated by the code information generating unit.    
   
   
       15 . The image information processing system according to  claim 13 , further comprising: 
 a code information generating unit, which generates code information to specify the products and/or the related products; and    a printing unit, which prints together the converted image information generated by the generating unit and the code information generated by the code information generating unit.    
   
   
       16 . An image information processing apparatus comprising: 
 an image information acquisition unit, enabled to acquire image information of a customer wearing products; and    an output unit, which prints out the image information, acquired by the image information acquisition unit, and customer code information, that reads customer information of the customer stored in a database, at the same time.    
   
   
       17 . The image information processing apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein 
 the output unit prints out order code information, stored in a database and used for ordering the products that have been worn by a customer, and the image information at the same time.    
   
   
       18 . The image information processing apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein 
 the output unit is arranged to enable, in a case where a customer has put on a plurality of products at the same time, batch ordering of the plurality of products using the order code information.    
   
   
       19 . The image information processing apparatus according to  claim 18 , wherein 
 the output unit prints out sheets that are in accordance to the amount of trial fitting by a customer.    
   
   
       20 . An image information processing apparatus comprising: 
 an image taking unit, which obtains image information by taking an image of a subject wearing predetermined products;    a product information storage unit, which stores product information on the products worn by the subject and related products related to the products;    a converted image information generating unit, which reads the product information stored in the product information storage unit and generates converted image information by replacing image parts of the products in the image information obtained by the image taking unit with information of the related products; and    a printing unit, which prints the converted image information, generated by the converted image information generating unit, onto a recording medium.    
   
   
       21 . The image information processing apparatus according to  claim 20 , further comprising: 
 an image taking condition acquisition unit, which acquires the image taking conditions at the time at which the image of a subject is taken by the image taking unit;    an image information storage unit, which stores synthesis image information that is to be synthesized; and    a processing unit, which reads predetermined synthesis image information from the image information storage unit and applies a predetermined process, based on the state of the synthesis image information and the image taking conditions acquired by means of the image taking condition acquisition unit, on the image information taken by the image taking unit,    wherein the converted image information generating unit generates converted image information by synthesizing the image information, to which the predetermined process has been applied by the processing unit, with the synthesis image information that has been read.    
   
   
       22 . The image information processing apparatus according to claim  20 , wherein 
 the printing unit prints order code information, which specifies the related products, the information of which is contained in the converted image information, and the converted image information at the same time.    
   
   
       23 . An image information outputting method comprising the steps of: 
 acquiring image information of a customer wearing products;    acquiring or generating customer code information, associated with customer information on the customer wearing the products, in a customer information database, which stores customer information;    acquiring or generating order code information, associated with product information on the products worn by the customer, in a product information database, which stores product information; and    outputting, at the same time, the acquired image information and the acquired or generated customer code information and order code information.    
   
   
       24 . The image information outputting method according to  claim 23 , wherein 
 in the case where a customer wears a plurality of products, order code information, which enables batch ordering of the plurality of products, is generated and    the generated order code information is output at the same time as the image information.    
   
   
       25 . An image information outputting method comprising the steps of: 
 acquiring image information of a subject wearing products;    acquiring color information on the products from a product information storage unit;    recognizing regions of the products in the image information using the acquired color information;    acquiring, from the product information storage unit, color information on related products that differ in color from the products;    generating converted image information by replacing the color information of the regions in the image information with the color information of the related products; and    printing out the generated converted image information.    
   
   
       26 . The image information outputting method according to  claim 25 , wherein 
 in the region recognizing step, regions of color information within a fixed range from the acquired color information are recognized as the regions of the products.    
   
   
       27 . The image information outputting method according to  claim 25 , wherein 
 in the printout step, code information to specify the related products is printed out together.    
   
   
       28 . The image information outputting method according to  claim 25 , wherein 
 in the printout step, the converted image information is printed out together with the image information and code information to specify the products contained in the image information.    
   
   
       29 . The image information outputting method according to  claim 25 , further comprising the steps of: 
 acquiring the image taking conditions at the time at which the image information on the subject have been taken;    reading predetermined synthesis image information from an image information storage unit, which stores synthesis image information to be synthesized;    applying a predetermined process on the acquired image information based on the state of the synthesis image information that has been read and the acquired image taking conditions; and    generating converted image information by synthesizing the image information, to which the predetermined process has been applied, and the synthesis image information that has been read.    
   
   
       30 . A code information processing method comprising the steps of: 
 recognizing, from a trial fitting catalog, which contains image information of a customer trial fitting on products and customer code information of the customer, corresponding code information;    acquiring customer information from a customer information database based on the recognized customer code information when an order for products is made based on the trial fitting catalog;    executing order processing, based on the acquired customer information; and    storing information, related to the trial fitting by the customer and the order, in the customer information database.    
   
   
       31 . The code information processing method according to  claim 30 , further comprising the steps of: 
 recognizing order code information to order products included in the trial fitting catalog;    specifying, on the basis of the recognized order code information, the products from an order database that stores ordering information corresponding to the order code information; and    making the information on the specified products be reflected in the customer information database.    
   
   
       32 . A program realizing, in a computer, the functions of: 
 acquiring image information of a customer wearing products;    acquiring or generating customer code information, associated with customer information on the customer wearing the products, in a customer information database, which stores customer information;    acquiring or generating order code information, associated with product information on the products worn by the customer, in a product information database, which stores product information; and    outputting the acquired image information and the acquired or generated customer code information and order code information at the same time.    
   
   
       33 . The program according to  claim 32  further realizing in the computer the functions of: 
 generating, in the case where a customer puts on a plurality of products, order code information enabling batch ordering of the plurality of products; and    outputting the generated order code information and the image information at the same time.    
   
   
       34 . A program realizing in a computer the functions of: 
 recognizing customer code information from a trial fitting catalog, which contains image information of a customer trial fitting on products and customer code information of the customer;    acquiring customer information from a customer information database based on the recognized customer code information when an order of products is made based on the trial fitting catalog;    executing order processing based on the acquired customer information; and    storing information, related to the trial fitting by the customer and the order, in the customer information database.    
   
   
       35 . A program realizing in a computer the functions of: 
 acquiring image information of a subject wearing products;    acquiring color information on the products from a product information storage unit;    recognizing regions of the products in the image information using the acquired color information;    acquiring, from the product information storage unit, color information on related products that differ in color from the products; and    generating converted image information by replacing the color information of the regions in the image information with the color information of the related products.    
   
   
       36 . The program according to  claim 35 , further realizing in the computer the functions of: 
 acquiring the image taking conditions at the time at which the image information on the subject are taken,    reading predetermined synthesis image information from an image information storage unit, which stores synthesis image information to be synthesized;    applying a predetermined process on the acquired image information based on the state of the synthesis image information that has been read and the acquired image taking conditions; and    generating converted image information by synthesizing the image information, to which the predetermined process has been applied, and the read synthesis image information.