JP5156335B2 - Image display apparatus, image display method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for managing image files and the like so that they can be browsed and searched by a computer.

  In order for a user to manage a large number of files with good visibility, a method of hierarchically storing files is widely used, and image file management on a computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) is also performed by this method. This technique is also applied to the management of image files taken with a digital camera. That is, image files shot with a digital camera and stored in a PC are stored in folders having an arbitrary hierarchical structure, and managed by assigning easy-to-understand names to each folder. Hierarchical image file management using such folders is very effective if it is performed in accordance with an orderly folder naming rule after grasping all management targets in advance.

  However, if the number of files to be managed becomes enormous, such as image files taken with a digital camera, and the addition of management objects takes a long time, image file management using the above folders is not always efficient. Absent. For example, the camera that is being used changes over the years, the folder name automatic generation rule when importing to a PC is changed, or the folder that the user organizes when organizing images over the years The naming trend of names may change. In addition, it cannot be said that there is a high possibility that the hierarchical structure of the folder arrangement of the images currently organized is easy to understand after 20 years.

  Therefore, various methods for centrally managing a large number of image files on the time axis without depending on the folder names and the hierarchical structure as described above have been proposed.

  When managing an image file on the time axis, it is necessary to draw a time axis on the screen and to plot a thumbnail or some mark representing the image file on the time axis. However, in general, in such a method, if the files exist densely with respect to the scale of the time axis, marks representing the files overlap, and it may be difficult to understand the outline of the set of files. Several countermeasures have been proposed for this issue.

  In Patent Document 1, an object to be plotted on the time axis is not a thumbnail, but a vertical line segment (direction perpendicular to the time axis) representing image attributes by color or length. Since the vertical line segment does not occupy a region in the time axis direction, the overlap can be made relatively small.

Patent Document 2 also proposes a method of plotting thumbnails and icons representing image files on the time axis. In this method, a semi-transparent sine curve representing the density of temporal attribute value distribution is drawn over the time axis and thumbnail. This makes it possible to understand how many files are behind even if the thumbnails overlap in the situation mentioned above, and then prompt the user to take action such as expanding the scale of the axis. .
JP 2005-293313 A JP 2006-019597 A

  In the two image file management methods described above, in Patent Document 1, image data that is originally two-dimensional graphic information is compressed into sparse information such as line segments, thereby securing a region in the time axis direction. Further, in Patent Document 2, instead of drawing a highly visible thumbnail as it is on the time axis, the file information that is hidden due to the lack of the area in the time axis direction is abandoned except that the density of the distribution is expressed by a sine curve. .

  Thus, when managing image files on the time axis, it is difficult to efficiently arrange images on a two-dimensional plane called a display, and information that can be obtained by a user on one screen is limited.

  The present invention realizes an image display technique capable of effectively using a display area while maintaining time axis information.

In order to solve the above problems, an image display device of the present invention is an image display device that displays a plurality of images in a display region having a time axis, and the plurality of images are clusters including one or more images. A first classifying unit that classifies the first classification unit, a calculation unit that calculates a difference in photographing date and time between clusters classified by the first classification unit, and a cluster that is classified by the first classification unit. A second classifying unit that classifies a node including one or more clusters based on the difference in shooting date and time calculated by the step, a setting unit that sets a difference in shooting date and time in response to a user operation, and the setting Determining means for determining a display target node from among the nodes classified by the second classification means based on a difference in photographing date and time set by the means; and an image belonging to the display target node determined by the determination means. The display area is divided based on the shooting date and time axis of the display area, and an assigning unit that assigns the display area to the display target node, and an image that belongs to the display target node is assigned to the display area assigned by the assignment means. An image that can be displayed in a predetermined size in the allocated display area by assigning a virtual display area by dividing the display area for each of the nodes classified by the second classification means and display means arranged and displayed number and and a comparison means for comparing the number of images belonging to the node of said determining means is further based on the comparison result, that determine the display target node.

  According to the present invention, when a large number of images are displayed on a display screen having a time axis, even if the images exist densely with respect to the scale of the time axis, the image group can be effectively presented to the user. Realize image display technology that can be used.

  In addition, since the visibility of the image is evaluated in advance and unnecessary combinations among the combinations of images that can be set by the user are eliminated, an image display technique capable of minimizing the operation burden on the user is realized.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The embodiment described below is an example as means for realizing the present invention, and should be appropriately modified or changed according to the configuration and various conditions of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is not limited to the embodiment.

[Overview of the present invention]
The image display method according to the present invention first performs hierarchical grouping (hierarchization) on images. Hierarchical here means that the minimum component of a group is individual images, which are merged in stages to form an intermediate group, and at the top level is the only group to which all images belong It means grouping based on such a tree structure. Each group means each node in the tree structure.

  Next, the area of the display area corresponding to the root node of the tree structure is calculated. The display area is a two-dimensional area extending in a band shape having a time axis on the horizontal axis.

  Next, the display area is divided based on the tree structure, and a divided area to be assigned to each node in the tree structure is determined. Since this division is strictly performed on the time axis of the display area, all images belonging to a certain node always fall within the time axis range of the corresponding divided area.

  Next, based on the nodes that are actually displayed on the screen specified by the user, the point that the images belonging to the nodes are displayed to the maximum in the divided areas assigned to the respective nodes is greatly different from the conventional method. Although the time axis is strictly divided in units of groups, the display area can be used effectively because the maximum number of images are drawn without considering the time axis in the allocated area.

  In each group, strictness is guaranteed with respect to the time axis, but strictness is not guaranteed in each image. When the user determines the strictness of each image on the time axis, when selecting a node to be displayed by the user, a leaf node (= image itself) of a tree-like structure or a node close to a leaf may be selected.

  As described above, in the present invention, the display area can be used effectively, but the hierarchy of the display nodes needs to be changed each time according to the time axis required by the user. In this change in the hierarchy of display nodes, the present invention evaluates the visibility of each node and narrows down the selection range so that only nodes that are meaningful to the user are selected in advance. One of the advantages of the present invention is that the user's trouble of changing the hierarchy of display nodes is greatly reduced by this narrowing down. Note that the visibility is determined by determining whether all the images belonging to the node can be drawn on the display area, whether they can all be drawn, or whether some of them can be drawn.

[Description of system configuration]
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an image file management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The PC 101 is a personal use computer that loads an image file into a memory and executes a program for realizing an image file management function according to the present invention. Hereinafter, this application is called an image file management program.

  The image input device 102 converts an optical image, which is image information, into an electrical signal, performs predetermined image processing on the electrical signal, and captures the imaging date and time obtained from the built-in clock to the electrical signal subjected to the image processing. It has a function of adding and saving information as an image file. Examples of the image input device 102 include a digital still camera that captures a subject and stores the captured image as a still image file. However, any device that can generate an image file to which shooting date / time information is added can be a digital video camera. It can also be applied to cameras and scanners.

  In the following description, it is assumed that shooting date / time information is added to an image file.

  The data transfer interface 103 is an interface for transferring image data input by the image input device 102 to the PC 101. Examples of the data transfer interface 103 include a wired communication interface represented by USB (Universal Serial Bus) and IEEE1394. Other examples include wireless communication interfaces represented by IrDA (Infrared Data Association) and Bluetooth (registered trademark).

  The PC 101 is connected to the image input device 102 via the data transfer interface 103 as necessary, and can receive an image file to which shooting date / time information is added.

  The PC 101 can acquire an image file not only from the image input device 102 but also from various resources existing on the Internet 104 as necessary. The photo site 105 has a DB (Data Base) 106 that holds image files, and provides a service for sharing image files with many users connected on the Internet 104. The PC 101 can also download image files from the photo site 105 as appropriate.

  Further, the PC 101 acquires an image file from another PC 107 connected to the Internet 104 by using a communication means such as an e-mail or directly from a storage medium such as a flash memory without using a network. An image file can also be acquired.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the Internet 104 is used as a communication infrastructure is shown as an example. However, instead of the Internet 104, a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the like may be used.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the PC 101 as an information processing apparatus that executes the image file management program of the present embodiment.

  In FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) as a display. The display screen includes, for example, a rectangular area drawn by the image file management program of this embodiment in addition to the document, figure, and image being edited. (Hereinafter also referred to as a divided area) is displayed.

  Reference numeral 202 denotes a video random access memory (VRAM) that stores image data to be displayed on the display screen of the CRT 201. The image data generated in the VRAM 202 is transferred to the CRT 201 according to a predetermined rule, and the image data is displayed on the CRT 201.

  A bit move unit (BMU) 203 controls data transfer between memories (for example, the VRAM 202 and another memory) and data transfer between the memory and each I / O device (for example, the network interface 211). .

  Reference numeral 204 denotes a keyboard having various keys for the user to instruct input of character string data and the like.

  Reference numeral 205 denotes a pointing device, which is used, for example, by the user to set drawing conditions of an image file management program displayed on the screen of the CRT 201 and to select a display image.

  Reference numeral 206 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that controls each device connected to the CPU based on a control program stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 207, a hard disk, or a floppy (registered trademark) disk.

  A ROM 207 holds data such as various control programs.

  Reference numeral 208 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory), which has a work area for the CPU 206, a data save area for error processing, a control program load area, and the like.

  Reference numeral 209 denotes a hard disk (HDD), which can store each control program executed as an information processing apparatus and contents. For example, the hard disk 209 of the PC 101 stores an OS, a web browser, an image file, an image file management program, and the like.

  A floppy (registered trademark) disk drive (FDD) 210 controls access to the floppy (registered trademark) disk.

  Reference numeral 211 denotes a network interface (Net-I / F), which realizes communication with other PCs, printers, and the like via the Internet 104. The CPU bus 212 is for enabling mutual communication between devices, and includes an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus.

  Here, in the system and hardware configuration described above, the image file management program stored in the hard disk 209 on the PC 101 is started up in a state where the user can access a large number of image files to be managed, and Browse and search.

  The functions realized by the image file management program of this embodiment will be specifically described below.

  First, a main screen (UI screen) displayed by the image file management program of this embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a main screen displayed by the image file management program of this embodiment.

  In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a rectangular area for displaying thumbnails of image files to be presented to the user. The rectangular area is obtained by cutting out a portion that is actually displayed on the screen by a viewing parameter from a band-like virtual plane (hereinafter referred to as an image map) having an absolute time axis on the horizontal axis.

  The time (milliseconds) on the image map at the left end of the cut out rectangular area is referred to as an absolute position. Based on the absolute position and the scale value (milliseconds / pixel) of the rectangular area, a range in which the rectangular area is cut out from the image map is uniquely determined.

  The image file management program always presents a thumbnail to the user using this rectangular area. If the pointer is placed on the rectangular area and dragged in the horizontal direction, the image map can be moved on the time axis of the image map in any direction (that is, the absolute position can be updated). The scale value is set by a scale slider bar described later.

  Reference numeral 302 denotes a boundary line that divides the rectangular area into several areas. The number and position of the boundary lines 302 are determined based on the results of clustering processing of image files, which will be described later, and browsing parameters. The area divided by the boundary line 302 is associated with a group of image files 1: 1. The

  Reference numeral 303 denotes thumbnails of image files belonging to the group corresponding to each rectangular area divided by the boundary line 302, and is arranged in the rectangular area with a size determined by processing to be described later.

  When the image cannot be displayed in the rectangular area even with the minimum size determined as described later, 304 indicates to the user and how many other image files could not be displayed. Icon.

  Reference numeral 305 denotes a scale slider bar that determines the scale value (millisecond / pixel) of the time axis of the rectangular area. The scale slider bar is linked to the mouse wheel rotation as well as the mouse drag operation. Since the rectangular area corresponds to a long-term display exceeding 10 years to a short-term display of 1 minute or less, the scale of the slider bar is logarithmically mapped to the scale value.

  Reference numeral 306 denotes a distance slider bar for setting a distance value (time) for cutting a tree diagram (also referred to as a tree diagram, a system diagram, or a dendrogram) obtained by clustering processing described later. The distance value determines the group of images actually displayed in the rectangular area and the position of the boundary line 302 corresponding to the group. The scale of the distance slider bar 306 is logarithmically mapped with the distance value so that this distance value can correspond from several years to several minutes.

  Reference numeral 307 denotes a scale indicating the position of the rectangular area on the image map. The scale value is determined by the aforementioned drag operation of the rectangular area, and the scale interval is determined by the scale value indicated by the scale slider bar.

  The main screen of the image file management program described above is an example, and the present invention can be realized even if it is replaced with a screen of another design as long as information and operability equivalent to the above contents can be realized. Is possible. In addition, the above-described contents are the minimum necessary configuration for carrying out the present invention, and further convenience for the user is expected by arranging additional information and UI (user interface).

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing file search processing by the image file management program of this embodiment.

  In FIG. 4, when the user starts an image file management program on the PC 101 and starts searching for an image, first, in S402, the user inputs the path of the root folder in which the image file to be searched is stored. FIG. 5 is an example of a sub-window for inputting the path of the root folder. The image file management program is not limited to the setting of a single root folder path as long as a plurality of management target image file paths can be obtained, and may be a path array of individual files to be searched, and files are stored. A path arrangement of a plurality of folders may be used. In addition, it is troublesome to prompt the user to enter the path each time the search is performed, so it is possible to omit the input from the next search by saving the value once entered on the disk as the default value. Is possible.

  In step S403, hierarchical clustering processing is performed on all image files set as management targets with the difference in shooting date / time of each image file as a dissimilarity. Details of the specific clustering process will be described later. Since the result of this clustering process does not change as long as the search target file list is the same, it is possible to reduce the cost of initial program calculation by storing the result on a disk.

  In S404, initial values of browsing parameters necessary for displaying a list of thumbnails in the rectangular area in S405 are set. The viewing parameters are for cutting out and displaying the rectangular area 301 from the image map described in FIG. 3, and determining the absolute position (milliseconds), the scale value (milliseconds / pixel), and the group used for thumbnail display. It consists of the cutting distance (milliseconds) of the dendrogram.

  When the first file search is performed, a value with the largest scale is set as an initial value (for example, the absolute position is January 1, 1970, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, GMT [Greenwich Mean Time]). , Set the scale value to the maximum value of the scale slider bar). Then, after the second time, the last value set by the previous user is stored on the disk, and the value is loaded and set to the initial value.

  In S405, a rectangular area is drawn from the clustering result obtained in S403, the viewing parameters set in S404 or S407 described later, and the image file information obtained in S402. Details of the drawing process will be described later.

  In S406, the user browses the drawing result in S405 and determines whether there is a desired image.

  If there is no desired image in S406, the viewing parameters reset based on the information browsed by the user are acquired (S407). When the user uses the image file management program not for searching but for browsing, the user browses the target image by repeating the resetting of the viewing parameters and browsing the rectangular area.

  If there is a desired image in S406, the user ends the search process, and performs a desired arbitrary process such as opening the file or copying the file path to the clipboard.

  Next, the clustering process in S403 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the clustering process for N image files.

  In FIG. 6, when the process is started, each image file is first defined as one cluster in S602.

  In S603, the dissimilarity is calculated for all the combinations of cluster elements defined above. In the present embodiment, the Euclidean distance of the shooting date and time, which is a one-dimensional value, is set as the dissimilarity. The smaller the distance, the more similar the two elements.

  In S604, the dissimilarities obtained in S603 are compared, and the pair with the highest similarity is merged into one cluster, and the shooting date / time of the new cluster formed by merging is set as the shooting date / time center of the original element. . Information on the new cluster, that is, reference to the two child cluster information, the shooting date and time defined in the cluster, and the coupling distance when merging are stored in the memory.

  In S605, it is determined whether or not the current number of clusters is one. If there is one, the process ends.

  FIG. 8 shows, for reference, the result of clustering processing of eight image files A to H having the shooting date and time shown in FIG. 7, and illustrates a state in which the image file and the shooting date and time of the cluster are plotted on the time axis. doing. FIG. 9 illustrates the shooting date and time defined for each cluster obtained by the centroid calculation, and FIG. 10 illustrates a tree diagram with the coupling distance between the clusters as the vertical axis. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the accuracy of the shooting date and time is assumed to be the date.

  For each cluster, two child clusters, a shooting date and time, and a coupling distance are defined. For example, in the cluster {A, B, C} of FIG. 9, the child clusters are {A, B} and C, the shooting date and time is February 26, 2004, and the combined distance is 70 days (May 3 and 2004). (Difference on February 26).

  In the present embodiment, the centroid method is adopted as the definition of the dissimilarity between clusters because the cutting distance of a tree diagram, which will be described later, and the coupling distance between the clusters easily match intuitively. However, various definition methods such as the shortest distance method, the longest distance method, and the median method have been proposed as the definition method, and the present invention can be implemented by any method. The user may be able to change the definition method each time, or a better method obtained through experience may be set. It should be noted that the center of gravity method employed in the present embodiment is only an example.

  Next, the drawing process of the rectangular area in S405 will be described.

  As described above, the image map has a height corresponding to the vertical width of the window, and the horizontal is a virtual plane that extends infinitely on the time axis. Therefore, it should be noted that the drawing of the image map is not an actual graphical drawing but a logical drawing. The image map is finally drawn in a rectangular area 301 that is actually shown to the user based on the drawing parameters set by the user. The image map drawing procedure described below includes processing that is not actually required for drawing in the rectangular area 301. In the implementation of a program, it is necessary to eliminate such processing in order to prevent memory depletion, but here we will focus on explaining the principle in an easy-to-understand manner and omit the explanation of the technique in actual implementation. .

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a drawing process of a rectangular area.

  In FIG. 11, in step S1102, the scale interval is determined from the scale value set by the scale slider bar 305. The scale interval is determined by preparing a conversion table that associates the scale value range with the scale interval in advance. The scale interval is set to a value (10 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 1 day, 1 month, etc.) that is easy for the user to recognize and has good separation.

  In S1103, the scale 307 existing within the display range of the rectangular area is drawn at the above-described scale interval.

  In step S1104, a node to be displayed on the screen is determined based on the cutting distance set by the distance slider bar 306 in the tree diagram obtained by the previous clustering. Note that a cluster created by clustering is synonymous with a node in a dendrogram, and hence the cluster is referred to as a node in the following description. Details of the display node determination process will be described later.

  In the loop processing in S1105, image thumbnail rendering processing is performed on the divided areas corresponding to the display nodes determined in S1104.

  In step S1106, a boundary line 302 is drawn that secures a time range in which the time axis on the image map is divided and distributed to the display nodes. The position of the boundary line 302 is the midpoint of the shooting date and time of the image files closest to the partner node adjacent to each other node.

  FIG. 12 shows three display nodes {A, B, C}, {D, E, F, G}, {} generated by clustering the eight image files shown in FIG. An example in which the position of the boundary line is defined for H} is shown.

  In FIG. 12, reference numeral 1201 denotes a boundary line between nodes {A, B, C} and {D, E, F, G}, and is defined by a midpoint between C and D. Reference numeral 1202 denotes a boundary line between nodes {D, E, F, G} and {H}, which is defined by a midpoint between G and H.

  In the present embodiment, the position of the boundary line is the midpoint between the shooting date and time of the last image of the left node and the shooting date and time of the first image of the right node, but this is only an example. In other words, the present invention is not limited to the method described in this embodiment, such as using a point that internally divides the line segment connecting the centroids of two nodes by the ratio of the number of elements, and the present invention is not limited to the method described in this embodiment, Note that it can be done.

  In S1107, the display size of the thumbnail is determined from the area of each rectangular area allocated to the nodes by the boundary line and the number of images that the display node has. When the drawing area per thumbnail is large, the thumbnail is drawn with a large size, and when the drawing area per sheet is small, the thumbnail is drawn with a small size. The thumbnail size has a maximum size up to the upper limit of the area of the rectangular area assigned to the node and a minimum size up to a practical size that allows the user to visually confirm the contents as constants. The details of the size determination algorithm and the drawing number determination algorithm are not directly related to the present invention, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  Here, if the divided area corresponding to the node is small to some extent, there may occur a case where all the images belonging to the node cannot be arranged in the divided area even with the minimum thumbnail size determined in S1107.

  In S1108, the maximum drawable number that can be drawn in the divided area with the minimum size is compared with the number of images that belong to the node.

  If all the thumbnails cannot be arranged, in S1109, there is a thumbnail that could not be drawn, and an icon 304 indicating the number of the thumbnails is drawn in the rectangular area. This icon 304 is an example, and can be substituted by changing the brightness of the thumbnail background according to the number of image files that could not be displayed. In the present invention, the detailed method is not particularly important as long as the existence and volume of images that cannot be drawn in the rectangular area can be presented, and various methods other than the icons described in this example are conceivable. Is noted.

  In S1110, the images belonging to the node are drawn in the rectangular area to the maximum according to a predetermined layout algorithm. The layout algorithm controls the display so that a predetermined number of images are laid out as much as possible in a certain area. When the number of images that can be arranged in the divided area is smaller than the total number of images belonging to the node, the algorithm is required to have a function of appropriately selecting an image to be displayed. In carrying out the present invention, various methods can be adopted as the display image selection method itself, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The processes from S1106 to S1110 are executed for all the display nodes, and drawing is completed by cutting out and displaying a rectangular area from a virtual image map described later with reference to FIG.

  Next, processing for determining a display node to be displayed on the screen based on the cutting distance set by the distance slider bar in S1104 will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing processing for determining a display node.

  In FIG. 13, in S1302, visibility is calculated for each node in the tree diagram as the first process of determining display nodes. A detailed calculation method of visibility at each node is performed according to the following procedure. That is.

  In S1303, N is the total number of images belonging to the node.

  In step S1304, it is assumed that the number of images to be displayed when displaying in the divided area corresponding to the node is n. The display number is obtained by the method described in S1106 and S1107. That is, in S1304, prior to determining the display node, if each node is rendered as a display node, the number of images belonging to the node can be calculated in advance.

  In step S1305, the displayable number n obtained in step S1304 is evaluated. When n is equal to the total number N of images belonging to the node, that is, when the node is displayed, if the belonging image can be displayed without leaving, the visibility is set to “good” (S1306). When n is 0, that is, when a node is displayed, if the corresponding divided area is too small to display one image, the visibility is set to “No” (S1308). If n is neither of the above, the visibility is “possible” (S1307).

  Note that the visibility determined as described above is unchanged unless the user updates the scale value, so that the calculation cost can be saved by saving and reusing the result.

  In this example, the visibility condition was evaluated as “good”, “good”, and “no” by comparing n with 0 and N. However, the present invention is not limited to this evaluation method, and any method can be used as long as the visual characteristics when displaying a plurality of images in a certain region can be classified into three types: “good”, “good”, and “no”. The present invention can also be implemented by the evaluation method.

  In S1309, a display node is selected based on the structure of the tree diagram and the visibility assigned to each node.

  Prior to the specific description of the display node selection method, the concept of the display node selection method will be described.

  Based on the result of visibility, in the dendrogram created from the management target image, the nodes that may actually be displayed are narrowed down. By this narrowing down, inefficient screens to be presented to the user even if actually displayed are excluded in advance. The criteria for judging inefficient screens to be presented to the user are defined as follows.

  A. A state in which an image belonging to a node cannot be sufficiently displayed due to a small divided display area.

  B. It is difficult to capture the characteristics of the node because the divided display area is larger than necessary.

  The nodes are narrowed down based on the above determination criteria and the previously determined visibility evaluation result. The conditions for nodes to be excluded from display candidates are determined as follows.

a. The visibility of both child nodes is “good”
b. The visibility of its own node is "No" and the visibility of sibling nodes is also "No"
a is a case where when a certain region is further divided, the visibility of the child regions appearing by the division both deteriorates. In such a case, since there is no merit by the division for the user, the division is not permitted.

  When a certain area is divided and two children appearing by division are both highly visible, b is forcibly divided. In the present embodiment, since an image belonging to a certain node is guaranteed to be inside a boundary line that divides the node, the time distribution of the image can be accurately understood by making the division more detailed. Therefore, it is better to divide as much as possible when visibility is not impaired even if it is divided.

  For example, let us consider a case in which the result of calculating the visibility of each node at a scale value set by the current user with respect to a tree diagram created from a management target image is shown in FIG. A node having a white mark indicating visibility as described above may be displayed. A black node is a node excluded from candidates to be displayed by the above-described narrowing down.

  In the present embodiment, the above two conditions are used as nodes to be excluded from display candidates on the screen presented to the user. Here, the core requirement for implementing the present invention is to eliminate the display of nodes satisfying A and B, which are cited as criteria for determining the inefficient state, based on the visibility evaluation result. Based on this condition, the conditions a and b that define the specific inefficient state created are merely examples. For example, the condition a can be implemented under alternative conditions such as the condition that the visibility of the own node... Or the sibling node is “No”, and the like. It is desirable that the optimum condition definition is adopted depending on the situation.

  FIG. 15 shows a display node selection example when a certain distance value (cutting distance) is given by the user in the tree diagram in which inefficient nodes are excluded from the display candidates as described above. The display node is the maximum displayable node that is less than the cutting distance (the node indicated by the white mark in the figure). If there is no displayable node that is less than the cutting distance, the smallest displayable node above the cutting distance is displayed. Let it be a node.

  Next, the specific display node selection processing in S1309 described conceptually will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. This process is first applied to the root node.

  In S1602, the visibility of the two left and right child nodes is set to Vl and Vr, respectively.

  In S1603, the coupling distance of each node is compared with the cutting distance, and in S1604 and S1605, the visibility Vl and Vr of the child nodes of the node are determined.

  When the coupling distance is not less than the cutting distance and the visibility Vl or Vr of any child node is not negative in S1603 (NO in S1604), the display node selection process is recursively executed on the child node of the node. The union of the results is set as a display node (S1606).

  Similarly, when the coupling distance is less than the cutting distance and the visibility of both child nodes is good (YES in S1605), the display node selection process is recursively performed on the two child nodes of the node. The union of the obtained results is set as a display node (S1606).

  On the other hand, when the coupling distance is greater than or equal to the cutting distance and the visibility of both child nodes is negative (YES in S1604), or when the coupling distance is less than the cutting distance and the visibility of any child node is not good (NO in S1605), The own node is set as a display node (S1607).

  When the display nodes are determined in this way, those nodes are actually drawn on the divided areas according to a predetermined layout algorithm.

  Finally, the rectangular area 307 is cut out from the image map logically drawn by the method described so far.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of cutting out a rectangular area. Reference numeral 1701 denotes an image map extending in a band shape in the time axis direction, and 1702 denotes a rectangular area that is cut out and displayed on the main screen. The value on the time axis of the left end 1703 of the rectangular area is an absolute position. The absolute time R (1704) at the right end of the rectangular area is given by the following expression from the absolute position P, the scale value S, and the number of horizontal pixels W of the rectangular area.

R = P + SW
Reference numerals 1705, 1706, 1707, and 1708 are boundary lines that divide the area of the image map into areas A to E corresponding to the nodes, and their positions are determined by the method described above. As a result, for example, the divided area allocated to the node D on the image map is an area 1713 sandwiched between the boundary lines 1707 and 1708.

  Reference numerals 1709, 1710, 1711, and 1712 denote divided display areas that are associated with nodes A, B, C, and D, respectively, on the rectangular area. In the illustrated example, the node E is not displayed in the rectangular area. In addition, regarding the nodes A and D, the entire area divided by the boundary line is not displayed as a rectangular area on the screen, but is partially cut out. Specifically, the node D is displayed in a rectangular area 1712 that is a part of the area 1713 assigned by the boundary line on the image map.

  Reference numeral 1714 exemplifies a state in which the rectangular area in which the drawing range, the scale, and the boundary line are determined as described above is actually displayed on the screen.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention includes a case where the computer program for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is achieved by supplying the system or apparatus directly or remotely. In that case, a computer such as a system reads and executes the computer program.

  Therefore, in order to realize the functional processing of the present invention with a computer, the computer program itself installed in the computer also implements the present invention.

  In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, it may be in the form of object code, a program executed by an interpreter, script data supplied to the OS, or the like.

  Examples of the recording medium (storage medium) for supplying the program include a flexible disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, and a magneto-optical disk. In addition, there are MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R) and the like.

  As another program supply method, a client computer browser can be used to connect to a homepage on the Internet, and the computer program itself of the present invention can be downloaded from the homepage. It can also be supplied by downloading a compressed file including an automatic installation function to a recording medium such as a hard disk. It can also be realized by dividing the computer program constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the present invention.

  In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and a user who satisfies predetermined conditions downloads key information for decryption from a homepage via the Internet. You can also In this case, the downloaded key information is used to execute the encrypted program and install it on the computer.

  In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS or the like operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program may be a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, it can be realized by performing all of them.

  Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in the memory of a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the CPU of the board or the like performs a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, it can be realized by performing all of them.

It is a schematic structure figure showing an example of an image file management system of an embodiment concerning the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the information processing apparatus which performs the image file management program of this embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the main screen displayed by the image file management program of this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the file search process by the image file management program of this embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the sub screen which sets the path | route of the management root folder for designating the management object file by this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the clustering process by this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the list of the sample image file for demonstrating the specific example of the clustering process by this embodiment, and its imaging | photography date. It is the figure which plotted on the time-axis the cluster produced | generated by the clustering process of this embodiment, and imaging | photography date. It is a list of clusters and shooting dates and times generated by the clustering process of the present embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the dendrogram produced | generated by the clustering process of this embodiment It is a flowchart which shows the drawing process of the rectangular area displayed on the main screen by the image file management program of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the position of the boundary line which divides | segments a rectangular area by this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process which selects the node displayed on an image map from the dendrogram obtained by the clustering process of this embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example at the time of adding the calculation result of the visibility of each node to the tree diagram obtained by the clustering process of this embodiment, and a tree diagram. In FIG. 14, it is the figure which showed the display node based on the cutting distance set by the user. It is a flowchart which shows the process which determines a display node based on the visibility provided to the node in a certain cutting distance by this embodiment. It is the figure which showed the correspondence of the image map at the time of cutting out the rectangular area | region actually displayed from an image map, and a rectangular area by this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

101 PC
102 Image Input Device 103 Data Transfer Interface 104 Internet 105 Photo Site 106 DB
107 Other PC
201 CRT
202 VRAM
203 bit move unit 204 keyboard 205 pointing device 206 CPU
207 ROM
208 RAM
209 Hard disk 210 Floppy (registered trademark) disk drive 211 Network interface 301 Rectangular area 302 Border 303 Thumbnail 304 Icon 305 Scale slider bar 306 Distance slider bar 307 Scale

Claims (5)

An image display device that displays a plurality of images in a display area having a time axis,
First classifying means for classifying the plurality of images into clusters including one or more images;
Calculation means for calculating a difference in photographing date and time between clusters classified by the first classification means;
Second classification means for classifying the clusters classified by the first classification means into nodes including one or more clusters based on a difference in photographing date and time calculated by the calculation means;
A setting means for setting a difference in shooting date and time in response to a user operation;
A determination unit that determines a display target node from among the nodes classified by the second classification unit, based on a difference in shooting date and time set by the setting unit;
Allocating means for dividing the display area based on the shooting date and time of the image belonging to the display target node determined by the determining means and the time axis of the display area, and allocating the display area to the display target node;
Display means for arranging and displaying an image belonging to the display target node in a display area assigned by the assigning means;
The display area is divided for each node classified by the second classification means and a virtual display area is allocated. The number of images that can be displayed in a predetermined size in the allocated display area and the number of images belonging to the node. Comparing means for comparing the number of sheets ,
Said determining means is further based on the comparison result, the image display device comprising that you determine the display target node. The display means displays an image belonging to the display target node with a display size of a predetermined size or more;
The image display apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising notification means for notifying a user when all images belonging to the display target node cannot be displayed in the display area assigned by the assignment means. An image display method for displaying a plurality of images in a display area having a time axis,
A first classification step in which a first classification unit classifies the plurality of images into clusters including one or more images;
A calculating step for calculating a difference in photographing date and time between the clusters classified by the first classification step;
A second classifying step in which the second classifying unit classifies the clusters classified in the first classifying step into nodes including one or more clusters based on a difference in photographing date and time calculated in the calculating step; When,
A setting step in which the setting means sets a difference in shooting date and time in response to a user operation;
A determining step for determining a display target node from among the nodes classified by the second classification step based on a difference in shooting date and time set by the setting step;
An assigning unit divides the display area based on the shooting date and time of the image belonging to the display target node determined by the determining step and the time axis of the display area, and assigns the display area to the display target node;
A display step in which the display unit arranges and displays the image belonging to the display target node in the display area allocated by the allocation unit;
The comparison means divides the display area for each node classified by the second classification step and assigns a virtual display area, and the number of images that can be displayed in a predetermined size in the assigned display area and the node and a comparing step of comparing the number of images that belong to,
In the determining step, further, on the basis of the comparison result, the image display method comprising that you determine the display target node. In the display step, an image belonging to the display target node is displayed with a display size equal to or larger than a predetermined size,
The notification unit according to claim 3 , further comprising a notification step of notifying a user when all images belonging to the display target node cannot be displayed in the display area allocated by the allocation step. Image display method. The program for making a computer perform the image display method of Claim 3 or 4 .