JP2008046680A - Information display method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display much display information belonging to an area in an efficient array in the area while satisfying adjacency conditions of areas. <P>SOLUTION: Many image data with position information added are registered in an image database. An area name (Kyushu region) is input from an input operation part. Adjacency conditions of each prefecture forming Kyushu region are determined and which prefecture of Kyushu region each image data has been taken in is identified according to the position information of each image data and area information about each prefecture registered in advance. An area size change part determines display area sizes keeping the adjacency conditions intact according to the area information and the number of identified image data. A display control part displays the area of each prefecture and displays the images in an array in the area of each prefecture. Many images can thus be displayed in an efficient array in an area while satisfying adjacency conditions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display method and apparatus for efficiently arranging and displaying a large amount of display information on a display unit based on position information associated with the display information.

  As display information to be displayed on a display unit such as a monitor, there is image data taken by a camera-equipped mobile phone. Some recent mobile phones with a camera have a GPS (Global Positioning System) function that can acquire position information indicating a shooting point. For this reason, position information is added to image data captured by a camera-equipped mobile phone having a GPS function. Such image data can be browsed by displaying it on a monitor such as a personal computer without performing print processing. Further, when managing a large amount of image data, it is desirable to register the image data in an image database such as a personal computer so that the image data can be searched and displayed efficiently.

In order to efficiently search and display image data, a distance scale indicating the degree of similarity between image data is calculated based on feature quantities such as the color of each image data, and the images are displayed in a scatter diagram. A hierarchical image feature-based visualization method that enables efficient retrieval of a target image is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Also, data for determining the degree of similarity between image data based on features such as color and brightness of each image data, and displaying the images adjacent to each other in a grid pattern so that the degree of similarity between adjacent images is maximized A display method is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2005-525606 Gazette JP 2004-622356 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, since similar images are displayed in a scatter diagram, overlapping of images and gaps between images are generated, so that the display screen cannot be used to the maximum extent. Cannot be displayed efficiently. Moreover, when displaying the image by the method described in Patent Document 2, when position information indicating a shooting point is used as a feature amount, images close to the shooting point among a plurality of images registered in the image database are displayed. Are displayed in a grid so as to be adjacent to each other. However, for example, when it is desired to arrange and display images for each area partitioned on a map such as a prefecture, the method described in Patent Document 2 reflects the actual geographical condition (positional relationship) between the areas. It cannot be displayed. That is, there is a problem that images taken in prefectures that are not actually adjacent to each other are displayed adjacent to each other.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and a large amount of display information is satisfied based on position information associated with display information while satisfying the adjacency condition between regions partitioned on a map. An object of the present invention is to provide an information display method and apparatus for efficiently arranging and displaying images in an area.

  In order to achieve the above object, the information display method according to the present invention is configured to display information to be displayed in an aligned manner based on position information associated with the display information when the display information is displayed on a display unit. In the display method, the region information is read from a region database in which a plurality of region information indicating regions partitioned on a map are registered, the position information is read from the display information input by a plurality of information input means, and the region An area to which the display information belongs is determined based on the information and the position information, an adjacent condition between the areas is determined based on the area information, and the area is displayed on a display unit based on the adjacent condition. In addition, the discriminated display information is displayed in alignment with the area.

  Further, the size of the area may be changed according to the number of pieces of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacent condition.

  Further, a feature quantity vector indicating a positional relationship between the discriminated display information is calculated based on the position information, and the display information is arranged in the area based on the feature quantity vector. Good.

  The position information includes latitude and longitude, and the position information is plotted on a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to the latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to the longitude. A scatter diagram is created for each region, and based on the set number of rows and columns, classification is made so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups consisting of the number of rows and the number of columns, and the groups are classified into the groups. The display information may be arranged in the number of rows and columns set in the area based on the position information.

  Further, the display information is image data, and date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was taken is added to the image data, and when the date and time is designated by the designation means for designating the date and time when the image was taken, The display state of the image may be switched so that the captured image and the uncaptured image can be distinguished at the point of time.

  In addition, in the information display device that displays the display information in an aligned manner based on the positional information associated with the display information when the display information is displayed on the display unit, the area indicating the area partitioned on the map Based on the region database in which a plurality of information is registered, information input means for inputting the display information associated with the position information, and the region information and the position information, the region to which the display information belongs is determined. Determining means; adjacent condition determining means for determining an adjacent condition between areas based on the area information; displaying the area on a display means based on the adjacent condition; and the display target determined by the determining means It is characterized by comprising display control means for displaying information in alignment with each area.

  In addition, the image processing apparatus may further include size changing means for changing the size of the area according to the number of pieces of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacent condition.

  In addition, the image processing apparatus includes a vector calculation unit that calculates a feature amount vector indicating a positional relationship between the determined display information based on the position information, and the display control unit is configured to display the display target based on the feature amount vector. Information may be aligned with the region.

  The position information includes latitude and longitude, and the position information is plotted on a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to the latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to the longitude. A scatter diagram creating means for creating a scatter diagram for each of the areas, a setting means for setting the number of rows and columns for arranging the display information in the area, and the set number of rows and columns based on the set number of rows And classifying means for classifying the position information so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups consisting of the number of rows and the number of columns, and the display control means is arranged in the region based on the position information classified into the group. The displayed information may be arranged in a set number of rows and columns.

  The display information is image data, and date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was taken is added to the image data, and the date and time is designated by the designation means for designating the date and time when the image was taken. Display switching means for switching the display state of the image may be provided so that an image that has been captured and an image that has not been captured at the specified date and time can be distinguished. The displayed information is information such as images, numbers, and character strings that can be displayed on a display means such as a monitor or a screen. The position information associated with the displayed information is the country partitioned on the map. It is information such as latitude, longitude, and name indicating landmarks such as prefectures, municipalities, buildings and parks.

  According to the information display method of the present invention, when displaying the display information on the display means, in the information display method for displaying the display information in an aligned manner based on the position information associated with the display information, the information display method is partitioned on the map. Region information is read out from the region database in which a plurality of region information indicating the region is registered, position information is read out from the display information input by the information input means, and the display information belongs based on the region information and the position information. Since the region is determined, the adjacent condition between the regions is determined based on the region information, the region is displayed on the display means based on the adjacent condition, and the determined display information is displayed aligned with the region. A large amount of information to be displayed can be efficiently aligned and displayed in the area while satisfying the adjacent condition.

  In addition, since the size of the area is changed according to the number of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacency condition, a large amount of display information aligned in the area is confirmed. It becomes easy to do. Also, a feature quantity vector indicating the positional relationship between the discriminated display information is calculated based on the position information, and the display information is aligned with the area based on the feature quantity vector. Displayed information can be efficiently aligned and displayed in the region while reflecting the positional relationship.

  Also, the position information is composed of latitude and longitude, and the position information is plotted for each region on a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to longitude. A scatter diagram is created, and based on the set number of rows and columns, the position information is classified so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups consisting of the number of rows and the number of columns, and the position information classified into the groups Since the display information is aligned with the number of rows and columns set in the area based on the above, a large amount of display information can be efficiently aligned and displayed in the area while satisfying the boundary condition of the area. .

  The displayed information is image data, and date / time information indicating the date / time when the image was taken is added to the image data. When the date / time is designated by the designation means for designating the taken date / time, Since the display state of the image is switched so that the captured image can be distinguished from the uncaptured image, it is also possible to check the shooting situation over time.

  According to the information display device of the present invention, when displaying the display information on the display unit, the information display device that displays the display information in alignment on the basis of the position information associated with the display information on the map. An area database to which display information belongs based on an area database in which a plurality of area information indicating partitioned areas are registered, information input means for inputting display information associated with position information, and area information and position information Discriminating means for discriminating, adjacency condition determining means for determining adjacency conditions between areas based on area information, displaying an area on a display means based on adjacency conditions, Since the display control means for arranging and displaying in each area is provided, a large amount of display information can be efficiently displayed in the area while satisfying the adjacent condition of the area.

  In addition, since there is a size changing means for changing the size of the area according to the number of pieces of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacency condition, a large number of display objects arranged in the area are displayed. It becomes easy to confirm information. Further, the image processing apparatus includes a vector calculating unit that calculates a feature amount vector indicating the positional relationship between the determined display information based on the position information, and the display control unit aligns the display information with the region based on the feature amount vector. Therefore, the display information can be efficiently arranged and displayed in the area while reflecting the positional relationship of the display information.

  Also, the position information is composed of latitude and longitude, and the position information is plotted for each region on a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to longitude. It consists of the number of rows and the number of columns based on the set number of rows and columns, and the setting means for setting the number of rows and columns for arranging the display information in the area Classification means for classifying so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups, and the display control means classifies the display information by the number of rows and columns set in the area based on the position information classified into the group. Since they are arranged, a large amount of display information can be efficiently arranged and displayed in the area while satisfying the boundary condition of the area.

  Further, the display information is image data, and date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was taken is added to the image data. When the date and time is designated by the designation means and the designation means, Since the display switching means for switching the display state of the image is provided so that the image captured at the designated date and time can be distinguished from the uncaptured image, it is also possible to check the photographing state over time.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image display device 10 that is an information display device includes a control unit 11, an image input unit 12, an input operation unit 13, a first storage unit 14, a second storage unit 15, and a display unit 16. Has been. The control unit 11 is connected to each unit in the image display device 10 and performs these controls. The display unit 16 is an LCD, a CRT display, a screen, or the like, and can display a large number of images.

  The image input unit 12 as information input means is a memory card, a CD-ROM drive, or the like. For example, a memory card in which image data with position information added as display information is recorded is inserted into the image input unit 12. This image data is taken by a camera-equipped mobile phone having a GPS (Global Positioning System) function. The image input unit 12 reads the image data from the memory card and temporarily stores it in the first storage unit 14.

  The first storage unit 14 uses, for example, a flash memory or a hard disk, and temporarily stores image data input by the image input unit 12 or as a working memory when executing various programs. Function. The second storage unit 15 is a data storage such as a hard disk, and stores an image database 17 and an area database 18.

  The image database 17 stores a large amount of image data temporarily stored in the first storage unit 14. The stored image data is added with position information indicating the shooting location. This position information includes latitude and longitude obtained from GPS. Further, attribute information indicating attributes is added to each image data. The attribute information is information relating to shooting conditions such as shooting date and time, shutter speed, and luminance value.

  The area database 18 stores map data in advance, and area information indicating landmarks such as countries, prefectures, municipalities, buildings, and parks, which are areas partitioned on the map, is registered in advance. . The area information is position information including latitude and longitude for partitioning each area. This position information is stored in association with the name of the area.

  The input operation unit 13 is, for example, a keyboard or a mouse, and outputs an operation signal to the control unit 11 when operated by a user. In addition, the user operates the input operation unit 13 to input the name of an area in which images are displayed in an aligned manner. As a result, the control unit 11 reads the region information indicating the region input from the region database 18 to the photographing region determination unit 21 and the region size determination unit 22 provided in the control unit 11. The name of the area to be input by the input operation unit 13 may be a name of a landmark such as a country, a prefecture, a municipality, a building or a park, or may be input in Southeast Asia, Europe, Kanto region, Kyushu region, etc. You may input the name of the area comprised from the several area | region. When the name of the area is input, all the area information constituting the area is read to the imaging area determination unit 21 and the area size determination unit 22. Hereinafter, the case where the Kyushu region (Nagasaki Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Oita Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kagoshima Prefecture) is input by the input operation unit 13 will be described as an example.

  The control unit 11 includes an imaging area determination unit 21, an area size determination unit 22, and a display control unit 23. The imaging area determination unit 21 serving as a determination unit determines image data captured in each prefecture of the Kyushu region based on the region information of each prefecture belonging to the Kyushu region and the position information of the image data input by the user. . As this determination method, for example, it is determined whether or not the actual area obtained from the area information (latitude and longitude) of each prefecture in the Kyushu region includes the position information (latitude and longitude) of the image data. Done in Further, when a plurality of areas are input as in the Kyushu region, the discriminated image data may be grouped for each area. The determined image data is temporarily stored in the first storage unit 14 in association with the area to which the image data belongs.

  When the image data stored in the memory card is stored in a folder created for each shooting location, or when the region to which the position information (shooting point) added to the image data belongs is known. The imaging region determination unit 21 may temporarily store the image data stored in the folder in the first storage unit 14 in association with the known region without determining the region.

  The area size determination unit 22 that is an adjacent condition determination unit determines an adjacent condition between prefectures based on the read area information of each prefecture in the Kyushu region. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, the region size determination unit 22 creates a simplified shape of each prefecture in the Kyushu region in a rectangular shape based on the region information and the adjacent condition. The area 29 of the Kyushu region thus created changes the size of the regions 29a to 29g of each prefecture (Nagasaki, Saga, Fukuoka, Oita, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Kagoshima) of the Kyushu region. It becomes the standard (standard shape). In addition, the thick line shown in the figure is the borderline 30 of the prefecture determined based on the adjacency condition. In addition, the name of the prefecture is written in the character string 31 based on the area information in the areas 29a to 29g of each prefecture.

  When the number of image data belonging to each prefecture in the Kyushu region is discriminated by the imaging area discriminating unit 21, the area size determining unit 22 that is also an area size changing unit is based on the number of image data and the area information of each prefecture. Change the area size.

  As this size changing method, a scaling factor for enlarging or reducing the entire reference shape is determined based on the area ratio of each prefecture obtained from the region information and the number of image data belonging to each prefecture, Based on this, the area of each prefecture is scaled and displayed. In this method, since the entire reference shape is scaled, the boundaries of each prefecture do not move.

  In addition to the method of scaling the entire reference shape of the area, a method of moving the boundary line 30 of each prefecture indicated by a bold line in the figure based on the adjacent condition and the number of image data may be used. In this case, the boundary line of a region with a large number of image data may be moved while satisfying the adjacency condition, and the size of the region may be changed according to the number of image data so as to erode other regions. The region 30 may be enlarged by moving the boundary line 30 in a direction where there is no region. As described above, regardless of which method is used, the size of the region is changed according to the adjacent condition between the regions. That is, the relative positional relationship between the regions is not changed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display control unit 23 displays the area 29 in the Kyushu region changed by the area size determination unit 22. In addition, the display control unit 23 reads out the image data associated with the prefectures 29a to 29g from the first storage unit 14, and displays the images 50a to 50y in alignment in the corresponding prefectures 29a to 29g. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the Kyushu region 29 includes a Nagasaki region 29a, a Saga region 29b, a Fukuoka region 29c, an Oita Prefecture region 29d, and a Miyazaki region. 29e, an area 29f in Kumamoto Prefecture, and an area 29g in Kagoshima Prefecture. Images 50a-50d were taken in Nagasaki Prefecture, images 50e, 50f were in Saga Prefecture, images 50g-50j were in Fukuoka Prefecture, images 50k-50r were in Kumamoto Prefecture, images 50s and 50t were in Oita Prefecture, 50u and 50v are taken in Miyazaki Prefecture, and images 50w to 50y are taken in Kagoshima Prefecture.

  As a method for arranging the images 50a to 50y to be displayed in alignment in the regions 29a to 29g of each prefecture, it is preferable to reflect the positional relationship between the image data as much as possible. For example, it is preferable to arrange adjacent images adjacent to each other based on position information. In addition, when the number of image data determined for each region is large and not all images can be displayed in the enlarged region, the display control unit 23 may appropriately aggregate the image data to be displayed. As an example of the conditions for the aggregation, it is preferable to aggregate according to the order of newly taken images in time series and the importance of the image data.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 when displaying an image taken in the Kyushu region. When shooting is performed with a camera-equipped mobile phone having a GPS function, image data to which position information is added is recorded in a memory card. The user inserts the memory card into the image input unit 12 after shooting (see FIG. 1). The image input unit 12 reads the image data to which the position information is added from the memory card and registers it in the image database 17.

  When the Kyushu region is input as a region by the operation of the input operation unit 13, the control unit 11 reads each region of the Kyushu region from the region database 18 (Nagasaki Prefecture, Saga Prefecture, Fukuoka Prefecture, Oita Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture, Kumamoto Prefecture, Kagoshima The region information of the prefecture is read out, and the image capturing region discriminating unit 21 thereby captures the image data captured in each prefecture in the Kyushu region based on the region information and the position information of the image data registered in the image database 17. Is determined. Further, the area size determination unit 22 determines the adjoining conditions of the areas in each prefecture based on the area information, and creates a reference shape of the area 29 in the Kyushu region (see FIG. 2).

  When all the image data registered in the image database 17 are determined, the scaling of the region 29 in the Kyushu region is performed based on the number of image data determined to belong to the regions 29a to 29g and the adjacent conditions. Done. At this time, the relative positional relationship between the areas 29a to 29g in each prefecture is not changed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the images 50 a to 50 y are displayed on the display unit 16 in a grid pattern in the regions 29 a to 29 g of the prefectures in the Kyushu region. Therefore, a large amount of images 50a to 50y can be efficiently aligned and displayed in each region while satisfying the adjacent condition of the region. In addition, the boundary lines 30 of the areas 29a to 29g of the prefectures in the Kyushu region are indicated by bold lines, and the names of the prefectures are displayed in the character strings 31 in the areas 29a to 29g of the prefectures. It is also possible to easily confirm whether or not

  If the displayed area has a hierarchical structure, a series of processes including area input, image data discrimination, area size change, and image placement in the area are repeated for every displayed area. You may be made to be.

  Further, when the images 50a to 50y are arranged and displayed in the regions 29a to 29g of the prefectures as described above, the arrangement of the images in the regions is determined using the feature quantity vectors of the images obtained from the position information. May be arranged and displayed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the feature quantity vector calculation unit 33 is provided in the control unit 11. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same structural member as the said embodiment, and the description is abbreviate | omitted. The image alignment method will be described by taking as an example the case of aligning the images 50a to 50d taken in Nagasaki Prefecture.

  A feature vector calculation unit 33 serving as a vector calculation unit determines the arrangement of image data for each region. Therefore, when the Kyushu region is input as the region, the position information of the image data determined to belong to the region 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture is input to the feature vector calculation unit 33, and the image data to the region 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture is input. After the layout is determined, the layout of the image is determined by the feature vector calculation unit 33 in the order of the Saga prefecture area 29b, the Fukuoka prefecture area 29c, and the Kagoshima area 29g.

  For example, the case of the images 50a to 50d determined to belong to the area 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The control unit 11 inputs the position information of the image data determined to belong to the area 29 a of Nagasaki Prefecture from the first storage unit 14 to the feature quantity vector calculation unit 33. The feature vector calculation unit 33 calculates the feature vectors of the images 50a to 50d from the input position information. In this calculation method, for example, the feature vector calculation unit 33 uses the position information (latitude and longitude) of the image 50a as a reference, the position information of the images 50a and 50b, the position information of the images 50a and 50c,. A feature amount vector is calculated from six combinations of the images 50a to 50d, such as the position information of the images 50c and 50d.

  The size of the calculated feature quantity vector indicates the distance between the shooting points of the two calculated images, and the direction indicates the relative positional relationship between the two calculated images. Therefore, the feature vector becomes small when the shooting position is close, and the feature vector becomes large when the shooting position is far. Then, the display control unit 23 determines the positional relationship between the images 50a to 50d according to the six feature quantity vectors. The region size determination unit 22 determines the size of the region 29a in Nagasaki based on the positional relationship between the determined images 50a to 50d and the region information of Nagasaki. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the display control unit 23 displays the images 50 a to 50 d in an aligned manner in the area 29 a of Nagasaki Prefecture.

  As described above, the feature amount vector is calculated from the position information of the images determined to belong to the region, and the images 50e to 50y are aligned and displayed in the regions 29b to 29g of each prefecture other than Nagasaki Prefecture according to the feature amount vector. . Therefore, the images 50a to 50y can be efficiently aligned and displayed on the areas 29a to 29g of each prefecture while satisfying the adjacent conditions of the areas 29a to 29g of each prefecture. Also. It is possible to easily determine in which prefecture the images 50a to 50y were taken, and it is possible to easily display the relative positional relationship between the images.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, the feature-value vector of images was calculated based on position information, and according to this feature-value vector, the images 50a-50y were arranged and displayed in the area | regions 29a-29g of each prefecture, but it replaced with this. Based on the number of image data photographed in each prefecture, the number of rows and columns to be arranged and displayed in the prefecture areas 29a to 29g is set, and the number of rows and columns and the scatter diagram created from the position information are used. Then, the arrangement of the images to be aligned in the prefecture areas 29a to 29g may be determined. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 11 is provided with an image arrangement unit 40. This alignment method will be described with reference to the conceptual diagram shown in FIG. 8 taking Nagasaki Prefecture as an example.

  The user operates the input operation unit 13 as setting means to set the number of rows and the number of columns of the image to be arranged in the area 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture. The number of rows and the number of columns is determined by the user based on the number of image data (four) determined by the imaging region determination unit 21 as belonging to the region 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture. Further, the set number of rows and columns is input to the image arrangement unit 40. In this embodiment, since the number of image data belonging to the area 29a in Nagasaki Prefecture is four, the number of rows × the number of columns = 2 × 2 is set. However, the number of rows × the number of columns to be set is (number of rows × columns). Number = 1 × 4) or (number of rows × number of columns = 4 × 1), and it is preferable that the user sets appropriately according to the number of image data. Moreover, although Nagasaki Prefecture is described as an example, the same applies to other prefectures.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the image layout unit 40, which is a scatter diagram creation means, plots position information a to d on a graph in which latitude is taken on the vertical axis 41 in the column direction and longitude is taken on the horizontal axis 42 in the row direction. Thus, a scatter diagram 44 is created. Furthermore, the image arrangement unit 40, which is also a classification unit, classifies the scatter diagram 44 into a plurality of groups 45 including the number of rows and the number of columns based on the set number of rows and columns. At this time, classification is performed so that the group 45 includes one piece of position information. Then, the display control unit 23 determines the arrangement of the images 50a to 50d in the area 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture by associating the position information a to d classified into the group 45 with the set number of rows and columns. As shown in FIG. 9, images 50a to 50d are arranged and displayed in the area 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture.

  Thus, the flow which arrange | positions the images 50a-50d in the area | region 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture using the scatter diagram 44 is demonstrated using the flowchart shown in FIG. The Kyushu region is input as the area, and the number of image data determined to have been taken in the areas 29a to 29g of each prefecture is displayed for each area 29a to 29g. Based on the number of image data, the user sets the number of rows and the number of columns (number of rows × number of columns = 2 × 2) for displaying images in the regions 29 a to 29 g of each prefecture by operating the input operation unit 13. The region size determination unit 22 determines the sizes of the regions 29a to 29g in each prefecture based on the region information, the set number of rows and columns, the number of image data, and the adjacency conditions.

  First, the control unit 11 inputs position information a to d of image data belonging to the area 29 a of Nagasaki Prefecture from the first storage unit 16 to the image arrangement unit 40. The image placement unit 40 plots the position information a to d on a graph in which the vertical axis 41 indicates latitude and the horizontal axis 42 indicates longitude, and creates a scatter diagram 44 shown in FIG.

  Further, the image arrangement unit 40 classifies the scatter diagram 44 into a plurality of groups 45 based on the set number of rows and columns. At this time, each group 45 is classified so as to include one piece of position information. A dotted line shown in FIG. 8 is a classification line 46 for visually displaying that the classification is made into the group 45. Thereby, the position information a to d is classified into one of the four groups 45.

  The display control unit 23 associates each group 45 with the area 29a in Nagasaki Prefecture, and displays images 50a to 50d corresponding to the position information a to d in the area 29a as shown in FIG. Thereby, the images 50a to 50d can be efficiently arranged and displayed in the area 29a of Nagasaki Prefecture. As described above, when the arrangement in the area 29a in Nagasaki Prefecture is completed, the same processing is performed for all prefectures in the Kyushu region, such as the area 29b in Saga Prefecture.

  In the above description, the case where the images 50a to 50y are arranged and displayed in the regions 29a to 29g of each prefecture has been described as an example. However, when the images 50a to 50y are arranged and displayed as in the above embodiments, The image may be displayed by reflecting the shooting date and time information of the attribute information added to the image data and the time information of the time stamp.

  In this case, the control unit 11 displays a slider 47 as a designation unit on the left end portion of the display screen 26 as shown in FIG. The slider 47 includes a time bar 48 and an operation unit 49. The operation unit 49 is moved up and down with a mouse or the like. When the operation unit 49 is moved to the uppermost position of the time bar 48, the oldest past (hereinafter referred to as the past) in the time information of the image is set, and when the operation unit 49 is moved to the lowermost position, the present is set.

  The display control unit 23 that is a display switching unit displays the image that has been captured at the time and date corresponding to this position according to the position of the operation unit 49 on the time bar 48 and displays the uncaptured image in monochrome. indicate. In the present embodiment, an image displayed in color indicates a code alphabet in lower case letters (see FIG. 4), and an image displayed in monochrome indicates a code alphabet in upper case letters (see FIG. 11).

  That is, when the operation unit 49 is moved to the lowest position of the time bar 48 and the time axis is currently set, as shown in FIG. 3, all the images 50a arranged and displayed in each prefecture area are displayed. Since ~ 50y has already been photographed, it is displayed in color.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the operation unit 49 is moved to the uppermost position of the time bar 48 and the time axis is set to the past, all the images 50A to 50A arranged in the regions of the prefectures are displayed. Since 50Y is not photographed, it is displayed in monochrome.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 12, in a state where the operation unit 49 is moved to a certain point in the middle of the time bar 48, the images 50A to 50D, 50K to 50R, and 50W to 50Y are displayed in monochrome because they are not taken. The images 50e to 50j and 50s to 50v are displayed in color because they have already been shot.

  In the present embodiment, the display area is a prefecture, but the area may be a landmark such as a country, a municipality, a building, or a park. In the present embodiment, the name of the area is input from the input operation unit 13. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and section information such as latitude and longitude corresponding to the area to be set may be input.

  Further, the present invention has been described using image data as an example of display information. However, the display information is not limited to this, and information such as numerical values and character strings that can be displayed on the display unit 16 is not limited thereto. It may be. Further, the position information associated with the display information may be information (name, latitude, longitude, etc.) indicating landmarks such as a country, a prefecture, a municipality, a building, and a park.

It is a block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of the image display apparatus of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the area | region of the Kyushu area displayed with the reference | standard shape. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which displayed and displayed the image in the area | region of each prefecture of Kyushu district. It is a flowchart explaining the flow which arranges and displays an image in the area | region of each prefecture of Kyushu district. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the image display apparatus which calculates a feature-value vector. It is a flowchart which shows the flow which arranges and displays an image in a field based on a feature quantity vector. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the image display apparatus which arranges and displays an image in an area | region by the number of input rows and columns. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the scatter diagram by which position information was plotted. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which arranged and displayed the image in the area | region of Nagasaki based on a scatter diagram. It is a flowchart which shows the flow which arranges and displays an image in an area | region based on a scatter diagram. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state in which the image which was not image | photographed at the past time is displayed in monochrome. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which displays the image | photographed and unphotographed image at the time of the designated date specified with the slider in color and monochrome.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image display apparatus 11 Control part 13 Input operation part 16 Display part 17 Image database 18 Area | region database 21 Imaging | photography area discrimination | determination part 22 Area | region size determination part 23 Display control part 33 Feature-value vector calculation part 40 Image arrangement | positioning part 44 Scatter chart 47 Slider

Claims (10)

In the information display method for displaying the display information in an aligned manner based on the positional information associated with the display information when displaying the display information on the display means,
Read the region information from a region database in which a plurality of region information indicating regions partitioned on the map are registered,
The position information is read from the display information input by a plurality of information input means,
Determining the area to which the display information belongs based on the area information and the position information;
Based on the region information, determine the adjacent condition between the regions,
An information display method comprising: displaying the area on the display unit based on the adjacency condition; and displaying the determined display information in alignment with the area.   2. The information display method according to claim 1, wherein the size of the area is changed in accordance with the number of pieces of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacent condition. Based on the position information, a feature amount vector indicating a positional relationship between the determined display information is calculated,
3. The information display method according to claim 1, wherein the display information is arranged in the area based on the feature amount vector. The location information consists of latitude and longitude,
In a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to the latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to the longitude, the position information is plotted to create a scatter diagram for each region,
Based on the set number of rows and columns, classify so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups consisting of the number of rows and the number of columns,
3. The information display method according to claim 1, wherein the display information is arranged in the area by the number of rows and the number of columns based on the position information classified into the groups. The displayed information is image data, and date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was taken is added to the image data.
The display state of an image is switched so that a photographed image and an uncaptured image can be distinguished at the time of the designated date and time when the date and time is designated by a designation means for designating a photographed date and time. The information display method according to any one of 1 to 4. When displaying the display information on the display unit, in the information display device that displays the display information in an aligned manner based on the positional information associated with the display information,
A region database in which a plurality of region information indicating regions partitioned on a map are registered;
Information input means for inputting the display information associated with the position information;
Determining means for determining an area to which the display information belongs based on the area information and the position information;
An adjacency condition determining means for determining adjacency conditions between areas based on the area information;
Display control means for displaying the area on the display means based on the adjacency condition, and displaying the displayed information determined by the determination means in alignment with each area. Display device.   The size changing means for changing the size of the area according to the number of pieces of display information determined to belong to each area without changing the adjacency condition. Information display device. Vector calculation means for calculating a feature quantity vector indicating the positional relationship between the determined display information based on the position information,
8. The information display device according to claim 6, wherein the display control unit aligns the display information with the area based on the feature vector. The position information is composed of latitude and longitude, and the position information is plotted on a graph composed of a first axis in the column direction corresponding to the latitude and a second axis in the row direction corresponding to the longitude. A scatter plot creation means for creating a scatter plot for each region;
Setting means for setting the number of rows and the number of columns in which the display information is arranged in the area;
Based on the set number of rows and the number of columns, classification means for performing classification so that one position information belongs to a plurality of groups consisting of the number of rows and the number of columns,
8. The information display according to claim 6, wherein the display control means arranges the display information in the area by the number of rows and the number of columns based on the position information classified into the group. apparatus. The displayed information is image data, and date and time information indicating the date and time when the image was taken is added to the image data.
A designation means for designating the shooting date and time,
And a display switching means for switching a display state of the image so that an image captured at the time of the specified date and time can be distinguished from each other when the date is specified by the specifying means. The information display device according to claim 6.

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