JPH1165738A - Image data input device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] While inputting image data of a plurality of pages, it is possible to arbitrarily change a file storing image data in synchronization with image input of each page. A plurality of pages of images are sequentially input, and each time an image of one page is input, a thumbnail image of the image of one page is generated (steps S101 to S10).
3). Each time an image for one page is input,
It is determined whether or not an instruction to register images for pages in another file has been issued (steps S104 to S104).
7). If it is determined that registration to another file has been instructed, the generated thumbnail image is displayed at a new position (steps S114 to S118). Then, when registration to another file is instructed, the image of one page is stored in another file (step S112).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image data input device and method for displaying thumbnails of image data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image data input system, there is known an image data input system capable of displaying image data obtained from an image input device such as a scanner or a facsimile one page at a time or as a bundle of a plurality of pages. ing. In general, when inputting image data of a plurality of pages collectively, each page of the image data is set as a separate file, or all pages are collectively input as one file.
It is necessary to specify in advance whether to use two files. Also, if you input image data of multiple pages at once,
The generation of a thumbnail image is generally performed at the time when the batch input of the image data has been completed.

[0003]

Therefore, when a plurality of pages are input collectively in the conventional image data input system, all pages are input as individual pages, that is, as a plurality of documents, and thumbnails are input. The document is displayed, or all pages are registered as a single document and registered and displayed as thumbnails. For this reason, in order to divide the image data input collectively into a plurality of files (documents) composed of a plurality of pages, after all the input of the image data is completed, the document is divided again or integrated. Or had to.

Further, when reading from an image input device connected to a network, such as a network scanner, with a client PC, a method of determining what kind of image is currently being read until the reading is completed. There was no.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables inputting image data of a plurality of pages to generate and display a thumbnail image in synchronization with image input for each page. It is an object to provide an image data input device and method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image data input device capable of desirably changing a file storing image data in synchronization with image input of each page while inputting image data of a plurality of pages. And a method.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an image data input device under the control of an image data input device, that is, input means for sequentially inputting a plurality of pages of images,
Each time an image for one page is input from the input means,
Generating means for generating a thumbnail image of the image for one page, and, if the image for one page is an image for the second and subsequent pages, converting the thumbnail image generated by the generating means to a page on an earlier page. And display means for displaying the thumbnail image so as to overlap the thumbnail image of the image.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data input apparatus for inputting a plurality of pages of images sequentially, each time an image of one page is input from the input means. Generating means for generating a thumbnail image of the image for one page, and an instruction to register the image for one page in another file each time the image for one page is input from the input means. Determination means for determining whether or not the thumbnail image is generated, and display means for displaying the thumbnail image generated by the generation means at a new position when it is determined that registration to another file is instructed by the determination means. A storage unit for storing the image of one page in another file when the determination unit determines that registration to another file has been instructed.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image data inputting method for saving an input image as a file, comprising: an inputting step of sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages; A generating step of generating a thumbnail image of the image of one page each time an image of one page is input from the step; and a generating step if the image of one page is an image of a second page or later. And displaying the thumbnail image generated in the step (1) so as to overlap the thumbnail image of the image of the page before that.

Further, another image data input method according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an image data input method for saving an input image as a file, the input step being for sequentially inputting a plurality of pages of images. And 1 from the input step
A generating step of generating a thumbnail image of the image of one page each time the image of the page is input, and generating the thumbnail image of the image of one page each time the image of the one page is input from the inputting step A judging step of judging whether or not an instruction to register to another file has been made; and if it is judged in the judging step that registration to another file has been instructed, the thumbnail image generated in the generating step is copied. A display step of displaying the image at a new position; and a storage step of storing the image of one page in another file when it is determined in the determination step that registration to another file is instructed.

[0011]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an information processing system to which the thumbnail image display method of the present embodiment is applied. This information processing system includes a client computer (hereinafter, PC 201) and an image input device 2
02 and a connection cable 203 for connecting them. Interfaces for connecting the PC 201 and the image input device 202 include (1) SCSI and (2)
Various interfaces such as Centronics, (3) RS-232C, and (4) network are applicable,
The system does not depend on a connection interface. In addition, examples of the image input device 202 include a scanner and a facsimile.

FIG. 2 shows a client computer (PC 20) on which the thumbnail image display system of the present embodiment operates.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 1). The PC 201 includes a display device 301, an input device 302, and a central processing unit 30.
3, an external storage device 304, and a memory 305. As the display device 301, a CRT or a liquid crystal display (LCD) is used, and various displays are performed under the control of the central processing unit 303. The input device 302 includes a keyboard and a pointing device (such as a mouse). The central processing unit 303 is constituted by a microcomputer. The external storage device 304 is configured by a hard disk, a floppy disk, or the like, and stores various control programs and data. The memory 305 includes a ROM that stores a boot program and various data, and a RAM that functions as a main memory of the central processing unit 303. Note that the control program stored in the external storage device 304
It is loaded into the AM and executed by the central processing unit 303.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are views showing display examples of a main window according to the thumbnail image display method of the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows an example in which a plurality of images are read and stored in the folder α. FIG. 3A shows a state where the third image C is read and the thumbnail image 401a is displayed in the main window 401. When a plurality of images are combined into the same document of a plurality of pages, the second image is displayed with a slightly shifted frame of the image, which clearly indicates that the document has a plurality of images. However, one sheet is shifted when N sheets are read.

Now, in this state, the mouse pointer 401
When b is moved to the position shown in the window 401 and clicked, the images from the fourth sheet are displayed as new documents at that position. As shown in FIG. 3B, a thumbnail image 401c of the fourth image D is displayed in the window 401. Thus, a new document file having the image data D is created in the folder α.

FIG. 4 also shows an example in which a plurality of images are read and stored in the folder α. However, FIG. 4 shows a case where a new document file is created in a different folder. FIG. 4A illustrates a state where the third image C is read and the thumbnail image 401a is displayed. When the user clicks a button indicating the folder β in the folder change button 503, the fourth image is displayed as a new document in the changed folder β. FIG. 4B shows the state at this time, and the thumbnail image 501a of the fourth image D is displayed next to the existing document Z in the folder β in the main window 501 of the folder β. here,
For an existing document, its thumbnail image may be displayed.

FIG. 5 shows a thumbnail image display position change table (hereinafter, also referred to as a position change table) used by the thumbnail image display method of the present embodiment. In FIG. 5, “storage folder name” indicates a folder name for storing the read image. The “display position” indicates the display position of the thumbnail image of the image in the folder storing the read image by the x coordinate and the y coordinate based on the upper left of the window. The “selected folder name” indicates the name of the selected folder when another folder is selected during reading of a plurality of pages, as described with reference to FIG. "Specified display position"
As described with reference to FIG. 3, when a different position in the same folder is specified while a plurality of pages are being read, the specified position is set based on the upper left of the window.
It is indicated by coordinates and y coordinates.

FIG. 6 is a transition diagram showing a change in the contents of the thumbnail image display position change table (hereinafter, referred to as a position change table) shown in FIG.

When reading of an image is started (step S101 described later), first, a position change table is initialized. This initialization is performed in the following procedure, for example. First, the current storage folder name is obtained from the display information (screen information) on the display device 301 at the present time (α in this example), and based on the image information for the current folder in the thumbnail image display information table shown in FIG. Then, the display position of the thumbnail image with respect to the new image is calculated, and this is stored in the position change table as the “display position”. The “selected folder name” and the “designated display position” are initialized to NULL. As described above,
The contents of the position change table are as shown in state number (1) in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of a thumbnail image display information table (hereinafter, referred to as a display information table). In the display information table, "folder name",
“Thumbnail display position”, “Thumbnail size”,
“Number of pages” and “pointer to database” are registered. “Folder name” is information for specifying the above-described folder. The “thumbnail display position” is the display position of the thumbnail image (x, y coordinates in the upper left window of the thumbnail image). The “number of pages” indicates the number of images. The “pointer to database” stores a pointer to an actual image in the database.

The "calculation of the display position of the new image" in the initialization of the position change table is performed by displaying the thumbnail display position (x1, y1) and the size of the thumbnail (x10, y10) in the folder α in the display information table. More preferably, based on these, the display position of the new thumbnail image is determined so that the existing thumbnail image and the new thumbnail image do not overlap. If a plurality of files already exist in the folder, a plurality of “thumbnail display positions” and “thumbnail sizes” are registered for the folder name α in the display information table, and the display position of the new image is The determination is made in consideration of all these existing thumbnail images.

Returning to FIG. 6, for example, when another display position in the same folder is specified during reading of an image (step S804 described later), the value (x2, y2) is set to “designation” in the position change table. (Transition from state number (1) to state number (2)). If another folder is selected during reading of an image (step S807 described later), the value (β) is stored in “selected folder name” (from state number (1) to state number (4)). )).

When the position change table is changed as described above, the occurrence of the change is detected when the read image is registered and displayed, and the position change table is reinitialized. That is, when registering and displaying the second and subsequent pages of a plurality of pages, if a value other than NULL is entered in the “designated display position” in the change table, another position in the same folder is designated. Means that. Therefore, the display position is calculated based on the designated display position, the obtained value is stored in the “display position” of the position change table, and NULL is stored in the “designated display position” to reinitialize. Is performed (step S115). As a result, the state of the position change table changes from state number (2) to state number (3).

Also, NULL is added to the "selected folder name".
If a value other than L is entered, it means that another folder has been specified.
And the "display position" in the new folder is determined with reference to the thumbnail image display information table, and NULL is stored in the "selected folder name" to perform re-initialization (step S118). . As a result, the state of the position change table changes from state number (4) to state board number (5).

By using the two tables described above (position change table and display information table),
In synchronization with reading the image from the image display, the corresponding thumbnail image can be superimposed and displayed as a multi-page document. Also, if the display position of the thumbnail image is dynamically changed during the reading, the next read image is dynamically registered as another new document, and the corresponding thumbnail image is dynamically stored in another new document. Can be displayed.

Next, a display position changing process performed by the central processing unit 303 of the present system will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of the display position changing process according to the present embodiment. This process is started when an attempt is made to change the storage folder or the display position in the folder (change of the display position results in change of the storage destination file of the image data). That is, in this example, this process is started when another position in the folder is specified or when another folder is specified.

In step S800, the thumbnail image display position change table (FIG. 5) is read. Then, in step S801, the thumbnail display information table (FIG. 7) is read. In step S802, it is determined whether another folder has been selected or another position in the same folder has been designated. If another location in the same folder is specified,
In step S803, the position of the designated mouse pointer is acquired. Then, in step S804, the acquired position of the mouse pointer is registered in the "designated display position" of the position change table. As a result, the position change table is updated as shown by the state number (2) in FIG. After that, in step S805, the thumbnail image display position change table is stored, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S802 that another folder has been selected, the flow advances to step S806 to acquire the selected folder name. Then, step S80
In step 7, the acquired folder name is registered in the "selected folder name" of the position change table, and the flow advances to step S805. As a result, the position change table is updated as shown in state number (4) in FIG.

Next, the image input processing performed by the central processing unit 303 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the image input process according to the present embodiment.
This process is started when the image reading process starts.

In step S101, the external storage device 304
Initialize the position change table (FIG. 5) stored in. The initialization method stores the name of the currently selected folder in the “storage folder” of the same table, and creates a new one based on the “thumbnail display position” and “thumbnail size” obtained from the display information table (FIG. 7). The display position is calculated and stored in “display position” of the position change table. The “selected folder name” and the “designated display position” of the position change table are initialized to NULL.

Next, in step S102, an image of one page is input from the image input device 202 through the connection cable 203. The input method is a known method. In general, since it is performed via a driver of an image input device, the method is unique to each device. However, the input may be performed according to a common rule such as a TWAIN interface. In step S103, a thumbnail image of the image input in step S102 is created by a known method, and is temporarily stored in the memory 305.

Next, in step S104, the position change table is read from the external storage device 304 to the memory 305, and the folder name to be stored is obtained. As a result, FIG.
If the “selected folder name” is NULL as shown by the state number (1), “storage folder name” is the folder name to be stored, and the “selected folder name” is shown by the state number (4). If there is a folder name in “name” (if it is a value other than NULL), it is a folder name to be selected. Therefore, if it is determined in step S105 that the document is to be stored in the same folder (the folder name is not selected), the process proceeds to step S106, and whether or not the file is to be stored in the same document (change of the display position is instructed). Check if there is any).

That is, in step S106, a position to be displayed is obtained from the "display position" and the "selected display position" in the position change table. For example, if the “designated display position” is NULL as in the state number (1) in FIG. 6, the “display position” is the position where the thumbnail image should be displayed, and it is determined that the thumbnail image is stored in the same document. FIG.
If the “designated display position” has a value (if it is a value other than NULL) as in the state number (2), the value is the position where the thumbnail image should be displayed, and It is determined that it is stored.

If it is determined in step S107 that the documents are stored in the same document, in step S108, the display information table shown in FIG.
5 to determine whether the relevant document is the second or subsequent page. In the case of the second and subsequent pages, the process proceeds to step S109, where 1
The thumbnail image frame of the page is displayed with a slight shift. If it is determined in step S108 that the current page is not the second or subsequent page, step S109 is skipped and step S1 is performed.
Perform 10 or less. In step S110, the thumbnail image created in step S103 is
It is displayed at the position acquired in 6. As a result, in the case of the images of the second and subsequent pages, which have passed through the step S109, a display form indicating that there are a plurality of pages as in the display of the thumbnail image 401a (image C) in FIG. When the image is the first page and does not go through step S109, the image is displayed as a thumbnail image D in FIG. 3B.

Next, in step S 111, information about the input image is stored in the display information table and stored in the external storage area 304. The display information table shows the relationship between the display information of the thumbnails and the actual database. As the information stored in the table information table in step S111, if the image is the first page, at least the folder name, the thumbnail position, the thumbnail size, the number of pages (here, 1), the actual Pointer to data. When the image is the second and subsequent pages and the storage position (display position) is not changed (via steps S <b> 105 to S <b> 110), the number of pages increases by one. The folder name, thumbnail position, thumbnail size, and pointer to actual data are not changed. When the image is on the second page or later and the storage position is changed (when the image is passed through steps S114 to S115 or steps S116 to S118, the folder name and the thumbnail position are set in the same manner as the first page). ,
The size of the thumbnail, the number of pages (here, 1), and a pointer to actual data in the database are stored.

Then, the image and the thumbnail image input in step S112 are stored in the database by a known method. In step S113, it is determined whether all the images have been input from the image input device. If there are images to be input, the process returns to step S102, and the above processing is repeated. Also,
If all images have been input, the process ends.

If it is determined in step S107 that the document is to be stored as another document (the storage position is specified), the process proceeds to step S114. Step S11
In step 4, the thumbnail display position is calculated. That is, based on the “designated display position” and the image information in the display information table, it is calculated whether the existing thumbnail is appropriate or not, such as overlapping of the thumbnails. Then, data to be registered in the "display position" of the concave table is obtained. Then, in step S115, the position change table is re-initialized as indicated by the state number (3) in FIG. 6, and the processing from step S110 is performed.

If it is determined in step S105 that the folder is to be stored in another folder (the folder name has been selected), the flow advances to step S116 to display the selected folder in a window. Then, step S1
At 17, the thumbnail display position is calculated. That is, from the image information in the display information table, a position where the thumbnails do not overlap and a proper position as the thumbnail display position is calculated, and data to be registered in the “display position” of the change table is obtained. In step S118, the thumbnail image storage position change table is re-initialized as indicated by the state number (5) in FIG. 6, and the processing from step S110 is performed.

The image input processing of FIG. 1 and the storage position change processing of FIG. 8 can be executed by different processes using a known technique. The exclusive control referring to the same table also uses a known technique.

In the above embodiment, when there are a plurality of thumbnail images, a plurality of pages are shown by shifting and displaying the thumbnail frame only once. However, the thumbnail frames can be shifted by the number of images.

It is also possible to automatically register and display a fixed number of documents as a new document. In this case, the number of pages of the read image is counted, and the two tables (position change table and display information table) described above are automatically changed according to the count value without user operation. good.

<Other Embodiments> Further, in a state as shown in FIG.
Can be registered in the file to which the. In this case, in the state as shown in FIG.
The storage position changing process in FIG. 8 may be started by designating the position where the image C is displayed. Further, in the state of FIG. 4B, the image of the page next to the image D can be registered in a file to which the image C in the folder α which is another folder belongs. That is, FIG.
In this state, when the folder α is designated and the position of the image C is designated, the storage position changing process in FIG.

As described above, the activation of the storage position changing process of FIG. 8 is started when an arbitrary place in the display area in the same folder is designated or when another folder is designated. This may be performed when an arbitrary place in the display area of the folder is designated. Note that the above step S1
In 11, the number of pages in the corresponding display information already registered in the display information table is increased by one.

The present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), but can be applied to a single device (for example, a copier, a facsimile). Device).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to display thumbnail images of the read images in a superimposed manner in synchronization with the reading of the images.

Further, since it is possible to register and display a new document at an arbitrary point before reading of the image is completed, the image can be divided and sorted at the same time as reading.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, when inputting image data of a plurality of pages, it is possible to generate and display a thumbnail image in synchronization with the image input for each page.

According to the present invention, while inputting image data of a plurality of pages, it is possible to arbitrarily change the file storing the image data in synchronization with the image input of each page.

[0055]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing system to which a thumbnail image display method according to an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a client-side computer on which a thumbnail image display method according to the embodiment operates.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of a main window according to the thumbnail image display method of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a main window according to the thumbnail image display method of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a thumbnail image display position change table used by the thumbnail image display method of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a transition diagram showing a change in the content of a thumbnail image display position change table shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of a thumbnail image display information table.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of a display position changing process according to the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image input process according to the embodiment.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An input means for sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages, each time an image for one page is input from the input means,
Generating means for generating a thumbnail image of the image for one page; and, if the image for one page is an image for the second and subsequent pages, replacing the thumbnail image generated by the generating means with an earlier page. Display means for displaying the thumbnail image so as to overlap the thumbnail image of the image. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the thumbnail image of the image of the first page shifted by a predetermined amount from the predetermined position when displaying the thumbnail image of the image of the second page and thereafter at the predetermined position. 2. The image data input device according to claim 1, wherein a thumbnail image generated by the generation unit is displayed at a position and overlaps with a thumbnail image of a first page image. 3. An input means for sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages, each time an image for one page is input from said input means,
Generating means for generating a thumbnail image of the image for one page, and each time an image for one page is input from the input means,
Determining means for determining whether or not an instruction to register the image for one page in another file has been issued; and when the determining means determines that registration to another file has been instructed, the generating means Display means for displaying the generated thumbnail image at a new position; and storage means for storing the image for one page in another file when the determination means determines that registration to another file has been instructed. An image data input device comprising: 4. The display unit, if the determination unit determines that registration to another file has not been instructed, if the image for one page is an image of a second page or later,
4. The image data input device according to claim 3, wherein the thumbnail image generated by the generation unit is displayed so as to overlap with a thumbnail image of an image of an earlier page. 5. When a different position different from the position where the thumbnail image of the current file is displayed in the window is specified, the determining means determines that a registration instruction to another file has been made. The image data input device according to claim 3, wherein: 6. The image data input device according to claim 5, wherein a new display position of said thumbnail image by said display means is determined based on said another position. 7. The method according to claim 3, wherein when a folder different from the folder to which the current file belongs is designated, the determining unit determines that an instruction to register the file to another file has been issued. An image data input device according to claim 1. 8. A storage unit for storing display information indicating a display state of a thumbnail image with respect to a plurality of folders, wherein the display unit determines that registration to another file is instructed by the determination unit. The display position of a thumbnail image generated by the generating unit is determined based on the display state of a thumbnail image in a designated folder from the display information, and the display position of the thumbnail image is determined based on the display state. Image data input device. 9. An image data input method for saving an input image as a file, comprising: an input step of sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages;
A generating step of generating a thumbnail image of the image of one page; and, if the image of the one page is an image of a second or subsequent page, replacing the thumbnail image generated in the generating step with an earlier page. A display step of displaying the thumbnail image so as to overlap the thumbnail image of the image. 10. An image data input method for storing an input image as a file, comprising: an input step of sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages; and each time an image of one page is input from the input step,
A generating step of generating a thumbnail image of the image of one page, and each time an image of one page is input from the inputting step,
A determining step of determining whether or not an instruction to register the image for one page in another file has been issued; and, if it is determined in the determining step that registration to another file has been instructed, the generating step A display step of displaying the generated thumbnail image at a new position; and a storage step of storing the image for one page in another file when it is determined in the determination step that registration to another file has been instructed. An image data input method comprising: 11. A storage medium for storing a control program for saving an input image as a file,
The control program includes a code of an input step of sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages, and each time an image of one page is input from the input step,
A code of a generation step of generating a thumbnail image of the image of one page; and, if the image of the one page is an image of a second page or later, the thumbnail image generated in the generation step is And a code for a display step of displaying the thumbnail image so as to overlap the thumbnail image of the page image. 12. A storage medium for storing a control program for saving an input image as a file,
The control program includes a code of an input step of sequentially inputting images of a plurality of pages, and each time an image of one page is input from the input step,
A code of a generation step for generating a thumbnail image of the image for one page, and each time an image for one page is input from the input step,
A determining step of determining whether or not an instruction to register the image for one page in another file has been issued; and, if it is determined in the determining step that registration to another file has been instructed, the generating step A code for a display step of displaying the generated thumbnail image at a new position, and storing the image for one page in another file when it is determined in the determination step that registration to another file is instructed. A storage medium comprising a process code.