CA2077659A1 - Segregated format processing of combined text and pictorial image data - Google Patents
Segregated format processing of combined text and pictorial image dataInfo
- Publication number
- CA2077659A1 CA2077659A1 CA 2077659 CA2077659A CA2077659A1 CA 2077659 A1 CA2077659 A1 CA 2077659A1 CA 2077659 CA2077659 CA 2077659 CA 2077659 A CA2077659 A CA 2077659A CA 2077659 A1 CA2077659 A1 CA 2077659A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- image
- text
- file
- bit map
- data
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- H04N1/00—Scanning, transmission or reproduction of documents or the like, e.g. facsimile transmission; Details thereof
- H04N1/387—Composing, repositioning or otherwise geometrically modifying originals
- H04N1/3871—Composing, repositioning or otherwise geometrically modifying originals the composed originals being of different kinds, e.g. low- and high-resolution originals
Abstract
An imagery data and text formatting mechanism for an image processing system in which a color photographic image on a color slide is digitally encoded and stored in bit map format on a compact disc. Photographic image-representative digital data stored on the disc is readable to cause the generation of the image by an output device. When text is to be inserted into the image, an ASCII
file, separate from the bit map formatted photographic image file, is incorporated into that part of the data base where control information is stored. The ASCII file contains a font descriptor and an identifier of where within the bit map the text is to be inserted. When imagery data stored on the disc is to be read out, for example, supplied to a high resolution thermal printer, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of the ASCII file and combined with the bit map data file for the photographic scene image. Because the text is separate from the scene data, applying an image modifying operator to the scene will not corrupt the text or cause artifacts to be introduced into the scene as would occur with bit map text.
file, separate from the bit map formatted photographic image file, is incorporated into that part of the data base where control information is stored. The ASCII file contains a font descriptor and an identifier of where within the bit map the text is to be inserted. When imagery data stored on the disc is to be read out, for example, supplied to a high resolution thermal printer, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of the ASCII file and combined with the bit map data file for the photographic scene image. Because the text is separate from the scene data, applying an image modifying operator to the scene will not corrupt the text or cause artifacts to be introduced into the scene as would occur with bit map text.
Description
2~3 2a7765~ PCI'/US91/09560 ISGRISGATISD FORM~ 8TNG OF COM~SN~SD !I!~SS~ AND
~Cq!OP~ TMAG9 DATA
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to digitized imagery data processing systems and i~
particularly directed to a mechanism for processing digital imagery data representative of text ~uperimposed upon a photographic 6cene.
BACXGROVND OF THE INVENTION
Digital imagery processing ~ystems, 6uch as those employed for processing computer-generated graphics images o, digitized photographic images, customarily create a bit map-formatted data file i~ the course of presenting the image to an output device, 6uch as a color printer. For computer-generated graphics applications, the actual content of the image is a 'don't care' to the application program, as both artwork and any included text are ~reated and manipulated in accordance with a common graphics rule ~et. For desktop publishing applications, where graphics or imported photographic images ~nd text are assembled together in the 6ame document, the image data is typically maintained in a bit map-formatted file 6eparate from the word processing file through which the text is generated, and each file is manipulated independently of the other until a desired document presentation i~ realized. ~
- - In photofinishing applications, where a photographic image of interest has been digitized in'''' bit map format, it is ~ necessary to carry out a number of image modification operations on the ~cene '-data '(6uch"as compression,'exp~nsion, edge e~phasis,~
~rlu ~e~uie 'orL~c~ull~ o î~cl~l features 'ôr~'numan :
~ubject) in order to achieve~a desired image output' '' 3S (e.g. print guality-and cize).'`~'-If text is to be - '~ -overlaid onto the 6cene, it is not added until'~fter wo 92/12593 2 0 7 7 6 S g PCI'/US91/09560 all sce~e processing has been completed, and then the combined image is printed. Text is not inserted until the end of the image processing sequence, s7nce typical :
processing of the bit map of the photographic ~cene S data creates artifacts (e.g. shadows around the text) and thus degrades the guality of the printed image.
In copending Patent application Serial Number , _ filed , by S. Kristy, entitled: MULTI-RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGERY
~0 PHOTOFINISHING SYSTEM, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, there is described a photo processing system through which photographic images, such as those captured on 35mm slides, are stored in digital format, so that they may be processed on a computer workstation to achieve a desired base image characteristic. Once the base image has been prepared, it is written onto a transportable medium, such as a compact ~isc, for ~ubsequent playback on a display device, for example a relatively moderate resolution consumer television ~et, or printed-as a..finished.. :
photocopy, as by way of a high resolution thermal color printer.
Because the output device to which the disc-resident base image data will be coupled is not-necessarily identified at the time that the base image is prepared and ~tored on the disc, it can be expected ...
that further,processing of the stored image will be performed in the cour~ie of reproducing an image in its 'finaiized'.or 'finished' output form. ~or-those.
images where text has been introduced into the 6cene -during the preparation of the base image stored on the :~
d7sc; conY~nt7onal Fr^ceocing ~^u'~h ~ co-..e-_ed ..
those pixel.~locations.of the ~it map of the base image where text has been inserted into text-representative bit map values, ~o that the scene-derived values at O92/12~93 ~ 0 7 7 S 5 9 PCT/US91/09S60 those pixel locations would have been lost. Thus, any further processing of the text-containing image data on the disc would treat text as though it were part of the scene. Consequently, since the text has attributes that are different from and make it stand out from the background scene (e.g. well defined edges) , the application of scene-based bit map processing operator to the entire image would introduce artifacts (shadowing) around the text and produce a degraded O image, as pointed out above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention~ the above-described artifact-introducing problem of processing combined text-and-scene data together in a common bit map file is obviated by storing the photographic scene-derived portion of the base image data in a dedicated bit map file, on the one hand, and storing text data that is to be inserted into or overlaid on the scene image, as part of a non bit map-based standard code for information exchange ~e.g.ASCII) file,-on the other hand. In particular, the present invention i8 directed to an imagery data and text formatting and storage mechanism'for a digitized image processing system, in which a color photographic image that has been captured on a color photographic image-storage medium, such as a 35mm color slide, is' digitally encoded and stored in bit-reap format in a digital base, such as a~digital compact'disc'.'-Photographic image-representative digital data stored ' on the disc`is readable to:cause the generation'of''the image by way of an-array'of pixels of an image output-device. '- '~ : ''~l'''' '''' :' ` ''''- ' ' '' ~ ursuant';to-t~e:present invention,~ ~henever text is'to bé:insérted'into the'image~ its ASCII-file is incorporated into that'part of the data ba~e'where control information relating to, but not forming part . .
, ' , ~, ' , ~' , , W092/12593 2 0 7 ~ 5 ~ ~ PCT/US91/09560 of, the ph~tographic scene is stored. This ASCII file contai~s a font descriptor and a identifier of where within the scene bit map the text is to be inserted.
When imagery data stored on the disc is to be read out, for example, supplied to a high resolution thermal printer for generating a hard copy print, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of said ASCII file and combined with the bit map data file for the photographic scene image.
The two data files are combined to produce a composite image by replacing those data components of the bit map data file for the scene image with those data components of the text-representative bit map file that are associated with image locations where text is to be superimposed on the slide scene. This combined bit map file is then coupled to the output device, which generates a tex* superimposed-on-scene image.
Whenever the overall image is to be modified in accordance with a selected image processing operator, its text-representative ASCII file is processed-using the reguisite ASCII code rule set,-but corresponding to the manner in which the pixel data within the separate bit map data file for the photographic-image is modified by a corresponding bit map image processing operator. By processing the text-representative~data file in ASCII format separately from the scene image bit map file, the manner in which~
the scene-representative bit map file is processed will not1corrupt the;text. The two respective imagery data files for the text-inserted image of interest are then updated to produce modified bit-map and ASCII files. -Then, as described above, in the course of coupling the mod f~ed ruaye to ~r. output device,-a~text-representative-bit map file is generated in accordance~
. ~ .. .., . , . ~ , ;
3S withJthe contents of the modified ASCII file and;
combined with the modified scene-representative bit map W092/12593 2 0 7 7 6 S ~ PCT/US91/09560 data file for the photographic image. Since both the scene-representative bit map data and the text-representative bit map data have been derived independently of one another, the resultant image does not suffer from text-induced artifacts. The combined modified image may then be supplied to a printer to obtain a modified high resolution hard copy version of the original text-inserted image.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TH~ DRAWINGS
The single Figure is a diagrammatic illustration of a photo processing system employing the data file formatting and storage mechanism of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
lS Before describing the details of an embodiment of the present invention, it should be observed that the invention resides primarily in a novel photo and text imagery data formatting storage and processing mechanism, rather than a particular implementation of that mechanism. Thus, although, in its preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented using a programmed digital computer, the ~echanism may be carried out by means of a variety of ~tructural combinations of conventional cignal processing-circuits and components, such as custom-configured integrated circuit hardware. Accordingly, the structure, control and arrangement of the ~ignal processing hardware of an embodiment of the invention have been illustrated in the drawings-by a-readily-undérstandable block diagram, which shows only those specific details-that are- -pertinent to thë presént-invention, so as not-to -obscure the disclosurë with strùct~al-details-which --wiil be readily-apparent'to'^'~nose clciiled in-the'~r't'~' having thë benefit of the present déscription.
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-- :
.
Wo ~2t12593 2 0 7 7 6 ~ 9 PCI'/US91/09S60 k,,~
Referrin~ now to Figure 1, a photo processing system through which photographic images 10, such as those captured on 35mm color slides, are stored in digital format is diagram~atically illustrated as S comprising an opto-electronic film scanner 12, such as a commercially available Eikonix Modal 1435 scanner.
Scanner 12 outputs digitally encoded data representative of the response of its imaging sensor pixel array onto which a photographic image contained on a respective color slide is projected. This digitally encoded data or 'digitized' image is coupled in the form of a bit map to an attendant image processing workstation 14, which contains a frame store and image processing application software through which the digitized image may be processed (e.g. compressed, shaped, enlarged, rotated, cropped, subjected to a scene balance correction mechanism, etc.) to achieve a desired base image appearance and configuration. In accordance with the imagery data processing system described in the above referenced copending application, each captured image is stored in-the form .. ., . . . _ . . .. .
of a low resolution image and a plurality of residual .. .. . . . .
images to enhance data processing speed. Regardless of the particular encoding and storage mechanism employed for digitizing the captured photographic image, the format of the data is that of a digitized image bit map ... ... ~, .. . .. ... . . .. .
22, each low resolution pixel value of which has some .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .
prescribed code width (e.g. twenty-four bits or eight bits~per color).~ Control~information associated with selected modification of the~image.on the operator!s workstation (~e.g. a 90 rotation)~is stored in non-bit map formatted file i4 separate~from the scanner'~ ~;
outp~3'~t ~ap, lD~J~hc~ e~lgth2~ pu~t-ed-ill~ye ,-~s r written to an70utput storage medium (e.g. a compact disc) that control information may be accessed by a display or print device.
- -~ -- : ,, ,,, " . - , As pointed out briefly above, in accordance with the present invention, whenever text is to be inserted into the image via the operator's workstation (e.g. by use of the workstation keyboard 15 or a mouse 16, an ASCII file is incorporated into that part of the data base 24 where control information for the photographic scene is stored. The text-representative ASCII da~a file contains a font descriptor and an insert-location identifier which specifies where, within the image bit map, text is to replace scene pixel data.
Once operator-processing of the image has been completed, both the bit map file 22 and the control/text file 24 are written to suitable portable storage medium, such as a digital compact disc 26.
After one or more sets of color slides have been digitized and stored on the disc, the disc may be coupled to an output device, such as a playback unit 32 employing a low to moderate resolution color display monitor 34, or to a high resolution print engine 36, such as a thermal color printer.
When imagery data is read from the disc, for example, supplied to a high resolution color thermal printer for generating a high resolution hard copy print, a text-representative bit map file is generated and stored in auxiliary buffer storage within the print engine in accordance with the contents of the ASCII
file. .This auxiliary file may then be summed with the bit map data file for.the scene image of interest,:to effect a replacement of those data components of the ~
6cene bit map data file for.the scene.image with those data components of the.text-representatiye bit ~ap file ..
tnai are acsociated with image locations where text.ls to be.~uperimposed on the scene image, thereby ."~
producing a combined !text-on-scene' bit map data file.
~ .
.
~vo 92/125g3 2 0 7 7 ~ ~ ~ PCT/US91/09560 ~,J,' This combined bit map file is then coupled to the print engine, which generates a print of the slide image in which text has been inserted. ~ ' A key aspect of the'text formatting and storage mechanism of the present invention is the fact that the output device to which the disc-resident base image data may be delivered is not necessarily identified at the time that the base image is prepared and stored on the disc, and it may be necessary to perform further processing of the stored image in the course of producing an image in a 'finalized' or 'finished' output form. As described above, for scene images where text is introduced during the preparation of the babe image stored on the disc, conventional processing would have converted those pixel locations of the bit map of the base image where text has been inserted into text-representative values, 60 that the photo-derived values at those pixel locations would have been lost. Accordingly, further processing of the text-containing image data on the disc would treat text as though it were part of'the'"scene and~subject the output print to artifacts (e.g.~shadowing around the text) and produce a degraded image, as pointed out above. However, with the separate formatting/storage 2S mechanism of the present invention, this problem has `
been obviated. If the imagery data on the-disc'~is'to ' be modified (e.g. by way of~a~ patial-'filtering ~''' ' -~operator to improve a prescribed aspect'of the scene or a size change) the`~odification:opë'ration does~not impact the text or pixel locations of the'im'age - -~-ad~acent to those where'the:text is inserted. - For a~
size change, the tex* 'is'modifiéd by sim~ly'~changing '' point-~ize~in its ASClI file.' The'two re'spé'ctive'~
imagery data,~disG-resident filés for':the''téxt-inserted image of interest are then updated with'modified bit map and ASCII files. Then, as described above, in the .
. .
.
~ u ~ ~ ~J J J
WO 92t12593 PCI/US91/09S6û
_g_ course of coupling the ~odified image to an output device, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of the modified ASCII
file and combined with the modified scene-representative bit map data file for the photographicimaqe. Since both the scene-representative bit map data and the text-representative bit map data have been derived independently of one another, the resultant image does not suffer from text-induced artifacts.
While I have shown and described an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, ~5 and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
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- ~
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' ~ "
,
~Cq!OP~ TMAG9 DATA
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates in general to digitized imagery data processing systems and i~
particularly directed to a mechanism for processing digital imagery data representative of text ~uperimposed upon a photographic 6cene.
BACXGROVND OF THE INVENTION
Digital imagery processing ~ystems, 6uch as those employed for processing computer-generated graphics images o, digitized photographic images, customarily create a bit map-formatted data file i~ the course of presenting the image to an output device, 6uch as a color printer. For computer-generated graphics applications, the actual content of the image is a 'don't care' to the application program, as both artwork and any included text are ~reated and manipulated in accordance with a common graphics rule ~et. For desktop publishing applications, where graphics or imported photographic images ~nd text are assembled together in the 6ame document, the image data is typically maintained in a bit map-formatted file 6eparate from the word processing file through which the text is generated, and each file is manipulated independently of the other until a desired document presentation i~ realized. ~
- - In photofinishing applications, where a photographic image of interest has been digitized in'''' bit map format, it is ~ necessary to carry out a number of image modification operations on the ~cene '-data '(6uch"as compression,'exp~nsion, edge e~phasis,~
~rlu ~e~uie 'orL~c~ull~ o î~cl~l features 'ôr~'numan :
~ubject) in order to achieve~a desired image output' '' 3S (e.g. print guality-and cize).'`~'-If text is to be - '~ -overlaid onto the 6cene, it is not added until'~fter wo 92/12593 2 0 7 7 6 S g PCI'/US91/09560 all sce~e processing has been completed, and then the combined image is printed. Text is not inserted until the end of the image processing sequence, s7nce typical :
processing of the bit map of the photographic ~cene S data creates artifacts (e.g. shadows around the text) and thus degrades the guality of the printed image.
In copending Patent application Serial Number , _ filed , by S. Kristy, entitled: MULTI-RESOLUTION DIGITAL IMAGERY
~0 PHOTOFINISHING SYSTEM, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, there is described a photo processing system through which photographic images, such as those captured on 35mm slides, are stored in digital format, so that they may be processed on a computer workstation to achieve a desired base image characteristic. Once the base image has been prepared, it is written onto a transportable medium, such as a compact ~isc, for ~ubsequent playback on a display device, for example a relatively moderate resolution consumer television ~et, or printed-as a..finished.. :
photocopy, as by way of a high resolution thermal color printer.
Because the output device to which the disc-resident base image data will be coupled is not-necessarily identified at the time that the base image is prepared and ~tored on the disc, it can be expected ...
that further,processing of the stored image will be performed in the cour~ie of reproducing an image in its 'finaiized'.or 'finished' output form. ~or-those.
images where text has been introduced into the 6cene -during the preparation of the base image stored on the :~
d7sc; conY~nt7onal Fr^ceocing ~^u'~h ~ co-..e-_ed ..
those pixel.~locations.of the ~it map of the base image where text has been inserted into text-representative bit map values, ~o that the scene-derived values at O92/12~93 ~ 0 7 7 S 5 9 PCT/US91/09S60 those pixel locations would have been lost. Thus, any further processing of the text-containing image data on the disc would treat text as though it were part of the scene. Consequently, since the text has attributes that are different from and make it stand out from the background scene (e.g. well defined edges) , the application of scene-based bit map processing operator to the entire image would introduce artifacts (shadowing) around the text and produce a degraded O image, as pointed out above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention~ the above-described artifact-introducing problem of processing combined text-and-scene data together in a common bit map file is obviated by storing the photographic scene-derived portion of the base image data in a dedicated bit map file, on the one hand, and storing text data that is to be inserted into or overlaid on the scene image, as part of a non bit map-based standard code for information exchange ~e.g.ASCII) file,-on the other hand. In particular, the present invention i8 directed to an imagery data and text formatting and storage mechanism'for a digitized image processing system, in which a color photographic image that has been captured on a color photographic image-storage medium, such as a 35mm color slide, is' digitally encoded and stored in bit-reap format in a digital base, such as a~digital compact'disc'.'-Photographic image-representative digital data stored ' on the disc`is readable to:cause the generation'of''the image by way of an-array'of pixels of an image output-device. '- '~ : ''~l'''' '''' :' ` ''''- ' ' '' ~ ursuant';to-t~e:present invention,~ ~henever text is'to bé:insérted'into the'image~ its ASCII-file is incorporated into that'part of the data ba~e'where control information relating to, but not forming part . .
, ' , ~, ' , ~' , , W092/12593 2 0 7 ~ 5 ~ ~ PCT/US91/09560 of, the ph~tographic scene is stored. This ASCII file contai~s a font descriptor and a identifier of where within the scene bit map the text is to be inserted.
When imagery data stored on the disc is to be read out, for example, supplied to a high resolution thermal printer for generating a hard copy print, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of said ASCII file and combined with the bit map data file for the photographic scene image.
The two data files are combined to produce a composite image by replacing those data components of the bit map data file for the scene image with those data components of the text-representative bit map file that are associated with image locations where text is to be superimposed on the slide scene. This combined bit map file is then coupled to the output device, which generates a tex* superimposed-on-scene image.
Whenever the overall image is to be modified in accordance with a selected image processing operator, its text-representative ASCII file is processed-using the reguisite ASCII code rule set,-but corresponding to the manner in which the pixel data within the separate bit map data file for the photographic-image is modified by a corresponding bit map image processing operator. By processing the text-representative~data file in ASCII format separately from the scene image bit map file, the manner in which~
the scene-representative bit map file is processed will not1corrupt the;text. The two respective imagery data files for the text-inserted image of interest are then updated to produce modified bit-map and ASCII files. -Then, as described above, in the course of coupling the mod f~ed ruaye to ~r. output device,-a~text-representative-bit map file is generated in accordance~
. ~ .. .., . , . ~ , ;
3S withJthe contents of the modified ASCII file and;
combined with the modified scene-representative bit map W092/12593 2 0 7 7 6 S ~ PCT/US91/09560 data file for the photographic image. Since both the scene-representative bit map data and the text-representative bit map data have been derived independently of one another, the resultant image does not suffer from text-induced artifacts. The combined modified image may then be supplied to a printer to obtain a modified high resolution hard copy version of the original text-inserted image.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TH~ DRAWINGS
The single Figure is a diagrammatic illustration of a photo processing system employing the data file formatting and storage mechanism of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
lS Before describing the details of an embodiment of the present invention, it should be observed that the invention resides primarily in a novel photo and text imagery data formatting storage and processing mechanism, rather than a particular implementation of that mechanism. Thus, although, in its preferred embodiment, the invention is implemented using a programmed digital computer, the ~echanism may be carried out by means of a variety of ~tructural combinations of conventional cignal processing-circuits and components, such as custom-configured integrated circuit hardware. Accordingly, the structure, control and arrangement of the ~ignal processing hardware of an embodiment of the invention have been illustrated in the drawings-by a-readily-undérstandable block diagram, which shows only those specific details-that are- -pertinent to thë presént-invention, so as not-to -obscure the disclosurë with strùct~al-details-which --wiil be readily-apparent'to'^'~nose clciiled in-the'~r't'~' having thë benefit of the present déscription.
" . ~ " . ~ ... ... . . . . ..... .. . .. . . .
, .
-- :
.
Wo ~2t12593 2 0 7 7 6 ~ 9 PCI'/US91/09S60 k,,~
Referrin~ now to Figure 1, a photo processing system through which photographic images 10, such as those captured on 35mm color slides, are stored in digital format is diagram~atically illustrated as S comprising an opto-electronic film scanner 12, such as a commercially available Eikonix Modal 1435 scanner.
Scanner 12 outputs digitally encoded data representative of the response of its imaging sensor pixel array onto which a photographic image contained on a respective color slide is projected. This digitally encoded data or 'digitized' image is coupled in the form of a bit map to an attendant image processing workstation 14, which contains a frame store and image processing application software through which the digitized image may be processed (e.g. compressed, shaped, enlarged, rotated, cropped, subjected to a scene balance correction mechanism, etc.) to achieve a desired base image appearance and configuration. In accordance with the imagery data processing system described in the above referenced copending application, each captured image is stored in-the form .. ., . . . _ . . .. .
of a low resolution image and a plurality of residual .. .. . . . .
images to enhance data processing speed. Regardless of the particular encoding and storage mechanism employed for digitizing the captured photographic image, the format of the data is that of a digitized image bit map ... ... ~, .. . .. ... . . .. .
22, each low resolution pixel value of which has some .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .
prescribed code width (e.g. twenty-four bits or eight bits~per color).~ Control~information associated with selected modification of the~image.on the operator!s workstation (~e.g. a 90 rotation)~is stored in non-bit map formatted file i4 separate~from the scanner'~ ~;
outp~3'~t ~ap, lD~J~hc~ e~lgth2~ pu~t-ed-ill~ye ,-~s r written to an70utput storage medium (e.g. a compact disc) that control information may be accessed by a display or print device.
- -~ -- : ,, ,,, " . - , As pointed out briefly above, in accordance with the present invention, whenever text is to be inserted into the image via the operator's workstation (e.g. by use of the workstation keyboard 15 or a mouse 16, an ASCII file is incorporated into that part of the data base 24 where control information for the photographic scene is stored. The text-representative ASCII da~a file contains a font descriptor and an insert-location identifier which specifies where, within the image bit map, text is to replace scene pixel data.
Once operator-processing of the image has been completed, both the bit map file 22 and the control/text file 24 are written to suitable portable storage medium, such as a digital compact disc 26.
After one or more sets of color slides have been digitized and stored on the disc, the disc may be coupled to an output device, such as a playback unit 32 employing a low to moderate resolution color display monitor 34, or to a high resolution print engine 36, such as a thermal color printer.
When imagery data is read from the disc, for example, supplied to a high resolution color thermal printer for generating a high resolution hard copy print, a text-representative bit map file is generated and stored in auxiliary buffer storage within the print engine in accordance with the contents of the ASCII
file. .This auxiliary file may then be summed with the bit map data file for.the scene image of interest,:to effect a replacement of those data components of the ~
6cene bit map data file for.the scene.image with those data components of the.text-representatiye bit ~ap file ..
tnai are acsociated with image locations where text.ls to be.~uperimposed on the scene image, thereby ."~
producing a combined !text-on-scene' bit map data file.
~ .
.
~vo 92/125g3 2 0 7 7 ~ ~ ~ PCT/US91/09560 ~,J,' This combined bit map file is then coupled to the print engine, which generates a print of the slide image in which text has been inserted. ~ ' A key aspect of the'text formatting and storage mechanism of the present invention is the fact that the output device to which the disc-resident base image data may be delivered is not necessarily identified at the time that the base image is prepared and stored on the disc, and it may be necessary to perform further processing of the stored image in the course of producing an image in a 'finalized' or 'finished' output form. As described above, for scene images where text is introduced during the preparation of the babe image stored on the disc, conventional processing would have converted those pixel locations of the bit map of the base image where text has been inserted into text-representative values, 60 that the photo-derived values at those pixel locations would have been lost. Accordingly, further processing of the text-containing image data on the disc would treat text as though it were part of'the'"scene and~subject the output print to artifacts (e.g.~shadowing around the text) and produce a degraded image, as pointed out above. However, with the separate formatting/storage 2S mechanism of the present invention, this problem has `
been obviated. If the imagery data on the-disc'~is'to ' be modified (e.g. by way of~a~ patial-'filtering ~''' ' -~operator to improve a prescribed aspect'of the scene or a size change) the`~odification:opë'ration does~not impact the text or pixel locations of the'im'age - -~-ad~acent to those where'the:text is inserted. - For a~
size change, the tex* 'is'modifiéd by sim~ly'~changing '' point-~ize~in its ASClI file.' The'two re'spé'ctive'~
imagery data,~disG-resident filés for':the''téxt-inserted image of interest are then updated with'modified bit map and ASCII files. Then, as described above, in the .
. .
.
~ u ~ ~ ~J J J
WO 92t12593 PCI/US91/09S6û
_g_ course of coupling the ~odified image to an output device, a text-representative bit map file is generated in accordance with the contents of the modified ASCII
file and combined with the modified scene-representative bit map data file for the photographicimaqe. Since both the scene-representative bit map data and the text-representative bit map data have been derived independently of one another, the resultant image does not suffer from text-induced artifacts.
While I have shown and described an embodiment in accordance with the present invention, it is to be understood that the same is not limited thereto but is susceptible to numerous changes and modifications as known to a person skilled in the art, ~5 and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the details shown and described herein but intend to cover all such changes and modifications as are obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art.
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Claims (9)
1. For use with a digitized image data processing system in which a text image is superimposed upon a non-text image to form a composite image for presentation to an image output device, a method of modifying a characteristic of said composite image comprising the steps of:
a) storing data representative of said text image as a first data format type data file separate from data representative of said non-text scene image;
b) storing data representative of said non-text scene image as a second data format type data file, different from said first data format type data file;
c) modifying said data representative of said text image by manipulating said first data format type data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image; and d) modifying said data representative of said non-text scene image by modifying said second data format type data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image.
a) storing data representative of said text image as a first data format type data file separate from data representative of said non-text scene image;
b) storing data representative of said non-text scene image as a second data format type data file, different from said first data format type data file;
c) modifying said data representative of said text image by manipulating said first data format type data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image; and d) modifying said data representative of said non-text scene image by modifying said second data format type data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said first data format is ASCII format and said second data format is bit map format.
3. A method according to claim 2, wherein step (c) comprises generating a text image bit map file in accordance with the contents of the ASCII file that has been manipulated in accordance with the intended modification of the composite image, and further including the step of:
e) combining the bit map data file for said non-text scene image with said text image bit map file by replacing those data components of the bit map file representative of said non-text scene image that has been modified in step (d) with those data components of said text image bit map file associated with image locations where text image is superimposed on said non-text scene image.
e) combining the bit map data file for said non-text scene image with said text image bit map file by replacing those data components of the bit map file representative of said non-text scene image that has been modified in step (d) with those data components of said text image bit map file associated with image locations where text image is superimposed on said non-text scene image.
4. For use with a digitized image processing system in which a color photographic image that has been captured on a color photographic image storage medium is digitally encoded and stored in bit map format in a digital base, photographic image-representative digital data stored in said data base being accessible to cause the generation of said image by way of an array of pixels of an image output device, a method of inserting text into the image generated by said image output device, comprising the steps of:
a) storing data representative of the text to be inserted into said image as an ASCII file separate from the bit map format photographic image file in said digital data base;
b) generating a text-representative bit map file in accordance with the contents of said ASCII
file;
c) combining the bit map data file for said photographic image with said text-representative bit map file by replacing those data components of the bit map data file for said photographic image with those data components of said text-representative bit map file generated in step (b) that are associated with image location where text is to be superimposed on said photographic image to produce a combined bit map data file;
d) generating a text superimposed-on-photographic image by way of said image output in accordance with the contents of said combined bit map data file.
a) storing data representative of the text to be inserted into said image as an ASCII file separate from the bit map format photographic image file in said digital data base;
b) generating a text-representative bit map file in accordance with the contents of said ASCII
file;
c) combining the bit map data file for said photographic image with said text-representative bit map file by replacing those data components of the bit map data file for said photographic image with those data components of said text-representative bit map file generated in step (b) that are associated with image location where text is to be superimposed on said photographic image to produce a combined bit map data file;
d) generating a text superimposed-on-photographic image by way of said image output in accordance with the contents of said combined bit map data file.
5. A method according to claim 4, further including the step of:
e) modifying the text superimposed-on-photographic image generated by way of said image output device to achieve a prescribed change of said text superimposed-on-photographic image by the steps of:
e1) modifying the ASCII file stored in step (a) in accordance with said prescribed change;
e2) modifying the bit map data file for said photographic image in accordance with said prescribed change;
e3) performing step (b) with respect to the ASCII file modified in step (e1);
e4) performing step (c) with respect to the text-representative bit map file obtained by step (e3) and the photographic image bit map file obtained by step (e2); and e5) performing step (d) with respect to the combined bit map data file obtained by step (e4).
e) modifying the text superimposed-on-photographic image generated by way of said image output device to achieve a prescribed change of said text superimposed-on-photographic image by the steps of:
e1) modifying the ASCII file stored in step (a) in accordance with said prescribed change;
e2) modifying the bit map data file for said photographic image in accordance with said prescribed change;
e3) performing step (b) with respect to the ASCII file modified in step (e1);
e4) performing step (c) with respect to the text-representative bit map file obtained by step (e3) and the photographic image bit map file obtained by step (e2); and e5) performing step (d) with respect to the combined bit map data file obtained by step (e4).
6. A method according to claim 4, wherein said image output device comprises a printer, and step (d) comprises driving said printer in accordance with the contents of said combined bit map data file, so that said printer prints said photographic image with inserted text.
7. A method according to claim 4, wherein said image output device comprises a video display device and step (d) comprises driving said video display device with the contents of said combined bit map data file, so that said video display device displays said photographic image with inserted text.
8. For use with a digitized image data processing system in which a text image is inserted into a photographic scene image to form a composite text-on-scene image for presentation to an image output device, a method of modifying a characteristic of said composite text-on-scene image comprising the steps of:
a) storing data representative of said text image as an ASCII code file separate from data representative of said photographic scene image;
b) storing data representative of said photographic scene image as a bit map data file;
c) modifying said ASCII code file in accordance with the intended modification of said composite image; and d) modifying said data representative of said photographic scene image by modifying its bit map data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image.
a) storing data representative of said text image as an ASCII code file separate from data representative of said photographic scene image;
b) storing data representative of said photographic scene image as a bit map data file;
c) modifying said ASCII code file in accordance with the intended modification of said composite image; and d) modifying said data representative of said photographic scene image by modifying its bit map data file in accordance with the intended modification of the characteristic of said composite image.
9. A method according to claim 8, wherein step (c) comprises generating a text image bit map file in accordance with the contents of the ASCII code file that has been modified in accordance with the intended modification of the composite image, and further including the step of:
c) combining the bit map data file for said photographic scene image with said text image bit map file by replacing those data components of the photographic scene bit map file that has been modified in step (d) with those data components of said text image bit map file associated with image locations where text image is superimposed on said photographic scene image.
c) combining the bit map data file for said photographic scene image with said text image bit map file by replacing those data components of the photographic scene bit map file that has been modified in step (d) with those data components of said text image bit map file associated with image locations where text image is superimposed on said photographic scene image.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US63783291A | 1991-01-07 | 1991-01-07 | |
| US637,832 | 1991-01-07 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2077659A1 true CA2077659A1 (en) | 1992-07-08 |
Family
ID=24557536
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2077659 Abandoned CA2077659A1 (en) | 1991-01-07 | 1991-12-24 | Segregated format processing of combined text and pictorial image data |
Country Status (3)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0519056A1 (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2077659A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1992012593A1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE60044179D1 (en) * | 1999-12-28 | 2010-05-27 | Sony Corp | System and method for the commercial traffic of images |
| EP1670235A1 (en) * | 1999-12-28 | 2006-06-14 | Sony Corporation | A portable music player |
Family Cites Families (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4587633A (en) * | 1982-11-10 | 1986-05-06 | Wang Laboratories, Inc. | Management communication terminal system |
| DE3486390T3 (en) * | 1983-03-08 | 1999-05-12 | Canon Kk | Image processing device. |
| JPH0620244B2 (en) * | 1983-11-18 | 1994-03-16 | 株式会社リコー | Communication terminal |
-
1991
- 1991-12-24 WO PCT/US1991/009560 patent/WO1992012593A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1991-12-24 EP EP19920904020 patent/EP0519056A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1991-12-24 CA CA 2077659 patent/CA2077659A1/en not_active Abandoned
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| EP0519056A1 (en) | 1992-12-23 |
| WO1992012593A1 (en) | 1992-07-23 |
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