N-up display method and apparatus, and image forming device thereof

• US 8,612,848 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2006
• Issued: 12/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: S-Printing Solution Co., Ltd. (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jeong, Jong-un
• Primary Examiner(s): Mills, Frank D
• Application Number:
  US11/487,355
• Publication Number:
  US 20070024913A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,710 Days
• Field of Search: 715/243, 715/253, 715/274
• US Class Current: 715/243
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0035 User-machine interface; Control console input or output arrangements for computers G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00453 arranged in a two dimensional array
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0082 Image hardcopy reproducer H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence

Abstract

A display method and an apparatus to display a plurality of images on a screen, and an image forming apparatus to performs the N-up display method, wherein the image display method includes: classifying the images according to the similarities in their shapes on the basis of horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images; and displaying the images on the display screen such that images having similar shapes are positioned adjacent to each other. Therefore, by positioning images having similar, or corresponding, shapes at adjacent positions when images to be printed are displayed on a display unit, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) included in the image forming apparatus, a reduction of blank spaces between displayed images and an increase of the number of images that can be displayed on a screen are promoted.

Claims

1. An image display method of displaying a plurality of images on an image forming apparatus having a display screen, comprising:

receiving in the image forming apparatus a plurality of images;

classifying each of the images according to horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images to determine a shape of each of the images; and

displaying the images on the display screen, wherein all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape are adjacently displayed on the display screen to increase a quantity of images that may be simultaneously displayed on the display screen.

2. The image display method of claim 1, wherein:

in the classifying of the images, an image having a horizontal length longer than a vertical length of the image is classified as a horizontal shape image, and an image having a horizontal length shorter than a vertical length of the image is classified as a vertical shape image.

3. The image display method of claim 2, wherein:

in the classifying of the images, an image having a horizontal length equal to a vertical length of the image is classified as a square shape image.

4. The image display method of claim 2, wherein:

in the displaying of the images, images classified as horizontal shape images are displayed in frames having horizontal lengths longer than vertical lengths of the frames, and images classified as vertical shape images are displayed in frames having vertical lengths longer than horizontal lengths of the frames.

5. The image display method of claim 1, further comprising:

setting by a user a number of the images displayed on the display screen, or

setting the number of images to be displayed on the display screen as the number of the plurality of images.

6. The image display method of claim 1, wherein the displaying the images further comprises:

dividing the display screen into upper and lower regions or into left and right regions, and

displaying images which are classified as having a corresponding shape on one of the upper and lower regions or on one of the left and right regions.

7. A method of displaying a plurality of images on an image forming apparatus having a display screen, comprising:

receiving in the image forming apparatus a plurality of images;

reading classification information to classify the images by shape according to the classification information; and

displaying the images on the display screen, wherein all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape, on the basis of the classification information, are adjacently displayed on the display screen to increase a quantity of images that may be simultaneously displayed on the display screen.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

generating classification information, based on horizontal length information and vertical length information, of the images whose classification information is not read.

9. An image forming apparatus to display a plurality of images on a display screen, comprising:

a data input unit to receive image data;

an image classifying unit to classify the images according to horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images to determine a shape of each of the images;

a layout deciding unit to determine display positions of the images on the display screen, wherein all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape, based on the horizontal length information and the vertical length information of the images, are positioned in adjacent display positions; and

a display unit to display the images on the display screen according to the determined display positions.

10. The image forming apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the image classifying unit classifies an image having a horizontal length longer than a vertical length of the image as a horizontal shape image, and classifies an image having a horizontal length shorter than a vertical length of the image as a vertical shape image.

11. The image forming apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the image classifying unit classifies an image having a horizontal length equal to a vertical length of the image as a square shape image.

12. The image forming apparatus of claim 10, wherein:

the display unit displays images classified as horizontal shape images in frames having horizontal lengths longer than vertical lengths of the frames, and displays images classified as vertical shape images in frames having vertical lengths longer than horizontal lengths of the frames.

13. The image forming apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the number of the images displayed on the display screen is set by a user or is set as the number of the plurality of the images.

14. The image forming apparatus of claim 9, wherein:

the layout deciding unit divides the display screen into upper and lower regions or into left and right regions, and determines display positions of the images such that images which are classified as having a corresponding shape are displayed on one of the upper and lower regions or on one of the left and right regions.

15. An image forming apparatus to display images, comprising:

a data input unit to receive image data;

a print unit to print images using the image data;

a size detector to detect horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images using the image data;

a storage unit to store the detected horizontal length information and the detected vertical length information of the images;

an image classifying unit to classify the images according to shape, based on the stored horizontal length information and the stored vertical length information of the images detected by the size detector;

a layout deciding unit to determine display positions of the images, wherein all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape, on the basis of the horizontal length information and the vertical length information of the images, are positioned in adjacent display positions; and

a display unit to display the images on a display screen according to the determined display positions.

16. The image forming apparatus of claim 15, wherein:

the data input unit receives the image data from a storage medium, wherein the storage medium selectively engages or communicates with the image forming apparatus.

17. The image display apparatus of claim 15, wherein:

the display unit displays images classified as horizontal shape images in frames having horizontal lengths longer than vertical lengths of the frames,

displays images classified as vertical shape images in frames having vertical lengths longer than horizontal lengths of the frames, and

displays images classified as square shape images in frames having horizontal lengths equal to vertical lengths of the frames.

18. An image display method of an image forming apparatus having a display screen, comprising:

classifying images according to horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images to determine a shape of each of the images; and

determining display positions of the images to position all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape, based on the horizontal length information and the vertical length information, in adjacent display positions to increase a quantity of images that may be simultaneously displayed on the display screen; and

displaying the images on the display screen according to the determined display positions.

19. The image display method of claim 18, wherein the determining display positions of the images further comprises:

determining display positions of the images to reduce blank spaces between displayed images, to increase the number of images displayed on the display screen, or to set the number or arrangement of the images on the display screen.

20. An image display apparatus having a display screen, the apparatus comprising:

an image classifying unit, controlled by a processor, to classify images according to horizontal length information and vertical length information of the images to determine a shape of each of the images;

a layout deciding unit to determine display positions of the images, wherein all images that are classified as having a corresponding shape, based on the horizontal length information and the vertical length information, are positioned in adjacent display positions to increase a quantity of images that may be simultaneously displayed on the display screen; and

a display unit to display the images on the display screen according to the determined display positions.