JP4435879B2 - Image zooming method, apparatus and recording medium therefor - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image zooming method and apparatus, and a recording medium thereof, and is particularly suitable for use in a technique for displaying an image by zooming in (zooming up) or zooming out (zoom down) by digital signal processing. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many devices have been used in which digital image data is stored in a memory or the like, and can be read and displayed. The stored image data is input using an image input device such as an image scanner or a video camera using a CCD, for example, and is often configured to store a plurality of image data. .
[0003]
Some devices of this type can display an image by zooming in or out by digital signal processing of stored image data. According to this, for example, when the user wants to see the entire image, the user can zoom out and display the image, and when he wants to see details in detail, the user can zoom in and display that portion.
[0004]
At this time, the same image is stored in a plurality of files at different resolutions, and compared with the zoomed-out image data, the zoomed-in image data is read from the higher-resolution file, so that even the zoomed-in image becomes clear. Can be displayed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above conventional technique, when zooming an image as described above, the display screen does not change during the process after the zooming instruction of the image is instructed, and the zooming is performed as instructed. When the image was generated, the display image was switched to it.
[0006]
For this reason, there is a problem in that the zooming target portion may not be known while the processing is performed after the zooming is instructed. In addition, since no change occurs on the screen during the zooming process, there is a problem that the user who is just waiting for the zooming process is frustrated.
[0007]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is possible to clarify a target portion on which image zooming is performed and to reduce user stress due to a waiting time of zooming processing. The purpose is to do so.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the image zooming method of the present invention, in an image zooming method by an image zooming device for zooming a display image by digital signal processing, an image region to be displayed is displayed when the image is zoomed and displayed. For the image in the designated image area and the designated image area, the drawing area is an area obtained by interpolating between the area displayed at the current zoom magnification and the area displayed at the final zoom magnification at a predetermined interpolation ratio. And zooming the image of the designated image area in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area to generate and display the image, and the image of the designated image area is converted into a final zoom image. Repeatedly changing the interpolation ratio step by step until the final zoom magnification is reached, so that the zoom ratio gradually changes. Characterized in that so as to sequentially generate and display the image.
According to a second aspect of the image zooming method of the present invention, in an image zooming method by an image zooming apparatus for zooming a display image by digital signal processing, a rectangular region to be displayed is displayed when the image is zoomed and displayed. For the image of the specified rectangular area, a predetermined interval between the four corners of the rectangular area displayed at the current zoom magnification and the four corners of the rectangular area displayed at the final zoom magnification is specified for the image of the specified rectangular area. A rectangular region having four corners interpolated at an interpolation ratio is set as a drawing region, and an image of the designated image region is zoomed to a proportion corresponding to the drawing region to generate and display an image. In order to gradually change the image of the rectangular area to the final zoom image, the final interpolation image is changed in stages to change the final image. Repeated until a chromatography beam magnification, characterized in that so as to display sequentially generates a plurality of zoom images.
A third aspect of the image zooming method of the present invention is the image zooming method according to the first or second aspect, wherein the zoom-out operation is performed when the final zoom magnification is reached in the zoom-out operation of the image. An image zoomed out at a final zoom magnification including an image portion that was not previously displayed is displayed on the entire display frame.
A fourth aspect of the image zooming method of the present invention is the image zooming method according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein zooming is performed on an image generated while the zoom magnification is changed stepwise. It is characterized in that it is displayed superimposed on the original image before being displayed.
According to a fifth aspect of the image zooming method of the present invention, while performing the zooming process according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the zooming process is stored in another device on the network. The image data of the correct resolution that is the target of the above is extracted via the network, and after the image of the final zoom magnification is generated and displayed, the image is replaced with the extracted image and displayed. It is characterized by that.
According to a first aspect of the image zooming device of the present invention, in an image zooming device for zooming a display image by digital signal processing, an image region to be zoomed in or an image region to be displayed when being zoomed out is displayed. A rectangular area having four corners obtained by interpolating between the four corners of the image area specified by the area specifying means and the four corners of the image display frame with a predetermined interpolation ratio, is designated as the drawing area. An image display means for zooming and displaying an image in an image area to be zoomed in or an image in an image display frame to be zoomed out in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area, and the image display Until the final zoom magnification image is displayed in the frame, the image specified by the area specifying means is the final zoom. A display control means for controlling the interpolation ratio used in the image display means to change stepwise so as to gradually change into an image, and sequentially generating and displaying a plurality of zoom images; It is characterized by that.
A second aspect of the image zooming apparatus of the present invention is the image zooming apparatus according to the first aspect described above, wherein while the zooming process is being performed by the image display means and the display control means, Image retrieval means for retrieving image data of the correct resolution that is stored in the device for zooming processing via the network, and after the final zoom magnification image is generated and displayed in the image display frame And image replacement means for replacing the image with the image extracted by the image extraction means and displaying the image.
According to a first aspect of the computer-readable recording medium of the present invention, a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described image zooming method is stored.
According to a second aspect of the computer-readable recording medium of the present invention, the computer is caused to function as each unit of the image zooming apparatus.
[0018]
Since the present invention comprises the above-described technical means, the display is not suddenly switched from the original image to the image with the final zoom magnification for a while after instructing the zooming of the image, resulting in the final zoom image. The state in which the target image is gradually zoomed until then is displayed. Accordingly, it is possible to visually confirm the zooming target portion even during the zooming process. In the present invention, a region obtained by interpolating between a region designated as a zooming target and a region displayed at a final zoom magnification with a predetermined interpolation ratio is set as a drawing region, and the region set as the zooming target is described above. Since it is configured to zoom and display in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area, for example, the drawing area never goes out of the display frame, preventing the inconvenience that the image to be zoomed out of the display frame. can do. Further, the present invention performs a process of generating and displaying an image of an area designated as a zooming object in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area, so that the image to be zoomed has a final zoom magnification. Since it is configured to repeat the process until it reaches, it is possible to increase the sensation speed of the image extraction waiting time, and to reduce the stress of the user due to the processing waiting time. For example, when the present invention is applied to a client that acquires an image from a server in a network system, it is possible to increase the perceived speed of the waiting time for retrieving an image from the server until the image is displayed at the correct resolution. It is possible to reduce user stress due to waiting time.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1 and 2 are diagrams showing display examples for explaining a zoom-in operation as one embodiment of the image zooming method of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are processes of the image zooming method according to the present embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows a procedure. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on these drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1A and FIG. 2A show an original image before zooming, and a rectangular frame A indicates an entire display screen on which an image is displayed on a display device such as a display or a part of the screen. A display window displayed on the screen (hereinafter referred to as display frame A) is shown. Note that the characters “Aiueo ...” shown in FIG. 2A are image data.
[0021]
When an area to be enlarged (image area to be zoomed in) is designated on the display images of FIGS. 1A and 2A, the image in the designated area is zoomed in by digital signal processing. Finally, it is displayed in the entire display frame A as shown in FIGS. 1 (d) and 2 (d).
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 1, the area to be enlarged is specified at the center point of the rectangular area to be zoomed (similar to the display frame A, the similarity ratio is determined in advance) or at a position that is an arbitrary point. The mouse cursor B may be moved and designated by a mouse click operation or the like. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, a rectangular area similar to the display frame A may be freely designated as a rectangular area to be zoomed by a drag operation of the mouse or the like.
[0023]
When a rectangular area to be enlarged and displayed is specified as described above, in the present embodiment, the image in the specified rectangular area is displayed from the currently displayed image shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 2 (a). In order to gradually change to the final zoom image shown in 1 (d) and FIG. 2 (d), a plurality of zoom images are sequentially generated and displayed while gradually changing the zoom magnification. To do.
[0024]
That is, first, an image in a rectangular area designated as a zooming target has a coarser resolution than the original image shown in FIGS. 1A and 2A and is zoomed in by a predetermined magnification. Are displayed as shown in FIG. 1 (b) and FIG. 2 (b). Next, the resolution is further coarser than the images of FIG. 1B and FIG. 2B, and a further zoomed-in image is displayed as shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. After that, an image with a final zoom magnification having a coarser resolution than the images in FIGS. 1C and 2C is displayed on the entire display frame A as shown in FIGS. 1D and 2D. Then, the process ends.
[0025]
More specifically, in this embodiment, zoom-in processing is performed according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 3, first, in step S31, an area to be enlarged is designated from all the images displayed on the display frame A. This area designation may be performed by clicking the center point of a rectangular area to be zoomed as shown in FIG. 1A, or by a mouse drag operation as shown in FIG. 2A. The rectangular area may be freely designated by, for example.
[0026]
When a rectangular area to be enlarged and displayed is specified in step S31, a rectangle in which the four corners of the specified rectangular area and the image in the rectangular area are displayed at the final zoom magnification in next step S32. A rectangular area having four corners interpolated between the four corners of the area (in this case, display frame A) at a predetermined interpolation ratio is set as a drawing area, and an image in the designated rectangular area corresponds to the drawing area. Zoom to display percentages. As a result, an image is displayed as shown in FIGS. 1B and 2B.
[0027]
Next, in step S33, it is determined whether or not the image (image to be zoomed) in the rectangular area designated in step S31 is enlarged and displayed on the entire display frame A. If it is determined that the entire display frame A has not been enlarged yet, the process proceeds to step S34 to increase the interpolation ratio, and then returns to step S32 to perform the same processing as described above.
[0028]
At the stage of FIG. 1B and FIG. 2B, the image in the designated rectangular area has not been enlarged and displayed on the entire display frame A, so the process returns to step S32 through the process of step S34. As a result, an image having a larger interpolation ratio than the images in FIGS. 1B and 2B, that is, an image with a smaller resolution and a larger zoom-in size, as shown in FIGS. 1C and 2C. Is displayed.
[0029]
By repeating the processing of steps S32 to S34 as described above, the image in the designated rectangular area is then enlarged and displayed over the entire display frame A as shown in FIGS. 1 (d) and 2 (d). Then, the zoom-in process is terminated without proceeding from step S33 to step S34.
[0030]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the display screen does not change during zooming after the zoom-in is instructed on the images shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. The conventional inconvenience that the display is suddenly switched to the final zoom magnification image shown in FIG. 1 (d) and FIG. 2 (d) is eliminated, and FIG. 1 (b) (c) and FIG. 2 (b). As shown in (c), a state in which the image is gradually zoomed up to the final zoom image is displayed.
[0031]
Therefore, even during zooming after instructing zooming on the image, the zooming target portion can be visually confirmed, and the user can clearly grasp the zooming target portion. . Moreover, in this embodiment, the user does not get bored by seeing the gradually zoomed image, and the user's stress due to the waiting time of the zooming process can be reduced.
[0032]
In addition, when an image of a rectangular area designated as a zooming target is simply zoomed in and displayed, the image may protrude from the display frame A as it is enlarged. In this embodiment, the image is designated as a zooming target. In the drawing area formed by interpolation between the rectangular area and the rectangular area where the final zoom magnification image is displayed, the image in the specified rectangular area is zoomed to a corresponding ratio and displayed. Therefore, the drawing area never goes out of the display frame A, and the inconvenience that the image protrudes from the display frame A can be prevented.
[0033]
Next, the zoom-out procedure according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
In FIG. 4, first, in step S41, an area that is desired to be reduced and displayed after zooming out all the images currently displayed on the display frame A is designated. This area designation is, for example, the center point of a rectangular area (similar to the display frame A, where the similarity ratio is predetermined) on which the reduced image is to be displayed on the display frame A or an arbitrary point Is specified by clicking the mouse.
[0034]
When a rectangular area in which the current image on the display frame A is displayed after being reduced in step S41 is specified, next, in step S42, the four corners of the rectangular area to be zoomed (in this case, display frame A) are displayed. And four corners interpolated at a predetermined interpolation ratio between the four corners of the rectangular area (in this case, the rectangular area after reduction specified above) where the image in the rectangular area is displayed at the final zoom magnification. The rectangular area is used as a drawing area, and the image in the display frame A is reduced and displayed in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area.
[0035]
Next, at step S43, whether or not the image of the display frame A has been reduced to the size of the rectangular area specified at step S41, that is, the size of the rectangular area specified at step S41. And whether the current drawing area size matches. If the image of the display frame A has not been reduced and displayed to the size of the specified rectangular area, the process proceeds to step S44, the interpolation ratio is increased, and then the process returns to step S42 and the same as described above. Process.
[0036]
If it is determined that the image of the display frame A has been reduced to the size of the designated rectangular area by repeatedly performing the processes in steps S42 to S44 as described above, the process proceeds from step S43 to step S45. Proceed to In step S45, the image zoomed out at the final reduction ratio is drawn on the entire display frame A, including the image portion that was not displayed before the reduction. Then, the zoom-out process ends.
[0037]
In the above embodiment, the images in the drawing area that are sequentially generated while changing the interpolation ratio are displayed superimposed on the original image before zooming. Only the image in the rectangular area may be displayed by gradually zooming in or out.
[0038]
In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an image having two zoom magnifications is displayed between the original image and the final zoom image. It is possible to display an image with a zoom magnification of different levels. In this case, it is possible to make the image appear to be smoothed more smoothly by displaying a larger number of interpolated images by reducing the method of increasing the interpolation ratio, but considering the balance with the processing time. What is necessary is just to determine how to increase the interpolation ratio.
[0039]
Next, an image zooming apparatus for realizing the image zooming method of the present embodiment as described above will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image zooming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration for realizing this functional configuration. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.
[0040]
In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes an image memory, which stores image data to be displayed on the display frame A of the display device 2. On the display frame A, for example, a part of the image data stored in the image memory 1 is zoomed in and displayed on the entire screen, or the entire image data is zoomed out and displayed.
[0041]
Reference numeral 3 denotes an area designating unit which designates an image area to be zoomed in from an image on the display frame A when zooming in, and an image to be displayed by reducing the image of the display frame A when zooming out. Used to specify an area. In FIG. 6, the area designating means 3 is constituted by an input device 11 such as a keyboard or a mouse.
[0042]
Reference numeral 4 denotes image display means. A rectangular area having four corners obtained by interpolating between the four corners of the image area specified by the area specifying means 3 and the four corners of the display frame A at a predetermined interpolation ratio is set as a drawing area and zoomed in. In some cases, an image in the image area designated as the zoom-in target is zoomed out and the image in the display frame A is zoomed in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area in zoom-out.
[0043]
Reference numeral 5 denotes display control means for controlling the interpolation ratio used in the image display means 4 to be changed stepwise until an image with the final zoom magnification is displayed on the entire display frame A. Is. The image display unit 4 performs the display process as described above based on the interpolation ratio set by the display control unit 5.
[0044]
The image display means 4 and the display control means 5 in FIG. 5 are constituted by, for example, a CPU 12, a ROM 13, and a RAM 14 as shown in FIG. The CPU 12 in FIG. 6 is a main component for realizing the functions of the image display means 4 and the display control means 5 described above, and an image designated by the input device 11 (corresponding to the area designation means 3 in FIG. 5). Based on the area information, a process of zooming and displaying the image on the display frame A of the display device 2 is performed.
[0045]
The ROM 13 stores a program for realizing such a function, and the CPU 12 can read it. The RAM 14 is a memory used as a work area when performing such zooming processing. For example, image data of each resolution generated by digital signal processing of the CPU 12 is temporarily stored. Yes.
[0046]
As shown in FIG. 6, the image zooming apparatus according to the present embodiment may be configured by a single device (for example, a computer) in which each component is connected by a bus 15 or connected via a network. You may comprise as a system which consists of a some apparatus. When configured as a system, in addition to the components shown in FIG. 6, it is necessary to include communication means including a communication interface connected to a network.
[0047]
Here, an embodiment in which the above system is configured will be described with reference to FIG. Here, a client server system is considered as an example of a network system. In this client server system, a plurality of image data are stored in a server machine. Then, in response to an instruction from the client, the image data is taken out via the network and displayed on the display screen of the client machine. In this case, the image zooming apparatus of the present embodiment is included in the client machine.
[0048]
In this client-server system, it takes a lot of processing time until an image is actually displayed on the display screen of the client machine after an image retrieval request is issued from the client to the server. That is, it takes a lot of time to access the image file in which the requested image data is stored and to transfer the image via the network. In particular, when the network is thin or the size of the image data is large, it takes a very long time.
[0049]
Therefore, when an area to be enlarged and displayed as shown in FIG. 7A is specified, all image data including the specified area is transferred from the server to the client, and the specified portion of the image is as shown in FIG. However, it takes a very long time for the processing. In the case of the prior art, while such processing is being performed, the display screen of FIG. 7A remains unchanged, and when the image extraction processing is completed, the image of FIG. It was switched.
[0050]
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, while reading and transferring image data from the server to the client, digital signal processing is performed based on the image data stored on the client when zooming is instructed. Zooming is performed as shown in FIG. 7 (b) → (c) → (d). The procedure of this process is the same as the flowchart of FIG.
[0051]
Thereafter, when the image enlargement is completed as shown in FIG. 7D, the image shown in FIG. 7D is replaced with an image having the correct resolution as shown in FIG. indicate. If the image extraction from the server is not yet completed when the image enlargement is completed as shown in FIG. 7D, the image of FIG. 7D having a coarse resolution is continuously displayed until the image extraction is completed. ing.
[0052]
In this way, in a client server system that performs storage, readout, display, and the like of image data via a network, the zoom image is displayed at the correct resolution after instructing zooming on the client. A state in which the image is gradually zoomed is displayed. Therefore, it is possible to clearly grasp the target portion that is being zoomed even after instructing zooming, and to increase the sensation speed of waiting time for image retrieval from the server. Can be reduced.
[0053]
In the image zooming apparatus of FIG. 6, the case where the program for realizing the functions of the present invention is stored in the ROM 13 in advance has been described. However, the program is supplied from the outside to the image zooming apparatus of the present embodiment. It is also possible to make it. In this case, a means for supplying the program, for example, a recording medium storing the program constitutes the present invention. In addition to the ROM 13, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a non-volatile memory card, or the like is used as a storage medium for storing the program. it can.
[0054]
In the present specification, the description has been given of the case where the rectangular areas are similar before and after zooming in, or before and after zooming out, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied even when the aspect ratio of the rectangular area is different before and after zooming in. In other words, this can be achieved by changing the aspect ratio of the interpolation ratio when interpolating the positions of the four corners when generating rectangular regions with different zoom magnifications. Furthermore, the image area is not limited to a rectangle, and may be a circle or other polygons.
[0055]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the state in which the image is gradually zoomed until reaching the final zoom image is displayed, and the zooming target is instructed until zoom processing is completed after the zoom is instructed on the image. The part can be visually confirmed. In addition, according to the present invention, for example, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that an image to be zoomed out of the display frame. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to increase the perceived speed of the image extraction waiting time, and to reduce the user's stress due to the processing waiting time. For example, when the present invention is applied to a client that acquires an image from a server in a network system, it is possible to increase the perceived speed of the waiting time for retrieving an image from the server until the image is displayed at the correct resolution. It is possible to reduce user stress due to waiting time.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a display example for explaining a zoom-in operation which is an embodiment of an image zooming method of the present invention.
[Figure 2]
It is a figure which shows the other example of a display for demonstrating the zoom-in operation which is one Embodiment of the image zooming method of this invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an image zoom-in method according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an image zoom-out method according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image zooming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example for realizing the functional configuration illustrated in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a view showing a display example for explaining a zoom-in operation when the image zooming method of the present invention is applied to a network system.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Image memory
2 display devices
3 Area designation means
4 Image display means
5 Display control means
11 Input device
12 CPU
13 ROM
14 RAM
15 bus
A Display screen
B Mouse cursor

Claims (9)

An image zooming method by an image zooming device for zooming a display image by digital signal processing,
Specifying an image area to be displayed when zooming and displaying an image;
For the image of the specified image area, draw an area interpolated between the area on the display screen displayed at the current zoom magnification and the area on the display screen displayed at the final zoom magnification at a predetermined interpolation ratio. A region, zooming the image of the designated image region to a proportion corresponding to the drawing region, and generating and displaying the image,
The specified area is changed until the final zoom magnification is reached while gradually changing the interpolation ratio so that the image of the designated image area gradually changes to an image with the final zoom magnification . Zooming the image of the image area to a proportion corresponding to the drawing area, generating and displaying the image repeatedly, sequentially generating a plurality of zoom images having a coarser resolution than the image of the specified image area Corresponding to the image displayed at the final zoom magnification , processed in parallel by a server connected via a network to the image zooming device during display and sequential generation and display ; receiving image data for resolutions to display a higher image and the interpolation ratio reaches a final zoom factor, especially that it has to display the image data Image zooming method by the image zooming apparatus according to. An image zooming method by the image zooming device for zooming the display image by the digital signal processing,
Specifying the four corners of a rectangular area to be displayed when zooming and displaying an image;
Predetermined interpolation between the four corners of the rectangular area on the display screen displayed at the current zoom magnification and the four corners of the rectangular area on the display screen displayed at the final zoom magnification for the image of the specified rectangular area A rectangular region having four corners interpolated by a ratio is set as a drawing region, and an image of the designated image region is zoomed to a proportion corresponding to the drawing region to generate and display an image, and
The specified area until the final zoom magnification is reached while gradually changing the interpolation ratio so that the image of the specified rectangular area gradually changes to an image of the final zoom magnification . Zooming the image of the image area to a proportion corresponding to the drawing area, generating and displaying the image repeatedly, sequentially generating a plurality of zoom images having a coarser resolution than the image of the specified image area displaying, during the display in that order next generation, the image zooming apparatus via a network are processed in parallel by a server connected to, corresponding to the image displayed by said final zoom factor, receiving image data for resolutions to display a higher image and the interpolation ratio reaches a final zoom factor, especially that it has to display the image data Image zooming method by the image zooming apparatus according to.   When zooming out an image, when the final zoom magnification is reached, the image zoomed out at the final zoom magnification, including the image that was not displayed before zooming out, is displayed on the entire display frame. The image zooming method by the image zooming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image zooming method is displayed.   The image generated while changing the zoom magnification stepwise is superimposed and displayed on the original image before zooming. 4. Image zooming method using an image zooming apparatus. While performing the zooming process according to any one of claims 1 to 4, image data having a correct resolution that is stored in the server on the network and is a target of the zooming process is extracted via the network. An image zooming method characterized in that after an image having the final zoom magnification is generated and displayed, the image is replaced with the extracted image and displayed. An image zooming device for zooming a display image by digital signal processing,
An area designating means for designating an image area to be zoomed in or an image area to be displayed after being zoomed out;
The rectangular area having four corners obtained by interpolating between the four corners of the image area on the display screen specified by the area specifying means and the four corners of the image display frame on the display screen at a predetermined interpolation ratio is set as the drawing area. Image display means for zooming and displaying an image in the image area or an image in the image display frame to be zoomed out in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area;
Until the image with the final zoom magnification is displayed in the image display frame, the image display is performed so that the image designated by the region designating means gradually changes to the image with the final zoom magnification. The image in the image area or the image in the image display frame is zoomed and displayed in a proportion corresponding to the drawing area until the final zoom magnification is reached while gradually changing the interpolation ratio used by the means. A plurality of zoom images having a coarser resolution than the image designated by the area designating unit , sequentially performing display processing, and during the sequential generation and display processing, the image zooming device to the processed in parallel by a server connected through a network, corresponding to the image displayed by the final zoom magnification, resolution displays higher image Receiving image data of the order, when the interpolation ratio reaches a final zoom magnification, image zooming apparatus characterized by comprising a display control means for displaying processing the image data. While the zooming process is being performed by the image display unit and the display control unit, the image extraction is performed to retrieve the image data of the correct resolution that is stored in the server on the network and is the target of the zooming process via the network. Means,
Image replacement means for replacing the image with the image taken out by the image take-out means and displaying the image after the final zoom magnification image is generated and displayed in the image display frame. The image zooming device according to claim 6.   A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute the procedure of the image zooming method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as each means according to claim 6 or 7.

Images