Method of processing plurality of images arranged in chronological order

• US 20070269090A1
• Filed: 05/16/2007
• Published: 11/22/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Konica Minolta Business Technologies Incorporated (Konica Minolta Inc.)
• Inventors: Sugahara, Yoshinori
• Granted Patent: US 7,984,370 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3871 the composed originals being of different kinds, e.g. low- and high-resolution originals

Abstract

A meeting data conversion application executed in a PC successively obtains the first and last images and an image immediately before reduction of display content, among a plurality of images arranged in chronological order. Among the obtained images, an image immediately before reduction of display content by a prescribed amount or more and the last image are registered as delimiting images. Among the obtained images, the images from the image immediately after the delimiting image to the next delimiting image are processed as one image group.

Claims

1. An image processing method of processing a plurality of images arranged in chronological order, comprising the steps of:

identifying and specifying as an extracted image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order; and

identifying and specifying as a delimiting image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order.

2. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of specifying as an extracted image a first image of said images arranged in chronological order.

3. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of specifying as a last delimiting image a last image of said images arranged in chronological order.

4. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of processing the extracted image from an extracted image immediately after said delimiting image to a next delimiting image, as one image group.

5. The image processing method according to claim 4, further comprising the step of outputting said extracted image in said image group as a still image to a medium.

6. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein said medium is at least one of paper, an OHP sheet, electronic paper, and a PDF®

file.

7. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of said extracted images are output in an overlapped manner in said medium.

8. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein said extracted images are arranged in order of time and overlapped in such a manner that a first image is lighter and a last image is darker.

9. The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein an order in which said images are arranged is chronologically ascending order or descending order.

10. The image processing method according to claim 5, wherein

a still image having a plurality of layers can be displayed in said medium, and

the extracted images from an extracted image immediately after said delimiting image to a next delimiting image are arranged in respective layers and output.

11. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image entirely disappears.

12. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image is reduced by at least half.

13. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image is reduced to such an extent that said image is indistinguishable in a medium on which said image is displayed.

14. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that a rectangular region including an image is reduced by at least half.

15. A computer-readable recording medium having a program stored therein for processing a plurality of images arranged in chronological order, said program causing a computer to perform the following steps:

identifying and specifying as an extracted image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order; and

identifying and specifying as a delimiting image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order.

16. The recording medium according to claim 15, said program further causing a computer to perform the step of specifying as an extracted image a first image of said images arranged in chronological order.

17. The recording medium according to claim 15, said program further causing a computer to perform the step of specifying as a last delimiting image a last image of said images arranged in chronological order.

18. The recording medium according to claim 15, said program further causing a computer to perform the step of processing the extracted image from an extracted image immediately after said delimiting image to a next delimiting image, as one image group.

19. The recording medium according to claim 18, said program further causing a computer to perform the step of outputting said extracted image in said image group as a still image to a medium.

20. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 19, wherein said medium is at least one of paper, an OHP sheet, electronic paper, and a PDF®

file.

21. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 19, wherein a plurality of said extracted images are output in an overlapped manner in said medium.

22. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 21, wherein said extracted images are arranged in order of time and overlapped in such a manner that a first image is lighter and a last image is darker.

23. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 22, wherein an order in which said images are arranged is chronologically ascending order or descending order.

24. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 19, wherein

a still image having a plurality of layers can be displayed in said medium, and

the extracted images from an extracted image immediately after said delimiting image to a next delimiting image are arranged in respective layers and output.

25. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 15, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image entirely disappears.

26. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 15, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image is reduced by at least half.

27. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 15, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that an image is reduced to such an extent that said image is indistinguishable in a medium on which said image is displayed.

28. The program stored in the recording medium according to claim 15, wherein said reduction of the amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount includes that a rectangular region including an image is reduced by at least half.

29. An image processing apparatus processing a plurality of images arranged in chronological order, comprising:

a first specification section identifying and specifying as an extracted image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order; and

a second specification section identifying and specifying as a delimiting image an image immediately before reduction of an amount of display content by at least a prescribed amount, among said plurality of images arranged in chronological order.