JP2001076126A - Coloring support device and coloring support method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To permit even an inexperienced user to easily execute harmonium coloring by designating a color colored to one or two elements among plural elements and generating plural harmonious colors based on information on the color. SOLUTION: A color designation means 201 is a means designating a color by a user. For designating the color, a value showing the color is directly inputted or it is selected from a palette by using the coloring palette which is previously prepared and is inputted. When the variable of a color system except a color system shown by a hue, lightness V and saturation C, color information on CMY (K) and RGB is inputted from the color designation means 201, for example, a color information conversion means 202 converts the variable into the variable of the color system shown by the hue H, lightness V and saturation C. A coloring generation means 203 generates the color designated by the color designation means 201, or plural (N-pieces of) colors based on the variable of the color system shown by the hue H, lightness V and saturation C, which are generated by the conversion of the color information conversion means 202.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a personal computer, desktop publishing (DTP: Dep).
SK Top Publishing), a word processor, a web document creation tool, etc., and a support tool in a document editing device that edits a document on a copier, a fax, etc. The present invention relates to a color arrangement support device and a color arrangement support method when creating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A personal computer, DTP (DeP)
In a document creation and editing device such as a sk top publishing, a word processor, and a web document creation tool, a tool for creating a color material, that is, a color arrangement support tool is used.

FIG. 1 shows a general configuration of a color arrangement support for producing color materials in a personal computer or the like. The display includes an editing area 101 in which a user can input arbitrary data such as figures and characters, and an editing area 1 for the editing area 101.
A graphic selection area 102 for selecting and pasting a specific graphic to 01 and a color palette area 103 for allocating a specific color are displayed.

[0004] The user operates the keyboard 104 or the mouse 105 to select and paste an arbitrary shape from the graphic selection area 102 to the editing area 101 on the display, and furthermore, an arbitrary color from the color palette area 103. The selected figure can be colored by assigning an arbitrary color to a specific figure in the editing area.

The functions of such a document editing apparatus have been further enhanced these days, and detailed instructions and advanced processing can be performed on designs such as the color scheme and layout of a document. Such color arrangement support functions are easy to handle for professionals who handle color document creation systems such as simple plate making systems, but the color arrangement for creating color documents is not always easy for general PC users. .

For example, in a process of allocating the colors of a graph so that the colors change sequentially, it is difficult to achieve a harmonious color scheme by sequentially selecting colors from a conventional color palette. . That is,
For example, in order to arrange colors in such a way that n bar graphs sequentially change in color naturally, n palettes with uniformly changing colors are required, but actually, the colors prepared in the color palette are It is limited, and the patterns required by the user are rarely prepared.

[0007] For example, a bar graph or a pie graph sequentially colored with appropriate colors is definitely visually effective. However, it is difficult for a general user who uses a personal computer, a DTP or the like to easily create such a high-quality color document by the coloring method using the current color palette.

[0008]

As described above, the general user who is not an expert in document creation does not necessarily have sufficient knowledge on the design of what color scheme and layout should be used. It has been difficult to execute detailed color arrangement instructions and to use advanced operations and processing when performing color arrangement processing. In addition, even if such knowledge is provided, in practice, in order to perform advanced color arrangement, processing becomes complicated, and efficiency in use becomes poor.

A color arrangement support apparatus and a color arrangement support method of the present invention solve the drawbacks of the conventional color arrangement support apparatus and method as described above. It is known that if the brightness and saturation of a plurality of elements of a document to be colored are aligned, the colors are harmonized. In addition, when the hues are aligned, a calm impression is given. Therefore, the present invention provides an appropriate color scheme by designating one or two colors and generating a plurality of colors in which hue, lightness, saturation, or two or more of them are aligned at the same time.

The present invention provides a color arrangement support apparatus and a color arrangement that enable even a user unfamiliar with the creation of a color document to easily create a harmonious color arrangement and create a color document with a higher visual effect. The purpose is to provide support methods.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a color arrangement support method according to the present invention sets a color to be arranged on one or two of a plurality of elements to be arranged as a designated color. A color specifying step to perform, a color generating step for executing a generating processing of a plurality of harmonized colors based on the information of the color specified in the color specifying step, and a plurality of the color generating steps generated in the color generating step. A color assignment step of assigning each of the colors to each of the elements to be colored.

Further, according to the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step executes a generation processing of a plurality of colors by a processing of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, and one color is specified in the color specification step. In the case, the variable is independently changed in a preset change range based on the color specification value of the specified color, and if the number of colors specified in the color specifying step is two, The variable is independently changed with a change range between the two color specification values, and a plurality of colors are generated by using the color having the changed variable as a new color for color arrangement.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color generation processing step performs a process of uniformly changing the variable that is independently changed in accordance with the number of elements to be color-coded, and a color in which a plurality of colors having the uniformly changed variables are allocated to each color-coding target element. It is characterized by being generated as

Further, according to the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step, hue, lightness, when the color specified in the color designation step is represented by a color system represented by saturation, each of the hue, lightness, saturation as a variable, at least the variable It is characterized in that a process of generating a plurality of colors is executed by independently changing one variable.

Further, according to the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
In the color arrangement generation processing step, a process of generating a plurality of colors by changing a change range of the variable according to the number of elements to be colored is performed.

Further, the color arrangement support method of the present invention further comprises a color information conversion step of converting the color information specified in the color specification step into color information of a color system representing hue, lightness, and saturation. , The color arrangement generation processing step, the hue, lightness converted in the color information conversion step,
A process of generating a plurality of colors based on color information of a color system represented by saturation is performed.

Further, the color arrangement support method of the present invention further converts the hue, lightness, and saturation of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation processing step into color information of a color system that can be output to an output device. A color information inverse conversion step, wherein the color assignment step includes, for each of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation processing step according to the color information generated in the color information inverse conversion step, a The method is characterized by executing a process of allocating.

Further, the color arrangement support method of the present invention is characterized in that the method further comprises a step of selecting a color system variable to be changed in the plural color generation processing in the color arrangement generation processing step.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color generation processing step is characterized in that a plurality of colors are generated by changing only one variable of a color system representing a color.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step is characterized in that a plurality of colors are generated by performing a process of changing only two variables of a color system representing a color.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
A coordinate designation step of designating two separated coordinate positions in the element to be subjected to the gradation processing, a color designation step of setting one or two colors to be arranged on the element as a designated color, and designation in the color designation step Based on the information of the color, based on the information of the color, a color generation process step of performing a generation process of a plurality of harmonious colors, each of the plurality of colors generated in the color generation process step, in the element of the color A color assigning step of sequentially assigning two separated coordinate positions to equally divided regions.

Furthermore, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step executes a generation processing of a plurality of colors by a processing of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, and one color is specified in the color specification step. In the case, the variable is independently changed within a preset change range based on the specified color. If the number of colors specified in the color specifying step is two, the two specified colors are used. The variable is independently changed with a change range between the two, and a plurality of colors are generated with a color having the changed variable as a new color.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step, according to the number of regions of two equally spaced coordinate positions in the element of the color arrangement target, according to the number of regions, independently changing the variable to be independently changed,
The color having the changed variable is generated as a color to be arranged in each area as a new color.

Further, in the color arrangement support method of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing step, hue, lightness, in the case where the color specified in the color designation step is represented by a color system represented by saturation, lightness, saturation as a variable, at least of the variables It is characterized in that a process of generating a plurality of colors is executed by independently changing one variable.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
A color designation unit that sets a color to be assigned to one or two of the plurality of elements to be colored as a designated color, and a harmonious balance based on the information on the color designated by the color designation unit. The image processing apparatus further includes: a color generation processing unit configured to execute a plurality of color generation processing; and a color allocation unit that allocates each of the plurality of colors generated in the color generation processing step to each element to be colored. .

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing unit has a configuration for executing a generation process of a plurality of colors by a process of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, and one color specified by the color specification unit. In some cases, the variable is independently changed in a predetermined change range based on the specified color, and when the number of colors specified by the color specifying means is two, the specified two It is characterized in that the variable is independently changed with a change range between colors, and a plurality of colors are generated by using the color having the changed variable as a new color for color arrangement.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing means uniformly changes the variable that is independently changed according to the number of elements to be colored, and a plurality of colors having the uniformly changed variable values as colors to be arranged on each color arrangement target element. It is characterized by having a configuration for generating.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing means, each of the hue, lightness, and saturation in the case where the color designated by the color designation means is represented by a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation, as a variable, at least one of the variables It is characterized in that a process of generating a plurality of colors is executed by independently changing one variable.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing means is configured to execute a process of generating a plurality of colors by changing a change range of the variable according to the number of elements to be colored.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement support device further includes color information conversion means for converting the color information designated by the color designation means into color information of a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation, and the color arrangement generation processing means And a process for generating a plurality of colors based on color information of a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation converted by the color information conversion means.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color information conversion means has a lookup table in which color information parameters of different color systems are associated with each other.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement support apparatus further includes color information inverse conversion means for converting the hue, lightness, and saturation of the plurality of colors generated by the color arrangement generation processing means into color information of a color system that can be output to an output device. The color assignment unit executes a process of assigning each of the plurality of colors generated by the color arrangement generation processing unit to each element to be arranged according to the color information generated by the color information inverse conversion unit. It is characterized by having.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color information inverse conversion means has a look-up table in which color information parameters of different color systems are associated with each other.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color designating means displays, on a display means, a color scheme palette for selecting a designated color, and a variable item for selecting a color system variable to be changed in the color scheme generation processing means, and displays the displayed color scheme palette and variable item. And a means for selecting an arbitrary color and a variable from.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
Coordinate specifying means for specifying two spaced coordinate positions in an element to be subjected to gradation processing, color specifying means for setting one or two colors to be assigned to the element as a specified color, and specifying in the color specifying means Based on the obtained color information, a color arrangement generation processing unit that executes generation processing of a plurality of harmonized colors, and each of the plurality of colors generated by the color arrangement generation processing unit, Color assigning means for sequentially assigning the two separated coordinate positions to an equally divided area.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing unit has a configuration for executing a generation process of a plurality of colors by a process of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, and one color specified by the color specification unit. In some cases, the variable is independently changed in a predetermined change range based on the specified color, and when the number of colors specified by the color specifying means is two, the specified two It is characterized in that the variable is independently changed with a change range between colors, and a plurality of colors are generated by using the color having the changed variable as a new color for color arrangement.

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing means uniformly varies the variable that is independently changed in accordance with the number of areas in which two separated coordinate positions in the element to be colored are equally divided, and the variable that is changed Is characterized by having a configuration for generating a color for distributing colors in each region as a color having

Further, in the color arrangement support device of the present invention,
The color arrangement generation processing means, each of the hue, lightness, and saturation in the case where the color designated by the color designation means is represented by a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation, as a variable, at least one of the variables It is characterized by having a configuration for executing a process of generating a plurality of colors by independently changing one variable.

[0039]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of a color arrangement support apparatus and a color arrangement support method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0040]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a color arrangement support apparatus according to the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 2, the color arrangement support device of the present invention includes a color designation unit 201, a color arrangement generation unit 203, a color information conversion unit 202,
It is constituted by a color information inverse conversion means 204 and a color assignment means 205.

The color designating means 201 is a means for designating a color by a user. To specify a color, a value indicating the color is directly input. Alternatively, the user selects and inputs from a palette using a color palette prepared in advance. Alternatively, a predetermined color is specified by designating an already colored element, for example, by moving a cursor with a mouse.
Note that the color designation by the color designation means 201 can designate one color or two colors. The processing in each designation mode will be described later.

In the case where the user directly designates the color value, that is, the color data value in the color designating means 201, for example, hue H / lightness V / chroma C, CMY (K), RGB
Enter a value such as When specifying a color using a color scheme palette, a color scheme palette (similar to the palette shown in FIG. 1) is displayed on a display, and a color palette is selected from the display.

When an element which is already colored and displayed in the editing area of the display is designated and the color is selected, the position of the element on the display is input as a coordinate value or a digitizer or the like is used. Input directly.

Here, the elements to be colored include characters, symbols,
Pictures, charts, graphs, etc., and the lines, figures,
Indicates an area or the like.

The color information conversion means 202 shown in FIG. 2 includes variables of a color system other than the color system represented by hue H, lightness V, and saturation C,
For example, color information such as CMY (K) and RGB is used as the color designation unit 2.
01, the variables are expressed as hue H / lightness V
It has a configuration for converting into a color system variable represented by the saturation C.

The color information conversion means 202 is a color designation means 201
The color information such as CMY (K) and RGB input from the color information conversion unit 202 is converted into a hue H by executing a look-up table (LUT: Look Up Table) in the color information conversion unit 202 or a predetermined conversion processing operation. -Conversion into color system variables represented by lightness V and saturation C.

The color information conversion means 202 is, for example, CIEL
When L * a * b * of the AB color system is input as a color designation value from the color designation means 201, the hue H is calculated using the following equation.
-Conversion into color system variables represented by lightness V and saturation C.

[0048]

(Equation 1)

The color arrangement generation means 203 includes a color designation means 201.
Or a color information conversion unit 202 specified by
Has a function of generating a plurality (N) of colors based on color system variables represented by hue H, lightness V, and saturation C generated by the above conversion.

When only one color is designated by the color designating means 201, the variable is changed based on the designated color. The variables are, for example, hue H, lightness V, saturation C, etc., which are elements that determine the color. When two colors are designated by the color designation means 201, the variables between the two designated colors are changed. Which variable, for example, which value of hue H / lightness V / saturation C to change, may be set in the system in advance or may be designated by the user.

The color generation processing of the color generation means 203, that is, the details of specific variable setting will be described.

(1) Case of Specifying One Color First, a description will be given of a color generation process of the color generation unit 203 when only one color is specified by the color specification unit 201.

The color designated by the color designation means 201 is assumed to be A. Color: Parameters of A, for example, hue H, lightness V, and saturation C are defined as Ha, Va, and Ca. These H
Any value of a, Va, and Ca is shown as Xa.

Here, the color arrangement generation means 203 sets the color designated by the color designation means 201 to A and any one of preset variables, for example, hue H, lightness V, and saturation C.
One or a plurality of variables are set as variables X, and N color scheme colors are generated. The number of colors: N is the number of colors including the color A specified by the color specifying unit 201.

Assuming that the variable to be changed is X, the value of the i-th variable X in the N color combinations: Xi can be obtained by the following equation (1).

[0056]

(Equation 2)

In the above equation, Xa: the value of the variable of the designated color A, N: the number of elements, d: the change range of the variable int (): a function for rounding down decimal places.

The color arrangement generation means 203 performs N color arrangements including the designated color A according to the above equation (1). In the N color schemes according to the above formula, the value specified as a variable changes evenly among the N elements, and a visually favorable color scheme can be obtained.

In the above equation, a variable change range:
As d, a value preset in the apparatus can be used.
For example, in the case of a configuration in which each of hue H, lightness V, and saturation C can be set as a variable, d (H), d
(V) and d (C) are set in advance. This is set based on color data that can be displayed on the display.

Alternatively, the variable change range: d can be determined according to the number N of elements specified by the user.

For example, when the number of elements to be colored is only two, if the range of change of the variable is too large, the difference between the two colors to be colored becomes large, and it may not be visually satisfactory. is there. On the other hand, when the number N of the color arrangement elements is large, for example, 10 or 20, unless the change range of the variable is made large, the color difference of each element becomes small, and there is a case where it becomes impossible to visually distinguish.

In order to prevent such inconvenience, by adopting a configuration in which the variable change range: d is changed according to the number of color arrangement elements: N, more favorable color arrangement is possible.

As a specific configuration example, for example, when the maximum change range of the variable change range: d is d (max), and when the number of elements: N is 10 or more, the maximum change range is d.
When (max) is applied and the number of elements: N is 9 or less, the variable change range: d is set to be smaller according to the number of elements. For example, a variable change range: d is defined by the following equations (2) and (3).

[0064]

(Equation 3)

The maximum change range d (max)
Is set according to the range of colors that can be displayed on the display system.

Further, the variable change range d may be arbitrarily specified by the user. For example, the setting range of the variable change range: d is set to “min (minimum) to max.
(Maximum) ", the user may change the setting while observing the display. This example will be described later with reference to FIG.

(2) When Two Colors are Specified Next, a description will be given of a color generation process of the color generation unit 203 when two colors are specified by the color specification unit 201.

The colors designated by the color designating means 201 are A and B. Color: a parameter of A, for example, hue H
Let the lightness V / saturation C be Ha, Va, Ca, and set the parameters of the color: B, for example, hue H, lightness V, saturation C to H
b, Vb, and Cb. H, V, C of these colors A and B
Are shown as Xa and Xb.

Assuming that the variable to be changed is X, the value of the i-th variable X in the N color combinations: Xi can be obtained by the following equation (4).

[0070]

(Equation 4)

In the above equation, Xa: the value of the variable of the designated color A Xb: the value of the variable of the designated color B N: the number of elements

The color arrangement generation means 203 performs N color arrangements including the designated colors A and B according to the above equation (4). According to the N color schemes according to the above equation, the value specified as a variable is N
Since it changes evenly between the individual elements (A and B), it is possible to obtain a visually favorable color scheme.

(3) Specific Specification Example of Variable Next, a specific specification example of a variable will be described.

Hue H · H · as a parameter for determining the color
Color arrangement generation means 203 for fixing lightness V and saturation C among values of lightness V and saturation C and changing only hue H
Will be described. In this case, the color arrangement generation means 20
3 generates a plurality of colors as follows.

One color: A by the color designating means 201
When (Ha, Va, Ca) is specified, the color scheme generation unit 203 sets the color system parameter of the color of the i-th element among the N color elements as (Hi, Va, Ca). Here, Hi is a value obtained by the calculation of the above equation (1). For Va and Ca, the same value as the value of the color: A specified by the color specifying unit 201 is set.

Two colors: A by the color designating means 201
When (Ha, Va, Ca) and B (Hb, Vb, Cb) are specified, the color scheme generation unit 203 sets the color parameters of the i-th element among the N color elements to (Hi, Va). ,
Ca) or (Hi, Vb, Cb).
Here, Hi is a value obtained by the calculation of the above equation (4). Va and Ca are the same values as those of the color designated by the color designating unit 201: A, and Vb and Cb are the same values as those of the color designated by the color designating unit 201: B. Set one value. For V and C not specified as variables, the color specifying means 20
The color designated by 1 is configured so that any of the values of A and B is set, for example, to the value designated by the user first. Or you may comprise so that a user may specify so that any value may be selected.

Next, the processing of the color arrangement generation means 203 in the case where the hue H is fixed among the values of the hue H, the lightness V and the saturation C and the lightness V and the saturation C are simultaneously changed will be described.

One color: A by the color designating means 201
When (Ha, Va, Ca) is specified, the color scheme generation unit 203 sets the color parameter of the i-th element in the N color elements as (Ha, Vi, Ci). Here, Vi and Ci are values obtained by the calculation of the above equation (1). Ha is set to the same value as the value of the color A designated by the color designation unit 201.

Two colors: A by the color designating means 201
When (Ha, Va, Ca) and B (Hb, Vb, Cb) are specified, the color scheme generation unit 203 sets the parameters of the color of the i-th element among the N color elements to (Ha, Vi). ,
Ci) or (Hb, Vi, Ci).
Here, Vi and Ci are values obtained by the calculation of the above equation (4). Ha is the same value as the value of the color A designated by the color designation means 201, and Hb is the same value as the value of the color B designated by the color designation means 201. Set.

As for H, which is not specified as a variable, a value specified by the color: A or B specified by the color specifying means 201, for example, the value specified by the user first is set in the same manner as described above. Or the user can specify to select any value. Alternatively, an intermediate value of the colors A and B is adopted, and the parameter of the color of the i-th element in the N color elements is set to ((Ha + Hb) / 2, Vi, Ci). Is also good.

As described above, the color arrangement generation means 203 automatically generates a color in which one or a plurality of parameters are uniformly changed according to the number N of color arrangement elements based on the color designated by the color designation means 201.

In the above description, it is assumed that the CIELAB color system or the psychometric quantity of CIELUV is used as the HVC, and particularly that the rad is used as the unit for H. May be used.

The color information reverse conversion means 204 has a configuration for performing the reverse conversion processing of the color information conversion means 202 described above.

That is, when the color information input by the color designating means 201 is color information such as CMY (K) or RGB, the color information converting means 202 outputs the color information such as CMY (K) or RGB.
Based on the color information such as hue H / lightness V / saturation C, conversion processing is performed on the color system variables represented by hue H / lightness V / saturation C. The color system represented by C is inversely converted into color information such as CMY (K) and RGB. The color information conversion means 202 uses the L of the CIELAB color system.
When * a * b * is converted into a color system variable represented by hue H / lightness V / saturation C, the color information inverse conversion means 204
From the color system represented by hue H, lightness V, and saturation C, CIELAB
The color information is inversely converted into color information of L * a * b *.

The color allocating means 205 allocates a plurality of generated colors as color values directly to color components or as a color palette prepared in advance.

The assignment of the coloring elements or the assignment of the coloring palette can be performed by automatically selecting the output format handled by the system.
The configuration specified by the user may be used. When directly assigning as a color value, a plurality of generated colors are represented by a hue H
-Output as values such as lightness V, saturation C, CMY (K), and RGB. When assigning as a color scheme palette, a color scheme palette composed of a plurality of generated colors is displayed.

Next, the processing flow of the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 shows a flowchart for explaining the processing of the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention.

The operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step 301 of FIG. 3, it is determined whether or not a color has been specified by the color specifying unit 201. If the color has not been specified, the process waits at step 302 for color specification.

In step 303, the designated color variable is converted by the color information conversion means 203. This conversion process is performed, as described above, on the C input from the color designating unit 201.
The color information such as MY (K) and RGB is stored in, for example, a look-up table (LUT: Look) in the color information conversion unit 202.
Up Table), or by executing a predetermined conversion processing operation, the hue H / lightness V / saturation C
This is a process of converting into a color system variable represented by.

In step 304, the number of designated colors made by the color designating means 201 is determined. Color designating means 20
If there is only one color specification made in step 1, step 3
Based on the one color specified in 05, the color arrangement generation means 203 generates N colors based on the above equation (1).

If the number of color designations made by the color designation means 201 is not one, that is, if there are two, step 3
Based on the two colors specified in step 06, the color arrangement generation means 203 generates N colors based on the above equation (4).

Next, in step 307, the hue H, lightness V, and C of the N colors generated by the color arrangement generating means 203 are converted into color system variables handled by the system.
As described above, this is a process executed by the color information inverse conversion means 204, and the hue H / lightness V / saturation C
The conversion from the color system represented by C to color information such as CMY (K) and RGB, or the conversion process to the color information of L * a * b * in the CIELAB color system.

Next, at step 308, it is determined whether or not the N generated colors have been assigned to all the elements. If the assignment has not been completed, the assignment processing is executed at step 309, and When the assignment of colors to is completed, the color arrangement processing ends.

The processing of steps 308 and 309 is processing executed by the color allocating means 205, and the plural (N) colors generated by the color arrangement generating means 202 are
This is a process of directly assigning color components or as a color palette prepared in advance.

Next, a description will be given of a case where the color arrangement processing according to the processing flow shown in FIG. 3 is applied to the bar graph displayed on the display, that is, a case where the coloration of the bar graph is executed with a harmonious color arrangement.

FIG. 4 is a bar graph displayed in an editing area of a display of a personal computer, for example.
A plurality of different height bar graph components are shown.
Color arrangement processing is performed on each of these bar graph elements. As shown in FIG. 4, a bar graph created by the user is displayed in an edit area 401 of the display, and a color scheme palette 402 is displayed on the left side of the display. The user operates the keyboard 403 or the mouse 404 to display the edit area 401 or the color palette 402.
Designation of elements in edit area 401 and color scheme palette 4
02 can be specified.

FIG. 5 shows an original bar graph before color arrangement. This bar graph has five bars. When coloring is performed on all these bar graphs, the number of elements: N is 5.

The user designates 5 as the number of elements: N, and further designates 1 or 2 colors from the color palette. The number of elements: N may be automatically extracted by the system from the bar graph data. FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the color arrangement palette. A number of color samples are shown on the color scheme palette so that the user can specify one or two colors. The user selects one or two favorite colors from this palette.

When the user designates one color and executes the color arrangement, N colors, here five colors, are executed based on one color according to the above-described equation (1). When two colors are specified and the color is executed, the color is executed for five elements based on the two colors according to the above-described equation (4).

The user displays a color palette as shown in FIG. 6 on the display, and selects one or two colors from the palette.

When the user specifies one or two colors from the palette, a variable representing the selected color set in the system, for example, if these are RGB values, RGB
Is converted into hue H, lightness V, and saturation C. This conversion process is executed by the color information conversion unit 202 shown in FIG. Specifically, the RGB values are converted to values indicating hue H, lightness V, and saturation C by a conversion table stored in a storage unit of the personal computer or a predetermined conversion operation expression.

Which value of hue H, lightness V, and saturation C is changed in the color arrangement element can be set by the user, and may be set in advance in the system by default. Here, it is assumed that the setting is such that the hue H is sequentially changed for a plurality of color arrangement elements.

As shown in FIG. 5, there are five bars in the bar graph for executing the color scheme, so that the number N of the color scheme elements is 5.

When the user designates one color and executes the color arrangement processing, first, according to the designated color A, the hue H, lightness V, and saturation C of one of the five color arrangement elements are changed to Ha, V
The five colors are determined according to the above-described equation (1).

The colors arranged for the five elements are set as values in which only the hue H changes uniformly for each of the five elements according to the equation (1): Ha, Hk, Hl, Hm, Hn, and the brightness V and saturation C are lightness Va and saturation Ca of the designated color A, respectively.
Are set as lightness V and chroma C of the other four elements as they are.

When the user designates two colors A and B and executes the color arrangement processing, first, according to the designated color A, the hue H / lightness V / saturation C of one of the five color arrangement elements is H
are determined as a, Va, and Ca.
Hue H / lightness V / saturation C of one of the color components
Are determined as Hb, Vb, and Cb, and the other three colors are determined according to the above-described equation (4).

As for the colors arranged for the five elements, only the hue H is a value in which each of the five elements changes evenly between Ha and Hb according to the equation (4): Ha, Hp, Hq, Hr, H
b, and the lightness V and the saturation C are the lightness Va and the saturation Ca of the designated color A, or the lightness Vb and the saturation Cb of the designated color B, respectively.
Are set as lightness V and chroma C of the other three elements as they are.

The hue H is kept constant, and the lightness V and the saturation C
Are changed independently of each other, when one color is specified, the values in which the lightness V and the saturation C change equally for each of the five elements according to the equation (1): Va, Vk, Vl, Vm,
Vn and Ca, Ck, Cl, Cm, Cn, and the hue H is the same as the hue Ha of the designated color A as the other four.
Is set as the hue H of the two elements.

Further, when the hue H is kept constant and the user specifies two colors A and B and executes a color arrangement process for independently changing the lightness V and the saturation C, first, five colors are set in accordance with the specified color A. Hue H, lightness V, and hue of one of the color components
The saturation C is determined as Ha, Va, Ca, and the designated color B
, The hue H, lightness V, and saturation C of one of the five color arrangement elements are determined as Hb, Vb, and Cb, and the other three colors are determined according to the above-described equation (4). Is done.

The colors assigned to the five elements are values in which the lightness V changes evenly between Va and Vb for each of the five elements according to the equation (4): Va, Vp, Vq, Vr, and Vb. Is set, and the saturation C is calculated according to the equation (4).
A value that equally changes in each of the five elements between a and Cb: C
a, Cp, Cq, Cr, Cb
The hue Ha of the designated color A or the hue Hb of the designated color B is set as the hue H of the other three elements.

As a result of the above-described color arrangement processing, colors in which one or two of hue H, lightness V, and saturation C change evenly are assigned to the five elements. Next, the values of the hue H, lightness V, and saturation C of the five colors are inversely converted to the original variables RGB. Finally, display a bar graph colored with each bar with the converted variables. This is shown in FIG.

The example shown in FIG. 7 has a configuration in which the color is sequentially changed for each adjacent element. However, as an application example, the order in which a plurality of generated colors are colored is such that colors having close color differences are adjacent to each other. It is also possible to set the color arrangement order so that there is no color or to set the color generated by the user to a desired element.

FIG. 8 shows a display example as a user interface having a configuration in which each set value can be set adjacent to the color arrangement palette. The display screen shown in FIG. 8 is displayed in a portion corresponding to the color palette 402 in FIG.

The user interface shown in FIG. 8 includes a color sample palette 801 used for color specification, an element number specification unit 802 for specifying the number of color arrangement elements, and a hue H
A variable specifying unit 803 for setting which of lightness V and chroma C is specified as a variable, a change range setting unit 804 for setting a change range of a parameter specified as a variable, and a color scheme for instructing start of color scheme execution An execution button 805 is provided.

A user who wants to specify a color scheme first
One or two color samples are designated from the color sample palette 801. Further, the number of color arrangement elements is input, and one or more of hue H, lightness V, and saturation C are designated as variables. Further, the respective change ranges of hue H, lightness V, and saturation C specified as variables can be set in the change range setting unit 804. The range of change corresponds to the range of change of d: variable in the above equation (1). Therefore, the setting of the change range becomes effective only when one color is specified. As the range that can be set by the change range setting unit 804, for example, a maximum range that can be specified in the system is set as a Max value, and a value that limits visually distinguishable color differences is set as a Min value. Note that, as described above, the change range according to the number of elements is determined by the above-described equation (2) or (3)
May be automatically set in accordance with. In addition, 2
In the case of color specification, a plurality of color elements (N
) Are evenly colored.

By executing the color arrangement processing using such a user interface, a color assignment that automatically changes sequentially to a plurality of color arrangement elements is executed, and the user is required to provide each element as in the conventional system. There is no need to sequentially select colors from the color palette, and uniform color settings can be easily made.

In the above-described embodiment, a configuration has been described in which a color is assigned to each of a plurality of independent color arrangement elements such as a bar graph. However, the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention use an object as one color arrangement element. It is also applicable to a gradation generation process for the specified object.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which gradation processing is performed on one object. FIG. 9 shows a rectangular object 90.
1 is a gradation set. That is,
A color scheme whose color changes sequentially from the left end line 902 to the right end line 903 of the rectangular object 901 is set.

For example, a coordinate value is input by designating the position of the rectangular object 901 and the positions of the left end line 902 and the right end line 903 on the display. Next, for example, one color serving as a reference for generating a gradation is specified on the color setting screen shown in FIG. 8, and the number of elements, a variable, and a change range are specified.

For example, if the number of elements is set to 5, the rectangular object 901 can be moved from the left end line 902 to the right end line 90.
3 are divided into five, and the five divided areas are sequentially and uniformly changed in color. This color arrangement processing can be executed by the same processing as when the number of elements is 5 and the designated color is 1 in the flow shown in FIG.

If a variable and a change range are specified without specifying the number of elements, the system can display the left end line 902 to the right end line 903 of the rectangular object 901 in the sequentially specified change range. Automatic color division is performed according to the number of color values, and color arrangement is performed so that the color is sequentially changed according to the division number.

When two colors are specified, for example, a color A and a color B are specified, the hue Ha, lightness Va, and saturation Ca of the color A are set in the left end line 902 of the rectangular object 901 and the right end line is set. 903 shows the hue Hb and brightness Vb of the color B
-Saturation Cb is set. Furthermore, if the designated number of elements is not specified or the number of elements is not specified, the image is automatically divided according to the number of color values that can be displayed in the system as described above, and the designated number is designated according to the number of divisions. The colors are arranged so that the variables change evenly.

As described above, the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention can be applied to the processing of generating gradation for one object, and the user can easily specify only one or two colors. A gradation can be generated.

In addition to the rectangular object as shown in FIG. 9, in an arbitrary figure, two end points or lines for designating an area where a color changes are designated, and a prime number or a color scheme for designating between the two points. If the image is divided into a plurality of areas according to the possible number and the colors in which the variables are sequentially changed are set in the plurality of areas, gradation can be displayed on objects of various shapes.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the specific embodiments. However, it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiment without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That is, the present invention has been disclosed by way of example, and should not be construed as limiting. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the claims described at the beginning should be considered.

[0126]

As described above, according to the color arrangement support apparatus and color arrangement support method of the present invention, a personal computer, desktop publishing (DT)
(P: Desk Top Publishing), a document creation and editing device such as a word processor and a web document creation tool, and a document editing device for editing a document on a copier, a fax, and the like, to reduce a user's burden when creating color materials. In addition, even a user who is not proficient in color arrangement can perform color arrangement processing with a higher visual effect.

Furthermore, according to the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention, even a user who does not have knowledge of color arrangement can specify one or two colors as a reference, and Color can be automatically executed, and a color document having a high visual effect can be created.

Further, according to the color arrangement support apparatus and the color arrangement support method of the present invention, even when gradation is generated, it is only necessary to designate one or two reference colors without making fine color settings. Color gradation is automatically executed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example as a conventional color arrangement support device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a color arrangement support device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a color arrangement processing flow of the color arrangement support apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example as a color arrangement support device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a color arrangement process of the color arrangement support apparatus according to the present invention before the color arrangement process in the bar graph.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a color arrangement palette in one embodiment of the color arrangement support device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram after a color arrangement process in a bar graph illustrating an example of a color arrangement process of the color arrangement support apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a color arrangement palette in one embodiment of the color arrangement support device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram after the color arrangement processing in the gradation processing as an example of the color arrangement processing of the color arrangement support apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 201 color designation means 202 color information conversion means 203 color arrangement generation means 204 color information inverse transformation means 205 color allocation means 401 editing area 402 color arrangement palette 403 keyboard 404 mouse 801 color sample palette 802 element number designation section 803 variable designation section 804 change range setting Part 805 Color scheme execution button

Continued on the front page F-term (reference) 5B050 BA18 CA04 CA07 DA10 EA09 EA14 FA02 FA09 FA17 5C077 LL16 LL19 MM27 MP05 MP08 PP31 PP32 PP33 PP35 PP36 PQ08 PQ23 SS05 SS07 5C079 HB01 HB03 HB06 HB08 HB11 LA02 MA10 AA02 AA14 AA15 AB04 AC34 BA03 BA05 CA02 CB02 CB09 EB05 FA03 FB28

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. A color designation step of setting a color to be assigned to one or two elements of a plurality of elements to be colored as a designated color, and based on information on the color designated in the color designation step. A color arrangement generation processing step of executing a generation processing of a plurality of harmonized colors; and a color allocation step of assigning each of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation processing step to each element to be colored. A color arrangement support method characterized by the following. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of generating a plurality of colors is performed by changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color. When the number is one, the variable is independently changed in a preset change range based on the color specification value of the specified color, and the number of colors specified in the color specifying step is two. Generating a plurality of colors as a new color for color arrangement by changing the variable independently with a change range between the two specified color values, and using the color having the changed variable as a new color for coloration. The method for supporting color arrangement according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The color arrangement generation step includes a step of uniformly changing the variable that is independently changed in accordance with the number of elements to be color-arranged. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the color is generated as a color to be applied to the element.
The color scheme support method described in 1. 4. The color arrangement generation processing step, wherein each of the hue, lightness, and saturation when the color designated in the color designation step is represented by a color system representing hue, lightness, and saturation is a variable. 4. The method according to claim 2, wherein a process of generating a plurality of colors is executed by independently changing at least one of the variables. 5. The method according to claim 2, wherein in the color generation processing step, a process of generating a plurality of colors is performed by changing a change range of the variable according to the number of elements to be colored. 4. A color arrangement support method according to any one of 4. 6. The color arrangement support method further comprises the steps of:
A color information conversion step of converting color information into color information represented by lightness and saturation; and the color arrangement generation processing step includes a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation converted in the color information conversion step. 6. The color arrangement support method according to claim 1, wherein a process of generating a plurality of colors based on the color information is performed. 7. The color arrangement support method further comprises: converting the hue, lightness, and saturation of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation step into color information of a color system that can be output to an output device. A color conversion step of allocating each of the plurality of colors generated in the color scheme generation processing step to each element to be colored according to the color information generated in the color information inverse conversion step. 7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: 8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of selecting a color system variable to be changed in a plurality of color generation processes in said color configuration generation process. A coloring support method according to any of the above. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the color arrangement generation processing step executes a generation processing of a plurality of colors by a process of changing only one variable of a color system representing a color. The color scheme support method described. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the color generation process, a plurality of colors are generated by changing only two variables of a color system representing a color. The color scheme support method described. 11. A coordinate designation step for designating two separated coordinate positions in an element to be subjected to gradation processing, a color designation step for setting one or two colors to be arranged on the element as a designated color, A color arrangement generation step of executing a generation processing of a plurality of harmonious colors based on information of the color specified in the color specification step; and a color arrangement of each of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation step. A color allocation step of sequentially allocating two separated coordinate positions in a target element to equally divided regions. 12. The color arrangement generation processing step executes a generation processing of a plurality of colors by changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color. If the number is one, the variable is changed independently within a preset change range based on the specified color. If the number of colors specified in the color specifying step is two, the specified 12. The color arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the variable is independently changed with a change range between the two colors, and a color having the changed variable is generated as a new color. How to help. 13. The color generation processing step includes: changing the independently variable according to the number of areas obtained by equally dividing two separated coordinate positions in the element to be color-arranged; 13. The color arrangement support method according to claim 12, wherein a color having the changed variable is generated as a color to be arranged in each area as a new color. 14. The color arrangement generating step, wherein each of the hue, lightness, and saturation when the color specified in the color specifying step is represented by a color system representing hue, lightness, and saturation is used as a variable. 14. The color arrangement support method according to claim 12, wherein a process of generating a plurality of colors is executed by independently changing at least one of the variables. 15. A color designating means for setting, as a designated color, a color to be arranged on one or two of a plurality of elements to be colored, based on information on the color designated by the color designating means. A color arrangement generation processing unit that executes a generation process of a plurality of harmonized colors; and a color allocation unit that assigns each of the plurality of colors generated in the color arrangement generation processing step to each element to be subjected to the color arrangement. A color arrangement support device, characterized in that: 16. The color arrangement generation processing means has a configuration for executing a generation processing of a plurality of colors by a processing of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, wherein When the number of colors is one, the variable is independently changed in a preset change range based on the specified color. When the number of colors specified by the color specifying unit is two, The variable is independently changed with a change range between two designated colors, and a plurality of colors are generated by using a color having the changed variable as a new color for coloring. The color arrangement support device according to claim 15. 17. The color arrangement generation processing means, wherein the variable to be independently changed is uniformly changed according to the number of elements to be color-arranged, and a plurality of colors having the uniformly changed variable values are assigned to each of the color arrangement target elements. 17. The color arrangement support device according to claim 16, further comprising a configuration for generating a color to be arranged in a color. 18. The color arrangement generation processing means, wherein the color designated by the color designation means is converted into a hue, a lightness,
Executing a process of generating a plurality of colors by using hue, lightness, and saturation as variables in a color system represented by saturation and changing at least one of the variables independently. 18. The color arrangement support device according to claim 16, wherein: 19. The system according to claim 16, wherein said color generation processing means executes a process of generating a plurality of colors by changing a change range of said variable according to the number of elements to be colored. Item 19. A color arrangement support device according to any one of Items 16 to 18. 20. The color arrangement support device further comprises color information conversion means for converting the color information specified by the color specification means into color information of a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation. The color arrangement generation processing means is configured to execute processing for generating a plurality of colors based on color information of a color system represented by hue, lightness, and saturation converted by the color information conversion means. The color arrangement support device according to claim 15. 21. The color arrangement support device according to claim 20, wherein said color information conversion means has a look-up table in which color information parameters of different color systems are associated with each other. 22. The color arrangement support apparatus further comprising: color information for converting the hue, lightness, and saturation of the plurality of colors generated by the color arrangement generation processing means into color information of a color system that can be output to an output device. A process of allocating each of the plurality of colors generated by the color generation processing unit according to the color information generated by the color information inverse conversion unit to each of the elements to be colored; 22. The color arrangement support device according to claim 15, wherein the color arrangement support device has a configuration for executing the following. 23. The color arrangement support apparatus according to claim 22, wherein said color information inverse conversion means has a look-up table in which color information parameters of different color systems are associated with each other. 24. The color designating means displays on a display means a color scheme palette for selecting a designated color and a variable item for selecting a color system variable to be changed in the color scheme generating processing means. 24. The color arrangement support apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the color arrangement palette is constituted by means for selecting an arbitrary color and variable from a color arrangement palette and a variable item. 25. A coordinate designating means for designating two separated coordinate positions in an element to be subjected to gradation processing, a color designating means for setting one or two colors assigned to the element as a designated color, Color arrangement generation processing means for executing generation processing of a plurality of harmonious colors based on information of the color designated by the color designation means; and color arrangement of each of the plurality of colors generated by the color arrangement generation processing means. A color assigning means for sequentially assigning two separated coordinate positions in the target element to equally divided regions; 26. The color arrangement generation means for executing a generation processing of a plurality of colors by a processing of changing at least one variable of a color system representing a color, and When the number of colors is one, the variable is independently changed in a preset change range based on the specified color. When the number of colors specified by the color specifying unit is two, The variable is independently changed with a change range between two designated colors, and a plurality of colors are generated by using a color having the changed variable as a new color for coloring. The color arrangement support device according to claim 25. 27. The color arrangement generation processing means, according to the number of areas in which two separated coordinate positions in an element to be colored are equally divided, uniformly changing the variable to be independently changed, 27. The color arrangement support device according to claim 26, further comprising a configuration for generating a color to be arranged in each area with the color having the changed variable as a new color. 28. The color arrangement generation processing means, comprising: converting a color designated by the color designation means into a hue, a lightness,
A configuration in which each of hue, lightness, and saturation in a color system represented by saturation is a variable, and a process of generating a plurality of colors is performed by independently changing at least one of the variables. 27. The method according to claim 26, wherein
28. The color combination support device according to 27.