JP4882823B2 - Print data generation apparatus and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a print data generation apparatus and a program for generating print data of a printing apparatus.

Conventionally, print data has height information, and the printer using curable ink controls the height stepwise so that the ink head does not touch the unevenness, and prints in multiple layers, so that there is unevenness. A technique for obtaining a three-dimensional output result is considered. (Patent Document 1)
JP 2001-301267 A

  As described above, while a printer technology capable of obtaining a three-dimensional printed material has been realized, there is no one having a function of generating print data to be supplied to such a printer.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is print data that can generate print data for use in a printer that prints uneven three-dimensional images. To provide a generation device and a program.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness, an image acquisition unit that acquires image information and image information obtained by the image acquisition unit are configured. a distance obtaining means for obtaining the distance information for each of a plurality of regions, the thickness generation means for generating a thickness information at the time of printing in accordance with image information from the distance information for each of a plurality of regions obtained by the distance obtaining means, And a recording unit that records the image information obtained by the image acquisition unit and the thickness information obtained by the thickness generation unit in association with each other.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the print data generating device for printing apparatus for printing a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness, to acquire imaging means for imaging an object, the image information of the captured image captured by said imaging means Image acquisition means, thickness generation means for generating thickness information at the time of printing for the image information obtained by the image acquisition means, image information obtained by the image acquisition means, and thickness obtained by the thickness generation means Recording means for associating and recording information .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the optical system of the image pickup means is partially shared, and a plurality of regions constituting a photographed image by an optical image acquired from the shared part of the optical system. A distance measuring unit that acquires distance information for each distance using a distance image sensor is provided, and the distance acquiring unit acquires distance information by the distance measuring unit.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 3 , wherein the distance measuring means acquires infrared light from a shared portion of the optical system, and obtains an infrared image for each of a plurality of regions. The distance information is acquired using a distance image sensor.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness, and has an automatic focusing function for acquiring a distance to an arbitrary position within a subject range, imaging means for imaging a plurality of constituting an image acquisition means for acquiring the captured image captured by the image pickup means scans the object by the automatic focusing function of the imaging means, the captured image obtained by the image acquisition unit A distance acquisition unit that acquires distance information for each area, and a thickness that generates thickness information at the time of printing corresponding to the image information corresponding to the captured image from the distance information for each of the plurality of areas obtained by the distance acquisition unit And a recording means for associating and recording the image information obtained by the image obtaining means and the thickness information obtained by the thickness producing means.

Invention according to claim 6, a three-dimensional program built-in computer executes the print data generation apparatus for a printing device for printing a printed matter having unevenness, an image acquisition step of acquiring image information, the A distance acquisition step for acquiring distance information for each of a plurality of areas constituting the image information obtained in the image acquisition step, and a thickness at the time of printing corresponding to the image information from the distance information for each of the plurality of areas obtained in the distance acquisition step. A thickness generation step for generating thickness information, and a recording step for recording the image information obtained in the image acquisition step and the thickness information obtained in the thickness generation step in association with each other. Program to do.
The invention according to claim 7 is a program executed by a computer built in a print data generating apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having irregularities, the imaging step for imaging a subject, and the imaging step An image acquisition step for acquiring image information of the captured image captured in step 1, a thickness generation step for generating thickness information at the time of printing for the image information obtained in the image acquisition step, and image information obtained in the image acquisition step And a recording step for recording in association with the thickness information obtained by the thickness generation means.
The invention according to claim 8 is a program executed by a computer incorporated in a print data generating apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness, and the distance to an arbitrary position within the subject range is determined. Using the automatic focusing function to acquire, the imaging step for imaging the subject, the image acquisition step for acquiring the captured image captured in the imaging step, and the automatic focusing function in the imaging step to scan the subject, the image Corresponding to the image information corresponding to the captured image from the distance acquisition step for acquiring the distance information for each of the plurality of areas constituting the image information obtained in the acquisition step, and the distance information for each of the plurality of areas obtained in the distance acquisition step The thickness generation step for generating the thickness information at the time of printing, the image information obtained in the image acquisition step, and the thickness information obtained in the thickness generation step are related. With and wherein the to execute a recording step of recording to the computer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to create print data for use in a printer that prints uneven three-dimensional images.

Hereinafter, an embodiment when the present invention is applied to a digital camera will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a conceptual configuration of an electronic circuit of the entire digital camera 10 according to the embodiment.
In the drawing, in the monitoring state in the photographing mode, the position of a part of the lenses in the photographing lens optical system 12, specifically the zoom lens and the focus lens, is appropriately moved by driving the motor (M) 11. A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) 14, which is a solid-state image pickup device, is passed through a mechanical shutter (not shown) at an imaging position after the prism 13 behind the shooting optical axis of the shooting lens optical system 12. Be placed.

  The CCD 14 outputs one screen of photoelectric conversion output corresponding to the optical image formed at regular intervals.

  For this photoelectric conversion output, the digitizing unit 15 automatically adjusts the gain according to the ISO sensitivity set at that time for each primary color component of RGB in the state of an analog value signal, and then samples and holds the digital data. The data is converted and output to the color process circuit 16.

  The prism 13 separates the infrared light component in the light image obtained by the photographing lens optical system 12, and the light image of the separated infrared light component is totally reflected by the mirror 17 and then the distance image. An image is formed by a sensor (DI sensor) 18.

  The distance image sensor 18 receives reflected light emitted toward an object from an LED (light emitting diode) 19 disposed in the vicinity of the photographing lens optical system 12, the photographing lens optical system 12, the prism 13, and the mirror 17. An image sensor having a CMOS structure provided for receiving light via

  That is, the distance to the subject in units of pixels can be obtained by irradiating the infrared light with the LED 19 at regular time intervals and measuring the time until the reflected light is received by the distance image sensor 18. is there.

  Thus, the photoelectric conversion output obtained by the distance image sensor 18 is sampled and held after the digitizing unit 20 performs automatic gain adjustment, converted into digital data, and output to the color process circuit 16.

  The color process circuit 16 performs color process processing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correction processing on the digital image data input via the digitizing unit 15, and the luminance-color-difference image data YUV of the digital value by matrix conversion. Is output to the buffer controller 21.

  The color process circuit 16 also performs necessary process processing on digital image data (hereinafter referred to as “distance image data”) input via the digitizing unit 20 and outputs the processed image data to the buffer controller 21.

  The buffer controller 21 once writes the image data YUV output from the color process circuit 16 into the buffer controller 19 once using the composite synchronization signal, memory write enable signal, and clock signal from the color process circuit 16. Then, DMA transfer is performed to the DRAM 22 used as a buffer memory.

  Similarly, the buffer controller 21 also performs DMA transfer to the DRAM 22 for the distance image data output from the color process circuit 16.

  The control unit 23 is composed of a CPU, a main memory used as a work memory, a non-volatile memory that stores operation programs, data, and the like in a fixed manner, and reads necessary programs from the non-volatile memory. The control operation of the entire digital camera 10 is controlled while temporarily developing and writing necessary programs and data in the main memory.

  Thus, after the DMA transfer of the image data YUV to the DRAM 22 is completed, the control unit 23 reads the image data from the DRAM 22 via the buffer controller 21 and writes the image data to the VRAM 25 via the display controller 24.

  The display controller 24 periodically reads the image data from the VRAM 25 and outputs it to the display unit 26.

  The display unit 26 is composed of a color liquid crystal panel with a backlight, which is disposed on the rear surface of the housing of the digital camera 10, and its drive circuit. The display unit 26 functions as an electronic viewfinder in the shooting mode, and performs display based on image data from the display controller 24 and the like, so that an image captured from the CCD 14 of the imaging system at that time is displayed in real time. Display on monitor. On the other hand, the display unit 26 displays a selected image or the like in the playback mode.

  In this way, a shutter that constitutes a part of the key input unit 27 at a timing at which still image shooting is desired in a so-called through image display state in which an image of the subject at that time is displayed in real time on the display unit 26 as a monitor image. When the key is operated, a trigger signal is generated from the key input unit 27.

  In response to this trigger signal, the control unit 23 cancels the DMA transfer of the luminance and color difference signals for one screen currently captured from the CCD 14 to the DRAM 22 and is not shown at a shutter speed according to the appropriate exposure conditions. The mechanical shutter and the CCD 14 are driven to obtain luminance and color difference signals for one screen and transfer them to the DRAM 22. Thereafter, this path is stopped and the recording and storage state is entered.

  In this recording and storage state, the control unit 23 stores the image data YUV for one frame written in the DRAM 22 through the buffer controller 21 for each of Y, U, and V components of 8 pixels × 8 pixels. The data is read in units called basic blocks and written into the image processing unit 28.

  The image processing unit 28 converts image data into a predetermined image format, for example, ADCT (Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform: Adaptive Discrete Cosine Transform) according to JPEG (Joint Photographic Coding Experts Group), Huffman coding or the like. The data is compressed by the data compression process.

  The encoded image data is read out from the image processing unit 28 as a data file for one image, and written into a memory card 29 which is a recording medium that is detachably attached to the digital camera 10.

  Then, along with the compression processing of the luminance and color difference signals for one frame and the completion of the writing of all the compressed data to the memory card 29, the control unit 23 activates the path from the CCD 14 to the DRAM 22 again.

  The control unit 23 is further connected to the key input unit 27, the audio processing unit 30, the auxiliary light driving unit 31, and the USB interface (I / F) 32.

  The key input unit 27 has independent operation switches such as a power key, a zoom key, a shooting mode key, a playback mode key, a cursor key, and a set key in addition to the shutter key. The signal is transmitted directly to the control unit 23.

  The sound processing unit 30 includes a sound source circuit such as a PCM sound source, and at the time of recording sound, the sound processing unit 30 digitizes the sound signal input from the microphone unit 33 disposed on the front surface of the digital camera 10, and has a predetermined data file format. For example, the data is compressed according to MP3 (Moving Picture Coding Experts Group-1 audio layer 3) standard, and an audio data file is created and sent to the memory card 29.

  On the other hand, the audio processing unit 30 uncompresses and converts the audio data file read from the memory card 29 during audio reproduction into an analog signal, for example, a speaker unit 34 arranged in parallel with the display unit 26 on the back of the digital camera 10. To sound a loud sound.

  The auxiliary light driving unit 31 charges a flash driving large-capacitance capacitor (not shown) at the time of still image shooting, and the flash light emitting unit 35 configured by a xenon discharge tube or the like based on the control from the control unit 23. The LED 19 is driven to turn on when a distance image is acquired.

  The USB interface 32 performs transmission and reception with various external devices such as a personal computer and a printer connected to the USB terminal 36 in accordance with the USB (Universal Serial Bus) standard.

  However, when shooting of a moving image instead of a still image is selected in the shooting mode, the above-described still image data is acquired and the image processing unit 28 compresses the data when the first shutter key is operated. Then, a series of operations of storing in the memory card 29 is started as a continuous execution at an appropriate frame rate, for example, 30 [frame / second], and the shutter key is operated for the second time, or the memory card When the remaining free space of 29 becomes a predetermined amount or less, the series of still image data files are collectively set as a motion JPEG data file (AVI file).

  Further, in the playback mode, the control unit 23 selectively reads out the image data stored in the memory card 29, and the image data is compressed by a procedure that is completely opposite to the procedure in which the image processing unit 28 compresses the data in the shooting mode. The decompressed image data is held in the DRAM 22 via the buffer controller 21, the contents held in the DRAM 22 are stored in the VRAM 25 via the display controller 24, and the image data is periodically read out from the VRAM 25. A video signal is generated and reproduced and displayed on the display unit 26.

  If the selected image data is not a still image but a moving image, playback of the individual still image data constituting the selected moving image file is executed continuously in time at a predetermined frame rate, and the last still image is When the data reproduction is finished, the data is reproduced and displayed using only the still image data positioned at the head until the next reproduction instruction is given.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.
In the present embodiment, the shutter key of the key input unit 27 has a two-step operation stroke, and in the middle of the entire stroke, AF ( It is assumed that the automatic focusing position and the AE (automatic exposure) value are locked, and that an image is captured in a deeper second operation stroke (hereinafter referred to as “full press”).

  FIG. 2 shows the contents of the operation processing when the still image shooting mode for obtaining the thickness information at the time of printing is set. The processing itself is an operation program read by the control unit 23 from the internal nonvolatile memory. Execute in the main memory.

  At the beginning of the process, a shooting process associated with the shutter key operation of the key input unit 27 is executed at an arbitrary shooting timing (step A01).

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a subroutine showing the detailed processing contents of the photographing processing. In the figure, image data obtained by driving and scanning the CCD 14 at a predetermined frame rate, for example, 30 frames / second, is sequentially held in the DRAM 22 and displayed as a through image on the display unit 26 (step B01).

  From this state, it is first determined whether or not the shutter key of the key input unit 27 has been half-pressed (step B02). If it is not operated, the process returns to step B01 again, and the same process is repeated to wait for the shutter key to be pressed halfway while displaying a through image.

  Thus, when the shutter key is half-pressed, this is determined in step B02, and at that time, AF processing and AE processing are executed to lock the AF position and AE value (step B03).

From this locked state, while further displaying a through image (step B04), it is determined whether or not the shutter key has been fully pressed (step B05).
If it is determined that the full-press operation has not been performed, it is then determined whether or not the shutter key has been pressed halfway (step B06).

  If the half-pressed state of the shutter key is maintained, the process returns to step B04 again to wait for the shutter key to be fully pressed with the AF position and AE value locked.

  If it is determined in step B06 that the half-pressed state of the shutter key has been released, the AF position and AE value are also unlocked (step B07), and then the shutter key is pressed halfway again. The process returns to the above-described step B01 so as to wait.

  If it is determined in step B05 that the shutter key has been fully pressed, it is then determined whether or not the distance image data acquisition mode using the distance image sensor 18 is set at that time (step B08).

  When the mode using the distance image sensor 18 is set, a color image is taken from the CCD 14 to the DRAM 22 according to the locked AF position and AE value corresponding to the full pressing operation of the shutter key. The operation is executed (step B09).

  At the same time, the photographing of the distance image using the LED 19 and the distance image sensor 18 is also executed, and the acquired distance image data is stored in the DRAM 22 together with the color image data (step B10).

  The distance image data acquisition operation is described in detail in JP-A No. 2001-201329, JP-A No. 2005-235893, etc., and therefore, detailed description of the operation principle and the like is omitted here.

  If it is determined in step B08 that the distance image data acquisition mode has not been set, the CCD 14 changes from the CCD 14 to the DRAM 22 according to the locked AF position and AE value corresponding to the full-pressing operation of the shutter key. Only the color image capturing operation is executed (step B11).

  Thereafter, the color image data and the distance image data according to the setting are held in the DRAM 22 (step B12), the subroutine of FIG. 3 is terminated, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the edge extraction process is executed by the edge filter process or the edge enhancement filter (high-pass filter) process using the color image data held in the DRAM 22 immediately after the photographing is finished (step A02).

  Then, from the result of the contour extraction, the image is divided into a plurality of areas, and each divided area is detected as being a subject (step A03).

  Next, the thickness calculation process for the image data is executed by appropriately taking into consideration the result of the contour extraction and the result of the subject detection based on the result (step A04).

  FIG. 4 is a subroutine flowchart showing the detailed contents of the thickness calculation process. In the figure, first, it is determined whether or not the mode for using the distance image sensor 18 is set during the photographing process, depending on whether or not the distance image data is held in the DRAM 22 (step C01).

  When the distance image data using the distance image sensor 18 is held in the DRAM 22, it is assumed that the mode using the distance image sensor 18 has been set, and then a predetermined automatic pattern process using the recorded image data is performed. It is determined whether or not the mode is set (step C02).

Here, as the predetermined automatic pattern, for example,
Pattern 1: Weakly emphasize the place where the thickness is large
Pattern 2: Emphasize areas with large thickness
Pattern 3: Set the place where the thickness is small to 0
Pattern 4: Invert thickness
Pattern 5: The entire surface is set to 0 (no thickness printing)
Assume that there are a total of five automatic patterns.

  If it is determined in step C02 that the mode for performing the automatic pattern processing is not set, the distance image data is used as it is and converted to linear thickness data (step C03). Terminate the process. .

  FIG. 6 shows an example of the correspondence between each distance value of the distance image data and the converted thickness information. Here, it is assumed that the range of distance that can be measured by the distance image sensor 18 is 0 (zero) m to 5.0 m, and on the other hand, it is possible to print up to a maximum thickness of 30 mm with an assumed printer. .

  Therefore, for example, a subject at a distance of 5 m, which is the measurement limit, does not perform printing with a thickness of 0 (zero), that is, a substantial thickness, and only prints with general color inks that are not curable. Shall be done.

  Further, in FIG. 6 described above, the range of the distance that can be measured by the distance image sensor 18 is 0 (zero) m to 5.0 m. However, in a general lens optical system, switching to macro photography is not performed. It is rare that the shortest imaging (measurement) distance is 0 (zero) m, and it is often at least several tens of centimeters.

  FIG. 7 shows the correspondence to the thickness data when the shortest shooting distance is 50 cm (0.5 m) and the range of distance measurable by the distance image sensor 18 is 5.0 m at the maximum. Here, it is assumed that the thickness at the time of printing is maximized according to the shortest shooting distance. As a result of the measurement, there is no object positioned in front of the shortest shooting distance, so the shortest shooting distance is set to 50 cm. The corresponding thickness is set.

  Although details will not be described here, for example, when macro photography is performed, a corresponding scale different from the scales described in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be used.

  If it is determined in step C02 that the mode for performing automatic pattern processing is set, then according to the contents of the automatic pattern set at that time, first, depending on the shape of the area as necessary A thickness enhancement coefficient is set (step C04).

  This is the main subject in the image, for example, as the shape of the region approximates a circle (including an oval), a quadrangle (including a trapezoid, etc.), and the possibility that the distance from the camera that took the image is small is high. The emphasis process is performed on the assumption that the object is an object.

  After that, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, within each divided area, the distance with the shortest measurement distance is set as the representative value of the area, and the thickness data at the time of printing is set based on the contents of the automatic pattern ( Step C05).

  Thereafter, the inclination angle of the edge portion during printing of each area is set for the set thickness data (step C06).

  FIG. 8 illustrates the inclination angle of the edge portion, which is one element that specifies the cross-sectional shape with respect to the thickness. When the ink having the thickness shown in FIG. 5B is formed by printing within the area shown in FIG. 6A, the cross section is not of course rectangular, and the edge portion Have a certain slope.

  FIG. 8C exemplifies the cross-sectional shape of the ink when the inclination angle of the initial rise of the edge is 45 °, and the angle gradually becomes horizontal as it gradually approaches the center of the region. I am doing so.

  Here, unless otherwise specified, as shown in FIG. 8C, the inclination angle is set to 45 ° as a default value, but the inclination angle before photographing can be changed and set in advance. It shall be.

Then, after selecting the inclination angle, inertia information indicating how much the inclination angle is maintained as the edge portion is left is set (step C07).
FIG. 9 exemplifies the setting state of the inertia information. FIG. 9A shows the cross-sectional shape of each ink when the inertia is large and FIG. 9B shows the inertia when the inertia is small. Even if the inclination angles of the edge portions coincide with each other at 60 °, for example, it can be understood that the greater the inertia, the closer the cross section to a trapezoidal shape, and the wider the thickness range set in the center of the region.

  When the setting for one area is thus completed, it is determined whether there is another unset area (step C08). If it is determined, the process returns to the process from step C04 again, and the same setting for the area is performed. Execute the process.

  When the processes in steps C04 to C08 are repeatedly executed and automatic setting for all the divided areas constituting the captured image is completed, this is determined in step C08, and the subroutine of FIG. 4 is terminated. Then, the process returns to the process of FIG.

  If it is determined in step C01 that the distance image data together with the color image data is not held in the DRAM 22 and the mode for using the distance image sensor 18 is not set at the time of shooting, the color image data is contoured. Using the result of the extraction and the division into regions of each subject, first, a thickness enhancement coefficient corresponding to the shape of the region is set for one of the regions (step C09).

  This is the main subject in the image, for example, as the shape of the region approximates to a circle (including an oval), a rectangle (including a trapezoid, etc.), as in the process in step C04. The emphasis process is performed on the assumption that there is a high possibility that the distance to is small.

  Thereafter, the thickness data at the time of printing is set based on the area of the region and the thickness emphasis coefficient set in the immediately preceding step C09 (step C10). In this case, the setting may be performed such that the thickness is increased as the area of the region is increased.

  Next, as described with reference to FIG. 8, the inclination angle of the edge portion during printing of each area is set for the set thickness data (step C11).

Further, as described with reference to FIG. 9, inertia information indicating how much the inclination angle is maintained as the edge portion is separated is set (step C12).
When the setting for one area is thus completed, it is determined whether or not there is another unset area (step C13), and if it is determined, the process returns to the process from step C09 again, and the same setting for the area is performed. Execute the process.

  Thus, the processes in steps C09 to C13 are repeatedly executed, and when manual setting is completed for all the divided areas constituting the photographed image, this is determined in step C13, and the subroutine of FIG. 4 is terminated. Then, the process returns to the process of FIG.

  In FIG. 2, when the thickness calculation at the time of printing is finished, based on the set thickness data, a three-dimensional preview display showing what happens when printing is performed on the display unit 26 (step A05). ).

  In the display state of the preview image, it is possible to arbitrarily instruct the rotation of the image in the three-dimensional space, the enlargement / reduction of the display range, etc. according to the operation of the cursor key or the zoom key of the key input unit 27. Shall.

  At the same time, the display unit 26 performs a display for prompting editing of an arbitrary region of the three-dimensional image indicating the thickness and a display for confirming whether the thickness data is stored with the display content at that time. The user's editing operation and confirmation operation are accepted by determining whether or not a corresponding key operation has been performed on the display of ().

Here, when a key operation for editing is performed, an editing process is executed in response to the key operation (step A07).
FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a subroutine showing the detailed contents of this editing process. In the figure, it is first selected whether the thickness is edited by automatic pattern selection or manually (step D01).

If a key operation is performed to perform automatic pattern selection, as described above
Pattern 1: Weakly emphasize the place where the thickness is large
Pattern 2: Emphasize areas with large thickness
Pattern 3: Set the place where the thickness is small to 0
Pattern 4: Invert thickness
Pattern 5: The entire surface is set to 0 (no thickness printing)
Any one of the five automatic patterns is selected, and the editing operation is automatically executed in accordance with the selected automatic pattern (step D02), and the editing process of FIG.

  If it is determined in step D01 that the editing process is performed manually instead of automatic pattern selection, the pointer is displayed in the three-dimensional image displayed on the display unit 26, and the cursor key (up / down / left / right key) is displayed. ) And a set key operation to accept selection of an area to be edited (step D03).

  The selected area is changed by adjusting the height with the up / down keys in the cursor keys (step D04).

  Further, the rising inclination angle of the edge portion of the area is similarly set by using the up and down keys of the cursor key and changed (step D05).

  At the same time, the inertia information corresponding to the rising inclination angle of the edge portion of the region is similarly changed by adjusting the up and down keys of the cursor key (step D06).

  It is assumed that the editing process for one area is completed as described above, and it is confirmed whether or not the editing process is similarly performed for the other areas (step D07).

  Here, when the key operation for performing the editing process is performed on another area, the process returns to the process from step D03 and the same process is executed.

  When the editing process for all the areas determined to be necessary by the user is finished and the key operation is performed to that effect, this is judged at step D07, and the process of FIG. Returning to the process of FIG.

  In FIG. 2, after execution of the editing process, a three-dimensional image having a thickness as an editing result is previewed again on the display unit 26 (step A09), and the process proceeds to step A07 to confirm the contents.

  When the confirmation key operation is performed on the thickness image, this is determined in step A07, and the image data having the thickness data is converted into a data format for printing by the printer, and then the digital camera is used. 10 is stored as data associated with the color image data obtained by photographing (step A10), and the processing of FIG. 2 is completed.

  FIG. 10 shows a setting example of thickness data included in a color image actually obtained by photographing. This figure shows a part of the case where thickness data is given to each area where the most background (empty) area is 0 (zero) mm and the front female area is 8 mm.

  In this way, image data for use in a printer that prints uneven three-dimensional images can be easily taken, created, and stored.

  The camera and printer may be connected with a cable such as USB, and the generated print data may be directly transferred to the printer for printing, or the print data may be saved once on a PC or the like. Depending on the situation, it may be transferred to a printer for printing.

  In the above embodiment, the distance image sensor 18 that is an image sensor for obtaining distance image data is provided separately from the CCD 14 that is an image sensor for photographing a color image. The distance value to the pixel can be obtained accurately and very easily.

  In this case, in this embodiment, the CCD 14 for obtaining the color image data and the distance image sensor 18 for obtaining the distance image data share a part of the optical system including the photographing lens optical system 12, and the prism 13 is used. Since the branched optical image is guided to the distance image sensor 18, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be kept low without adopting a complicated apparatus configuration in which a plurality of optical systems are provided.

  In addition, the optical image for the distance image obtained by the spectroscopy by the prism 13 and acquired by the distance image sensor 18 is based on the infrared light in the invisible region emitted from the LED 19 and is not an optical image in the wavelength band of the visible region. Even when the spectral path is provided, the amount of light incident on the CCD 14 is not substantially reduced, and there is no risk of a decrease in sensitivity, noise or camera shake.

  Further, there is no need to provide an infrared cut optical filter upstream of the optical axis of the CCD 14 as used in a general digital camera, and the configuration around the CCD 14 can be simplified.

  In the above embodiment, the distance image is described as being acquired by the distance image sensor 18 which is an image sensor provided separately from the CCD 14, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  That is, when the taking lens optical system 12 has an AF function, for example, if it is an active AF function, the distance information is obtained by scanning a distance measurement position in the image by multi-point distance measurement, and a passive method such as contrast is used. In the case of the AF function of the method, the entire surface of the image is divided into small areas and sequentially scanned while measuring the distance for each small area, and in any case, distance information in place of the distance image data can be acquired.

  Therefore, by using the distance information acquired in this way, although it takes some time, accurate distance information can be acquired without using a dedicated image sensor such as the distance image sensor 18.

  Even when a sensor for obtaining distance information such as the distance image sensor 18 is not used, contour extraction processing is performed on the image data captured as in the above embodiment, and the contour extraction processing is performed. The captured image may be divided into a plurality of regions with the obtained contour, and thickness information may be set for each of the divided regions.

  By setting virtual thickness information through image processing in this way, data for printing based on distance information can be created easily without complicating the configuration of the device, and input from other devices The processed image data can be handled in the same manner.

  When assigning and setting the virtual thickness information, considering the general composition and subject, if the shape of the area divided by the contour extraction process is approximately circular and approximately rectangular, or the divided area If thicker thickness information is given when the position of is closer to the center or the like, there is a high possibility that a sharp printed material that emphasizes the stereoscopic effect on the main subject will be obtained.

  Note that not only the image data obtained by photographing but also the fact that the printing result becomes uneven, as shown in FIG. 11, for example, the braille notation portion BR is fitted into the image to generate the thickness information. In this way, it is possible to provide a wider range of applications, such as allowing people with visual impairments to enjoy printed images.

  FIG. 11 is a view in which a Braille notation portion BR with the content “Fujisan” is added to a landscape photograph of Mt. Fuji. It is done.

  In the above-described embodiment, the image sensor and the distance image are obtained by associating with various sensors. However, the image image and the distance image may already be associated and stored. Of course, the print data may be generated by calling.

  In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, the functions executed in the above-described embodiments may be combined as appropriate as possible. The above-described embodiment includes various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by an appropriate combination according to a plurality of disclosed structural requirements. For example, even if several constituent requirements are deleted from all the constituent requirements shown in the embodiment, if the effect can be obtained, a configuration from which the constituent requirements are deleted can be extracted as an invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an electronic circuit of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The flowchart which shows the imaging processing content of the still image at the time of thickness information simultaneous acquisition which concerns on the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the subroutine content of the imaging | photography process of FIG. 2 which concerns on the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the subroutine content of the thickness calculation process of FIG. 2 which concerns on the embodiment. The flowchart which shows the subroutine content of the edit process of FIG. 2 which concerns on the embodiment. The figure which shows the correspondence of the distance data which concern on the embodiment, and the thickness data at the time of printing. The figure which shows the other correspondence of the distance data which concern on the embodiment, and the thickness data at the time of printing. The figure for demonstrating the inclination-angle of the edge part which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which illustrates the setting state of the inertia information with respect to the inclination-angle which concerns on the same embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a setting of the thickness data which concern on the embodiment. The figure which shows the example of a setting of the other thickness data which concern on the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Digital camera, 11 ... Motor (M), 12 ... Shooting lens optical system, 13 ... Prism, 14 ... CCD, 15 ... Digitization part, 16 ... Color process circuit, 17 ... Mirror, 18 ... Distance image (DI) Sensor, 19 ... LED, 20 ... Digitizing unit, 21 ... Buffer controller, 22 ... DRAM, 23 ... Control unit, 24 ... Display controller, 25 ... VRAM, 26 ... Display unit, 27 ... Key input unit, 28 ... Image processing , 29 ... Memory card, 30 ... Audio processing part, 31 ... Auxiliary light drive part, 32 ... USB interface, 33 ... Microphone part, 34 ... Speaker part, 35 ... Flash light emitting part, 36 ... USB terminal, BR ... Braille notation Department.

Claims (8)

In a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having irregularities,
Image acquisition means for acquiring image information;
Distance acquisition means for acquiring distance information for each of a plurality of areas constituting the image information obtained by the image acquisition means;
Thickness generation means for generating thickness information at the time of printing corresponding to image information from distance information for each of a plurality of areas obtained by the distance acquisition means ;
A print data generation apparatus comprising: a recording unit that records the image information obtained by the image acquisition unit and the thickness information obtained by the thickness generation unit in association with each other. In a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having irregularities,
Imaging means for imaging a subject ;
Image acquisition means for acquiring image information of a captured image captured by the imaging means;
Thickness generation means for generating thickness information at the time of printing for the image information obtained by the image acquisition means;
Recording means for recording the image information obtained by the image obtaining means and the thickness information obtained by the thickness generating means in association with each other;
A print data generation apparatus comprising: Ranging means that shares a part of the optical system of the imaging means and obtains distance information for each of a plurality of areas constituting a photographed image by using a distance image sensor from an optical image obtained from the shared part of the optical system. Prepared,
3. The print data generation apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the distance acquisition means acquires distance information by the distance measurement means. The distance measuring unit 130, claims to get the infrared light from the shared portion of the optical system, and obtains using a distance image sensor distance information for each of a plurality of regions by the light image of the obtained infrared light Item 4. The print data generation device according to Item 3 . In a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having irregularities,
An imaging unit having an automatic focusing function for acquiring a distance to an arbitrary position within the subject range, and imaging the subject;
Image acquisition means for acquiring a captured image captured by the imaging means;
A distance acquisition unit that scans a subject by the automatic focusing function of the imaging unit and acquires distance information for each of a plurality of areas that constitute the image information obtained by the image acquisition unit;
Thickness generation means for generating thickness information at the time of printing corresponding to the image information corresponding to the captured image from the distance information for each of the plurality of areas obtained by the distance acquisition means ;
A print data generation apparatus comprising: a recording unit that records the image information obtained by the image acquisition unit and the thickness information obtained by the thickness generation unit in association with each other . A program executed by a computer built in a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness,
An image acquisition step for acquiring image information;
A distance acquisition step of acquiring distance information for each of a plurality of areas constituting the image information obtained in the image acquisition step;
A thickness generation step of generating thickness information at the time of printing corresponding to the image information from the distance information for each of the plurality of regions obtained in the distance acquisition step ;
A program for causing a computer to execute a recording step of recording the image information obtained in the image acquisition step in association with the thickness information obtained in the thickness generation step . A program executed by a computer built in a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness,
An imaging step for imaging a subject;
An image acquisition step of acquiring image information of the captured image captured in the imaging step;
A thickness generation step for generating thickness information at the time of printing for the image information obtained in the image acquisition step;
A recording step for recording the image information obtained in the image acquisition step in association with the thickness information obtained by the thickness generation means;
A program that causes a computer to execute. A program executed by a computer built in a print data generation apparatus for a printing apparatus that prints a three-dimensional printed matter having unevenness,
An imaging step of imaging a subject using an automatic focusing function to obtain a distance to an arbitrary position within the subject range;
An image acquisition step of acquiring the captured image captured in the imaging step;
A distance acquisition step of scanning the subject by the automatic focusing function in the imaging step, and acquiring distance information for each of a plurality of areas constituting the image information obtained in the image acquisition step;
A thickness generation step of generating thickness information at the time of printing corresponding to the image information corresponding to the photographed image from the distance information for each of the plurality of regions obtained in the distance acquisition step;
A recording step for recording the image information obtained in the image acquisition step in association with the thickness information obtained in the thickness generation step;
A program that causes a computer to execute.

Images