IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM WITH PROGRAM RECORDED THEREON, FOR JOINING IMAGES TOGETHER BY USING VISIBLE JOINING POINTS AND CORRECTING IMAGE DISTORTION EASILY

• US 6,593,938 B1
• Filed: 04/12/1999
• Issued: 07/15/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Hasegawa, Minoru, Takaki, Toshinori, Sakata, Norihiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Brier, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLACKMAN, ANTHONY J
• Application Number:
  US09/290,553
• Time in Patent Office: 1,555 Days
• Field of Search: 345/435, 345/629, 348/584, 382/284
• US Class Current: 345/629
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3875 combined with enlarging or reducing enlarging or reducing per se H04N1/393

Abstract

An image processing apparatus is provided with a display device to display images on a display screen so that the images displayed on the display device can be edited and processed for joining of the images. The image processing apparatus includes an image specifying device to specify two or more images to be joined together on the display device. An image arranging device arranges the images specified by the image specifying device in such an order as to join the images together, and a display control device controls the display device to display the images arranged by the image arranging device. A joining point specifying device specifies any one joining point for each image so that vertically or laterally adjacent images displayed by the display control device can be joined together by referring to the joining points. A joining device joins adjacent images together by referring to the joining points specified by the joining point specifying device. This makes it possible to easily join the images together by such a way as to merely specify one joining point for each image, and hence to execute image joining easily and efficiently.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a display device configured to display images on a display screen such that the images can be edited and processed;

image specifying means for specifying at least two images to be joined together;

image arranging means for arranging the images specified by said image specifying means in a desired order;

display control means for controlling said display device to display the images arranged by said image arranging means;

joining point specifying means for specifying respective joining points for at least two of said specified images;

connection line drawing means for drawing a connection line between joining points specified by said joining point specifying means, and

joining means for joining the at least two specified images by referring to the joining points specified by said joining point specifying means;

wherein said display control means controls said display device to display both the images arranged by said image arranging means and the connection line drawn by said connection line drawing means.

3. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

focal length setting means for setting a focal length of an image to be specified; and

image correcting means for correcting a specified image based on the focal length set by said focal length setting means.

4. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display control means controls the display device to display the images vertically.

5. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said display control means controls the display device to display the images horizontally.

31. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

means for standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

32. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

means for standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

43. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connection line has a characteristic such that it can be readily discriminated from the remainder of the image.

44. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 43, wherein said characteristic is color.

45. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 43, wherein said characteristic is line thickness.

46. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 43, wherein said characteristic is operator selectable.

47. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 43, wherein said characteristic is automatically selected by taking into account a color used in the image.

58. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said image arranging means comprises means for displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and means for displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

2. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a display device configured to display images on a display screen such that the images can be edited and processed;

image specifying means for specifying at least two images to be joined together;

image arranging means for arranging the images specified by said image specifying means in a desired order;

display control means for controlling said display device to display the images arranged by said image arranging means;

joining point specifying means for specifying respective joining points for at least two of said specified images;

joining means for joining the at least two specified images by referring to the joining points specified by said joining point specifying means; and

joining-point specification releasing means for releasing specification of a previous specified set of joining points for a pair of images when a new set of joining points is specified for the pair of images.

6. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus, comprising steps of:

displaying images on a display screen;

specifying at least two images to be joined together;

arranging the images specified in said specifying step in a desired order;

displaying the specified images arranged in said arranging step;

specifying respective joining points for at least two of the specified images;

drawing a connection line between the joining points specified in said joining point specifying step; and

joining the at least two images by referring to the joining points specified in said joining points specifying step;

wherein said arranged images displaying step displays both the images arranged in said arranging step and the connection line drawn in said connection line drawing step.

8. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising steps of:

setting a focal length of an image to be specified; and

correcting the specified image based on the focal length set in said focal length setting step.

9. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein said step of displaying the arranged images comprises displaying the images vertically.

10. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein said step of displaying the arranged images comprises displaying the images horizontally.

33. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

34. The method as set forth in claim 6, further comprising the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

59. The method as set forth in claim 6, wherein said image arranging step comprises displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and then displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

7. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus, comprising steps of:

displaying images on a display screen;

specifying at least two images to be joined together;

arranging the images specified in said specifying step in a desired order;

displaying the specified images arranged in said arranging step;

specifying respective joining points for at least two of the specified images;

joining the at least two images by referring to the joining points specified in said joining points specifying step; and

releasing specification of a previous specified set of joining points for a pair of images when the specifying step is performed for the pair of images.

11. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

arranging specified images in a desired order;

displaying the images arranged in said arranging step;

joining at least two of the images by referring to respective user specified joining points of the images; and

drawing a connection line between the joining points;

wherein said arranged image displaying step displays of the images arranged in said arranging steps and the connection line.

13. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, the computer instructions further controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

correcting a specified image based on a focal length of the specified image.

14. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, wherein said step of displaying the arranged images comprises displaying the images horizontally.

15. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, wherein said step of displaying the arranged images comprises displaying the images vertically.

35. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, the computer instructions further controlling the image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

36. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, the computer instructions further controlling the image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

48. The method as set forth in claim 14, wherein said connection line has a characteristic such that it can be readily discriminated from the remainder of the image.

49. The method as set forth in claim 48, wherein said characteristic is color.

50. The method as set forth in claim 48, wherein said characteristic is line thickness.

51. The method as set forth in claim 48, wherein said characteristic is operator selectable.

52. The method as set forth in claim 48, wherein said characteristic is automatically selected by taking into account a color used in the image.

60. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 11, wherein said image arranging step comprises displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and then displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

12. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

arranging specified images in a desired order;

displaying the images arranged in said arranging step;

joining at least two of the images by referring to respective user specified joining points of the images; and

releasing specification of a previous specified set of joining points for a pair of images when the specifying step is performed for the pair of images.

16. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a display device configured to display images on a display screen such that the images can be edited and processed;

image specifying means for specifying at least two images photographed at different photographing positions;

image arranging means for arranging the images specified by said image specifying means;

display control means for controlling said display device to display the specified images arranged by said image arranging means;

point specifying means for specifying respective points for at least two of the specified images displayed by said display control means;

connection line drawing means for drawing a connection line between the points specified by said point specifying means;

distortion correcting means for correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified by said point specifying means; and

wherein said display control means controls said display device to display both the images arranged by said image arranging means and the connection line drawn by said connection line drawing means.

18. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 16, further comprising:

focal length setting means for setting the focal length of the images to be specified;

wherein said distortion correcting means corrects distortion of the specified images based on the focal length set by said focal length setting means.

37. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 16, further comprising:

means for standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

38. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 16, further comprising:

means for standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

61. The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein said image arranging means comprises means for displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and means for displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

17. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

a display device configured to display images on a display screen such that the images can be edited and processed;

image specifying means for specifying at least two images photographed at different photographing positions;

image arranging means for arranging the images specified by said image specifying means;

display control means for controlling said display device to display the specified images arranged by said image arranging means;

point specifying means for specifying respective points for at least two of the specified images displayed by said display control means;

distortion correcting means for correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified by said point specifying means; and

point specification releasing means for releasing specification of a previous specified set of points for a pair of images when a new set of points is specified for the pair of images.

19. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus, comprising:

displaying images on a display screen;

specifying at least two images photographed at different photographing positions;

arranging the images specified in said image specifying step;

controlling display of the images arranged in said image arranging step;

specifying respective points for at least two of the images displayed in said display control step;

drawing a connection line between the points specified in said point specifying step; and

correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified in said point specifying step;

wherein said control step controls display of both the images arranged in said image arranging step and the connection line drawn in said connection line drawing step.

21. The method as set forth in claim 19, further comprising a step of:

setting a focal length of an image to be specified,

wherein said distortion correcting step corrects distortion of the specified image based on the focal length set in said focal length setting step.

39. The method as set forth in claim 19, further comprising the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

40. The method as set forth in claim 19, further comprising the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

62. The method as set forth in claim 19, wherein said image arranging step comprises displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and then displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

20. A method for controlling an image processing apparatus, comprising:

displaying images on a display screen;

specifying at least two images photographed at different photographing positions;

arranging the images specified in said image specifying step;

controlling display of the images arranged in said image arranging step;

specifying respective points for at least two of the images displayed in said display control step;

correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified in said point specifying step; and

releasing specification of a previous specified set of points for a pair of images when a given set of points is specified for the pair of images in said point specifying step.

22. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

arranging specified images in a desired order;

displaying the images arranged in said arranging step;

correcting distortions of least two of the images by referring to respective user specified points of the images; and

drawing a connection line between the specified points,

wherein said display control step controls display of both the images arranged in said image arranging step and the connection line drawn in said connection line drawing step.

24. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 22, the computer instructions further controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

correcting distortion of a specified image based on the focal length of the image.

41. The computer readable recordings medium as set forth in claim 22, the computer instructions further controlling the image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the brightest one of the specified images.

42. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 22, the computer instructions further controlling the image processing apparatus to perform the step of:

standardizing the brightness of the specified images by reference to the first specified one of the specified images.

53. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 22, wherein said connection line has a characteristic such that it can be readily discriminated from the remainder of the image.

54. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 53, wherein said characteristic is color.

55. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 53, wherein said characteristic is line thickness.

56. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 53, wherein said characteristic is operator selectable.

57. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 53, wherein said characteristic is automatically selected by taking into account a color used in the image.

63. The computer readable recording medium as set forth in claim 22, wherein said image arranging step comprises displaying options for arranging the specified images in one or more arrangements, and then displaying the images arranged according to a selected one of said options.

23. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

arranging specified images in a desired order;

displaying the images arranged in said arranging step;

correcting distortions of least two of the images by referring to respective user specified points of the images; and

releasing specification of a previous selected set of points for a pair of images when a new set of points is specified for the pair of images.

25. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

specifying respective joining points for at least two images displayed on a display device;

joining the at least two images by referring to the joining points; and

connection line drawing means for drawing on the display device, a connection line between joining points specified by said joining point specifying means.

26. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

specifying respective joining points for at least two images displayed on a display device;

joining the at least two images by referring to the joining points; and

releasing specification of a previous specified set of joining, points for a pair of images when a new set of joining points is specified for the pair of images.

27. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

specifying respective points for at least two images displayed on a display device;

correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified by said point specifying means; and

drawing, on the display device, a connection line between the points specified by said point specifying means.

28. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

specifying respective points for at least two images displayed on a display device;

correcting distortion of the at least two images by referring to the points specified by said point specifying means; and

point specification releasing means for releasing specification of a previous specified set of points for a pair of images when a new set of points is specified for the pair of images.

29. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

displaying the specified images in both a horizontal and a vertical arrangement on the display screen;

displaying the specified images only in a user selected one of the horizontal and vertical arrangements of the specified images;

drawing, on the display screen, a connection line between user specified joining points; and

joining least two of the images displayed in said step of displaying the specified images only in a user selected arrangement, by referring to respective said user specified joining points of the images.

30. A computer-readable recording medium storing computer instructions for controlling an image processing apparatus to perform the steps of:

displaying images to be specified on a display screen;

displaying the specified images in both a horizontal and a vertical arrangement on the display screen;

displaying the specified images only in a user selected one of the horizontal and vertical arrangements of the specified images;

drawing, on the display screen, a connection line between user specified points; and

correcting distortion of least two of the images displayed in said step of displaying the specified images only in a user selected arrangement, by referring to respective said user specified points of the images.