JP2010044498A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to increase the speed of thumbnail editing processing performed on a list display screen composed of a set image divided into a plurality of areas as compared with a conventional one.
A display screen generation unit 118 that generates a display screen 119 for displaying a plurality of thumbnails, an image arrangement unit 117 that arranges each thumbnail on a map, and a map that is divided into a plurality of regions. And a collective image generation unit 116 that generates a collective image 121 obtained by combining thumbnails arranged by the image placement unit 117 for each region, and the image placement unit 117 is arranged so as to straddle the boundary between the collective images 121. The grouped image generation unit 116 generates the identified thumbnail as one grouped image 121, and the display screen generation unit 118 generates the display screen 119 from these grouped images 121.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus that displays a list of a plurality of images such as a list of thumbnails of image data stored in an image database on a display screen.

  Conventionally, there has been an electronic filing apparatus that digitizes a paper document using an input device such as a scanner, but it has been limited to a business application that handles a large amount of paper documents.

  In recent years, due to the low price of scanners, the spread of MFPs (Multi Function Printers) equipped with scanning functions, and legislation such as the e-document method, the handling and convenience of general offices have been recognized. Opportunities to scan and digitize paper documents are increasing.

  In addition, the application of an image DB that centralizes and manages digitized document image data, photographic image data, document data created by an application such as a PC (Personal Computer), etc. as a database (hereinafter referred to as “DB”). It is also increasing. For example, even if it is necessary to save an original paper document, an image DB has been constructed in terms of ease of management and ease of search.

  Such image DBs vary from large-scale ones in which a server device is installed and accessed by a large number of people via the Internet or a LAN to those for personal use in which a DB is constructed in a personal PC. In addition, recent MFPs include an HDD for storing documents, and there is an example in which an image DB based on the MFP is constructed.

  When browsing images in such an image DB, if a plurality of images are stored in the DB, the user needs to search for the target image. When searching for an image, if the image name (file name) of the image to be searched is known, it is possible to search from a list of image names, but in many cases, a thumbnail list display is used.

  For example, when searching for a document image by a user, a thumbnail list display for candidate images detected by keyword search is performed, and a search target image is selected, or a thumbnail list display is performed from the beginning to display a search target image. A way to find out is taken.

  The thumbnail list display is intended to easily grasp the contents of an image by displaying a plurality of reduced images side by side on the screen. In general, the thumbnail list display displays a plurality of images at once on a limited screen, so that the resolution of each thumbnail is greatly reduced.

  In such a thumbnail list display, when a photographic image is a target, even if it is a reduced image with a reduced resolution, the user can grasp the contents relatively easily. Is the target, it is difficult for the user to interpret the characters in the reduced image, so it is difficult for the user to grasp the contents of the document image.

  When such a document image is searched, it is necessary for the user to enlarge and display each document image using a viewer or the like, and there is a problem that the operability during the search is very poor.

  In particular, in a server / client system via a network, when displaying an image with a viewer, it is necessary to transfer new high-resolution image data from the server to the client side. There is a problem that a lot of processing time is required and productivity is lowered.

  Further, in the image DB as described above, when the number of stored images increases, there is a problem that it is difficult to grasp the entire image stored in the DB. In normal thumbnail list display, when the number of stored images reaches several thousand, checking all of them is a very harsh (hard) work for the user. Therefore, unless a specific image is absolutely necessary Such an action is not usually performed, and even if it is performed, it is very difficult to guess the entire DB from a list of thumbnails arranged at random.

  This is considered to indicate the black boxing of the image DB. For example, in an image DB that targets enormous information around the world, such as the WWW (World Wide Web), information required by the user is not obtained. Since the user can almost certainly exist, the user performs a search or the like with peace of mind. However, in a normal local image DB, the information “how much information is accumulated?” Is only stored in the user's memory. Relying on the memory, the user must search the stored image by keyword, date, etc. to obtain desired information, and the information forgotten by the user loses the opportunity to be used, and the utilization efficiency of the image DB It becomes a factor to drop.

  In order to solve the problems described above, information is displayed in such an image that an image is arranged on a two-dimensional or three-dimensional map and a browsing user walks on the map by using functions such as an overall bird's-eye view, zoom and scroll. A map search type image browsing method for strolling through a space has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the map search type image browsing method, in order to grasp the entire contents of the image DB, it is necessary to display a large number of display images at a time in order to list the images accumulated in the DB.

  On the other hand, in the map search type image browsing method, changing the thumbnail size or resolution according to the display magnification (enlargement ratio) of the image will change the definition of the thumbnail and increase the enlargement ratio. There has been proposed a map search type image browsing method (also referred to as “map search type image browsing method capable of free zooming”) in which the contents can be confirmed without lowering (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  In addition, there has been proposed a map search type image browsing method that operates lightly even when displaying a large number of images by using a grouped image obtained by pasting a plurality of images in a hierarchical encoding (for example, Patent Documents). 2).

  In such a conventional technique as described above, there are cases where the image layout arranged by the system does not conform to the user's intention. In such a case, it is necessary to appropriately change the image layout on the map (map editing) to improve searchability and operability.

  In addition, there are uses such as placing a frequently used image in a conspicuous position or changing the size so that it is conspicuous (or inconspicuous) to facilitate access to a specific image. Also, there are uses such as correcting the rotation angle of an image.

  Also, in order to easily edit the image layout and display mode on the image list, pay attention to the sorting of images and form thumbnail images of the original image in a list arranged in the sorting view assigned in the sorting window. Some view images are inserted and displayed on the display screen, and sorting is performed by allowing the user to perform selection operation, move operation, and copy operation on the thumbnail images in the sorting view. For example, see Patent Document 3).

  As a result, the images are displayed in a list in the sorting view without using a scroll bar as in the past, so that the user can grasp the images sensuously at once and sort the thumbnail images in the sorting view. By doing so, it is possible to sort images (photos) with the same feeling as if the printed photos were spread on a desk (sorting view) and sorting work was performed.

  In a map search type image browsing method in which an image is arranged on a map and browsed, there is often a request for changing the image arrangement or the like by a user. Normally, when using an HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) document such as that used in the WWW, the image position information and the image data body are linked and handled by separate browser software on the client side. The position information can be changed.

  However, in the map search type image browsing method using the collective image as described above, the position information and the image data of the individual image are represented by the image data called the collective image. There was a problem that it could not be changed.

For this reason, there is a display method of a map search type image browsing method using a collective image that allows editing of an image arrangement and display mode on a map according to a user request (for example, see Patent Document 4).
JP 2003-76718 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-304012 JP 2005-276163 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-180338

  However, in what is disclosed in Patent Document 4, when a plurality of collective images are related when the list display screen is divided into a plurality of regions, the effect of dividing the list display screen into regions is not utilized, There was a problem that the speed might be reduced when editing thumbnails.

  The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and can speed up the thumbnail editing process performed on the list display screen composed of the aggregated images divided into a plurality of areas, compared to the conventional one. An object is to provide an image processing apparatus.

  An image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus including a display screen generation unit that generates a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails, and an image arrangement in which each thumbnail is arranged on the list display screen A group image generation unit that divides the list display screen into a plurality of regions and generates a group image by combining the thumbnails arranged by the image arrangement unit for each divided region, The image arrangement unit specifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between the group images, and the group image generation unit generates the thumbnails specified by the image arrangement unit as one group image, and displays the display The screen generation unit has a configuration for generating the list display screen from the collective image generated by the collective image generation unit.

  With this configuration, the image processing apparatus of the present invention specifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between collective images, and generates a list display screen using the specified thumbnails as one collective image. Thumbnail editing processing performed on a list display screen including divided aggregate images can be made faster than the conventional one.

  Note that the image processing apparatus of the present invention may include list display screen changing means for allowing the user to change the list display screen.

  With this configuration, the image processing apparatus of the present invention can change the position of the thumbnail based on a user instruction.

  The image processing method of the present invention is an image processing method for generating a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails using an image processing apparatus, wherein each thumbnail is arranged on the list display screen. A thumbnail arrangement step; a first group image generation step for dividing the list display screen into a plurality of areas, and generating a group image by combining the thumbnails arranged in the thumbnail arrangement step for each divided area and generating an aggregate image; A thumbnail specifying step for specifying thumbnails arranged so as to cross a boundary between the set images, a second set image generating step for generating the thumbnail specified in the thumbnail specifying step as one set image, List display for generating the list display screen from the group images generated in the first and second group image generation steps It has a surface generating step.

  Therefore, the image processing method of the present invention identifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between collective images, and generates a list display screen with the identified thumbnails as one collective image, so that it is divided into a plurality of regions. The thumbnail editing process performed on the list display screen composed of the collected images can be made faster than the conventional one.

  The image processing program of the present invention is an image processing program for causing a computer to generate a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails, wherein the thumbnail arrangement step arranges each thumbnail on the list display screen. Dividing the list display screen into a plurality of areas, and combining the thumbnails arranged in the thumbnail arrangement step for each divided area to generate an aggregate image, and generating the aggregate image, A thumbnail specifying step for specifying thumbnails arranged so as to cross a boundary between images, a second set image generating step for generating the thumbnail specified in the thumbnail specifying step as one set image, the first and The list display screen is generated from the group image generated in the second group image generation step. Executing a list display screen generating step, to the computer.

  Therefore, the image processing program of the present invention specifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between collective images, and generates a list display screen using the specified thumbnails as one collective image. Thumbnail editing processing performed on a list display screen including divided aggregate images can be made faster than the conventional one.

  Note that the above-described image processing program may be recorded on a recording medium in a readable state by a computer.

  The present invention can provide an image processing apparatus capable of speeding up editing processing performed on a list display screen composed of a set image divided into a plurality of areas as compared with the conventional one.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, an example in which the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is configured by a server apparatus and a client apparatus will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image display system 1 according to the present embodiment transmits a client device 100 configured by a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as “PC”) and the like from the client device 100 via a communication path 104. And a server device 110 that performs image classification according to the received command and transmits the classification result to the client device 100 via the communication path 104.

  In addition to the PC, the client device 100 may be configured by a mobile terminal such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or a mobile phone. The communication path 104 includes a local area network (LAN), the Internet network, a wireless communication network, and the like.

  The client device 100 includes a display device 101 including a monitor and the like, an application 102 that interprets user instructions, communicates with the server device 110, and controls the display device 101, and a keyboard and a pointing device that receive instructions from the user. Etc., and an input device 103 made up of, and the like. The input device 103 constitutes a list display screen changing unit in the present invention.

  The server apparatus 110 scales an external interface (hereinafter referred to as “I / F”) 111 provided for the communication path 104 and a registered image 112 requested to be registered by the client apparatus 100 to a predetermined size or less. A thumbnail generation unit 113 that generates thumbnails for display, an image DB 114 that accumulates registered image 112 and thumbnail data, and a combined image 121 by combining a plurality of thumbnails are generated, and a combined image is generated according to a user operation. The collective image generation unit 116 that changes the image 121, the image arrangement unit 117 that arranges thumbnails on the map based on the editing data 123 specified by the client device 100, and the screen control transmitted from the client device 100 Generate data of the display screen 119 according to the contents of the data 120 And a display screen generation unit 118.

  Here, the data on the display screen 119 represents information for displaying a map on the display device 101 of the client apparatus 100.

  The image DB 114 stores thumbnail data generated by the thumbnail generation unit 113, data of the collective image 121 obtained by combining and integrating the thumbnails, and image arrangement data 122 representing the arrangement of thumbnails on the map.

  The image arrangement data 122 includes data representing the coordinates of each thumbnail, data representing the rotation angle of each thumbnail, and data representing the relative size of each thumbnail with respect to the map.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the server apparatus 110. The server device 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 that performs computation and processing by executing a program, a volatile memory 202 that temporarily stores program codes, image code data, and the like, image data, A hard disk device (hereinafter referred to as “HDD”) 203 for storing programs and the like, a video memory 204 for buffering data to be displayed on the monitor 205, an input device 206 such as a keyboard and a pointing device, An external I / F 207 provided for the communication path 104 and a bus 208 for connecting these components are provided.

  The HDD 203 stores an image DB 114. The image represented by the image data written in the video memory 204 is periodically displayed on the monitor 205.

  In the present embodiment, the server device 110 is constituted by a server computer, and each operation described later, such as an image registration operation for registering the registered image 112 in the image DB 114, is executed by the CPU 201 that executes an application stored in the HDD 203 or the like. Is done.

  However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the server apparatus 110 may be configured by hardware provided in an apparatus such as an MFP. Further, the image processing apparatus of the present invention may be configured by, for example, one PC or MFP that functions in the same manner as the image display system 1 shown in FIG. 1 without being configured by the server apparatus and the client apparatus.

  Note that the hardware configuration of the client device 100 is the same as the hardware configuration of the server device 110 shown in FIG.

  The operation of the image display system 1 configured as described above will be described. The image display system 1 mainly performs two operations, an image registration operation and an image search operation. Here, the image search operation is an operation that uses an image registered in the image DB 114 to execute search, search, browsing, and acquisition (download from the server device 110) of an image desired by the user of the client device 100. is there.

  The image search operation searches and searches for an image desired by the user, and then allows the user to browse the image via the viewer, which is one of the applications 102 stored in the HDD or the like of the client device 100. Or store it in the HDD.

  FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an image registration operation of the image display system 1.

  First, when registration of image data and data representing a registered image 112 to be registered are instructed to the application 102 by the user of the client apparatus 100 via the input device 103 (step S1), The data representing the designated registered image 112 is transmitted by the application 102 to the server apparatus 110 via the communication path 104 (step S2).

  Data representing the registered image 112 received by the external I / F 111 of the server apparatus 110 is reduced by the thumbnail generation unit 113, and a thumbnail for display is generated (step S3). Here, when the registered image 112 includes a plurality of pages, a thumbnail for each page is generated by the thumbnail generation unit 113.

  The data representing the registered image 112 is registered in the image DB 114 with an ID together with data representing the thumbnail generated by the thumbnail generating unit 113 and meta information accompanying the registered image 112 such as a file name (step S4). ).

  Further, the image arrangement data 122, that is, the coordinates on the map, the rotation angle, and the relative size with respect to the map with respect to the thumbnail of the registered image 112 are determined by the image arrangement unit 117 (step S5), and represent the registered image 112. Along with the data, it is registered in the image DB 114 by the image placement unit 117.

  Here, the process for determining the position of the thumbnail on the map is determined by the system according to the map format. For example, when the thumbnails are arranged sequentially, the next position of the thumbnail arranged last time. To be determined.

  Further, when the position of the thumbnail on the map is determined based on the feature of the registered image 112, the feature amount is extracted from the registered image 112, and the image position may be determined according to the extracted feature amount.

  When the registered image 112 is a document image, the position of the thumbnail on the map may be determined according to the feature amount obtained by morphological analysis of the text. For example, a method of extracting a plurality of feature amounts such as color, shape, texture, and layout from the registered image 112 and converting them into coordinates in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional space using an existing method such as a self-organizing map, etc. A map search utilizing the appearance of the image is possible, which is preferable. These techniques only need to use existing techniques and are highly important in using the map search. However, since these are different from the gist of the present invention, a detailed description is omitted.

  The rotation angle of the registered image 112 may be set to 0 degrees for the initial data. Further, the relative size of the thumbnail to the map may be determined so as to conform to a map in which the overall size is defined as 10,000 pixels × 10,000 pixels, for example.

  Here, the size of the thumbnail may be set by the system depending on the number of images to be displayed on the map. For example, the maximum size of the thumbnail is defined as 500 pixels × 500 pixels, the size of the long side of the thumbnail is set as the maximum size, and the size of the short side may be obtained from the ratio of the long side to the short side.

  Note that the relative size of the thumbnail to the map is stored as data indicating the width and height of the thumbnail, and may be stored as coordinates on the thumbnail map at two coordinates such as the upper left and lower right of the thumbnail. Good.

  In FIG. 3, the collective image 121 is updated by the collective image generation unit 116 based on the thumbnail and the image arrangement data 122 of the thumbnail determined by the image arrangement unit 117, and is registered in the image DB 114 (step S6).

  In addition, in the image DB 114, by managing accompanying meta information such as an ID and a file name with a general RDB (relational database), processing such as registration, management, and search of such information can be easily realized. Can do.

  Further, the image data representing the collective image 121 and thumbnails can be stored in the HDD 203 after being subjected to processing such as compression encoding as necessary, and can be specified and read by a link included in the meta information. Just keep it.

  Moreover, as long as the image DB 114 satisfies the above-described functions, for example, a language such as XML (eXtensible Markup Language) may be used to build a hierarchical data structure and accumulate each data. The image DB 114 may be distributed and stored in a plurality of database servers.

  In the image registration operation, image data may be directly registered in the server device 110 from an image input device such as a scanner or a digital camera. In addition, the server apparatus 110 may be provided with a rendering function so that electronic data can be input.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing in detail the collective image update process (step S6, FIG. 3) of the server apparatus 110. Here, it is assumed that a plurality of images are already registered in the image DB 114.

  First, the thumbnail generation unit 113 generates a thumbnail obtained by scaling the registered image 112 to a predetermined size or less (step S10). Here, the “predetermined size” is determined by the registered image 112 and the relative size with respect to the map of the thumbnail determined by the image arrangement unit 117.

  Next, the image placement unit 117 determines whether the thumbnail of the registered image 112 crosses the boundary between the collective images 121 registered in the image DB 114 (step S11). For example, the coordinates of the four corners of the thumbnail are obtained by the image arrangement unit 117 from the center position of the thumbnail and the display size.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the center coordinates of the thumbnail are O (xo, yo), and the coordinates of the four corners of the thumbnail are A (xa, ya), B (xb, yb), C (xc, yc), D If (xd, yd), the width of the image is width, and the height is height, the following equation holds.

A (xa, ya) = (xo-width / 2, yo + height / 2)
B (xb, yb) = (xo + width / 2, yo + height / 2)
C (xc, yc) = (xo-width / 2, yo-height / 2)
D (xd, yd) = (xo−width / 2, yo + height / 2)

  Here, when it is determined that the collective images 121 to which the coordinates A to D of the four corners of the thumbnail belong are the same, the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnail does not cross the boundary between the collective images 121. Is done.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the collective images 121 to which the coordinates A to D of the four corners of the thumbnail belong are not the same, the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnails cross the boundary between the collective images 121.

  If the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnail does not cross the boundary between the group images 121 (step S11: NO), the group image generation unit 116 selects the corresponding group image 121 from the image DB 114. (Step S12).

  Next, a synthesis process for synthesizing the thumbnail with the acquired collective image 121 is executed by the collective image generation unit 116 (step S13). In the composition process, the thumbnail is overwritten so that the thumbnail is pasted on the area of the collective image 121 determined by the image placement unit 117.

  Next, the updated collective image 121 subjected to the synthesis process is re-registered in the image DB 114 by the collective image generation unit 116 (step S14).

  On the other hand, if the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnail crosses the boundary between the group images 121 (step S11: YES), the group image generation unit 116 generates the group image 121 including the thumbnails ( Step S15) is newly registered in the image DB 114 (Step S16).

  In the collective image update process described above, if the image placement unit 117 determines that the border between the collective images 121 is crossed, the position of the thumbnail is set so that the thumbnail fits in any one of the collective images 121. It may be changed. In this case, the image arrangement unit 117 changes the position of the thumbnail so that it falls within the collective image 121 to which the center point O of the thumbnail belongs.

  In addition, when the image placement unit 117 determines that the boundary between the collective images 121 is crossed, the image placement unit 117 may change the position of another thumbnail so that the thumbnail fits in any one of the collective images 121.

  Here, the relationship between the thumbnail and the collective image 121 in the present embodiment will be described. As described above, in the present embodiment, the server device 110 generates a thumbnail to be displayed on the client device 100 for each registered image 112 and the collective image 121.

  In the map search type image display system 1 in the present embodiment, it is necessary to generate a thumbnail having an image size corresponding to the display size of the display screen of the client device 100.

  The method for generating the thumbnail may be realized by using image data (code code) corresponding to a necessary image size using a hierarchical encoding method typified by JPEG2000 or the like (for example, see Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-304010). This may be realized by preparing a plurality of thumbnails having different sizes and selecting a thumbnail corresponding to the display size.

  Similarly to the thumbnail that is a reduced image of each registered image 112, the collective image 121 in which the thumbnails are aggregated may be realized by a hierarchical encoding method or may be realized by a plurality of images having different sizes.

  Since the collective image 121 is generally large image data, it is preferable to use the hierarchical encoding method because the entire storage capacity can be saved.

  Further, as described above, the collective image 121 may be constituted by one image, or may be constituted by a plurality of partial collective images obtained by dividing the collective image 121 as a whole. In the present embodiment, an example in which the collective image 121 is composed of one image will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing an image search operation of the image display system 1. The image search operation is executed when the user of the client device 100 searches for the target registered image 112 from the image DB 114 or searches for the registered image 112 registered in the image DB 114.

  First, when the user instructs the application 102 to display a thumbnail list via the input device 103 (step S20), an initial screen of a thumbnail list display screen as shown in FIG. It is generated by the display screen generator 118 (step S21).

  In FIG. 7A, on the initial screen, a window 301 defining a display area of a thumbnail list view 302 that is an area for displaying thumbnails as a list, a thumbnail 303 illustrated by each rectangle, and a thumbnail list view 302 are displayed. Are displayed, a slider 304 for scrolling the thumbnail list view 302 in the horizontal direction, and a slider 306 for scrolling the thumbnail list view 302 in the vertical direction.

  The thumbnail list view 302 includes a plurality of collective images 121 as shown in FIG. FIG. 7C shows an example in which the map is divided into 16 collective images 121, and bold lines and numbers in the figure represent boundaries of the collective images 121. The collective image 121 may be a map obtained by dividing the map equally or may not be divided equally, and the shape thereof may not be a rectangle.

  7A to 7C, the thumbnails 303 on the map are randomly arranged, and the display screen generation unit 118 allows the thumbnails 303 on the map to overlap. The arrangement of 303 may be aligned.

  The thumbnail list display screen according to the present embodiment includes a thumbnail list view 302, a user interface part other than the thumbnail list view 302, and an outer frame part having a design meaning. The application 102 of the client apparatus 100 combines these to generate a display screen for the display device 101, and finally generates a display screen as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7B is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of the thumbnail list view 302. The thumbnail list view 302 has a display area 307 defined by the boundary of the window 301. Here, for the frame portion of the outer frame, since the display of the sliders 304 to 306 for changing the display magnification and display area of the thumbnail list view 302 is only updated, the description is omitted, and the screen information of the thumbnail list view 302 is changed. The generation will be described.

  When generating the initial screen, the display screen generating unit 118 sets the display magnification of the thumbnail list view 302 (the minimum magnification in FIGS. 7A to 7C) and the display area 307 to predetermined initial values. Then, the thumbnail list view 302 is generated and transmitted to the client apparatus 100 from the external I / F 111 via the communication path 104 as data of the display screen 119 together with the frame portion of the outer frame.

  The thumbnail list view 302 has a screen as shown in FIG. 7B, but the display screen generation unit 118 can form the thumbnail list view 302 by using the collective image 121 when the collective image 121 is used. When using individual thumbnails, it is only necessary to store thumbnail image arrangement data 122 (coordinate data) and an image ID indicating thumbnail data.

  In addition, the server apparatus 110 transmits only data corresponding to the display screen in the display area 307 in the thumbnail list view 302 to the client apparatus 100. Here, whether to generate the thumbnail list view 302 using individual thumbnails or to use the collective image 121 is switched according to, for example, the number of display images or display magnification, or by selecting a display mode. Therefore, the operation specification of the system may be determined, and the description is omitted because it is not directly related to the present invention. Further, the thumbnail list view 302 shown in FIG. 7B has a blank portion, but is provided for easy implementation, and is not particularly related to the configuration of the invention.

  There are various methods for creating such a display screen and a method for communication between the server and the client. As a preferred method that is commonly used in general, the World Wide Web-based technology is used with the server device 110 as a Web server. Can be realized.

  In this case, the data on the display screen 119 is described in HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language), and a general Web browser may be applied as the application 102. As shown in FIG. 7A, in this embodiment, a slider for changing the display magnification and the display area is provided in the list display screen. However, for example, the slider is provided in the client device 100. These functions may be provided in the input device 103 such as a mouse.

  In FIG. 6, in the client device 100 that has received the data of the display screen 119 generated by the display screen generation unit 118 of the server device 110, the display screen 119 is developed (rendered) by the application 102 and displayed on the display device 101. (Step S22).

  Here, sliders 305 and 306 for changing the display area or slider 304 for changing the display magnification are operated by the user using the client apparatus 100, and an instruction to scroll the screen or change the display magnification is issued. When input (step S23), an instruction to scroll the screen or change the display magnification is converted into screen control data 120 representing the display magnification and the display area, and transmitted from the client device 100 to the server device 110 (step S24). . The operation of each slider and the like is performed by an input device 103 such as a mouse.

  In the server device 110 that has received the screen control data 120, the display screen 119 is changed (step S25), and data representing the changed display screen 119 is transmitted to the client device 100.

  Next, in the client apparatus 100, the display screen 119 is developed by the application 102 based on the data representing the display screen 119 after the change, and is displayed on the display device 101 (step S26).

  Here, when the user of the client device 100 finds a thumbnail of the registered image 112 to be searched and the application 102 is instructed to end the image search operation (step S27: YES), the image search operation is performed. ,finish. On the other hand, when the application 102 is not instructed to end the image search operation (step S27: NO), the image search operation returns to step S23.

  FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an enlarged display operation by the client device 100 in the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 8A, the user uses the sliders 305 and 306 to display the thumbnail candidates of the registered image 112 to be searched from many thumbnails at the center of the screen, and FIGS. 8B and 8C. As shown in the figure, on the assumption that the enlargement rate is gradually increased, it is confirmed whether or not the search target registration image 112 exists in the display screen while comparing with the surrounding registration image 112 and confirming the image content.

  If it is confirmed that the thumbnail of the registered image 112 to be searched does not exist in the display screen, the user reduces the display magnification and searches for the thumbnail of the registered image 112 to be searched from other candidates. To go.

  On the other hand, when it can be confirmed that the thumbnail of the registered image 112 to be searched exists in the display screen, the user zooms in on the thumbnail list view by enlarging the display magnification as shown in FIG. The contents of the registered image 112 can be confirmed in detail on 302.

  FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a map editing operation of the image display system 1.

  First, when the user instructs the application 102 to edit the map via the input device 103 (step S31), the map editing instruction is transmitted to the server apparatus 110 by the application 102 via the communication path 104. .

  Here, with respect to the map editing instruction, the application 102 or the like may prepare menus, buttons, and the like to instruct map editing, or the system may automatically shift to a map editing mode. You may do it. Here, as an example, the map editing instruction is described as being the former. Note that menus, buttons, and the like for instructing map editing are commonly used and are not shown.

  In the server device 110 that has received the map editing instruction, the display screen generation unit 118 generates data of the display screen 119 for map editing and transmits it to the client device 100 (step S32).

  Here, the display screen 119 for map editing is not particularly limited. For example, the display screen generation unit 118 displays a title such as “map editing mode” on the same screen as the normal screen, It is preferable to make it easier for the user to visually understand the mode, for example, by slightly graying out.

  In addition, when the collective image 121 is displayed, the display screen generation unit 118 may change the screen so that individual thumbnails are displayed because it is not suitable for simple map editing processing. This is suitable when moving a plurality of thumbnails.

  Further, when displaying individual thumbnails as compared to the collective image 121, the display screen generation unit 118 may increase the display magnification, for example, because it may take a long time to display when the number of display images is large. Therefore, it is more preferable to perform processing such as reducing the number of display images.

  In the client device 100 that has received the data of the map editing display screen 119, the map editing display screen 119 is displayed on the display device 101 (step S33).

  Here, when a thumbnail to be edited is selected by the user using the input device 103 such as a mouse on the map editing display screen 119 (step S34), an editing operation is performed on the selected thumbnail (step S34). Step S35).

  FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a thumbnail editing operation by the user.

  First, as shown in FIG. 10A, the user selects a thumbnail to be edited. This selection can be realized, for example, by performing an instruction operation such as “click” by aligning the cursor 311 on the display screen using the input device 103 such as a mouse. In response to this selection, for example, when another thumbnail overlaps the selected thumbnail, it is more preferable to display the selected thumbnail on the uppermost side.

  When a thumbnail is selected, an edit menu 312 is displayed near the selected thumbnail as shown in FIG. 10B, and the user selects the desired menu item by placing the cursor 311 on it. Here, for example, four menu items “move”, “delete”, “resize”, and “rotate” are displayed, and “move” is selected by the user.

  Here, for example, when “delete” is selected, the selected thumbnail may be deleted from the thumbnail list view 302. For example, when individual thumbnails are displayed, the application 102 of the client device 100 may not display the selected thumbnail.

  Thereby, it is possible to display to the user as if the selected thumbnail was deleted. However, at this time, the selected thumbnail is not deleted on the server device 110 side. Here, when the deletion of the thumbnail is confirmed in the client device 100, the editing processing of the collective image 121 is executed by the collective image generation unit 116, and the contents edited by the user are reflected on the server device 110 side.

  The case where “move” is selected is the same as the case where “delete” is selected. When individual thumbnails are displayed on the display screen 119, as shown in FIG. The position of the thumbnail to be moved on the map can be moved by an operation such as “drag and drop” by the input device 103.

  On the other hand, when the collective image 121 is displayed on the display screen 119, if the thumbnails to be moved are received from the server apparatus 110 and only the thumbnails to be moved are displayed so as to be superimposed on the collective image 121, It is possible to perform the same processing as when the thumbnails are displayed on the display screen 119, which is more preferable. However, since the thumbnail to be moved remains displayed at the position on the map before the movement, marking or the like may be performed as shown in FIG.

  As for “size change” and “rotation”, as shown in FIG. 10C, the selected thumbnail may be dragged in the direction in which it is desired to be enlarged or rotated by the input device 103 such as a mouse. In “size change” and “rotation”, a display method similar to “move” may be applied.

  In FIG. 9, when the editing operation is completed, the editing data 123 representing the editing content is transmitted from the client device 100 to the server device 110 (step S36). Here, the edit data 123 represents at least the image ID for specifying the thumbnail to be edited, the contents of editing, the coordinate position on the new map of the thumbnail to be edited, and the like.

  For the completion of the editing operation, it is more preferable to explicitly select it using a menu or button on the screen, and at that time, processing such as allowing the user to confirm the saving of the edited content is executed. Better to do.

  Here, for example, if the user cancels the editing content, the image arrangement data 122 on the server device 110 side remains unchanged, so that the editing content can be changed by reloading the display screen 119 from the server device 110. It can be restored.

  In the server apparatus 110 that has received the edit data 123, the image arrangement data 122 of the thumbnail to be edited is acquired from the image DB 114 by the image arrangement unit 117, and the image arrangement of the thumbnail to be edited is determined according to the editing content represented by the edit data 123. The data 122 is changed and re-registered in the image DB 114 (step S37). It is more preferable that the history of editing contents is held in the image arrangement data 122 and the user is allowed to cancel the editing contents.

  Next, the collective image generation unit 116 reads the collective image 121 registered in the image DB 114 and executes the edit processing of the collective image 121 (step S38). Note that the editing process of the collective image 121 will be described later.

  When the editing process of the collective image 121 by the collective image generation unit 116 is completed, the display screen 119 generates data for the display screen 119 and transmits the data to the client device 100 as in the image search operation described above (step S39). ).

  In the client device 100 that has received the data on the display screen 119, the display screen 119 is developed by the application 102 and displayed on the display device 101 (step S40), and the map editing operation ends.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the editing process (step S38, FIG. 8) of the collective image 121 by the server apparatus 110. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 shows the editing processing of the collective image 121 when the thumbnail is “moved”, but when “deletion”, “size change”, and “rotation” are performed. The editing process of the collective image 121 can be easily conceived based on FIG.

  First, the thumbnail that overlaps the thumbnail before editing on the map is extracted by the image placement unit 117 (step S50). Here, when the thumbnail is extracted (step S51: YES), the corresponding area of each collective image 121 to which the extracted thumbnail belongs is updated (step S52).

  It should be noted that the thumbnails included in the corresponding area need to be pasted in order from the thumbnail that overlaps on the collective image 121. As an example for realizing this, when the meta information is held in the image DB 114, the update date and time of the map coordinates for each thumbnail of the registered image 112 may be held. The update date / time of the map coordinates may be the date / time when the thumbnail is registered when the registered image 112 is registered, and may be the date / time when the thumbnail is edited.

  If no thumbnail is extracted in step S50, or if step S52 is completed, the image placement unit 117 determines whether the edited thumbnail crosses the boundary between the group images 121 registered in the image DB 114. Determination is made (step S53). Note that the determination by the image arrangement unit 117 as to whether or not the edited thumbnail crosses the boundary between the group images 121 registered in the image DB 114 is performed in the same manner as in step S11 in the group image update process shown in FIG. .

  Here, if the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnail does not cross the boundary between the group images 121, the group image generation unit 116 acquires the corresponding group image 121 from the image DB 114 (step S1). S54).

  Next, a composite process for combining the thumbnails with the acquired collective image 121 is executed by the collective image generation unit 116 (step S55). Next, the updated collective image 121 subjected to the synthesis process is re-registered in the image DB 114 by the collective image generation unit 116 (step S56).

  On the other hand, when the image placement unit 117 determines that the thumbnail crosses the boundary between the group images 121 (step S53: YES), the group image generation unit 116 generates the group image 121 including the thumbnails ( In step S57), the image is newly registered in the image DB 114 (step S58).

  In the above-described editing process of the collective image 121, when the image placement unit 117 determines that the border between the collective images 121 is crossed, the thumbnails of the thumbnails are arranged so that the thumbnails can be included in any of the collective images 121. The position may be changed. In this case, the image arrangement unit 117 changes the position of the thumbnail so that it falls within the collective image 121 to which the center point O of the thumbnail belongs.

  In addition, when the image placement unit 117 determines that the boundary between the collective images 121 is crossed, the image placement unit 117 may change the position of another thumbnail so that the thumbnail fits in any one of the collective images 121.

  As described above, the image display system 1 as an embodiment of the present invention specifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between the collective images 121, and displays the specified thumbnails as one collective image 121. Since 119 is generated, the thumbnail editing process performed on the display screen 119 including the collective image 121 divided into a plurality of areas can be made faster than the conventional one.

1 is a block diagram of an image display system as an embodiment of the present invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the server apparatus which comprises the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the image registration operation | movement of the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows in detail the group image update process of the server apparatus which comprises the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the coordinate of each part of the thumbnail in the image display system as one embodiment of this invention, height, and a width | variety. It is a sequence diagram which shows the image search operation | movement of the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. (A) is a conceptual diagram which shows the example of the display screen in the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. (B) is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a thumbnail list view in the image display system as one embodiment of the present invention. (C) is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a map in the image display system as one embodiment of the present invention is divided into 16 collective images. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the enlarged display operation | movement by the client apparatus which comprises the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows map editing operation | movement of the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the edit operation of the thumbnail in the image display system as one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the edit process of the group image of the server apparatus which comprises the image display system as one embodiment of this invention in detail.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image display system 100 Client apparatus 101 Display device 102 Application 103 Input device 104 Communication path 110 Server apparatus 111 External I / F
112 Registration Image 113 Thumbnail Generation Unit 114 Image DB
116 Collective Image Generation Unit 117 Image Arrangement Unit 118 Display Screen Generation Unit 119 Display Screen 120 Screen Control Data 121 Collective Image 122 Image Arrangement Data 123 Edit Data 201 CPU
202 Memory 203 HDD
204 Video memory 205 Monitor 206 Input device 207 External I / F
208 Bus 301 Window 302 Thumbnail list view 304, 305, 306 Slider 307 Display area

Claims (5)

An image processing apparatus including a display screen generation unit that generates a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails,
An image arrangement unit for arranging the thumbnails on the list display screen;
A group image generation unit that divides the list display screen into a plurality of regions and generates a group image that is obtained by combining the thumbnails arranged by the image arrangement unit for each divided region;
The image arrangement unit identifies thumbnails arranged so as to cross a boundary between the collective images,
The collective image generation unit generates the thumbnails identified by the image placement unit as one collective image,
The image processing apparatus, wherein the display screen generation unit generates the list display screen from the collective image generated by the collective image generation unit.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a list display screen changing unit that allows a user to change the list display screen. An image processing method for generating a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails using an image processing apparatus,
A thumbnail placement step of placing each thumbnail on the list display screen;
A first group image generation step of dividing the list display screen into a plurality of areas and generating a group image by combining the thumbnails arranged in the thumbnail arrangement step for each divided area;
A thumbnail specifying step of specifying thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between the collective images;
A second group image generation step of generating the thumbnails identified in the thumbnail identification step as one group image;
An image processing method comprising: a list display screen generating step for generating the list display screen from the collective images generated in the first and second collective image generating steps. An image processing program for causing a computer to generate a list display screen for displaying a plurality of thumbnails,
A thumbnail placement step of placing each thumbnail on the list display screen;
A first group image generation step of dividing the list display screen into a plurality of areas and generating a group image by combining the thumbnails arranged in the thumbnail arrangement step for each divided area;
A thumbnail specifying step of specifying thumbnails arranged so as to cross the boundary between the collective images;
A second group image generation step of generating the thumbnails identified in the thumbnail identification step as one group image;
An image processing program for causing the computer to execute a list display screen generation step for generating the list display screen from the group images generated in the first and second group image generation steps.   A recording medium on which the image processing program according to claim 4 is recorded so as to be readable by a computer.

Images