JP2007135024A - Image processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of easily and simply creating a composite product of a plurality of images. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus 1 has a high-frequency circuit 26 and an antenna 8 for acquiring tag IDs of a plurality of radio tag circuit elements To each having an IC circuit unit 150 which stores information and an antenna 151 connected to the IC circuit section 150 by sending and receiving information to and from the plurality of radio tag circuit elements To through radio communication. Then images of a plurality of corresponding objects to be read are acquired based upon the tag IDs of the plurality of radio tag circuit elements To acquired by using the high-frequency circuit 26 and antenna 8, and put together through composite processing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that performs a predetermined combining process on an image to create a combined processed product.

  For example, a system in which a database is arranged on a wired or wireless network, a terminal connected to the network is operated to search and extract desired image data from the database, and acquired by the terminal is already widely known. Yes. As a conventional technique in which such a system is applied to creation of a cooking menu, for example, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1.

  In this prior art, a standard menu is given from the database to the data processing device on the terminal side, an instruction screen is displayed on the data processing device on the terminal side, the selection is changed to the desired cooking menu, and the changed cooking menu is changed to the selected cooking menu. Along with the image, it is printed in a menu style by a printing device on the database side.

  Specifically, the database is accessed from the terminal side, and for a plurality of ingredients included in one menu (menu), first, the types of dishes constituting each ingredient (for example, “boiled food”, “baked goods”, “fried food”, etc. ) And a plurality of dishes (for example, “salt grilled trout”) corresponding to the selected dish type are displayed together with the image. In this way, when the cooking composition is selected for each ingredient and selection of all ingredients is completed, a menu including an image of each ingredient is printed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-318352

  In the above-described prior art, a desired menu (menu) including an image of each food can be provided as a composite image processed product (printed material). However, in order to do so, it is necessary to perform selection operations based on access to the database as described above on the terminal side and collect images one by one. As a result of the need for such troublesome operations, the burden on the operator is heavy, and it has been impossible to easily and easily create a composite processed image of a plurality of images.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus capable of easily and easily creating a composite processed product of a plurality of images without performing troublesome operations.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first invention is the transmission and reception of information by wireless communication with a plurality of RFID circuit elements each having an IC circuit section for storing information and a tag side antenna connected to the IC circuit section. A wireless communication means for acquiring tag identification information of the plurality of RFID circuit elements, and a plurality of corresponding tags based on the tag identification information of the plurality of RFID circuit elements acquired by the wireless communication means. It has an image acquisition means which acquires the 1st image of a reading target object, and an image composition means which carries out composition processing of a plurality of 1st images acquired by this image acquisition means.

  In the first invention of the present application, when an image of a plurality of objects to be read is combined to create a composite processed object such as a printed matter or a display object, a plurality of RFID circuits corresponding to each of the plurality of objects to be read are provided. Tag identification information of each RFID circuit element is acquired by transmitting and receiving information to and from the element by wireless communication means, and further, a first image of each reading object is acquired by the image acquisition means based on the tag identification information. The obtained first images are combined by the image combining means.

  As a result, the operator can automatically synthesize the plurality of images only by performing reading processing (= tag identification information acquisition processing) of the RFID circuit elements corresponding to the plurality of images to be combined. It is possible to easily and easily create a composite processed image of a plurality of images without performing troublesome operations such as taking and collecting images one by one and collecting and pasting them.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a second image of the subject to be imaged that has been subjected to a predetermined process using the plurality of reading objects respectively corresponding to the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements. It has an imaging means, and the image synthesizing means synthesizes a plurality of first images acquired by the image acquisition means and a second image taken by the imaging means.

  It is possible to add a second image of the object to be photographed taken by the imaging means to the plurality of first images obtained by the image obtaining means, and perform the composition processing by the image composition means. Therefore, for example, after the cooked finished product (or assembly finished product or the like) as the photographing object is completed, the second image of the cooked finished product (or assembly finished product or the like) is photographed while the cooked finished product is cooked (or The tag identification information of the RFID circuit element corresponding to each food (or assembly part) used in the assembly of the completed assembly product) is acquired as an object to be read by the wireless communication means, and an image is obtained based on each tag identification information. The acquisition means automatically acquires the first image of the food (or assembly part), so that a composite processed product obtained by combining the image of the finished cooking product (or assembly completed product) and the image of the food can be easily and easily obtained. Can be created.

  A third invention is characterized in that, in the second invention, there is a placing means for placing the object to be photographed during photographing by the imaging means.

  A photographing object can be placed on the placing means at the time of photographing, and stable photographing can be performed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second or third aspect of the present invention, in the composite processing product after the composite processing, the plurality of first images are arranged in one side area and the second image is on the other side. The composition processing is performed by dividing the region so as to be arranged in the region.

  As a result, a plurality of first images are arranged on one side and a second image is arranged on the other side, and a visually clear and clear composite processed product can be created.

  In a fifth aspect based on the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the placing means is arranged such that the image synthesizing means determines the boundary position between the one side area, the other side area, or the one side area and the other side area. An identifier for recognition is provided.

  By causing the image composition means to recognize the identifier, it is possible to easily and reliably set the position, size, boundary, etc. of the one side area where the plurality of first images are arranged and the other side area where the second image is arranged. .

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third to fifth aspects of the invention, the image compositing unit is configured to display the plurality of first images as the plurality of wireless images on the placing unit in the composite processed product after the composite processing. The synthesis processing is performed so as to be arranged corresponding to the arrangement mode of the tag circuit elements.

  As a result, the first image can be arranged on the composite processing product as the RFID circuit elements are arranged on the mounting means, so that the composite processing product synthesized according to the image of the operator can be easily obtained. It can be created and convenience can be improved.

  According to a seventh invention, in the sixth invention, the wireless communication means is provided in the placing means so as to be able to detect an arrangement mode of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements.

  By detecting the arrangement mode of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements by the wireless communication unit provided in the mounting unit, the first image is arranged on the synthesized processing object in accordance with the detected arrangement mode of the RFID tag circuit elements, and the operation is performed. It is possible to easily create a composite processed product synthesized according to the user's image.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third to seventh aspects, the image compositing unit is configured such that, in the composite processed product after the composite processing, the specific image of the plurality of first images is compared with other images. The composition processing is performed such that the composition processing is performed so as to preferentially be arranged at a predetermined position or to be arranged by changing the size.

  Thereby, according to an operator's needs and a use, the 1st image of a specific reading target can be made conspicuous compared with other things, and the convenience can further be improved.

  According to a ninth invention, in any one of the first to eighth inventions, based on the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element obtained by the wireless communication means, the reading object corresponding to the RFID circuit element and the reading object It has a determination means which determines whether it is within the use expiration date of the said 1st image which concerns.

  As a result, the reading object whose expiration date has expired and the first image related thereto (for example, the food with expired expiration date or the assembly part exceeding the durable life and the image related thereto) are erroneously used for the composite processed product. Can be prevented, and the information of the synthetic processing product can be optimized and the reliability can be improved.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, the wireless communication unit accesses the RFID circuit element that has acquired the first image by the image acquisition unit, and erases the tag identification information. Signal generation means for generating an erasure information signal for performing the above-described operation.

  As a result, it is possible to prevent inappropriate use of the tag identification information after obtaining the first image, and it is possible to optimize the information of the combined processed product and improve the reliability. In addition, with respect to the RFID circuit element after the information is erased, new tag identification information can be written and reused as a new RFID tag circuit element.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily and easily create a composite processed product of a plurality of images without troublesome operations.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, for example, the case where the present invention is applied to create a flyer or the like in a restaurant is taken as an example, and the image processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment combines a plurality of food images (first images). Furthermore, an image (second image) of a finished product of “sukiyaki nabe” prepared from these ingredients (predetermined processing) is also synthesized.

  At this time, each food is sold with a product identification wireless tag T attached thereto, and is managed and operated by a predetermined operating entity (for example, a food management organization) (described later). 2) corresponding to all tag identification information of the wireless tag T (hereinafter referred to as tag ID), information such as production information of various ingredients and subsequent distribution information (= traceability; hereinafter simply referred to as “material information”) It is assumed that an environment in which the purchaser can acquire such information via a communication network NW such as the Internet (see FIG. 2 described later) is prepared.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall schematic structure of an image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, a control imaging unit 2 that has the same function as a general camera and also includes an image composition function described later, and a cable 4 connected to the control imaging unit 2. And an antenna tray unit (mounting means) 3 connected to be capable of transmitting and receiving information.

  The antenna tray unit 3 is a mounting table that is roughly formed in a rectangular flat plate shape, and almost half of the upper surface (above the line AA ′ in the figure) is a finished product (cooked in this example). The sukiyaki pan 5) containing the sukiyaki (detailed illustration omitted) is classified as a finished product placement area 6 for placing the sukiyaki pan 5), and the other half (below the line A-A 'in the figure) carries the RFID tag T. It is divided as a tag placement area 7 to be placed. Note that the finished product placement area 6 may be omitted, and the antenna tray unit 3 may be configured with only the tag placement area 7, and the finished product may be placed in another location.

  The tag placement area 7 is divided into a plurality (21 in this example, arranged in 3 rows and 7 columns) of tag detection areas 7a as indicated by broken lines in the figure. 7a, antennas 8 capable of transmitting and receiving information by wireless communication with the wireless tag T are installed on the lower surface of the antenna tray unit 3 (the antenna 8 will be described in detail later). As will be described later, when the control imaging unit 2 captures an image of a finished product in the finished product placement area 6, the finished product placement area 6 and the tag placement area 7 are clearly distinguished and recognized (tag In order to prevent the image of the placement area 7 from being recognized even if it appears in the image pickup), a predetermined position is set at the boundary position (or a predetermined position of the tag placement area 7 or the finished product placement area 6). By providing an identifier (for example, the same as the identification marks 411a to 411f in FIG. 12 described later) and causing the CPU 21 to recognize the identifier, the positions, sizes, boundaries, etc. of the respective areas 6 and 7 can be set easily and reliably. You may be able to do it. In this case, the position and size of the material display area 24b (described later) in which a plurality of food images are arranged and the finished product display area 24a (described later) in which an image of the finished product is arranged in the image composition of the display object and the printed material are thereby obtained. In addition, the boundary and the like can be set easily and reliably.

  In addition, the tag placement area 7 is a product that is a material before cooking of the sukiyaki pan (photographing object) 5 and is attached to each food material (reading object) that is a target of image composition in image processing. The wireless tags T for identification are each placed in an arbitrary arrangement. In the example shown in the figure, each wireless tag T is stably placed on a placement plate 9 made of a material that transmits radio waves and placed on the tag placement region 7. In addition, when each wireless tag T that is lightweight can be placed stationary without moving, the placement plate 9 is not necessarily required.

  FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an outline of the image processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 1 includes the control imaging unit 2 and the antenna tray unit 3 as described above, and the control imaging unit 2 is configured by a LAN and the Internet (wired or wireless). Via the network NW, it is connected to the database 10 in which various kinds of information related to foods are stored and held so as to be able to exchange information signals.

  The control imaging unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21, a memory 22 including, for example, a RAM and a ROM, an operation unit 23 to which instructions and information from an operator are input, and a display for displaying a composite image and a message. Unit 24, a network communication control unit 25 that controls transmission and reception of control signals and information signals with the database 10 via the communication network NW, and a high-frequency circuit that controls radio communication with the radio tag T via the antenna 8 26 and an imaging unit (imaging means) 27 for photographing the sukiyaki pan 5 which is a finished product in this example. The database 10 is composed of a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk device. However, if the amount of information required is small and the storage capacity may be small, the database 10 is provided inside the control imaging unit 2. (Various information stored in the database 10 will be described later in detail).

  The CPU 21 of the control imaging unit 2 performs signal processing according to a program stored in advance in the ROM while using the temporary storage function of the RAM, thereby accepting an input of an execution command for imaging processing or image processing from the operation unit 23. The tag ID of the wireless tag T is detected by wireless communication via the antenna 8, and the corresponding material information is acquired from the database 10 via the communication network NW based on the detection result, and predetermined image processing is performed. The processing result is displayed on the display unit 24.

  The operation unit 23 has the same shutter button 23a (see FIG. 1) as that of a normal camera together with various operation buttons, and the operator presses the shutter button 23a to shoot a finished product and perform image processing. It can be started (a start process starting means may be provided separately).

  The display unit 24 is made of, for example, a liquid crystal panel, and is provided with a relatively large display screen so that a digital image synthesized by image processing can be displayed.

  The imaging unit 27 includes an imaging sensor such as a CCD or a CMOS and a lens, for example, and converts (captures) an image of a finished product into a digital image signal.

  The antenna tray unit 3 includes a flat plate-like tray board 31 made of a material that transmits radio waves and a plurality (21 in this example) of the antennas 8. Each antenna 8 is installed on the lower surface of the tray board 31 in an arrangement corresponding to each tag detection area 7a as described above, and the radio tag T arranged above the tray board 31 and the mounting plate 9 is interposed therebetween. Wireless communication. Preferably, the detection region is clearly set, for example, by giving strong directivity or reducing the communication output so that the radio waves do not interfere with each other between the adjacent antennas 8.

  The wireless tag T is obtained by removing what was attached at the time of purchase of each food, each of which has at least an IC circuit unit 150 for storing various information including a tag ID as identification information, and an antenna 151 connected thereto. The RFID tag circuit element To is constituted by the label 41 (the functional configuration of the RFID tag T will be described later in detail).

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing detailed configurations of the CPU 21, the high frequency circuit 26 and the antenna 8 in the control imaging unit 2.

  In FIG. 3, the high-frequency circuit 26 of the control imaging unit 2 accesses information (RFID tag information including a tag ID) of the IC circuit unit 150 of the RFID circuit element To via the antenna 8 and controls imaging. The CPU 21 of the unit 2 functions to process signals read from the IC circuit unit 150 of the RFID circuit element To and read information and generate access information for accessing the IC circuit unit 150 of the RFID circuit element To And controls the entire operation of the control imaging unit 2.

  The high-frequency circuit 26 includes a transmission unit 212 that transmits a signal to the RFID circuit element To via the antenna 8, a reception unit 213 that receives a reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To received by the antenna 8, and a transmission / reception unit. It comprises a separator 214 and an antenna changeover switch unit 314.

  The antenna changeover switch unit 314 is a switch circuit using, for example, a well-known high-frequency FET or diode, and connects any one of the plurality of antennas 8 to the transmission / reception separator 214 by a selection signal from the CPU 21. At this time, the CPU 21 can grasp which tag ID is detected by the antenna 8 at which position by storing the selection signal and the received signal in association with each other.

  The transmission unit 212 generates a carrier wave for accessing (reading / writing) the RFID tag information of the IC circuit unit 150 of the RFID circuit element To according to a control signal from the CPU 21. Phase locked loop (215B), VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) 215C, and modulation of the generated carrier wave based on the signal supplied from the CPU 21 (in this example, amplitude modulation based on the “TX_ASK” signal from the CPU 21) A transmission multiplier circuit 216 (in the case of “TX_ASK signal”, an amplification factor variable amplifier or the like may be used) and a modulated wave modulated by the transmission multiplier circuit 216 (in this example, “TX_PWR” from the CPU 21) And a variable transmission amplifier 217 that performs amplification whose amplification factor is determined by a signal. The generated carrier wave uses, for example, a frequency in the UHF band or microwave band, and the output of the variable transmission amplifier 217 is transmitted to the antenna 8 via the antenna switch circuit 314 via the transmission / reception separator 214. To the IC circuit section 150 of the RFID circuit element To. Note that the RFID tag information is not limited to the signal modulated as described above, but may be only a carrier wave.

  The receiving unit 213 multiplies the reflected wave from the RFID tag circuit element To received by the antenna 8 by the generated carrier wave and demodulates the received first multiplication circuit 218, and the reception first multiplication circuit 218 A first bandpass filter 219 for extracting only a signal of a necessary band from the output, a reception first amplifier 221 that amplifies the output of the first bandpass filter 219, and further amplifies the output of the reception first amplifier 221 Then, the first limiter 220 that converts the signal into a digital signal is multiplied by the reflected wave received from the RFID tag circuit element To received by the antenna 8 and the carrier wave generated by the phase shifter 227 and delayed in phase by 90 °. And a second band-pass filter 223 for extracting only a signal of a necessary band from the output of the reception second multiplication circuit 222. A reception second amplifier 225 for amplifying the output of the second band pass filter 223 and a second limiter 224 for further amplifying the output of the reception second amplifier 225 and converting it into a digital signal are provided. The signal “RXS-I” output from the first limiter 220 and the signal “RXS-Q” output from the second limiter 224 are input to the CPU 21 for processing.

  The outputs of the reception first amplifier 221 and the reception second amplifier 225 are also input to an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) circuit 226 as strength detection means, and a signal “RSSI” indicating the strength of those signals is input to the CPU 21. It is designed to be entered. In this way, the control imaging unit 2 of the present embodiment demodulates the reflected wave from the RFID circuit element To by IQ orthogonal demodulation.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the RFID circuit element To provided in common with the RFID tag T attached to the food material.

  In FIG. 4, the RFID circuit element To includes an antenna 151 (tag side antenna) that performs non-contact signal transmission / reception with the control imaging unit 2 using a high frequency such as the UHF band via the antenna 8, and the antenna 151. And an IC circuit unit 150 connected thereto.

  The IC circuit unit 150 includes a rectifying unit 152 that rectifies the carrier wave received by the antenna 151, a power source unit 153 that accumulates energy of the carrier wave rectified by the rectifying unit 152 and serves as a driving power source, and the antenna 151. A clock extraction unit 154 that extracts a clock signal from the received carrier wave and supplies it to a control unit (described later) 157, a memory unit 155 that functions as an information storage unit that can store a predetermined information signal, and the antenna 151 The modulation / demodulation unit 156, and the control unit 157 for controlling the operation of the RFID circuit element To through the rectification unit 152, the clock extraction unit 154, the modulation / demodulation unit 156, and the like.

  The modem unit 156 demodulates the communication signal received from the antenna 151 from the antenna 8, modulates the carrier wave received from the antenna 8 based on the return signal from the control unit 157, and reflects from the antenna 151. Retransmit as wave.

  The control unit 157 interprets the received signal demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 156, generates a return signal based on the information signal stored in the memory unit 155, and performs basic control such as returning by the modulation / demodulation unit 156. Execute proper control.

  The clock extraction unit 154 extracts a clock component from the received signal and extracts the clock to the control unit 157, and supplies a clock corresponding to the speed of the clock component of the received signal to the control unit 157.

  As described above, the most significant feature of the present embodiment is that the tag IDs of the wireless tags T attached to the plurality of food materials are detected via the respective antennas 8 and the images of the corresponding food materials are acquired from the database 10 respectively. The object is to synthesize an image of the sukiyaki pan 5 cooked using the plurality of ingredients by the control imaging unit 2 and combine the images with the plurality of ingredients. Hereinafter, the details will be described in order.

  First, each table stored and held in the database 10 in the example of the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram conceptually showing a beef table that manages the correspondence between information related to beef and tag IDs as an example of various foods.

  In FIG. 5, this beef table is information stored and held in the database 10, and is a tag ID (in hexadecimal in the figure) stored in the IC circuit unit 150 of the RFID tag T attached to the beef of the food. Display), the product name to be displayed on the display unit of the control imaging unit 2, the material information consisting of character strings, the expiration date (expiration date of use) expressed in date and time, and an appropriate importance index In this example, “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”... “A” has the highest importance) and the image file names of the corresponding images correspond to each other in advance. Stored in the form of attached correlation information. The configuration of the correlation information is the same for the tables of other types of foods.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram conceptually illustrating an example of the storage mode of the image file of food stored in the database 10.

  In FIG. 6, in this example, the file name of the image file has a different alphabet at the beginning for each type of food (by beef, salmon, leek, etc.), and in the illustrated example, the beginning of each file name One letter is “M” for beef, “K” for salmon, “N” for leek, “T” for egg, and “S” for soy sauce. Furthermore, the last three digits of the file name are assigned to each type of product (contents of products classified by tag ID as shown in FIG. 5). Thereby, in the example shown in the figure, beef “M024” 蒟 蒻 “K008” leek “N012” egg “T023” soy sauce “S005” is assigned.

  With such a configuration, by using it together with the food table as shown in FIG. 5, the image file can be searched and associated uniquely with the tag ID related to the type of food and the content of the product. It can be acquired.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a control procedure performed by the CPU 21 of the control imaging unit 2 in order to perform the image processing as described above.

  In FIG. 7, for example, when an instruction to start image processing (for example, button operation) is input in the operation unit 23 of the control imaging unit 2, this flow is started. First, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the pressing operation of the shutter button 23a has been performed, and the same determination is repeated until the determination is satisfied by operating the shutter button 23a. If the shutter button 23a is pressed, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to the next Step S10.

  In step S <b> 10, an image of the finished sukiyaki pan 5 is taken by the imaging unit 27. At this time, as in the case of a normal single-lens reflex camera, the sukiyaki pan 5 is housed in the imaging region of the imaging unit 27 while the operator confirms with a finder or the like, so that the image of the sukiyaki pan 5 is imaged through the lens. And is captured as digital image information.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S15, and the tag IDs of the wireless tags T are detected from all the antennas 8. Specifically, although not particularly illustrated, a “Scroll All ID” signal is transmitted from each antenna 8 via the high-frequency circuit 6 and then a reply signal corresponding to the “Scroll All ID” signal is received. At this time, the RFID tag T is stored in the tag placement area 7 of the antenna tray unit 3 by storing the antenna 8 that has received the reply signal in association with the selection signal output to the antenna selector switch unit 314 (see FIG. 3). The position of the placed tag detection area 7a can be detected (see FIG. 1), and the tag ID included in each received reply signal can be detected.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S20, where the database 10 is accessed via the network NW based on the tag ID detected in step S15, and various information and image files of foodstuffs corresponding to each tag ID are stored in the database 10 (DB in the figure). Search and extract from).

  In the next step S25, a “Kill” signal (information erasure signal, information erasure signal) for erasing (erasing) the ID information of the RFID tags T is transmitted from all antennas 8 via the high frequency circuit 6 and the antenna tray unit 3 All the RFID tags T placed on the device are accessed and the tag IDs stored in them are erased (erased) (for example, incapable of being rewritten). By doing so, it is possible to prevent inappropriate use of the tag ID after acquiring the image file of each food material, and to optimize the information of the composite image that is displayed afterward and to improve the reliability Can be achieved. However, the RFID circuit element To after the information erasure (deletion) may be rewritten as a new RFID circuit element To by writing a new tag ID. The “Kill” signal may be transmitted only by the antenna 8 that has detected the tag ID. Further, when such an effect of preventing reuse is not particularly required, this step S25 may be omitted.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S30, where a predetermined display control signal is generated based on the photographing result in step S10, and a predetermined finished product display area (the other side area) in the display unit 24 of the control imaging unit 2 is generated in step S10. The photographed image of the finished sukiyaki pan 5 is displayed, and the process proceeds to the next step S35.

  In step S35, a predetermined display control signal is generated based on the information / image acquisition result in step S20, and a predetermined material display region (one side region) in the display unit 24 of the control imaging unit 2 is generated in step S20. The image of each foodstuff by the acquired image file is displayed. At this time, the arrangement of each image in the material display area of the display unit 24 is the arrangement of the antenna 8 that has detected the tag ID in step S15 (the tag detection area 7a where the wireless tag T is placed in the tag placement area 7). It arrange | positions corresponding to an arrangement | positioning aspect. As a result, in the composite image in which the display is completed after that, the images of the respective ingredients can be arranged as the radio tags T are arranged on the antenna tray unit 3, so that the composite images are synthesized according to the image of the operator. A composite image can be easily created, and convenience can be improved.

  In addition, as for the size of displaying each image, a high importance item is displayed particularly large according to the importance level (see FIG. 5) of each corresponding food, and a low importance item is displayed particularly small. Thereby, according to an operator's needs and a use, the image of a specific foodstuff can be made conspicuous compared with other things, and the convenience can further be improved. It should be noted that the positions may be exchanged so that the most important one is preferentially arranged at the most prominent center position. In addition, when it is not particularly necessary to perform priority arrangement based on the difference in importance, the procedure of this part may be omitted. Then, the process proceeds to next Step S40.

  In step S40, a predetermined display control signal is generated based on the information / image acquisition result in step S20, and an explanation based on the product name (name) acquired in step S20 and the material information is displayed below each food image. Let The image synthesizing process of the present embodiment is performed by the procedure from step S30 to step S40, and the completed synthesized image (synthesized product) is displayed on the display unit 24. Although not particularly illustrated, a printer may be connected to the control imaging unit 2 via a communication network NW or the like, and the completed composite image may be output as a print paper surface (composite processing product).

  It should be noted that the display control signal (composite) for displaying the composite image of the above contents is not generated and output to the display unit 24 by dividing into the above steps S30, S35, and S40. Display control signals) may be collectively generated and output to the display unit 24.

  Next, the process proceeds to step S45, and it is determined whether or not any one of the expiration dates (use expiration dates) included in the information of each food obtained in step S20 has exceeded the expiration date at that time. If there is no food that has exceeded its expiration date, the determination is not satisfied and this flow is terminated. On the other hand, when at least one of the ingredients exceeds the expiration date, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to Step S50.

  In step S50, the product name of the ingredient determined to have exceeded the expiration date and the expiration date are displayed prominently to the operator, and a notification is given to stop the use of the ingredient and the finished product. As a result, it is possible to prevent misuse of the ingredients whose expiration date has expired and the sukiyaki pan 5 (and images related to them) using the ingredients, and to optimize the information of the composite image and improve the reliability. be able to. Then, this flow ends.

  The procedure for checking / notifying the expiration date in steps S45 and S50 may be performed immediately after the information on each ingredient is acquired in step S25, and the ingredient whose expiration date has expired in the subsequent image composition processing. The image may not be displayed. Further, when such expiration date management is not particularly required, step S45 and step S50 may be omitted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a synthesized image synthesized by the control procedure of the image synthesis process on the display unit 24. As shown in the drawing, the upper part of the display unit 24 is a finished product display area 24a and an image of the finished sukiyaki pan 5 is displayed, and the lower part of the display unit 24 is a material display area 24b and each ingredient. Is displayed in an arrangement corresponding to the placement position of the wireless tag T on the antenna tray unit 3. In addition, the image of each ingredient is displayed in a size corresponding to the importance (in this example, the beef with high importance is displayed relatively large, and the less important salmon and leeks are displayed relatively small) Have been).

  In the above, the high-frequency circuit 26 and the antenna 8 constitute wireless communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To by wireless communication and acquiring the tag IDs of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements To. .

  In addition, step S20 in FIG. 7 functions as an image acquisition unit that acquires images of a plurality of corresponding foodstuffs based on the tag IDs of the plurality of RFID circuit elements To acquired by the high frequency circuit 26 and the antenna 8.

  Moreover, step S35 in FIG. 7 functions as an image composition unit that performs composition processing on the plurality of food images acquired in step S20.

  7 is based on the tag ID of the RFID circuit element To acquired by the high frequency circuit 26 and the antenna 8, the food material corresponding to the RFID circuit element To and the expiration date of the image related thereto (use valid) It functions as a determination means for determining whether or not it is within the time limit.

  Further, the high-frequency circuit 26 and step S25 in FIG. 7 access the RFID circuit element To that acquired the food image in step S20 and generate a “Kill” signal for erasing (erasing) the tag ID. Functions as a means.

  As described above, in the image processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a composite processed product of a display object (or printed product) is created by combining images of a plurality of food ingredients (in the above example, meat, leek, rice cake, etc.). When trying to perform, the tag ID of each RFID circuit element To is acquired by performing information transmission / reception with the RF circuit 26 and the antenna 8 with respect to the RFID circuit elements To corresponding to the plurality of foods, and further, Based on the tag ID, an image of each food is acquired in step S20 in FIG. 7, and the plurality of acquired images are combined in step S35 in FIG.

  That is, since the RFID tag circuit element To corresponding to a plurality of images to be combined can be automatically combined (= tag ID acquisition processing in step S15 in FIG. 7), the plurality of images can be automatically combined. Even if the operator does not perform troublesome operations such as shooting, collecting and cutting and pasting each image one by one, a composite processed product of a plurality of images can be created easily and easily.

  In this embodiment, in particular, an image of the finished product (sukiyaki pan 5 in the above example) captured by the imaging unit 27 of the control imaging unit 2 is added to the plurality of food images acquired in step S20 in FIG. Thus, the combining process can be performed in step S35 in FIG. That is, for example, after completion of a cooked finished product (sukiyaki pan 5) as an object to be photographed, an image of the cooked finished product is photographed (steps S5 and S10 in FIG. 7), while each used for cooking the cooked finished product. The tag ID of the RFID circuit element To corresponding to each food material (meat, leek, rice cake, etc. in the above example) is read by the high frequency circuit 26 and the antenna 8, and the steps in FIG. 7 are performed based on each tag ID. When S20 automatically acquires the image of the food material, a composite processed product obtained by combining the image of the cooked product and the image of the food material can be easily and easily created.

  In this embodiment, the antenna tray unit 3 (particularly, the finished product placement area 6) for placing the squeezing pan 5 at the time of photographing by the image pickup unit 27 is provided. 3, the sukiyaki pan 5 can be placed and stable photographing can be performed.

  Further, in this embodiment, in particular, in the display object (or printed matter) after the synthesis process, images of a plurality of ingredients are arranged in the material display area 24b, and an image of the sukiyaki pan 5 is arranged in the finished product display area 24a. In addition, by dividing the region and performing the synthesis process, it is possible to create a clearly synthesized process product that is visually easy to understand.

  In the above-described embodiment, in the image composition process, the layout of the food image in the composite image is determined so as to correspond to the layout mode of each wireless tag T detected on the antenna tray unit 3 (or according to the importance). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an operator inputs an arrangement pattern to the control imaging unit 2 by some input means in advance, and determines the arrangement of each food image in the composite image according to the arrangement pattern. May be. In this case, the antenna 8 only needs to be provided with a single large-sized antenna whose detection range is the entire tag placement area 7 of the antenna tray unit 3, and the high-frequency circuit 26 of FIG. It is sufficient that the antenna 8 is directly connected to the transmission / reception separator 214 without providing an antenna. Then, in step S15 in the flow of FIG. 7, the CPU 21 stores only the contents of the detected tag ID without outputting the selection signal to the antenna changeover switch unit 314, and in step S35, each food material is stored in accordance with the arrangement pattern inputted in advance. May be displayed. Further, only one antenna is provided in the antenna tray unit 3 without providing a plurality of antennas 8, and appropriate directivity control such as phased array antenna control and adaptive array antenna control is executed for this antenna (in this case, this 1 For example, one antenna may include a plurality of antenna elements and perform output control / phase control on each antenna element) to detect the arrangement position of each wireless tag T. In this case, the same effect is obtained.

  In addition, if the image of the food corresponding to the detected tag ID is not stored in the database 10 and cannot be acquired, an image of the same type and similar product content is searched from the database 10 and used as an alternative. Alternatively, an image (an image of an unprepared food with the tag ID attached) that the operator has previously taken and stored in the memory 22 or the like after purchasing the food may alternatively be used. Good. Alternatively, if an appropriate substitute image cannot be found by any means, it is possible to compose an image without displaying only the food image.

  Further, by allowing various material information and the like to be input via a character input device such as a keyboard (not shown), each table stored and held in the database 10 can be rewritten, or a new table can be created, and thus the database 10 can be newly created. You may do it.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea of the present invention. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described in order.

(1) When an industrial product is an object of application In the above embodiment, a food product (food material) is an object to be read, and a finished product (cooked product) completed by applying a predetermined process (cooking) to the object is taken. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, for example, an assembly part of an industrial product may be set as a reading target, and an assembled product obtained by performing a predetermined assembling process may be set as a shooting target. In this modification, a tape cartridge mounted on a label producing apparatus for producing a printed label is taken as an example of the assembled product, and a base material for a printed label provided in the tape cartridge is used as the assembled part. A case where a base tape roll wound with a material tape, a cover film roll wound with a cover film bonded thereto, an ink ribbon roll for printing, and the like will be described as examples.

  The hardware configuration of this modification is exactly the same as that of the above-described embodiment, and only the contents stored in the database 10 and the contents of the image file are different.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram conceptually showing a base tape roll table that manages the correspondence between information about base tape rolls and tag IDs as an example of a component table used in this modification. In FIG. 9, the base tape roll table has the tag ID, product name, parts information, expiration date, importance and image file name of the corresponding image attached to the base tape roll before assembly in advance. They are stored in the form of correlation information associated with each. The configuration of this correlation information is the same for the tables of other types of assembly parts.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram conceptually showing the storage mode of the assembly part image file stored in the database 10. As shown in FIG. 10, the file name of the image file has a different leading alphabet for each type of assembly part. In the example shown, the first character of each file name is the upper case of the tape cartridge. Is “L” for the lower case, “T” for the base tape roll, “C” for the cover film roll, and “I” for the ink ribbon roll. Further, the last three digits of the file name are assigned for each type (specification contents classified by tag ID as shown in FIG. 9). Thus, in the illustrated example, the upper case “U023”, the lower case “L007”, the base tape roll “T010”, the cover film roll “C023”, and the ink ribbon roll “I005” are assigned.

  With such a configuration, the image file can be searched and associated uniquely with the tag ID related to the type and specification of the assembly part by using it together with the assembly part table as shown in FIG. It can be acquired.

  Then, by performing image processing according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7 using each of the above tables, image processing similar to that in the above embodiment can be performed. In addition, the assembly parts in this modification correspond to the foodstuff (material) in the said embodiment, and the tape cartridge (assembly completion product) similarly corresponds to the sukiyaki pan 5 (cooking completion product), and assembly corresponds to cooking. The expiration date corresponds to the expiration date.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a synthesized image synthesized by the image synthesizing process of the present modification example on the display unit 24. As shown in the drawing, the upper part of the display unit 24 becomes a finished product display area 24a to display an image of the tape cartridge of the finished product, and the lower part of the display unit 24 becomes a parts display area 24c. Is displayed in an arrangement (not shown in the present modification) corresponding to the mounting position of the wireless tag T on the antenna tray unit 3. In addition, the image of each assembly part is displayed in a size corresponding to the importance (in this example, the base tape and the ink ribbon tape having high importance are displayed relatively large).

  Also in this modified example configured as described above, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

(2) When acquiring image data of each food by imaging using an optical mark In the above embodiment, the image data of each food has been acquired from the database 10 in which various information related to the food is already stored and held. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, each food material before cooking may be placed on the tag placement region 7 and captured by the control imaging unit 2 to obtain an image. In this case, for example, an optically identifiable mark is written at a predetermined position in the tag placement area 7 of the antenna tray unit 3 (hereinafter referred to as marking), and the control imaging unit 2 photographs each food together with the mark. By doing so, the arrangement mode of each foodstuff is detected.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the overall schematic structure of the image processing apparatus according to this modification. In addition, about the component equivalent to the said embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted suitably. In FIG. 12, the image processing apparatus 401 of the present modification has substantially the same configuration as the image processing apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the bottom surface of the antenna tray unit 403 in each tag detection area 7a. In addition, an antenna 8 capable of transmitting and receiving information by wireless communication with the wireless tag T is installed (see FIG. 2 and the like described above). On the other hand, in the tag placement region 7 of the antenna tray unit 403, identification marks (identifiers) 411a, 411b, 411a, 411b, which are optically identifiable shapes are provided at the corner portions of the four corners and the central positions of the two opposing sides. 411c, 411d, 411e, and 411f are marked. Further, these identification marks 411a to 411f are not only individually identifiable, but also have a shape capable of recognizing the marking direction on the antenna tray unit 3.

  The memory 22 of the control imaging unit 402 stores the shape and size of each identification mark. When the CPU 21 recognizes the presence of these identification marks 411a to 411f in the image captured by the imaging unit 27, The relative position and inclination of the control imaging unit 402 with respect to the antenna tray unit 3 and the shooting direction of the imaging unit 27 can be detected by a known pattern recognition method. Thereby, the operator can detect the arrangement mode of each photographed food in the tag placement area 7 by photographing the food and the identification mark together with the control imaging unit 402. In the example shown in FIG. 12, meat is arranged at the upper left part (near the identification mark 411a) of the tag placement area 7, a ridge is arranged at the left middle part (near the identification mark 411b), and the lower left part (of the identification mark 411c). In this example, a green onion is placed in the vicinity), an egg is placed in the upper right part (near the identification mark 411d), and soy sauce is placed in the right middle part (near the identification mark 411e).

  Then, after shooting in this way, the image a acquired in the vicinity of the identification mark 411a by “input operation from the operation unit 23” is “meat” and acquired in the vicinity of the identification mark 411b. The image b is “蒟 蒻”, the image c acquired in the vicinity of the identification mark 411c is “green onion”, the image d acquired in the vicinity of the identification mark 411d is “egg”, and the identification mark 411e By specifying that the image e acquired in the vicinity of is “soy sauce”, the corresponding identification information (in this example, the ingredient name) can be stored in the database 10 in association with each image. .

  Thereafter, as in the above embodiment, after the finished cooked product (sukiyaki pan 5) is completed, the finished product is photographed by the control imaging unit 402, and the tag ID of the wireless tag T corresponding to each food is detected by the antenna 8. To do. It should be noted that a plurality of antennas (21 antennas in the above example) are not the same as in the above embodiment, but the tag mounting area 7 (A-A ′ line (boundary in the figure) of the antenna tray unit 403 is the same as in the above-described modification. One large antenna having the entire area below the position) as the detectable area may be used. In this case, the antenna includes, for example, a plurality of antenna elements, and appropriate directivity control such as phased array antenna control and adaptive array antenna control is executed by the CPU 21 performing output control and phase control to each antenna element. Thus, the arrangement position of the wireless tag T is detected. Further, for the high frequency circuit, it is sufficient to omit the antenna changeover switch unit 314 from the high frequency circuit 26 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and connect the antenna directly to the transmission / reception separator 214.

  At this time, as described above with reference to FIG. 5 as an example, the database 10 stores and holds various data of the foodstuff corresponding to each tag ID, and the wireless tag T of each tag ID is stored and held. Ingredient identification information (in this example, the ingredient name, that is, “product name” in FIG. 5) is associated. Then, for example, by an appropriate operation of the operation unit 23 (or automatic operation may be unnecessary), the control imaging unit 402 has already photographed using the identification information for each tag ID and the optical mark in advance as described above. Each image ID associated with the identification information (food name) can be associated with each tag ID and the corresponding image data.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure performed by the CPU 21 of the control imaging unit 402 in this modification. The same steps as those in FIG. 7 in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In FIG. 13, for example, when an instruction to start image processing (for example, button operation) is input in the operation unit 23 of the control imaging unit 402, this flow is started. First, in step S105, as in step S5 of FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the pressing operation of the shutter button 23a has been performed, and the same determination is repeated until the determination is satisfied by operating the shutter button 23a. If the shutter button 23a is pressed, the determination is satisfied, and the routine goes to the next Step S110.

  In step S110, the image of each foodstuff is imaged together with the identification marks 411a to 411f by the imaging unit 27 of the control imaging unit 402, as in step S10 of FIG. Since each foodstuff and the identification marks 411a to 411f are stored in the imaging region of the imaging unit 27, their images are detected by the imaging sensor through the lens and photographed as digital image information.

  Thereafter, in step S115, as described above, the image captured in step S110 is subjected to processing based on known pattern recognition, thereby recognizing the image of each food based on the positional relationship with each identification mark 411a-f. (In the above-mentioned example, the upper left portion of the tag placement area 7: an image of meat, an upper left portion: an image of a salmon, an lower left portion: an image of an onion, an upper right portion: an image of an egg, an upper right portion: an image of soy sauce).

  And it moves to step S120, for example, it is determined whether the identification information (food name in this example) corresponding to each food was input via the operation part 23, and the same determination is repeated until it is input. In the above example, for example, “meat” for the upper left image of the tag placement area 7, “蒟 蒻” for the middle left image, “green onion” for the lower left image, The ingredient name “egg” is input to the image of the part and “soy sauce” is input to the image of the right middle part (by text characters or the like). In this way, when the operation name is input, the determination is satisfied, and the process proceeds to the next step S125.

  In step S125, based on the said step S115 and step S120, it stores in the database 10 in the form which linked | related each image and the foodstuff name corresponding to this.

  When this step S125 is completed, the attached wireless tag T is removed from each ingredient, and the sukiyaki pan 5 is cooked using each ingredient while the RFID tag T is placed on the tag placement area 7, and the sukiyaki pot completed. 5 is placed in the finished product placement area 6 (FIG. 12 shows this state for the finished product placement area 6), and the process proceeds to the above-described step S5 similar to the above embodiment. The subsequent processing is the same as that of the above-described embodiment described with reference to FIG.

  Also in this modified example configured as described above, the same effect as in the above embodiment is obtained. Moreover, since it is possible to use image data photographed by the control imaging unit 402 before cooking instead of the image data of foodstuffs that are generally distributed and stored in the database 10 in advance, a more realistic image can be created. . Needless to say, the present invention can be similarly applied to the above-mentioned industrial products.

  It is assumed that the “Scroll All ID” signal, “Kill” signal, etc. used above conform to the specifications established by EPC global. EPC global is a non-profit corporation established jointly by the International EAN Association, which is an international organization of distribution codes, and the United Code Code Council (UCC), which is an American distribution code organization. Note that signals conforming to other standards may be used as long as they perform the same function.

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall schematic structure of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating an outline of an image processing apparatus. It is a functional block diagram showing the detailed structure of CPU in a control imaging part, a high frequency circuit, and an antenna. It is a block diagram showing an example of a functional structure of the RFID circuit element provided in common with the RFID tag attached to the food material. It is a figure which represents notionally the beef table which manages the response | compatibility with the information regarding beef and tag ID. It is a figure which represents notionally the storage aspect of the image file of the foodstuff stored in the database. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure which CPU of a control imaging part performs in order to perform an image process. It is the figure which represented on the display part an example of the synthesized image synthesize | combined by the image synthesis process. In the modification applied to an industrial product, it is a figure which represents notionally the base-material tape roll table which manages the response | compatibility with the information regarding base-material tape roll, and tag ID. It is a figure which represents notionally the storage aspect of the image file of the assembly parts stored in the database in the modification applied to an industrial product. In the modification applied to an industrial product, it is the figure which represented on the display part an example of the synthesized image synthesize | combined by the image synthesis process. It is a perspective view showing the whole schematic structure of the image processing apparatus of the modification which detects arrangement | positioning of a wireless tag by an optical mark. It is a flowchart showing the control procedure which CPU of a control imaging part performs in the modification which acquires image data, such as each foodstuff, using an optical mark.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 Control imaging part 3 Antenna tray unit (mounting means)
4 Cable 5 Sukiyaki pan 6 Finished product placement area 7 Tag placement area 7a Tag detection area 8 Antenna (wireless communication means)
9 Placement plate 10 Database 21 CPU
22 Memory 23 Operation unit 23a Shutter button 24 Display unit 24a Completed product display area (other side area)
24b Material display area (one side area)
24c Parts display area (one side area)
25 Network communication control unit 26 High frequency circuit (wireless communication means)
27 Imaging unit (imaging means)
314 Antenna changeover switch unit 401 Image processing device 402 Control imaging unit 403 Antenna tray unit 411a-e Identification mark (identifier)
T wireless tag To wireless tag circuit element

Claims (10)

Information is transmitted and received by wireless communication with a plurality of RFID circuit elements each having an IC circuit section for storing information and a tag side antenna connected to the IC circuit section, and tag identification information of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements Wireless communication means for obtaining
Based on the tag identification information of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements acquired by the wireless communication means, image acquisition means for acquiring a first image of a plurality of corresponding reading objects;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an image combining unit that combines the plurality of first images acquired by the image acquiring unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1.
Imaging means for taking a second image of the photographing object that has been subjected to predetermined processing using the plurality of reading objects respectively corresponding to the plurality of RFID circuit elements;
The image processing device is characterized in that the image synthesizing unit synthesizes a plurality of first images acquired by the image acquiring unit and a second image captured by the imaging unit. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2.
An image processing apparatus comprising: mounting means for mounting the object to be photographed at the time of photographing by the imaging means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
The image composition means includes
In the composite processed product after the composite processing, the composite processing is performed by dividing a region such that the plurality of first images are arranged in one side region and the second image is arranged in the other side region. A featured image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
The above-mentioned placing means is
An image processing apparatus comprising: an identifier for the image composition means to recognize the one side area, the other side area, or a boundary position between the one side area and the other side area. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
The image composition means includes
In the composite processing product after the composite processing, the composite processing is performed so that the plurality of first images are arranged corresponding to the arrangement form of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements on the placement unit. An image processing apparatus. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6.
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wireless communication unit is provided in the placement unit so as to be able to detect an arrangement mode of the plurality of RFID tag circuit elements. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
The image composition means includes
In the combined processed product after the combining process, a specific image among the plurality of first images is disposed so as to be disposed in priority to a predetermined position or to be changed in size compared to other images. As described above, an image processing apparatus that performs the synthesis process. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Based on the tag identification information of the RFID circuit element acquired by the wireless communication means, it is determined whether the reading object corresponding to the RFID circuit element and the first image related thereto are within the expiration date of use. An image processing apparatus comprising a determination unit. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The wireless communication means includes
An image processing apparatus comprising: a signal generation unit that accesses the RFID circuit element that has acquired the first image by the image acquisition unit and generates an erasure information signal for erasing the tag identification information.

Images