JPH04336864A - Character synthesizer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a character synthesis pre-processing time by storing a read character data as a multi-value brightness data, generating a character signal in one bit and applying synthesis processing to picture information read separately. CONSTITUTION:A character data read by a picture read means 4 is converted into a picture data (L, a, b) of a color display coordinate system comprising a luminance signal and a color difference signal at a color display coordinate system conversion means 5 and luminance information is stored in a storage means 1 as multi-value information as it is as a character data. The storage content is compared with a threshold level at a comparison means 2, from which a 1-bit character signal is generated and it is synthesized with a picture data generated separately and similarly at a character synthesis means 3. The character synthesis pre-processing time is reduced by using the processing by the multi-value information and real time processing is attained.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character synthesizing device for synthesizing image data and character data and editing the colors.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in recording devices such as copying machines,
BACKGROUND ART Character synthesis is performed by superimposing separately read character data on image data read by an image reading device (IIT).

[0003] Conventionally, in this type of character synthesis, the characters to be read and synthesized by IIT are binarized in advance, developed into a bitmap, and stored, and the data stored in the area where character synthesis is required is read out. This is done by manipulating and synthesizing image data and character data.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, in conventional character synthesis processing, the multi-valued data read from IIT must be first binarized, converted into a bitmap, and then stored, creating data for character synthesis. Processing takes time, and
When data for character synthesis is transferred from an external device such as a workstation or computer and used, binarization processing must be performed each time, making it difficult to share data for character synthesis.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it handles data for character synthesis as multi-valued data, shortens the time for preprocessing for character synthesis, and allows the character synthesis device to be integrated into a workstation. An object of the present invention is to provide a character synthesis device that can share character data when connected to an external device such as a computer.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The character synthesis device of the present invention includes an image reading means for reading image information, and an R
, G, B image information consists of luminance and color difference (L, a,
b) a conversion means for converting into a color display coordinate system, a storage means for storing the luminance information as character data, and a comparison between the character data read from the storage means and a threshold value;
A comparison means that binarizes and outputs character data; a character synthesis circuit that synthesizes and edits the binarized data from the comparison means and the image data converted to the (L, a, b) color display coordinate system; It is characterized by having the following.

[0007] Furthermore, the character composition circuit converts the (L, a, b) color display coordinate system into a (V, H, C) color display coordinate system consisting of density, hue, and saturation.
2. Having a conversion means for converting into a color display coordinate system, a color conversion palette consisting of a forepalette, and a color palette, and handling image data in density, hue, and saturation to edit colors;
It is characterized in that when the digitized data is 1, the image data is replaced with the value of the color palette, and when the binarized data is 0, the image data is output as is.

[0008]

In the present invention, the image reading means reads the character data to be synthesized, converts it into (L, a, b) image data, and stores the luminance information in the storage means as multi-value data. The comparison means compares the multivalued character data with a threshold value and outputs a 1-bit character signal. The character synthesis means performs a process of synthesizing images and characters using (L, a, b) image data separately read by an image reading means and a 1-bit character signal. In this case, the character synthesis means has a color conversion palette of a forepalette and a color palette, and replaces the part where the character signal is "1" with the value of the color palette, and the part where the character signal is "0" is used as image data as it is. Color editing is performed by performing processing such as coloring the characters, making the parts where the character signal is "1" white, and making the parts where the character signal is "0" into white characters while leaving the image data unchanged.

[0009]

[Embodiment] Fig. 1 is a functional block diagram of a character synthesis device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the device configuration of a copying machine to which the invention is applied, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram explaining the processing of read image data. , FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the color editing processing section.

First, the overall configuration will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a color copying machine equipped with a film image reading device.

The color copying machine shown in FIG. 2 includes a base machine 30, a platen glass 31 on which a document is placed, an image input terminal (IIT) 32, an electrical system control storage section 33, and an image output terminal (IOT) 34. , a paper tray 35, and a user interface (U/I) 36, and optionally an edit pad 61,
Auto document feeder (ADF) 62, sorter 6
3, and a film image reading device consisting of a film projector (F/P) 64 and a mirror unit (M/U) 65.

The image input terminal 32 includes an imaging unit 37, a wire 38 for driving it,
It consists of a drive pulley 39, etc., and an imaging unit 37.
The primary colors of light are B (blue), G (green), and R using the inner color filter.
Image information of a color original document, which is separated into (red) colors and read using a CCD line sensor, is converted into a multi-gradation digital image signal BGR and output to an image processing system. The image processing system is located in the electrical system control storage section 3.
3, and inputs BGR image signals to control colors, gradations,
Various conversions to improve definition, image quality, and reproducibility.
It performs various processing such as correction processing and editing processing, and the primary colors of toner are Y (yellow) and M (magenta).
, C (cyan), and K (black), and converts the process color gradation toner signal into an on/off binary toner signal and outputs it to the image output terminal 34. The image output terminal 34 has a scanner 40 and a sensitive material belt 41, converts an image signal into an optical signal in a laser output section 40a, and outputs the image signal to the sensitive material belt via a polygon mirror 40b, an F/θ lens 40c, and a reflecting mirror 40d. 4
1, a latent image corresponding to the original image is formed on the paper tray 35, the image is transferred to the paper conveyed from the paper tray 35, and a color copy is discharged.

In the image output terminal 34, a sensitive material belt 41 is driven by a driving pulley 41a, and a cleaner 41b, a charger 41c, YMCK developing devices 41d, and a transfer device 41e are arranged around the photosensitive material belt 41.
A transfer device 42 is provided opposite to e. and,
Hold the paper sent from the paper tray 35 through the paper transport path 35a, and in the case of 4-color full-color copying, transfer the YMCK latent images onto the paper by rotating the transfer device 42 4 times, and then transfer the YMCK latent images onto the paper. from the transfer device 42, passes through the vacuum conveyance device 43, is fixed by the fixing device 45, and is discharged. The SSI (single sheet inserter) 35b is connected to the paper conveyance path 35a.
This allows paper to be selectively fed manually.

The user interface 36 allows the user to select a desired function and instruct its execution conditions, and is equipped with a color display 51 and a hard control panel 52, and is further combined with an infrared touch board 53 to control soft buttons on the screen. This allows direct instructions to be given.

The electrical system control storage unit 33 has a plurality of control boards configured for each processing unit, such as the image input terminal 32, image output terminal 34, user interface 36, image processing system, film projector 64, etc. Furthermore, it houses an MCB board (machine control board) for controlling the operations of mechanisms such as the image output terminal 34, automatic document feeder 62, and sorter 63, and a SYS board for controlling all of these.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration for processing read image data.

The image input unit 100 has a reduced type sensor consisting of three R, G, and B line sensors arranged perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction, and is scanned in synchronization with a timing signal from the timing generation circuit 12. The image is being read. The read image data is subjected to shading correction in a shading correction circuit 11, and then a gap correction circuit 13 performs gap correction between each line sensor. This gap correction is to delay the image data read by the FIFO 14 by an amount corresponding to the gap so that R, G, and B image signals at the same position can be obtained at the same time. ENL (Equivalent Ne
The vertical Lightness) 15 is for performing gray balance, and also inverts the gray by reversing the gray color for each pixel based on a negative/positive inversion signal from the editing processing unit 400, which will be described later. It is now possible to invert negative and positive areas only. The gray balanced R, G, B image signals are sent to the matrix circuit 16a by a control signal from the editing processing section 400.
It is converted into L, a, b image signals (of course, L*, a*, b*, which are standardized L, a, b, may also be used). The conversion from R, G, B to L, a, b is for facilitating the interface with an external device such as a computer. The selector 17 is controlled by a signal from the editing processing unit 400 and outputs the output of the matrix circuit 16a or the memory system 20 which is an interface with an external computer.
This is for selectively extracting image data from 0. The background removal circuit 18 memorizes the minimum density and maximum density of the original during pre-scanning, and skips pixels with a density below the minimum density to improve copy quality for covered originals such as newspapers. . Original detection circuit 1
9 is for detecting the boundary between the back side of the black platen and the original, and detecting and storing the original size regardless of the position where the original is placed as long as it is placed straight in the scanning direction. . The image signal color-edited by the editing processing section 400 is processed by the matrix circuit 16b from L, a, b to Y, M, C.
The under color removal circuit 21 generates amber to generate Y, M, C, and K. The image signal that has been color-edited at the same time is discriminated by a pictogram separation circuit 20 as to whether it is a colored character, a black character, or a picture. In the under color removal circuit 21, hue signals and development color signals Y, M, C, and K are temporarily stored in FIFOs 22a and 22b, respectively, depending on whether the data is character data or a picture. Then, the data is selected and read out by the selector 23, and the data reset circuit 24 resets the Y, M, and C data in the case of a black character, and causes the data to pass through in the case of a colored character or a picture. The reduction/enlargement circuit 25a is provided to prevent the color editing area and the normal copy area from being shifted even when there is reduction/enlargement, and the reduction/enlargement information is decoded by the area decoder 26 and provided for processing in each section. Ru. The image data reduced or enlarged by the reduction/enlargement circuit 25b is sent to the filter 2.
7 removes moire and emphasizes edges, and multiplier 28 performs color adjustment and density adjustment for colored characters, black characters, and pictures by appropriately selecting coefficients for each color component. TRC29 is for adjusting the density according to the characteristics of IOT, and this image data is stored in memory system 2.
00 or output as an image by the ROS 300.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the overall configuration for editing image data.

The editing processing section 400 is for color editing and region generation, and is for processing the image signal L from the selector 17.
, a, b are converted from L, a, b to L, C, H to facilitate color editing and color conversion using the LUT 415a. Converting 24 bits of data to 20 bits. Color conversion & palette 413 has 32 colors used in color editing.
Only the image data of the area to be color converted is input to the color conversion & palette 413, and the image data of the other area is directly sent to the selector 416 and then to the matrix circuit 16b described above. The color-converted L, C, H signals are sent to LUT 415b again as L, a, b.
is converted back to 24-bit data, and the selector 41
Sent to 6. The marker colors (three colors) and the 4-bit signal of the closed area signal from the color conversion and palette 413 are sent to the density conversion/area generation circuit 405. At this time, FIFO410
A, 410b, and 410c are used to perform binarization processing in which a black pixel out of 16 pixels is set to "1" in a 4x4 window, and is converted to 100spi from 400spi.
A density conversion is performed. Density conversion/area generation circuit 40
5 writes the marker signal (closed loop and marker dot) generated in this way to the plain memory 403,
In addition, in order to avoid false detection of small dust etc. as markers, marker dot signals are delayed by 9 lines by FIFO 408, marker dot detection is performed in a 9x9 window, coordinate values of marker dots are generated, and RA
Store it in M406. Note that the marker dots are also stored in the plain memory, but this processing is performed to prevent false detection.

The plain memory 403 is a memory for generating an area for color editing, and an area can also be written from, for example, an editor pad. That is, coordinate data specified on the editor pad is transferred to the graphics controller 401 through the CPU bus, and an area is written into the plain memory 403 via the DRAM controller 402 in response to an address signal from the graphics controller 401. The plane memory 403 has four sides, and by reading out areas from the plane memory on the four sides simultaneously, it is possible to generate 16 types of areas from 0 to 15.

When reading from the plain memory 403, density conversion and
The area generation circuit 405 has 4 FIFOs 409a and 409b.
The density is converted from 100 spi to 400 spi by delaying the line and performing data interpolation. The color edited data is sent to the delay circuits 411a, 411b, 1MFI.
The timing is adjusted by the FO so that the timing is matched with the image data read by the image input section.

In FIG. 1, image reading means 4 corresponds to the image input section 100 in FIG. 3, and is for reading an original image placed on the platen surface of a copying machine as color image data. The color display coordinate system conversion means 5 corresponds to the matrix 16a in FIG. 3, and converts (R, G, B) image data into (L,
a, b) These are for converting into image data. The storage means 1 corresponds to the memory system 200 in FIG. 3, and is for storing character image data to be synthesized and its luminance signal L as multivalued data. When storing character data, for example, in FIG.
,b), and in the matrix 16b, the calculation matrix is set to 1, without converting to (Y, M, C), and (L,
A, b) are output as they are, without removing the undercolor, without generating black, and without enlarging or emphasizing edges using a filter.
This is performed by appropriately setting constants in , extracting only the luminance L, passing through the TRC, and storing only L, that is, the luminance information, in the memory system. In this way, the read multi-valued data is stored as character data in the storage means 1.

On the other hand, the image to be combined with the characters is similarly read by the image input section 100 in FIG. 3, and the matrix 16a converts (R, G, B) image data into (L, a, b) image data. It is converted and sent to the character synthesizing means 3. The character synthesis means 3 corresponds to the color conversion & palette 413 in FIG. The characters to be synthesized stored in the storage means 1 are:
The comparator 2 compares it with a threshold value from a CPU (not shown) and converts it into a binary value. This comparing means 2 is provided in the selector 17 in FIG.
The 1-bit character signal output from the 1-bit character signal output and the read image data are synthesized by the character synthesizing means 3 with timing adjustment. As will be described later, the character synthesis means 3 has color conversion and palettes such as a forepalette and a color palette, and internally converts (L, a, b) image data into density (V), hue (
The image data is converted into (V, H, C) image data consisting of H) and saturation (C), and color editing processing is performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a part of the configuration of color conversion and palette in FIG. 4.

As mentioned above, color conversion & palette 413
A binary character signal (TEX) is input to , and a 24-bit control signal is sent from the density conversion/area generation circuit 405 in FIG. 4 . The 3-bit LOGIC signal included in this control signal sets the character compositing function as described later, and the 1-bit TSEL control signal specifies whether a certain area is a character compositing area or a normal copy area. When TSEL is "1", character synthesis is performed, and when it is "0", normal copying is performed. Further, the 4-bit area signal (ACMD) is a 4-bit signal consisting of a closed area signal and three color signals for each pixel read out from the plane memory 403 on four sides, and indicates the distinction between 16 types of areas. V, H, and C are image data signals of density, hue, and saturation converted from L, a, and b by the color conversion & palette 413, and among the image data V, H, and C, the 8-bit signal of density V is is compared with the threshold value TH set in the register 421 in the comparator 422 and converted into a binary value, and in the comparator 423, the color palette threshold value CP (specifically, the density of the color palette) of the specified color is determined. value) and the density V are compared and binarized, and each is input to the selector control 420.

The selector control 420 consists of a selector 420a and a 32×3 bit logic table 420b as shown in FIG.
It is selected by 0a and outputs a flag signal to the logic table. Therefore, the flag represents the binarized density V or TEX 1 bit. logic table 42
At 0b, this flag, the LOGIC 3-bit signal, and the 1-bit output of the comparator 423, respectively, psel.
, zt, and sp are output. As shown in Fig. 7, these signals are switching signals for outputting a video signal when psel is "0" and outputting a palette when it is "1", and sp is a signal for switching between a color palette and a forepalette. , zt are signals for switching between setting the signal to 0 and outputting it as is (through). A logic table that defines these inputs and outputs is as shown in FIG. 8 (details will be described later).

In this way, the selector control 420
EX, LOGIC, TSEL, and V>TH, V>C
According to P, psel, st, and sp are output, respectively. zt is a gate signal that is input to one of the AND circuits 435, 436, and 437, and determines whether to output VHC as is or to output 0, respectively. The sp selects either the color palette (CP) or the foreground palette (FP) using the selector 433, and these palettes are 16 types of palettes each prepared according to a 4-bit area signal, and are used for character synthesis. The values of these palettes are output. And psel selector 441,
442 and 443 are controlled, AND circuits 435 to 437
Either the value output from the selector 433 or the palette value output through the selector 433 is output.

Further, the table 456 outputs 1-bit THSEL according to psel and zt. T.H.
SEL corresponds to the select signal of the selector 416 in FIG. 4, and the signal is output through the portion that is not edited. At the same time, table 456 contains internal register TH. CNT4
A 2-bit signal consisting of thr and mask is output from 45, and when thr and mask are (01) or (11), THSEL is set to "0", and when it is "10", THS
To fix the output by setting EL to "1", to eliminate the difficulty of working due to THSEL switching during hardware debugging, and to fix the output to either a signal that passes through color conversion or a signal that has passed through color conversion. belongs to. And when other than this debugging, these thr,
mask is set to (00).

Next, the function of LOGIC 3 bits and character composition will be explained with reference to FIG.

When LOGIC is (000), as shown in FIG. 8, the output is psel "0", zt "1", sp "0" regardless of the flag and whether V>CP.
Therefore, the output THSEL of table 456 (FIG. 5)
becomes "1", and the video signal passes through and is output from the selector 416 in FIG.

When LOGIC is (001), psel changes depending on whether the flag is "0" or "1", as shown in FIG.
, zt, and sp are (000) or (11
0). When the flag is "0", psel is "0", so video is selected, but since zt is "0", the video output is also "0", and all outputs are "0". On the other hand, when the flag is "1", sp is "0", so the color palette is selected, and psel is "
1", the color palette value is output to select the palette, and THSEL is "0", so for example, if TSEL is "0", the part where the video data is larger than TH is the color palette value. If TSEL is "1", the character part is converted to a color palette value, and the character is colored.

Similarly, when LOGIC is (010), a colorless character is output, and when it is (011), a full color palette is output, and a video image is output only in the portion where the video data is larger than the color palette value. LOGIC (100
), the full color palette is used and the colors are converted to the colors corresponding to the color palette; in (101), colored text is added to the image; in (110), only the text is video, and the rest is colored. Become.

For example, when character data as shown in FIG. 10(a) is stored in memory and a document as shown in FIG. 10(b) is read and synthesized, LOGIC is (1
In the case of 01), the background is a video image and the foreground is a color palette, as shown in FIG. 9, which corresponds to the cases of, for example, FIGS. In the case of , the characters are colored and output on the background video image, and in the case of FIG. 10(d), the characters are synthesized within the area specified by the area generation signal,
f) is obtained by setting the color palette value of the character part to the white level. Also, in Figure 10(e), LOGIC is (
110), the background is a color palette, the foreground is video data, and the background part is obtained by setting the color palette density value to 0.

FIG. 11 shows an example in which there are multiple types of character data and this is combined with the original. By specifying the area for each character in FIG. 11(a), the data in FIG. 11(c) is displayed on the plain memory. Five areas are generated as shown in . Then, by reading the original in Figure 11(b) and composing the characters, for example, H is displayed in red on the image as shown in Figure 11(d).
In addition, it is possible to output an I in green in the blue area on the image, an image at the letter E, and an image other than the letter F.

That is, as shown in FIG.
CMD) is “0”, TSEL is “0”, LOGIC
is (000), CP is "0", FP is "0", and that part becomes white. Also, when the area signal is "1", TSEL is "1" and LOGIC is (101), and as shown in Figure 9, the background is a video image, the foreground is a color palette, and the color palette is red data. Therefore, the red letter H is overwritten on the image. When the area signal is “2”, TSEL is “1” and LOGIC is (
010), the background of the character composition area becomes the color palette, the foreground becomes the forepalette, and the green character I is overwritten on the blue area, as described above. Furthermore, for the area signal “3”, TSEL is “1”.
'', LOGIC is (110), so the text area is the image data and the non-text area is the color palette, and since the color palette value is 0, the image of the text portion E will be output. Also, for the area signal "4", TSEL is "1" and LOGIC is (101), so the image data is output as is except for the text area, and the color palette is output for the text area, and the color palette is 0. As a result, only the text portions become white, resulting in a copy output as shown in FIG. 11(d). Note that ESS in FIG. 12 is a control signal indicating whether the input to the color editing circuit is IIT or the setting from external memory, and as shown in FIG. 12, when it is (00), it is IIT.
This indicates that image data from .

[0037]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, image data read from IIT is stored as multivalued data,
Since this can be combined with image data, character synthesis can be performed in real time, and the area to be combined can be made into a free shape instead of a rectangular area, and the image memory can be Since it is sufficient to store the multivalued data as is, image data from external devices such as workstations and computers can be handled as is as data for character synthesis, and the character data to be synthesized can be shared. It is also possible to provide area signals for character synthesis from a separate counter or bitmap memory.
Characters can be synthesized anywhere on the manuscript, and by giving multiple bits of area signals and giving each one a different meaning, multiple edits can be made on one copy. Character synthesis is also part of this. It is possible to treat it as Furthermore, it is possible to select and output image data and color palette using a 1-bit character signal, so you can mask areas other than characters in the image read from the scanner, or pass image data through where the character signal is "0". It is also possible to perform processing such as replacing the image data with a color palette at "1".

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the device configuration of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating processing of read image data.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a color editing processing section.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing part of the configuration of color conversion and palette.

FIG. 6 is a detailed diagram of the selector control.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the function of a control signal of selector control.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating color conversion and palette input/output.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the function of a LOGIC control signal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram explaining character editing.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating editing when there are multiple characters.

12 is a diagram illustrating control signals in the editing of FIG. 11. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Storage means, 2...Comparison means, 3...Character synthesis means, 4...
Image reading means, 5... Color display coordinate system conversion means.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image reading means for reading image information, a conversion means for converting the read R, G, B image information into an (L, a, b) color display coordinate system consisting of luminance and color difference, and luminance information. a storage means for storing the character data as character data; a comparison means for comparing the character data read from the storage means with a threshold value and outputting the binary data; (L, a, b) A character synthesizing device comprising a character synthesizing circuit for synthesizing and editing image data converted into a color display coordinate system. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character configuration circuit converts the (L, a, b) color display coordinate system into a (V, H, C) color display coordinate system consisting of density, hue, and saturation. A character synthesizing device characterized by having a color conversion palette consisting of a conversion means for conversion, a forepalette, and a color palette, and editing color by handling image data in terms of density, hue, and saturation. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the character synthesis circuit replaces the image data with the value of the color palette when the binary data is 1, and replaces the image data with the value of the color palette when the binary data is 0. A character synthesizer that outputs data as is.