JPH1042246A - Picture processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the output picture of high picture quality by selecting line data whose digital picture data value is a prescribed range from picture data and correcting selected line data, which is previously set. SOLUTION: When a processor 10 receives picture data from a data supply source 12, the picture is displayed on a display 16 according to need. In the processor 10, picture data is divided into the pictures of three primary colors of R, G and B as the digital picture data values for respective picture elements and they are supplied. Supplied picture data whose data value is small to the processor 10 is assumed to be the picture of high density. A threshold table 22 storing the threshold of the picture data value, which is set in accordance with the type of a photosensitive material, is installed in the processor 10. The threshold of the picture data value corresponding to exposure quantity, which has the probability of blotting in the character of the output picture, is set as the threshold. Then, a picture processing is executed with the picture data value as the threshold.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an image processing apparatus for processing image data supplied from an image data supply source such as an image reading apparatus and various recording media. Picture images (hereinafter referred to as images)
And a line image such as a character or a line diagram (hereinafter, referred to as a character) when outputting an image in which characters are not blurred and the image is black tight and has a high image quality The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that enables creation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an image photographed on a photographic film (hereinafter, referred to as a film) such as a negative film or a reversal film is printed on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper by projecting an image of the film onto the photosensitive material. Surface-exposing the photosensitive material,
It is mainly performed by so-called direct exposure. On the other hand, in recent years, a printing apparatus that uses digital exposure, that is, photoelectrically reads image information recorded on a film and performs various image processings to obtain digital image information for recording. A digital photo printer for scanning and exposing a photosensitive material with a recording light modulated in accordance therewith to record an image (latent image) and developing and printing the digital photo printer has been developed and put into practical use.

In a digital photo printer, a film is photoelectrically read, color density is corrected by signal processing, and exposure conditions are determined. Therefore, the time required for exposure per image is short. Since the time is also constant according to the image size, printing can be performed more quickly than in conventional surface exposure. In addition, editing such as image synthesis, image division, and embedding of characters, etc.,
Image processing such as density adjustment can also be performed freely, and a finished print that has been freely edited and subjected to image processing can be output according to the application. Also, since the finished print image can be stored as image information on a recording medium such as a floppy disk,
In the case of additional printing, it is not necessary to prepare a film serving as a document, and it is not necessary to determine exposure conditions again, so that the operation can be performed quickly and easily. Further, in conventional printing by direct exposure, it is not possible to reproduce all the images recorded on a film or the like in terms of resolution, color / density reproducibility, etc. Almost one image (density information)
A print reproduced at 00% can be output.

Such a digital photo printer basically includes an image reading device that photoelectrically reads an image recorded on a film, and an image processing (setup) that performs image processing on the read image and determines exposure conditions for image recording. )apparatus,
And an image recording apparatus that scans and exposes the photosensitive material according to the determined exposure conditions and performs a development process.

[0005] In an image reading apparatus used in a digital photo printer, reading light emitted from a light source is incident on a film to obtain projection light carrying an image photographed on the film. An image is read by forming an image on an image sensor such as a CCD sensor and photoelectrically converting the image, performing various types of image processing as necessary, and converting the image into film image data (image information). The image processing device receives the image data read by the image reading device, sets image processing conditions in accordance with the image data, displays an image on a display, and performs verification and image processing conditions by an operator as necessary. Is adjusted, the set image processing is performed on the image data, and the image data is sent to the image recording apparatus as output image data (exposure conditions) for image recording. In the image recording device, for example, if the device uses light beam scanning exposure, while modulating the light beam according to the image data sent from the image processing device, while deflecting this light beam in the main scanning direction, By transporting the photosensitive material (printing paper) in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, the photosensitive material is exposed (burned) by a light beam carrying an image to form a latent image, and then, according to the photosensitive material. After the development process and the like, an image photographed on the film is reproduced as a finished print (photograph).

[0006]

By the way, in a finished print, not only an image photographed on a film but also an image in which a character is incorporated is output in many cases depending on the use. For example, when the finished print is used for a New Year's card or a hot summer greeting, greetings such as `` Happy New Year '' and `` I'll give you a hot summer greeting '' are incorporated in the background of the snapshot taken by the family, and the text and An image in which the image is mixed is output to the finished print.
Such an image in which characters and images are mixed, for example, incorporates the character image data into the image data output from the image processing device using an editing device or the like, or converts the character image data into the image processing device described above. Generated and incorporated into image data read by the image reading device.

However, when such an image in which characters and images are mixed is output to a finished print, the characters and the like may be blurred and the image quality may be degraded. As is well known, the image of the finished print is a
The three primary colors of cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) are formed by developing only the density according to the image (the image captured on the film is reproduced). Here, in general images such as landscapes and people, C, M and Y
The higher the maximum density of the three primary colors, the better the tightness of black and the higher quality image can be formed. That is, in order to obtain a high-quality image, it is preferable to set various conditions such as the maximum exposure amount so as to increase the maximum density. On the other hand, characters are generally high density images such as black.
However, since a character is formed by a thin line compared to an image, a digital photo printer using light beam exposure develops a color with a very high density (that is, a large amount of exposure).
In such a case, the lines are blurred, and the image quality is degraded. In other words, if you set your image to output high quality,
Blurring of characters is likely to occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In the above-described digital photo printer or the like, when forming an output image in which images of landscapes, people, and the like and characters are mixed, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of obtaining a high-quality output image in which an image of a person or the like has a high maximum density and a good black tightness without causing bleeding of characters.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an image processing unit that converts a digital image data value of a line image having a predetermined range into a predetermined range from image data supplied from an image data supply source; And a correction unit for performing a preset correction to the image data of the selected line image so that the selected line image does not bleed in the image reproduced by the output device. An image processing apparatus is provided.

Further, in the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, the selecting means extracts pixels having a predetermined range of image data values from the image data supplied from the image data supply source. It is preferable that the display device includes display means for displaying pixels as an image, and selection means for selecting a line image from the image displayed by the display means.

Further, in the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the correction condition by the correction means is set according to the type of recording material used in the output device.

Still another aspect of the image processing apparatus of the present invention is an image processing apparatus that generates image data of a line image and combines the image data with image data supplied from an image data supply source. An image processing apparatus for generating a digital image data value within a predetermined range, which is set in advance so that a line image does not blur in an image reproduced by an output device. I will provide a.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail based on a preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of an image reproducing system using the image processing apparatus of the present invention. An image processing device 10 (hereinafter, referred to as a processing device 10) illustrated in FIG. 1 includes an image data supply source 12 (hereinafter, referred to as a data supply source 12).
The image data is received from an image recording apparatus 14, the image data is subjected to predetermined image processing, and supplied to an image recording apparatus 14 (hereinafter, referred to as a recording apparatus 14).

The processing apparatus 10 of the present invention shown in FIG.
The data supply source 12 that supplies the image data is not particularly limited. For example, an MO in which the image data is stored, a recording medium such as a hard disk or a floppy disk (or a reading device thereof), or an image reading device such as a scanner. Examples include an apparatus, an image processing apparatus that performs various types of image processing on image data supplied from a reading apparatus, and an editing apparatus that receives image data from an image reading apparatus and incorporates characters and the like.
When the recording medium is used as the data supply source 12, the processing device 10 of the present invention may include a medium reading device.

The processing device 10 of the present invention receives image data from such a data source 12, extracts image data of characters having image data values within a predetermined range, and converts the characters on the image of the finished print P. In the illustrated example, characters having an image data value of image data equal to or less than a predetermined value, that is, characters having a high density equal to or higher than a predetermined density on an output image are subjected to image processing that is set in advance so as not to cause bleeding. The image data is extracted, subjected to image processing for setting the image data value of the character to a predetermined threshold value or more, and output to the recording device 14. As described above, in an image (pattern image) of a person, scenery, or the like, a higher maximum density provides a higher quality image on the finished print P. Here, a character (line image) is generally a high-density image having a maximum density (or a vicinity thereof). The characters are blurred on the displayed image. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a finished print P on which a high-quality image is formed, in which an image with good black tightness and characters without bleeding are both achieved by having the above configuration.

In the illustrated example, a display 16 for displaying the supplied image data and various operation instructions, and a mouse 18 and a keyboard 20 for performing various operations are connected to the processing device 10. Also, the processing device 1
0, as a preferred embodiment, a recording device 14 described later
A threshold table 22 for storing a threshold value of an image data value, which is set in advance in accordance with the type of the photosensitive material Z used in the above, is provided.

When the processing device 10 receives the image data from the data supply source 12, the image of the supplied image data is displayed on the display 16 as shown in FIG. In the processing device 10, the image data is a digital image data value for each pixel, for example, 0 to 8 bit device, as in a normal image processing device.
As an image data value of 255, the image data is divided into three primary color images of red (R), green (G) and blue (B) and supplied. It is assumed that the image data supplied to the processing device 10 has a small image data value and is a high-density image on the output image. That is, generally, the image data value of a character is small.

As described above, the processing apparatus 10 is provided with the threshold table 22 for storing the threshold of the image data value set according to the type of the photosensitive material Z. The density (exposure amount) at which a character blurs differs depending on the characteristics of the photosensitive material Z. Therefore, according to the type of photosensitive material to be used, an image data value corresponding to an exposure amount that may cause blurring of characters in an output image is set as a threshold, and image processing described below is performed with this as a target. Thus, a high-quality image can be stably formed. This threshold is
The image data values of R, G, and B may be set as the total, or the image data values of R, G, and B may be set individually, or both (the sum of the three primary colors and the individual). The setting may be made, or only necessary ones of the total of the three primary colors and the individual image data values may be set. Further, instead of the threshold value, an image data value in a predetermined range in which the blur of characters may easily occur may be set and stored according to the characteristics of the photosensitive material Z. In the present invention, the threshold value table 22 is not provided, and the threshold value may be uniquely set for all the photosensitive materials Z. However, in order to stably form a higher quality image, , Also threshold table 2
It is preferred to have 2.

The processing device 10 reads a threshold value corresponding to the type of the photosensitive material Z used in the recording device 14 from the threshold value table 22 in order to extract a high-density character from the output image. Is extracted, and only the image of the pixel or the same image as the extracted pixel determined from the continuity of the pixel is displayed on the display 16 as shown in FIG. There is no limitation on the method of extracting pixels according to the image data value, and according to the set threshold,
A method of extracting a pixel whose sum of R, G, and B image data values is equal to or smaller than a threshold value;
A method of extracting pixels whose threshold value is equal to or less than any one of the respective image data values; a method of extracting pixels whose total value and individual image data values are all equal to or less than the threshold value; appropriately selected from the total value and individual image data values Various extraction methods are available, such as a method of extracting pixels in which one or more pixels are equal to or less than a threshold. That is, the method of setting and extracting the threshold value may cause blurring of characters in the output image due to the maximum exposure amount of the light beam to be exposed and the characteristics of the photosensitive material Z in the recording device 14 described later. It may be determined in consideration of the case where there is. For example, if at least one of the R, G, and B exposures exceeds a certain amount of exposure, the color component often blurs in the character. In that case, however, one R, G, and B image data is used. However, it is preferable to extract pixels exceeding the threshold.

The boundary of the extraction (border line) is not limited to the threshold value set in the threshold value table 22, and an image data value equal to or larger than this threshold value (ie, low density) is appropriately determined as a boundary, and the pixel is determined. An extraction may be performed.

Next, the operator looks at the image shown in FIG. 2B displayed on the display 16 and designates a character.
The designation method may be the same as that of a normal GUI (Graphic User Interface). For example, using a mouse 18 or a keyboard 20, a region where a character is present is designated as shown by a dotted line in FIG. The method of cutting out is exemplified. Alternatively, the operator may designate one or more points of the character with the mouse 18 or the like, and determine the character area from the continuity of pixels to extract the character. In addition, if necessary, FIG.
As shown in (c), only an image cut out from the extracted image in FIG. 2B may be displayed on the display 16.

As described above, since the processing device 10 reads the threshold value corresponding to the type of the photosensitive material Z used in the recording device 14 from the threshold value table 22, it is extracted from the designated area as being equal to or less than the threshold value. Image processing is performed on the image data of the pixel so that the image data value of the pixel is equal to or greater than the threshold. The image processing method is not particularly limited, and may be appropriately determined according to the set threshold. For example, when the threshold is set by the sum of the R, G, and B image data values, the R, G, and B image data are set so that the sum of the image data values of the extracted pixels is equal to or greater than the threshold. The same amount of addition may be performed to increase the image data value.
Alternatively, when the thresholds are individually set for R, G, and B, the same is applied to the R, G, and B image data values so that all the image data values of the extracted pixels exceed the threshold values. What is necessary is just to add the amount. That is, in the image processing, addition may be performed according to the set threshold value so that the image data value of the extracted pixel exceeds this value. Note that R, G
And the amount of addition to each image data value of B is not the same,
Different amounts may be added according to the color / density balance of the color development on the photosensitive material Z.

According to the processing apparatus 10 of the present invention, in an image in which a character and an image are mixed, a high-density character is set so that the image data value exceeds the value in accordance with the set threshold value. Since the data is subjected to image processing, there is no blurring of characters on the output image, and images of landscapes, people, etc. are output without performing unnecessary processing. On the output image, an image having a high maximum density and good black tightness, and thus, high-quality characters are obtained.

In the above example, a character candidate of a character having a low image data value is extracted according to the image data value of the image data.
Although the present invention has a configuration in which the operator selects a character from among them, the present invention is not limited to this. Characters are extracted from supplied image data by a known extraction method, and image data values are extracted from the extracted characters. May be selected so as to perform the same image processing.

In the above example, characters whose image data values are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value are extracted. In addition to high-density characters, bleeding occurs in portions where the image data values are equal to or less than the threshold value. In some cases, even a white blank character or the like on a black background may appear blurred on a black background portion that is a boundary (adjacent) to the character. In this case, the correction may be performed so that the image data value of the pixel adjacent to the outline character does not fall below the threshold value.

The image data processed by the processing device 10 in this way is sent to the recording device 14 and output as a finished print P. As the recording device 14 to which the processing device 10 of the present invention supplies image data, any known recording device that forms an image by exposing various recording materials such as a photosensitive material can be used. As an example, FIG. What is shown is exemplified.

The recording device 14 scans and exposes the photosensitive material Z by light beam scanning according to the image data transferred from the processing device 10 of the present invention, and develops and finishes the exposed photosensitive material Z. The print data is output as a print P, and includes a driver 50, an image exposure unit 52, and a development unit 54.

The image data output from the processing device 10 is transferred to the driver 50. The driver 50 drives an acousto-optic modulator (AOM) 56 of the image exposure unit 52 so as to modulate a light beam according to the supplied image data information.

On the other hand, the image exposure section 52 scans and exposes the photosensitive material Z by light beam scanning and records the image of the image information on the photosensitive material Z. As shown conceptually in FIG. A light source 58R for emitting a light beam in a narrow band corresponding to the exposure of the R photosensitive layer formed on the photosensitive material Z, a light source 58G corresponding to the exposure of the G photosensitive layer, and corresponding to the exposure of the B photosensitive layer. AOM 56R, 56G and 56 which modulate the light source of each light beam of the light source 58B to be modulated and the light beam emitted from each light source in accordance with a recorded image.
B, a polygon mirror 60 as an optical deflector, an fθ lens 62, and a sub-scanning conveyance unit for the photosensitive material Z.

The light beams emitted from the light sources 58 (58R, 58G, 58B) and traveling at mutually different angles are respectively assigned to the corresponding AOMs 56 (56R, 56G,
56B). Each AOM 56 has a driver 50
R, G and B drive signals corresponding to the recorded image are transferred, and the intensity of the incident light beam is modulated according to the recorded image.

Each light beam modulated by the AOM 56 is incident on and reflected at substantially the same point of the polygon mirror 60, is deflected in the main scanning direction (the direction of the arrow x in the drawing), and then is scanned by the fθ lens 62 at a predetermined scanning position. The light is adjusted so as to form an image with a predetermined beam shape on z, and enters the photosensitive material Z. The image exposure unit 52 may be provided with a light beam shaping unit and a surface tilt correction optical system as needed.

On the other hand, the photosensitive material Z is loaded at a predetermined position while being wound in a roll shape and shielded from light. Such a photosensitive material Z is pulled out by a pull-out roller (not shown), and is held in the scanning position z by a pair of conveying rollers 64a and 64b disposed across the scanning position z constituting the sub-scanning means, while being held in the scanning position z. Are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the arrow y in the figure) perpendicular to the scanning direction. Since the light beam is deflected in the main scanning direction, the entire surface of the photosensitive material Z transported in the sub-scanning direction is two-dimensionally scanned and exposed by the light beam, and the image information transferred from the processing device 10 to the photosensitive material Z is transferred. (Latent image) is recorded.

The exposed photosensitive material Z is then conveyed to the developing section 54 by the pair of conveying rollers 66, where it is subjected to a developing process to be a finished print P. Here, for example, if the photosensitive material Z is a silver halide photographic photosensitive material, the developing unit 54 includes a color developing tank 68, a bleach-fixing tank 70, and washing tanks 72a and 72.
b, 72c and 72d, a drying unit, a cutter (not shown), etc., and the photosensitive material Z is subjected to a predetermined process in each processing tank, dried, and then, by a cutter, a predetermined length corresponding to one print. And output as a finished print P.

FIG. 4 shows a conceptual diagram of an image reproducing system using another example of the image processing apparatus of the present invention. In addition,
In FIG. 4, the same members as those in the example shown in FIG. 1 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the following description mainly focuses on different parts. Although the above-described processing device 10 performs image processing by receiving mixed image data of images and characters from the image data supply source 12, the image processing device 30 shown in FIG.
The processing device 30 (hereinafter, referred to as a processing device 30) is a device that generates characters in the processing device 30 and combines the generated characters with an image.

An image data supply source 32 (hereinafter referred to as a data supply source 32) for supplying image data of an image to the processing device 30 is not particularly limited. For example, an image sensor such as a CCD sensor is used. And an image reading apparatus (scanner) that photoelectrically reads an image of a transparent original such as a negative film or a reflective original such as a printed matter. Further, similarly to the processing device 10 described above, image data may be supplied from a storage medium such as a floppy disk. For example, the main processing target of the processing device 30 is negative image information, and various types of processing are set accordingly.
A film reading device is mainly used.

The processing unit 30 performs predetermined image processing on the image data of the image supplied from the data supply source 32, generates character image data, combines the two image data, and generates a character and an image. As mixed image data
This is output to the recording device 14. Such a processing device 30 basically includes a character editing unit 34, a bitmap developing unit 36, a threshold table 38, an image processing unit 40, and an image synthesizing unit 42. Further, similarly to the processing device 10 described above, the processing device 30 includes the display 1.
6, a mouse 18 and a keyboard 20 for performing various operations are connected.

The image processing unit 40 receives image data of an image from the data supply source 32 and performs various types of gradation conversion, color / density correction, gradation correction, gray balance adjustment, and the like in accordance with image recording by the recording device 14. Where the image processing is performed.
Such an image processing unit 40 is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 7-165965, 7-283144 and 7-283144 by the present applicant.
337509 and 8-157200.

The character editing unit 34 is a unit for generating characters to be incorporated into an image. For example, the character editing unit 34 performs an input using a keyboard 20 or a mouse 18, an input using a reading device such as a scanner, an input using a touch panel or the like, and the like. , Generate characters to be embedded in the image.

The characters generated by the character editing unit 34 are sent to a bitmap developing unit 36. Bitmap expansion unit 3
Numeral 6 decomposes a character into pixels on an output image, converts the characters into R, G, and B image data values according to the color / density of the character, and further distributes the characters to each pixel on the output image. Generate image data to be embedded in. Here, the character editing unit 34 stores image data corresponding to the exposure amount which is set according to the type of the photosensitive material Z and which may cause blurring of characters on the output image, in the same manner as in the threshold table 22 described above. A threshold table 38 in which threshold values are stored is connected. The bitmap developing unit 36 stores the recording device 1
A threshold value corresponding to the type of the photosensitive material Z used in step 4 is read from the threshold value table 38, and image data of each pixel of the character is generated so that the image data value does not fall below the threshold value.
Therefore, a high-quality image can be output without causing blurring of characters on the output image. It should be noted that there is no particular threshold table 38, and for all photosensitive materials Z,
It is the same as the processing device 10 that the threshold of the image data value is uniquely set and the image data of the character may be generated so as not to be less than the threshold.

The image data of the character generated by the bitmap developing unit 36 and the image data processed by the image processing unit 40 are both sent to the image synthesizing unit 42 and synthesized,
Output image data for outputting an image to the finished print P is transferred to the recording device 14. As aforementioned,
The recording device 14 exposes the photosensitive material Z in accordance with the transferred output image data and performs a developing process to obtain a finished print P on which an image in which characters and images are mixed is formed. The obtained image has no blurring of characters, and the image of a person or the like has been subjected to normal image processing by the image processing unit 40. Therefore, the maximum density is high, the black is tight, and the image quality is high. It becomes an image.

Although the image processing apparatus of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Of course.

[0043]

As described above in detail, according to the image processing apparatus of the present invention, when an output image in which an image of a landscape, a person, or the like is mixed with a character or the like is obtained, a character blur occurs. In addition, it is possible to obtain a high-quality output image in which the image has a high maximum density and a good black tightness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an image reproduction system using an image processing device of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are conceptual diagrams showing an example of display display in the image processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example of an image recording device used in the image reproduction system shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram of an image reproducing system that uses another aspect of the image processing apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 30 (image) processing device 12, 32 (image) data supply source 14 (image) recording device 16 display 18 mouse 20 keyboard 22, 38 threshold table 34 character editing unit 36 bitmap development unit 40 image processing unit 42 image synthesis Unit 50 driver 52 image exposing unit 54 developing unit 56 AOM (acoustic optical modulator) 58 light source 60 polygon mirror 62 Fθ lens 64, 66 pair of transport rollers 68 color developing tank 70 bleach-fixing tank 72 washing tank

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Agency reference number FI Technical display location H04N 5/76 H04N 1/40 101Z

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A selecting means for selecting, from image data supplied from an image data supply source, image data of a line image having an image data value within a predetermined range, and a line image selected from images reproduced by an output device. An image processing apparatus comprising: a correction unit configured to perform a preset correction on image data of the selected line image so as to prevent bleeding. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selecting means extracts pixels having image data values within a predetermined range from the image data supplied from the image data supply source, and a display means displays the pixels extracted by the extracting means as an image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selection unit configured to select a line image from the image displayed by the display unit. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the correction conditions set by said correction means are set according to the type of recording material used in said output device. 4. An image processing apparatus for generating image data of a line image and synthesizing the image data with an image data supplied from an image data supply source, wherein the line image is reproduced by an output device. An image processing apparatus for generating a digital image data value within a predetermined range, which is set in advance so as not to cause bleeding in a processed image.