JP2003242172A - Print processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automate the extracting work of image data to be reprinted when performing a reprint processing such as a reprint and an additional print, etc., in a print processing system for controlling photograph image data print- processed in the past. <P>SOLUTION: When a control part 11 acquires image data or character data as information attached to the image data from an image reading part 16, the control part 11 extracts image data corresponding to the image data or the character data acquired from the image reading part 16 from an image DB within a storage device 15 in accordance with an image extracting/print processing program stored in the storage device 15 and makes a print part 17 execute the print processing of the extracted image data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print processing system for printing a photographic image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the digitization of photographic images, various photo services using digital image data have been realized. In such a photo service, for example,
Photographic images requested to be printed by customers are accumulated as digital image data, and reprinting with digital image data and provision of digital image data are performed.

A photo shop that provides the above-mentioned photo service stores a recording medium in which photographic images requested by a customer for printing have been stored in the past. , Visually identify tag information (backside printing character information) printed on the back side of the photo print, such as the date and sort number on which the photo image to be reprinted was printed, identify the order, and reprint from the above recording medium. I was searching for a photographic image that should be done.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned photo service, since the search for the photographic image data to be reprinted is manually performed, it is necessary to extract the corresponding image data from the enormous photographic image data. There is a problem that it takes a lot of time, the work efficiency of image search is poor, and a search error such as extracting wrong image data is likely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to automate the operation of extracting image data to be reprinted at the time of reprinting such as reprinting or reprinting in a print processing system for managing photographic image data that has been previously printed. Is.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A print processing system including a management unit that stores and manages image data that has undergone print processing in the past,
An image reading unit for reading a print image, a detecting unit for detecting a characteristic point of the image read by the image reading unit, and a feature detected by the detecting unit from the image data managed by the managing unit. An image extracting means for extracting image data having dots and a print processing means for performing a print processing of the image data extracted by the image extracting means are provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image data corresponding to the print image can be automatically extracted only by reading the print image, which facilitates the work of extracting the image data to be printed. The time from image reading to image data extraction can be shortened.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a management unit that manages each image data that has been subjected to a print process in the past and associated information that specifies each image data in association with each other, and a print attached to the print image. A reading unit for reading information, an extracting unit for extracting incidental information corresponding to the print information read by the reading unit from the incidental information managed by the managing unit, and each unit managed by the managing unit. From the image data, a specifying unit that specifies the image data managed in association with the incidental information extracted by the extracting unit, and a print processing unit that performs a print process of the image data specified by the specifying unit, It is characterized by having.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image data corresponding to the print image can be automatically specified only by reading the print information attached to the print image, so that the image data to be printed can be extracted. In addition, the time from image reading to image data extraction can be shortened. Further, since the image data corresponding to the print image is specified from the additional information unique to the print image, the image data to be printed can be reliably extracted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print processing system including print processing means connected to a user terminal via a communication network and performing print processing based on print information transmitted from the user terminal. The image data is specified from the user terminal via the communication network, and a management unit that manages the image data that has been printed in the past and the image specifying information that specifies the image data in association with each other. A receiving unit for receiving the print information; and an extracting unit for extracting the image specifying information corresponding to the print information received by the receiving unit from the image specifying information of each image data managed by the managing unit. , The print processing means,
From each image data managed by the management means,
It is characterized in that the image data managed in association with the image specifying information extracted by the extracting means is read out, and the read-out image data is printed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since it is possible to place a print order through the communication network, the user can receive the print processing service without bothering to go to the store. Further, since the image data can be automatically specified only by receiving the image specifying information for specifying the image, the work of extracting the image data to be printed becomes easy.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of a print processing system 1 according to this embodiment. Figure 1
As shown in FIG.
1, a display unit 12, an input unit 13, a communication control unit 14, a storage device 15, an image reading unit 16, and a printing unit 17.

The control unit 11 performs various control operations according to various control programs stored in the storage device 15. Specifically, when the control unit 11 acquires the image data or the character data as the information incidental to the image data from the image reading unit 16, the control unit 11 follows the image extraction / print processing program and stores the image DB in the storage device 15. Image data acquired from the image reading unit 16 or image data corresponding to character data is extracted from (Data Base), and the printing unit 17
Then, the image extracting / printing process is executed to cause the extracted image data to be printed (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The control unit 11 has a function as a detecting unit according to claim 1, an image extracting unit, an extracting unit according to claim 2, and a specifying unit.

The display unit 12 is a CRT (Cathode Ray Tub).
e) and a display screen such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and according to a display signal input from the control unit 11,
Display the required display.

The input unit 13 is provided with various keys such as a character key and a numerical key, and the control unit 11 receives an operation signal when the key is pressed.
Output to.

The communication controller 14 is composed of a LAN adapter, a router, a TA (Terminal Adapter), etc.
Control is performed to communicate with an external device connected via a leased line or a communication line such as an ISDN line.

The storage device 15 is pre-stored with programs, data and the like, and has a structure including a recording medium readable by the control unit 11, such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. This recording medium is a CD-RO
M, a portable medium such as a memory card, and a fixed medium such as a hard disk. In addition, some or all of programs, data, and the like stored in this recording medium are transferred from a server or a client terminal to a WAN (Wide Area Network).
k), it may be configured to receive from the communication control unit 14 via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), and the recording medium may be a recording medium of a server or a client constructed on the network. Good.

The storage device 15 is the print processing system 1.
It stores various application programs corresponding to the above, an image extraction / print processing program, data processed by each processing program, and the like. In addition, the storage device 15
It has an image DB in which photograph image data of each customer that has been subjected to print processing in the past and associated data attached to each image data are stored in association with each other. The incidental data includes an ID for identifying an image (processing store code, orderer identification information (address, name, order number)), a file name of image data, and the like. The storage device 15 has a function as a management unit according to claims 1 and 2.

The image reading section 16 includes a light source, a lens, and a CCD.
(Charge Coupled Device) and the like, the reflected light of the light illuminated and scanned from the light source to the document is imaged and photoelectrically converted to read the document image, and the read image data is output to the control unit 11. In addition, the image reading unit 16
Has a character recognition function by an OCR (Optical Character Reader), analyzes a character read as an image by OCR software, and converts it into text data. The image reading unit 16 includes the image reading unit according to claim 1 and claim 2.
It has a function as a reading unit.

The printing unit 17 exposes a photosensitive material (photographic paper) according to the image data extracted from the storage unit 15 by the control unit 11 to record an image, and outputs it as a developed (finished) print. The printing unit 17
It has a function as the print processing means according to the first and second aspects.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, an image extraction / print process by reading a print image, which is executed in the print processing system 1, will be described.

When the image reading unit 16 scans a print image for which an order for reprinting has been received (step S1), the control unit 11 temporarily stores the image data read by the scanning in the storage device 15. Characteristic points of the read image such as the density distribution, color distribution, and subject position of the read image are detected (step S2).

Next, the control unit 11 starts searching the image DB in the storage device 15 for image data having the feature point detected in step S2 (step S3).

When the image data having the same characteristic points as the image scanned in step S1 is detected in the image DB by the search in step S3 (step S3).
4; YES), call the image data (step S
5), the control unit 11 causes the display unit 12 to display the image indicated by the image data. If the desired image data is not detected in the image data search in step S3 (step S4; NO), the control unit 11 ends the main image extraction / printing process.

When the control section 11 calls up the image data to be reprinted (step S5), the control section 11 outputs a control signal instructing the print processing for the image data to execute the print processing (step S5). S
6) Then, the main image extraction / printing process ends.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The image extraction / printing process executed by the print processing system 1 by reading the supplementary information of the print image will be described.

The image reading unit 16 uses, as additional information (print information) of the print image for which the reprinting order is received,
When the reverse print character information printed on the back surface of the print is read (step T1), the read character information is OCR.
Convert text with software. When the control unit 11 acquires this text data from the image reading unit 16, the control unit 11 temporarily stores the text data in the storage device 15, and in the image DB in the storage device 15,
The search for incidental data that matches the contents of the text data acquired from the image reading unit 16 is started (step T2).

By the search in step T2, if the incidental data matching the content of the text data acquired from the image reading section 16 is detected from the image DB (step T3;
YES), the control unit 11 calls the image data stored in association with the incidental data from the image DB (step T4), and causes the display unit 12 to display the image indicated by the image data. In the search of the incidental data in step T2, if the incidental data that matches the content of the text data acquired from the image reading unit 16 is not detected (step T2).
3; NO), the control unit 11 ends the main image extraction / printing process.

When the control section 11 calls up the image data to be reprinted (step T4), it outputs a control signal instructing the print processing for the image data to the print section 17 to execute the print processing (step S4). T
5) The main image extraction / printing process is completed.

As described above, according to the print processing system 1 of the present embodiment, at the time of reprint processing such as reprinting or reprinting, it is only necessary to read the print image or the supplementary information such as the reverse printing character information of the print. Since the image data to be reprinted can be automatically extracted from the image DB, the search operation is easier and the search time can be shortened as compared with the conventional manual search of the image data. In particular, since the supplementary information of the print is information specific to the print image, the image data to be reprinted can be extracted more reliably than before by the operation of detecting the image data by reading the supplementary information.

The description contents in this embodiment are as follows.
Modifications can be made as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, in the present embodiment, the case where the character string representing the supplementary information of the print is printed on the back of the image print and these characters are read by the OCR is described. However, the print form of the supplementary information and the supplementary information Is not limited to the above. For example, when the supplementary information of the print is converted into a bar code, the bar code as the supplementary information may be read by a bar code reader.

Further, the print processing system 1 of the present embodiment is installed in one store of a chain-deployed company,
When a communication network between chain stores is constructed, the image server on this network may store all the image data printed by each chain store. In this case, even if the image data to be reprinted is not stored in the storage device 15 of the print processing system 1 installed in the store, desired image data can be acquired from the image server via the communication network. As a result, even if the store requested for reprinting is different from the store requested for initial printing, if both stores are in the same chain, the reprinting process can be handled.

Further, the print processing system 1 is an image server on the communication network, and the orderer information (ID), the code information for specifying the image at the time of the first print processing,
If the image data is registered as a set in the image server, the print orderer can access the image server from a communication terminal such as a personal computer and send the ID and code information to the image server to obtain a desired image data. You can also request a reprint of the image. Here, the code information for identifying the image is a character string that can uniquely select the image,
Or it is desirable that it is a symbol string.

Further, it is possible to provide not only a reprint request via the network, but also a network photo service such as image browsing and image data download via the network. For example, as a storage location of the image data on the image server, a URL (Uniform Resource)
By designating Locator), the above photo service may be provided to a user who is permitted to access the URL. In this way, by providing the photo service via the network, the customer can receive various photo services without going to the photo shop. In this case, it is desirable that the above URL is formed as a character string or a symbol string as additional information such as back printing of the print image that has been previously printed.

As described above, when the print processing system 1 is an image server on a communication network, the control unit 11 is the extraction means described in claim 3 and the communication control unit 14 is the description means described in claim 3. As the receiving means, the storage device 1
Reference numeral 5 denotes a print unit 17 as a management unit according to claim 3.
Has a function as a print processing unit.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the image data corresponding to the print image can be automatically extracted only by reading the print image, which facilitates the extraction work of the image data to be printed. In addition, it is possible to shorten the time from image reading to image data extraction.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image data corresponding to the print image can be automatically specified only by reading the print information attached to the print image, so that the image data to be printed can be extracted. In addition, the time from image reading to image data extraction can be shortened. Further, since the image data corresponding to the print image is specified from the additional information unique to the print image, the image data to be printed can be reliably extracted.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the print order can be made through the communication network, the user can receive the print processing service without bothering to go to the store. Further, since the image data can be automatically specified only by receiving the image specifying information for specifying the image, the work of extracting the image data to be printed becomes easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an image extraction / print process by reading a print image, which is executed in the print processing system 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing image extraction / print processing by reading additional information of a print image, which is executed in the print processing system 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Print processing system 11 Control unit 12 Display 13 Input section 14 Communication control unit 15 Memory device 16 Image reading section 17 Print department

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G06F 17/60 318 G06F 17/60 318G 5L096 G06T 7/00 300 G06T 7/00 300F H04N 1/00 H04N 1 / 00 C 1/21 1/21 F term (reference) 2H106 BA95 5B021 BB01 BB02 BB04 CC05 QQ04 5B075 ND06 ND23 ND34 NK07 NK08 NK13 NK39 PP04 PP28 PR06 UU40 5C062 AB17 AB22 AC04 AC22 AC51 AC61 AE03 BB11A0 5C073

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A print processing system comprising a management means for accumulating and managing image data for which print processing has been performed in the past, comprising: an image reading means for reading a print image; and an image reading means for reading an image read by the image reading means. From the detection means for detecting the characteristic points, and the image data managed by the management means,
A print process comprising: an image extracting unit that extracts image data having the characteristic points detected by the detecting unit; and a print processing unit that performs a print process of the image data extracted by the image extracting unit. system. 2. A management unit that manages each image data that has been printed in the past and associated information that specifies each image data in association with each other, and a reading unit that reads the print information associated with the print image. From each of the incidental information managed by the managing unit, an extracting unit that extracts incidental information corresponding to the print information read by the reading unit, and from each of the image data managed by the managing unit,
A specifying unit that specifies the image data managed in association with the supplementary information extracted by the extracting unit; and a print processing unit that prints the image data specified by the specifying unit. Print processing system. 3. A print processing system comprising print processing means connected to a user terminal via a communication network and performing print processing based on print information transmitted from the user terminal, wherein print processing is performed in the past. Managing means for managing the respective image data and the image specifying information for specifying the respective image data in association with each other, from the user terminal via the communication network,
Receiving means for receiving print information specifying image data, and extraction for extracting image specifying information corresponding to the print information received by the receiving means from the image specifying information of each image data managed by the managing means. The print processing means reads out and reads out the image data managed in association with the image specifying information extracted by the extracting means from among the respective image data managed by the managing means. A print processing system characterized by performing print processing of image data.