JP2006197567A - Image processing method, image processing apparatus and its control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately control a mark sheet format, used for specifying an image file of a photograph and the number of copies to be printed. <P>SOLUTION: In an image processing apparatus, image data that is to be recorded/outputted by way of image recording means is specified according to information described in a mark sheet read through image reading means. Here, the image processing apparatus analyzes the image data to be printed out so as to detect the number of persons included in the image date as objects, prints a mark sheet containing the thumbnail image (B) of the image and a marking column (C) for specifying the number of prints that correspond to the number of persons as objects obtained by detecting the number of faces in the image, makes the image reading means to read the mark sheet, and prints the image in number, corresponding to the number of persons. The detection of the number of persons is performed as an idle task for the image processing apparatus, and information on the number of persons detected as objects is stored in the image file as header information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing method, an image processing apparatus, and a control program for an image processing apparatus for specifying image data to be printed out by an image recording means based on description information on a mark sheet read from the image reading means. .

  Conventionally, when printing a photograph taken with a digital camera, it is possible to designate an image file and the number of copies by using application software capable of printing an image file on a PC. In recent years, so-called photo direct printers and multi-function printers (hereinafter referred to as MFPs) have appeared that are equipped with a memory card that stores images taken with a digital camera and that can print image files stored on the memory card. . In addition, so-called photo direct printers and MFPs that can directly connect a digital camera with a USB cable or the like and print an image file stored in the memory of the digital camera have appeared. In these photo direct printers and MFPs, the user can specify an image file and the number of prints from the operation panel.

  Further, an MFP having scanner means can print a mark sheet (also referred to as an order sheet) including a thumbnail image of a photographic image and a mark field as shown in FIG. Then, after the user marks in the mark field of the mark sheet, the marked image can be printed by causing the scanner of the MFP to read the mark sheet (see, for example, Patent Document 1 below).

  In FIG. 7A, a mark field for performing various print settings (paper and option designation) as shown in the figure is arranged. Below that, there are a thumbnail image B and a mark field C corresponding to each thumbnail image B. Has been placed. The three marks in the mark column C are used for designating the number of prints of the corresponding thumbnail image B, and correspond to one-sheet printing, two-sheet printing, and three-sheet printing from the left, respectively. The user can print the designated number of designated images by painting the desired number of marks and then reading the sheet with the MFP scanner. A mark field D for designating a paper discharge method and reprinting of the sheet is arranged below the mark sheet.

Since such a mark sheet allows a list of images to be viewed, there is a convenience that a print image can be selected by selecting and comparing images. Furthermore, there is an advantage that a photo printing operation can be performed without a display unit such as an LCD in the main body operation unit.
JP 2002-273974 A JP 2004-145563 A JP-A-10-21003

  However, when printing is specified using a conventional mark sheet as shown in FIG. 7, the maximum number of prints is limited to a few. For example, in the example of FIG. 7, the number of sheets “1” is associated with one mark, so that 10 mark fields are necessary to enable printing of 10 sheets, and the area required for the mark field Will increase. Even if a method of providing a mark for designating the number of sheets in units of 5 or 10 is adopted, there is a limit to the space for arranging the mark, and there is a problem that the handling becomes complicated.

  For example, in FIGS. 3 and 4 of Patent Document 1, an example in which the area of the mark column and the area of the thumbnail image are almost equal is described, but the number of images that can be printed on one page is clearly reduced compared to FIG. If the number of images that can be printed on one page is small, the listability is lowered and inconvenient. That is, the user needs a complicated operation of selecting an image from images over a plurality of pages. Furthermore, since the time required for printing the mark sheet increases, there is a problem that the waiting time increases. Further, if the thumbnail image is made small, the increase in the mark area can be absorbed and the listability can be maintained, but there is a problem that it becomes difficult to discriminate the image and the selection of the image itself becomes difficult.

  Therefore, it is difficult to specify a large number of prints and to create a versatile mark sheet format in a fixed manner.

  On the other hand, for example, it is often the case that after traveling with a lot of friends, photographs are distributed to the subject person. If there are 3 people in photo 1, 10 people in photo 2 and 5 people in photo 3, to distribute to those who are shown, print 3 photos, 10 photos, and 5 photos each. There is a need to.

  Since the mark column C of the mark sheet in FIG. 7 has only a mark for printing three sheets, when printing is performed using the mark sheet of FIG. 7, each photograph is printed in three, ten, five sheets respectively. The mark sheet must be read in either of the following procedures.

  Step 1: First, three photos 1 are printed, then ten photos 2 are printed, and finally five photos 3 are printed. In this procedure 1, a mark sheet for printing three photos 1, a mark sheet for printing three photos 2, a mark sheet for printing one photo 2, a mark sheet for printing three photos 3, and a mark sheet for printing two photos 3 prepare. These mark sheets are read once, three times, once, once, once and printed. In the operation of the procedure 1, the number of sheets to be prepared is as many as five and the number of readings is as many as seven, so that the operation is very complicated.

  Step 2: First, print three photos 1, 2, and 3 respectively, then print three photos 2 and two photos 3, then print three photos 2, and finally the two photos Operation to print a sheet. In this procedure 2, a mark sheet for printing three photos 1, 2, and 3 respectively, a mark sheet for printing three photos 2 and two photos 3, a mark sheet for printing three photos 2, and one photo 2 are printed. Prepare a mark sheet. Each of these mark sheets is read once to perform printing. In step 2, the number of sheets to be prepared is four and the number of readings is four. Compared to step 1, the number of required mark sheets is fewer and the number of readings is less, but the user feels that the number of sheets and the number of readings are large. Gives the impression that the operation is very complicated.

  In addition, a technique for printing photographs for the number of subjects in the image has been conventionally known. For example, in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 described above, the number of faces in an image and skin are determined by image recognition processing. A technique for detecting the number of persons in a subject by detecting a color region and a shape pattern peculiar to the person is disclosed. However, all of these known techniques are configured to immediately print the photographs for the number of detected people, and cannot solve the problems in the configuration using the above-described mark sheet, and the hints are also these. This is not suggested in the known literature.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to appropriately control the image file of a photo to be printed and the format of a mark sheet for specifying the number of sheets.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, an image processing method, an image processing apparatus, and an image processing for specifying image data to be recorded and output by an image recording unit based on description information on a mark sheet read from the image reading unit In the control program of the apparatus, the image data to be printed out is analyzed, the number of subjects in the image data is detected, the thumbnail image of the image, and the image corresponding to the number of subjects detected from the image A configuration is adopted in which a mark sheet including a mark field that can specify the number of prints is printed.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to appropriately control the format of the mark sheet for designating the number of images of a photo to be printed, and to easily perform printing for the number of people while preventing deterioration in the listability of the mark sheet. Can do. Furthermore, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to easily specify the number of printed sheets for the number of people expected to be necessary in the mark area having a small area.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment relating to an MFP in which both an image reading unit and a printer unit are incorporated will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a control system of an MFP employing the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 is a central processing unit (CPU) for controlling the entire apparatus, 101 is a ROM for storing programs and data, 102 is a storage unit for storing CPU work data, display data, image data, and the like. (DRAM).

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a display unit composed of an LCD for displaying the status of the apparatus and operation guidance display, 106 denotes an operation unit composed of cursor keys, and 108 denotes a color reading unit composed of a color CCD. Reference numeral 107 denotes a recording unit such as a printer. Reference numeral 109 denotes a storage composed of an HDD or the like, and 111 denotes a card slot from which a memory card such as a digital camera can be read. Reference numeral 112 denotes a USB interface for connecting to the PC when the MFP is used as a scanner, printer, or memory card reader.

  Each of the above parts is connected by a system bus 110.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the operation unit 106 of the MFP shown in FIG. 2 is provided with an LCD 202 for performing the above-described various displays and a mode key 507 for designating an operation mode of the MFP. 2 is provided with a menu key 502 for entering various setting modes, an up / down / left / right key 506 used for moving a setting item or changing a value, and a determination key 505 serving as a setting input key. Yes. Further, the operation unit 106 of FIG. 2 is provided with a start key 503 for starting various jobs such as copying and scanning, and a cancel key 504 used for canceling jobs and resetting settings.

  In this embodiment, the mode key 507 includes three keys for designating three modes of “copy”, “scan”, and “photo print”. Hereinafter, the same reference numeral 507 is used to refer to each of these mode keys.

  Next, the operation of the printing function for the number of people using the mark sheet in the MFP will be described.

  First, the photo image data on the memory card is copied to the storage of the MFP automatically when a memory card storing a photo image of the digital camera is inserted into the card slot of the MFP or in response to an instruction from the user's operation panel. Alternatively, in a configuration in which a digital camera is directly connected via USB or the like, photographic image data is similarly copied from the storage device of the digital camera to the storage of the MFP.

  A control program executed by the CPU 100 of the MFP is stored in the ROM 101 and is executed on a real-time operating system (RTOS) that is also stored in the ROM 101. This RTOS periodically executes an idle task as shown in FIG. 3 when there is no job such as copying or printing.

  Here, the operation of the idle task will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the idle task, first, in step S301, the header portion of the image file is checked, and it is confirmed whether or not information on the number of faces included in the image exists in the JPEG header (EXIF header) of the image. If the number of faces information is present in the JPEG headers of all the image files, another idle task is executed in step S302. If there is an image file for which no face number information exists, the number of faces is detected in step S303. To do. The face number detection process in step S303 is performed as follows.

  In general, since an image file of a digital camera is compressed by the JPEG method, image processing cannot be performed in the JPEG format. Therefore, the image data file stored in the storage 109 is expanded on the DRAM 102 while JPEG expansion (this JPEG expansion processing is performed by firmware stored in the ROM 101, but hardware CODEC may be mounted). A process for detecting the number of faces is performed on the expanded photographic image data.

  The face number detection process is performed by firmware processing of the CPU 100 (however, it may be performed by hardware as described above). For this detection algorithm, for example, an algorithm that detects a shape pattern peculiar to the skin color region and the contour of a person's face as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3 described above can be adopted. good. Since the detection of the image portion of the face and the detection of the number of faces are well known, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  When the number of faces is detected from the image in step S303, the number of faces information is written in the application marker area in the header of the JPEG file on the original storage 109, including the case of zero in step S304. As a result, the image information and the face number information exist in one file, and by using this information, the image and the face number can be stored in association with each other.

  When the face number storage process in step S304 is completed, the idle task returns to step S301 to detect the next unprocessed face detection image. If there is a corresponding image, the detection process is performed again in step S303.

  If there is no unprocessed image, in step S302, another process to be performed by the idle task is performed, and the idle task is terminated. The processing for detecting the number of faces of a photographic image file copied from the card slot to the storage 109 can be completed when a certain amount of time elapses after copying. As described above, by detecting the information of the number of faces as an idle task, the face number detection process can be executed without performing a special user operation.

  In addition, the system load can be distributed to effectively use resources. That is, the information on the number of faces is referred to at the time of printing a mark sheet as will be described later. However, if the processing for detecting the number of faces is performed at the time of printing a mark sheet, it takes a lot of time to print the mark sheet. This is because when a face detection process is performed by a CPU of a general MFP, it takes a few seconds or more per sheet, and it takes a lot of time to print a mark sheet including several tens of images. is there. Therefore, it is desirable that the face number detection process be performed in advance as much as possible, but this problem can be solved by performing the face number detection process as an idle task as described above.

  Next, the mark sheet printing process will be described with reference to FIG. The overall format of the mark sheet printed in this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 7, and in particular, the A and D mark fields are the same as those shown in FIG.

  The user presses the photo print key 507 in FIG. 2 from the operation unit 106 when printing the mark sheet. Subsequently, when the mark sheet key 501 is pressed, the mark sheet printing job of FIG. 5 is started.

  First, in step S501, the A portion (FIG. 7) of the mark sheet is printed. In step S502, the thumbnail portion of the B portion (FIG. 7) of the mark sheet is printed for one line (one stage). Next, in step S503, the C portion (FIG. 7) of the mark sheet for designating the number of prints corresponding to the thumbnail is printed. However, in the case of the present embodiment, these thumbnail portion (B) and mark column (C) for designating the number of printed sheets have a format different from the conventional one as will be described later (the processing in step S503 is shown in FIG. 6). Will be described in more detail later).

  Thereafter, printing is performed by repeating step S502 to step S504 until the thumbnail image has a predetermined number of rows (number of rows). When printing of a predetermined number of stages is completed, the D portion of the mark sheet is printed in step S505, and one sheet of printing is completed.

  Next, in step S506, it is determined whether or not the mark sheet for the next page should be printed because, for example, the thumbnail to be printed cannot fit into one mark sheet. If there is a next page, the processing from step S501 is repeated, and if there is no next page, the processing is terminated.

  In the present embodiment, the mark column (C) for designating the number of sheets to be printed in step S503 is generated as shown in FIG. 4 by performing the processing of FIG.

  Here, for simplification of explanation, it is assumed that the one-stage thumbnail (B) is composed of four images as shown in FIG. 4, the mark column C is composed of four marks, and the three on the left are respectively the same as in the prior art. The (default) mark for designating the number of sheets of 1, 2, 3 is used. In the present embodiment, a mark field for designating the number of persons (for example, five persons in the case of the leftmost image in FIG. 4) detected from the image by the above face number detection process is displayed on the right side of the image. Dynamically generated in response.

  In step S601 in FIG. 6, first, images in the mark column corresponding to 1, 2, and 3 prints of the first image to be printed on the left side of the mark column are created on the DRAM.

  At this time, a number indicating the number of sheets in a dropout color is displayed in the mark column C. The dropout color is a color that appears to be white for the reading unit even if it can be read by humans when the read mark sheet is read by the reading unit 108. Specifically, since the number of prints is printed in light green and the fill of the mark column is determined by the green luminance output of the color reading unit, the number displayed on the number is not erroneously recognized as a fill.

  Next, in step S602 and step S603, the JPEG header portion of the image is examined to check whether there is information on the number of faces, and if it exists, whether the number of faces is 3 or less. If there is no information on the number of faces, the image has not been subjected to face number detection processing, so the mark column is not added and the process proceeds to step S605. If the number of faces is 3 or less, it is not necessary to add a mark field, and the process advances to step S605. If the face number information is 4 or more, a mark field is added in step S604. This is a process for avoiding user confusion due to the creation of two mark fields having the same number when the number of faces is 3 or less.

  The above processing is repeated while confirming whether or not one line has been executed in step S605, and if the mark for one line can be generated, the mark column generated in step S606 is printed.

  As described above, the mark column C as shown in FIG. 4 can be generated below the thumbnail image B. The mark field for designating the number of persons is automatically generated according to the number of subjects detected from the image. Further, in this embodiment, the necessary marks are added only when the number of persons equal to or more than three is detected, so that the mark sheet does not give a complicated impression.

  In the example of FIG. 4, since the number of detected faces is 5 in the image at the left end, a mark field for printing the number of persons, that is, 5 sheets, is added. The number “5”, which is the number of sheets in dropout color, is printed in the mark field, so that the user can recognize the number of printed sheets when this field is filled, and the mark operation for specifying the number of sheets intuitively and easily Can be performed.

  Also, in the second flower image from the left in FIG. 4, the number of faces is zero, so no mark field is added. In the rightmost image in FIG. 4, the number of faces is 2 (3 or less), so no mark is added.

  When the mark sheet is printed as described above, the user fills the number of images to be printed, sets the mark sheet in the reading unit 108, and presses the mark sheet key 501 again from the operation unit 106.

  In response to this operation, the CPU 100 causes the reading unit 108 to read the mark sheet. For the read image, the control of the CPU 100 determines which thumbnail (B) and which number of mark designation columns (C) corresponding to the thumbnail (B) are filled. Then, when the CPU 100 determines that the mark column (C) for specifying the number of sheets is filled, the image is printed on the recording unit 107 by the number of sheets. In particular, when a mark field for designating the number of people detected according to the number of faces is filled, the number of faces of the image is used as the number of prints, and the image is printed for the number of people.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to appropriately control the format of the mark sheet for designating the number of images of a photo to be printed.

  According to the present embodiment, a mark field for specifying the number of prints corresponding to the number of persons is added according to the number of face detection (number of persons) detection process without increasing the number of marks in the mark field more than necessary. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform printing for the number of people while minimizing the deterioration of the listability of the mark sheet. In other words, when printing a number of photos for each number of photos, a simple operation of marking the “print for the number of people” mark field corresponding to the photos you want to print on the mark sheet allows you to print out the number of photos for each photo. Obtainable.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, a mark field for designating the default number of sheets is provided, and printing is performed for the number of persons detected by the face number detection process in addition to the default mark field only when necessary according to the face number detection process. A mark field for specifying the number of sheets is added. This makes it possible to easily specify the number of printed sheets corresponding to the number of people expected to be necessary in a mark area with a small area without complicating the format of the mark sheet.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the face count (number of people) detection processing of an image is executed as one of idle tasks in a standby state in which the user is not performing printing, copying, scanning, or the like. Thereby, the time required for printing the mark sheet can be reduced, and the hardware of the apparatus can be used effectively. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is not necessary to wait for the time required for the face number detection process (face search) after the mark sheet printing is designated, and the mark sheet printing operation is started immediately after the mark sheet printing is designated.

  In this embodiment, information on the number of faces (that is, the number of subjects) obtained by the face number detection process is recorded in the header of an image file (in the above example, a JPEG file). For this reason, it is not necessary to perform the face number detection process again for the image file including the face number information, and the mark field for designating an appropriate number of prints is printed on the mark sheet at high speed by the printing process of FIG. be able to. In addition, when recording face number information in an image file, in order to increase the versatility of the information or to maintain file compatibility, the meaning of the information is shown in addition to the face number information. It is possible to record additional information such as a character string explaining the above as appropriate.

  In this embodiment, no mark field is added to an image file having no information on the number of faces. Although it is possible to perform face count detection processing on an image that has no information on the number of faces at the time of creating a mark field, this detection processing takes time, so if it is performed at this time, it takes a very long time to print the mark sheet. It will take. In this embodiment, the configuration is such that the face detection processing is not performed during the printing of the mark sheet giving priority to the printing speed of the mark sheet. However, when the hardware processing capability is sufficient (the processing capability of various hardware will be improved in the future). The number of faces may be detected when the mark sheet is printed.

  In this embodiment, the face search is performed after the image data in the card slot 111 is copied to the storage 109. However, since the present invention does not depend on the type of storage means, It is also possible to perform face search and mark sheet printing.

  In the above description, an example of using the face number detection process for detecting an area determined to be a face from an image is used to determine the number of prints corresponding to the number of subjects. To determine the number of images, not only the face number detection process but also other appropriate image processing methods can be applied.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, different methods for generating and printing a mark column (C portion in FIG. 7) for designating the number of mark sheets are shown. Except for the configuration described below (for example, hardware configuration), it may be the same as that of the first embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the number of marks in the mark column C is variable, and the rightmost mark is used to designate the number of persons detected from the image by the face number detection process performed in the same manner as described above. The column is dynamically generated according to the image.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the number of marks in the mark column C below the thumbnail column B (four in the following example) is fixed. The rightmost mark is used as a mark for specifying the number of persons when a face is detected from the image by the face number detection process. In this case, the number that can be specified in the mark column at the right end is the number corresponding to the number of detected faces.

  Further, when a face cannot be detected from the image by the face number detection process, the default number of sheets to be designated by the mark (four in the following example) can be designated.

  In order to generate the mark field as shown in FIG. 8, the process shown in FIG. 9 is performed instead of the process shown in FIG.

  In step S901, first, four images in the mark column corresponding to printing 1-4 sheets of images to be printed (this number is fixed to 4 in this embodiment) are created on the DRAM 102. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the number of sheets that can be designated is indicated by printing a number in a dropout color inside the mark column.

  Next, in step S902, the JPEG header portion of the image is checked to check whether face number information exists. If there is no information on the number of faces in the JPEG header, the image is not subjected to face number detection processing, and therefore the mark column image generated in step S901 is not changed, and the process advances to step S905.

  Also, if the number of faces is 4 or less in step S903, printing for the number of people is possible without changing the image in the mark field, so the process proceeds to step S905 without changing it.

  On the other hand, if the number information of the face is 5 or more in step S903, the image in the mark field is changed so that the mark field for “print four sheets” at the right end is set as the mark field for “print for the number of people” in step S904. change.

  For example, in the image at the left end of FIG. 8, the number of detected faces is 5, so the number printed in dropout color is changed from 4 to 5 at the right end mark to print 5 sheets. Change to the mark field. As a result, “5”, which is the number of sheets in the dropout color, is printed in the mark column at the right end. From this mark field, the user can recognize the number of printed sheets when this field is filled.

  Since the third image from the left in FIG. 8 has seven faces detected, “7”, which is the number of sheets in dropout color, is printed in the mark column at the right end by the same processing.

  Note that the second flower image in FIG. 8 has zero faces, and the rightmost (fourth) image has two faces (≦ 4), so the mark field is not changed and dropout is performed. The number indicating the number of colors remains “4” generated in step S901.

  The above processing is repeatedly executed until it is confirmed in step S905 that the image for one line has been processed, and then the image in the final mark column C is printed in step S906.

  The user selects and fills the mark sheet corresponding to the number of images to be printed on the mark sheet printed as described above, sets the mark sheet in the reading unit 108 (FIG. 1), and again uses the mark sheet key from the operation unit 106. Press 501 (FIG. 2).

  In response to this, the CPU 100 determines which mark column is filled. Then, when the mark column at the right end is filled, the following processing is performed.

  First, when the number of faces is recorded in the JPEG header of the image data, it is determined that the mark column at the right end has been changed for printing by the number of people, and the JPEG header of the image data The image is printed with the number of recorded faces as the number of printed sheets.

  On the other hand, if the number of faces is not recorded in the JPEG header of the image data, it is determined that the filled right end mark has not been changed for printing by the number of people, and is printed with the right end mark. The number of prints (4 in this embodiment) is set as the number of prints, and the image is printed.

  Also in this embodiment, the mark column is not changed for an image file having no information on the number of faces. Although it is possible to perform face count detection processing on an image that has no information on the number of faces at the time of creating a mark field, this detection processing takes time, so if it is performed at this time, it takes a very long time to print the mark sheet. It will take. In this embodiment, priority is given to the printing speed of the mark sheet, and the face detection process is not performed during the printing of the mark sheet. However, when the hardware processing capability is sufficient, the number of faces is detected when the mark sheet is printed. This point may be the same in this embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the face search is performed after the image data of the card slot 111 is copied to the storage 109. However, the present invention does not depend on the type of storage means, so the face search is performed on the image of the card slot 111. Of course, it is also possible to perform mark sheet printing.

  Also in this embodiment, an example of using the face number detection process for detecting an area determined to be a face from an image is shown in order to determine the number of prints corresponding to the number of subjects. However, it goes without saying that not only the face number detection process but also other appropriate image processing methods can be applied to determine the number of printed sheets corresponding to the number of subjects.

  Even with the above-described method, a mark field for designating the number of sheets corresponding to the number of faces can be arranged on the mark sheet, and an apparatus can be provided that prints the number of faces as the number of printed sheets when each individual mark is made.

  According to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects described in the first embodiment, since the number of marks in the mark column for designating the number of sheets is fixed, the screen of the printed mark sheet is clear and easy to see, and the mark operation is easy. There is an advantage that can be done. Further, as is clear from the comparison with FIG. 6, the processing load on the CPU can be almost the same.

  Also, a specific mark on the mark sheet surface (the rightmost mark in FIG. 8) can be shared as a mark for designating the number of prints by the number of people or a mark for designating a default print number (4 in this embodiment). When the image is printed, if the mark is filled, it is determined using the number of people information in the image header whether the number of prints is designated for the number of people or the default number of prints is designated. . For this reason, it is not necessary to record extra information other than the above on the mark sheet, or to perform processing for determining the number of sheets by reading this information.

  The present invention is implemented in various image processing apparatuses having an image reading unit and an image recording unit without being limited by the product name of the image processing apparatus (for example, MFP (multifunction printer apparatus) in the above embodiment). be able to. The control program of the present invention is stored in a medium such as a ROM of the image processing apparatus from the time of shipment of the image processing apparatus, and can be supplied to these apparatuses from various external storage media (CD ROM, flexible disk, etc.). it can. Furthermore, the control program of the present invention can be supplied from an arbitrary server via a network.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of an MFP employing the present invention. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the operation part of the apparatus of FIG. It is the flowchart figure which showed the flow of the idle task in the apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mark sheet | seat used with the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing mark sheet printing processing in the apparatus of FIG. 1. It is the flowchart figure which showed the mark column production | generation process in the apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the conventional mark sheet. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure from which the mark sheet used with the apparatus of FIG. 1 differs. It is the flowchart figure which showed the mark column production | generation process of the mark sheet | seat of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

100 CPU
101 ROM
102 DRAM
106 Operation unit 108 Reading unit 109 Storage 111 Card slot 202 LCD
501 Mark sheet key 502 Menu key 503 Start key 504 Cancel key 505 Enter key 506 Up / down / left / right key 507 Mode key

Claims (9)

In an image processing method for specifying image data to be printed out by the image recording means in the image processing apparatus having an image reading means and an image recording means, based on description information on a mark sheet read from the image reading means,
Analyzing the image data to be printed out, detecting the number of subjects in the image data,
An image processing method comprising: printing a thumbnail image of the image and a mark sheet including a mark field that can specify a number of prints of the image corresponding to the number of subjects detected from the image.   2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the number of subjects is detected by detecting the number of faces in the image data.   The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the detection of the number of subjects is executed as an idle task of the image processing apparatus.   2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein a default mark field capable of designating up to a predetermined number is provided as a mark field of the mark sheet, and the number of subjects detected from the image exceeds the predetermined number And a mark field for designating the number of printed sheets corresponding to the number of persons.   2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein information relating to the number of detected subjects is stored as header information in an image file of the image data.   2. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein a default mark field capable of designating a predetermined number of sheets is provided as a mark field of the mark sheet, and a specific mark field among the mark fields is detected from an image. When the number of subjects exceeds the predetermined number, the image processing method is generated as a mark field for designating the number of printed sheets corresponding to the number of subjects.   7. The image processing method according to claim 6, wherein when the specific mark field is marked on the read mark sheet, information on the number of subjects detected with respect to the image data is header information in the image file of the image data. Is selected, the number of prints corresponding to the number of persons is selected. If the information regarding the number of subjects is not stored as header information in the image file of the image data, the number of prints to be designated by the mark is selected. An image processing method characterized by selecting.   An image processing apparatus that implements the image processing method according to claim 1.   A control program for an image processing apparatus, which controls hardware of the image processing apparatus to perform the image processing method according to claim 1.

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