JP2007086827A - Image processor, image processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the capacity of an image to be stored for achieving the cancellation(un-do processing) of image editing. <P>SOLUTION: This image processor 10 for editing an original image, and for storing the edition result as the history of the editing operation is provided with a segmentation part 210 for segmenting the bit map image of a partial region of an original image including a region to be edited according to the input of edition when predetermined edition for the original image is input; a storage part 220 for at least temporarily storing the bit map image segmented by the segmentation part while associated with the input of edition; an edit processing part 230 for generating and displaying the processing image by editing the original image based on the input of edition; and a cancellation processing part 240 for, when cancellation corresponding to the input of edition is input, generating a cancellation image by attaching the bit map image stored in the storage part 220 so as to be associated with the input of edition to the processing image, and for displaying the cancellation image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program. In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program for editing an image by adding a drawing to an existing image.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of image processing software, a technique for canceling an already executed drawing and restoring an original image is known. As a result, an image erased due to an operation error or the like can be recovered, and user convenience and image editing efficiency can be improved. In order to realize this, for example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, every time an image editing / drawing command is executed, image data obtained by the execution is stored. When it is desired to cancel a certain drawing, image data corresponding to the command executed immediately before the drawing command may be read and displayed.
JP 2001-243487 A

  However, in the above technique, the entire image is stored even if the object of drawing is a small part of the image. For this reason, if a command for slight changes is frequently executed, the necessary capacity for image storage becomes enormous. Since image editing in recent years has become widespread not only in companies but also in homes, it is desired that even an information processing device with low performance can realize image editing comfortably by rapid processing.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the first embodiment of the present invention, an image processing apparatus that edits an original image and saves the edited result as a history of editing operations, the input of a predetermined edit to the original image is performed. In such a case, a cutout unit that cuts out a bitmap image of a part of the original image including a region that is edited by input of editing, and the bitmap image cut out by the cutout unit are associated with the input of editing. A storage unit that stores at least temporarily, an editing processing unit that generates and displays a processed image based on an editing input, and a cancel of the editing input. An image processing apparatus is provided that includes a cancellation processing unit that generates a cancellation image by pasting a bitmap image associated with an input and stored in a storage unit to a processing image, and displays the cancellation image. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the capacity of an image to be stored in order to realize cancellation of image editing than before.

In the image processing apparatus, the storage unit may erase the bitmap image when there is a definite input with respect to the edit input. As a result, the storage area can be released to prepare for the next editing, and the data size of the file storing the image can be reduced.
In the image processing apparatus, the cutout unit may cut out the bitmap image into a rectangle. Thereby, a high-speed edit cancellation process can be realized.

In the image processing apparatus, the drawing input may be a drawing specified by a line type and a drawing trace. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately specify the area of the image to be stored in order to realize the cancellation of the image editing. Further, only the image of the area changed by the drawing can be stored, and the required capacity of the storage device can be reduced.
Further, the storage unit may delete the bitmap image and store the history of editing operations input to the original image in association with the original image when the editing of the original image is finished. .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for editing an original image and storing the edited result as a history of editing operations. When a predetermined edit is input to the original image, the input of the edit is performed. A procedure for cutting out a bitmap image of a part of the original image including the region to be edited by the procedure, and a procedure for storing the clipped bitmap image in the storage unit at least temporarily in association with the input of editing The procedure for generating and displaying a processed image obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input and the cancellation of the editing input are stored in the storage unit in association with the editing input. And a procedure for generating a cancel image by pasting the bitmap image to the processed image and displaying the cancel image. Thereby, the effect similar to the 1st form can be acquired.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program for controlling an image processing apparatus that edits an original image and saves the editing result as a history of editing operations. The image processing apparatus inputs a predetermined edit to the original image. If there is a procedure, a procedure to cut out a bitmap image of a part of the original image including the area to be edited by the input of editing, and the extracted bitmap image is associated with the input of editing at least temporarily. If the input to the storage unit, the procedure to generate and display the processed image based on the editing input, and the cancellation of the editing input are input, it is associated with the editing input. There is provided a program for executing a procedure for generating a cancel image by pasting a bitmap image stored in a storage unit to a processed image and displaying the cancel image. Thereby, the effect similar to the 1st form can be acquired.
The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the scope of claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are included. It is not necessarily essential for the solution of the invention.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the image processing apparatus 10. The image processing apparatus 10 is an apparatus that edits an original image and stores an editing result as a history of editing operations. The image processing apparatus 10 includes a main body 12 that executes a program for controlling the image processing apparatus 10. This program may be read from a recording medium such as the CD-ROM 26, installed in the main body 12, and executed. The image processing apparatus 10 includes a display 14 that has a display screen and displays to the user on the display screen based on the output from the main body 12, a printer 24 that performs printing based on the output from the main body 12, and the user. A keyboard 16 as an example of input means for the main body 12 and a mouse 18 are provided. The digital camera 20 and the scanner 22 are connected to the main body 12 as an example of means for reading image information.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional configuration of the main body 12. The main body 12 includes an original image storage unit 200, a cutout unit 210, a cutout image storage unit 220, an edit processing unit 230, and a cancellation processing unit 240. The original image storage unit 200 stores an original image to be edited by the image processing apparatus 10. This original image may be captured in advance by the digital camera 20 or scanned from a paper medium by the scanner 22. The cutout unit 210 accepts an input for editing the original image using the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18. When there is a predetermined edit input for the original image, the cutout unit 210 cuts out a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including the area edited by the edit input. “Cut out” means that a part of the original image is copied from the original image into another image. This cut out bitmap image is set as a cut image 50.

  The cut-out image storage unit 220 stores the cut-out image 50 cut out by the cut-out unit 210 at least temporarily in association with editing input. In addition, the cut-out image storage unit 220 determines that the editing of the original image is ended when the input of the end of editing is received by the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18. When the editing of the original image is finished, the cut-out image storage unit 220 deletes the stored bitmap image. Then, the cutout image storage unit 220 stores the history of editing operations input to the original image in the original image storage unit 200 in association with the original image. In addition, the cut-out image storage unit 220 may accept a confirmation input for an edit input by the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18. The cut image 50 stored in the cut image storage unit 220 is used to cancel image editing (undo processing). For this reason, the cut-out image storage unit 220 deletes the stored cut-out image 50 because the edit input is no longer canceled when there is a definite input for the edit input. Instead of this, the cutout image storage unit 220 may continue to store the cutout image 50 regardless of the confirmation input.

  In this example, the cutout image storage unit 220 is provided separately from the original image storage unit 200, but the original image storage unit 200 and the cutout image storage unit 220 may be provided in the same storage device. Good. For example, the file storing the original image may further function as the cut-out image storage unit 220. That is, both the original image and the cutout image 50 may be stored in the file.

  The editing processing unit 230 receives an input for editing the original image using the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18. The editing processing unit 230 generates a processed image obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input and displays the processed image on the display 14. This processed image is referred to as a processed image 40. In addition, the editing processing unit 230 may print and output the processed image 40 by the printer 24. The editing processing unit 230 may update the original image stored in the original image storage unit 200 with the processed image 40.

  The cancel processing unit 240 receives a cancel input for the edit input by the keyboard 16 or the mouse 18. When canceling an edit input is input, the cancel processing unit 240 pastes the cut image 50 stored in the cut image storage unit 220 in association with the edit input to the processed image 40. A cancel image is generated, and the cancel image is displayed on the display 14. For example, the cancellation processing unit 240 may read the processed image 40 from the original image storage unit 200 and paste the cut image 50 on the read processed image 40. “Pasting the processed image on the original image” means overwriting the processed image in a part of the original image, or erasing a part of the original image and copying the processed image there. . The cancel image generated in this way is set as a cancel image 60.

  The programs for realizing the above functions are read from the CD-ROM 26, installed in the main body 12, and executed. Instead, the program may be stored in a recording medium such as a flexible disk or an IC card and provided by the user. As the storage medium, in addition to the CD-ROM 26, the flexible disk, and the IC card, an optical recording medium such as DVD or PD, a magneto-optical recording medium such as MD, a tape medium, a semiconductor memory, or the like can be used. Further, a storage device such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet may be used as a recording medium, and the program may be provided to the main body 12 via the network.

  FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the original image recorded in the original image storage unit 200. For example, the original image storage unit 200 may store an image captured by the digital camera 20 in advance, may store an image scanned from a paper medium by the scanner 22 in advance, or may already be stored with editing software. The created image may be stored. In this figure, as an image stored in the original image storage unit 200, an image in which four types of patterns are applied to an area equally divided into four rows and four columns is shown. The original image storage unit 200 stores an image obtained by further combining two rows and two columns of rectangular regions with solid lines, right oblique lines, left oblique lines, and double oblique lines.

  FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the processed image 40. The processed image 40 indicates an image in which a polygonal line is drawn on the original image illustrated in FIG. This polygonal line starts from the vicinity of the center of the region of the third row and the second column in the original image, passes through the region of the second row and the second column, and the region of the second row and the third column, The region in the third row and the fourth column is the end point. In this way, the editing processing unit 230 generates the processed image 40 by superimposing a polygonal line figure based on the editing input on the original image so as to hide a part of the original image. In this figure, a rectangular area including a polygonal line is indicated by a dotted line, but this dotted rectangular area is described for explanation and is not included in the actual processed image 40.

  FIG. 5 shows a specific example of the cutout image 50. The cutout image 50 is a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including the area edited by the editing processing unit 230. Specifically, the cut-out image 50 is an image of a partial area of the original image corresponding to the rectangular area (dotted line part in FIG. 4) surrounding the polygonal line figure shown in FIG. In other words, the cutout image 50 corresponds to an image of a region to be edited by the editing processing unit 230 in the image before being edited by the editing processing unit 230.

  As an example of the process of cutting out the cut-out image 50, first, the cut-out unit 210 acquires coordinates indicating the shape of a graphic edited by the edit processing unit 230 based on an edit input. For example, the cutout unit 210 has the coordinates of the rightmost pixel of the figure, the coordinates of the leftmost pixel of the figure, and the pixel located on the top of the figure on the coordinate plane of the original image. And the coordinates of the pixel at the bottom of this figure.

  Next, the cutout unit 210 has a straight line parallel to the y axis passing through the coordinates of the leftmost pixel, a straight line parallel to the y axis passing through the coordinates of the rightmost pixel, and the uppermost position. A straight line parallel to the x-axis passing through the coordinates of the pixel to be detected and a straight line parallel to the x-axis passing through the coordinates of the lowest pixel are obtained. Then, the cutout unit 210 cuts out the original image into rectangles each having these obtained straight lines as four sides. Thus, if the cut image 50 is rectangular, the cut image 50 can be quickly cut out by a relatively simple algorithm. As a result, even when the user frequently edits, the user's convenience can be maintained without disturbing the original editing process for the image.

  Instead of this, the cutout unit 210 may cut out the cutout image 50 into a circle, or cut out the cutout image 50 into a polygon. The shape and position of a circle is determined by the center coordinates and radius. Further, the shape / position of the polygon is determined by the coordinates of each vertex. Even in these cases, the algorithm for cutting out the cutout image 50 is relatively simple, and the cutout image 50 can be cut out quickly.

  FIG. 6 shows a specific example of the cancel image 60. The cancel image 60 is an image generated by pasting the cut image 50 on the processed image 40. A region where the cut-out image 50 is pasted is illustrated by a dotted line. In this way, the editing can be canceled and the original image can be quickly recovered by a relatively simple process of pasting the cut image 50 on the processed image 40. As a result, even when a large number of continuous editing processes are canceled at once, the processing time required for cancellation can be shortened.

As described above, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 6, the cutout unit 210 cuts out one rectangular image surrounding the edited figure as the cutout image 50. This simplifies the algorithm for cutting out the image and speeds up the processing. Instead of this, the cutout unit 210 may cut out a combination of a plurality of rectangles as a cutout image 50 along the edited figure (for example, a polygonal line in this example). According to this method, the data size of the cutout image 50 can be reduced. One example will be described below.
FIG. 7 shows another example of the processed image 40. This example also shows an image in which a polygonal line is drawn on the original image illustrated in FIG. 3 as in the example of FIG. In this figure, unlike FIG. 4, the image which combined the several rectangle along the broken line is shown. This dotted line region is described for explanation, and is not included in the actual processed image 40.
FIG. 8 shows another example of the cutout image 50. The cutout image 50 in the example of this figure is a figure that combines a plurality of rectangles along the edited polygonal line. As is clear from comparison between FIG. 5 and FIG. 5, reducing the data size of the cut-out image 50 by using a combined multiple figure of a plurality of rectangles along the edited figure as the cut-out image 50. Can do.

  FIG. 9 shows an exemplary data structure of the cut-out image storage unit 220. The cut-out image storage unit 220 stores the cut-out image 50 cut out by the cut-out unit 210 in association with the input of editing for the area on the original image corresponding to the cut-out image 50. Specifically, the cut-out image storage unit 220 stores the file name and the coordinates of the area on the original image from which the cut-out image is cut out as a cut-out image. This coordinate may be the coordinate of the vertex located in the upper left of the cut-out image which is a rectangle, for example. As an example, the cut-out image of the file “045.JPG” is cut out from an area having coordinates (1230, 860) as the upper left vertex.

  In this embodiment, the editing input is a drawing input for the original image. The input identification information (input ID), the line type specified by the input, and the line drawing specified by the input It is specified by the trajectory. The line type may include a line color or a blur in addition to the line thickness or linearity. The locus may be the coordinates of each vertex of the line. As an example, an edit with an input ID of 45 is a fine line starting from coordinates (1230, 1200) and ending with coordinates (2300, 1100) via coordinates (1610, 1000) and coordinates (1780, 860). Show the trajectory.

  The cut-out image storage unit 220 may store a set of these cut-out images and corresponding edit inputs in accordance with the edit order. Accordingly, the cancellation processing unit 240 can specify the editing order by referring to the cut-out image storage unit 220, and can generate an appropriate cancellation image by tracing back the editing order.

  FIG. 10 shows a flow of processing in which an image is edited by the image processing apparatus 10. The editing processing unit 230 reads the original image from the original image storage unit 200 and displays the original image on the display 14 or the like in order to prompt the user to edit (S800). Next, the cutout unit 210 and the editing processing unit 230 each determine whether or not a predetermined editing input has been accepted (S810). When an edit input is accepted (S810: YES), the cutout unit 210 cuts out a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including the area edited by the edit input as the cutout image 50 (S820). ). Then, the cut-out image storage unit 220 stores the cut-out image 50 (S830).

  Further, the editing processing unit 230 generates a processed image 40 obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input, and displays the processed image 40 on the display 14 (S840). Here, the processing order of the processing for cutting out and storing the cutout image 50 (S820 and S830) and the processing for generating and displaying the processing image 40 (S840) may be reversed. However, when the edit processing unit 230 updates the original image stored in the original image storage unit 200, the cutout unit 210 needs to cut out the cutout image 50 before the update.

  Preferably, the cutout unit 210 and the edit processing unit 230 cut out the cutout image 50 for each line drawing. That is, when a certain line drawing is started but not finished, the cutout unit 210 and the edit processing unit 230 determine that there is no edit input in S810. Then, when the drawing is finished, the cutout unit 210 and the editing processing unit 230 determine in S810 that there is an input for editing. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the editing process from being subdivided and increase the necessary capacity of the cut-out image storage unit 220, and to cancel the editing operation retroactively for each drawing.

  The edit processing unit 230 determines that the editing of the original image is ended when the input of the end of editing is received (S845). When the editing of the original image is finished (S845: YES), the cutout image storage unit 220 deletes the stored cutout image 50 (S847). Then, the cut-out image storage unit 220 stores the editing operation history input to the original image in the original image storage unit 200 in association with the original image separately from the original image (S849). If an input for finishing editing has not been received (S845: NO), the editing processing unit 230 returns the processing to S810 and receives the next input.

According to this end processing, when the original image is read again thereafter, the edited original image can be reproduced by reproducing the editing operation on the original image. In addition, since it is not necessary to store the cut image 50 in the file storing the edited image, the data size of the file can be reduced. Further, according to this end processing, it is possible to prevent editing confusion caused by a difference in color space. That is, for example, an image that has once been edited may be different from an image that has been resumed after editing, that is, a color space assigned to each pixel value, that is, a color space. In such a case, if the clipped image 50 saved before the end of editing is pasted on the original image after resuming editing, the color scheme may be different between the pasted area and another area. . If the cut-out image 50 is not included in the original image file, such editing confusion can be prevented. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of image quality due to repeated editing.
Note that only the method of reproducing the original image from the history of editing operations requires the application of a history other than the operation for canceling the original image when canceling the editing operation, which takes time. On the other hand, according to the image processing apparatus 10 in the present embodiment, since the cut image 50 is stored as well as the history of the edit operation during the editing operation, the edit operation canceling process can be realized at high speed. The operability of the user can be improved.

  On the other hand, when an edit input is not accepted (S810: NO), the cancellation processing unit 240 determines whether or not a cancel for the accepted edit input has been input (S850). When cancellation is input (S850: YES), the cancellation processing unit 240 pastes the cut image 50 stored in the cut image storage unit 220 in association with the editing input to the processed image 40. The revocation image 60 is generated (S860). Then, the cancellation processing unit 240 displays the generated cancellation image 60 on the display 14 (S870), and proceeds to S845 to accept the next input.

  Here, preferably, the cancellation processing unit 240 performs the following processing if the input of the editing to be canceled is not the editing accepted immediately before. First, the cancellation processing unit 240 sequentially cancels the editing from the previous editing to the editing to be canceled. That is, the cancellation processing unit 240 sequentially pastes each cut image from the cut image corresponding to the immediately previous edit to the cut image corresponding to the edit to be canceled on the original image. Then, the cancellation processing unit 240 acquires from the cut-out image storage unit 220 an editing history corresponding to other editing other than the editing to be canceled. The cancel processing unit 240 reproduces other edits except edits to be canceled based on the acquired editing history. According to this processing, the cancellation processing unit 240 can appropriately cancel any editing work and appropriately maintain other editing.

  On the other hand, when cancel is not input (S850: NO), the cut-out image storage unit 220 determines whether or not a confirmation input for the editing input is accepted (S880). When there is a confirmation input (S880: YES), the cut-out image storage unit 220 deletes the stored cut-out image 50 (S890), and moves the process to S845 to accept the next input. The storage area can be released for the next editing, and the data size of the file storing the image can be reduced. When the confirmed input is not accepted (S880: NO), the cut-out image storage unit 220 returns the process to S810 and accepts the input.

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, by extracting and storing only a partial area of an image to be edited, an image to be stored for realizing cancellation of image editing. The capacity of can be reduced. Further, by making the partial area rectangular, the image editing cancellation process can be speeded up. In addition, by generating a cut-out image for each line drawing, the user can cancel the editing operation retroactively for each line drawing. With these characteristics, it is possible to improve the convenience of the user by making the editing process and the canceling process for the image more efficient.

  As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated using embodiment, the technical scope of this invention is not limited to the range as described in the said embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. It is apparent from the scope of the claims that the embodiments added with such changes or improvements can be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

An example of the image processing apparatus 10 is shown. A functional configuration of the main body 12 is shown. A specific example of an original image recorded in the original image storage unit 200 is shown. A specific example of the processed image 40 is shown. A specific example of the cut image 50 is shown. A specific example of the cancel image 60 is shown. Another example of the processed image 40 is shown. Another example of the cutout image 50 is shown. An example of the data structure of the cutout image storage unit 220 is shown. The flow of processing in which an image is edited by the image processing apparatus 10 is shown.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image processing apparatus, 12 Main body, 14 Display, 16 Keyboard, 18 Mouse, 20 Digital camera, 22 Scanner, 24 Printer, 26 CD-ROM, 40 Processed image, 50 Cut-out image, 60 Canceled image, 200 Original image storage part 210 cut-out unit 220 cut-out image storage unit 230 edit processing unit 240 cancellation processing unit

Claims (7)

An image processing apparatus that edits an original image and saves the edited result as a history of editing operations.
A cutout unit that cuts out a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including an area edited by the input of the edit when there is input of a predetermined edit on the original image;
A storage unit that stores the bitmap image cut out by the cutout unit at least temporarily in association with the input of the editing;
An editing processing unit that generates and displays a processed image obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input;
When a cancel for the edit input is input, the bitmap image stored in the storage unit in association with the edit input is pasted to the processed image to generate a cancel image, and the cancel An image processing apparatus comprising: a cancellation processing unit that displays an image.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit erases the bitmap image when there is a definite input for the editing input.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cutout unit cuts out the bitmap image into a rectangle.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the input for editing is a drawing specified by a line type and a drawing trace.   When the editing of the original image is finished, the storage unit deletes the bitmap image, and stores the history of the editing operation input to the original image in association with the original image. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2. An image processing method for editing an original image and saving the edited result as a history of editing operations,
A procedure of cutting out a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including an area edited by the input of the edit when there is a predetermined edit input to the original image;
A procedure for storing the extracted bitmap image in the storage unit at least temporarily in association with the editing input;
A procedure for generating and displaying a processed image obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input;
When a cancel for the edit input is input, the bitmap image stored in the storage unit in association with the edit input is pasted to the processed image to generate a cancel image, and the cancel An image processing method comprising: a procedure for displaying an image. A program for controlling an image processing apparatus that edits an original image and saves an editing result as a history of editing operations.
A procedure of cutting out a bitmap image of a partial area of the original image including an area to be edited by the input of the edit when there is a predetermined edit input to the original image;
A procedure for storing the cut-out bitmap image in the storage unit at least temporarily in association with the editing input;
A procedure for generating and displaying a processed image obtained by editing the original image based on the editing input, and
When a cancel for the edit input is input, the bitmap image stored in the storage unit in association with the edit input is pasted to the processed image to generate a cancel image, and the cancel A program that executes the procedure for displaying images.

Images