JP2007174183A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology capable of easily and surely executing image correction processing (dust extraction work). <P>SOLUTION: The image processing apparatus 1 stores information on a dust extracted position in a storage section by each image. A dust position G of an image whose dust extract processing is finished and stored in the storage section is read and displayed on an image display region 31 of a dust extract menu 30. Further, the image display region 31 is displayed with a print region line 23 determined by a print size and the dust extract processing is executed within a region surrounded by the print region line 23. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for performing image correction processing.

In recent years, digital cameras have been rapidly spread. In a digital camera, if dust such as dust adheres to an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), the dust appears in the photographed image. A dust removal operation for removal is performed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2000-40159 A

  The conventional dust removal operation for photographed images is divided into a task of searching for dust and a task of correcting the image when dust is present, but the task of searching for dust by the operator's visual inspection is laborious and burdensome for the operator. There was a problem of being big.

  An object of the present invention is to enable an image correction process (dust removal operation) to be performed easily and reliably.

In order to solve the above-described problem, an invention according to claim 1 is an image processing apparatus that performs predetermined correction processing on a plurality of images.
Storage means for storing correction position information of the image subjected to the predetermined correction processing;
And a display control unit that displays the correction position of the corrected image on the display unit based on the correction position information stored in the storage unit during the correction process on the uncorrected image.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the image processing apparatus includes a designation unit that designates a print range of each of the plurality of images, and the display control unit is designated by the designation unit. The printing range is further displayed on the display unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method for performing a predetermined correction process on a plurality of images, a step of storing correction position information of the image subjected to the predetermined correction process;
And a step of displaying the correction position of the corrected image on the display unit based on the previously stored correction position information during the correction process on the uncorrected image.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image processing method according to the third aspect, the step of designating each print range of the plurality of images, and the display of the designated print range at the time of image correction processing And a step of displaying on the part.

According to the present invention, it is possible to easily and reliably execute an image correction process.
In addition, since correction processing within the designated print range is possible, useless processing such as correction processing outside the print range is eliminated, and the efficiency of the correction processing can be improved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, the configuration in the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 1 shows a main part configuration of an image processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus such as a PC (Personal Computer) for receiving a print order, for example, and as shown in FIG. 1, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 2, a display unit 3, an operation unit 4, a media reading unit The unit 5, the storage unit 6, and the communication unit 7 are electrically connected via a bus 8.

  The CPU 2 controls the operation of each unit constituting the image processing apparatus 1 according to various processing programs stored in the storage unit 6. The dust removal process executed under the control of the CPU 2 will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

  The display unit 3 includes a display such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), and performs a required display process according to a display control signal input from the CPU 2.

  The operation unit 4 includes a numeric keypad, cursor keys, various function keys, and the like, and outputs an operation signal when the key is pressed to the CPU 2. The operation unit 4 may include a touch panel integrated with the LCD of the display unit 3.

  The media reading unit 5 includes various media such as a memory stick (registered trademark), smart media (registered trademark), compact flash (registered trademark), multimedia card (registered trademark), SD memory card (registered trademark), and PC card. It is configured to be able to be loaded and reads data recorded on the loaded media.

  The storage unit 6 stores various processing programs executed by the CPU 2, data used when these processing programs are executed, data of processing results, and the like.

  The communication unit 7 includes a modem, a terminal adapter, a LAN adapter, and the like, and performs communication control for communicating with an external device via a communication network such as a telephone line, an ISDN line, or a dedicated line.

Next, the operation in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
With reference to FIG. 2, the dust removal process executed under the control of the CPU 2 will be described.

  First, an image capture screen 10 as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 3, and an image to be processed (captured image) is captured by operating the operation unit 4 (step S1).

  As shown in FIG. 3, a captured image designation area 11, an image display area 12, an image capture button 13, and the like are displayed on the image capture screen 10. In addition, an area for displaying a message indicating an operation method is provided at the top of the image capture screen 10. A list of drives or folders set in the image processing apparatus 1 is displayed in the captured image designation area 11, and a drive or folder (for example, media reading) storing an image to be processed by an operation of the operation unit 4 by the operator. The folder in the medium loaded in the section 4 is selected, and the image stored in the selected drive or folder is displayed in the image display area 12. Next, an image to be captured (processing target image) is designated (clicked) from the images displayed in the image display area 12 by the operation of the operation unit 4, and the image capture button 13 is specified (clicked). A captured image is determined. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the first three images (images 1 to 3 in which the outer frame is highlighted) of the five images (images 1 to 5) stored in the folder “Shichigosan” are captured. Yes.

  When the image capture button 13 on the image capture screen 10 is designated, a print size selection screen 20 as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 3, and the captured image is displayed by the operation of the operation unit 4. A print size and a print area (print area) are designated (step S2).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the print size selection screen 20 is provided with a captured image display area 21 and a dust removal button 22. When a print size (for example, L size) is designated for each image displayed in the captured image display area 21, a print area line 23 corresponding to the designated print size is determined. Print area) is specified. In the captured image display area 21, a column for inputting the number of prints for each image is provided.

  When one image for dust removal is designated on the print size selection screen 20 and the dust removal button 22 is designated (clicked), a dust removal screen 30 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the dust removal screen 30 includes an image display area 31, an enlargement button 32, a reduction button 33, a dust removal operation button 34, a return button 35, a return button 36, and a dust position reading button 37. A dust position addition button 38, a dust position deletion button 39, and an enter button 40 are provided.

  When the dust removal screen 30 is activated, the first image is first displayed in the image display area 31, dust removal work is performed on the first image, and dust removal position information (dust information) of the first image is displayed. The position coordinate data) is stored (stored) in the storage unit 6 (step S3).

  In step 3, specifically, when the operator finds dust on the image on the dust removal screen 30, the dust position G to be added is designated, and the dust position addition button 38 is designated (clicked) to designate the dust. The dust position G (circular in FIG. 5) is marked. When deleting the dust position G that has already been marked on the screen, the dust position deletion button 39 may be specified after specifying the dust position G to be deleted. In order for the operator to find the dust position, the enlargement button 32 and the reduction button 33 can be designated as appropriate to enlarge or reduce the image display.

  When the dust position is determined, the dust removal editing mode (trash removal work mode) is designated by designating the dust removal work button 34 on the dust removal screen 30, and the marked dust position G is determined by the operation of the operation unit 4 by the operator. A dust removal operation is performed by copying and pasting an image (area) in the vicinity of to the dust position G. As shown in FIG. 5, since the print area line 23 determined according to the print size is displayed in the image display area 31, the operator removes dust only in the print area inside the print area line 23. Can be done. Also, by specifying the back button 35, the previous dust removal operation is canceled (undo), and by specifying the return button 36 to the beginning, the image displayed in the image display area 31 is the first one. Return to the image (that is, the image before dust removal). Note that the operator can specify the enlargement button 32 and the reduction button 33 as appropriate in order to perform the dust removal operation, and can enlarge or reduce the display of the image. When the dust removal operation for the first image is completed, by specifying the enter button 40, the image data for which the dust removal operation has been completed and the dust removal position information (coordinate data of the dust position) are stored in the storage unit 6. Return to the print size selection screen 20.

  When the dust removal operation for the first image and the storage of the dust removal position information are completed, the dust removal operation for the second and subsequent images is performed. In the case of the second and subsequent images, first, when the dust removal target image is designated on the print size selection screen 20 and the dust removal button 22 is designated, the dust removal screen 30 is displayed on the display unit 3, and the image display is performed. A print area line 23 is displayed in the area 31 together with the designated dust removal target image. After entering the dust removal editing mode by specifying the dust removal operation button 34, when the dust position reading button 37 is specified, it is saved from the storage unit 6 in the previous dust removal operation (for the previous image). The dust removal position information is read, and the dust position G is displayed on the image display area 31 (step S4). For example, when a dust removal operation is currently performed on the third image, dust removal position information of the second image stored in the storage unit 6 is read in step S4.

  Based on the previous dust position displayed in the image display area 31, dust removal is performed on the corresponding image, and dust removal position information (dust position coordinate data) of the image is stored in the storage unit 6 ( Step S5). In step S5, when the operator newly finds dust other than the previous dust position displayed in the image display area 31, the dust position G is added to the image display area 31 by designating the dust position addition button 38. Is done. On the other hand, when the operator determines that there is no dust at the dust position G displayed in the image display area 31, the displayed dust position is deleted by specifying the dust position deletion button 39. Since the method of dust removal work is the same as that described in step S3, the description thereof is omitted here.

  The processes in steps S4 and S5 are performed on all the images to be removed. The dust removal operation for the last image is completed, and the decision button 40 is designated to return to the print size selection screen 20. When the “next” button is designated on the print size selection screen 20, it is determined that dust removal has been completed for all images (step S6; YES), and this dust removal processing is completed.

  In steps S3 and S5, it is preferable to automatically detect the dust position and store the detected position information in the storage unit 6 when storing the dust removal position information. Hereinafter, the dust position detection process executed under the control of the CPU 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, an image before dust removal is read (step S10), and then an image after dust removal is read (step S11). Next, difference information between the image values of the image before dust removal and the image after dust removal is calculated (step S12).

  Next, coordinate data in which the difference calculated in step S12 is greater than or equal to a predetermined value is calculated (step S13). A dust position is detected from the coordinate data calculated in step S13. In this way, it is possible to automatically detect the dust position without using the dust position addition button 38 in the dust removal edit mode.

  As described above, according to the image processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the coordinate data of the dust position of the image to be processed last time is stored, and the stored dust position is stored at the time of dust removal work for the next image. By displaying on the image, the task of searching for dust on the image is simplified, and the efficiency of dust removal can be improved. In addition, it is possible to reliably perform the dust removal operation without overlooking the dust position. In particular, the dust removal process of the present embodiment is effective because a series of images taken by the same camera often has dust always projected at the same position.

  Further, by displaying the print area (printing area) at the time of dust removal work, it is sufficient to perform dust removal work only in the area, and the work efficiency can be further improved.

1 is a block diagram showing a main part configuration of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a flowchart showing dust removal processing executed in the image processing apparatus. The figure which shows the image capture screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the print size selection screen displayed on a display part. The figure which shows the dust removal work screen displayed on a display part. 6 is a flowchart showing dust position detection processing executed in the image processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing apparatus 2 CPU (display control means)
3 Display section 4 Operation section (designating means)
5 Media Reading Unit 6 Storage Unit (Storage Unit)
7 Communication Unit 10 Image Capture Screen 20 Print Size Selection Screen 23 Print Area Line 30 Dust Removal Work Screen

Claims (4)

In an image processing apparatus that performs a predetermined correction process on a plurality of images,
Storage means for storing correction position information of the image subjected to the predetermined correction processing;
Display control means for displaying the correction position of the corrected image on the display unit based on the correction position information stored in the storage means during the correction process for the uncorrected image;
An image processing apparatus comprising: A designation means for designating a print range of each of the plurality of images;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit further displays a print range designated by the designation unit on the display unit. In an image processing method for performing a predetermined correction process on a plurality of images,
Storing correction position information of the image subjected to the predetermined correction processing;
A step of displaying the correction position of the corrected image on the display unit based on the previously stored correction position information during the correction process on the uncorrected image;
An image processing method comprising: Designating a print range for each of the plurality of images;
A step of displaying the designated print range on the display unit during image correction processing;
The image processing method according to claim 3, further comprising:

Images