JP2000067211A - Device and method for processing image and computer readable storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten operating time by easily erasing an unwanted image included in source image data without generating the repeat image of a pattern included in a copy source image part. SOLUTION: Concerning this image processing method, the plural candidate points of a copy source pixel are designated and any one of these copy pixel candidates is selectively determined appropriately corresponding to the position change of a copy destination pixel. Namely, corresponding to the change of the copy destination pixel to 201, 211, 221 and 231, four pieces of first to fourth copy sources 200, 210, 220 and 230 are defined as the selected copy source pixel and pixel copy processing is respectively performed. Thus, the delicate image pattern around the copy source pixel is not moved to any copy destination image part through simple operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to image processing, and more particularly to a pixel copy processing function for correcting or designing a natural image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a photograph image used for a print original image, it may be necessary to remove unnecessary wires and persons in the case of a landscape photograph, and to remove skin stains and the like in the case of a portrait photograph.
In such a case, these photographic images are often digitized by a scanner or the like, input to an image processing apparatus, and subjected to a so-called pixel copy process of filling an erasure target portion with peripheral pixels. For example, in the `` mountain landscape photograph '', high-voltage towers and electric wires on the hillside of the mountain are shown, and if these are unnecessary, the image of the surrounding forest is subjected to pixel copy processing for the high-voltage tower and electric wires, An image from which unnecessary images have been deleted can be obtained.

[0003]

However, in the conventional pixel copy process, as shown in FIG. 9, the copy process is performed while maintaining the relative positional relationship between one copy source pixel region and the copy destination pixel region constant. Therefore, a delicate image pattern around the original pixel is transferred to the copy destination image portion, and a natural erase result may not be obtained. In order to avoid this, the operator has to frequently re-designate the copy source pixel and change the relative positional relationship between the copy source and the copy destination. Therefore, in addition to requiring a troublesome operation and extra time, the actual situation is that a sufficiently natural result image cannot be obtained because the operation is manually performed.

[0004] The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional pixel copy processing.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a method in which a pixel value of a first pixel area as a copy source on an image to be processed is converted into a second pixel area as a copy destination. In an image processing apparatus that performs overwriting or synthesizing processing, means for determining a second pixel area, means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas, and one first pixel from the two or more first pixel candidate areas Means for determining an area; and means for overwriting or synthesizing each determined pixel value in the area of the first pixel area in the second pixel area while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus for overwriting a pixel value of a first pixel area which is a copy source on a processing target image with a second pixel area which is a copy destination.
Means for determining a second pixel area, means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas corresponding to the relative positional relationship with the second pixel area, and each of the two or more first pixel candidate areas Means for determining the order for each pixel region and determining it as the first pixel region, and overwriting or overwriting each pixel value in the determined first pixel region in the second pixel region while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the region in the second pixel region. Means for performing synthesis processing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, in the "two or more first pixel candidate area determining means", two or more first pixel candidate areas are designated from the designated first pixel designated area. There is means for determining one pixel candidate area.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus of the first or second aspect, the "two or more first pixel candidate area determining means" selects the first pixel candidate area based on a designated condition. And means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas from within the selection range.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area which is a copy source on an image to be processed on a second pixel area which is a copy destination. The step of determining two pixel areas, the step of determining two or more first pixel candidate areas, and the step of determining one first pixel area from the two or more first pixel candidate areas,
Overwriting or synthesizing each determined pixel value in the first pixel area in the second pixel area while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area.

In addition, in the invention according to claim 6, a computer readable program storing a program for causing a computer to perform image processing of overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area on an image to be processed on a second pixel area. Determining a second pixel region, determining two or more first pixel candidate regions, and determining one first pixel region from the two or more first pixel candidate regions. And a step of overwriting or synthesizing the determined pixel values in the first pixel area in the second pixel area while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 1 can perform a so-called pixel copy process on a peripheral image on an unnecessary image area in order to delete a part of the unnecessary image of the processing target image.
Here, the pixel copy process refers to an image process in which the pixel value of the specified original pixel region is overwritten on the specified copy destination image region of the same shape while maintaining the pixel correspondence between the two pixel regions. The normal pixel area is determined by the shape of the operation brush.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing apparatus 1 has a configuration utilizing a normal computer system. The image processing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 11 that executes various arithmetic instructions,
A memory 12 for storing programs and the like, a dedicated image memory 13 for storing an image to be subjected to pixel copy processing, a fixed disk 14 serving as a non-volatile storage area, a display unit 15 such as a display, an operator such as a mouse, a keyboard, and a digitizer. An operation instruction unit 16 for performing operation instructions; and a reading unit 17 for reading programs and various information from the storage medium 9
To the bus line 1 via an interface as appropriate.
8 is connected.

The memory 12 serves as a work area for the CPU 11, and also serves as an area for storing copy operation designation information necessary for the operation of the pixel copy process. CPU
Reference numeral 11 denotes the copy operation designation information and an operation instruction unit 1 described later.
Based on the copy destination position information from step 6, arithmetic processing necessary for required pixel copy processing is performed.

The program 21 is stored in the fixed disk 14 from the storage medium 9 via the reading unit 17, and is read into the memory 12 when the program 21 is executed. The storage medium 9 includes a magnetic disk, an optical disk,
This is a so-called removable storage medium such as a magneto-optical disk, and is mainly used for transferring the program 21 from another computer to the image processing apparatus.

The fixed disk 14 stores image data to be subjected to pixel copy processing and the above-mentioned program in the storage medium 9.
Is used as a storage medium for reading the image data into the image processing apparatus 1.

The display unit 15 displays the image to be processed in order to indicate to the operator which part of the image to be processed, and whether the result of the specified pixel copy processing is good or not. Is displayed after the processing to make the operator confirm.

The operation instructing section 16 is a portion for receiving an operator's operation instruction required for performing the pixel copy processing, and is constituted by an operation input device such as a mouse, a keyboard, a digitizer or a stylus pen.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image processing apparatus 1 in terms of functions. That is, the CPU 11 operates according to the program 21 to play the role of each component shown in FIG.

The management unit 31 manages the execution of the entire pixel copy process according to the present invention, and performs mutual information exchange and execution instructions with the respective function units described below.

The copy operation designating section 32 is a functional section for setting the conditions of the pixel copy process. Specifically, the operator designates the brush shape, the operation mode, the copy source pixel area, etc. by the operation instructing section 16. Is a functional unit that receives and interprets this designation information. Here, the “brush shape” generally refers to the outer shape of a pixel area of a copy source and a copy destination, but in the case of a pixel copy further including blur, what percentage of image information is taken in from a copy source pixel and corresponds. A coefficient value (hereinafter referred to as “brush transmission coefficient”) that determines whether to perform watermark synthesis on the copy destination pixel is given to each corresponding pixel in the brush. The “operation mode” is information for determining which pixel copy process to select from among several embodiments described later. Further, “designation of a copy source pixel area” includes one case and a plurality of cases according to an embodiment described later. These designation information are stored in the memory 12 as copy operation designation information 22.
It is referred to as appropriate when the subsequent pixel copy processing is executed.

The copy destination pixel area position determining section 33 obtains the position information of the copy destination pixel area specified by the operator using a pointing device such as a mouse or a digitizer of the operation instructing section 16, and obtains a pixel writing coordinate value.

The copy source pixel area determination unit 34 calculates a plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas from one copy source pixel designated area, and calculates a plurality of calculated copy source pixel candidate areas in accordance with an embodiment to be described later. One copy source pixel area is determined from the area.

The display unit 15 displays the image 40 to be processed, is used by an operator to specify a portion to be subjected to pixel copy processing, and is referred to for specifying positions on the image such as a copy source pixel region and a copy destination pixel region. You. It is also used to check the status after processing.

The copy processing unit 35 is a functional unit that actually performs pixel copy processing of an image to be processed based on the above-described pixel copy conditions, and displays the processing result on the display unit 15. In the processing process, part or all of the processing target image is stored in the image memory 13 and the CPU 1
1 processes based on the program 21.

The configuration of the image processing apparatus for performing the pixel copy processing has been described above. Next, the flow of the entire pixel copy processing using this image processing apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an outline of the flow of the operation of the image processing apparatus 1 and the work of the operator.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operator first specifies a copy operation (S1) while referring to the processing target image 40 displayed on the display unit 15 by the management unit 31. Here, a brush shape, an operation mode, a copy source pixel area, and the like, which are conditions for pixel copy processing, are specified. The designated information is decrypted and converted by the copy operation designation unit 32, and is stored in the memory 12 as the copy operation designation information 22 via the management unit.

Next, in S2, the operator designates the position of the copy destination by the operation instructing section 16, and the copy destination pixel area position detecting section 33 obtains the coordinate value of the copy destination pixel area based on the information. This function is realized by the copy destination pixel area position determination unit 33 described above.

In S3, based on the operation mode, the position coordinates of the copy destination pixel area obtained in S2, and other conditions,
A plurality of copy source pixel candidate regions are determined, and in S4, one copy source pixel region is determined from the plurality of copy source pixel candidate regions. These functions are realized by the above-described copy source pixel area determination unit 34.

The management unit 31 instructs the copy processing unit 35 to perform a pixel copy process corresponding to the condition given in S5, and causes the display unit 15 to display the processing result.

The operator confirms the display of the processing result and determines whether or not the pixel copy processing is completed in S6. If not, the operator designates the next copy destination pixel area by the operation instruction section 16 in S2. . Hereinafter, by repeating this process, the pixel copy process of the required image range is executed.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a first embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "Embodiment 1"). In the first embodiment, a plurality of copy source pixel areas are designated on a processing target image (hereinafter, this is referred to as a “copy source pixel designated area”).
These are referred to as copy source pixel candidate areas. In the following description, in order to clarify the description, after the copy destination position is given based on the “copy source pixel designated area” (the copy source pixel area designated in S1) (ie, in step S3). A “copy source pixel candidate area” is calculated. Thereafter, one "copy pixel area" is finally determined (at S4) from the "copy source pixel candidate area". In the first embodiment, since the “copy source pixel candidate area” matches the “copy source pixel designation area” even if the copy destination position changes, both are given the same numbers in FIG.

In FIG. 4, three copy source pixel designation areas 100, 110 and 120 are given as an example. In this embodiment, when the copy destination pixel area is given by a curve 130 (corresponding to a locus curve sequentially specified by an operator using a mouse or the like), adjacent copy destination pixel areas 101 and 11 are provided.
1 and 121, the copy source pixel candidate area 1
The pixel data of 00, 110, and 120 are sequentially selected as the copy source pixel area and copied. Thereafter, each time the copy destination position changes to 102, 112, 122, etc., the copy source pixel candidate areas 100, 110, 120 in the same adjacent order.
Are sequentially copied. That is, in the first embodiment,
Unlike the conventional pixel copy processing (shown in FIG. 9), the positions of the plurality of pixel regions given as the copy source are fixed regardless of the change in the copy destination position. This prevents the image around the copy source pixel area from being transferred to the copy destination image as it is.

The specific processing procedure of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Operator is an example in S1
The operation mode and brush shape corresponding to 1 and the position information of the three copy source pixel designation areas shown in FIG. 4 are given. S
In FIG. 3, the copy source pixel candidate areas are 100 and 11 in FIG.
Since it is fixed to three of 0 and 120, it is not necessary to determine a candidate area. In S4, the copy source pixel area determination unit 34 sequentially changes the three copy source pixel candidate areas (ie, 100, 110, and 100) in accordance with the change in the copy destination position.
(In the order of 120) is determined as a copy destination pixel area. Other processes in steps S2, S5, and S6 are the same as those described in the embodiment.

<Second Embodiment> FIGS. 5 and 6 are views for explaining the concept of a second embodiment (hereinafter, referred to as "second embodiment") of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment in that a plurality of copy source pixel designation areas are provided. However, the copy source pixel designation area initially given corresponds to the case where the copy destination position changes according to the operation. Therefore, the pixel candidate area is relatively changed. Note that the method of determining one copy destination pixel area from these candidate areas is that the first embodiment is selected in order corresponding to adjacent copy destination pixel areas.
Is the same as

In FIG. 5, four copy source pixel candidate areas 200, 210, 220, and 230 are designated as an example. In the second embodiment, while maintaining the relative positional relationship between these candidate areas and the copy destination position (in this regard, the same relationship as in the conventional pixel copy process), these copies are changed by the change in the copy destination position. The original pixel candidate area also changes the relative position.

FIG. 6 shows the relationship. That is, if the copy source pixel area corresponding to the copy destination position 201 is 200, at the copy destination position 203 where the first copy source is the next copy source pixel area, the actual copy source pixel area moves to 202. I have. Here, pixel regions 200 and 202
Are relative to the copy destination pixel areas 201 and 203.
Coincides with the relative positional relationship. That is, a curve 249 which is a locus curve of a point designated as a copy destination position by the operator.
Is the locus curve 209 obtained as the first copy source,
It has the same shape as the locus curve 219 and the like obtained as the second copy source, and has a relationship of overlapping if it moves in parallel.

Next, a method of determining one copy source pixel area from these four copy source pixel candidate areas will be described with reference to FIG. 2 on the locus curve 249 of the copy destination position
01, 211, 221, 231, 203, 213, etc.
These are adjacent copy destination pixel areas, and are selected in order from the first copy source to the fourth copy source as shown by the broken line in the figure. This prevents the image around the source pixel area from being transferred to the destination image as it is.

The specific processing procedure of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operator is the second embodiment in S1.
And the brush shape, and the first to fourth copy source pixel designation areas 200, 210, 220, 2
30 is given corresponding to the original copy destination position 240. Then, in S3, the four copy source pixels 200, 210, 220, and 230, which are the first to fourth copy source pixel areas initially specified, the original copy destination position 240, and the new copy destination position (eg, 203) are used. Pixel candidate area 202,
212, 222, and 232 are obtained. Next, in S4,
The next copy source pixel area is determined based on the selection order relationship of the first to fourth copy source pixel areas (first in the order of next to second). Other processes in steps S2, S5, and S6 are the same as those described in the embodiment.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the concept of a third embodiment (hereinafter, referred to as "third embodiment") of the present invention. In the third embodiment, one copy source pixel designation area is designated. A plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas are calculated from the relationship between the designated area and the copy destination position, and the plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas are calculated in response to a change in the copy destination position. One copy source pixel area is determined from the copy source pixel candidate areas.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the copy source pixel designation area 3 as an example.
In contrast to 00, when the copy destination position 301 is given, the copy source pixel candidate area corresponding to 301 becomes 300. At this point, the copy operation is the same as the conventional method of FIG. When the next copy destination position 303 is given,
Copy source pixel designation area 300 and first copy destination position 30
From 1 and the current copy destination position 303, two copy source pixel candidate areas 302 and 304 are calculated. (That is, the region 302 is copied from the copy source pixel designation region 300 based on the same positional relationship as the relative position change between the copy destination positions 301 and 303.
Based on Next, the area 304 is obtained from the symmetric positional relationship of the area 302 with respect to the current copy destination position 303. And finally one copy source pixel area 304 is determined,
Copy processing is performed at the position 303. As shown in FIG. 7, by repeating these processes, an area on the locus curve 330 of the first copy source and a locus curve 3 of the second copy source are obtained.
By alternately extracting the copy source pixel region from the region on 40 and performing pixel copy processing on the copy destination locus curve 350, the image around the copy source pixel region is prevented from being directly transferred to the copy destination image. .

The specific processing procedure of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The operator is the third embodiment in S1.
And the brush shape and the position information of one copy source pixel designation area. In S3, a plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas are calculated from the copy source pixel designated area, the first copy destination position, and the current copy destination position. In this case, in the embodiment of FIG. 7, an area having a symmetrical relationship with the current copy destination position area is set as the copy source pixel candidate area. However, a plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas may be obtained based on other functional relationships. Next, in S4, one copy source pixel area is determined from the plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas. Other processes in steps S2, S5, and S6 are the same as those described in the embodiment.

<Fourth Embodiment> FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a specific example of the concept of a fourth embodiment (hereinafter, referred to as "Embodiment 4") of the present invention. Embodiment 4 is different from the previous embodiments in that the copy source pixel designation area is not specified, and instead a condition necessary for determining the copy source pixel area is given.
The specific copy source pixel area is determined by calculation based on the given conditions and the current copy destination position information.

In the specific embodiment of FIG. 8, the copy source center point 400 is used as a condition for determining the copy source pixel area.
And a radius 470 indicating the selection range of the copy source pixel candidate area
Is specified in correspondence with the copy destination position 401. In addition, a condition indicating which pixel region in the selection range of the copy source pixel candidate region is to be selected, for example, a condition such as “select randomly from within the selection range” is given.

When a new copy destination position is given based on these conditions, the copy source pixel area determination unit 34 determines a copy source pixel area in the following procedure. When the given copy destination position is 411, a point 410 at which the relative positional relationship between the position 401 and the point 400 is equal is first obtained. Next, a circular area 412 having a radius 470 centered on the point 410 is obtained. Next, assuming the distance r from the center of the circle and its argument θ (both not shown), two numerical values a and b standardized within the range of 0 to 1 are determined from a random number table, The specific distance r1 from the center and its declination θ1 are determined from the random number value of. The calculation formula at that time is as follows. r1 = a × (length of radius 470) θ1 = b × 2π Pixel region 41 centered on a point corresponding to r1 and θ1
3 is determined as the copy source pixel area for the copy destination position 411. Note that the method of determining r1 and θ1 is not limited to the above method. By dispersing the copy source pixel area by the above processing, the image around the copy source pixel area is prevented from being transferred to the copy destination image as it is.

Next, the specific processing procedure of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In S1, the operator gives the operation mode and the brush shape corresponding to the fourth embodiment, and the above-mentioned "conditions for determining the copy source pixel area". Then, in S3, the selection range (circle 412) of the copy source pixel candidate area with respect to the copy destination position (for example, 411) is calculated.
Further, in S4, one copy source pixel area within the selection range is determined based on the method described above. Step S other than these
The processing in 2, S5, and S6 is the same as that described in the embodiment.

<Modifications> Although the above-described embodiments have been specifically limited in FIGS. 4 to 8 in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, these are merely examples, and Similar means / methods fall within the scope of the present invention.

That is, the number of copy source pixel designation areas in the first and second embodiments is limited to three in the first embodiment and four in the second embodiment. However, the present invention is limited to these numbers. Not something.

In the third embodiment, the plurality of copy source pixel candidate areas are determined as two areas symmetrical with respect to the copy destination position. However, this can also be determined by an arbitrary position determination function relation. It is possible and an invention defined by such a functional relationship is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, a method is adopted in which the selection range of the copy source pixel candidate area is given by a circle and the pixel area within the circle is randomly selected. It is within the technical scope of the present invention if selection is made by a certain method from an area having another functional relationship in order to prevent an image around the area from being transferred as it is.

[0050]

According to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the operator can obtain a simple and high-quality copied image in the subsequent pixel copy operation only by first giving a simple setting instruction. As a result, the unnecessary image included in the original image data can be easily deleted without generating a repeated image of the pattern included in the copy source image portion. This shortens the operation time.

According to the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, the operator can obtain a more random copy source image only by setting the first pixel candidate area as a copy source or simple conditions. Thus, a higher quality post-copy image can be obtained more easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment from a functional aspect.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a flow of a pixel copy process corresponding to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram specifically illustrating the concept of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an actual example of a copy source pixel designation area according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram specifically illustrating the concept of a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram specifically illustrating the concept of a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram specifically illustrating the concept of a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a conventional pixel copy process.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image processing device 9 removable storage medium such as FD 11 CPU 12 memory 13 image memory 14 fixed disk 15 display unit 16 operation instruction unit 17 reading unit 21 program 22 copy operation designation information 31 management unit 32 copy operation designation unit 33 copy destination pixel Area position determination unit 34 Copy source pixel region determination unit 35 Copy processing unit 40 Processing target image 100 First copy source 101 in the first embodiment 101 Copy destination in the first embodiment 102 Copy destination in the first embodiment 110 Second copy source 111 according to one embodiment 111 Copy destination according to the first embodiment 112 Copy destination according to the first embodiment 120 Third copy source 101 according to the first embodiment 101 Copy destination 102 according to the first embodiment 102 First Copy destination in the first embodiment 130 Copy in the first embodiment Locus curve 200 First copy source 201 in second embodiment 201 Copy destination to first copy source in second embodiment 209 Locus curve of first copy source in second embodiment 202 Second copy source in second embodiment One copy source 203 The copy destination for the first copy source in the second embodiment 210 The second copy source 211 in the second embodiment 211 The copy destination for the second copy source in the second embodiment 219 The second in the second embodiment Trajectory curve of two copy source 212 Second copy source 213 in second embodiment Copy destination to second copy source in second embodiment 220 Third copy source 221 in second embodiment Second copy source 221 in second embodiment Copy destination for three copy sources 229 Locus curve of third copy source in second embodiment 230 Fourth copy in second embodiment Origin 231 Copy destination for fourth copy source in the second embodiment 239 Locus curve of fourth copy source in the second embodiment 249 Locus curve of copy destination in the second embodiment 300 One copy source 301 Copy destination in the third embodiment 302 First copy source 303 in the third embodiment Copy destination 304 in the third embodiment 304 Second copy source 305 in the third embodiment 305 First copy source 306 Copy destination in the third embodiment 307 Second copy source 330 in the third embodiment 330 Trace path curve of the first copy source in the third embodiment 340 The second copy source in the third embodiment Locus curve 350 Copy destination locus curve 400 in the third embodiment 400 The center position of the circle which is the designated condition 401 The copy destination 402 in the fourth embodiment 402 The circle which is the selection range of the copy source pixel candidate region in the fourth embodiment 403 The determined copy source pixel region 410 in the fourth embodiment A center position 411 of the circle which is a condition for the selection range of the copy source pixel candidate region in the fourth embodiment 411 A copy destination 412 in the fourth embodiment 412 A circle 413 which is a selection range of the copy source pixel candidate region in the fourth embodiment Copy source pixel area determined in the fourth embodiment

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image processing apparatus for overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area on an image to be processed on a second pixel area, comprising: (1) means for determining a second pixel area;
(2) means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas;
(3) means for determining one first pixel area from the two or more first pixel candidate areas; and (4) converting each pixel value in the determined first pixel area into a second pixel area. Means for overwriting or synthesizing while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area 2. An image processing apparatus for overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area on an image to be processed on a second pixel area, comprising: (1) means for determining a second pixel area;
(2) means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas corresponding to the relative positional relationship with the second pixel area;
(3) means for determining the order of the two or more first pixel candidate areas as a first pixel area by determining an order for each pixel area;
(4) An image, comprising: means for overwriting or synthesizing each pixel value in the determined first pixel area in the second pixel area while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area in the second pixel area. Processing method. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining two or more first pixel candidate areas from the specified first pixel specified area. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pixel value of the first pixel area is overwritten or combined with the second pixel area. 4. A means (2) of the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: means for determining a selection range of the first pixel candidate area based on a designated condition; 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for determining one pixel candidate area, wherein the pixel value of the first pixel area is overwritten or combined with the second pixel area. 5. An image processing method for overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area on an image to be processed with a second pixel area, wherein (1) a step of determining a second pixel area;
(2) determining two or more first pixel candidate areas;
(3) determining one first pixel area from the two or more first pixel candidate areas; and (4) assigning each pixel value in the determined first pixel area to a second pixel area. Overwriting or synthesizing while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the inner pixels. 6. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for causing a computer to perform image processing for overwriting or synthesizing a pixel value of a first pixel area on a processing target image on a second pixel area is provided. 1) a step of determining a second pixel area; (2) a step of determining two or more first pixel candidate areas; and (3) a first pixel area from the two or more first pixel candidate areas. Determining and at least executing (4) overwriting or synthesizing each pixel value in the determined first pixel area in the second pixel area while maintaining the relative positional relationship of the pixels in the area. Computer-readable recording medium characterized by the following: