JPH034368A - Image retrieving device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the instruction of fast retrieval display and to display plural images simultaneously by displaying the image sequentially corresponding to an image number by indicating the plural areas of a display device. CONSTITUTION:The image numbers are attached on the plural images defined as documents setting one to plural pages as a unit are stored in an optical disk 20 with each retrieval information, and a CPU 34 selects one image with the document number and the page number of a candidate image corresponding to input retrieval information, and retrieves it from the disk 20 with the image number, then, displays it on a CRT device 24. Then, the CPU instructs the retrieval part of a display image, and extracts a desired image number with the document number of the candidate image and that of a retrieval image, and switches the device 24 to plural area display, and instructs a working area to each area display, then, displays the image corresponding to the image number being extracted sequentially one by one.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image retrieval device such as an image information filing device that registers and searches image information.

(Prior art) In recent years, scanners (
The read image information is stored on an optical disk, the stored arbitrary image information is searched and read out, and it is output to an output device such as a CR.
Image information filing devices that output image information in a form that can be viewed with a T-display device or a recording device have been put into practical use.

With such devices, high-speed continuous search (discrete turning)
, that is, page turning that sequentially displays each page of multiple documents,
Alternatively, page document turning, which sequentially displays each first page of a plurality of documents, is performed at high speed.

However, the disadvantage of this sort of piecemeal flipping is that when a searched image is displayed, it is not possible to flip the current image piecemeal with a single touch, which requires a tedious operation and is time consuming. was there.

For example, you have to display a list of multiple documents (document box) from the current search state, return to the state where you select a document, and then give instructions to turn each document individually and specify the range, which is a very troublesome operation. (See Japanese Patent Application No. 62-21030).

Therefore, when searching for an arbitrary image, it is not possible to easily instruct high-speed search display, resulting in poor operability.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, this invention eliminates the disadvantage that when searching for an arbitrary image, it is not possible to easily instruct high-speed search display, and the operability is poor. When searching for any image, you can easily instruct the high-speed search display, and it is easy to use.Moreover, when displaying the high-speed search, multiple images can be displayed at the same time using multiple areas. The purpose is to provide an image search device.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problem) The image search device of the present invention retrieves a plurality of images defined as a document with one or more pages as one unit, along with search information corresponding to each of these images. a storage means for assigning and storing an image number; a first extraction means for extracting a document number of a candidate image of the search image according to the specification of the search information; a document number of the candidate image extracted by the first extraction means; Selection means for selecting one image based on the page number; search means for searching the desired image selected by the selection means from the storage means according to the image number determined by the document number and page number; and this search. a display means for displaying one image retrieved by the means; a first instruction means for instructing display of an image contiguous to the searched image displayed by the display means; in response to instructions from the first instruction means; , a second extraction means for extracting an image number of an image consecutive to the search image based on the document number of the candidate image extracted by the first extraction means and the document number and page number of the search image; a switching means for switching the display means to display a plurality of areas; a second instruction means for instructing which area to use for displaying the plurality of areas on the display means by the switching means; When a plurality of areas are displayed, a plurality of images corresponding to the image numbers sequentially extracted by the second extraction means are displayed using the plurality of areas of the display means instructed by the second instruction means. It is composed of processing means that sequentially displays images.

(Operation) The present invention stores a plurality of images defined as a document with one or more pages as one unit in a storage means along with search information corresponding to each of these images with an image number assigned thereto, and stores the above-mentioned search information. The document number of the candidate image of the search image is extracted by the first extraction means according to the specification of , one image is selected based on the document number and page number of the extracted candidate image, and the selected desired image is The storage means is searched by the image number determined by the document number and page number, the searched image is displayed on the display means, and the first instruction is to display an image following the displayed search image. Instruct by means,
In response to the instruction from the first instruction means, the document number of the candidate image extracted by the first extraction means and the document number and page number of the search image are used to identify images that are continuous to the search image. The image number is extracted by a second extraction means, the display means is switched to display a plurality of areas, and the area to be used is set to the second area for displaying the plurality of areas on the display means due to this switching.
When the display means displays a plurality of areas due to the switching, a plurality of images corresponding to the image numbers sequentially extracted by the second extraction means are displayed by the second instruction. The plurality of areas of the display means specified by the display means are sequentially displayed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of the configuration of an image retrieval device, such as an electronic filing device, according to the present invention. That is, the electronic filing device includes a control module 10,
Memory module 12, image processing module 14, communication control module 16, scanner device 18, optical disk (
storage means) 20, an optical disk device 22, a keyboard 23, a CRT display device (display means) 24, a printer device 25, a magnetic disk 26, a magnetic disk device 27, a mouse 29, a system bus 30, and an image bus 32. There is.

The control module 10 includes a CPU 34 and a CPU 3 that perform various controls for storing, searching, and editing image information.
DMCA control that controls the transfer of information separately from 4.
The memory address controller 35 includes an interface circuit 36 that connects the optical disk device 22, magnetic disk device 27, and CPU 34.

The CPU 34 also includes a keyboard 23 and a mouse 2.
9 is connected.

The memory module 12 includes a main memory 3-8 that stores various control programs such as storage, search, and editing of image information, management information, etc., and an image memory that has a storage capacity corresponding to image information for several pages of an A4 size document. It is comprised of a page memory 40 as a display interface, a display memory 42 and a display control unit 44 as a display interface, an address generator 50 that generates addresses used in the page memory 40 and display memory 42, and the like. A buffer memory area 40a is provided in a part of the page memory 40.

This buffer memory area 40a has 1
Writing and reading are controlled by a counter 39 counted up by a write pulse for each byte. The counter 39 outputs an empty signal when the data in the buffer memory area 40a is empty (absent), that is, "0", and outputs a full signal when the data is full. The empty signal and full signal from the counter 39 are output to a compression/expansion circuit 50. Page memory 4
0 is a memory that temporarily stores, for example, image information stored on the optical disc 20 or image information read from the optical disc 20.

The display memory 42 is a memory for temporarily storing image information displayed by the CRT display device 24. The display memory 42 stores image information that is actually displayed within the display window of the CRT display device 24, such as image information from the page memory 40 or image information from the buffer memory 40g, for enlarging, reducing, and rotating the image information. , image information that has been subjected to insertion, black-and-white inversion, etc. is stored. The display control unit 44 uses the address control circuit 44a to control the CRT display device 2.
It controls the display processing of step 4.

For example, if the display memory 42 is a one-window display in which one image is displayed in the entire display memory 42, and four pages worth of images are stored during page turning, which will be described later, etc., as shown in FIG. 3(a). As shown in ~(e), they are stored in storage areas 42a142b, 42c, and 42d, respectively.

The image processing module 14 includes an enlargement/reduction circuit 46 for enlarging and reducing image information, a vertical/horizontal conversion circuit 48 for rotating image information, and an encoding process for compressing (reducing redundancy) image information. A compression/expansion circuit (CODEC) 50 that performs decoding processing that performs processing and expansion (returning reduced redundancy), a scanner interface 52 for the scanner device 18, a printer interface 54 for the printer device 25, and scaling. The circuit 46, the vertical/horizontal conversion circuit 48, the compression/expansion [[f50, the scanner interface 52, the printer interface 54]
It is configured by an internal bus 56 that connects the

The compression/expansion circuit 50 has a M H (Modiried l1
uf'fman) method or MR (Modify
Bandwidth compression or band expansion is performed using a method such as dRead).

The communication control module 16 is, for example, a BCP (Bus Communication) connected to a LAN.
Communication interface 58 such as
It is made up of. In addition, the communication control module 1
6 includes an FCP C facsimile connection mechanism), a U which is connected to external equipment such as a computer via an interface.
CP (Universal Coll1unic
ationProcessor) may be provided.

The system bus 30 is a bus for control signals of various devices, and connects the control module 10, the memory module 12, the image processing module 14, and the communication control module 16. Further, the image bus 32 is a bus for image information, and includes the memory module 12 and the image processing module 1.
4. Connects to the communication control module 16.

The scanner device 18 is, for example, a two-dimensional scanning device, and is a document (
By scanning the document (document) two-dimensionally with a laser beam, an electrical signal corresponding to the image information on the document is obtained.

The optical disk device 22 sequentially stores image information read by the scanner device 18 on an optical disk 20 .

It also searches the optical disc 20 for image information corresponding to search information specified using the keyboard 23 or the like.

The keyboard 23 is used to input unique search information corresponding to image information to be stored on the optical disc 20 and various operation commands such as storage, search, and editing processing. Further, the mouse 29 can be used, for example, to arbitrarily move a cursor (not shown) displayed on the display window of the CRT display device 24 vertically and horizontally, and to give an instruction at a desired position, thereby determining the position of the cursor. This is for selecting or instructing display contents (various operation modes, area designation or icons for single image editing, etc.).

The CRT display device (cathode ray tube display device) 24 is
Images read by the scanner device 18 and the optical disc 2
The image searched from 0 is displayed. This CR
Icons and the like are displayed at the top, bottom, and right end of the display window of the T-display device 24.

Further, the CRT display device 24 is a multi-window type display device that can display images simultaneously using one, two, or four windows.

Editing processes such as enlarging, reducing, rotating, scrolling, etc. are performed on the images displayed in each display window independently.

Also, if the display of multiple images, for example four images, is selected while page turning is selected,
When displaying one window, as shown in FIG. 4, one window Wa is divided into four, and four images are displayed in display areas a and b, respectively.

cSd, and when two windows are displayed, as shown in FIG.
) is divided into four, and the four images are displayed in display areas a'b'c'd', respectively.
When displaying windows, as shown in FIG. 6, the selected window Wd'(Wa',
Wb',Wc') are divided into four, and the four images are displayed in display areas a', b', c, and d', respectively.

Further, at the bottom of the windows W a , . . . , as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a display indicating the contents of FIO from the fun key F1 of the keyboard 23 is provided.

For example, when searching for a desired image, as shown in FIG.
Fl is "page turning", F2 is "document turning", F3 is
``Page Return'' is displayed, F4 is ``Document Return'', F6 is ``Confirmation'', Fl is ``Print'', F8 is ``4 Screens (1 Screen)'', and Flo is ``Cancel''. .

In addition, when discrete turning such as page turning is specified, as shown in Figure 8, Fl is "page turning", F2 is "document turning", F3 is "page return", F4 is "document return", "Stop" is displayed as F9, and a portion of the function key corresponding to the designation is highlighted.

As shown in Figure 9, page turning is a process in which images are displayed page by page in page order and document order from the currently searched image among the candidate documents during a search. be.

As shown in the figure, document turning refers to the image of the first page of the document next to the currently searched image (corresponding to the currently searched image) among the candidate documents during a search. The information is displayed at high speed starting from the first page of the document (possibly starting from the first page of the document) and document by document (first page only).

Page return, as shown in the figure, is a process in which during a search, among the candidate documents, the image currently being searched and displayed is displayed page by page in reverse page order and in reverse document order. be.

As shown in the figure, document return refers to the image of the first page of the document (corresponding to the currently searched image The information is displayed at high speed starting from the first page of the document (possibly starting from the first page of the document) and document by document (first page only).

Furthermore, the storage location of each image in the display memory 42 in the case of discrete page turning and four-image display will be explained using the configuration diagram of the main parts shown in FIG. That is, the image 1 retrieved and read from the optical disc 20 is first stored in the buffer memory 40a. The image 1 in the buffer memory 40a is reduced by the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 and output to the display memory 42. At this time, the CPU 34
By specifying a write address using the address control circuit 44a of the display control unit 44, the image (reduced image) 1 supplied from the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 is stored in the storage area 42a of the display memory 42 corresponding to the display area a. is memorized.

Next, the image 1 image 2 stored in the buffer memory 40a is reduced by the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 and output to the display memory 42. At this time, the CPU 34 uses the address control circuit 44a of the display control unit 44 to designate the write address, so that the display memory 42 corresponding to the display area b is
The image F dye 2 supplied from the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 is stored in the storage area 42b.

Then, the image 3 stored in the buffer memory 40a is
The image is reduced by the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 and output to the display memory 42 . At this time, the CPU 34 specifies a write address using the address control circuit 44a of the display control section 44, so that the image 3 supplied from the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 is stored in the storage area 42c of the display memory 42 corresponding to the display area C. is memorized.

Then, the image 4 stored in the buffer memory 40a is
The image is reduced by the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 and output to the display memory 42 . At this time, the CPU 34 specifies the write address using the address control circuit 44a of the display control section 44, so that the image 4 supplied from the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 is stored in the storage area 42d of the display memory 42 corresponding to the display area d. is memorized.

Thereafter, similarly to the above, images 5, . . . are displayed in display areas a, .
It is stored in the storage area 42a1 corresponding to .

As a result, the display control unit 44 changes the storage contents of the storage areas 42a, 42b, 42c, and 42d of the display memory 42 to display areas a, bSc of the CRT display device 24, respectively.
, d.

As a result, the images 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1,
. . . is displayed in a reduced size in the display area a1 .

The printer device 25 prints out (hard copy) image information read by the scanner device 18, image information retrieved from the optical disk 20, or image information displayed on the CRT display or spray device 24.

The magnetic disk device 27 is an optical disk that stores various control programs on a magnetic disk 26 mounted on the magnetic disk device 27, and also stores search information input from the keyboard 23 and image information corresponding to this search information. It stores search data consisting of storage addresses, image sizes, search frequencies, etc. on 20.

The above search data is managed by a document management table, which, as shown in FIG. 10, is composed of a title management table 26a, a page management table 26b1, and a record management table 26c.

The title management table 26a stores one document number corresponding to each piece of search information (image name) consisting of a plurality of search keys. The page management table 26b stores record numbers for each page of one document, and one record number is stored for each page. The record management table 26 includes, for each record number, the storage address (storage start position) of the image information on the optical disk 19, document size (image size), image attributes such as compression method and resolution, and search frequency (access frequency). is memorized.

The storage address is a logical address, from which a physical track address and a physical sector address are calculated at the time of access.

The document management system in this embodiment has four hierarchies: cabinet, binder, document, and page, and the cabinet corresponds to one side of the optical disc 19. A maximum of 8 binders can be defined in a cabinet, and a maximum of 30,000 documents can be stored in a binder. Each document has a title, and its structure is defined for each binder. The above document is the basic unit of a file, and in addition to the title, annotations (explanation of the document) can be added. Further, a document is composed of up to 4095 pages.

Next, the operation of image information storage and retrieval processing in the electronic filing device with such a configuration will be described. First, storage processing of image information will be explained.

For example, the user selects and sets the registration mode using the keyboard 23 and inputs search information for image information to be stored on the optical disc 20.

This search information is composed of a plurality of search key items, and the contents of the search key items are set in advance. The CPU 34 checks the validity of the input search information according to a predefined format. Further, the search information is compared with the search information already registered on the optical disc 20 to check for double registration. The input search information is stored in the main memory 13 according to the result of this check.

Next, the original is set on the scanner device 18, and the CPU 34
operates the optical disk device 22 and scanner device 18. The scanner device 18 two-dimensionally scans and photoelectrically converts image information such as a set document. Line information of this photoelectrically converted image information is sequentially stored in the page memory 40.

The image information stored in the page memory 40 is stored in the display memory 42 and displayed on the CRT display device 24. The user checks the skew, density, resolution, etc. of the image information displayed on the CRT display device 24, and when the displayed image information is satisfactory, inputs a memory key (not shown). Then, the CPU 34 converts the image information stored in the page memory 40 into a well-known MR (
Modll'ied f? Encoding processing is performed by band compression using a method such as CAD). This encoded image information is supplied to the optical disc device 22 and stored on the optical disc 20.

When the image information has been stored on the optical disk 20, the CPU
34 is a search code (a search code (
search information) and stored in the main memory 38.

Next, the CPU 34 supplies the search data stored in the main memory 38 to the magnetic disk device 27. As a result, the magnetic disk device 27 is supplied. The search data is stored in each table 26a to 26c in the magnetic disk 26.

Next, the search process for image information stored on the optical disc 20 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(a). First, a search mode is set using the keyboard 23, and search information corresponding to the image information desired to be searched is input (STI). The CPU 34 sequentially compares the input search information with the search information stored in the title management table 26a (FIG. 12) of the magnetic disk 26, and determines whether search information that matches the input search information is stored. It sequentially checks whether or not the document is present and extracts the corresponding document number (Sr2). Thereby, the CPU 34 stores the extracted candidate document number in the main memory 38, as shown in FIG. 13, for example (Sr1).

Then, the CPU 34 refers to the candidate document numbers in the main memory 38 and creates a list (search information) of the corresponding documents.
is created using data read from the title management table 26a and displayed using the CRT display device 24 (
Sr4). Based on this display, if the document for which the operator is being searched for is not found, the user re-enters the search information. If found, the image to be searched for is specified from the list (specified by document number, etc.) and the search execution is instructed (Sr1).

The CPU 34 reads out the record number corresponding to the specified image using the page management table 26b of the magnetic disk 26, and writes the logical address corresponding to the read record number to the record management table 26 in the magnetic disk 26.
The physical track address and physical sector address corresponding to this address are calculated, and the optical disc device 22 reproduces the image information from the optical disc 20 using these addresses (Sr1).

Further, the CPU 34 supplies the image information (compressed information) for each scanning line supplied from the optical disk device 22 to the compression/expansion circuit 50, performs band expansion processing, and stores the image information (compressed information) in the page memory 50.
0 sequentially. The image stored in this page memory 40 is reduced by an enlargement/reduction circuit 46 and then displayed in the display memory 40.
2, and the above image is stored in the display memory 42. Therefore, the display control section 44 displays the stored contents of the display memory 42 in the window Wa of the CRT display device 24, as shown in FIG. 7 (Sr1).

In such a search display state, when the keyboard 23 or mouse 29 is instructed to turn the page using the F1 key (STIO), the CPU 34 performs a page turning operation, and when the document turning operation is instructed using the F2 key (STIO), the CPU 34 performs a page turning operation. S
TI 1), the CPU 34 performs document turning operation and presses F3.
When page return is instructed as a key (ST12),
The CPU 34 performs a page return operation, and when the F4 key is instructed to return the document (ST13), the CPU 34 performs the document return operation, and when the F6 confirmation is instructed (Sr1), the CP and U34 return to step 1. Return to F7
When printing is instructed as (ST14), CPU3
4 performs print processing, and when screen switching is instructed as F8 (ST15), CPU 34 performs screen switching processing, and when cancellation as Flo is instructed (Sr1)
, the CPU 34 ends the search process.

The screen switching process will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(g). That is, in response to a screen switching instruction, the CPU 34 determines whether the currently selected window is being displayed using one screen or four screens.
TIIO), if displayed using one screen, 4
Select the display mode using the screen STI 11),
A display area a for four screens on the CRT display device 24
Set 1bScSd and display each frame (ST
112). The CPU 34 also uses the function key F.
Switch 8 to 1 screen and switch F9 to "Select" (ST
112).

Then, in response to the selection instruction, the CPU 34 determines which screen to use from among the four screens (STI 13).
, selects a display mode using the screen specified by the keyboard 23 or mouse 29, and returns to the processing confirmation state of steps 8 to 15 (ST114.115).

For example, if display area aSbSc is selected as the screen to be used among the four screens in window Wa shown in FIG. 4, images are displayed using these display areas a, b, and c sequentially.

That is, image 1 is displayed in display area a, and image (g!
2 is displayed in display area b, image 3 is displayed in display area C, and image 4 is displayed in display area a.

Further, if it is determined in step 110 that the display is currently being displayed using four screens, the CPU 34 selects a display mode using one screen (5T116), and displays a display area a for one screen on the CRT display device 24. is set and the frame is displayed (ST117). Moreover, the CPU 34
Switch function key F8 to 4 screens and press F9 to rX
Switch to J and return to the processing confirmation state of steps 8 to 15 (
ST117).

The above printing process will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(f). That is, in response to the print instruction, the CPU 34 outputs the image data stored in the page memory 40 to the printer device 25 via the image bus 32, internal bus 56, and printer interface 54 (ST100). Thereby, the printer device 25 prints out the supplied image data (STIOI).

The above page turning operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(b). That is, in response to the page turning instruction, the CPU 34 refers to the candidate document number stored in the main memory 38 (see FIG. 13), the document number currently being searched and displayed, and the record number. ,
All pages having the corresponding document number and their record number information from the page management table 26b (see FIG. 12) of the magnetic disk 26 are extracted and stored in the main memory 38. Thereby, the CPU 34 creates a record call table consisting of record numbers as shown in FIG. 14 on the main memory 38 (ST20). In this case, the record numbers for each page correspond to the record number currently being searched and displayed in order from the top of the record call table.

Further, the CPU 34 sets the value of the pointer PTH for scanning the record call table to "1" (ST2
1).

Then, the CPU 34 reads the record number "10" corresponding to the pointer 1, reads the logical address corresponding to this record number "10" from the record management table 26c in the magnetic disk 26, and writes the logical address corresponding to this address. A physical track address and a physical sector address are calculated, and the optical disc device 22 reproduces image information from the optical disc 20 using these addresses (ST22).
).

At this time, the CPU 34 determines whether the display mode is 1 screen or 4 screens (5T23), and if it is 1 screen, the image is displayed using the window Wa currently in use (S
T24).

That is, the CPU 34 supplies the image information (compressed information) for each scanning line supplied from the optical disk device 22 to the compression/expansion circuit 50 to perform band expansion processing, and then the enlargement/reduction circuit 46 enlarges the window Wa. The images are reduced according to the display size and sequentially supplied to the display memory 42. As a result, the image information stored in the display memory 42 is transferred to the CRT.
It is displayed on the display device 24.

Then, the CPU 34 returns to step 21 and sets the pointer P.
Let the value of TR be r+IJ L r2J.

Then, the CPU 34 reads record number "17" corresponding to pointer 2, reads the logical address corresponding to this record number "17" from the record management table 26c in the magnetic disk 26, and tracks the physical track corresponding to this address. The address and the physical sector address are calculated, and based on these addresses, the optical disk device 22 reproduces the image information from the optical disk 20, and the image information is displayed on the CRT display device 24 (ST22-24).

Thereafter, each time image information is displayed on the CRT display device 24, the pointer PTR is incremented by "+1" and the image of the next page is displayed in sequence.

Also, if 4 screens are determined in step 23 above, C
The PU 34 determines which display area a, .
Storage areas 42a~ in the display memory 42 corresponding to...
42d, and the image is displayed in the display area a1... (S726-33).

That is, as shown in FIGS. 3(a) to (e) and FIG. 4, when the value of the pointer PTH is "1", the image Ig! is displayed in the storage area 42a in the display memory 42. 1 is stored, and image 1 is displayed in display area a. Further, when the value of pointer PTR is "2", image 2 is stored in storage area 42b in display memory 42, and image 2 is stored in display area b.
is displayed.

Further, when the value of pointer PTR is "3", image 3 is stored in storage area 42c in display memory 42, and image 3 is displayed in display area C. Further, when the value of pointer PTR is "4", 5 self-storage area 4 in display memory 42
Image 1 and image 4 are stored in 2d, and image 1g is stored in display area d!
4 is displayed. Further, when the value of pointer PTR is "5", image 5 is stored in storage area 42a in display memory 42, and image 5 is displayed in display area a by erasing previous image 1.

Thereafter, images for each page are displayed in the order of display areas b, cSd, a, . . . .

Further, if the end is instructed during page turning, the process returns to the processing confirmation state of steps 8 to 15.

Further, the document turning operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(c). That is, in response to an instruction to turn over a document, the CPU 34 refers to the candidate document number stored in the main memory 38 (see FIG. 13), the document number currently being searched and displayed, and the record number. , page management table 26b (first
The first page of the corresponding document number (see Figure 2) and its record number information are extracted and stored in the main memory 38. As a result, the CPU 34 stores the 15th
A record call table consisting of record numbers as shown in the figure is created (ST40).

In this case, the record numbers for each page correspond to the record number currently being searched and displayed in order from the top of the record call table.

Thereafter, the operation is the same as in the case of page turning described above, and each document is displayed sequentially from the first page of the next document (ST41 to ST45).
3).

Further, the page return operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(d). That is, in response to an instruction to turn over a document, the CPU 34 refers to the candidate document number stored in the main memory 38 (see FIG. 13), the document number currently being searched and displayed, and the record number. , page management table 26b (12th page) of the magnetic disk 26
All pages with corresponding document numbers H (see figure) and their record number information are extracted and stored in the main memory 38. As a result, the CPU 34 stores the first
A record call table consisting of record numbers as shown in FIG. 6 is created (ST60). In this case, the record numbers for each page correspond to the record number currently being searched and displayed in order from the top of the record call table.

Thereafter, operations are performed in the same manner as in the case of page turning described above, and the pages are sequentially displayed page by page starting from the previous page (ST61 to ST73).

Further, the document return operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11(e). That is, in response to the document return instruction, the CPU 34 refers to the candidate document number stored in the main memory 38 (see FIG. 13), the document number currently being searched and displayed, and the record number. , page management table 26b (first
The first page of the corresponding document number and its record number information as shown in FIG. 2 are extracted and stored in the main memory 38. As a result, the CPU 34 stores the 16th memory on the main memory 38.
A code calling table consisting of record numbers as shown in the figure is created (ST80).

In this case, the record numbers for each page correspond to the record number currently being searched and displayed in order from the top of the record call table.

Thereafter, the operation is the same as in the case of page turning described above, and each document is displayed sequentially from the first page of the previous document (ST81 to ST9).
3).

In the above example, the case of one window display has been described, but the same operation can be performed in two window display and four window display.

In this case, since page turning is being displayed in the selection window, by displaying the reference image in another window, the reference image and the scattered image can be displayed at the same time. It's convenient.

As described above, when searching for a desired image, it is possible to easily instruct individual turning such as page turning, document turning, page return, and document return. As a result, when searching for an arbitrary image, it is possible to easily instruct individual functions such as page turn, document turn, page return, document return, etc., in other words, high-speed search display, improving operability. .

Furthermore, when the images are turned apart, a plurality of selected display areas within a display area obtained by dividing a currently selected window into four parts are sequentially used to simultaneously display a plurality of sequentially read images. In other words, it can be turned over, making it extremely convenient.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, when searching for an arbitrary image, it is possible to easily instruct the high-speed search display, and the operability is good. , it is possible to provide an image search device that can display a plurality of images simultaneously using a plurality of areas.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 and 2 are block diagrams schematically showing the configuration of an electronic filing device, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a storage example of a display memory. Figures 4 to 7 are diagrams for explaining display examples of a CRT display device, Figure 8 is a diagram for explaining display examples of function keys of a CRT display device, and Figure 9 is a diagram for explaining page turning and document turning. , a diagram for explaining page return and document return, Figures 10 and 12 are diagrams for explaining a storage example of a document management table, Figure 11 is a flowchart for explaining search operation, and Figure 13. 14 to 17 are diagrams showing examples of storing document numbers in the main memory.
The figure shows an example of how a record number call table is stored. 20... Optical disk (storage means) 18... Scanner device, 22... Optical disk device, 23... Keyboard, 24... CRT display device, 25...
Printer device, 26...magnetic disk (storage means)
, 26a...Title management table, 26b...
Page management table, 26c... record management table,
27...Magnetic disk device, 34...CPU, 38...
・・Main memory, 40 ・Page memory, 40a・
...Buffer memory, 42...Display memory, 44...
・Display control unit, 44a...address control circuit, 46・
...enlargement/reduction circuit, 50...compression/expansion circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A storage means for storing a plurality of images defined as a document with one or more pages as a unit, along with search information corresponding to each image with an image number assigned thereto; a first extraction means for extracting a document number of a candidate image of the search image according to a specification; a selection means for selecting one image based on the document number and page number of the candidate image extracted by the first extraction means; a retrieval means for retrieving a desired image selected by the selection means from the storage means using an image number determined by the document number and page number; a display means for displaying the image retrieved by the retrieval means; a first instruction means for instructing the display of an image that is continuous with the search image displayed by the display means; and a first instruction means for instructing the display of an image that is continuous with the search image displayed by the display means; a second extraction means for extracting an image number of an image consecutive to the search image based on the document number and the document number and page number of the search image; a switching means for switching the display means to display a plurality of areas; a second instruction means for instructing the area to be used in response to the plurality of areas displayed on the display means by the switching means; processing means for sequentially displaying a plurality of images corresponding to the image numbers sequentially extracted by the extraction means using the plurality of areas of the display means instructed by the second instruction means. Image retrieval device.