IMAGE DISPLAY SYSTEM, IMAGE DISPLAY METHOD, IMAGE DISPLAY PROGRAM, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM STORING SAID PROGRAM

• US 20140375648A1
• Filed: 11/02/2012
• Published: 12/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rakuten Group, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rakuten, Inc. (Rakuten Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Katakawa, Jun, Inoue, Masashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,165,340 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/428
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/20 Processor architectures; Processor configuration, e.g. pipelining
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 3/40 Scaling of whole images or parts thereof, e.g. expanding or contracting

Abstract

The image display system includes a calculation unit, a specifying unit, a generation unit and a transmitting unit. Upon change of a zoom level of a current image not containing position information to a specified value on a user terminal, the calculation unit calculates a display range of an object represented by the current image after change in zoom level. The specifying unit refers to data of a different image of the object and specifies a part of the different image indicated by the display range calculated by the calculation unit. The different image has a different resolution from the current image. The generation unit generates a next image representing the part specified by the specifying unit using the data of the different image. The transmitting unit transmits the next image to the user terminal for switching from the current image to the next image.

Claims

1-15. -15. (canceled)

16. An image display system comprising:

a calculation unit configured to, when a zoom level of a current image not containing position information of an object reaches a specified threshold on a user terminal, divide the current image into meshes and then, calculate a display range of the object represented by the current image after change in zoom level by specifying blocks of the current image constituting the display range;

a specifying unit configured to refer to data of a different image of the object from a storage unit, the different image being divided into meshes and having a different resolution from the current image, and specify a part of the different image indicated by blocks of the different image corresponding to the blocks constituting the display range calculated by the calculation unit;

a generation unit configured to generate a next image representing the part specified by the specifying unit based on the blocks constituting the part of the different image; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the next image to the user terminal for switching from the current image to the next image.

17. The image display system according to claim 16, wherein

the specifying unit specifies one or more blocks corresponding to the calculated display range from the different image divided into a plurality of mesh-like blocks as a part of the different image.

18. The image display system according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of blocks are formed by equally dividing a whole of the different image.

19. The image display system according to claim 17, wherein

the plurality of blocks are formed by equally dividing a rectangular region circumscribing the object.

20. The image display system according to claim 19, wherein

the plurality of blocks are formed by equally dividing the rectangular region and dividing an outside of the rectangular region.

21. The image display system according to claim 17, wherein

the specifying unit divides the different image into the plurality of mesh-like blocks each time the display range is calculated by the calculation unit.

22. The image display system according to claim 17, wherein

block information identifying the plurality of blocks is contained in advance in the data of the different image, and

the specifying unit specifies a part of the different image by referring to the block information.

23. The image display system according to claim 22, wherein

the data of the different image is a set of data of the individual blocks, and

the generation unit generates the next image by joining the blocks corresponding to the specified part.

24. The image display system according to claim 16, wherein

the calculation unit specifies a center point of change of the zoom level and calculates the display range based on the center point and the zoom level.

25. The image display system according to claim 16, wherein

when the zoom level of the current image reaches another reference value corresponding to the specified threshold before reaching the specified threshold, the calculation unit starts calculating the display range of a case where the zoom level of the current image reaches the specified threshold, and

when the zoom level of the current image reaches the specified threshold without going through said another reference value, the calculation unit calculates the display range of the object represented by the current image after change in zoom level in response to change of the zoom level to the specified threshold.

26. The image display system according to claim 16, wherein

the image display system includes a server configured to communicate with the user terminal,

the user terminal includes the calculation unit,

the server includes the specifying unit, the generation unit and the transmitting unit, and

the calculation unit transmits range information indicating the display range to the server.

27. The image display system according to claim 16, wherein

the image display system includes a server configured to communicate with the user terminal,

the user terminal provides operation information indicating a user operation related to change in zoom level to the server,

the server includes the calculation unit, the specifying unit, the generation unit and the transmitting unit, and

the calculation unit calculates the display range based on the operation information.

28. An image display method executed in an image display system, comprising:

a calculation step of, when a zoom level of a current image not containing position information of an object reaches a specified threshold on a user terminal, dividing the current image into meshes and then, calculating a display range of the object represented by the current image after change in zoom level by specifying blocks of the current image constituting the display range;

a specifying step of referring to data of a different image of the object from a storage unit, the different image being divided into meshes and having a different resolution from the current image, and specifying a part of the different image indicated by blocks of the different image corresponding to the blocks constituting the display range calculated in the calculation step;

a generation step of generating a next image representing the part specified in the specifying step based on the blocks constituting the part of the different image; and

a transmitting step of transmitting the next image to the user terminal for switching from the current image to the next image.

29. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing an image display program causing a computer to function as:

a calculation unit configured to, when a zoom level of a current image not containing position information of an object reaches a specified threshold on a user terminal, divide the current image into meshes and then, calculate a display range of the object represented by the current image after change in zoom level by specifying blocks of the current image constituting the display range;

a specifying unit configured to refer to data of a different image of the object from a storage unit, the different image being divided into meshes and having a different resolution from the current image, and specify a part of the different image indicated by blocks of the different image corresponding to the blocks constituting the display range calculated by the calculation unit;

a generation unit configured to generate a next image representing the part specified by the specifying unit based on the blocks constituting the part of the different image; and

a transmitting unit configured to transmit the next image to the user terminal for switching from the current image to the next image.