JP3501505B2 - Image forming apparatus and image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an apparatus or system for performing color printing from moving image information such as a video signal has been known. Hereinafter, a system for inputting a moving image from a VTR as a moving image information reproducing apparatus and performing color printing will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 11, the video signal reproduced by the VTR 1101 is input to the input terminal 1104 of the video printer 1102, output to the A / D converter 1105 and the output terminal 1108, and output to the monitor 1103 via the output terminal 1108. To be done. The operator uses this monitor 1
While confirming the reproduced image displayed on 103, the operation unit 1110 is operated at the timing when the desired screen is reproduced, and an instruction to import the image is given.

The control unit 1111 which has received an image capturing instruction from the operation unit 1110 outputs a control signal to the memory control circuit 1109, and the input video signal for one screen converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 1105. Memory 11
It is stored in 06.

After the storage of the video signal in the memory 1106 is completed, the operator further operates the operation unit 1110 to instruct to print an image.

Upon receiving a print instruction from the operation unit 1110, the control unit 1111 controls the memory control circuit 1109 and the print unit 1112 to read a video signal for one screen stored in the memory 1106 and to perform D / A. After conversion into an analog signal by the converter 1107, the printing unit 1
Then, the print unit 1111 outputs the color print.

[0007]

However, in such a video printer, it is extremely difficult to complete the work of extracting the screen to be printed from the video signal, which is a moving image signal, at one time and in a timely manner. .

Further, it has been difficult to accurately reproduce the brightness or color of the screen confirmed on the monitor when actually printed.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of easily and accurately performing an extracting operation when extracting a desired screen from a moving image. .

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the problems conventionally held and to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an input means for inputting a moving image signal in which the amount of information is compressed with respect to an original image signal. A memory means, and an instruction means for instructing the memory means to store a desired screen in the moving image signal,
A memory control unit for controlling the memory unit to store a plurality of screens of moving image signals in a predetermined period including the desired screen in the moving image signal in response to an instruction from the instructing unit, and the memory unit. Recording means for recording a plurality of images according to the moving image signals for a plurality of screens stored in one recording medium, and a desired image is selected from the plurality of images recorded on the recording medium. Selecting means and control means for reading out an image signal of a screen corresponding to the image selected by the selecting means from the memory means and controlling the recording means so as to record an image corresponding to the read image signal. It is equipped with.

Further, according to another invention of the present application, input means for inputting a moving image signal, memory means, and storage of a desired screen in the moving image signal input to the memory means by the input means are stored. Instructing means for instructing, and in response to an instruction from the instructing means, moving image signals for a plurality of screens for a predetermined period including the desired screen and the screens before and after it in the moving image signal input by the inputting means. Memory control means for controlling the memory means to store, and selection means for selecting a desired screen from a plurality of screens of moving image signals stored in the memory means, the memory control means,
An image signal of the screen selected by the selecting means is read from the memory means, and the image signal read from the memory means is output to a recording device so as to record an image corresponding to the read image signal on a recording medium. It is configured.

[0012]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, the print image selecting operation can be performed easily and reliably.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a color image forming system as a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a digital VTR is used as a moving image input source.
The case of using will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a digital VTR for recording / reproducing a video signal as a digital signal, and 200 denotes an interface section (hereinafter I / F) for outputting a reproduced video signal from the VTR 100 to a printer 300 described later. Part), and 300 is a color printer for printing an image. The printer 300 may be any color image forming apparatus such as a color copying machine.

In such a structure, the operator first gives an instruction for normal reproduction through the operation unit 101 of the VTR 100. When the control unit 102 receives this normal reproduction instruction, it controls the drive circuit 103 to convey the tape 111 and reproduce the digital image signal recorded by the head 110. Although signals other than image signals such as audio signals are recorded on the tape 111, only the image signals will be described here, and description of the other signals will be omitted.

The reproduced digital image signal is the switch 1
The data is output to the decompression / decoding circuit 112 via the P side of 09, where the decompression processing corresponding to the recording is performed and the D / A
It outputs to the converter 113 and the analog-digital output terminal 115. The image signal output to the D / A converter 113 is converted into an analog signal and output to the analog output terminal 114. The image signals output to the output terminals 114 and 115 are input to the I / F unit 200 via the input terminals 201 and 202 of the I / F unit 200, respectively.

The analog video signal input to the analog input terminal 203 is converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 203 and output to the switch 204. Switch 2
04 switches according to whether the image signal input from the VTR 100 is an analog signal or a digital signal,
The digital image signal is output to the memory 207.

The memory 207 has a capacity of 25 screens for normal video signals, and the memory control circuit 206 controls writing and reading of image signals. The memory control circuit 206 writes the image signals in the memory 207 in the order of input during normal reproduction. Then, as a monitor output for searching for a screen to be printed, the normal center screen, that is, the 13th screen from the front and rear, among the 25 screens stored in the memory 207 during normal reproduction, is output to the switch 208. Then, the reading operation of the image signal from the memory 207 is controlled. In the present embodiment, the memory 207 is a memory such as a ROM capable of controlling writing and reading addresses, but it is also possible to use a FIFO memory. In this case, two read ports are provided, one is a port for reading the image signal written first, and the other is a port for outputting the image signal from a position corresponding to the central screen described above. By doing so, the same operation as described above can be performed.

The monitor image signal output from the memory 207 is sent to the D / A converter 20 via the M side of the switch 208.
9 and is converted into an analog signal. Then, it is output to the monitor 10 via the monitor output terminal 210,
An image corresponding to the reproduced image signal is displayed. However, VT
When the input from R100 is a digital image signal, the monitor image signal can be obtained from the analog output terminal of VTR100. Even if the input is an analog image signal, if the monitor is compatible with digital input, the monitor image signal is sent to the digital output terminal 1 of the VTR 100.
It is also possible to get from 15. In this case, the A / D converter 203 becomes unnecessary.

Here, the operator operates the operation unit 302 of the printer 300 when the desired image is reproduced while checking the image displayed on the monitor to display the image on the I / F unit 200. Give instructions for inclusion. When the control unit 205 of the I / F unit 200 receives this image import instruction, it controls the memory control circuit 206 to stop writing the image in the memory 207. Therefore, at this time, the image signals of images of a total of 25 screens are stored in the memory 207, with 12 screens in the front and the back, centering on the screen instructed by the operator. In this embodiment, the image signals of 25 consecutive screens are taken into the memory 207. However, at the same time when the operation unit 302 gives an instruction to take in the images, the intervals at which the images are taken in are designated, and the 1-screen interval, the 2-screen interval, or the like. It is also possible to change the writing interval.

When the screen extracting operation is completed, the operator gives an instruction for parameter setting print (hereinafter referred to as sample print) using the operation unit 302. Upon receiving this instruction, the control unit 205 of the I / F unit 200 connects the switch 208 to the P side and controls the memory control circuit 206 so that the image signals for 25 screens stored in the memory 207 are changed from the oldest one. The data is sequentially read and output to the printer 300 via the switch 208 and the output terminal 211.

The signal processing circuit 305 of the printer 300 is I
The image signal output from the / F unit 200 is subjected to predetermined processing necessary for printing, and then each screen is reduced and output to the printing unit 306. The printing unit 306 prints the image for 25 screens output from the signal processing circuit 305 on one recording sheet by 5 screens vertically and horizontally. Further, at this time, the signal processing circuit 305 outputs the image signal of each screen to the print unit 306 while changing two kinds of parameters related to the signal processing for 25 screens by one screen by a predetermined amount. These two types of parameters can be selected by the operation unit 302 from a plurality of parameters that can be adjusted in signal processing relating to image quality such as tint and density (color density), and can be operated in advance before sample printing. Part 30
The operator decides by operating 2.

When actually printing, one type of parameter is set for each of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis on one print sheet, and the value of the parameter is changed for each screen for printing. In this embodiment, five screens are printed in each of the vertical and horizontal directions, so that an image for each of the five parameter values can be expressed by the vertical axis and the horizontal axis. Further, in the present embodiment, parameters relating to reddish hues are set on the horizontal axis, parameters relating to bluish hues are set on the vertical axis, and images in which the parameter values are changed for each parameter are printed. That is, on the horizontal axis, an image is printed in which the hue is shifted forward and backward by a predetermined amount around red (R), and the vertical axis is shaded by a predetermined amount forward and backward around blue (B). The image is printed with the offset. FIG. 2 shows the state of this sample print. The correspondence between the image layout shown in FIG. 2 and the time axis direction of each image will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 3, the screen with the number 0 is the screen displayed on the monitor when the operator gives an instruction to import. As described above, the memory 207 stores image signals for 12 screens each before and after the 0th screen.
That is, the screens up to number 12 in the + direction and the screen up to number 12 in the-direction in FIG. 3 are stored. And
The images from -12 to +12 are the numbers shown in each image in FIG.

Next, an image to be actually printed based on such a sample print, and a parameter value selecting operation when printing the image will be described.

First, the operation of selecting an image to be actually printed from 25 screens during sample printing will be described. In this case, the operator uses the operation unit 302 to put the device in the screen selection mode. Then, the screen of the most suitable timing is selected from the 25 screens, and the number (between +12 and -12) is input to the operation unit 302 by an input key (not shown) such as a ten key.

When the selection of the print screen is completed, the operation unit 302 sets the device to the parameter value selection mode. Then, the number of the screen of the desired color is also entered with the input key.

By such a series of selection operations, a still image at the best timing can be extracted from the moving image, and desired parameter values can be easily determined. By reprinting the selected image based on the parameter value thus determined, it becomes possible to print the optimum screen with a desired image quality.

Since a plurality of temporally different screen images processed with different parameter values are recorded on one recording sheet, a print image selection operation and a desired parameter value selection are performed. That is, the image quality adjustment can be completed by one printing operation, and the printing paper can be saved.

In this embodiment, the sample prints have the same number of screens in the vertical and horizontal directions, but the number of screens does not necessarily have to be the same, and can be appropriately changed according to the adjustment range of the selected parameter. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when parameters of the horizontal axis and the vertical axis are reddish and bluish, respectively, and reddish tint requires more delicate adjustment, reddish tint It is possible to display 7 screens on the horizontal axis in order to widen the range of taste adjustment. In this case, by increasing the capacity of the memory 207 and storing an image of 7 × 5 = 35 screens, the same operation as that described above can be realized. However,
When the number of screens increases, the size of one screen needs to be changed according to the number of screens.

Now, the recording / reproducing operation, compression / encoding operation, decompression / decoding operation of the VTR 100 in this embodiment will be described.

First, in recording, an image signal input from the analog input terminal 105 and converted into a digital signal by the A / D converter 106 or the digital input terminal 10
The digital image signal input from 4 is output to the compression / encoding circuit 108 via the switch 107. And
The image signal whose information amount has been compressed by the compression / encoding circuit 108 is sent to the head 110 via the R terminal of the switch 109.
And is recorded on the tape 111.

The operation during reproduction is as described above.

In the present embodiment, the compression / encoding circuit 1
08 and the operation of the decompression / decoding circuit 112 are MPEG (Mo
ving Picture coding Expert Group). The encoding / decoding in this MPEG will be described below.

This MPEG data is an international standard for the purpose of high-efficiency coding of moving images. It utilizes the frequency characteristics of data and human visual characteristics, and also uses the redundancy in the time axis direction. And is highly efficient coded.

That is, in the MPEG system, the transfer rate for the digital storage medium is set to 1.5 Mbps at the maximum.
There are PEG1 and MPEG2 that are intended to be used in all transmission systems such as bidirectional digital multimedia devices, digital VTRs, ATVs, optical fiber networks, etc. without the upper limit of the transmission rate, but the basic algorithm is almost the same. The data structure and encoding / decoding algorithm will be described based on MPEG1.

In MPEG2, the encoding methods that can be used are defined by a plurality of profiles (simple profile,
Main profile, scalable, spatially scalable, high), but typical main
The profile is basically similar to MPEG1.

First, the principle of this high-efficiency coding system based on MPEG will be described.

In this high efficiency coding system, the redundancy in the time axis direction is reduced by taking the difference between frames,
High efficiency coding is realized as a whole by reducing the redundancy in the spatial direction by performing DCT and variable length coding processing on the difference data obtained thereby.

Regarding the redundancy in the time axis direction, paying attention to the fact that continuous frames have a high correlation in the case of a moving image, the difference between the frame to be encoded and the frame preceding or succeeding in time is calculated. By taking this, it becomes possible to reduce the redundancy.

Therefore, in MPEG, in addition to an intra-coded image (I-picture) obtained in a coding mode in which coding is exclusively performed in a frame as shown in FIG. 4, a difference value from a temporally preceding frame is used. Of the difference value between the forward predictive coded image (P-picture) that encodes the frame and the temporally preceding frame or the following frame, or the difference value between the interpolated frames from these two frames has the smallest data amount. A bidirectional predictive coded image (B-picture) for coding an object is provided, and each frame in these coding modes is combined in a predetermined order.

In MPEG, the above-mentioned I-picture, P-picture, and B-picture are each one screen,
One unit (GOP: Group Of Pic) on 4 and 10 screens
tures) with an I-picture at the beginning and two B-pictures
A combination of repeatedly arranging pictures and P-pictures is recommended. By placing I-pictures at a constant cycle, special reproduction such as reverse reproduction and partial reproduction in units of this GOP are possible, and error propagation We are trying to prevent it.

When a new object appears in a frame, the difference value between the succeeding frame and the succeeding frame is smaller than the difference between the succeeding frame and the preceding frame. There is.

Therefore, in MPEG, the bidirectional predictive coding as described above is performed to perform more efficient compression.

In MPEG, motion compensation is performed.

In other words, macroblocks in the vicinity of the corresponding blocks of the preceding or succeeding frame are set in units of a predetermined block (macroblock) in which a block of 8 pixels × 8 pixels of the input image is collected in 4 blocks for luminance data and 2 blocks for color difference data. , The motion vector is detected by searching for a macroblock having the smallest difference, and this motion vector is encoded as data.

At the time of decoding, the corresponding macroblock data of the preceding or following frame is extracted using this motion vector, and thereby the encoded data coded using motion compensation is decoded.

In such motion compensation, a temporally preceding frame is once coded, and then a frame is decoded again to obtain a preceding frame. The macro block in this frame and the macro of the frame to be coded are obtained. Motion compensation is performed using blocks and.

In MPEG1, motion compensation between frames is performed, whereas in MPEG2 motion compensation between fields is performed.

The difference data and the motion vector obtained by the motion compensation as described above are subjected to the discrete cosine transform (Discrete Cosine Transform).
te Cosine Transformation (hereinafter referred to as DCT), quantization and variable length coding are performed to achieve higher efficiency coding.

Next, the data structure of this MPEG system will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, this data structure has a video sequence layer, a GOP layer, a picture layer, a slice layer,
It has a hierarchical structure consisting of macroblock layers and block layers.

Hereinafter, each layer will be described in order from the bottom layer in the drawing.

First, the block layer is composed of 8 pixels × 8 pixels for each of luminance data and color difference data, and DCT is performed for each unit.

The macroblock layer is composed of 8 pixels × 8 described above.
A block of pixels is composed of 4 blocks for luminance data and 1 block for chrominance data, and is provided with a macroblock header. In the MPEG system, this macroblock is used as a unit for motion compensation and coding described later. In addition, the macroblock header includes data of motion compensation and quantization steps in units of macroblocks, and six DCT blocks (Y0, Y1, Y2, Y3, C) in each macroblock.
r, Cb) contains data on whether or not it has data.

The slice layer is composed of one or more macroblocks and a slice header which are consecutive in the scanning order of an image, and the quantization step in a series of macroblocks in the same slice layer can be made constant. The slice header has data relating to the quantization step in each slice layer, and if there is no quantization step data specific to each macroblock, the quantization step in that slice layer is fixed. The leading macroblock resets the difference value of the DC component.

The picture layer is a collection of a plurality of slice layers described above in units of one frame, and is composed of a header including a picture start code and the like, and one or more slice layers following the header. The header includes a code indicating the image encoding mode and a code indicating the motion detection accuracy (pixel unit or half pixel unit).

The GOP layer includes a header such as a group start code and a time code indicating the time from the beginning of the sequence, and a plurality of I frames, B frames or P following the header.
Composed of frames.

The video sequence layer starts with a sequence start code and ends with a sequence end code, and in the meantime, a plurality of GOPs having the same control data and image size necessary for decoding the image size and aspect ratio are arranged.

In the MPEG system having such a data structure, a bit stream is defined by its standard.

Next, the configurations of the compression / encoding circuit 108 and the decompression / decoding circuit 112 for handling the MPEG data as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

First, the compression / encoding circuit 108 will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the compression / encoding circuit 108. As shown in FIG. 6, the compression / encoding circuit 108 includes a blocking circuit 601, a DCT circuit 603, and
Quantization (Q) circuit 604, Variable Length Coding (VLC) circuit 304, motion compensation circuit 305, motion vector detection circuit 306, rate control circuit 307, local decoding circuit 308, output buffer 3
09 and the like.

The image size to be encoded in this embodiment is 1920 pixels × 108 as shown in FIG.
0 pixel High (corresponding to the high level in MPEG2), 1440 pixels × 1080 pixels High14
40 (corresponding to the high 1440 level in MPEG2), 4: 2: 2 or 4: 2: 0 CCIR. There are 601 compatible images (corresponding to the main level in MPEG2), SIF, CIF, and QCIF formats, and the low level of MPEG1 and MPEG2 targets the image size of the SIF format.

In FIG. 6, the switch 10 in FIG.
The image data inputted from 7 is made into the above-mentioned block of 8 pixels × 8 pixels by the blocking circuit 601, and the switch 6
02 to the DCT circuit 603.

The switch 602 is switched depending on whether the input image data is an intra frame (I frame) or another frame (P frame or B frame). In the case of an intra frame, the switch 602 is connected to the a contact. Otherwise, it is connected to the b contact.

In the case of an intra frame, the DCT circuit 3
DCT is performed at 02 to transform the data in the spatial domain into the data in the frequency domain, and the DCT coefficient obtained by this is quantized by the quantization circuit 604. Then, after variable length coding is performed by the variable length coding circuit 605, it is temporarily stored in the buffer 606.

On the other hand, in the case other than the intra frame,
The switch 602 is connected to the contact b to perform the motion compensation described above. That is, 613 and 614 are the local decoder 6
12 is an inverse quantizing circuit and an inverse DCT circuit, and the data quantized by the quantizing circuit 604 is returned to the original image by the local decoding circuit 612.

Further, 611 is an adder, 610 is a switch that is closed only in cases other than intraframe, 611 is a subtractor, and the locally decoded image data is the motion detected by the motion vector detection circuit 616. Corresponding macroblocks in a predetermined frame (preceding frame, succeeding frame or their interpolated frames) are output by referring to the vector.

The output of the motion compensation circuit 615 is the subtractor 6
At 09, the input image data is subjected to subtraction processing to obtain a difference value, and this difference value is encoded by the DCT circuit 603, the quantization circuit 604 and the variable length encoding circuit 605 and stored in the buffer 606. .

The motion vector detection circuit 616 compares the frame data to be encoded with predetermined reference frame data to obtain a motion vector. The detection output of this detection circuit 616 is the motion compensation circuit 61.
5 to specify the macro block to be output by the motion compensation circuit 615. Further, the rate control circuit 607 controls the code amount by switching the quantization step in the quantization circuit 604 based on the occupied amount of the encoded data in the buffer 606.

Finally, the addition circuit 608 adds the various headers as described above to the encoded data and sends it as MPEG data compatible with the MPEG system.

On the other hand, the decompression / decoding circuit 112 basically performs the reverse operation of the compression / encoding described above. As shown in FIG. 7, the input buffer 701 and the variable length decoding (Va
Variable Length Decoding (VLD) circuit 702, Inverse Quantization (IQ) 703 circuit, Inverse DC
It is composed of a T (: IDCT) circuit 704, a motion compensation circuit 705, an output buffer 706 and the like.

That is, the encoded image data reproduced by the head 110 and input through the switch 109 is stored in the input buffer 701. Then, the encoded data read from the input buffer 701 is variable length decoding circuit 702, inverse quantization circuit 703, and inverse DCT circuit 704.
Thus, the data is converted into the data in the spatial area according to the data before encoding.

Reference numeral 707 is an adder for adding the difference value output from the motion compensation circuit 705 to the output from the inverse DCT circuit 704, and 708 is the inverse DCT circuit 704.
Is a switch for selecting the output of or the output of the adder 707. The switch 708 switches based on the coding mode information detected by a data detection circuit (not shown), and is connected to the side a in the case of an intra frame, and is connected to the side b in other cases.

The data thus decoded is temporarily stored in the output buffer 706, returned to the original pixel arrangement, and output to the D / A converter 113 and the digital output terminal 114.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Image signals for a plurality of screens centering on a desired one screen are fetched in the memory, and the plurality of images are printed on one recording sheet by changing the parameters, respectively, to print one image from the moving image. In this case, the optimum image can be easily extracted, and desired image quality adjustment can be performed with one sample print.

In the above-described embodiment, the image reproduced by the VTR 100 is decoded and then output to the I / F unit 200. However, the image compressed / encoded as described above remains compressed. It is also possible to reduce the memory capacity by outputting to the I / F unit 200. Hereinafter, as a second embodiment of the present invention, a case will be described in which the reproduced image data that has been compressed in this way is output to the I / F unit 200 and printed.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an image forming system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The same components as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 9, the image signal reproduced by the head 110 is output to the decompression / decoding circuit 112 and to the output terminal 116 as in the above-described embodiment. In the present embodiment, the I / F unit 200
For this, the compressed / encoded data is output via the output terminal 116.

The image data decoded by the decompression / decoding circuit 112 according to the MPEG system as described above is
The analog signal is converted by the D / A converter 113 and output to the monitor 10 via the analog output terminal 114.
An image corresponding to the reproduced image is displayed. Thus, in this embodiment, the image signal output from the analog output terminal 114 is used as the monitor image signal.

The image signal output from the output terminal 116 is input to the memory 207 via the compressed data input terminal 213 of the I / F section 200. In this embodiment, since the image signal input to the memory 207 is the data that has been compressed, it is possible to significantly reduce the capacity thereof as compared with the above-described embodiments.

When the image is reproduced by the VTR 100 in this way, the operator confirms the monitor, and when the screen to be printed is reproduced, the operation unit 30 of the printer 300 is reproduced.
Operate 2. Then, the control unit 205 of the I / F unit 200
Controls the memory control circuit 206 in the same manner as described above to stop writing the image signal to the memory 207. Also in the present embodiment, the image signals for 25 screens centering on the screen at the time of the instruction to capture the image are stored in the memory 207.

In this embodiment, the I / F unit 200 is also provided with the decompression / decoding circuit 214, and the decompression / decoding circuit 214 is used for the decompression / decoding circuit 1 in the VTR 100.
The same operation as 12 is performed. That is, when the loading of the image signal into the memory 207 is completed, the operator gives an instruction for sample print through the operation unit 302 and selects the above-mentioned two types of parameters in the sample print.
Upon receiving this sample print instruction, the control unit 205 reads the compressed image signal from the memory 207 and decompresses it.
The decoding circuit 214 decodes the encoded data as described above to restore the original image data, and then outputs the image data to the printer 300 via the output terminal 211.

The following sample print and selected image print operations are the same as those in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
By providing the decompression / decoding circuit 214 also in the I / F unit 200, the capacity of the memory 207 of the I / F unit 200 can be significantly reduced.

Further, the transmission rate between the VTR 100 and the I / F 200 can be lowered, and the load on the I / F unit 200 including the decompression / decoding circuit 214 can be reduced.

Furthermore, in any of the above-mentioned embodiments,
Since the I / F unit 200 is provided with a memory or a decompression / decoding circuit, it is possible to print an image from a moving image signal even with a printer without these devices.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, a memory and a decompression / decoding circuit are provided inside the printer 300.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of an image forming system according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 10, the compressed image signal output from the output terminal 116 of the VTR 100 is input to the memory 309 via the input terminal 307. The memory 309 is a memory similar to that of the second embodiment described above, and can store compressed image signals for 25 screens.

The operator confirms the reproduced image displayed on the monitor and operates the operation unit 302 when the screen to be printed is reproduced, and gives an instruction to capture the image. The control unit 303 controls the memory control circuit 308 when receiving an instruction to take in an image, and stops writing the image signal as in the above-described embodiment.

Also in this embodiment, the decompression / decoding circuit 3
10 operates similarly to the decompression / decoding circuit 112 of the VTR 100. That is, when the loading of the image signal to the memory 309 is completed, the operator gives an instruction for sample print through the operation unit 302 and selects the above-mentioned two types of parameters in the sample print. Control unit 303
When the sample print instruction is issued, the memory 30
A compressed image signal is read out from the decompressing / decoding circuit 9
0 performs the decoding process of the encoded data as described above,
The original image data is restored and then output to the signal processing circuit 304.

Hereinafter, the operation of performing predetermined processing in the signal processing circuit 304 and printing in the printing unit 305 is the same as in the above-described embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the printer main body is provided with the memory and the decompression / decoding circuit,
The reproduced image from the VTR 100 can be directly input and printed without passing through the I / F unit. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire system.

Incidentally, in the above-mentioned third embodiment, I
The decompression / decoding circuit is provided in the / F unit 200 and the printer 300, and the image signal that is still compressed is input from the VTR 100. However, as in the first embodiment, the decoded image signal can be input. You may comprise.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a desired image is printed from the moving image signal reproduced by the digital VTR has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an image reproduced from another recording medium, radio waves, etc. It may be the image signal received in step 1 and the image captured by a video camera or the like.

[0098]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the moving image signals of a plurality of screens for a predetermined period including the instructed desired screen are stored, the desired screen is selected from the moving image signals. Can be easily selected.

[0099]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system as a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state of sample printing in an example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining correspondence between an image in a memory and a print image in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a compression / expansion operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining compression / expansion operations in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a compression / encoding circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a decompression / decoding circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining handling data in the example of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system as a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system as a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

100 digital VTR 108 compression / encoding circuit 112 Decompression / decoding circuit 200 Interface section 206 memory control circuit 207 memory 300 printer 304 signal processing circuit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Suzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-7-240896 (JP, A) (58) Survey Areas (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 5/76-5/956

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. An input unit for inputting a moving image signal whose information amount is compressed with respect to an original image signal, a memory unit, and an instruction to the memory unit to store a desired screen in the moving image signal. And a memory control means for controlling the memory means so as to store a plurality of moving image signals of a plurality of screens in a predetermined period including the desired screen in the moving image signal according to an instruction from the instructing means. A recording means for recording a plurality of images corresponding to a plurality of screens of moving image signals stored in the memory means on one recording medium; and a desired one of the plurality of images recorded on the recording medium. Selecting means for selecting the image of the image, and the recording means for reading the image signal of the screen corresponding to the image selected by the selecting means from the memory means and recording the image corresponding to the read image signal. An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls a step. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a decompressing unit that decompresses the information amount of the moving image signal read from the memory unit. 3. The recording means reduces the images of a plurality of screens corresponding to the moving image signals of the plurality of screens output from the decompressing device and records the reduced images on the recording medium. 2. The image forming apparatus according to 2. 4. An input unit for inputting a moving image signal, a memory unit, an instruction unit for instructing the memory unit to store a desired screen in the moving image signal input by the input unit, In response to an instruction from the instruction means, the memory means is provided to store the moving image signals for a plurality of screens for a predetermined period including the desired screen and the screens before and after it in the moving image signal input by the input means. A memory control means for controlling; and a selection means for selecting a desired screen from a plurality of screens of moving image signals stored in the memory means, wherein the memory control means is a screen selected by the selection means. Of the image signal read from the memory means, and the image signal read from the memory means is output to a recording device to record an image corresponding to the read image signal on a recording medium. The image processing apparatus characterized by. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the moving image signal input from the input means has a compressed information amount. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the moving image signal has an information amount compressed according to the MPEG system. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the memory control unit controls the memory unit to store continuous moving image signals of the plurality of screens. 8. A setting means for setting an interval for capturing moving image signals of the plurality of screens from a moving image signal input by the input means, wherein the memory control means performs the input at an interval set by the setting means. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the memory means is controlled so as to capture and store the moving image signal of the multi-screen from the moving image signal input from the means.