JP5636882B2 - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program suitable for an apparatus that handles image data obtained by photographing, such as a digital camera or a portable image printer.

  Conventionally, in an apparatus storing a plurality of image data, for example, a printer equipped with a digital camera or an image memory card, the image size per sheet is selected in order to select one of the stored images. There is a function called index display or index print that outputs a large number of images as a list with a large reduction.

  In this type of index output, for example, a plurality of images are output in a state of being arranged in m rows and n columns (m and n are integers of 2 or more) in one screen.

  By the way, in the current version of Exif (Exchangeable image file format), which is a de facto standard for image formats for digital cameras, GPS (Global Positioning System: Global Positioning System) is included in a part of shooting data added to image data. ) Tag for storing measurement information is defined.

  As a technique for using information on a shooting location in accordance with the Exif standard, a technique for creating an index print in which a shot image and a map of a shooting location are combined and displayed is considered (Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-197739 A

  In general index printing, only a list of images can be obtained. In addition, since the technique described in Patent Document 1 combines a thumbnail image with a map image, an environment capable of providing a map database such as an Internet environment is required.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to output an index image in which a plurality of images are arranged corresponding to acquisition points of each image by the apparatus alone. An object is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage means for storing a plurality of images including point information of a photographing position and a selection of an image as a background (hereinafter referred to as “background image”) from among the images stored in the storage means. A first selection unit; a second selection unit that accepts selection of a plurality of images to be combined in the background image from the images stored in the storage unit; and a plurality of images selected by the second selection unit. A third selection unit that accepts selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image, a display unit that displays the background image selected by the first selection unit, and a display unit that displays the background image. Designation means for accepting designation of the position of the image selected by the third selection means in the background image, spot information of the background image, spot information of the image selected by the third selection means, and the designation Specify by means Based on the position in the background image, the remaining image that has not been selected by the third selection unit in the image selected by the second selection unit is included in the background image from each point information. The setting means for setting the position at the position, the position in the background image designated by the designation means, and the position in the background image set by the setting means, the second selection means in the background image An index image generating means for generating an index image in which reduced images of the image selected in (2) are arranged, and an output means for outputting the index image generated by the index image generating means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the background image selected by the first selection unit includes information on a photographing direction, and the setting unit includes information on the photographing direction of the background image. Is further used to set the position in the background image for the remaining image not selected by the third selection means in the image selected by the second selection means. .

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the index image generating means includes a case where at least two of the reduced images of the images selected by the second selecting means arranged in the background image overlap. In addition, it is characterized in that an index image that avoids overlapping is generated by increasing the reduction ratio of some reduced images.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the index image generating means includes a case where at least two of the reduced images of the images selected by the second selecting means arranged in the background image overlap. In addition, an index image that avoids overlapping is generated by moving the positions of some reduced images.

  The invention according to claim 5 further comprises evaluation means for calculating an evaluation value of the image selected by the second selection means in the invention according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the index image generation means When at least two of the reduced images of the image selected by the second selection unit arranged in the background image overlap, the position of the reduced image having a low evaluation value calculated by the evaluation unit is reduced or moved to overlap. An avoiding index image is generated.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image obtained by an apparatus provided with a storage unit that stores a plurality of images including point information of shooting positions, a display unit that displays images, and an output unit that outputs images stored in the storage unit. A processing method comprising: a first selection step for accepting selection of an image as a background from images stored in the storage unit; and a plurality of images to be combined in the background image from images stored in the storage unit A second selection step for accepting image selection; and a third selection step for accepting selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image from among the plurality of images selected in the second selection step ; The display step of displaying the background image selected in the first selection step on the display unit, and the designation of the position of the image selected in the third selection step in the background image displayed in the display step are accepted. Designated process and above In the image selected in the second selection step based on the point information of the background image, the point information of the image selected in the third selection step, and the position in the background image specified in the specification step A setting step for setting a position in the background image from each point information for the remaining image not selected in the third selection step, and a position in the background image designated in the designation step And an index image generation step for generating an index image in which a reduced image of the image selected in the second selection step is arranged in the background image according to the position in the background image set in the setting step, and And an output control step of causing the output unit to output the index image generated in the index image generation step.

  The invention described in claim 7 is incorporated in an apparatus including a storage unit that stores a plurality of images including point information of a shooting position, a display unit that displays images, and an output unit that outputs an image stored in the storage unit. A program executed by a computer, wherein the background image is stored in the first selection means for accepting selection of an image as a background from the image stored in the storage unit, and the background image is stored in the image stored in the storage unit. Second selection means for accepting selection of a plurality of images to be combined therein; third for accepting selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image from among the plurality of images selected by the second selection means; Selection means, display means for displaying the background image selected by the first selection means on the display unit, and an image selected by the third selection means among the background images displayed by the display means Based on the designation means for accepting designation of the position, the spot information of the background image, the spot information of the image selected by the third selection means, and the position in the background image designated by the designation means, the second Among the images selected by the selecting means, the setting means for setting the position in the background image from the respective spot information for the remaining images that were not selected by the third selecting means, and designated by the specifying means An index image in which a reduced image of the image selected by the second selection unit is arranged in the background image is generated based on the position in the background image and the position in the background image set by the setting unit. And an output control unit that outputs the index image generated by the index image generation unit by the output unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to output an index image in which a plurality of images are arranged corresponding to acquisition points of each image by the apparatus alone.

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of processing contents of index printing according to the embodiment. The figure which shows the transition state of the screen in the process of the index print which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which shows the content of the GPS information attached to the image data which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which shows the transition state of the screen in the process of the index print which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the content of each image selected as a background image and an index image concerning the embodiment. The figure which shows the transition state of the screen in the process of the index print which concerns on the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an index print image printed out according to the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the content of each image selected as another background image and index image based on the embodiment. The figure which illustrates the image of the index print of the other printed output concerning the embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a printer apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an electronic circuit provided in the printer device 10 according to the present embodiment. The CPU 11, the main memory 12, and the program memory 13 are connected via the bus B.

  The CPU 11 reads an operation program, fixed data, and the like stored in the program memory 13, expands and stores the read contents in the main memory 12, and performs various processing operations in the printer device 10 according to the contents. Run.

  The main memory 12 is composed of, for example, an SRAM and is used as a work memory for the CPU 11. The program memory 13 is composed of a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory, and stores an operation program for the CPU 11 and various fixed data.

  An output buffer 14 for storing output image data and an input / output interface 15 for controlling input / output with peripheral circuits are connected to the bus B. The input / output interface 15 includes a key input unit 16 for accepting user instructions and selections, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface (I / F) 17, an infrared transmitter / receiver unit 18, a memory card interface (I / F). 19, the display unit 20, the touch input unit 21, and the print driving unit 22 are connected.

  The key input unit 16 includes, for example, a power key, a menu key, a cursor key, a decision / print key, a cancel key, and a key controller that performs key sampling of these keys. Output.

  The USB interface 17 manages data transmission / reception with an external device connected via a USB terminal.

The infrared transmission / reception unit 18 receives a data file such as image data captured by a digital camera or a mobile terminal device by wireless connection of infrared light conforming to the Ir-TranP standard, for example, with a mobile phone terminal having an infrared communication function. Capture.
The memory card interface 19 reads various data from the memory card 23 installed in the memory card slot provided in the printer 10 and sends it to the input / output interface 15.

  The display unit 20 is constituted by a color liquid crystal display panel with a backlight, for example, and displays a selected image, an index image described later, a guide message, or the like.

  The touch input unit 21 includes a transparent panel integrally formed on the display unit 20 and a drive circuit thereof. When the user touches the display unit 20 according to the display on the display unit 20, the touch input unit 21 corresponds to the operation position. The coordinate signal is generated and output to the input / output interface 15.

  The print driving unit 22 drives the printing unit 24 based on the print data sent from the output buffer 14 to execute image printing. The printing unit 24 has, for example, an inkjet printing mechanism.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
The following operations show a series of operations for creating an index print, which is executed after the CPU 11 reads out an operation program or data stored in the program memory 13, expands and stores it in the main memory 12. It is.

  The operation program and the like stored in the program memory 13 are stored in the program memory 13 at the time of shipment from the manufacturing factory of the printer device 10, for example, when the printer device 10 is upgraded, the USB device 17 is connected via the USB interface 17. New operating programs, data, etc. can be downloaded from the outside by connecting a personal computer in the Internet environment to the terminal, or by installing a memory card storing the update program via the memory card interface 19 in the memory card slot. And what you remember.

  FIG. 2 shows the processing contents after the index print processing is designated from the menu item. At the beginning of the process, the CPU 11 performs initialization for the main memory 12 which is a work memory (step S101).

Thereafter, an image as a background is first selected (step S102).
FIG. 3A illustrates a list display state of images stored on the memory card 23 displayed on the display unit 20 when the background image is selected. In FIG. 1A, for the sake of explanation, each image is represented by an alphabet, but an image obtained by reducing a still image obtained by shooting is displayed on an actual screen.

  In FIG. 1A, a total of eight images “X”, “A” to “G” of 2 rows × 4 columns are displayed in a reduced state and displayed by a triangle mark M1. Is not all stored in the memory card 23, but is displayed that other images that are not displayed by scrolling the screen to the right can be selected.

  In FIG. 1A, the selection frame cursor CS is displayed for the image “X” positioned at the head, and the image “X” is in a provisional selection state. For example, by operating the enter / print key of the key input unit 16 from this display state, the image “X” is selected as the background image.

  Note that any image data stored in the memory card 23 including the image “X” is set with a tag for storing GPS measurement information in accordance with the Exif standard, and point information is included as part of the shooting data. It shall be attached.

FIG. 4 shows the correspondence between the tag number and the content of GPS measurement information in “GPS Info IFD”, which is GPS information defined by Exif. Both the image selected as the background image and the image selected as an index image to be described later use the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the shooting points corresponding to the tag numbers “1” to “6”.
Further, for the image selected as the background image, information on the shooting direction (direction: unit [°]) corresponding to the tag numbers “16” and “17” is used.

  When the selection of the background image in step S102 is completed, the conversion type to be applied to the background image portion is selected (step S103).

  FIG. 3B shows a selection screen on the display unit 20 at this time. These conversion types select the contents of the image description of the background portion that is superimposed and combined with the index image in order to perform effect processing in order to clearly distinguish it from the index image. Here, “light printing” “sepia” This shows a state where “painting” is temporarily selected from the four types of “black and white” and “painting”.

From this display state, for example, the conversion type is selected by operating the enter / print key of the key input unit 16. After the selection process, an image to be reduced and attached on the background image is selected for index printing (step S104). Here, it is necessary to select at least two images.
FIG. 3 (3) shows a display screen on the display unit 20 for selecting an index image. In the same figure, none of the images “A” to “G” has been selected yet, except that the image “X” already selected as the background image cannot be selected, and the selected frame is selected for the image “A”. A cursor CS is displayed, indicating that the image “A” is in a temporarily selected state. From this display state, for example, when the enter / print key of the key input unit 16 is operated, or the user directly touches the position of the image “A” with a finger, the image “A” is selected as the index image. A check mark is superimposed on “A”.

  FIG. 5A shows a state where all the images “A” to “G” are selected from the state shown in FIG. After the image “G” is selected, the screen is further scrolled to the right by the cursor key, and the image “H” is further selected.

  FIG. 6 illustrates the contents of the image “X” selected as the background image and the images “A” to “H” selected as the index images. In the figure, the image “X” as the background image is shown larger than the other index images, but this is for easy understanding of the combined image, and is shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 above. Of course, the same size is handled at the time of selection.

  When the selection of the images is completed, “GPS Info IFD”, which is the GPS information shown in FIG. 4, is read from all the images selected so far, and the necessary tags are analyzed (step S105).

  At the same time, from the image data of the image “X” selected as the background image as described above, the latitude, longitude and altitude information of the tag numbers “1” to “6”, the tag number “16”, Information on the shooting direction of “17” is extracted and stored in the main memory 12.

  On the other hand, the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the tag numbers “1” to “6” is extracted from each image data of the images “A” to “H” selected as the index image and stored in the main memory 12. (Step S106).

  Next, a guide message that prompts the user to select the first reference image and place it in the background image from the selected index image is displayed on the display unit 20, and an image is selected and a position is designated correspondingly. Accept.

  FIG. 5B shows a state where the image “E” selected as the index image is temporarily selected by the selection frame cursor CS. If the image “E” is temporarily selected, for example, by operating the enter / print key of the key input unit 16, the image “E” is selected as an image indicating the first reference position. As shown in (3), a flag mark F1 with a reference number “1” is displayed at a predetermined position in the background image, for example, the upper right part.

The user moves the flag mark F1 to the correct position in the background image based on the point where the image is taken by operating the cursor key of the key input unit 16.
FIG. 7 (1) shows a state in which the flag assigned with the number “1” is moved by the user's operation and the spot where the image “E” is photographed is specified in the background image.

  When the selection and arrangement of the image serving as the first reference are thus completed, the selection and arrangement of the second image are performed in the same manner (step S108).

  FIG. 7B shows a state where the image “C” is temporarily selected by the selection frame cursor CS. If the image “C” is temporarily selected, for example, by operating the enter / print key of the key input unit 16, the image “C” is selected as an image indicating the second reference position. As shown in (3), a flag mark F2 with a reference number “2” is displayed at a predetermined position in the background image, for example, the upper right part.

The user moves the flag mark F2 to the correct position in the background image based on the point where the image is taken by operating the cursor key of the key input unit 16.
When the two reference images are arranged in the background image in this way, the spot information of the shooting locations added to the two image data is stored in the main memory 12 as the print positions of the reference points 1 and 2 (step S109). .

  In selecting the reference points 1 and 2, it is possible to improve the positional accuracy by selecting images at positions corresponding to two points on the diagonal line that define a wider rectangular range in the background image as much as possible. Desirable above.

  Next, the distance in the screen direction between the reference points 1-2 and the number of pixels in the image are calculated (step S110). In this case, the distance “in the screen direction” between the reference points 1-2 is not simply calculated as the length of the line segment from the three-dimensional coordinate values (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the reference points 1 and 2. The distance on the two-dimensional plane along the screen plane perpendicular to the imaging optical axis of the background image.

  More specifically, when the imaging optical axis is assumed to be horizontal based on the three-dimensional coordinate value of the imaging location of the background image, information on the imaging direction (azimuth), and the angle of view converted from the focal length in the imaging data. From each point information of the reference points 1 and 2, the horizontal distance from the shooting point to the reference point 1, the horizontal distance from the shooting point to the reference point 2, and the heights of the reference points 1 and 2 of the haze reflected in the shot image The position in the height (altitude) direction can be calculated.

  Due to the difference between the calculated positions of the reference points 1 and 2 in the height (altitude) direction and the actual positions of the reference points 1 and 2 in the height (altitude) direction, the photographing optical axis is in the horizontal direction. It is possible to calculate an elevation angle or depression angle value that indicates how much it is shifted in the vertical direction from the angle. Regarding the elevation angle or depression angle value of the photographing optical axis, an intermediate value between the value calculated from the reference point 1 and the value calculated from the reference point 2 is used.

  In addition, if it is a background image photographed with a digital camera having a function of an electronic level and incorporating a three-axis acceleration sensor or the like, information indicating the value of the elevation angle or depression angle of the photographing optical axis as part of the photographing data at the time of photographing It is also possible to store in advance including.

  Accordingly, when calculating the distance on the screen between the reference points 1-2, the coordinate component in the direction of the photographing optical axis corresponding to the depth direction of the background screen is excluded, and along the screen plane perpendicular to the photographing optical axis. The distance on the two-dimensional plane is calculated.

  In addition, the number of pixels between the reference points 1-2 in the background image is calculated together as described above.

  Next, a distance corresponding to the number of pixels from the distance between the reference points 1-2 calculated in step S110 on the two-dimensional plane along the screen plane perpendicular to the photographing optical axis and the number of pixels on the screen. The value is calculated as a reduction ratio (step S111).

  Next, the background image is converted according to the conversion type of the effect processing for the background image selected in step S103, for example, “painting” (step S112).

  In addition to the selected reference images 1 and 2 as described above, one other index image is selected for the background image having an image quality expression different from that of the index image, and the reduction ratio is determined from the point information of the shooting location. The position on the background image, specifically, the position of the point that is the center of the index image is calculated (step S113).

  When calculating the position on the background image based on the spot information of the index image, the coordinate component in the photographing optical axis direction corresponding to the background and the depth direction of the screen is excluded, and the screen plane is perpendicular to the photographing optical axis. The position on the two-dimensional plane along is calculated.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the calculation of the positions for all the index images is completed depending on whether or not the index image whose position has been calculated in the previous step S113 is the last one in the selected index image (step S114). ).

  If the calculation of the positions for all the index images has not been completed yet and it is determined that there are still index images for which the positions are to be calculated, the process returns to step S113 again.

  In this way, when the processes of steps S113 and S114 are repeatedly executed and the calculation of the positions of all index images is completed, it is determined in step S114, and then the vertical and horizontal default sizes of the index print image are set (step S115). ).

  For example, the display unit 20 displays default notation corresponding to the size of the printing paper, for example, “L”, “postcard”, “2L”, “A5” on the display unit 20, and one of them is selected. Is set, and the received content is set (step S115).

  Next, when image printing is executed on the set printing paper, it is determined whether or not there are index images on the background image that overlap each other (step S116).

  This expands the background image in accordance with the set printing paper size, and has an index of a predetermined image size, for example, a vertical 120 dots × horizontal 160 dots at the position set in step S113 on the background image. When the images are arranged, the determination is made based on whether or not there is an overlapping area between the index images.

  If it is determined that at least a part of the index images overlap, next, an evaluation value is calculated for both of the part of the index images in which the overlap occurs (step S117).

  Regarding the calculation of the evaluation value, for example, a method of calculating a ratio of occurrence of overexposure or underexposure commonly referred to as “white stripes” or “black blurring” from a luminance distribution by a histogram, and a main subject by contour extraction processing A method for evaluating composition based on whether or not the position of the subject considered to be located is on the center of the image or on a three-part dividing line, a method for setting the sharpness of the entire screen as an evaluation value as it is based on the contrast value of the entire image, or those It is possible to combine them.

  Each of the above methods need not essentially evaluate the superiority or inferiority of the image, and may be any method that automatically and automatically selects a certain “group” of images using a pseudo image processing technique.

  According to the detection result of the evaluation value, the position on the background image is reset so that the vertical and horizontal sizes of the index image having the lower evaluation value are moved so as not to overlap the index image having the higher evaluation value ( Step S118).

  Thereafter, the process returns to step S116, and it is determined whether or not there are still some other index images overlapping.

  With respect to the index images that have overlapped in this way, an evaluation value is calculated for each of the index images, and an image having a lower evaluation value is moved to eliminate the overlapping of the images.

  If it is confirmed in step S116 that there is no overlapping index image, the index print image data in which the index image is arranged on the background image is newly synthesized and generated (step S119).

  Then, after the generated image data is copied to the output buffer 14 (step S120), the print drive unit 22 causes the printing unit 24 to perform printout based on the contents held in the output buffer 14, and a series of indexes is thus obtained. The print process ends.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an index print image P1 printed out as described above. In the same figure, although the index images of the images “D” and “E” located on the lower left side of the background image “X” actually overlap, the overlap is eliminated by moving one of them. Some are arranged adjacent to each other.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of another index print image. In the figure, the contents of the image “Y” selected as the background image and the images “a” to “h” selected as the index images are illustrated. In the figure, the image “Y” that is the background image is shown larger than the other index images, but this is for easy understanding of the combined image, and is the same size at the time of selection. Shall be handled.

  FIG. 10 shows an example in which two images are arranged based on the point information attached to each image after the two images are arranged on the basis of the above images as in the above embodiment. .

  FIG. 10 is a diagram exemplifying an index print image P2 printed out from the image as each material in FIG. In the same figure, although the index images of the images “c” and “b” positioned slightly below the center of the background image “Y” actually overlap, they can be overlapped by moving one of them. Eliminates and shows that a part is arranged in an adjacent state.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to print an index image in which a plurality of images are arranged corresponding to acquisition points of each image without using map data or the like.

  In this case, since an image other than a part of the reference image is automatically arranged according to the spot information that the image has, an index image with a correct arrangement can be obtained while greatly reducing the burden on the user.

  In the above-described embodiment, information on the shooting direction is also used for the image selected as the background, and the remaining image according to the shooting position and shooting direction of the background image and each shooting position of the reference image. Since the position coordinates for arranging the positions are calculated, the positions of the index images in the background image expressed in two dimensions can be calculated and arranged very accurately.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, with respect to images that have overlapped as a result of arrangement, since at least one of the images is moved to eliminate the overlapping of the images, the index that is effectively used without hiding the contents of the captured images. Can be an image.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when a plurality of overlapping images match, the evaluation value of each image is calculated, and processing such as latitude is performed on the image with the lower evaluation value. Therefore, in the image processing calculation, an image that can be determined to be better reflected can be arranged without changing the shooting position as much as possible, and the accuracy of the index print reflecting the shooting point can be maintained high.

  Further, unlike the above-described embodiment, with respect to images that have overlapped as a result of arrangement, at least one of the images may be reduced to eliminate the overlapping of images. In this case, by reducing the image, it is possible to eliminate the overlapping of the images without destroying the arrangement relationship based on the accurate shooting point.

  Although the present embodiment is suitable for a printer device and has been described with respect to a case where an index image is printed out, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image data obtained by shooting is handled and output, for example, the state of display or electronic data The same function can be realized by various electronic devices such as a mobile phone terminal having a camera function, a mobile computer, an electronic book, and other electronic devices or programs installed in a computer built in the electronic device.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Further, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination of a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect is obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printer apparatus, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Main memory, 13 ... Program memory, 14 ... Output buffer, 15 ... Input / output interface, 16 ... Key input part, 17 ... USB interface (I / F), 18 ... Infrared ( Ir) Transmitting / receiving unit, 19 ... Memory card interface (I / F), 20 ... Display unit, 21 ... Touch input unit, 22 ... Print drive unit, 23 ... Memory card, 24 ... Printing unit, B ... Bus.

Claims (7)

Storage means for storing a plurality of images including point information of shooting positions;
First selection means for accepting selection of an image as a background (hereinafter referred to as “background image”) from among the images stored in the storage means;
Second selection means for accepting selection of a plurality of images to be combined in the background image from among the images stored in the storage means;
Third selection means for accepting selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image from among the plurality of images selected by the second selection means;
Display means for displaying the background image selected by the first selection means;
Designation means for accepting designation of the position of the image selected by the third selection means in the background image displayed by the display means;
The image selected by the second selection unit based on the point information of the background image, the point information of the image selected by the third selection unit, and the position in the background image specified by the specification unit Medium, setting means for setting the position in the background image from the respective point information for the remaining image not selected by the third selection means,
A reduced image of the image selected by the second selection means is arranged in the background image according to the position in the background image designated by the designation means and the position in the background image set by the setting means. Index image generation means for generating the index image
An image processing apparatus comprising: output means for outputting an index image generated by the index image generating means. The background image selected by the first selection means includes information on the shooting direction,
The setting means further uses the information on the shooting direction of the background image to select the background for the remaining images not selected by the third selection means among the images selected by the second selection means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a position in the image is set.   The index image generation means avoids overlapping by increasing the reduction ratio of some reduced images when at least two of the reduced images selected by the second selection means arranged in the background image overlap. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an index image is generated.   The index image generation means avoids the overlap by moving the positions of some of the reduced images when at least two of the reduced images of the images selected by the second selection means arranged in the background image overlap. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an index image is generated. An evaluation means for calculating an evaluation value of the image selected by the second selection means;
The index image generating means determines the position of a reduced image having a low evaluation value calculated by the evaluation means when at least two of the reduced images selected by the second selection means arranged in the background image overlap. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the index image is generated by reducing or moving to avoid overlapping. An image processing method in an apparatus including a storage unit that stores a plurality of images including point information of a shooting position, a display unit that displays an image, and an output unit that outputs an image stored in the storage unit,
A first selection step of accepting selection of an image as a background from the images stored in the storage unit;
A second selection step of accepting selection of a plurality of images to be combined in the background image from the images stored in the storage unit;
A third selection step of accepting selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image from among the plurality of images selected in the second selection step ;
A display step of displaying the background image selected in the first selection step on the display unit;
A designation step for accepting designation of the position of the image selected in the third selection step in the background image displayed in the display step;
The image selected in the second selection step based on the point information of the background image, the point information of the image selected in the third selection step, and the position in the background image designated in the designation step. During the setting process of setting the position in the background image from the respective point information for the remaining image not selected in the third selection process,
A reduced image of the image selected in the second selection step is arranged in the background image according to the position in the background image specified in the specifying step and the position in the background image set in the setting step. An index image generating step for generating the index image,
An image processing method comprising: an output control step of causing the output unit to output the index image generated in the index image generation step. A program executed by a computer built in a device including a storage unit that stores a plurality of images including point information of a shooting position, a display unit that displays an image, and an output unit that outputs an image stored in the storage unit. ,
The above program
First selection means for accepting selection of an image as a background from the images stored in the storage unit;
Second selection means for receiving selection of a plurality of images to be combined in the background image from the images stored in the storage unit;
Third selection means for accepting selection of at least two images serving as a reference for the background image from among the plurality of images selected by the second selection means;
Display means for displaying the background image selected by the first selection means on the display unit;
Designation means for accepting designation of the position of the image selected by the third selection means in the background image displayed by the display means;
The image selected by the second selection unit based on the point information of the background image, the point information of the image selected by the third selection unit, and the position in the background image specified by the specification unit A setting means for setting the position in the background image from the respective point information for the remaining image not selected by the third selection means,
A reduced image of the image selected by the second selection means is arranged in the background image according to the position in the background image designated by the designation means and the position in the background image set by the setting means. An index image generating means for generating the index image, and an output control means for causing the output section to output the index image generated by the index image generating means.

Images