JPH06326852A - Image processing method and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To provide an image processing device such as a color copying machine capable of correctly distinguishing the color of a marker from the color of a document. A document image in which an editing area is designated by an "edging marker" is read, a flag representing the color of each pixel is determined in step S1, and the pixel of interest and its corresponding pixel are determined in step S2 or step S3 according to the determination result. The relationship with surrounding pixels is determined, and the flag is corrected to 3 or 0 in step S4 or step S5 according to the determination result. As a result of the correction, the area surrounded by the pixels whose flag is 3 is edited.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method and an image processing apparatus, for example, an image processing method and an image processing apparatus for performing desired editing on a region designated by a predetermined marker on a document.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, so-called desktop publishing (hereinafter referred to as "DTP") has become widespread, in which images and documents are freely edited and laid out when creating presentation materials in office. It was In word processors and the like, support for DTP has been advanced from an early stage, and it has become possible not only to enlarge and lay out characters in a document but also to easily insert an image into a document by using a handy scanner.

Needless to say, such a DTP function is also highly demanded in copying machines, and even if editing by character recognition is not desired, a function for editing a specific area (for example, scaling, moving, reversing) is required. It was Such an editing function is generally attached to an optional editing device of a copying machine, and the editing function is generally realized by designating a desired editing area on the editing device. However, these editing devices are expensive and inevitably have a size that covers the maximum reading range of the scanner unit. For example, an editing device for a copying machine having a scanner unit for reading an A3 size document is ,
Since it has a surface of at least 420 mm x 287 mm, it has the disadvantage of requiring a large space. Furthermore, when a pressure sensor matrix represented by a touch panel is used for the coordinate input section of the editing apparatus, its durability becomes a problem.

The following method has been proposed as a means for solving these disadvantages. That is, this is a method in which a desired area is directly pointed to a document with a predetermined marker, the image of the document is read, the marker area is determined, and a predetermined editing process is performed on the image in the determined area. . FIG. 28
Is a diagram showing an example of editing processing performed by this method.
The figure (a) shows the original image and the figure (b) shows the output result.
According to this method, it is only necessary to add a marker region discriminating unit to the scanner portion, and the discriminating unit can be easily realized by a semiconductor integrated circuit such as a gate array, which is advantageous in terms of cost.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional example has the following problems. That is, the method of designating an area with a marker is effective and effective in a monochrome copying machine, but in a color copying machine, it is difficult to distinguish the color of the marker from the color of the original, so that the marker area There was a drawback that there were a lot of misjudgments.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and has the following structure as one means for solving the above problems. That is, the determination process for determining the color of each pixel, the correction process for correcting the determination result of the pixel of interest according to the determination result of the determination process, and the pixel included in the region according to the correction result of the correction process are desired. An image processing method including an editing process for editing

An image having detection means for detecting an editing area designated by a predetermined marker from the image data and editing means for performing desired editing on the editing area detected by the detecting means Make it a processing device. Further, a reading unit for reading an image, an instruction unit for instructing reading of marker information, and a memory for storing the marker information read by the reading unit when the reading of the marker information is instructed by the instructing unit Means, detection means for detecting the editing area designated by the marker from the reading result of the reading means based on the marker information stored in the storage means, and the reading result according to the detection result of the detecting means. The image processing apparatus includes an editing unit for performing desired editing.

[0008]

With the above configuration, an image processing method for performing desired editing on a pixel included in an area corresponding to a result of correcting a determination result of a target pixel according to a result of determining a color of each pixel is provided. it can. Further, with the above configuration, it is possible to provide the image processing apparatus that detects the editing area designated by the predetermined marker from the image data and performs the desired editing on the editing area.

Further, according to the above configuration, when the reading of the marker information is instructed, the read marker information is stored,
It is possible to provide an image processing device that detects an edit area designated by a marker from an image reading result based on the stored marker information and performs desired editing on the reading result according to the detection result. For example, with the above configuration, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus such as a color copying machine that can correctly distinguish the color of the marker from the color of the original.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0011]

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a view showing an example of the arrangement of a color scanner of this embodiment. In the figure, a reading unit 30 moves in the direction of arrow F to read an image of a document 32 placed on a colorless and transparent document glass base 31. An image sensor 35 is a color image sensor that color-separates incident light and outputs RGB image signals, for example.

That is, the reflected light from the original 32 illuminated by the white light of the light source 33 is focused on the image sensor 35 via the lens 34, and the image of the original 32 is read. Next, the method of designating the editing area of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a method of instructing an edit area by a marker.

In the figure, after the editing area 13 is surrounded by the first marker 11 (for example, red), the inside of the marker 11 is traced by the second marker 12 (for example, blue), and the line a-b shown in FIG. As described above, when red → blue is detected, it is determined that the editing area 13 has started, and subsequently, when blue → red is detected, it is determined that the editing area 13 has ended. According to this instruction method, erroneous determination of the editing area 13 can be eliminated. Note that this instruction method needs to satisfy that the first marker 11 and the second marker 12 do not overlap with each other and that there is no gap between both markers.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a method of instructing an editing area by a marker, which is an example of using a marker called an "edging marker". Incidentally, it is well known that various "edging markers" have been developed by stationery article manufacturers and are normally sold in the market, but the markers will be briefly described. The “edging marker” is a mixture of the first solvent in which the first coloring material is dissolved and the second solvent in which the second coloring material is dissolved in the marker pen. When a line is drawn with the marker, both solvents are immediately separated by contact with air. An example of this state is shown in FIG. 4A, where 61 is line-drawn paper, 62 is a first solvent, and 63 is a second solvent.

Since the specific gravity of the first solvent 62 is larger than that of the second solvent 63, the laminated state as shown in the drawing is obtained.
Immediately, the second solvent begins to flow in the direction of the arrow, and
The state shown in FIG. After a certain time elapses, both solvents are volatilized and the first coloring material 64 and the second coloring material 65 remain on the paper 61, as shown in an example in FIG. 4C. The line width of the second color material is about 0.1 to 0.2 mm.

Referring again to FIG. 3, when the editing area 13 is surrounded by the marker 14 (for example, blue), the border 14 of the marker 14 is drawn.
a and 14b (for example, red) are formed. When red → blue → red is detected, as in line ab shown in the figure, it is determined that the editing area 13 has started, and subsequently, when red → blue → red is detected, the editing area 13 is detected. Judge as the end. According to this instruction method, it is possible to eliminate erroneous determination of the editing area 13, and it is possible to satisfy that markers of different colors do not overlap and that there are no gaps between markers of different colors.

Next, a marker area editing procedure using the pointing method shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing area instruction procedure. As shown in FIG.
In FIG. 2, letters A, B, and C are drawn in red, black, and blue ink, respectively. For example, if the characters A and C are to be copied as they are and the character B is to be converted to yellow and to be copied, the operator encloses the character B with a predetermined "edging marker" and indicates the editing area, as shown in FIG. At the same time, “edit area → yellow” is instructed by the operation panel (not shown) of the copying machine.

When the manuscript 32 is set on the manuscript glass table 31 after the operator has instructed the editing area and the editing contents, the image of the manuscript 32 is read, the editing area is determined, and the editing of the area is executed. To be done. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of this embodiment. In the figure, an analog image signal of the original 32 output from the image sensor 35 is amplified by an amplifier 70 and then converted into an 8-bit digital image signal by an A / D converter 71.

The digital image signal is input to the flag generator 72 and the FIFO a 73. The flag generator 72 determines whether or not each pixel of the input image signal has a specific color, and outputs the determination result as flag data. The flag data and the image signal are synchronized with each other in the FIF.
Input to Oa73. The FIFOs 73 to 77 are for delaying the input flag data and image data by one line, respectively. That is, the FIFO
When the image data of the nth line is input, a73 outputs the image data of the (n-1) th line. FIF
Since the O73 to O77 are connected in series, the edit processing circuit 78 can be read out from the n-1 to n-5th lines when the image sensor 35 is reading the nth line, for example. Image data is input at almost the same time.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the function of the flag generator 72. In the figure, four lines A to D
Is a reading line of the image sensor 35 at a certain time, and reading is performed in the order of ABCD, for example. The reading line A includes an edge 14a on the outer peripheral side of the marker 14,
The reading line B includes the border 14a and the marker 14, and the reading line C includes both the borders 14a and 14b and the marker 14, but these reading lines do not include the editing area 13. On the other hand, the reading line D includes the area sandwiched between the markers 14 and the editing area 13.

The flag generator 72 sets the flag to 1 when the sequentially input image data indicates red, sets the flag to 2 when the image data indicates blue, and sets the flag to 2 when neither of the colors is present. Set to 0. Therefore, when the image data of each reading line shown in the same figure is input, the flag generator 72 outputs "... 011 ... 100 ..." as the determination result of the reading line A and "... 01122 ... 21100 ... "is read line C
As a determination result of “... 01122 ... 211 ... 122 ... 2
1100 ... ”as the determination result of the reading line D is“ ... 0
01122 ... 21100 ... 01122 ... 21100 ... "
Are output respectively.

As described above, the edging 14 of the marker 14
Since the width of a and 14b is at most 0.2 mm, if the scanner has a resolution of 300 dpi, the border is 1 pixel or 2 pixels.
Since the marker 14 is read as a pixel and is adjacent to the borders 14a and 14b, the marker area can be discriminated from the detection result. Referring again to FIG. 6, the edit processing circuit 78 forms, for example, a 5 × 5 matrix by the flag data input from the FIFOs 73 to 77. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a matrix formed by the flag data in the vicinity of the area 15 in FIG. The edit processing circuit 78 processes the flag data of the pixel of interest corresponding to the center of the matrix according to the state of the matrix.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of flag data processing of the edit processing circuit 78, which is executed for each pixel forming image data. In the figure, the edit processing circuit 78 branches at step S1 according to the flag corresponding to the pixel of interest. That is, if the flag is 0, the process is terminated as it is, if the flag is 1, the process proceeds to step S2, and if the flag is 2, the process proceeds to step S3.

If the flag corresponding to the target pixel is 1, the edit processing circuit 78 determines that the target pixel is 0 in step S2.
It is determined whether or not the flag is sandwiched between the flags 2 and 2. That is, if the pixel of interest is sandwiched by the flags of 0 and 2 in any one of the four vertical and horizontal diagonal directions indicated by the four arrows in FIG. 8, the process proceeds to step S4, and the pixel of interest is detected in any direction. If is not sandwiched between the flags 0 and 2, the process proceeds to step S5.

When the flag corresponding to the pixel of interest is 2, the edit processing circuit 78 determines in step S3 whether or not there is 3 in the flags corresponding to the eight pixels around the pixel of interest. That is, if any one of the surrounding pixels has the flag of 3, the process proceeds to step S4, and if there is no flag of 3, the process proceeds to step S5. Then, the edit processing circuit 78 sets the flag corresponding to the target pixel to 3 in step S4 or sets the flag corresponding to the target pixel to 0 in step S5, and then ends the process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the processing result of the flag data. The above processing is applied to the vicinity of the area 16 and the vicinity of the area 17 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10A, the flag in the outer peripheral portion of the marker 14 is 0 → 1.
→ Changes to 2, but is converted to 3 by the above processing except for some 1s. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the flag on the inner side of the marker 14 changes in the order of 2 → 1 → 0, but by the above processing, 2 is converted to 3 and 1 is converted to 0. .

Further, the letter A shown in FIG.
The color is close to a and 14b (for example, red), and the initial flag is 1, but the flag is converted to 0 by the above processing. Similarly, the letter C shown in FIG. 5 has a color close to the marker 14 (for example, blue), and the initial flag is 2, but
The flag is also converted to 0 by the above processing. That is, as a result of the above processing, the flags corresponding to each pixel of the image data read from the original 32 are all converted to 0 or 3, and the closed area surrounded by the flags of 3 becomes the desired editing area 13. Accordingly, the edit processing circuit 78 edits pixels other than white (for example, pixels forming the character B in FIG. 5) included in the edit area 13 surrounded by the flag 3 according to the operator's instruction (for example, yellow). Convert to). In addition,
White pixels included in the editing area 13 are directly passed.

The image data output from the edit processing circuit 78 is input to the image processing circuit 79, subjected to edge enhancement and binarization processing, and then sent to an external printer or the like to form an image. . Note that, in the above, the example in which the operator instructs the editing content of the editing area through the operation panel has been described, but the present embodiment is not limited to this, and depending on the combination of the marker color and its border color. Then, a predetermined editing process can be performed. For example, if the marker is blue and the border is red, the image data in the editing area is converted to yellow, and if the marker is yellow and the border is green, the image data in the editing area is converted to red. Can be kept. Further, in the above description, the shape of the editing area is not mentioned. However, for example, when the shape of the closed area by the marker is substantially circular, the image data in the editing area is converted into yellow and the shape is substantially triangular. In this case, the image data in the editing area may be converted into red. In these cases, the operator does not need to set the editing content, and can perform the marker editing process more easily.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
It is possible to correctly discriminate the editing area designated by the "margining marker" on the document, and to perform a desired editing process on the determined editing area.

[0030]

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the color scanner of the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a reading unit which moves in the direction of arrow F and reads an image of an original 32 placed on a colorless and transparent original glass table 31. An image sensor 35 is a color image sensor that color-separates incident light and outputs RGB image signals, for example. That is,
The reflected light from the original 32 illuminated by the white light of the light source 33 is focused on the image sensor 35 via the lens 34, and the image of the original 32 is read.

A UV light source 36 emits ultraviolet light having a peak near a wavelength of 350 nm as shown in FIG. A light shielding plate 37 shields the ultraviolet light from the UV light source 36 so that it is not irradiated near the reading line. Next, the edit processing operation of this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining an example of the editing area instruction procedure. In FIG. 3A, characters A, B, and C are drawn on the original 32 with black ink. For example, when the characters A and C are to be copied as they are while the characters B are converted to red and copied, the operator encloses the character B with a predetermined marker to indicate the editing area and copies it, as shown in FIG. Use the machine's operation panel (not shown) to specify "Edit area → red". It should be noted that the marker used for designating the editing area is an ultraviolet light erasing ink that becomes colorless and transparent by the ultraviolet light.

After instructing the editing area and the editing contents, the operator sets the original 32 on the original glass table 31 and instructs "start copying" from the operation panel, and the reading of the image of the original 32 is started. It First, in this embodiment, both the light source 33 and the UV light source 36 are turned on to start the first reading. The image of the original 32 is read by the white light emitted from the light source 33, and then the UV light source 3 is read.
6 is irradiated with ultraviolet light. The reading result is digitalized and stored in an image memory (not shown). As described above, since the instruction of the editing area is drawn with the ultraviolet erasing ink, the marker is erased when the first reading is completed, and the original 32 becomes the state of FIG. 13A again.

When the first reading is completed, in this embodiment, only the light source 33 is turned on to start the second reading,
The read result is sequentially digitized to obtain the exclusive OR with the first read result read from the image memory, and an image of the exclusive OR as shown in FIG. 14 is obtained. That is, the image of the exclusive OR indicates the marker image and the editing area.

Next, in the present embodiment, the image included in the editing area determined above is edited (for example, pixels other than white are converted into red as shown in an example in FIG. 15). In the above description and FIG. 11, an example in which light sources for white light and ultraviolet light are prepared has been described, but the present embodiment is not limited to this.
If a light emitting device having a light emission characteristic in the wavelength range from 400 nm to 700 nm as shown in 6 is used, the image can be read and the marker can be erased by one reading scan. This is because the chemical reaction in which the ultraviolet light erasing ink reacts with the ultraviolet light to be erased normally requires several 100 mS to several S, whereas the image sensor 35 takes at most several 10 mS to read an image. Yes, that is, the reading of the marker is complete before the marker is erased.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
In addition to substantially the same effect as the first embodiment, the marker on the original is erased, so that the same original can be used any number of times and different edit areas can be designated to edit the area. .

[0038]

[Third Embodiment] A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the third embodiment, the same components as those in the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the color scanner of this embodiment.

In the figure, the original 32 is irradiated with white light from the light source 33 on two lines of the reading line A and the reading line B, and the reflected light from each line is passed through the lens 34 or the lens 34 '. , Image sensor 35 or image sensor 35 ′. The original 32 is
Ultraviolet light is emitted from the UV light source 36 at approximately the center between the reading line A and the reading line B, and the marker is erased.

That is, in this embodiment, the image sensor 35 reads the original image and the marker, and the read result is digitalized and temporarily stored in a buffer (not shown). On the other hand, the image sensor 35 'reads only the original image, and the read result is obtained by exclusive OR with the read result of the image sensor 35 read from the buffer. The image of the exclusive OR indicates the marker image and the editing area as in the second embodiment. The buffer may have a storage capacity corresponding to the number of lines between the read line A and the read line B.

Next, in the present embodiment, the image included in the above-discussed editing area is edited (for example, pixels other than white are converted into red as shown in an example in FIG. 15). As described above, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects similar to those of the second embodiment, it is sufficient that the read image data is stored in the buffer having a relatively small storage capacity. Has the advantage of not requiring page memory.

[0042]

[Fourth Embodiment] A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the fourth embodiment, the same components as those in the first to third embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the color scanner of the present embodiment.

In the figure, reference numeral 80 denotes an image editing section, which is A /
The image signal of the document input from the D converter 71 is processed to edit the image represented by the image signal.
The image signal output from the device is sent to an external color printer or the like to form an image. The image editing unit 80
Performs editing processing using the editing memory 81. FIG. 19
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the operation of this embodiment.

FIG. 10A shows an example of the original 32, in which the character B among the three characters (A, B, C) drawn is surrounded by a fluorescent marker. In this embodiment, first, the UV light source 36 is turned on to scan the original image. Since the image sensor 35 responds only to visible light, it is not affected by the ultraviolet light reflected from the document. However, since the fluorescent marker emits visible light in response to the irradiated ultraviolet light, the image sensor 35
Outputs the image signal of the fluorescent marker in response to the visible light.

In the present embodiment, the image of the fluorescent marker (FIG. 19B) read by the first original scan is used as the editing memory 8.
After storing in 1, the second document scanning is started. The second original scanning is performed by turning on the white light source 33.
All the images shown in 9 (a) will be read. Second
The image editing unit 80, to which the image signal has been input by the document scanning for the first time, discriminates the editing area by the marker image stored in the editing memory 81, and performs desired editing on the image in the editing area. FIG. 19C shows an example in which the editing area is masked.

Although the white light source 33 and the UV light source 36 are used in the above description and FIG. 18, the present embodiment is not limited to this. For example, a fluorescent lamp and a filter are used. Combinations can also be used. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner in which a fluorescent lamp and a filter are combined.

In the figure, 38 is a fluorescent lamp and 39 is a filter. In the first scanning of the original, as shown in FIG. 9A, a visible light cut filter is provided between the fluorescent lamp 38 and the original glass table 31. 39a, and in the second original scanning, a visible light cut filter 39b is arranged between the fluorescent lamp 38 and the original glass stand 31 as shown in FIG. The filter 39 is driven by a drive unit (not shown).

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 21, as an example, a color scanner in which the reading system for visible light and the reading system for ultraviolet light are separated can be used. In addition, this embodiment is similar to FIG.
It can also be applied to a color scanner that scans a document image serially, as shown in FIG. In the figure,
A reading unit 41 includes a white light source 33 and a UV light source 36, and is moved by a main scanning rail 42 and a sub-scanning rail 43 to scan an original image. That is, in the color scanner as shown in FIG. 22, the UV light source 36 is turned on to read the fluorescent marker image in the forward scan in the main scanning direction, and the white light source 33 is turned on to read the entire image in the backward scan in the main scanning direction. Just take it.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By using an ordinary fluorescent marker, it is possible to obtain substantially the same effect as that of the first embodiment.

[0050]

[Fifth Embodiment] A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The fifth embodiment is an example in which the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a color copying machine. FIG. 23 is a schematic view of this embodiment, and details will be described later. In this embodiment, after scanning the original image in the main scanning direction and printing the read image,
The reading position is moved in the sub-scanning direction, the original image is scanned in the main scanning direction again, and the read image is printed, that is, the so-called shuttle scan and shuttle print are performed to copy the original image.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the scanning section of this embodiment. In the figure, a reading unit 705 reads an original image by a light source and an image sensor. The thermoswitch 709 attached to the reading unit 705 is
When the temperature of the reading unit 705 rises abnormally, the reading unit 70
This is for stopping the operation of No. 5.

The reading section 705 is driven by the driving force of the main scanning motor 707 transmitted through the main scanning belt 710.
It moves on the main scanning rail 701 in the main scanning direction. In addition,
The reading start position in the main scanning direction is detected by the home position sensor 702 in the main scanning direction. Further, the reading unit 70
5 moves on the sub-scanning rail 703 in the sub-scanning direction by the driving force of the sub-scanning motor 704 transmitted via the sub-scanning belt 711. The reading start position in the sub-scanning direction is detected by the sub-scanning direction home position sensor 708.

That is, the scanning section of the present embodiment scans the original image while moving the reading section 705 in the main scanning direction, and then moves the reading section 705 in the sub-scanning direction by the reading width (128 pixels of 400 dpi, for example). Then, the scanning unit scans the original image while moving the reading unit 705 in the main scanning direction again. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the printer unit of the present embodiment.

In the same figure, the recording paper is a conveyance motor 80.
Paper feed roller 803 driven by 1 and transport roller 8
05, 820, and the discharge rollers 816, 819. In the process of the transportation, the transportation is temporarily stopped by the paper feeding clutch 802, and the platen 804 and the paper pressing plate 8 are
An image is printed on the recording paper fixed by 07 and 808 with ink ejected from a head (not shown), and the recording paper after printing is discharged onto a paper discharge guide 814.

That is, the printer unit of the present embodiment prints an image while moving the head in the direction (main scanning direction) orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction, and then prints the recording paper with a print width (for example, 128 pixels of 400 dpi). ) Minutes, and the shuttle print is performed to print an image while moving the head again in the main scanning direction. 806 is a paper feed sensor, 809 is a reflector, 810 is a paper float sensor, 811 is a paper width sensor, and 8 is a paper width sensor.
Reference numeral 13 is a manual feed sensor, and 817 is a paper discharge sensor, which detects the recording paper and its carrying state, respectively. Reference numeral 812 denotes an OHP mode sensor, which drives the OHP film rollers 815 and 818 to convey the OHP film when the OHP mode is detected by the sensor.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a line sensor, which is included in the reading unit 705 and outputs an RGB image signal of the read document. An amplifier 102 amplifies the image signal input from the line sensor 101. Reference numeral 103 denotes an A / D conversion circuit, which converts the image signal input from the amplifier 102 into a digital signal.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a shading correction circuit, which is A /
Shading correction is applied to the image signal input from the D conversion circuit 103. A scaling circuit 105 enlarges or reduces the image represented by the image signal input from the shading correction circuit 104. A logarithmic conversion circuit 106 converts the RGB image signal input from the scaling circuit 105 into, for example, a CM.
Convert to Y image signal.

Reference numeral 107 denotes a masking circuit, which converts the CMY image signal input from the logarithmic conversion circuit 106 into, for example, a CM.
Convert to YK image signal. Reference numeral 108 denotes an editing circuit, which is based on a result of determination of an editing area, which will be described later.
The image signal input from 7 is edited. Reference numeral 109 denotes a gamma conversion circuit, which performs γ conversion on the image signal input from the editing circuit 108 in accordance with the coloring characteristics of ink or recording paper or a user's instruction.

Reference numeral 110 denotes a binarizing circuit which binarizes the image signal input from the gamma conversion circuit 109 by the dither method or the like. A printer 111 prints the image represented by the image signal input from the binarization circuit 110. An edit area determination circuit 112, which will be described in detail later, determines the edit area designated by the marker from the image signal input from the shading correction circuit 104.

Reference numeral 113 denotes a control unit, which controls the whole of this embodiment and executes the copy sequence of this embodiment. 114
Is a memory, which is composed of, for example, a RAM, and the controller 11
It is used for 3 work areas. 116 is an operation unit,
The control unit 1 receives the user's instruction and sends it to the control unit 113.
The operation state of this embodiment is displayed by the signal from 13.

Reference numeral 115 is a marker color latch circuit, which is the operation unit 1
When the marker reading is instructed from 16, the image signal input from the shading correction circuit 104 is latched. FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the editing area determination unit 112. In the figure, reference numeral 201 denotes a separation circuit, which distributes an input image signal of, for example, 8 bits to RGB according to a color signal of, for example, 2 bits representing a color currently being processed, and latches it for a predetermined period.

Reference numerals 202 to 204 respectively indicate the lower limit values RL, GL and BL of the marker color by 8 bits respectively, and reference numerals 208 to 210 respectively indicate the upper limit values RU, GU and BU of the marker colors. For example, it will be latched at 8 bits. The upper and lower limit values of the marker color are set by the control unit 113 based on the image signal read from the latch circuit 115.

Numerals 205 to 207 are comparators, respectively.
G and B are input, and signals RL, GL, and BL are input to the terminals B from the latches 202 to 204, respectively. When A> B, "1" is input. When A≤B, "0" is input. Output. Reference numerals 211 to 213 are also comparators, and terminal A
The signals R, G, and B are input from the separation circuit 201, and the signals RU, GU, and BU are input to the terminals B from latches 208 to 210, respectively, and when A <B, "1" is input.
When A ≧ B, “0” is output.

Reference numeral 214 is an AND gate for the comparator 2
Outputs 05 to 207 and comparators 211 to 213 are logically ANDed. An area discriminating circuit 215 discriminates the editing area based on the output of the AND gate 214 and sends the determination result to the editing circuit 108. That is, the user places a marker document on a predetermined position on the document table and then instructs the marker reading by the operation unit 116.

In the present embodiment, the marker original is read, the image signal of the original is latched in the latch circuit 115, the image signal is read out from the latch circuit 115, and the color of the marker represented by the image signal is read. , The color range to be determined as a marker, and the above-mentioned RLGLBL to RUGUBU are set. Then, the user places an original to be copied on a predetermined position on the original table, and uses the operation unit 116 to perform an editing process, for example, an instruction to trim the editing area.

Then, when the user presses the copy start key, in the present embodiment, the original is read, and the image signal of the original is edited in the editing circuit 108, and then the printer section 111 is operated. Send to form an image. The editing is performed on the area determined by the editing area determination unit 112. For example, when trimming is designated, pixels outside the determined editing area are converted to white pixels.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By using the marker of any color, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first embodiment. Note that in this embodiment, the memory 114 shown in FIG. 26 may be made non-volatile, and the read marker color may be stored in the memory 114, depending on the battery. In this case, by reading the marker color stored by the operation of the operation unit 116 and setting the marker color in the editing area determination unit 112, it is possible to save the trouble of reading the marker color once read again.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. Further, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention, image processing for performing desired editing on a pixel included in an area corresponding to the result of correcting the determination result of the target pixel according to the result of determining the color of each pixel A method can be provided. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus that detects an editing area designated by a predetermined marker from image data and performs desired editing on the editing area.

Further, according to the present invention, when the reading of the marker information is instructed, the read marker information is stored, and based on the stored marker information, the edit area instructed by the marker is read from the image reading result. It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus that detects the “S” and edits the read result as desired according to the detected result.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a method of designating an editing area by a marker according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a method of designating an editing area by the marker of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a general “edging marker”.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing area instruction procedure according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the function of the flag generator shown in FIG.

8 is a diagram showing an example of a matrix formed by flag data in the vicinity of a region 15 in FIG.

9 is a flow chart showing an example of flag data processing of the edit processing circuit of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a processing result of flag data according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner of the second embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the light emission characteristic of the UV light source of the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an editing area instruction procedure according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a marker image obtained according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the editing result of the second embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another light emission characteristic of the light source in the second embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner of the third embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner in which a fluorescent lamp and a filter are combined in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner in which a reading system for visible light and a reading system for ultraviolet light are separated in a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a color scanner for serially scanning an original image in the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a schematic view of a fifth embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a scanner portion of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a printer unit according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the editing area determination unit in FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a general example in which desired editing is performed on a region designated by a marker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30 reading unit 31 original platen glass 32 original 33 white light source 34 lens 35 image sensor 36 UV light source 37 light shielding plate 38 fluorescent lamp 39 filter 41 reading unit 72 flag generator 78 editing processing circuit 80 image editing unit 705 reading unit 108 editing circuit 112 Editing area determination circuit 115 Marker color latch circuit

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A determination process for determining the color of each pixel, a correction process for correcting the determination result of the target pixel according to the determination result of the determination process, and a predetermined region corresponding to the correction result of the correction process. An image processing method, comprising: an edit step of performing desired edits on the included pixels. 2. The determination step includes setting a determination result of a first predetermined color to a first predetermined value and setting a determination result of a second predetermined color to a second determination value.
2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is set to, and the determination result of the other colors is set to a third predetermined value. 3. In the correction process, a pixel of interest whose determination result is the first predetermined value is a peripheral pixel whose determination result is the second predetermined value and its determination result is the third predetermined value. When it is sandwiched by surrounding pixels, the determination result of the target pixel is corrected to a fourth predetermined value, and the determination result of the target pixel whose determination result is the first predetermined value is the second predetermined value. When the surrounding pixel and the determination result thereof are not sandwiched between the surrounding pixels of the third predetermined value, the determination result of the target pixel is corrected to the third predetermined value, and the determination result is the second predetermined value. If the pixel of interest that is a value is adjacent to the surrounding pixel having the fourth predetermined value, the determination result of the pixel of interest is corrected to the fourth predetermined value, and the determination result is the second predetermined value. If the pixel of interest is a pixel whose determination result is not adjacent to the surrounding pixels having the fourth predetermined value, The image processing method according to claim 2, wherein the correcting the determination result of the target pixel to a predetermined value of the third. 4. The correction result of the editing step is the fourth
4. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the editing is performed on pixels included in a region surrounded by pixels having a predetermined value of. 5. A detection means for detecting an editing area designated by a predetermined marker from image data, and an editing means for performing desired editing on the editing area detected by said detecting means. A characteristic image processing device. 6. The predetermined marker is drawn with a marker pen having at least two kinds of inks having different solvents and capable of edging a second ink color around a first ink color after drawing. The image processing device according to claim 5. 7. The detection unit includes a determination unit that determines the color of each pixel of the image data, and a correction unit that corrects the determination result of the pixel of interest according to the determination result of the determination unit, 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an area surrounded by pixels whose correction result of a set is a predetermined value is the editing area. 8. A reading means for reading an image, a detecting means for detecting an editing area designated by a predetermined marker from a reading result of the reading means, and a desired editing area detected by the detecting means. An image processing apparatus comprising: an editing unit that edits the image. 9. The predetermined marker is drawn with ink that becomes colorless and transparent by ultraviolet light.
The image processing device described. 10. The reading means comprises a white light source and an ultraviolet light source, and the predetermined marker is erased by the ultraviolet light source while reading an image by the white light source. The image processing device described. 11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the predetermined marker is drawn with fluorescent ink. 12. The reading means comprises a white light source and an ultraviolet light source, and the image is read by the white light source after the image is read by the ultraviolet light source.
1. The image processing device according to 1. 13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the detecting unit detects the editing area according to at least two reading results of the image by the reading unit. 14. A reading means for reading an image, an instructing means for instructing the reading of marker information, and a marker information read by the reading means when reading of the marker information is instructed by the instructing means. Storage means for storing, detection means for detecting an editing area designated by the marker from the reading result of the reading means based on the marker information stored in the storage means, and depending on the detection result of the detecting means An image processing apparatus comprising: an editing unit that performs desired editing on the read result.