JP2006287609A - Image composite apparatus and image composite processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image composite apparatus and an image composite processing program capable of applying magnification processing and rotation processing to an image to be composed without the need for rewriting contents of a memory storing the image to be composed and composing the image to be composed subjected to the magnification processing or the rotation processing with an input image. <P>SOLUTION: The image composite apparatus includes: an image to be composed storage means 231 for storing the image to be composed that is going to be composed with the input image; an image to be composed magnification means 232 that magnifies or reduces the image to be composed stored in the image to be composed storage means at an optional magnification/reduction factor, and/or an image to be composed rotation means 233 that rotates the image to be composed stored in the image to be composed storage means at an optional angle; and an image composite means 24 that composes the image to be composed magnified or reduced by the image to be composed magnification means and/or the image to be composed rotated by the image to be composed rotation means with the input image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is applied to a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, etc., and an image composition apparatus for compositing a composite image such as a watermark image with an input image, and an image composition process for causing a computer to execute image composition processing Regarding the program.

  Conventionally, a composite image such as a watermark image or a tint block print image is combined with an input image read by a scanner or the like and printed.

  However, in the past, although the image after combining the input image and the composite image can be rotated or scaled, in order to combine the input image with the composite image rotated or scaled, It was necessary to rewrite the contents of the memory storing the synthesized image each time. Therefore, there are problems in terms of memory resources and processing time in firmware.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a technique for creating a color separation pattern by performing rotation and scaling processing on two background patterns and combining them.
JP-A-4-213770

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has not proposed a solution method for the above-described problem in the case of compositing a composite image such as a watermark image with an input image.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a technical background, and it is possible to perform scaling processing and rotation processing of a composite image without rewriting the contents of a memory storing the composite image. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image composition apparatus capable of compositing a composite image after scaling processing or rotation processing with an input image, and an image composition processing program for causing a computer to execute the image composition processing. .

The above problem is solved by the following means.
(1) Composite image storage means for storing a composite image to be combined with an input image, and composite image scaling for enlarging or reducing the composite image stored in the composite image storage means to an arbitrary magnification And an image composition means for compositing the composite image scaled by the composite image scaling means with the input image.
(2) a composite image storage unit that stores a composite image to be combined with the input image, a composite image rotation unit that rotates the composite image stored in the composite image storage unit at an arbitrary angle, An image synthesizing apparatus comprising: an image synthesizing unit that synthesizes a synthesized image rotated by the synthesized image rotating unit and an input image.
(3) A synthesized image rotating means for rotating the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means at an arbitrary angle, and the synthesized means is scaled by the synthesized image scaling means to rotate the synthesized image. 2. The image synthesizing apparatus according to item 1, wherein the synthesized image rotated by the means and the input image are synthesized.
(4) The apparatus according to (2) or (3), further including a direction determination unit that determines a direction of the input image, wherein the combined image rotation unit determines a rotation angle of the combined image based on a determination result by the direction determination unit. Image composition device.
(5) An input image scaling unit for enlarging or reducing the input image to an arbitrary magnification is provided, and the image synthesis unit synthesizes the input image scaled by the input image scaling unit and the synthesized image. The image synthesis device according to any one of?
(6) The image synthesizer according to item 5 above, wherein the synthesized image scaling unit performs scaling processing on the synthesized image at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image by the input image scaling unit.
(7) An input image rotation unit that rotates an input image at an arbitrary angle, and the image synthesis unit combines any of the input image rotated by the input image rotation unit and the synthesized image. The image composition device described in 1.
(8) The image synthesizing apparatus according to item 7, wherein the synthesized image rotating unit performs a rotation process on the synthesized image at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image by the input image rotating unit.
(9) a synthesized image scaling step for enlarging or reducing the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means to an arbitrary magnification, and a step for synthesizing the scaled synthesized image and the input image; , An image composition processing program for causing a computer to execute.
(10) A synthesized image rotation step for rotating the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means at an arbitrary angle, and a step for synthesizing the rotated synthesized image and the input image. An image composition processing program for execution.
(11) A computer further comprising: a composite image rotation step for rotating the composite image stored in the composite image storage means at an arbitrary angle; and a step of combining the rotated composite image and the input image. 10. The image composition processing program according to item 9, which is executed by the program.
(12) The method according to (10) or (11), further including a direction determination step for determining a direction of the input image, wherein the rotation angle of the combined image is determined based on a determination result in the direction determination step in the combined image rotation step. Image composition processing program.
(13) An input image scaling step for enlarging or reducing the input image to an arbitrary magnification is provided. In the image synthesis step, the input image scaled by the input image scaling step and the synthesized image are combined. The image composition processing program according to any one of to 12.
(14) The image composition processing program according to item 13 above, wherein in the composite image scaling step, the composite image is subjected to scaling processing at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image in the input image scaling step.
(15) An input image rotation step for rotating the input image at an arbitrary angle, and in the image composition step, any one of the preceding items 9 to 14 for combining the input image rotated by the input image rotation step and the image to be combined. The image composition processing program described in 1.
(16) The image composition processing program according to item 15 above, wherein in the composition image rotation step, the composition image is rotated at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image in the input image rotation step.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (1), the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means is enlarged or reduced to an arbitrary magnification, and then the scaled synthesized image and the input image are synthesized. Therefore, the scaling process of the synthesized image can be performed independently of the input image, and the scaled synthesized image and the input image are synthesized without requiring frequent rewriting of the synthesized image storage means. can do.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (2), the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means is rotated by an arbitrary angle, and then the rotated synthesized image and the input image are synthesized. The synthesized image can be rotated regardless of the input image, and the rotated synthesized image and the input image can be synthesized without requiring frequent rewriting of the synthesized image storage means.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (3), it is possible to perform the scaling process and the rotation process of the synthesized image independently of the input image, and without frequently rewriting the synthesized image storage means, The combined image that has been subjected to the scaling process and the rotation process can be combined with the input image.

  According to the invention described in item (4) above, it is provided with direction determining means for determining the direction of the input image, and the combined image rotating means determines the rotation angle of the combined image based on the determination result by the direction determining means. Therefore, the direction of the input image and the direction of the synthesized image can be automatically matched.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (5), the scaled input image and the scaled and / or rotated synthesized image can be synthesized.

  According to the invention described in item (6) above, since the synthesized image is scaled at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image, the synthesized image can be synthesized while maintaining the magnitude relationship with the input image. it can.

  According to the invention described in item (7), the rotated input image and the combined image that has been scaled and / or rotated can be synthesized.

  According to the invention described in item (8) above, since the synthesized image is rotated at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image, the synthesized image can be synthesized while maintaining the positional relationship with the input image.

  According to the invention described in item (9) above, it is possible to cause the computer to execute a process of combining the scaled synthesized image and the input image after enlarging or reducing the synthesized image to an arbitrary magnification. The image to be synthesized can be scaled independently of the input image, and the scaled image to be synthesized and the input image can be synthesized without requiring frequent rewriting of the synthesized image storage means. Can do.

  According to the invention described in item (10) above, since the combined image can be executed by the computer after the combined image is rotated by an arbitrary angle, the combined image and the input image can be executed. The rotation process of the synthesized image can be performed independently of the input image, and the rotated synthesized image and the input image can be synthesized without requiring frequent rewriting of the synthesized image storage means.

  According to the invention described in the above item (11), it is possible to perform the scaling process and the rotation process of the synthesized image independently of the input image, and without frequently rewriting the synthesized image storage unit, The combined image that has been subjected to the scaling process and the rotation process can be combined with the input image.

  According to the invention described in item (12) above, since the rotation direction of the combined image is determined based on the determination result of the direction of the input image, the direction of the input image and the direction of the combined image are automatically matched. Can be made.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (13), the scaled input image and the scaled and / or rotated image to be synthesized can be synthesized.

  According to the invention described in item (14) above, since the composite image is scaled at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image, the composite image can be synthesized while maintaining the magnitude relationship with the input image. it can.

  According to the invention described in the preceding item (15), the rotated input image and the combined image that has been scaled and / or rotated can be synthesized.

  According to the invention described in item (16) above, since the synthesized image is rotated at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image, the synthesized image can be synthesized while maintaining the positional relationship with the input image.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a color image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as an image forming apparatus) provided with an image composition apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes, for example, an MFP (Multi Function Peripherals) that is a multi-function image forming apparatus having a plurality of functions such as a copy function, a printer function, a scanner function, and a data transmission function such as image data. Yes.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a network interface unit (network I / F) 11, a scanner unit 12, an operation unit 13, a storage unit 14, a printing unit 15, a CPU 16, a ROM 17, a RAM 18, and a document direction detection sensor 19.

  The network interface unit 11 functions as a communication unit for connecting the image forming apparatus 1 to the network 2. In this embodiment, image data and other data transmitted from a user terminal (not shown) can be received via the network interface unit 11.

  The scanner unit 12 reads a monochrome or color document and converts it into image data.

  The operation unit 13 includes a display device having a touch panel and a keyboard, and has a display function and a function for a user to perform an operation. In this embodiment, when a user scans a document with the scanner unit 12 and copies the document, the operation unit 13 is used to set a scaling process and a magnification for enlarging or reducing the input image, A rotation process and a rotation angle for rotating at a predetermined angle can be set, and other setting input operations can be performed.

  The storage unit 14 stores image data input from the scanner unit 12 and the user terminal, various setting data input by the user using the operation unit 13, and a watermark that is one of the combined images. A watermark image storage unit 231 for storing images is provided.

  The printing unit 15 prints document image data read by the scanner unit 12 and print data transmitted from a user terminal on paper.

  In addition to the overall control of the image forming apparatus 1, the CPU 16 controls the orientation of the document set on the scanner unit 12 (the direction of image data) based on a signal from the document direction detection sensor 19 in this embodiment. ) Or an image composition process. The image composition process will be described later.

  The ROM 17 stores a program for operating the CPU 16 and other data.

  The RAM 18 is for securing an operation area of the CPU 16.

  The document direction detection sensor 19 detects the direction (orientation) of the document set on the scanner unit 12.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of an image composition apparatus included in the image forming apparatus 1 of FIG.

  21 is a controller, 22 is an input image processing unit, and 23 is a watermark image processing unit. The input image processing unit 22 includes, for example, an input image scaling unit 221 that performs a scaling process on an input image read by the scanner unit 12, and an input image rotation unit 222 that performs a rotation process on the input image. The watermark image processing unit 23 includes the watermark image storage unit 231, a watermark scaling unit 232 that performs scaling processing on the watermark image, and a watermark rotation unit 233 that performs rotation processing on the watermark image. Yes.

  An input image control signal b indicating the setting of the rotation processing and scaling processing for the input image a instructed by the user is transmitted to the input image scaling unit 221 and the input image rotation unit 222 of the input image processing unit 22.

  The input image a is subjected to an enlargement / reduction scaling process at a set magnification and a rotation process at a set angle by the input image scaling unit 221 and the input image rotation unit 222, Output as a post-rotation image c. Since an input image scaling method by the input image scaling unit 221 and an input image rotation method by the input image rotation unit 222 are known, descriptions thereof are omitted.

  On the other hand, the watermark image storage unit 231 stores a watermark image, and the watermark image is read from the watermark image storage unit 231 based on signals indicating the main scanning and sub-scanning regions of the input image.

  From the controller 21, a watermark control signal d indicating the setting of rotation and scaling of the watermark image is sent to the watermark scaling unit 232 and the watermark rotation unit 233. In this embodiment, the rotation and magnification of the watermark indicated by the watermark control signal d are set to be the same as the rotation angle and magnification of the input image a.

  The watermark image is subjected to enlargement / reduction scaling processing and rotation processing by the watermark scaling section 232 and the watermark rotation section 233, and is output as a watermark image e after scaling and rotation.

  The image composition unit 24 receives the watermark generation instruction signal f from the controller 21 and superimposes the scaled and rotated watermark image e on the scaled and rotated image c. The synthesized image is output as a watermark superimposed image g.

  FIG. 3 illustrates an algorithm for reduction scaling performed by the watermark scaling unit 232. A1 to F6 are watermark images composed of 36 pixels held in the watermark image storage unit 231. As an example, when 1/3 reduction / magnification is selected, the watermark shape storage unit 231 is accessed so that data of 1 dot is acquired every 3 dots in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction, respectively.

  As a result, the watermark image is reduced and scaled to an image having four pixels A1, A4, D1, and D4.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an algorithm for enlargement / reduction performed by the watermark enlargement / reduction unit 232. A1 to B2 are watermark images held in the watermark image storage unit 231. As an example, when 3 times enlargement / magnification is selected, the same storage unit address values are respectively set in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction. The watermark shape storage unit 231 is accessed so as to repeat three dots, and as a result, the watermark image is enlarged and scaled to an image of 36 pixels A1 to B2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the algorithm of the rotation process in the watermark rotation unit 233. A1 to F6 are watermark images held in a watermark image storage unit 231 composed of 36 pixels, and pixels at positions of x dots in the main scanning direction and y lines in the sub scanning direction with the pixel A1 as a reference position. Is rotated at an angle of D degrees, the readout address of the watermark image storage unit 231 is
Main scanning address = (Main scanning address without rotation) × Cos (D) − (Sub scanning address without rotation) × Sin (D)
Sub-scanning address = (sub-scanning address without rotation) × Cos (D) + (main scanning address without rotation) × Sin (D)
Is a new storage unit address.

  As an example, a case where an image is rotated by −60 ° is shown. If the (main scanning address, sub scanning address) of the A1 pixel is (0, 0), the pixel A6 is represented as (4, -1).

The address after rotation is
Main scanning address = 4 × Cos (−60 °) − (− 1) × Sin (−60 °) = 2-0.87 = 1.13
Sub scanning address = (− 1) × Cos (−60 °) + 4 × Sin (−60 °) = − 0.5−3.48 = −3.98
Rounding is performed, and the post-rotation address = (1, −4) = pixel E2 is read from the watermark image storage unit 231.

  Further, by circulating the address within a certain area, the watermark image can be spread without a break.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where the pixel D3 (2, −3) is rotated by −60 °.

The address after rotation is
Main scanning address = 3 × Cos (−60 °) − (− 3) × Sin (−60 °) = 1.5−2.61 = −1.11
Sub scanning address = (− 3) × Cos (−60 °) + 3 × Sin (−60 °) = − 1.5−2.61 = −4.11
Rounding is performed and the post-rotation address = (− 1, −4), but since the main scanning address−1 does not exist, the address is circulated and (6−4) = the pixel E6 is read from the storage unit 231. Thus, it is possible to construct a watermark image without a break.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of the composition process of the input image and the watermark image executed by the CPU 16 shown in FIG. This process is performed by the CPU 16 executing an image composition processing program stored in the ROM 17 or the like. In the following description and drawings, the step is abbreviated as “S”.

  In S1, it is determined whether or not scaling of the input image has been set by the user. If it has been set (YES in S1), the input image is enlarged or reduced to the set magnification in S2. , Go to S3. If zooming is not set (NO at S1), the process proceeds to S3.

  In S3, it is determined whether or not rotation of the input image has been set. If it has been set (YES in S3), the input image is rotated to the set rotation angle in S4, and then the process proceeds to S5. If the rotation is not set (NO in S3), the process proceeds to S5.

  In S5, it is determined whether or not scaling processing has been performed on the input image. If so (YES in S6), scaling to a watermark image is performed at the same scaling factor as that for the input image in S6. After executing the process, the process proceeds to S7. If scaling has not been performed on the input image (NO in S5), the process proceeds directly to S7.

  In S7, it is determined whether or not the input image has been rotated. If it has been determined (YES in S7), in S8, the watermark image is rotated at the same angle as the input image. After that, the process proceeds to S9. If the input image has not been subjected to rotation processing (NO at S7), the process proceeds directly to S9.

  In S9, an input image that has not been subjected to scaling / rotation processing and a watermark image that has not been subjected to scaling / rotation processing at the same magnification and rotation angle as the input image are combined. In step S10, the combined image data is transmitted to the printing unit 15, and the combining process ends. The printing unit 15 prints the sent image data on a sheet.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the watermark image read from the watermark image storage unit 231 is scaled or rotated independently of the input image, so it is necessary to rewrite the contents of the watermark image storage unit 231. Disappear. In addition, since the watermark image is scaled and rotated at the same scaling factor and rotation angle as the input image, the watermark image is always synthesized in an appropriate relationship with the input image. Can do.

  In the above embodiment, the scaling process and the rotation process are performed at the same scaling factor and rotation angle as the input image. However, the input image scaling process, the scaling ratio, and the rotation process are not performed. Regardless of the angle or rotation angle, the scaling factor or rotation angle of the watermark image may be set.

  FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a case where a watermark image is automatically rotated and combined with an input image in accordance with the direction of an original read by the scanner unit 12 is shown.

  In S21, it is determined whether or not the direction of the read original is the reference direction. If the direction is the reference direction (YES in S21), the process proceeds to S23 without performing the rotation process on the watermark image. If the direction is not the reference direction (NO in S21), the watermark image is subjected to a rotation process in accordance with the direction of the document in S22, and then the process proceeds to S23.

  In S23, the watermark image with or without the rotation process and the input image are combined, and in S24, the combined image data is transmitted to the printing unit 15 and the combining process is terminated. The printing unit 15 prints the sent image data on a sheet.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, since the watermark image is rotated according to the direction of the document, the direction of the document and the direction of the watermark image can be automatically matched.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Although the case where the input image is an image of a document read by the scanner unit 12 is shown, it may be image data transmitted from an external device such as a user terminal.

1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of an image forming apparatus having an image composition device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a functional block diagram of an image composition device. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a reduction scaling algorithm performed in a watermark scaling unit 232; FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an enlargement / magnification algorithm performed by a watermark enlargement / reduction unit 232; It is a figure for demonstrating the algorithm of the rotation process in a watermark rotation part. A case where the pixel D3 (2, −3) is rotated by −60 ° is shown. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of image composition processing performed by the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart illustrating another example of image composition processing performed by the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 12 Scanner part 13 Operation part 14 Memory | storage part 15 Printing part 16 CPU
19 Document Direction Detection Sensor 21 Controller 22 Input Image Processing Unit 23 Watermark Image Processing Unit 24 Image Composition Unit 221 Input Image Scaling Unit 222 Input Image Rotating Unit 231 Watermark Image Storage Unit 232 Watermark Scaling Unit 233 Watermark Rotating Unit

Claims (16)

A synthesized image storage means for storing a synthesized image to be synthesized with the input image;
A combined image scaling means for enlarging or reducing the combined image stored in the combined image storage means to an arbitrary magnification;
Image combining means for combining the combined image scaled by the combined image scaling means and the input image;
An image composition device comprising: A synthesized image storage means for storing a synthesized image to be synthesized with the input image;
A synthesized image rotating means for rotating the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means at an arbitrary angle;
Image combining means for combining the combined image rotated by the combined image rotating means and the input image;
An image composition device comprising:   A composite image rotating means for rotating the composite image stored in the composite image storage means at an arbitrary angle is provided, and the composite means is scaled by the composite image scaling means and rotated by the composite image rotating means. The image synthesizing device according to claim 1, wherein the synthesized image and the input image are synthesized. A direction determining means for determining the direction of the input image;
The image composition device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the composition image rotation means determines a rotation angle of the composition image based on a determination result by the direction determination means. Provided with an input image scaling means for enlarging or reducing the input image to an arbitrary magnification,
The image composition device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the image composition means synthesizes the input image scaled by the input image scaling means and the composite image.   6. The image synthesizing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the synthesized image scaling unit performs scaling processing on the synthesized image at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image by the input image scaling unit. An input image rotating means for rotating the input image at an arbitrary angle;
The image synthesizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image synthesizing unit synthesizes the input image rotated by the input image rotating unit and the synthesized image.   The image composition apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the composition image rotation means performs a rotation process on the composition image at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image by the input image rotation means. A combined image scaling step for enlarging or reducing the combined image stored in the combined image storage means to an arbitrary magnification;
Combining the scaled image to be combined with the input image;
Composition program for causing a computer to execute. A synthesized image rotation step for rotating the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means at an arbitrary angle;
Combining the rotated combined image and the input image;
Composition program for causing a computer to execute. A synthesized image rotation step for rotating the synthesized image stored in the synthesized image storage means at an arbitrary angle;
Combining the rotated combined image and the input image;
The image composition processing program according to claim 9, further causing the computer to execute. A direction determining step for determining the direction of the input image;
The image composition processing program according to claim 10 or 11, wherein in the composition image rotation step, a rotation angle of the composition image is determined based on a determination result in the direction determination step. An input image scaling step for enlarging or reducing the input image to an arbitrary magnification is provided.
The image composition processing program according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein in the image composition step, the input image scaled by the input image scaling step and the composite image are synthesized.   The image composition processing program according to claim 13, wherein in the composite image scaling step, the composite image is subjected to scaling processing at the same magnification as the enlargement or reduction magnification of the input image in the input image scaling step. An input image rotation step for rotating the input image at an arbitrary angle;
The image composition processing program according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein in the image composition step, the input image rotated by the input image rotation step and the image to be combined are combined. 16. The image composition processing program according to claim 15, wherein in the composition image rotation step, the composition image is subjected to a rotation process at the same angle as the rotation angle of the input image in the input image rotation step.

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