Patent ID: 8203772

Claim:
An image output method for performing image processing including trimming processing on an original image, and outputting a processed image; the method comprising the steps of: generating a plurality of object regions by region dividing the original image with respect to each object; dividing the original image into a plurality of block regions, each having a specified number of pixels: extracting a characteristic amount from each block region; generating a characteristic vector based on the extracted characteristic amount: inputting the generated characteristic vector to a self-organizing map to discriminate the type of each block region: calculating the block region discrimination results with respect to each object region; discriminating a type having a largest number as the type of the object region; calculating an attention level for each of the generated object regions based on an imaged state of each of the object regions, wherein said calculating an attention level is based on the discriminated type of the object region; calculating an average value of one or more of the calculated attention levels for each of the object regions; setting the number of at least one processed image to be generated as an output condition using the calculated average value; and outputting the at least one processed image, the number of which has been set in said setting step, using the determined output condition, the at least one processed image being generated by trimming the original image in such a manner to include at least one of the plurality of object regions, wherein said calculating an average value includes extracting the attention levels of i (i=2 to n) of n of the object regions in descending order, and calculating the average value of the i attention levels, and said setting the number includes setting the number of average attention levels which are greater than a set threshold value from among the n−1 average attention levels as the number of at least one processed images.