METHOD FOR ARRANGING IMAGES IN ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS ON SMALL DEVICES

• US 20130346853A1
• Filed: 08/27/2013
• Published: 12/26/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Tainsh, Mark Ronald, Matic, Ivan
• Granted Patent: US 10,114,799 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/253
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

Methods (800), apparatuses (100), and computer readable storage mediums of arranging a digital image in one of several image receiving placeholders of an electronic photo album document are provided. The document is displayed (802) on a first virtual plane of a display on a display device. Digital images are displayed (804) on display; the digital images are arranged on a second virtual plane separate from first virtual plane. At least one of the digital images and document are partly transparent enabling the digital images and document to be contemporaneously visible. The second virtual plane extends beyond the boundary of display and can be panned on display device independently of document. A digital image is selected (806) from the displayed digital images; upon selection, the non-selected digital images are at least partly hidden so that the visibility of document on display device is increased. The selected digital image is arranged (808) in an image receiving placeholder.

Claims

1. A method of displaying digital images, said method comprising the steps of:

displaying a plurality of digital images on a display device;

selecting a digital image from the plurality of displayed digital images, and upon the selection, at least partly hiding the non-selected digital images; and

changing a display position of the selected digital image according to a user operation.

21. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of displaying content on a first virtual plane of a display on the display device and displaying the plurality of digital images on the display, the plurality of digital images being arranged on a second virtual plane separate from, and overlaying, the first virtual plane of the content.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the content is partly transparent.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the plurality of digital images is partly transparent.

24. The method according to claim 22, wherein said partial transparency enables both the plurality of digital images and the content to be contemporaneously visible.

25. The method according to claim 22, wherein the second virtual plane extends, in at least one dimension, beyond the boundary of the display and is able to be panned on the display device independently of the content.

26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising the step of restoring the non-selected digital images onto the display from at least a partly hidden state of the non-selected digital images.

27. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the selected digital image is arranged in the content by a placing operation of the selected digital image.

28. The method as claimed in claim 25, further comprising the step of partly highlighting the content when the selected digital image is moved over the content.

29. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the digital images arranged on the second virtual plane are grouped together on the second virtual plane by a characteristic of the digital images.

30. The method as claimed in claim 29, wherein the characteristic of the digital images is the creation date of each candidate image, or a geographical characteristic of each digital image.

31. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the digital images arranged on the second virtual plane are grouped together on the second virtual plane by a characteristic of the content.

32. The method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the characteristic of the content is the size of the content, or the theme of the content.

33. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein panning the second virtual plane to locate a digital image in the plurality of digital images over the content arranges the digital image until the second virtual plane is further panned, removing the digital image from the content.

34. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the content is further obfuscated as the second virtual plane is panned.

39. The apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said partial transparency enables both the plurality of digital images and the content to be contemporaneously visible.

2-20. -20. (canceled)

35. A display control apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store data and a computer program; and

a processor unit coupled to the memory and configured to execute a computer program, said memory and said processor being configured to arrange digital images in an electronic photo album document using a display of a display device, the computer program comprising;

code instructing the display of a plurality of the digital images on the display device;

code instructing the selection of a digital image from the plurality of displayed digital images, and upon the selection, the at least partial hiding of the non-selected digital images; and

code instructing the changing of a display position of the selected digital image according to a user operation.

36. The apparatus according to claim 35, further comprising:

code instructing the display of content on a first virtual plane of the display on the display device and the display of the plurality of digital images on the display, the plurality of digital images being arranged on a second virtual plane separate from, and overlaying, the first virtual plane of the content.

37. The apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the content is partly transparent.

38. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the plurality of digital images is partly transparent.

40. The apparatus according to claim 37, wherein the second virtual plane extends, in at least one dimension, beyond the boundary of the display and is able to be panned on the display device independently of the content.

41. The apparatus according to claim 40, further comprising:

code instructing the restoring of the non-selected digital images onto the display from at least a partly hidden state of the non-selected digital images.

42. The apparatus as claimed in claim 40, wherein the selected digital image is arranged in the content by performing a placing operation of the selected digital image.

43. The apparatus as claimed in claim 40, further comprising:

code for instructing the partly highlighting the content when the selected digital image is moved over the content.

44. The apparatus as claimed in claim 40, wherein the digital images arranged on the second virtual plane are grouped together on the second virtual plane by a characteristic of the digital images.

45. The apparatus as claimed in claim 44, wherein the characteristic of the digital images is the creation date of each candidate image, or a geographical characteristic of each digital image.

46. The apparatus as claimed in claim 40, wherein the digital images arranged on the second virtual plane are grouped together on the second virtual plane by a characteristic of the content.

47. The apparatus as claimed in claim 46, wherein the characteristic of the content is the size of the content, or the theme of the content.

48. The apparatus as claimed in claim 40, wherein panning the second virtual plane to locate a digital image in the plurality of digital images over the content arranges the digital image until the second virtual plane is further panned, removing the digital image from the content.

49. The apparatus as claimed in claim 36, wherein the content is further obfuscated as the second virtual plane is panned.

50. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having recorded therein a computer executable program for directing a computer processor to perform a method of displaying digital images, said method comprising the steps of:

displaying a plurality of digital images on a display device;

selecting a digital image from the plurality of displayed digital images, and upon the selection, at least partly hiding the non-selected digital images; and

changing a display position of the selected digital image according to a user operation.