JPH07225768A - Method and device for selectively enlarging image - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily confirm an image by arranging plural images in the shape of a matrix, simultaneously displaying them, indicating any desired image when that image is too small to be observed, and displaying that image enlarging it to a certain degree so as not to hide entire adjacent images. CONSTITUTION:When a mouse cursor is moved to the desired image and the right button of a mouse is continuously depressed on that image, in an image selecting picture to simultaneously display 20 pieces of images in the shape of a matrix, that image is enlarged and displayed. Then, that image is enlarged and displayed to such a degree as not to overlap its size and its position onto the group of adjacent images. Namely, when selecting the image while simultaneously displaying all the images in the shape of the matrix of mxn, since the respective images are too small to judge the selection, the image is selectively enlarged and displayed. At such a time, the size and position of the image to be enlarged is controlled so as not to be overlapped onto the group of adjacent images, and simultaneity is prevented from being damaged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a selected image enlarging method and apparatus for selectively enlarging and displaying a desired image from a plurality of images displayed in a list.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a personal computer or the like has been used to accumulate various data and construct various databases. One of them is an image database that stores a large number of image data. In such an image database, images can be searched and displayed by inputting various key codes. Furthermore, there is also one having a function of displaying a list of m × n images in a matrix.

Further, in personal computers, application programs called graphic software for creating, editing and managing images are also known. Some of these have a function of displaying a list of a plurality of images in a matrix.

In these image databases and graphic software, a desired image is selected from a list of images by a mouse or the like so that the selected image can be subjected to a predetermined process. Is generally read and displayed in a predetermined work area.

[0005]

However, when m × n images are listed in a matrix on the screen as described above for selecting a desired image, the individual images are necessarily displayed in small size. In some cases, it is difficult to determine the content, and it may be difficult to determine whether or not the content can be selected as a processing target.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a selected image enlarging method and apparatus for facilitating image confirmation by displaying an enlarged image of an appropriate size. And

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the method for enlarging a selected image according to the present invention arranges a plurality of images in a matrix form and displays them in a list, and the plurality of images displayed in the list are displayed. It is characterized in that one image is selected from the inside and the selected image is enlarged and displayed so as not to cover the entire images adjacent to the image. For example, in the magnified display, the selected image is magnified and displayed so as not to cover each of the images adjacent to the selected image.

The selected image enlarging device according to the present invention is
An image list display means for displaying a list of a plurality of images arranged in a matrix, an image selection means for selecting one image from the plurality of displayed images, and the selected image And an enlarged display control means for displaying the images adjacent to each other by enlarging them so as not to cover the entire image.

[0009]

That is, according to the method and apparatus for enlarging a selected image of the present invention, when a plurality of images are arranged in a matrix and displayed in a list and the images are small and difficult to see, a desired image is selected and instructed to be selected. The displayed image is enlarged and displayed so as not to cover the entire images adjacent to the image. That is, the image is enlarged and displayed so that the presence of other images can be seen. For example, in the magnified display, the selected image is magnified and displayed so as not to cover each of the images adjacent to the selected image.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image database system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. The image database (DB) is a hard disk (H) built in a personal computer 10 that functions as an enlarged display control unit.
D) 12 is built. The personal computer 10
The memory card drive 14, as an input / output device,
Keyboard 16 and mouse 1 functioning as image selection means
8, image reader 20, CD-ROM drive 22,
A magneto-optical disk (MO) drive 24, a floppy disk (FD) drive 26, a printer 28, a CRT 30 functioning as image list display means, etc. are connected.

Here, the image data is input as an image file by an image input device such as the memory card drive 14, the image reader 20, the CD-ROM drive 22, the MO drive 24 and the FD drive 26, and is stored in the hard disk 12. . In addition, memory card drive 1
Reference numeral 4 is for reading out image data recorded by the digital card camera 34 recorded in the memory card 32 and inputting the image data to the personal computer 10.

Since a method of constructing an image database from image files input from such an image input device is well known, its description is omitted here.

A temporary embodiment of the present invention will be described below by taking as an example a transfer operation of an image file used for the purpose of backup or the like. 2 and 3 show a case where an image file transfer is instructed by the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18,
6 is a flowchart of a series of operations executed by a CPU (not shown) of the personal computer 10.

First, the CRT 30 displays a transfer setting screen for selecting the sending side and the receiving side of the image file to be transferred, as shown in FIG. 4A (step S1).
Then, by operating the mouse 18, the sending side and the receiving side of the image file to be transferred are respectively selected from the displayed icons 36, that is, the hard disk, MO, memory card, and floppy disk (step S2).

At this time, when the icon 36 is clicked with the left button of the mouse 18, as shown in FIG.
It is highlighted with a black frame to indicate that it has been selected. Note that the same sender and receiver cannot be selected for transfer. Depending on the type of the selected sender and receiver, the image may be moved from the sender to the receiver or copied. That is, the sender is a hard disk,
When the receiving side is MO, the image file is moved from the hard disk to MO. Otherwise, the image file is copied from the sender to the recipient. When both the sending side and the receiving side of the image to be transferred are selected, the arrow 38 at the center of the screen changes from gray to black, which means that the image selection screen can be displayed.

When the "OK" button 40 is pressed, that is, the mouse cursor is moved there and the left button of the mouse 18 is clicked (step S3), the transfer is set and the next image selection screen is displayed. Is displayed. If either or both of the sending side and the receiving side of the image to be transferred are not selected, or if the same one is selected for the sending side and the receiving side, it is determined as NG (step S4), "O".
Even if the “K” button 40 is pressed, the image selection screen cannot be displayed.

When the transfer setting is completed in this way, the CRT 3 displays an image selection screen in which m × n (5 × 4 in this embodiment) images are displayed in a matrix as shown in FIG.
It is displayed at 0 (step S5). Note that this screen shows a case where the hard disk is selected as the sending side and the MO is selected as the receiving side of the image to be transferred. In this image selection screen,
The image file is transferred by selecting the image to be transferred and pressing the "transfer" button 42. Above each image,
The ID number that manages images in the image database is
The file name of the image file is displayed below the image. In addition, in the upper right of this screen, the free space of the transfer destination and the total of the selected image files are displayed. In this example, it is shown that the free space on the receiving side is 97.1 Mbytes, and the total size of the image files currently selected is 0.0 Mbytes. Then, four buttons of a "transfer" button 42, a "previous" button 44, a "next" button 46, and an "end" button 48 are displayed at the lower right of the screen.

Of these, if the "previous" button 44 or the "next" button 46 is pressed (step S6), it is possible to move to the previous or next image selection screen, respectively. However, in this case, if there is a selected image (step S7), an inquiry display is made as to whether or not the selection may be canceled and the screen may be moved (step S8), and an instruction not to cancel is received. When
Returning to step S5, the display of the current image selection screen is continued. When there is no previous screen or next screen to be moved (step S10), only a beep sound is emitted (step S11), and the process returns to step S5 to continue displaying the current image selection screen. On the other hand, when there is a screen to be moved, the previous or next screen is selected (step S12), and the image selection screen instructed to be moved is displayed in step S5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, 5 × 4, that is, 20
On the image selection screen that displays a list of individual images in a matrix, each image is displayed small.
In such a small image, it may be difficult to determine whether to transfer. In such a case, the image can be displayed in more detail, that is, in a larger size. That is, when the mouse cursor 50 is moved to a desired image and the right button of the mouse 18 is continuously pressed on the image (step S13), the pixel is displayed large as shown in FIG. 6 (step S14). ). In this case, the image is enlarged and displayed so that its size and position do not overlap with the adjacent image group. And
When the right button of the mouse 18 is released (step S15), the enlarged display disappears and the original state is restored.

On the other hand, when selecting an image to be transferred,
Move the mouse cursor 50 to the position of the image you want to transfer and click with the left button of the mouse 18 (step S
16). The image selected by clicking the left button of the mouse 18 is highlighted with a red frame so that it can be distinguished from the non-selected image, for example, as shown in FIG. 7 (step S
18). In addition, the transfer image amount at the upper left of the screen is updated along with the highlighted display of this image. When the transfer image amount exceeds the transfer destination free space (step S17), no image can be selected.

When the "transfer" button 42 is pressed (step S19), if there is a selected image (step S20), the image file of the selected image is transferred (step S21). At this time, in the case of copying as described above, the red frame highlighting is canceled each time the image file is transferred, but in the case of transfer from the hard disk to the MO, the image file is moved. Since it disappears on the hard disk 12, the image is not displayed as shown in FIG. Further, after that, when the screen is returned to another screen after being transferred, as shown in FIG.
Images that do not exist in will be displayed together.

On the other hand, when no image is selected (step S20), a beep sound is output (step S2).
2) No transfer is performed. Then, when the "end" button 48 is pressed (step S23), the transfer processing of this image ends.

In the enlargement display in step S14, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, the enlargement display is performed so as not to obscure all the adjacent images even if they partially overlap the adjacent images. You may do it.

As described above, when an image to be processed is selected from a large number of images, those images are multiplied by m ×
When a list of n pieces is displayed in a matrix and is selected, each image is small and it is difficult to judge the selection. Therefore, the images are selectively displayed in a large size. At this time, enlarged display is performed so that the size and position of the image to be enlarged do not overlap the adjacent image group, or do not obscure all of the adjacent images even if they partially overlap. That is, it is possible to easily confirm the image by enlarging the image without impairing the listability.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, although the above embodiment has been described by taking the case of image transfer as an example, it can be applied to the case of selectively registering in the image database from a plurality of image files stored in a memory card, a CD-ROM or the like. Further, it is possible to perform various operations by using the cursor keys or function keys of the keyboard without using a mouse, and a CD-ROM drive, MO drive, FD drive or the like may be built in the personal computer.
Furthermore, it can be used not only for image database systems but also for all applications that handle images. In addition, various modifications and applications are possible.

[0026]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
By displaying an enlarged image of an appropriate size, it is possible to provide a selected image enlarging method and apparatus that facilitates confirmation of an image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an image database system to which an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first half portion of an operation flowchart of one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a first half portion of an operation flowchart of one embodiment.

4A and 4B are diagrams showing transfer setting screens, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image list display screen.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of enlarging an image selected for enlargement on an image list display screen.

FIG. 7 is a view showing identification display of images selected for transfer on an image list display screen.

8 is a diagram showing a list display screen after the transfer selection image of FIG. 7 is transferred.

9 is a diagram showing the list display screen of FIG. 7 when returning from the screen of FIG. 8 to the next or previous screen.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another method of enlarging an image selected for enlargement on the image list display screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Personal computer, 12 ... Hard disk (HD), 14 ... Memory card drive, 16 ... Keyboard, 18 ... Mouse, 20 ... Image reader, 22 ... C
D-ROM drive, 24 ... Magneto-optical disk (MO) drive, 26 ... Floppy disk (FD) drive,
28 ... Printer, 30 ... CRT, 32 ... Memory card,
34 ... Digital card camera, 36 ... Icon, 38
... arrow, 40 ... "OK" button, 42 ... "transfer" button, 44 ... "previous" button, 46 ... "next" button, 48 ...
"End" button, 50 ... Mouse cursor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of images are arranged in a matrix and displayed in a list, one image is selected from the plurality of displayed images, and the selected image is an image adjacent to the image. A selected image enlarging method characterized by enlarging and displaying each of them so as not to cover the whole. 2. The magnified display enlarges and displays the selected image so that it does not cover each of the images adjacent to the selected image.
The method for enlarging the selected image described in. 3. An image list display means for displaying a list of a plurality of images arranged in a matrix, an image selection means for selecting one image from the plurality of displayed images, and the selected image. A selected image enlarging device comprising: an enlarging display control unit for enlarging and displaying an image so as not to cover the entire image adjacent to the image.