JP2000182045A - Method and picture for processing picture, picture processing system and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily execute an effective illustration working processing worthy of being called an illustration with bright gradation to picture data by setting a recording medium recording the program code of picture processing to be a medium forming a picture obtained by emphasizing a contour part, reducing the number of gradations and increasing brightness. SOLUTION: After a program code read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided for a function expanding board inserted to a computer and a function expanding unit connected to the computer, a CPU, etc., provided for the function expanding board and the function expanding unit executes a part or all of actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. According to the content of brightness setting in a set illustration mode, a little dark (S82), normal (S83) and a little bright (S84) filters are set. Then, filter processing (S85) of an original picture is executed based on the set filter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus for processing an original image, and an image processing system.
And a recording medium.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras and photo scanners, digitization of photographic images has become easy. In addition, the output devices such as inkjet printers have also been improved in image quality and reduced in price,
For example, a general user can easily output a photograph on paper at home.

Therefore, in an apparatus capable of performing image processing such as a personal computer, for example, a user performs desired processing on an image captured by a digital camera by a predetermined application, and outputs the processing result by an ink jet printer. Became commonplace.

A process called posterization is disclosed in JP-A-1-314389, and illustration-type processes are described in JP-A-3-91088 and JP-A-3-91087.
No. has been proposed.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional image processing apparatus, for example, in order to process a photographic image into an illustration, an edge portion of the photographic image is extracted for an application for performing the processing. Further, the colors of the respective parts were filled with the same color as the original image. Further, it is necessary for the user to set various parameters such as the edge extraction and the filling color in detail.

Therefore, there is still room for improvement in image quality in order to obtain an illustration-like image. In addition, the setting operation is not only complicated, but also requires the skill of the user to perform appropriate setting, and is a difficult operation for ordinary users.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems individually or completely, and an image processing method and apparatus and an image processing method capable of easily performing effective illustration processing on image data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing system, a recording medium, and a medium on which an image subjected to a novel process like an illustration is formed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an image processing method and apparatus, an image processing system, and a recording medium that enable a user to easily set details of illustration processing.

[0008]

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image processing method includes the following steps.

That is, the first image is processed such that the first signal obtained by extracting the outline of the first image and the first image are processed so as to increase the brightness by reducing the number of gradations. A processing step of processing the image into a second image based on the second signal.

For example, in the processing step, the first signal and the second signal are simultaneously generated as the second image.

For example, the processing step is characterized in that the first and second signals are generated by performing a filtering process on the first image by a predetermined filter.

For example, the predetermined filter is characterized in that the sum of coefficients in the filter is positive.

For example, the predetermined filter is characterized in that the sum of coefficients in the filter is 2.

For example, the predetermined filter is 5 pixels ×
It is characterized in that it is a 5-pixel filter.

Further, in the medium of the present invention, the outline is emphasized,
The medium is a medium on which an image with reduced number of gradations and increased brightness is formed.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment System Configuration FIG. 1 shows an example of a system according to the present embodiment. A printer 105 such as an ink jet printer and a monitor 106 are connected to the host computer 100.

The host computer 100 includes application software 101 such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, and an Internet browser, and an operating system (OS).
ngSystem) 102, a printer driver 103 that processes various drawing commands (image drawing command, text drawing command, graphics drawing command) indicating an output image issued by the application 101 to the OS 102, and creates print data, and the application 101
The software has a monitor driver 104 that processes various drawing command groups issued by the PC and displays the result on the monitor 106. Reference numeral 112 denotes an instruction input device; and 113, a device driver for the instruction input device. For example, by instructing various information displayed on the monitor 106, the OS 102
A mouse for performing various instructions is connected. Note that a pointing device such as a trackball, a pen, or a touch panel, or a keyboard may be provided instead of the mouse.

The host computer 100 includes a central processing unit CPU 108, a hard disk HD 107, a random access memory RAM 109, a read only memory ROM 110, and the like as various hardware on which the software can operate. As an example of the image processing system shown in FIG.
Mi-PC-AT compatible personal computer
A form in which a desired application capable of performing printing is installed using Windows 98 of Microsoft Corporation as an OS, and a monitor and a printer are connected is considered.

In the host computer 100, based on the display image displayed on the monitor, the application 10
In step 1, output image data is created using text data classified as text such as characters, graphics data classified as graphics such as figures, image image data classified as natural images, and the like. When printing out the output image data, the application 101 issues a print output request to the OS 102, and the graphics data portion is a graphics drawing command, and the image image data portion is a drawing command indicating an output image composed of an image drawing command. The group is issued to the OS 102. OS
102 receives an output request from an application and issues a drawing command group to a printer driver 103 corresponding to the output printer. The printer driver 103 processes a print request and a drawing command group input from the OS 102, creates print data printable by the printer 105, and transfers the print data to the printer 105. When the printer 105 is a raster printer, the printer driver 103 sequentially performs image correction processing in response to a drawing command from the OS, and sequentially executes RGB2
After rasterizing into a 4-bit page memory and rasterizing all drawing commands, the contents of the RGB 24-bit page memory are converted into a data format printable by the printer 105, for example, CMYK data, and transferred to the printer 105.

In the host computer 100, a digital camera 111 for photographing a subject and generating image data in the RGB format is connected, and the photographed image data can be read and stored in the HD 107. The image data captured by the digital camera 111 is encoded in the JPEG format. Then, the photographed image data is used as the above-described image image data.
After decoding in the printer driver 103, it is of course possible to transfer the data to the printer 105.

Printer Printer Processing The processing performed by the printer driver 103 will be described with reference to FIG.

The printer driver 103 performs image correction processing and processing described later in the image correction processing unit 120 on the color information of the image drawing command included in the drawing command group input from the OS 102. Printer correction processor 12
1 first rasterizes a drawing command according to the processed color information, and generates dot image data on an RGB 24-bit page memory. Then, a masking process, a gamma correction process, a quantization process, and the like according to the color reproducibility of the printer are performed on each pixel, and CMYK data depending on printer characteristics is generated and transferred to the printer 105.

Next, the image processing performed by the image correction processing section 120 on the original image indicated by the image drawing command will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The following processing is not performed on the original image indicated by the graphics drawing command or the text drawing command. It is assumed that the original image is stored in a predetermined area in the RAM 109, for example.

The image correction processing unit 120 according to the present embodiment is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), if the original image is data encoded by JPEG or the like, it is decoded (S20, S21). Then, after performing the histogram creation processing (S22) and the image correction processing (S23) according to the histogram, the illustration processing (S24) according to the histogram is performed.

The image that has been subjected to the illustration processing is output to the printer 105 as printable data via the printer correction processing unit 121, and is printed out on a recording medium.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the histogram creation processing shown in step S22.

In FIG. 4, when a routine for creating a luminance histogram of an original image is entered in S1, a selection ratio of pixels used for creating a luminance histogram is determined from pixels of the original image in S2. In the present embodiment, the image data to be processed is 35
If there are 10,000 pixels, target all pixels (selection ratio 1 (or 1
00%)).
When image data having 350,000 pixels or more is input, pixel selection (sampling) is performed according to the ratio of the total number of pixels to 350,000 pixels. For example, if image data of 3.5 million pixels is input, the selection ratio is 35
0,000 / 350,000 = 10, and a luminance histogram is created at a ratio of 1 pixel to 10 pixels (selection ratio 10 (or 10%)). In the present embodiment, the selection ratio n is obtained by the following equation.

N = int (total number of pixels of target image data /
(However, when n <1, n = 1 and n is a positive number) Subsequently, the counter for managing the line number is reset or set to a predetermined initial value in S3, and the counter is reset in S4. The line number of the line of interest is incremented.

In this embodiment, pixel thinning (sampling) is performed in units of lines.
If the remainder obtained by dividing the line number by n is 0, the pixels belonging to that line are selected as processing targets (S5-
YES). For example, in the case of a selection ratio of 10, when the remainder obtained by dividing the line number by 10 is 0, the line of interest that selects pixels belonging to that line as processing targets is thinned out, that is, it is not a processing target. If it is a line, the process returns to S4. S6 for the line to be processed
And sequentially focuses attention on the pixels belonging to the line of interest, and performs luminance conversion and chromaticity conversion on the pixel of interest. The luminance conversion and the chromaticity conversion in the present embodiment are performed by the following equations. The luminance and chromaticity conversions are not limited to the following equations, and various equations can be used.

Y (luminance) = int (0.30R + 0.5
9G + 0.11B) (Y is a positive number) C1 (chromaticity) = RY C2 (chromaticity) = BY In the present embodiment, the detection accuracy of the white position (highlight point) and the black position (shadow point) In order to improve the saturation, the saturation S of the pixel of interest is calculated by the following equation, and it is determined whether the saturation S is larger than a predetermined saturation value (Sconst) (Sconst).
7) If it is large, the information of the pixel is not reflected on the luminance histogram.

Saturation S = sqrt (C1 ^ 2 + C2 ^ 2) Here, sqrt (x) is a function that gives the square root of x, and x ^ y represents x to the power of y.

That is, if (S> Sconst), S
6, the data of the target pixel is not reflected in the subsequent processing. This is because the saturation of the white position is given by the average saturation of a group of high-brightness pixels, and the saturation value is an error caused by color cast. It is better to exclude from the calculation of. The effect of this processing will be described with a specific example. For example, for a yellow pixel (R = G = 255, B = 0), the luminance Y is 226 and the saturation S is 227 from the above equation. That is, it can be seen that this pixel has extremely high luminance and a sufficiently high color saturation. In many cases, such a pixel is less likely to be mistakenly determined to be a yellow pixel than to be determined to be such as a result of an achromatic pixel being colored to yellow.
If such high-luminance / high-saturation pixels are included in the luminance histogram, an error occurs in the detected white position. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a predetermined saturation (Sconst) is determined, and pixels having a saturation exceeding the predetermined saturation are not included in the luminance histogram. By doing so, it is possible to prevent an error from occurring in the white position detected by the high-saturation pixels, and to improve the accuracy of the white position.

In the present embodiment, the process in step S7 may be omitted if only the average density of the image is detected as described later.

As described above, after the determination in S7, a luminance histogram is created for pixels that satisfy the condition (S ≦ Sconst) (S8). Here, since the pixel data RGB handled in this embodiment is 8-bit (256 gradation) data, the luminance Y is also converted to a depth of 256. Therefore, the luminance histogram can be obtained by counting the number of pixels of each luminance value in 256 levels from 0 to 255.

The calculated values of the chromaticities C1 and C2 can be used as data for calculating an average chromaticity of a pixel having each luminance value at the time of correction processing such as color fogging. Therefore, in this embodiment, data is held as follows. That is, in the form of a structure array variable in which the range of the index is 0 to 255, three members of frequency, C1 cumulative value, and C2 cumulative value are set, and the calculation result for each pixel is set to the luminance value of that pixel. Reflect on each member.

When the processing has been completed for the pixel of interest, it is determined whether or not the processing for all the pixels of the line of interest has been completed (S
9) If unprocessed pixels remain in the line of interest, S
6, and repeat the processing from S6. When the processing of all the pixels in the target line is completed, it is determined in S10 whether an unprocessed line remains. If all the lines have been completed, the processing ends in S11. If an unprocessed line remains, the processing returns to S4. The line of interest is moved to the next line, and the above processing is repeated.

As described above, the luminance histogram is created while selecting the pixels of the original image data, so that the accuracy at the time of detecting the white position and the black position as information for image correction can be obtained with the minimum necessary number of pixels. The luminance histogram can be created in consideration of the improvement of the luminance.

Image Correction Processing Next, in step S23 of FIG. 3, an image correction processing is performed on the original image based on the luminance histogram obtained in step S22. For example, a white position and a black position of an original image are detected based on a luminance histogram, and based on the detected positions, for example, a color cast correction for correcting a color cast of the original image, and a luminance contrast correction for optimizing exposure of the original image are performed. Image correction processing such as exposure correction to be performed and saturation correction for improving the color appearance of the output image. Since a well-known method can be used for these image correction processes, a detailed description is omitted here.

● Illustration processing Next, in step S24 of FIG.
The illustration processing based on the luminance histogram obtained in step S22 is performed on the original image corrected in step.
The present embodiment is characterized in that, for example, an illustration processing for processing an original image captured by the digital camera 111 into an image having a hand-drawn illustration-like texture is performed.

In the present invention, the correction process described in step S23 may be omitted.

Hereinafter, illustration processing in this embodiment will be described in detail.

First, the principle of the illustration processing in this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, 5 pixels × 5 pixels satisfying a predetermined condition with respect to the original image (hereinafter, referred to as 5 pixels × 5 pixels)
By performing a filtering process using a filter of simply 5 × 5), an edge of the image can be extracted and processed into an image in which the color is preserved. FIG. 5 shows an example of this filter. For example, an image shown in FIG. 6C is obtained by performing a filtering process using the filter 40 shown in FIG. 5 on the original image shown in FIG. 6A. According to FIG. 6C, the outline of the original image, which is a photographic image, is extracted, the number of gradations is reduced, and the brightness is further increased. It can be seen that the image has been processed. FIG. 6A
Is PowerSho, a digital camera from Canon Inc.
Photographed by tA5 (registered trademark), the number of pixels is 810,000.

Here, a filter for realizing the illustration processing of this embodiment will be described.

As a filter for extracting an edge from an image, for example, a Laplacian filter is known. In general, in a Laplacian filter, a coefficient (weight) of a pixel of interest located at the center thereof is set to be larger than that of a surrounding pixel, so that a density change point in an image,
That is, the edge can be extracted. Normally, the sum of the coefficients in the Laplacian filter for edge extraction is “0”.

As a filter for illustration processing (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "filter") in the present embodiment, for example, as described above, the filter 40 shown in FIG. 5 is appropriate. Filter. In the filter 40, the coefficient of the pixel of interest is set to "26", and all the surrounding coefficients are set to "-1", so that the total sum is "2".

In the present embodiment, the above-described processing for applying a filter for illustration processing to each of the RGB planes is performed. Therefore, since the data is primary color data, the lightness increases as the numerical value of the data increases.

The filter according to the present embodiment is not limited to the filter 40 shown in FIG. 5 as long as the sum of its coefficients is 0 or more. FIG. 7 shows another example of the filter. FIG. 7A shows a filter 6 in which the coefficient of the target pixel in the filter 40 is reduced by 1 to “25”.
1, (b) of FIG. 7 shows a filter 62 in which the coefficient of the pixel of interest in the filter 40 is added by 1 to be “27”. The image after the filter processing by the filter 61 is darker than that in the case of the filter 40, and the image after the filter processing by the filter 62 is brighter than that in the case of the filter 40. Therefore, if the filter 40 is a normal filter based on the characteristics of each processing result, the filter 6
Numerals 1 and 62 are a dark filter and a bright filter, respectively.

FIG. 7C shows a filter 63 in which the surrounding coefficients of the target pixel in the filter 40 are thinned out. In order to keep the sum of the coefficients at “2”, the coefficient of the target pixel is also set to “18”. Is set. According to the filter processing by the filter 63, the number of coefficients is reduced, so that the amount of calculation in the filter processing is reduced, and the processing speed can be improved. However, the thinning out of the coefficients in the filter 63 is as follows.
This is performed in consideration of edge detection in the vertical, horizontal, and oblique directions.

As described above, a 5 × 5 filter has been described as an example of the filter in the present embodiment. However, the present embodiment can be executed by a filter of another size. For example, as the filter size, n × n (n =
2 × m + 1 (m is an integer of 1 or more) may be used. Further, the size of the filter may be different in the vertical and horizontal directions. FIG. 8 shows a 3 × 3 filter as an example of another filter having another size. 3A shown in FIG. 8 with respect to the original image shown in FIG. 6A.
The image shown in FIG. 6B is obtained by performing the filtering process using the filter 3. In the image shown in FIG. 6B as well, the outline is extracted from the original image which is a photographic image, the number of gradations is reduced, and the brightness is further increased, but is shown in FIG. 6C based on the 5 × 5 filter 40. You cannot get the texture of illustrations as much as the images. This is because the 5 × 5 filter acts to express the extracted edge thicker.

In the illustration processing in this embodiment, the thickness of the contour extracted in the processed image changes depending on the size of the filter. Therefore, the optimum filter size at the time of illustration processing is not limited to 5 × 5 or 3 × 3 described in the present embodiment, but depends on the image size and resolution of the original image, the fineness of objects in the image, and the like. I do. For example, a large filter is applied to a large image, a high-resolution image, or an image of a coarse object, and a small filter is applied to a small image, a low-resolution image, or an image of a fine object, so that an extracted contour portion is obtained. The former is thicker and the latter is thinner. The filter size may be set according to the brightness of the object. In addition, it goes without saying that the filter size may be set according to the required processing speed.

The selection of the filtering process may be automatically performed according to the image size, resolution, and fineness of the object, or may be performed according to a manual instruction from the user. Therefore, providing a user interface for manual selection is also included in the present invention.

In step S24 of FIG. 3, illustration processing using the above-described filter is performed on the original image corrected in step S23. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the illustration processing according to the present embodiment. First, in step S81, the brightness of an image is detected based on the luminance histogram created in step S22 described above. As this detection method, for example, it is possible to calculate an average value, an intermediate value, or a maximum frequency value based on a luminance histogram, and detect a plurality of levels of brightness levels by comparing with a predetermined threshold value. it can. For example, a predetermined range of brightness “normal” level is set in advance, and an image determined to be brighter than the predetermined range is defined as a “bright” level, and an image determined to be darker than the predetermined range is defined as “ By determining that the level is “dark”, three levels of brightness are detected.

The filters are set in steps S82, S83 and S84 based on the brightness level detected in step S81. That is, if the original image is at the "bright" level, a filter 61 which is a darker filter is set in step S82 to darken the processing result, and "normal"
If it is the level, the filter 40 which is a normal filter is set in step S83, and if it is the "dark" level, the filter 62 which is a lightening filter is set in step S84 in order to brighten the processed image.

Then, in step S85, an appropriate illustration process is performed by executing a filtering process on the original image based on the set filter.

It is needless to say that the brightness level to be determined may be any number of levels, and it is sufficient that each level corresponds to a filter that generates an appropriate effect.

In the present embodiment, since the illustration processing is performed in the printer driver 105, the entire area of the original image cannot be processed at once, but is divided into area blocks of a plurality of lines, and the block unit is used. Perform illustration processing. Therefore, in order to prevent block boundaries from being noticeable in the processed image,
In the vicinity of the last line of the block, the filter size is changed to a smaller one, for example, 3 × 5. Thereby, continuity of block boundaries can be maintained in the processed image.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
It is possible to easily perform illustration processing on the original image, leave the atmosphere of the original image, and increase the lightness, so that an image with a tone like an illustration can be obtained. Also,
The image after the illustration processing has a reduced number of gradations as compared with the original image, so that the data amount of the image can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, an example in which a luminance histogram of an original image is generated, an image correction process is performed on the original image based on the luminance histogram, and then an illustration processing using the luminance histogram is performed. As described above, the image correction processing based on the luminance histogram is not necessarily performed. By performing only the illustration processing immediately after generating the luminance histogram, the processing speed is improved.

However, for example, when performing color correction or the like in the image correction processing, illustration is performed based on parameters based on the image correction processing, such as contrast information between a background and an object or scene information to which the image belongs, used as a determination condition. It is also possible to perform filter control in the processing.

In the present embodiment, an example in which a histogram of the luminance signal Y is created has been described. However, the luminance detection is performed based on the histogram of the G component without performing the luminance / chromaticity conversion of the original image data. Is also good. In this case, since the luminance / chromaticity conversion is not performed, an improvement in processing speed can be expected.

In this embodiment, the original image is RG
Although the description has been made assuming that the data is in the B format, the present invention is of course applicable to other formats. For example, for the original image data of another format, after the image data is once converted to the RGB format, the illustration processing shown in the present embodiment is executed for each color component, or the original image data is converted according to the data format of the original image. It is only necessary to apply a filter. For example, when the original image is in the YMC format, all the positive and negative coefficients of the filter shown in the present embodiment may be inverted. Also, the present invention can be applied to data in which the original image is YHS or the like.
For example, if the original image is in a format such as Lab format that can extract only the luminance component, filtering is performed only on the luminance component, compared with a case where filtering is performed on each component in the RGB format. The amount of calculation can be reduced.

The image to be subjected to the illustration processing in the present embodiment is not limited to the image photographed by the digital camera 111. For example, a photographic image read by a photo scanner or the like may be input, or a CD-ROM may be input. It may be a photographic image stored in an external device such as a ROM.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the filter coefficient is controlled to realize the illustration processing has been described. An image processed like an illustration by reducing the number and further increasing the brightness can be obtained by a method other than the filter coefficient control. For example, Ad
An application for image processing such as photoshop (registered trademark) of obex,
By performing a process of processing the original image into a painting style, increasing the brightness of the entire image, and automatically setting the program to automatically reduce the number of gradations, by setting a program in advance, An illustration-like image as shown in FIG. 6C can be obtained.

<Second Embodiment> Hereinafter, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described.

In the first embodiment described above, an example in which the illustration processing for the original image is automatically executed has been described. In the second embodiment, an image processing system that allows an arbitrary processing instruction by a user will be described.

The system configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the image processing in the second embodiment. In FIG. 10, the same processes as those in FIG. 3 shown in the first embodiment are denoted by the same step numbers. Note that, of the processing illustrated in FIG. 10, a part with a user interface is realized by a predetermined application 101, and the others are basically realized by the image correction processing unit 120 in the printer driver 105.

First, in step S31, the user selects an image to be processed. FIG. 11 shows an example of a selection screen of a processing target image, which is displayed on the monitor 106 when a predetermined image processing application 101 is activated. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 11 denotes an image display unit, which displays a list of reduced images (thumbnail images) of images that can be processed in the present embodiment. These images are, for example, HD
107 or an external storage device such as a CD-ROM, or may be read from the RAM 109 or the ROM 110. Further, the image displayed on the image display unit 11 is not limited to the thumbnail image. For example, an arbitrary image can be selected from the thumbnail images displayed in a list, and the image can be decoded and displayed. Reference numeral 14 denotes a button for instructing start of image processing, and reference numeral 15 denotes a button for instructing termination of image processing. It is of course possible to provide other function buttons. In addition, "processing"
The text display of the “list of images” displayed above the button 14 indicates that the current display on the image display unit 11 is
This indicates that it is a list display of images.

In the target image selection screen shown in FIG.
The user inputs an instruction input device 11 such as a keyboard or a mouse.
By moving the cursor 16 on the screen to a desired image on the image display unit 11 by performing 2 and performing an execution operation such as a click, the image is selected. In the figure, the image shown at the right end of the image display section is selected and is surrounded by a thick frame. Note that a plurality of images can be selected. By moving the cursor 16 on the “processing” button 14 and performing an execution operation in a state where at least one image is selected in this way, the selection of the selected image and an instruction to start the image processing are performed. Then, the selected image data is read into a predetermined area on the RAM 109 in the RGB format.

When the processing mode is selected, a processing mode (illustration mode in this embodiment) to be executed by the user is designated in step S32. In the present embodiment, the machining mode is instructed by the user selecting an arbitrary mode from a plurality of machining modes prepared in advance. Here, the processing for selecting the processing mode will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 12 shows a processing mode selection screen. After the processing target image is selected as described above, the monitor 10
6 is displayed. In FIG. 12, reference numeral 21 denotes a processing mode display unit, which displays a list of types of processing modes that can be executed in the present embodiment, together with an image showing an outline thereof.
The processing mode display section 21 enables the previous screen or the next screen to be displayed by operating the buttons 22 and 23, so that further processing modes can be displayed. Reference numeral 27 denotes a button for performing further detailed settings. Reference numeral 24 denotes a button for instructing the start of image processing, and reference numeral 25 denotes a button for returning to the target image selection screen shown in FIG. Also in FIG. 12, it is of course possible to provide other function buttons. The text display of “processing list” displayed above the “return” button 25 indicates that the current display on the image display unit 21 is a processing mode list display.

Here, detailed contents of each processing mode are omitted, but for example, a processing mode (brick mode, etc.) in which predetermined texture data is overprinted on the original image is suitable for the mode. R indicating a predetermined color
The GB data is stored in a predetermined area of the RAM 109 or the ROM 110 as texture data together with a predetermined pattern.

The image showing the outline of each processing mode shown in the processing mode display section 21 in FIG. 12 may be prepared in the apparatus in advance. For example, the image of the target image selected in FIG. The image data or its thumbnail image data can be actually processed according to each mode, and the result can be displayed on the processing mode display unit 21 (preview display).

In the machining mode selection screen shown in FIG. 12, the user moves the cursor 26 on the screen to a desired machining mode on the machining mode display section 21 using the instruction input device 112, and performs an execution operation such as a click. , The processing mode is selected. In the figure, the “illustration” mode is selected and is surrounded by a thick frame.

In this state, when the user further clicks the detailed setting button 27, the user can arbitrarily perform the processing in the illustration mode, that is, the setting of the detailed parameters in the illustration processing. it can. FIG. 13 shows an example of the detailed setting screen. In FIG. 13, reference numeral 31 denotes an image display unit, on which items that can be set by the user are displayed, and other items are displayed according to the operation of the buttons 32, 33;
Can be set. Reference numeral 35 denotes a button for returning to the processing mode selection screen shown in FIG. The text display of “illustration mode details” displayed above the “return” button 35 indicates that the current display on the image display unit 31 is for setting detailed items in illustration processing. .

Further, the 3D displayed in the image display section 31 is displayed.
8 and 39 are items of brightness setting and graining setting, respectively. In the brightness setting 38, the user selects the button “brightening” or “darkening” depending on whether the user wants to brighten or darken the image after the illustration processing. Of course, the default is “normal processing”. According to this brightness setting, a filter is selected as described later. In the granular processing setting 39, whether or not to perform a granular processing described later is set by one of an ON or OFF button. As the default, for example, ON is set.

The setting items shown in FIG. 13 are merely examples, and it is of course possible to provide setting items based on other parameters. For example, the user may set the parameters related to the setting of the filter size described in the first embodiment.

When the setting of various detailed items by the user is completed in this way, the "return" button 35 returns to the processing mode setting screen of FIG.
By clicking, the machining mode setting process in step S32 is completed, and the illustration machining process selected and set by the user is started.

Here, the graining setting in the second embodiment will be described. In the above-described first embodiment, an example in which illustration processing is mainly performed on an image captured by the digital camera 111 has been described. Therefore, since the image to be processed is an image that has been subjected to block encoding, for example, JPEG encoding, it is inconspicuous but generates block distortion peculiar to block encoding.
In the first embodiment, the example of the original image shown in FIG. 6A is an image that has been once JPEG-encoded and decoded. Therefore,
In the image after the illustration processing shown in FIG. 6C, it can be seen that fine noise is generated and grained because the block distortion is emphasized by the filtering process. However, due to the occurrence of the granulation, the image after the illustration processing does not give a monotonous impression, and has an original texture. The second embodiment is characterized in that such graining is regarded as one of the illustration effects (granular effect), and the user can select the application of the effect (granular processing).

In step S33 of FIG. 10, the image selected as the object to be processed in step S31 is read out based on the processing mode and its detailed parameters set in step S32, and is stored in RAM 109 as original image data to be processed. It is stored in a predetermined area.

Original Image Data Creation Processing Hereinafter, as an example of the original image data creation processing in step S33, processing when the illustration mode is selected will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the original image data creation processing in the illustration mode.

First, in step S41, it is determined whether or not the setting of the granular processing is "ON". If it is “ON”, that is, if the user has requested to give the granular effect, the process proceeds to step S42, and it is determined whether or not the image selected as the processing target is a coded image by block coding. If it is a block coded image, it is decoded in step S44. On the other hand, if it is not a block coded image, a JPEG coding process is performed in step S43.

In step S43, the image is converted into a JPEG code regardless of the data format of the target image. For example, if an image is coded in another format, it is decoded once, and then JP again to add block distortion.
Encode in EG format. And then, step S
Decode at 44.

On the other hand, if the setting of the graining is “off” in step S 41, the user has requested suppression of the graining, so the process proceeds to step S 45, and the image selected as the processing target is a JPEG encoded image. Is determined, if it is a JPEG coded image, step S4
6. Decrypt in 6. Then, block distortion is removed by performing smoothing in step S47. On the other hand, if the target image is not a JPEG coded image in step S45, processing such as decoding according to the image format is performed, and then the processing ends.

As is clear from the flowchart shown in FIG. 14, the granular processing setting is “ON” for the JPEG image.
Is faster because the smoothing process of step S47 is not performed.

Image Processing (Illustration Processing) Next, in step S34, image processing is performed on the original image data in the processing mode set in step S32.

The illustration processing, which is an example of the image processing in step S34, will be described below. FIG.
9 is a flowchart of an illustration processing. The same processes as those in FIG. 9 described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same step numbers. In FIG. 15, according to the contents of the brightness setting in the illustration mode set as described above in step S81, steps S82 and S8 are performed.
3. In S84, a filter is set. That is, if "darkening" is set, the filter 61 which is a darker filter is set in step S82, and if "normal processing" is set, the filter 40 which is a normal filter is set in step S83. If "brightening processing" is set, the filter 62 which is a brightening filter is set in step S84. Then, in step S85, by performing a filter process on the original image based on the set filter, illustration processing desired by the user is performed.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, on / off of the granular processing setting can be selected by the user. Here, illustration processing examples when the granular processing setting is off are shown in FIGS. 16A to 16C. FIG. 16A shows T
This is an image obtained by expanding an image compressed by the IFF format, that is, it does not have JPEG-specific block distortion. FIG. 16A is a standard image (SHI) of the Institute of Image Electronics Engineers of Japan.
PP), and the number of pixels is 4096 × 3027 (about 1
2.5 million) pixels. FIGS. 16B and 16C show the results of performing illustration processing on the image using a 3 × 3 filter and a 5 × 5 filter, respectively. For example, according to FIG. 16C, it can be seen that, compared to the image in which the graining has occurred as shown in FIG. 6C, a more monotonous illustration process in which the occurrence of the graining is suppressed is performed. Also, FIGS.
As in the case of FIG. 6C, the image with the 5 × 5 filter shown in FIG. 16C is processed more like an illustration than the image with the 3 × 3 filter shown in FIG. 16B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Since the user can select an arbitrary processing mode and make detailed settings thereof, it is possible to perform illustration processing in a form desired by the user, particularly for illustration processing, and perform histogram creation processing and the like in the first embodiment. Since there is no need, high-speed processing can be expected.

In the second embodiment, among the plural selectable processing modes, the processing in the illustration processing mode has been particularly described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By performing the processing in a predetermined order, a more effective processing result may be obtained.

In each of the above-described embodiments, an example has been described in which the image processing function is provided in the printer driver. However, it is needless to say that the image processing function can be realized by executing an application by the OS.

Also, it has been described that various information and areas required for the illustration processing are secured in a predetermined area on the RAM 109. However, the areas are secured when, for example, an application for performing the processing is started. Or they may be secured when they are needed.
According to the latter, since it is not necessary to reserve a memory area wastefully, it is possible to improve memory efficiency by providing an additional memory area for other processing.

<Other Embodiments> Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a device including one device (for example, For example, the present invention may be applied to a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and the like.

Further, an object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read out and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

Examples of storage media for supplying the program code include a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM,
DR, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM
Etc. can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, a product obtained by the image processing method of the present invention, for example, a printed matter is also included in the present invention.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs a part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments. When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

In addition to the JPEG encoding in the present invention, various methods (for example, a method called scale index encoding) can be applied as block encoding.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily perform effective illustration processing on image data with a brighter gradation than in the prior art.

The user can easily set the details of the illustration processing.

Further, it is possible to provide a medium on which an image subjected to a new more illustration-like process is formed.

[0104]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a printer driver.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating image processing in a printer driver;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a histogram creation process;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a normal filter;

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of an original image (JPEG).

FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an illustration processing example of the original image of FIG. 6A using a 3 × 3 filter;

FIG. 6C is a diagram showing an illustration processing example of the original image of FIG. 6A using a 5 × 5 filter;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another filter example;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another example of a filter;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an illustration processing;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating image processing according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a selection screen of a processing target image;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a processing mode selection screen;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a setting screen for detailed illustration mode.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing original image data creation processing;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing an illustration processing;

FIG. 16A is a diagram showing an example of an original image (TIFF).

16B is a diagram showing an illustration processing example of the original image of FIG. 6A using a 3 × 3 filter;

FIG. 16C is a diagram showing an example of illustration processing of the original image of FIG. 6A using a 5 × 5 filter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 host computer 101 application 102 OS 103 printer driver 104 monitor driver 105 printer 106 monitor 107 HD 108 CPU 109 RAM 110 ROM 111 digital camera 112 input device 113 device driver

Continued on the front page F-term (reference)

Claims (65)

[Claims] 1. A first image obtained by processing a first signal obtained by extracting a contour portion of the first image and processing the first image so as to increase the brightness by reducing the number of gradations. 2. An image processing method comprising: a processing step of processing a second image based on the second signal. 2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein in the processing step, the first signal and the second signal are simultaneously generated as the second image. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, in the processing step, the first and second signals are generated by performing a filtering process using a predetermined filter on the first image. Image processing method. 4. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined filter has a positive sum of coefficients in the filter. 5. The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein said predetermined filter has a total sum of coefficients in said filter of two. 6. The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein in the predetermined filter, a coefficient of a pixel of interest is positive, and all other coefficients are negative. 7. The image processing method according to claim 6, wherein in the predetermined filter, the coefficient of the pixel of interest is 26, and all other coefficients are −1. 8. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined filter is a filter of 5 × 5 pixels. 9. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined filter is a filter of 3 × 3 pixels. 10. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein a part of coefficients other than the pixel of interest is thinned out in the predetermined filter. 11. The image processing method according to claim 3, wherein, in the processing step, the filter is set based on brightness of the first image. 12. The image processing method according to claim 11, wherein in the processing step, the darker the first image is, the larger the sum of the coefficients in the filter is set. 13. A brightness distribution calculating step for obtaining a brightness distribution of the first image, wherein in the processing step, the brightness of the first image is detected based on the brightness distribution. Claim 1
2. The image processing method according to 2. 14. The image processing method according to claim 13, wherein in the processing step, the brightness of the first image is detected based on an average luminance of the first image. 15. The image processing method according to claim 13, wherein in the luminance distribution calculating step, a luminance histogram of the first image is generated. 16. The image processing method according to claim 15, wherein in the processing step, the brightness of the first image is detected based on a median value of the luminance histogram. 17. The image processing method according to claim 15, wherein in the processing step, the brightness of the first image is detected based on a maximum frequency value of the luminance histogram. 18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising: a correction step of correcting the first image based on the luminance distribution. The processing step includes: executing the filter based on a correction condition generated in the correction step. 14. The image processing method according to claim 13, wherein the setting is performed. 19. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the first image is a photographic image. 20. The image processing method according to claim 19, further comprising a decoding step of decoding when said first image is block-coded. 21. The image processing method according to claim 20, wherein in the processing step, the first image decoded in the decoding step is further smoothed and then processed into the second image. . 22. In the processing step, if the first image is not a block-coded image, the first image
20. The image processing method according to claim 19, wherein the image is subjected to block encoding and decoded once, and then processed into the second image. 23. The processing step, wherein the first image is processed in units of blocks each including a predetermined line, and the size of the filter is controlled according to a line position in the block. 3. The image processing method according to 3. 24. The image processing method according to claim 1, further comprising an output step of outputting the second image on a recording medium. 25. An image processing method for performing processing in a plurality of processing modes on image data, comprising: an instruction inputting step of inputting a user's instruction; A processing step of performing image processing on the image data, wherein the processing mode includes a first signal obtained by extracting a contour portion of the first image from the first image and the first signal. Image processing characterized by including an illustration processing mode for processing a second image by combining a second signal obtained by processing the image to reduce the number of gradations and increasing the brightness. Method. 26. In the illustration processing mode,
26. The image processing method according to claim 25, wherein the first image is processed into the second image by performing a filtering process using a predetermined filter. 27. The image processing method according to claim 26, wherein the predetermined filter has a positive sum of coefficients in the filter. 28. The image processing method according to claim 27, wherein a sum of coefficients in said predetermined filter is 2. 29. In the instruction input step, the first image is selected from a plurality of images, the illustration processing mode is selected as a processing mode for the first image, and processing contents in the illustration processing mode are selected. 27. The image processing method according to claim 26, wherein detailed settings are performed. 30. In the processing step, when the illustration processing mode is set, the filter is set based on the detailed setting.
9. The image processing method according to 9. 31. The image processing method according to claim 30, wherein the detailed setting includes setting of brightness of an image after processing. 32. In the processing step, the sum of coefficients in the filter is set to increase as the brightness of the processed image set by the detailed setting increases. 31. The image processing method according to 31. 33. The detailed setting includes setting whether or not to granulate the processed image.
The image processing method described in the above. 34. The image processing method according to claim 33, wherein when the detailed setting sets that the processed image is to be granulated, control is performed so that the first image has block distortion. . 35. When the detailed image is set to granulate the processed image, the first image is a JP image.
35. The image processing method according to claim 34, wherein control is performed so as to obtain an EG-coded image. 36. An input means for inputting a first image, a first signal from which a contour of the first image is extracted, and a method for increasing the brightness of the first image by reducing the number of gradations. An image processing apparatus comprising: processing means for processing a second image by combining the processed second signal; and output means for outputting the second image. 37. The image processing apparatus according to claim 36, wherein the processing unit processes the first image by performing a filter process using a predetermined filter to process the second image. . 38. An apparatus according to claim 36, wherein said output means prints out the second image on a recording medium. 39. An image processing apparatus for performing processing in a plurality of processing modes on image data, comprising: an instruction input unit configured to input a user instruction; and a processing mode corresponding to the user instruction. Processing means for performing image processing on the image data; and output means for outputting image data after the image processing by the processing means, wherein the processing mode includes: First
By combining the first signal from which the contour portion of the image is extracted and the second signal obtained by processing the first image to reduce the number of gradations and increase the brightness, a second image is obtained. An image processing apparatus comprising an illustration processing mode for processing. 40. The image processing apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the processing unit processes the first image by performing a filter process using a predetermined filter to process the second image. . 41. The image processing apparatus according to claim 39, wherein the output unit prints out the second image on a recording medium. 42. An image processing system in which an image processing device that performs a processing process on a first image to generate a second image and an image output device that outputs the second image are connected. In the image processing apparatus, the first signal obtained by extracting the contour of the first image and the second signal obtained by processing the first image so as to increase the brightness by reducing the number of gradations. An image processing system for generating a second image by combining a signal. 43. The image processing apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the image processing device processes the first image by performing a filtering process using a predetermined filter to process the second image. system. 44. The image processing system according to claim 42, wherein the image output device is a printer that prints out the second image on a recording medium. 45. The image processing system according to claim 42, wherein an image input device for inputting said first image is connected to said image processing device. 46. The image processing system according to claim 45, wherein the image input device is a digital camera that captures a subject and generates an image signal. 47. The image processing system according to claim 45, wherein the image input device is a scanner that optically reads a photograph and generates an image signal. 48. An image processing system, comprising: an image processing apparatus for performing processing in a plurality of processing modes on image data; and an image output apparatus for outputting processed image data. Has instruction input means for inputting a user instruction, and processing means for performing image processing on image data by using a processing mode corresponding to the user instruction. For the first image, the first
By combining the first signal from which the contour portion of the image is extracted and the second signal obtained by processing the first image to reduce the number of gradations and increase the brightness, a second image is obtained. An image processing system comprising an illustration processing mode for processing. 49. The image processing system according to claim 48, wherein said processing means processes said first image by filtering with a predetermined filter to process said second image. . 50. The image processing system according to claim 48, wherein said image output device is a printer that prints out image data on a recording medium. 51. An image input device for inputting image data is connected to the image processing device, and the image processing device performs processing on the image data input from the image input device. 49. The image processing system according to claim 48. 52. The image processing system according to claim 51, wherein the image input device is a digital camera that captures a subject and generates an image signal. 53. The image processing system according to claim 51, wherein the image input device is a scanner that optically reads a photograph and generates an image signal. 54. A recording medium on which a program code for image processing is recorded, the program code comprising: a first image, a first signal obtained by extracting an outline of the first image, and the first signal. Is generated by combining the second image with the second signal processed so as to increase the brightness by reducing the number of tones, thereby including a code of a processing step of processing the second image. recoding media. 55. A recording medium on which a program code of image processing having a plurality of processing modes is recorded, wherein the program code corresponds to a code of an instruction input step of inputting an instruction of a user, and the instruction code of the user. A processing step code for performing image processing on the image data using the processing mode,
The processing mode includes: for a first image, a first signal obtained by extracting a contour portion of the first image and a brightness of the first image are reduced by reducing the number of gradations. A recording medium including an illustration processing mode for processing a second image by combining a second signal processed to cause the second signal to be processed. 56. A recording medium on which the second image processed by the image processing method according to claim 1 is output. 57. A first image, comprising: a first signal obtained by extracting a contour portion having a thickness according to an attribute of the entire first image;
An image processing method, comprising: processing a second image based on a second signal obtained by reducing the number of gradations of the image. 58. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the processing step, the first signal and the second signal are simultaneously generated as the second image. 59. The image processing method according to claim 57, wherein the attribute of the entire first image is an image size. 60. The image processing method according to claim 57, wherein the attribute of the first image as a whole is an image resolution. 61. The image processing method according to claim 57, wherein the attribute of the entire first image is set manually. 62. An input means for inputting a first image, a first signal obtained by extracting a contour portion having a thickness according to an attribute of the entire first image, and reducing the number of gradations of the first image. An image processing apparatus comprising: processing means for processing a second image by combining the generated second signal; and output means for outputting the second image. 63. A recording medium on which a program code for image processing is recorded, wherein the program code extracts a first image from a contour portion having a thickness according to an attribute of the entire first image. A recording medium comprising a code of a processing step of processing a second signal by generating a first signal in combination with a second signal having a reduced number of gradations of the first image. . 64. A recording medium on which the second image processed by the image processing method according to claim 57 is output. 65. A medium on which an image is formed in which an outline is enhanced, the number of gradations is reduced, and the brightness is increased.