JP2002158860A - Image editor, method and system for editing image - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image editor employing a template in which a character color inserted into the template can be determined easily. SOLUTION: A character color is determined automatically based on images or colors constituting the background of character slots 15-18 for inserting characters into a template 10.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image editing apparatus and an image editing method for arranging images supplied from various image input devices on a template, inserting characters into the template, and outputting the characters to an output device. The present invention also relates to an image editing system using the image editing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the photographic industry, simultaneous printing of a size such as L size has been the mainstream mainly in silver halide photography, but lower prices have led to lower profits in lab shops and photo studios. Therefore, a new high-profit service is desired.
On the other hand, although there are various types of value-added print services, most of them require a lot of man-hours and technical skills, and their profitability is not high. Relatively profitable value-added print services were limited to some services, such as large stretch prints, ID photos, and postcard services.

In order to provide higher value-added digital print services desired by customers, some photo studios and the like have recently developed digital image processing using so-called photo retouching software. We have started value-added print services such as album creation using technology. When such an album creation service is provided, the editing of the image itself is a matter of course, but a character editing ability to be input into the album, particularly a technique and a sense for selecting a character color are required. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in photo retouching software or the like, when a character color is selected, a method of selecting a color from a color palette or selecting a color from a color selection tool called a color picker has been adopted.

[0004]

Conventionally, image editing using digital image editing software such as photo retouching software requires advanced knowledge of image processing, and is not easily available to anyone. Was. Also, when providing a value-added print service for an album or the like, there were problems in terms of highly skilled technical skills, man-hours required for production, and labor costs. As for color editing, it is difficult to select a color that matches the background color from the color palette and color picker, and it requires a lot of experience and sense.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to an image editing apparatus which can be used in a value-added print creation system using a template. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image editing apparatus, an image editing method, and an image editing system that can easily perform color editing.

[0006]

That is, the gist of the present invention is an image editing apparatus for inserting an image and a character into an image slot and a character slot provided in a template, respectively, and outputting the image and the character. An image editing apparatus characterized by having a character color determining means for automatically determining based on the background color.

Another aspect of the present invention is an image editing apparatus of the present invention, an image input apparatus for supplying image data to be inserted into an image slot to the image editing apparatus, and a recording medium for storing a template output by the image editing apparatus. An image editing system having an image forming apparatus formed thereon.

Another aspect of the present invention is an image editing method for inserting an image and a character into an image slot and a character slot provided in a template, respectively, and outputting the image and the character. An image editing method characterized by having a character color determining step of automatically determining based on the character color.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an image editing system to which the image editing apparatus according to the present embodiment can be applied. The image editing system includes the image input device 10
1, an image editing device 102 and an image output device 103.

The image input device 101 can be provided with an arbitrary number of devices for outputting digital image data. In FIG. 2, a film scanner 201 and a removable medium (FD or the like) storing the digital image data are shown in FIG. External recording device 20 for reading magnetic recording media, optical (magnetic) recording media such as CDs, DVDs, and MOs, memory cards, etc.
2 shows a case where a flatbed scanner 203 and a digital camera 204 for acquiring an image from a medium such as paper are provided. Further, the image input unit 101 may be provided with an interface with a computer network or an external device, and may be configured to acquire and output digital image data via the interface.

The image editing device 102 includes an image input unit 205 for receiving image data from the image input device 101, an image editing unit 206 for editing the captured image data, and an output unit 207 for outputting the edited image data. Having.

An editing processing unit 206 is a layout editing unit 30 for editing the layout of a template described later.
1. a character editing unit 302 for inputting characters and changing attributes;
An image correction unit 30 that performs processing such as color correction and red-eye removal of the image;
The character editing unit 302 includes a character color automatic determination unit 304 that automatically determines a character color.

The image output device 103 outputs the printer 208 and digital image data to a removable medium (magnetic recording medium such as FD, CD-R (RW), DVD-R (RA
M), optical (magnetic) recording media such as MO, memory cards, etc.)
The printer 208 provides the customer with a value-added print, and provides the customer with the digital data of the edited result recorded on the storage medium by the external storage device 209. Similarly to the image input apparatus 101, the image output apparatus 103 may be provided with an interface to a computer network or an external device, and may output edited digital image data via the interface.

Such an image editing system includes, for example, S
A general-purpose computer device having an interface such as CSI, USB, or IEEE1394 may be used as an image editing device, and an image input device, a printer, an external storage device, or the like may be connected to these interfaces. In this case, each functional block of the image editing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 can be realized by executing a program stored in an HDD, a ROM, or the like by a CPU, but hardware such as a graphic accelerator may be installed as necessary. It is of course possible to use it.

(Template) Next, the image editing apparatus 10
The template used in Step 2 will be described with reference to FIG. The template corresponds to, for example, a mount in a normal album. A variety of templates in which the background image, the layout of the image, and the like are changed in advance are prepared, and are called and used by the image editing apparatus 102 to provide an appearance that meets the customer's desire. You can create albums. In the case of creating an album using digital image data, the template usually has a slot (empty area) for inserting (inputting) images and characters, and the desired image data and characters can be input to this slot. Create an album by

In FIG. 1, a template 10 includes a background 11, an image slot a (12), and an image slot b (1).
3), image slot c (14), character slot a (1)
5), character slot b (16), character slot c (1
7), composed of a character slot c (14). Background 1
1, an image a (20), an image b (21), an image c (22) in each of the image slots 12-14.
Are inserted respectively, and in each of the character slots 15-18,
Character a (23), character b (24), character c (25), and character d (26) are input, respectively. However, background image 1
9 is basically inserted when the template is created. Also, each image slot and character slot have
It is not always necessary to include images and characters. Further, each slot is movable and can be laid out again.

Hereinafter, the image editing unit 20 of the image editing apparatus will be described.
6 will be described with reference to the template example of FIG. Now, the image slot a (1
2), image slot b (13), image slot c (1
4) includes an image a (20), an image b (21),
It is assumed that the image c (22) has been input. Next, the character editing unit 302 performs character input to each character slot. The character a (23) is input to the character slot a (15).
At this time, as shown in FIG.
If the background of the character a (23) in (15) (the area without the character of the character slot a (15)) is transparent, the character color is the image slot a (12) in which the character slot a (15) is arranged. 4), the character slot background information of the image a (20) inserted into the character slot a (15), if the background of the character a (23) in the character slot a (15) is opaque as shown in FIG. It is determined by the character color automatic determination means 304 based on the character slot background information.

The character slot background information includes main density information obtained based on the density value of an image serving as a character background (the background of the image a (20) or the opaque character slot a (15)). When the background of the character slot a (15) is transparent, the character color automatic determination means 304 determines whether the image a (20)
Of the character slot a (15) as a background area (for example, an area where the character slot a (15) overlaps the image a (20)) is the most significant among the main density information of the image a (20). Character value a (15)
As character slot background information. Then, an LUT (Lo) which is determined and registered in advance based on a predetermined condition and configures one character color of the character slot background information as a grid point.
Use ok Up Table) to automatically determine the character color by interpolation.

For example, if the character color background information is d = D (R,
G, B), and the predetermined thresholds are set to TH1, TH2 (TH1>
(1) If d> TH1, the background color is regarded as dark, and a color with a high lightness value (bright color) is selected. (2) If d <TH2, the background color is regarded as bright, and a color with a low lightness value (dark color) is selected. (3) If TH1> = d> = TH2, the background color is regarded as a color in the intermediate density range, and a color having a complementary color-related color is selected.

Here, in the case of (1) or (2), (3)
Similarly to the above, a color having a complementary color relationship or a color of another hue may be used, and a hue can be selected. Using the LUT created according to the above rules, the background color (R,
G, B) to determine the character color. Of course, the character color may be calculated from the main density information by a predetermined conditional expression without using the LUT.

Similarly, the character b (24) corresponds to the image b (2
1), character c (25) is image c (22), character d (2)
6) determines the character color in the same manner on the basis of the background image 19.

The method for automatically determining a character color in the present embodiment will be further described with reference to the character color determination flowchart of FIG. In step S101, a character a (23) is input to a character slot a (15). Step S1
At 02, the background of the character slot a (15) is determined. For example, in the present embodiment, the background of the character slot a (15) is set to the image a (20) inserted into the image slot a (12).
(That is, it corresponds to the case where the background of the character slot 15a is transparent as shown in FIG. 4A).

In step S103, a density histogram of the image a (20) which is the background of the character slot is created. In step S104, a main density area is extracted from the density histogram created in step S103. In step S105, the density value with the highest density in the main density area extracted in step S104 is calculated as character slot background information of character slot a (15). In the character color automatic determination process of step S106, in order to determine the character color corresponding to the character slot background information calculated in step S105, the character slot is converted to the character slot a by the interpolation process using the background information / character color conversion LUT. The character color of the character a (23) input in (15) is determined.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically and accurately select the character color in the character slot according to the background image. Also, L
Since the UT is used, there is an advantage that by replacing the LUT, it is easy to provide a plurality of rules required for character color determination. When provided by a conditional expression, only those prepared in advance can be selected.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the LUT closest to the main density information is used without performing the interpolation operation.
The value of the grid point can be automatically determined as the character color.
In this case, since the interpolation calculation is not required, there is an advantage that the image editing apparatus 102 does not require a high-performance processing capability and can be configured at low cost.

[0026]

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, only one condition for determining a character color based on character slot background information has been described. However, a plurality of conditions are prepared, and a desired one is prepared. It is of course possible to use it. In this case, if an LUT is used, an LUT may be prepared for each condition, and if no LUT is used, a calculation formula corresponding to each condition may be prepared, and a desired condition may be selected.

The conditions for determining the character color from the character slot background information can be arbitrarily determined, but the name (for example, " Colorful, chic, monotone, etc.)
The selection is easy if it is attached. In addition, it is naturally possible to re-determine the character color determined under the selected condition under another condition or fine-tune the determined character color.
Further, if the conditions used once are stored, it is possible to immediately use the conditions suitable for the customer's hobby from the next time, and it is possible to reduce the number of man-hours.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a single device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc.) Device).

Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or a recording medium) in which program codes of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments are recorded to a system or an apparatus, and to provide a computer (a computer) of the system or the apparatus. It is needless to say that the present invention can also be achieved by a CPU or an MPU) reading and executing 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. Also,
By executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instructions of the program code.
It goes without saying that a case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are implemented by performing some or all of the actual processing, and the processing performs the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the program code is read based on the instruction of the program code. Needless to say, the CPU included in the function expansion card or the function expansion unit performs 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 above-described flowchart (shown in FIG. 3).

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In an image editing apparatus that performs image editing using a template, it is possible to automatically determine the color of a character to be inserted into the template based on the background color, without having to acquire special skills. This has an effect that an appropriate character color can be easily selected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template that can be used in an image editing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image editing system using the image editing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a character color determination process according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a character slot and an image slot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Template 11 Background 12 Image Slot a 13 Image Slot b 14 Image Slot c 15 Character Slot a 16 Character Slot b 17 Character Slot c 18 Character Slot d 19 Background Image 20 Image a 21 Image b 22 Image c 23 Character a 24 Character b 25 character c 26 character d 101 image input device 102 image editing device 103 image output device 201 film scanner 202, 209 external storage device 203 flatbed scanner 204 digital camera 205 image input unit 206 image editing unit 207 output unit 208 photo printer 301 layout Editing unit 302 Character editing unit 303 Image editing unit 304 Character color automatic determination means

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An image editing apparatus that inserts an image and a character into an image slot and a character slot provided in a template and outputs the image and the character, wherein the color of the character is automatically determined based on the background color. An image editing apparatus comprising a character color determining unit. 2. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background color is determined by the image inserted into the image slot. 3. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background color is determined by a background set in the character slot. 4. A background is set in an area of the template other than the image slot and the character slot,
The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the background color is determined by a background set in the template. 5. A background is set in an area of the template other than the image slot and the character slot,
2. The background color is determined by at least two of a background set in the template, the image inserted in the image slot, and a background set in the character slot. Image editing device. 6. The image editing device according to claim 1, wherein the image editing device supplies image data to be inserted into the image slot to the image editing device, and the image editing device. And an image forming apparatus for forming a template output by the image forming apparatus on a recording medium. 7. An image editing method for inserting and outputting an image and a character respectively into an image slot and a character slot provided in a template, wherein the color of the character is automatically determined based on the background color. An image editing method comprising a character color determining step. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the background color is determined by the image inserted into the image slot. 9. The image editing method according to claim 7, wherein the background color is determined by a background set in the character slot. 10. The template according to claim 7, wherein a background is set in an area other than the image slot and the character slot of the template, and the background color is determined by the background set in the template. The image editing method described. 11. A background is set in an area of the template other than the image slot and the character slot, and the background color is the background set in the template, the image inserted in the image slot, 8. The image editing method according to claim 7, wherein the determination is made based on any two or more of the backgrounds set in the character slots. 12. A computer-readable storage medium storing an image editing program for inserting and outputting an image and a character into an image slot and a character slot provided in a template, respectively, wherein the color of the character is set to A storage medium having a program for a character color determining step of automatically determining based on a background color.