JP2016115215A - Image display system, image display method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the labor of an operator in the case of displaying a plurality of images associated with a plurality of thumbnails or the like.SOLUTION: The image display system includes: display means for displaying a plurality of thumbnail images; drag means for dragging a first thumbnail image from the plurality of thumbnail images; specification means for specifying thumbnail images staying on a path since the first thumbnail image is dragged until it is dropped among the plurality of thumbnail images; and display control means for, when the first thumbnail image is dropped, allowing the display means to display the thumbnail images specified by the specification means and a plurality of images associated with the first thumbnail image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The disclosed technology relates to an image display system, an image display method, and a program.

  Conventionally, an image associated with a thumbnail or the like is displayed by dragging and dropping a thumbnail or an icon displayed on the display into an image display area.

  As a method for displaying an image from a thumbnail by a simple operation, a technique for displaying an image by displaying a window for designating a display position of the image in the vicinity of the dragged thumbnail and dropping the window on this window is known ( Patent Document 1). According to this technique, it is not necessary to drag a thumbnail to an area where an image is actually displayed, and an image associated with the thumbnail can be easily displayed.

JP 2010-86149 A

  However, since one drag and drop operation is required to display one image, it is necessary to perform multiple drag and drop operations when displaying a plurality of images, which is a burden on the operator. It was.

  The disclosed technology has been made in view of such a situation, and an object thereof is to reduce an operator's load when displaying a plurality of images associated with a plurality of thumbnails or the like.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described object, and is a function and effect derived from each configuration shown in the embodiment for carrying out the present invention, which is another object of the present invention. It can be positioned as one.

  In order to solve the above problem, an information processing system disclosed includes a display unit that displays a plurality of thumbnail images, a drag unit that drags a first thumbnail image from the plurality of thumbnail images, and a plurality of thumbnail images. Among them, a specifying means for specifying a thumbnail image in a path from when the first thumbnail image is dragged to being dropped, and a thumbnail specified by the specifying means when the first thumbnail image is dropped Display control means for causing the display means to display a plurality of images associated with the image and the first thumbnail image.

  The burden on the operator when displaying a plurality of images associated with a plurality of thumbnails can be reduced.

It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of an information processing system. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of information processing apparatus. It is a functional block diagram which shows an example of the function of information processing apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of a display screen. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the method of changing the display method of an image. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the method of changing the display method of an image. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of an operation according to the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an information processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the structure shown in the following embodiment is only an example, and this invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

<Embodiment 1>
In the first embodiment, the user selects a plurality of desired images before the user drags and drops an arbitrary thumbnail image, and displays the image in a desired image display method in the image display area.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system (image display system). The information processing system includes an information processing apparatus 11, a mouse 13, a keyboard 14, and displays 121 and 122.

  The information processing apparatus 11 is connected with two displays 121 and a display 122, and a mouse 13 and a keyboard 14 as input devices. In this embodiment, for the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that image data is stored in the information processing apparatus 11, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as a typical configuration example, there is a configuration in which an image is distributed from an image server device or the like to the information processing device 11 via a network. In this case, the information processing apparatus 11 is further connected to a network, and an image distribution server is arranged on the network. In FIG. 1, the two displays 121 and 122 are provided, but one display may be provided. Moreover, although it was set as the structure provided with the mouse | mouth 13 and the keyboard 114, it is good also as employ | adopting a touch panel as an input device, for example, the display 121,122 may be a display which has a touch-panel function.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the information processing apparatus 11.

  The information processing apparatus 11 includes a CPU 211, a RAM 212, a ROM 213, an HDD 214, a network I / F 215, an input device I / F 216, a display I / F 217, and a bus 221.

  The CPU 211 controls the information processing system by executing a program stored in the HDD 214. That is, when the CPU 211 executes the program, the information processing system functions as various means for executing each process shown in a flowchart described later. Functions realized by the CPU 211 executing a program will be described later with reference to FIG. The program executed by the CPU 211 may be stored in the ROM 213 instead of the HDD 214.

  A RAM 212 is a RAM (Random Access Memory) and is used as a work memory necessary for the operation of the CPU 211.

  The ROM 213 is a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores instructions and data necessary for the CPU 211. For example, the CPU 101 may function as various means by developing a control program read from the ROM 213 in the RAM 212 and executing it.

  The HDD 214 is an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and stores program data for realizing the image display method in the present embodiment. The program data may be stored in the ROM 213. In addition, although the HDD 214 is configured by Hard Disk Drive, the present invention is not limited to this, and SSD (Solid State Drive) or the like may be used.

  A network I / F 215 is an interface for the information processing apparatus 11 to connect to a network.

  The input device I / F 216 is an interface to which the mouse 13 and the keyboard 14 of the input device are connected.

  A display I / F 217 is an interface to which the display 220 is connected. The display 220 includes the display 121 and the display 122 in FIG.

  Each block of the information processing apparatus 11 from the CPU 211 to the display I / F 217 is connected to the bus 221 so as to communicate with each other.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating an example of functions of the information processing apparatus.

  The CPU 211 functions as each unit illustrated in FIG. 3 by executing a program stored in the HDD 214. Specifically, the CPU 211 functions as a cursor control unit 301, a drag and drop detection unit 302, an information recording unit 303, a cursor position determination unit 304, a trajectory information determination unit 305, and an image display control unit 306. Note that the information processing apparatus 11 may include one or more CPUs 211 and HDDs 214. That is, when at least one processing device (CPU) and at least one storage device (HDD or the like) are connected, and at least one processing device executes a program stored in at least one storage device In addition, the information processing apparatus 11 functions as each of the above-described units.

  In response to an instruction from the input device 310, the cursor control unit 301 controls the cursor displayed on the screen. Specifically, the cursor control unit 301 acquires a signal indicating that the mouse 311 has moved via the input device I / F 216. The cursor control unit 301 moves the cursor displayed on the display 320 based on the movement amount of the mouse 311. That is, the cursor control unit 301 functions as a display control unit that causes the display 320 to display a cursor that moves with the movement of the mouse 311 (sometimes referred to as a mouse cursor).

  The drag and drop detection unit 302 detects dragging and dropping with the mouse 310. The drag and drop detection unit 302 acquires, via the input device I / F 216, a signal indicating that the button included in the mouse 311 has been pressed while the cursor is positioned on the thumbnail image. When a signal indicating that the button included in the mouse 311 is pressed is acquired and the cursor control unit 301 detects the movement of the mouse 311, it is determined that dragging is started. Note that the drag and drop detection unit 302 determines that the thumbnail image at which the cursor is located at the time when the button of the mouse 311 is pressed is the thumbnail image to be dragged. In addition, the drag and drop detection unit 302 determines that the drop has been performed when the signal indicating that the button of the mouse 311 has been pressed is detected via the input device I / F 216 after detecting the start of the drag. To do. Note that detecting a drop is equivalent to detecting the end of a drag. That is, the drag and drop detection unit 302 determines that dragging is continued until a drop is detected. Whether or not the cursor is positioned on the thumbnail image during dragging is determined based on the cursor position acquired by the cursor position determination unit 304 described later and the position of the thumbnail image displayed by the image display control unit 306. It is possible.

  The information recording unit 303 records various types of information in a storage unit such as the RAM 212. For example, the information recording unit 303 stores information such as information on thumbnail images that are dragged targets and trajectory information related to image display control in the storage unit. Here, the trajectory information is, for example, information indicating a route from detection of the start of drag to detection of drop. More specifically, the trajectory information is information indicating a movement path on the display area of the cursor from the start of the drag until the drop is detected. Note that the information recording unit 303 stores, for example, information indicating the movement of the mouse 311 acquired by the cursor control unit 301 in the period from when the drag and drop detection unit 302 detects the start of drag until the drop is detected, as trajectory information. Is recorded in the RAM 212 or the like.

  The cursor position determination unit 304 determines at which position on the display area of the display 320 the cursor is positioned. For example, the cursor position determination unit 304 acquires a signal indicating the amount of movement of the mouse 311 from the mouse 311 via the input device I / F 216. Then, the cursor position determination unit 304 determines the position of the cursor on the display area of the display 320 by adding the acquired movement amount to the initial position of the known cursor, for example. Whether or not the cursor is positioned on the thumbnail image can be determined based on the cursor position acquired by the cursor position determination unit 304 and the position of the thumbnail image displayed by the image display control unit 306. . The image display control unit 306 grasps the position of the displayed thumbnail image on the display area of the display 320. Therefore, the cursor position determination unit 304 can determine whether or not the cursor is positioned on the thumbnail image based on the position of the thumbnail image and the cursor position acquired by itself. Using the detection result of the drag and drop detection unit 302, the cursor position determination unit 304 can determine whether or not the cursor is positioned on the thumbnail image during dragging.

  That is, the drag-and-drop detection unit 302, the cursor position determination unit 304, and the display control unit 306 can cooperate to determine a thumbnail image on the locus (route) indicated by the locus information. Accordingly, the drag and drop detection unit 302, the cursor position determination unit 304, and the image display control unit 306 select a thumbnail image on the path from the first thumbnail image to the drop of the plurality of thumbnail images. This corresponds to an example of specifying means for specifying.

  The trajectory information determination unit 305 determines trajectory information drawn by moving the cursor during dragging. The trajectory information determination unit 305 determines whether the display format of the image has been changed based on the path (trajectory) of the cursor being dragged. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 to be described later, the display format of the image is changed when an operation of shaking the mouse to the left or right or up and down is performed during dragging.

  The image display control unit 306 performs display control of various images. For example, a plurality of thumbnail images are displayed on the display 121 as shown in FIG. That is, the display 121 corresponds to an example of a display unit that displays a plurality of thumbnail images.

  Further, the image display control unit 306 displays an image associated with an image associated with a thumbnail image existing in the path from the drag to the drop when the drag and drop detection unit 302 detects the drop. To display. In addition, the image display control unit 306 displays an image associated with the dragged thumbnail image on the display. That is, when the first thumbnail image is dropped, the image display control unit 306 displays the thumbnail image specified by the specifying unit and a plurality of images associated with the first thumbnail image on the display unit. It corresponds to an example of means. More specifically, when a drop is detected by the drag and drop detection unit 302, the image display control unit 306 causes the display 122 to display an image associated with the thumbnail image.

  The input device 310 includes a mouse 311 and a keyboard 312. The mouse 311 corresponds to the mouse 11 in FIG. 1, and the keyboard 312 corresponds to the keyboard 14 in FIG. The thumbnail image is dragged by pressing a button of the mouse 311 and moving the mouse 311. That is, the mouse 311 corresponds to an example of a drag unit that drags the first thumbnail image from a plurality of thumbnail images.

  The display 320 includes the display 121 and the display 122 in FIG. 1, and displays the result obtained in the information processing apparatus 11.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen. An input device (mouse 13 and keyboard 14) and two displays 121 and 122 are connected to the information processing apparatus 11. For example, the display 121 displays a plurality of thumbnail images in a matrix (thumbnail view 41). On the display 122, an image display area 42 is prepared as an area for displaying a thumbnail image selected in the thumbnail view 41 in an appropriate size. That is, an image associated with the thumbnail image is displayed in the image display area 42. An image larger than the normal thumbnail image is displayed in the image display area 42.

  In the thumbnail view 41, the thumbnail images displayed in a matrix are divided into groups a to d, and the types of images are classified. The image type corresponds to, for example, the type of modality, and group a can be set as an X-ray image, group b can be set as a CT image, and the like. That is, each of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display means has an image type.

  Further, the horizontal axis of the matrix display indicates a new image as the time axis, for example, from the left of the screen to the right of the screen. Therefore, the thumbnail images displayed in one block of the matrix indicate images belonging to a predetermined group and a predetermined time.

  An example of the operation (image display method) of the information processing system configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 5 and the screen examples of FIGS.

  Note that the user's purpose is to display a plurality of desired images among the images displayed as thumbnail images in the display area of the display 122 by a desired image display method. The image display method typically refers to a method of displaying images side by side or displaying them in a superimposed manner, and includes sorting the order of arrangement and the priority of how to overlap by various elements.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 5, first, the drag and drop detection unit 302 detects the start of dragging an arbitrary thumbnail image displayed on the display 121 (step F5-1). Thereafter, the information processing apparatus 11 recognizes that the user is dragging until the drop process is performed. FIG. 6 shows a state immediately after the start of dragging the thumbnail image a1 of the image group 1. The dragged thumbnail image is determined to be a display target image by the cursor position determination unit 304 and the drag and drop start / end detection unit 302. Further, the information recording unit 303 accumulates information that the thumbnail image a1 is a display target image in a storage unit such as the RAM 212.

  A preview area 61 is generated in accordance with an instruction from the image display control unit 306 so that the currently selected display target image and the display state in the display area can be previewed in the vicinity of the drag cursor, which is a cursor after the start of dragging. The The preview area 61 is displayed near the cursor in accordance with the movement of the cursor until the drop is executed thereafter. That is, the image display control unit 306 moves the preview image on the display unit in accordance with the drag of the first thumbnail image.

  In the preview area 61, a display in which the thumbnail image currently selected as the display target image and the display method can be grasped is displayed. Then, the display content is updated in real time in an operation of adding a display target image during dragging or an operation of changing the image display method, which will be described later. Note that the image display area 42 may be displayed in the same manner as the preview area 61. In the preview area 61, a copy of the thumbnail image dragged first may be displayed. In addition, in order to show that the image displayed in the preview area 61 is different from the thumbnail image, a process such as making it semi-transparent may be performed.

  As described above, the image display control unit 306 includes the thumbnail image specified by the specifying unit displayed on the display unit when the first thumbnail image is dropped while the first thumbnail image is being dragged. A preview image indicating a display format of a plurality of images associated with the first thumbnail image is displayed on the display means.

  While performing the drag operation, the trajectory information determination unit 305 determines whether or not an operation related to image display control has been performed (step F5-2). That is, when a predetermined trajectory as illustrated in FIG. 8 is drawn in the drag operation, for example, the trajectory information determination unit 305 determines the type of change to be applied to the image display method based on the trajectory. Based on the determination, the image display control unit 306 records the change in the image display method in the storage unit such as the RAM 212, and the image display control unit 306 performs a process of reflecting the change in the preview area 61 (step F5). -3).

  FIG. 7 shows an example in which the user starts dragging from the thumbnail image a1 and sequentially moves the drag cursor on the thumbnail images a2, a3, and a4 that are to be additionally displayed. FIG. 7 shows a state immediately after the drag cursor has passed with the thumbnail image a4 as the last display target image.

  After the thumbnail image a1 is started to be dragged, when the drag cursor is moved by the input device 310 and comes over the thumbnail image a2, the cursor position determination unit 304 determines that the cursor is on the thumbnail image a2. (Step F5-4). The information recording unit 303 additionally records information that the thumbnail image a2 is a display target image in a storage unit such as the RAM 212. Further, the image display control unit 306 performs a process of reflecting the change on the preview area 61 near the drag cursor (step F5-5). At this time, the thumbnail image a1 and the thumbnail image a2 are displayed side by side in the preview area 71 in which the thumbnail image a2 is added to the preview area 61. The thumbnail image selected as the display target image is given a visual effect such as a color scheme for distinguishing it from other thumbnail images. For example, as a square effect, the image display control unit 306 may display the frame of the selected thumbnail image in a color different from that of the other thumbnail images.

  In the example shown in FIG. 7, the same processing as that for the thumbnail image a2 is performed for the thumbnail image a3 and the thumbnail image a4. As a result, the results shown in the preview area 72 and the preview area 73 are obtained.

  In the above procedure, the user performs a drag operation so that all the images to be displayed are passed over the thumbnail images with the drag cursor. When the drag cursor moves over any thumbnail image, the image is added as a display target image. In addition, since the selection status and display method of the current display target image are updated in the preview area, the user can see at a glance what kind of image display is obtained when the user drops the current image.

  After the thumbnail image a4 is added as the display target image, if the last image desired by the user as the display target is the thumbnail image a4, the user drops it on an arbitrary place or drops it on the thumbnail image a4 (Step F5-6). That is, the image display control unit 306 does not display only the image related to the thumbnail image through which the drag cursor has passed, but the image display control unit 306 displays the image related to the thumbnail image that exists in the path from the drag start to the drop. Is displayed. Note that only images related to the thumbnail image through which the drag cursor has passed may be displayed in order to prevent a thumbnail image selection error or the like.

  When the drag start / end detection unit 302 detects that it has been dropped in step F5-6, an image related to the display target image determined in the process so far in accordance with an instruction from the image display control unit 306 is displayed in the image display area 42. An image is displayed on (Step F5-7). In addition, the image display control unit 306 erases the preview area when the image is dropped. That is, when the first thumbnail image is dropped, the image display control unit 306 deletes the preview image from the display unit.

  What kind of image display can be obtained when dropped is always confirmed in the preview area before dropping. Therefore, if the display method is intended by the user, the drop may be performed on the thumbnail image immediately after the thumbnail image a4 is selected or at any other location. Note that the image displayed in the image display area 42 may be an image obtained by enlarging the thumbnail image, or may be an image before reduction associated with the thumbnail image. If an icon is used instead of a thumbnail image, an image associated with the icon is displayed in the image display area 42. Note that the information associated with the thumbnail image or icon is not limited to the image, but may be a document such as an electronic medical record.

  On the other hand, when it is desired to change the image display method, for example, the order of arrangement, the image display method can be controlled by drawing a predetermined locus with a drag cursor (drawing a predetermined locus with a mouse). That is, an operation of drawing a predetermined locus different from the normal drag cursor movement operation as shown in FIG. 8 before the drop is executed. When the trajectory information is determined as trajectory information related to image display control by the trajectory information determination unit 305, image display control is performed so that the display target image is displayed by an image display method determined according to the trajectory information. Display control is performed by the unit 306.

  When the drag cursor is moved over any thumbnail image during the operation of the drag cursor determined as the trajectory information related to the image display control by the trajectory information determination unit 305, the thumbnail image is displayed as the display target image. It is good also as controlling so that it is not selected as.

  As a user-friendly interface, control may be performed so that the thumbnail image is selected as a display target image by temporarily stopping the drag cursor when the drag cursor is on the thumbnail image.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the predetermined trajectory is a continuous operation that is clearly different from the normal drag cursor operation, and is displayed from the state of <time series, oldest order, horizontal order> in the standard image display method, that is, in this embodiment. It is possible to change the method. The example shown in FIG. 8 is merely an example, and the display method may be changed by another method, or the standard state may be changed. In FIG. 8, as an example, the display format is changed to <time series / new order / horizontal arrangement> when shaking left and right with acceleration, and <time series / old order / vertical arrangement> when shaking up and down with acceleration. As another example, if you draw a clockwise circle, the display format is changed to <Time Series, Oldest, Overlapping>, and if you draw a counterclockwise circle, <Timeline, Newest, Overlapping>. The That is, the image display control unit 306 determines the thumbnail image specified by the specifying unit displayed on the display unit when the first thumbnail image is dropped according to the path (trajectory) from the drag to the drop. The display format of the plurality of images associated with the first thumbnail image is changed.

  By drawing a trajectory related to these image display methods with a drag cursor, the user can freely change the display state of the image to a desired state before dropping. FIG. 8 is an example, and there may be various other things such as trajectory information for returning to the standard state. As soon as the trajectory information is drawn, the control result of the image display method is reflected in the preview area near the cursor. For this reason, since the display state at the time of dropping is always known, the operation is completed if the user performs a drop in an arbitrary area when he / she likes it, and a desired image display state is displayed in the image display area.

  During the operation of the drag cursor, the trajectory information immediately before the drag cursor enters the thumbnail image can be used as trajectory information related to image display control. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when entering straight from the relative position from the thumbnail image selected by the movement of the drag cursor as the previous display target image (a) and when entering around (b) In this case, the image display method is controlled differently. That is, the trajectory information determination unit 305 determines the cases of (a) and (b) in FIG. 9 based on whether the trajectory from the thumbnail image a3 to the thumbnail image a4 is a substantially linear trajectory or a curved trajectory. ing. When the approach locus in (a) is the locus information displayed by arranging the images and the approach locus in (b) is the locus information displayed by overlapping the images, the state of the screen immediately after the entry is shown in the preview area of FIG. Has been. That is, there are a format for displaying images side by side and a format for displaying images superimposed on each other as a display format of the images. In the above example, the trajectory information determination unit 305 determines that the trajectory information related to the image display control is obtained immediately before or after the drag cursor enters the thumbnail image a4, and the cursor position determination unit 304 continues to move the cursor. This is a case where it is determined that the image is on the thumbnail image a4. Then, image display control is performed by the image display control unit 306 at the same time when the drag cursor enters the thumbnail image a4. That is, the image display control unit 306 changes the display method based on the determination result of the trajectory information determination unit 305. In the preview area, the display is updated at the same time, so that the display state when the image is dropped can be confirmed. As described above, the image display control unit 306 can change the display format according to the path between the first thumbnail image and another thumbnail image included in the drag path. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the image display control unit 306 determines whether the path between the first thumbnail image and the other thumbnail images included in the drag path is a substantially straight line. The display format can be changed depending on whether it is a curve.

  The trajectory information related to the image display control may be registered in advance according to the user's preference. When trajectory information determined by the user is obtained by an operation of a drag cursor, image display control can be performed on a selected display target image or an image that is selected immediately after and becomes a display target image. .

  When the image added as the display target image by the drag operation includes images of a plurality of groups (for example, when an X-ray eye image and a CT image are included), processing for further subdividing the display method Is made. For example, in addition to the above-described image display method, it is possible to apply a combination of arranging and overlapping each group. By doing so, it becomes possible to provide the operator with a display form that is easier to see.

  According to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to select and display a plurality of images intended by the user as display targets by a single drag and drop operation. Therefore, the burden on the operator can be reduced.

<Embodiment 2>
In the second embodiment, thumbnail images that belong to the same group as the thumbnail image that the user started dragging when performing drag and drop in the first embodiment can be easily selected. Further, only thumbnail images belonging to the group are set as display target images, and thumbnail images belonging to other groups are excluded from the display target images.

  Since the apparatus configuration according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  The flow of processing of the information processing system according to the second embodiment will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 10 and the screen example of FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing according to the second embodiment. In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the drag and drop detection unit 302 detects the start of dragging an arbitrary thumbnail image displayed on the display 121 (step F <b> 10-1). Thereafter, the information processing apparatus 11 recognizes that the user is dragging until the drop process is performed. Subsequently, when the drag cursor is moved and the position of the drag cursor comes out of the area including the thumbnail image of the group a, the cursor position determination unit 304 recognizes that the drag cursor has come out of the area. Then, the image display control unit 306 performs control so that all thumbnail images included in the group a are displayed in the visible region (Step F10-2).

  As a state of the screen of this processing, FIG. 11A shows a state before the position of the drag cursor exits from the area including the thumbnail image of the group a, and FIG. 11B includes the group a. In this state, all thumbnail images are displayed in the visible area. As shown in the example of FIG. 11A, some thumbnail images are displayed on the screen on the screen, but there are past or future thumbnail images that are not visible than the displayed portion. There is a possibility that

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11B, all the thumbnail images belonging to the group a that should be scrolled to the left and right to be displayed in the visible area are displayed by collecting the thumbnail images in the visible area. Is done. Therefore, dragging and dropping on the thumbnail image is possible. Note that when all the thumbnail images do not fit in the visible area of the display unit, the thumbnail images may be reduced. In addition, the inspection date and time differs between groups that aggregate thumbnail images only for a given group. For example, the thumbnail image a4 and the thumbnail image b1 are images having the same inspection date and time in FIG. However, in FIG. 11B, since the images of group a are aggregated, the thumbnail image a4 and the thumbnail image b1 do not exist in the same column, and the inspection date and time appear to be different. Therefore, the date and time for group a is displayed at the top of group a, and for other groups, the same date and time as in FIG. 11A is displayed, for example, between the row of group a and the row of group b. Also good. Since the operator pays attention to group a, only the date and time for group a after thumbnail image aggregation may be displayed. The date display is performed by the image display control unit 306.

  After the state <b> in FIG. 11 is obtained, the user moves the drag cursor over the thumbnail image of the image to be displayed. At this time, if it is desired to move the drag cursor toward the thumbnail image a5 in FIG. 11 <b>, the thumbnail image b1 belonging to the group b may become a path obstacle. Therefore, the cursor position determination unit 304 determines whether or not the drag cursor has moved over the thumbnail image of the group to which the dragged thumbnail image belongs (step F10-3). Only when the drag cursor passes over thumbnail images belonging to the same group as the dragged thumbnail image, the information recording unit 303 records information that the thumbnail image is a display target image in the storage unit (step F10-4). . This is processed by the cursor position determination unit 304 determining whether or not the thumbnail image belongs to the same group as the dragged thumbnail image in addition to the processing of the first embodiment. That is, the cursor position determination unit 304 is on the path from the first thumbnail image being dragged to being dropped out of the plurality of thumbnail images, and has the same image type as the image type of the first thumbnail. Identify the thumbnail images that you have.

  Accordingly, the user can move the drag cursor toward the target thumbnail image a5 without worrying about the presence of the thumbnail image b1. As in the first embodiment, the preview display is updated in step F10-4.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, images are always displayed in time series in the display area 42 in the initial state regardless of the order in which the user moves the drag cursor to the thumbnail images belonging to the group a. It may be automated. Time information is stored in all images added to the storage unit as display target images by the information recording unit 303. By reading the information, the image display control unit 306 can further arrange the images in chronological order. It becomes possible.

  When the user finishes selecting all desired thumbnail images by moving the drag cursor, the user drops the image on the last selected thumbnail image or any other location. The drag and drop detection unit 302 determines whether or not this drop has been performed (step F10-5). When the drag & drop detection unit 302 detects that the image is dropped, an image related to the display target image determined in the process so far is displayed in the image display region 42 according to an instruction from the image display control unit 306 ( Step F10-6).

  By the operation of this embodiment, the user can move the drag cursor on all thumbnail images of the group to which the thumbnail image dragged first belongs without complicated scroll operation. Further, even if the drag cursor moves over the thumbnail image, if it is determined that the thumbnail image does not belong to the same group as the dragged thumbnail image, it is not selected as a display target image. Thus, the user can select only thumbnail images belonging to the same group as the dragged thumbnail image as display target images without worrying about thumbnail images of other groups.

  In addition, regardless of the order in which the user moves the drag cursor on the thumbnail image, it is controlled so that the images are always displayed in chronological order in the initial state. Even if is started, an image display arranged in chronological order can be obtained. For this reason, it does not matter for the user to start dragging from any thumbnail image, and the drag and drop operation can be performed with a high degree of freedom.

  Note that the display method such as chronological order is an example, and the present embodiment can be applied as long as sorting is possible from time information included in an image. By allowing the user to freely set the display format, versatility is improved.

  Although omitted in the flow of FIG. 10, it is possible to control from the standard time-series display to the user's preferred image display method by drawing a drag trajectory related to image display control before the drop as in the first embodiment. .

  In the first embodiment or the second embodiment, the object to be dragged and dropped may be anything that can be opened and displayed from the state of thumbnails, icons, etc., such as an object in a document, in addition to an image file. In other words, the present invention can be applied to all systems capable of dragging and dropping the disclosed technology.

  In this embodiment, the mouse is used as the input device for performing the drag-and-drop operation. However, the input device may be configured with a touch panel, in which case the drag-and-drop operation is performed with a finger or a pen. .

  As described above, by the image display method shown in the first and second embodiments, a plurality of images intended by the user are selected as display targets by one drag and drop operation, and an image display method is desired. The image can be displayed in the image display area or the like after being controlled to the state.

<Other embodiments>
Although the embodiment has been described in detail above, the present invention can take an embodiment as a system, apparatus, method, program, recording medium (storage medium), or the like. Specifically, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, an imaging device, a web application, etc.), or may be applied to a device composed of a single device. good.

  Needless to say, the object of the disclosed technology is achieved by the following. That is, a recording medium (or storage medium) that records a program code (computer program) of software that implements the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to the system or apparatus. Needless to say, such a storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium. Then, the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program code stored in the recording medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the recording medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the recording medium on which the program code is recorded constitutes the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Information processing apparatus 121 Display apparatus 122 Display apparatus 13 Mouse 14 Keyboard 41 Thumbnail view 42 Image display area 301 Cursor control part 302 Drag and drop detection part 303 Information recording part 304 Cursor position judgment part 305 Image display control part 306 Trajectory information judgment part

Claims (11)

Display means for displaying a plurality of thumbnail images;
Drag means for dragging a first thumbnail image from the plurality of thumbnail images;
A specifying means for specifying a thumbnail image in a path from when the first thumbnail image is dragged to a drop of the plurality of thumbnail images;
Display control means for causing the display means to display a plurality of images associated with the thumbnail image specified by the specifying means and the first thumbnail image when the first thumbnail image is dropped. An image display system characterized by the above.   The display control means includes the thumbnail image specified by the specifying means displayed on the display means when the first thumbnail image is dropped while the first thumbnail image is being dragged, and the first thumbnail image. 2. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein a preview image indicating a display format of a plurality of images associated with the thumbnail image is displayed on the display means.   3. The image display system according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit erases the preview image from the display unit when the first thumbnail image is dropped.   4. The image display system according to claim 2, wherein the display control unit moves the preview image on the display unit in accordance with the drag of the first thumbnail image.   The display control means is associated with the thumbnail image and the first thumbnail image specified by the specifying means displayed on the display means when the first thumbnail image is dropped according to the route. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein the display format of the plurality of images is changed.   The image display system according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit changes the display format according to a path between the first thumbnail image and another thumbnail image included in the path.   The display control means changes the display format according to whether or not a path between the first thumbnail image and another thumbnail image included in the path is a substantially straight line or a curve. Item 7. The image display system according to Item 6.   The image display system according to claim 5, wherein the display format includes a format in which images are displayed side by side and a format in which images are superimposed and displayed. Each of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display means has an image type,
The specifying means is in a path from the first thumbnail image being dragged to being dropped among the plurality of thumbnail images, and has the same image type as the image type of the first thumbnail. The image display system according to claim 1, wherein a thumbnail image is specified. A specifying step of specifying a thumbnail image in a path from when the first thumbnail image is dragged to a drop of the plurality of thumbnail images displayed on the display means;
A display control step of causing the display unit to display a plurality of images associated with the thumbnail image specified by the specifying unit and the first thumbnail image when the first thumbnail image is dropped. An image display method characterized by the above.   A program for causing a computer to execute the image display method according to claim 10.

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