JP2013152526A - Cursor control method and image observation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology for improving convenience and operability in a viewer for observing an image by designating display magnification.SOLUTION: In a cursor control method, when moving a cursor on the basis of an input from a pointing device, a computer calculates the moving speed of the cursor so that the rate of the moving speed of the cursor to the moving speed instructed by the pointing device can change in accordance with the display magnification of an image displayed on a display window.

Description

  The present invention relates to cursor movement control in an image observation apparatus.

  Conventionally, as a method of controlling the cursor by moving the mouse, there is a method of controlling the cursor according to the moving distance of the mouse and the size of the window where the current cursor exists (Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, the movement of the cursor can be changed according to the moving distance of the mouse and the size of the window where the current mouse pointer (cursor) exists. It is also possible to provide a mouse input device that does not cause unnatural movement when moving from one window to another without repeating the movement of the mouse even with a large movement of the mouse pointer. It is said.

  Further, as a method of controlling the cursor by moving the mouse, there is a method of controlling the moving speed of the mouse cursor by a program to be used (Patent Document 2). In Patent Document 2, a plurality of conversion parameters (conversion tables) are stored in a memory, and it is possible to determine which conversion parameter to use according to an operation program (use program). As a result, it is possible to provide a computer system that can freely change the moving speed of the mouse cursor according to the program used.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-80930 JP-A-10-91353

  The present inventors have conducted research and development on a system for observing an image captured by a digital microscope called a virtual microscope using observation software called a viewer.

  When a high-resolution image obtained from a digital microscope or various inspection devices is diagnosed or inspected (hereinafter referred to as observation) on the screen of the display device, the display area of the display device (number of displayable pixels) compared to the image resolution Is generally narrow. Therefore, the entire image cannot be displayed on the screen at once. Therefore, in many cases, a partial area (display area) of an image to be observed is displayed on a display window of a display device for observation.

  In the viewer, the magnification (display magnification) to be displayed in the display window is determined by the size of the image display area and the display window of the display device. For example, even if the display window has the same size, the display magnification increases if the display area is narrow. If the display area is the same, the display magnification is increased if the display window is wide. Of course, it is also possible to select the display area so that the display magnification is not changed even if the display window size is changed.

When performing an operation to specify a part of the display image with the cursor, the higher the display magnification is, the more the observer wants to pay attention to the finer part, so the cursor movement speed is slower than the mouse movement speed. convenient. Further, in an existing non-digitized microscope (optical microscope), the operation of the slide stage knob becomes critical as the optical magnification increases. Therefore, if the control is performed so that the higher the display magnification is, the faster the movement speed of the cursor is relative to the movement speed of the mouse, this is consistent with the observer's experience for the observer using the optical microscope. There is an advantage that the current display magnification can be easily estimated from the movement of the cursor. In this way, the viewer feels that the movement of the cursor by the mouse can be easily used by the viewer by controlling the movement speed of the cursor with respect to the movement speed of the mouse according to the display magnification.

  When the method disclosed in Patent Document 1, that is, the method for changing the movement of the cursor according to the size of the display window is applied to the viewer, the cursor is moved according to the size of the display window that is not directly related to the display magnification. Will change. Therefore, the above-described effect cannot be obtained for the observer.

  In Patent Document 2, the moving speed of the mouse cursor is controlled by the program used. Even if this method is applied to the viewer, it is impossible to control the moving speed of the cursor relative to the moving speed of the mouse according to the display magnification, and the above-described effects cannot be obtained for the observer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for further improving convenience and operability in a viewer capable of observing an image by specifying a display magnification. It is in.

  The cursor control method according to the present invention is a cursor control method in which a computer having a display device and a pointing device controls movement of a cursor on a display screen of the display device based on an input from the pointing device, A computer displaying an image in a display window on the display screen at a specified display magnification by a viewer program; and when the computer moves the cursor based on an input from the pointing device, the display Calculating the moving speed of the cursor so that the ratio of the moving speed of the cursor to the moving speed instructed by the pointing device changes according to the display magnification of the image displayed in the window. Control method characterized by A.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute each step of the cursor control method according to the present invention.

  An image observation apparatus according to the present invention is an image observation apparatus for observing an image, and outputs a display window for displaying an image at a specified display magnification on a display screen of the display device, and the display screen A pointing device for instructing movement of the upper cursor, and when the cursor is moved based on an input from the pointing device, the pointing device uses the pointing device according to a display magnification of an image displayed in the display window. The calculation means for calculating the movement speed of the cursor so that the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor to the instructed movement speed changes, and the cursor on the display screen is moved according to the movement speed calculated by the calculation means. And an image observation apparatus.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to further improve convenience and operability when observing an image by specifying a display magnification in a viewer.

The flowchart which shows control of the cursor of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows control of the cursor of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The flowchart which shows control of the cursor of the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structural example of the computer system which a viewer operate | moves. The figure which showed typically the display apparatus which the viewer operated. The figure which showed typically the whole image and display area of an observation object. The figure which showed typically the display apparatus with which the viewer of 3rd Embodiment operate | moved. The figure which showed typically the display apparatus with which the viewer of 4th Embodiment operate | moved. The figure which shows an example of the moving speed of a mouse | mouth versus the moving speed of a cursor. The figure which shows the other example of the moving speed of the mouse versus the moving speed of the cursor.

  The present invention relates to a cursor control method in an image observation apparatus for outputting a display window for displaying an image at a specified display magnification on a display screen and observing the image. This cursor control method can be preferably used, for example, to display a partial area (display area) of an image to be observed on a display window at an arbitrary display magnification and to support an observation operation. As a specific application example, there is a system (digital microscope system) that takes an image with a digital microscope called a virtual microscope and observes it with a viewer. In this specification, the cursor control method of the present invention will be described in detail by taking a viewer of a digital microscope system as an example.

(Viewer operating environment)
FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of the image observation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, an image observation apparatus is realized by executing a viewer program on a computer system having a display device and a pointing device.

  In FIG. 4, 1 is a computer on which the viewer operates, and 2 is a display device. The computer 1 includes a CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, hard disk drive (HDD) 104, LAN interface (LAN I / F) 105, display control unit 106, video RAM 107, keyboard 108, and mouse 109. In the configuration of FIG. 4, the CPU 101 reads and executes observation software (program) called a viewer stored in the HDD 104. The viewer program may be stored in the HDD 104 or the ROM 102, or may be downloaded from a server (not shown) via the LAN I / F 105 and executed.

  When the viewer is activated, the CPU 101 acquires image data from a server (not shown) via the LAN I / F 105 and stores it in the RAM 101. The image data is not limited to acquisition from the server, but may be stored in the HDD 104 of the computer 1, for example. Then, as will be described later, the CPU 101 performs a desired display by writing a part of the image data (display area image data) stored in the RAM 101 to the video RAM 107 via the display control unit 106. . Of course, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, the CPU 101 may be designed so that image data can be directly written into the video RAM 107. On the other hand, the CPU 101 periodically reads instructions input from the keyboard 108 and the mouse 109. Then, the CPU 101 performs a desired display by writing the image data of the display area into the video RAM 107 in accordance with the instruction of the keyboard 108 or the instruction of the mouse 109.

  The mouse 109 can be used similarly even if it is another pointing device such as a track pad. Instead of the HDD 104, another storage device such as an SSD can be used. The cursor display can be realized by writing cursor-shaped data in the video RAM 107 or can be realized by a known technique using the function of the display control unit 106.

(Viewer operation)
FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a display device on which the viewer operates. In FIG. 5, 2 is a display device, and 200 is a display screen of the display device 2. An application window 201 of the viewer is displayed on the display screen, and image data of the display area to be observed designated by the observer is displayed on the display window 202 in the application window 201. Reference numeral 203 denotes a cursor, which can be moved by an observer's instruction using a pointing device such as a keyboard 108, a mouse 109, or a track pad.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the entire image to be observed and the display area. In FIG. 6, 210 is an example of the entire image to be observed, and 211 is an example of a frame indicating the display area. As described above, the entire image 210 to be observed is high-resolution image data having a very large number of pixels. Therefore, the viewer displays a partial display area 211 of the entire image 210 on the display window 202 (depending on the size and display magnification of the display window). In the actual viewer operation, the CPU 101 performs display by writing the image data in the display area 211 stored in the RAM 101 into the video RAM 107 via the display control unit 106. Further, the CPU 101 determines the movement speed of the cursor 203 based on the movement speed of the mouse 109 and moves it. Control of the movement speed of the cursor 203 with respect to the movement speed of the mouse 109 will be described later.

(Display magnification)
Next, an example of the display magnification when the display area in the viewer is displayed on the display window will be described.

For example, when the display magnification A is set to Ls as the number of pixels in the horizontal (or vertical) direction of the display area and Ld as the number of pixels in the horizontal (or vertical) direction of the display window,
A = K × (Ld / Ls) Equation 1)
It is good to decide. K is a coefficient that can be arbitrarily set. As an easy-to-understand example, if the optical magnification of the microscope used at the time of imaging is 40, the coefficient K is set to 40. At this time, when the number of captured pixels is the same as the number of pixels to be displayed (that is, when Ls = Ld), the display magnification A is determined to be 40 times. In addition, for example, the display magnification may be obtained by using the magnification of an optical microscope in which the viewing angle of the specimen observed with the optical microscope and the viewing angle of the specimen displayed on the display device 2 are the same. This case can also be realized by appropriately determining the coefficient K. Thus, when the coefficient K is determined, the display magnification can be obtained. For example, in the above-described example in which K = 40, when the display area is Ls = 1000 pixels, the display magnification is 40 times as long as the display window is Ld = 1000 pixels. On the other hand, if the display area is not changed and the size of the display window is halved (Ld = 500 pixels), the display magnification is 20 times. Of course, since the number of pixels does not match, it is necessary to apply a spatial low-pass filter to the image data as necessary, and further perform processing such as thinning out the pixels to match the number of pixels in the display area with the number of pixels in the display window. Even if the display window size is the same (Ld = 1000 pixels), the display magnification is 10 times when the display area is Ls = 4000 pixels. Also in this case, since the number of pixels does not match, it is necessary to match the number of pixels in the display area with the number of pixels in the display window as described above.

  The display magnification determination method described above is an example, and the display magnification may be determined by another determination method suitable for the observer's feeling.

(First embodiment)
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. The first embodiment of the present invention is a method for controlling the cursor 203 shown in FIG.

In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the mouse 109 is used for explanation. Of course, the same effect can be obtained even with other pointing devices such as a track pad and a track ball. Further, in the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the control of the cursor 203 will be described. However, the method of the present invention can also be controlled by dragging and scrolling the control when the mouse 109 is moved (drag) while pressing the button. It can be suitably applied to. In the present invention, the term “control of the cursor 203” is used. Of course, the scope claimed by the present invention includes control in dragging and scrolling.

  The gist of the first embodiment of the present invention is to change the speed of the cursor 203 in accordance with the image display magnification in the display window 202. More specifically, the cursor control according to the present embodiment is based on the display magnification and the input of the mouse 109 so that the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor 203 to the movement speed designated by the mouse 109 changes according to the display magnification of the image. It is characterized in that 203 is controlled.

  A method for controlling the speed of the cursor 203 in accordance with the display magnification will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the control of the cursor 203 according to the first embodiment of this invention. First, the CPU 101 reads the display magnification of the image displayed in the display window (step ST100). Next, the CPU 101 reads the movement amount of the mouse 109 at regular time intervals, for example. Then, the CPU 101 calculates the moving speed of the mouse 109 from the moving amount per fixed time (step ST101). Then, the CPU 101 calculates the movement speed (movement distance per unit time) of the cursor 203 from the movement speed of the mouse 109 (step ST102). Details of the calculation of the moving speed of the cursor 203 will be described later. Then, according to the calculated moving speed, the CPU 101 changes the position of the cursor 203 (step ST103). Then, by repeatedly executing the above flow, the cursor 203 moves according to the operation of the mouse 109 of the observer. As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the moving speed of the cursor 203 designated by the mouse 109 is changed according to the display magnification.

  Before describing the calculation method in step ST102, a conventional method for determining a movement amount (movement speed) of the cursor per unit time with respect to a movement amount (movement speed) of the mouse per unit time will be described.

In the conventional cursor control, the moving speed of the cursor 203 is proportional to the moving speed of the mouse 109 or the ratio (ratio value) of the moving speed of the cursor 203 to the moving speed of the mouse 109 is high. It has the characteristic that it gets bigger. These characteristics may be realized by the operating system of the computer 1 on which the viewer operates. These characteristics are indicated by G100 in FIG. 9A and G110 in FIG. 9B. FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams showing an example of the moving speed of the mouse 109 versus the moving speed of the cursor 203. The horizontal axis represents the moving speed of the mouse 109, and the vertical axis represents the moving speed of the cursor 203. The moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 are normalized by the design maximum speed. In FIG. 9A, the characteristic of G100 is a characteristic in which the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 are in a proportional relationship. Some observers feel that the cursor 203 can be moved more accurately when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is proportional to the moving speed of the cursor 203. In FIG. 9B, the characteristic of G110 is a characteristic in which the relationship between the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 becomes a downwardly convex curve. As the moving speed of the mouse 109 increases, the ratio of the moving speed of the cursor 203 to the moving speed of the mouse 109 increases. That is, according to the characteristics of G110, if the mouse 109 is moved quickly, the cursor 203 can be moved larger than the moving distance of the mouse 109. As a result, the coordinates of the cursor 203 and the actual position of the mouse 109 do not correspond to each other, but some observers feel that this matches the sense. Since there is a part of the observer's preference as to which of the characteristics of G100 and G110 is good, there are some which can be changed by the operating system of the computer 1. When the design maximum speed of the cursor 203 having the G110 characteristic is made larger than the G100 characteristic, the G110 characteristic has an advantage that the moving amount of the mouse 109 when moving the cursor 203 to a far position can be reduced.

  Next, the process of step ST102 of the first embodiment of the present invention, that is, the process of calculating the moving speed of the cursor 203 from the moving speed of the mouse 109 will be described.

When the moving speed of the mouse 109 is proportional to the moving speed of the cursor 203, in step ST102, the proportionality constant is switched according to the display magnification, as indicated by G100, G101, and G102 in FIG. This control can be realized, for example, by determining the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 by the following equation.
Vc = R × Vm (Formula 2)
R = f (A)
Here, Vm is the moving speed designated by the mouse 109, R is a coefficient that determines the ratio of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109, A is the display magnification, and f is the relationship between the display magnification A and the coefficient R. Is a function that determines The display magnification A is obtained as described above. As the function f, a monotone increasing function or a monotone decreasing function (for example, a linear function) is used. When the function f is a monotonically increasing function, the ratio (coefficient R) of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109 increases as the display magnification A increases (for example, characteristics when the display magnification is high). Is G100, and the characteristic when the display magnification is low is G102.). Conversely, when the function f is a monotonically decreasing function, the higher the display magnification A, the smaller the ratio (coefficient R) of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109 (for example, the display magnification is low). The characteristic when the display magnification is high is G100, and the characteristic when the display magnification is high is G102).

If the relationship between the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 has the characteristics shown in FIG. 9B, the display magnification is set in step ST102 as G110, G111, G112 in FIG. 9B. The characteristics should be switched according to This control can be realized, for example, by determining the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 by the following equation.
Vc = R × g (Vm) (formula 3)
R = f (A)
Here, Vm is the moving speed designated by the mouse 109, R is a coefficient that determines the ratio of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109, and A is the display magnification. Further, g is a function that determines the relationship (characteristic) between the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109 and the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203, and f is a function that determines the relationship between the display magnification A and the coefficient R. As the function g, a downwardly increasing function (for example, an nth order function (n> 1)) is used. As the function f, a monotone increasing function or a monotone decreasing function (for example, a linear function) is used. At this time, if the function f is a monotonically increasing function, the ratio of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109 increases as the display magnification A increases. If the function f is a monotonically decreasing function, the ratio of the moving speed Vc of the cursor 203 to the moving speed Vm of the mouse 109 decreases as the display magnification A increases.

It is preferable to prepare a plurality of operation modes having different functions f (that is, how to change the coefficient R with respect to the display magnification A) so that the observer can select the operation mode. For example, when an observer zooms in on a region of interest in an image and performs marking or the like on the image using the mouse 109, the cursor 203 needs to be moved finely on the image with a high display magnification. In such a case, it is preferable to select an operation mode that exhibits the characteristics of G102 and G112 when the display magnification is high and the characteristics of G100 and G110 when the display magnification is low. As a result, the higher the display magnification is, the slower the moving speed of the cursor 203 becomes, so that the operation of moving the cursor 203 to a desired position becomes easy. On the other hand, for an observer accustomed to using a conventional optical microscope, conversely, when the display magnification is high, the characteristics of G100 and G110, and when the display magnification is low, G10 is used.
It is preferable to select an operation mode that has characteristics of 2 and G112. As a result, the higher the display magnification is, the faster the movement speed of the cursor 203 becomes, so that the display magnification can be easily estimated from the actual operation experience of the optical microscope.

  9A and 9B show an example in which the characteristics change in three stages. However, if more characteristics are prepared and the characteristics are continuously changed according to the display magnification, the display magnification is changed. A sense of incongruity in the movement of the cursor 203 accompanying the switching can be reduced. In the description of the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, the characteristics below G100 and G110 specified by the operating system are changed. Although an added example is shown, an upper characteristic may be added. In this case, it is preferable to limit the moving speed of the cursor 203 so as not to exceed the design maximum speed. Among these characteristics, the characteristic that the moving speed of the cursor 203 becomes smaller when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is low is preferable because the cursor 203 can be easily moved by the observer. That is, it is more preferable for the viewer to use the characteristics of G110 to G112 (characteristic having a downward convex) than the characteristics of G100 to G102 in the viewer.

  It should be noted that when the execution of the viewer is ended (or when it is deactivated), it is preferable to return to the default characteristics (for example, the characteristics of G100 and the characteristics of G110) realized by the operating system of the computer 1. Accordingly, even when the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor 203 to the movement speed of the mouse 109 changes as the viewer is executed, the operating system specifies the movement speed of the cursor 203 when operating another application. Return to normal speed.

  As described above, according to the cursor control method of the present embodiment, the moving speed of the cursor 203 on the image is changed according to the display magnification of the image, so that the image is observed while switching the display magnification. Convenience and operability can be improved. For example, by controlling so that the moving speed of the cursor 203 becomes slower as the display magnification becomes higher, detailed operations such as accurately aligning the cursor position with the watched portion on the enlarged image are facilitated. Conversely, if the control is performed so that the moving speed of the cursor 203 increases as the display magnification increases, the observer can easily estimate the current display magnification from the response speed of the cursor 203 to the operation of the pointing device. effective.

(Second Embodiment)
When the characteristics of G101, G102, G111, and G112 in FIGS. 9A and 9B are selected, the moving speed of the cursor 203 is suppressed, so that the mouse 109 is moved to move the cursor 203 by a large distance. Many operations are required. That is, in the method of the first embodiment, when the cursor 203 is to be moved largely, the operation efficiency of the observer may be lowered depending on the display magnification. The second embodiment of the present invention is an embodiment that solves this problem.

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment can be executed in the same operating environment (FIG. 4) and the same flow (FIG. 1) as the first embodiment. Therefore, these descriptions are omitted. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the characteristics used in step ST102.

Processing for calculating the moving speed of the cursor 203 from the moving speed of the mouse 109 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 (a) to 10 (d). 10 (a) to 10 (d) are diagrams showing examples of the moving speed of the mouse 109 versus the moving speed of the cursor 203, as in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b). The horizontal axis represents the moving speed of the mouse 109, and the vertical axis represents the moving speed of the cursor 203. The moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 are normalized by the design maximum speed. 10A to 10D, G100 and G110 are characteristics realized by the operating system of the computer 1 on which the viewer operates.

  FIG. 10A shows an example in which the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 are proportional to each other in the default characteristic G100, and the characteristics are switched as indicated by G103 and G104 according to the display magnification. FIG. 10C shows an increase function in which the relationship between the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 is a downwardly increasing function in the default characteristic G110, and the characteristics as shown in G113 and G114 according to the display magnification. Is an example of switching. That is, in these controls, while the movement speed of the cursor 203 is suppressed as compared with the normal movement speed (default characteristics), the movement speed of the cursor 203 is set to the normal speed when the movement speed of the mouse 109 is the maximum value. Keep the same value as the moving speed.

  FIG. 10B shows an example in which the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 are in a proportional relationship in the default characteristic G100, and the characteristics are switched as indicated by G105 and G106 according to the display magnification. FIG. 10D shows an increase function in which the relationship between the moving speed of the mouse 109 and the moving speed of the cursor 203 is a downwardly increasing function in the default characteristic G110, and the characteristics as shown in G115 and G116 according to the display magnification. Is an example of switching. That is, in these controls, when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is smaller than the threshold value Vt, the moving speed of the cursor 203 is reduced below the normal moving speed, but when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is Vt or higher, the moving speed of the cursor 203 is reduced. Is equal to the normal movement speed. The threshold value Vt is arbitrary, but may be set to a value of about 60% to 100% of the maximum design speed, for example. 10A and 10C can be regarded as examples in which the threshold value Vt is set to a value that is 100% of the maximum design speed.

  If the moving speed of the cursor 203 is determined in accordance with the characteristics as shown in FIGS. 10A to 10D, when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is high, the cursor 203 has a normal moving speed (in the case of the default characteristics). Move at the same speed or almost the same speed. Therefore, regardless of the display magnification, the cursor 203 can be moved quickly (that is, by a large distance) by moving the mouse 109 quickly, so that more efficient operation is possible compared to the first embodiment.

  As in the first embodiment, it is preferable to prepare a plurality of operation modes so that the observer can select the operation mode. For example, when an observer zooms in on a region of interest in an image and performs marking or the like on the image using the mouse 109, the cursor 203 needs to be moved finely on the image with a high display magnification. In such a case, it is preferable to select an operation mode that exhibits the characteristics of G104, G114, G106, and G116 when the display magnification is high, and the characteristics of G100 and G110 when the display magnification is low. As a result, the higher the display magnification is, the slower the moving speed of the cursor 203 is, so that the operation of moving the cursor 203 to a desired position is facilitated. On the other hand, an observer accustomed to using a conventional optical microscope, on the other hand, may have G100 or G110 characteristics when the display magnification is high, and G104, G114, G106 or G116 characteristics when the display magnification is low. Choose an appropriate operating mode. As a result, the higher the display magnification is, the faster the moving speed of the cursor 203 is, so that the display magnification can be easily estimated from the actual experience of operating the optical microscope.

  FIGS. 10A to 10D show examples in which the characteristics change in three stages. However, if more characteristics are prepared and the characteristics are continuously changed according to the display magnification, the display magnification is changed. A sense of incongruity in the movement of the cursor 203 accompanying the switching can be reduced.

As described in the first embodiment, when the execution of the viewer is terminated (or inactivated), the default characteristics realized by the operating system of the computer 1 (for example, characteristics of G100 and characteristics of G110) It is preferable to return to. 10A to 10D show an example in which the lower characteristic is added to the characteristics of G100 and G110 specified by the operating system, but the upper characteristic is added. Also good. 10 (a) and 10 (b), the characteristics of G103, G104, G105, and G106 are represented by a combination of two linear functions with different slopes, but the slope may be changed in three or more stages. The change point of the tilt may be set freely. In addition, these characteristics may be characteristics represented by curves as long as they are monotonically increasing functions. Similarly, the characteristics of G113, G114, G115, and G116 in FIGS. 10C and 10D may be any characteristics as long as they are monotonously increasing functions that are convex downward. In addition, the characteristic when the threshold value is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vt does not need to be completely coincident with the default characteristic. If it does not drop substantially.

  As described above, in the cursor control method according to the second embodiment, when the moving speed of the mouse 109 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value or the maximum value, the moving speed of the cursor 203 regardless of the display magnification of the image. Is controlled so as not to decrease compared to the normal moving speed. As a result, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, it is possible to move the cursor 203 over a large distance by a moving operation with a small amount of the mouse 109, and the effect that the operation efficiency can be improved is obtained.

(Third embodiment)
The operation of the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing a display device on which a viewer according to the third embodiment of the present invention operates. In FIG. 7, the description of the symbols described in FIG. 5 is omitted. In FIG. 7, 203a and 203b indicate cursor positions that are different in time. In other words, the cursor 203a is outside the viewer application window 201 at a certain time, and the cursor 203b is above the application window 201 at another certain time.

  In the third embodiment of the present invention, in the case of the position of the cursor 203a, the cursor control according to the display magnification is not performed (the moving speed of the cursor remains the normal speed). On the other hand, in the case of the position of the cursor 203b, the cursor control of the first or second embodiment is performed. That is, on a multitasking computer that can execute multiple applications, cursor control is performed according to the image display magnification when the viewer is operated, and the cursor movement speed is set to the default when operating an application other than the viewer. Return. Therefore, for the application other than the viewer, it is possible to operate the mouse 109 without any sense of incongruity for the observer.

  Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. The third embodiment can be executed in the same operating environment (FIG. 4) as the first and second embodiments. Therefore, these descriptions are omitted. A method for controlling the speed of the cursor 203 in accordance with the display magnification according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control of the cursor 203 according to the third embodiment of this invention.

First, the CPU 101 reads the display magnification of the image displayed in the viewer display window (step ST100). Next, the CPU 101 reads the movement amount of the mouse 109 at regular time intervals, for example. Then, the CPU 101 calculates the moving speed of the mouse 109 from the moving amount per fixed time (step ST101). Next, CPU 101 reads the position of cursor 203 (step ST110). Then, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the position of the cursor 203 is inside the viewer application window 201 (step ST111). If the position of the cursor 203 is inside the application window 201 of the viewer, the process proceeds to step ST102 and step ST103, and the moving speed of the cursor 203 is controlled by the method described in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. . If the position of the cursor 203 is not inside the viewer application window 201, the process proceeds to steps ST112 and ST103, and the cursor 203 is moved at a normal movement speed without controlling the movement speed of the cursor 203.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the cursor control corresponding to the image display magnification is executed only when the cursor 203 is displayed in the application window of the viewer, and in other cases, the cursor is normally set. Added behavior (default behavior). As a result, when the observer moves the cursor 203 on the viewer, the effects shown in the first and second embodiments can be obtained. On the other hand, when an application other than the viewer is operated with the mouse 109, the cursor 203 operates at a normal moving speed, so that there is an effect that the mouse 109 can be operated without any sense of incongruity for the observer.

(Fourth embodiment)
A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The operation of the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing a display device on which a viewer according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention operates. In FIG. 8, the description of the symbols described in FIG. 5 is omitted. There are two display windows 202 and 204 in the application window 201 of the viewer, and an image with a higher display magnification than the display window 204 is displayed in the display window 202. In FIG. 8, 203d and 203c indicate cursor positions that are temporally different. That is, the cursor 203c is in the display window 202 at a certain time, and the cursor 203d is in the display window 204 at another certain time.

  The fourth embodiment of the present invention performs cursor control according to the display magnification of the display window when the cursor is inside the display window 202 or 204, and performs cursor control when the cursor is not inside the display window. Do not do it. By controlling the cursor 203 in this way, even if the viewer has a plurality of display windows with different display magnifications, the movement speed of the cursor 203 can be controlled according to the display magnification of the display window. Therefore, the effects shown in the first and second embodiments can be obtained for each display window. Further, when the cursor 203 is at a position outside the display window, the moving speed of the cursor 203 returns to the default, so that the mouse 109 can be operated without any sense of incongruity for the observer.

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fourth embodiment can be executed in the same operating environment (FIG. 4) as the first, second, and third embodiments. Therefore, these descriptions are omitted. A method for controlling the speed of the cursor 203 according to the display magnification according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control of the cursor 203 according to the fourth embodiment of this invention.

First, the CPU 101 reads display magnifications of all display windows 202 and 204 opened in the application window 201 of the viewer (step ST120). Next, the CPU 101 reads the movement amount of the mouse 109 at regular time intervals, for example. Then, the CPU 101 calculates the moving speed of the mouse 109 from the moving amount per fixed time (step ST101). Then, CPU 101 reads the position of cursor 203 (step ST110). Next, CPU 101 determines whether or not the position of cursor 203 is inside any display window of the viewer (step ST121). If the position of the cursor 203 is inside any one of the display windows, the process proceeds to step ST102 and step ST103, and the movement is controlled by the method shown in the first embodiment or the second embodiment. At this time, cursor control according to the display magnification of the display window including the cursor 203 is performed. If the position of the cursor 203 is not inside the display window, the process proceeds to step ST112 and step ST103, and the cursor 203 is moved at a normal movement speed without controlling the movement speed of the cursor 203.

  As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the cursor control corresponding to the image display magnification is executed only when the cursor 203 is in the display window, and in other cases, the cursor 203 is operated normally (default operation). ). As a result, when the observer moves the cursor 203 on the image displayed on the viewer, the effects shown in the first and second embodiments can be obtained. On the other hand, when an area other than the display window is operated with the mouse 109, the cursor 203 operates at a normal moving speed, so that there is an effect that the mouse 109 can be operated without any sense of incongruity for the observer. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of display windows, the moving speed of the cursor 203 is controlled in accordance with the display magnification of each display window, so that convenience and operability can be further improved.

  The present invention can be suitably applied to a digital microscope system called a virtual microscope. In addition, the present invention can be suitably applied to a viewer that can display an image by switching the display magnification.

  1: computer, 2: display device, 109: mouse (pointing device), 200: display screen, 202: display window, 203: cursor

Claims (10)

A computer having a display device and a pointing device is a cursor control method for controlling movement of a cursor on a display screen of the display device based on an input from the pointing device,
The computer displays an image in a display window on the display screen at a specified display magnification by a viewer program;
When the computer moves the cursor based on an input from the pointing device, the movement of the cursor with respect to the moving speed instructed by the pointing device according to the display magnification of the image displayed in the display window Calculating the moving speed of the cursor so that the rate of speed changes;
A cursor control method comprising: 2. The step of calculating the movement speed of the cursor decreases the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor to the movement speed instructed by the pointing device as the display magnification of the image is higher. Cursor control method. The step of calculating the moving speed of the cursor increases the ratio of the moving speed of the cursor to the moving speed instructed by the pointing device as the display magnification of the image is higher. Cursor control method. The cursor control according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a relationship between a moving speed instructed by the pointing device and a moving speed of the cursor is represented by a downwardly increasing function. Method. In the step of calculating the movement speed of the cursor, the movement speed of the cursor is normally set regardless of the display magnification of the image when the movement speed instructed by the pointing device is equal to or greater than a threshold value or in the case of the maximum value. The cursor control method according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed of the cursor is calculated so as not to decrease compared to the moving speed of the cursor. The computer further comprising determining whether the cursor position is included in an application window of the viewer program in which the display window is included;
According to the display magnification of the image, the process of calculating the movement speed of the cursor so that the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor to the movement speed instructed by the pointing device changes in the application window. 6. The cursor control method according to claim 1, wherein the cursor control method is executed only when a position is included. The computer further comprising determining whether the position of the cursor is included in the display window;
According to the display magnification of the image, the process of calculating the movement speed of the cursor so that the ratio of the movement speed of the cursor to the movement speed instructed by the pointing device changes in the display window. 6. The cursor control method according to claim 1, wherein the cursor control method is executed only when a position is included. In the step of calculating the movement speed of the cursor when a plurality of display windows having different display magnifications are displayed, the movement speed of the cursor is calculated according to the display magnification of the display window including the cursor. The cursor control method according to claim 7, wherein:   A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the cursor control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8. An image observation apparatus for observing an image,
Means for outputting a display window for displaying an image at a specified display magnification on the display screen of the display device;
A pointing device for instructing movement of the cursor on the display screen;
When moving the cursor based on the input from the pointing device, the ratio of the moving speed of the cursor to the moving speed instructed by the pointing device is determined according to the display magnification of the image displayed in the display window. A calculating means for calculating the moving speed of the cursor so as to change;
Means for moving the cursor on the display screen according to the moving speed calculated by the calculating means;
An image observation apparatus comprising:

Images