JP2007325207A - Image processor, its control method, and control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing with high-speed and printing with high-speed. <P>SOLUTION: The image processing device which performs an image processing for image data having image-associated information extracts predetermined information such as subject area information and subject distance information from the image-associated information, decides a specific area within the image data by using the extracted predetermined information, processes thinning out for the specific area or out thereof, and performs printing based on the image data after thinning out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus such as a printing apparatus, a control method therefor, and a control program for executing the control method.

  In recent years, in captured image data of a digital camera or the like, the contents of image attached information called metadata (feature information and attribute information of the extracted image portion) have been enriched, and methods for using the same have been proposed.

  As a conventional method of using image ancillary information for image data, for example, in the image file format standard (Exif 2.2) for digital still cameras, image ancillary information that seems to be useful for print processing is supported in a new version. By using this image ancillary information, it is possible to obtain a higher-quality print result.

As a usage form of the image ancillary information in the conventional Exif 2.2 standard, it is assumed that the image ancillary information is used for image correction performed on the entire image data. Therefore, it is required to perform image correction on an image portion that is particularly noticeable. A method is known in which the accuracy of detection of a noticed image is improved using such image ancillary information, and image correction is enhanced by using the detected noticed image (see Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2005-174247 A

  However, the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 performs correction for improving the quality of an image using image attached information, and does not reduce the time for image processing.

  In the present invention, in view of the above-described conventional problems, when image processing is performed on image data to which image ancillary information is added, the image ancillary information can be effectively used to speed up the image processing. An object is to provide an image processing apparatus, a control method thereof, and a control program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image processing apparatus for performing image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added, an extracting unit for extracting predetermined information from the image ancillary information, and the extracting unit Region determining means for determining a specific region in the image data using the predetermined information extracted by the image processing unit, and performing specific image processing on the specific region or outside the specific region determined by the region determining unit. And image processing means.

  The present invention also provides a control method for an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added, the extracting step for extracting predetermined information from the image ancillary information, and the extraction A region determination step for determining a specific region in the image data using the predetermined information extracted in the step, and a specific image processing for the specific region or outside the specific region determined by the region determination step. And an image processing step to be performed.

  The present invention also provides a computer-readable control program for executing a control method for an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added. An extraction step for extracting predetermined information from the inside, a region determination step for determining a specific region in the image data using the predetermined information extracted by the extraction step, and the specific region determined by the region determination step Alternatively, an image processing step for performing specific image processing outside the specific region is provided.

  According to the present invention, in an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image attached information is added, the image attached information can be effectively used to speed up image processing. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time for the printing process or the like.

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

[First Embodiment]
<Outline of printing system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printing system including an image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  This printing system includes an input device 101 such as a digital camera and a printing apparatus 111 that performs image processing on an image file 102 from the input device 101 and prints it. The image file 102 output from the input device 101 includes captured image data 104 and image attached information 103 such as shooting conditions regarding the captured image data.

  The input device 101 is a digital camera or the like, but may be a personal computer. That is, the present invention can also be applied when image data is sent to the printing apparatus 111 via a printer driver on a personal computer.

  The captured image data 104 described in the image file 102 is transferred to the printing apparatus 111. For example, there is a method of connecting a memory card in the input device 101 from the input device 101 to a memory slot of the printing apparatus 111. Also, a method of transferring data by cable connection such as USB, IEEE 1394, serial, parallel, etc., a method using infrared communication, a method using wireless technology, and the like may be used.

  The printing apparatus 111 includes an image processing unit 112, a printer engine 118, and a display panel 119. When the printing apparatus 111 is a PD (PhotoDirect) printer, the printing apparatus 111 directly receives captured image data from the input device 101 without using a personal computer. Then, in the image processing unit 112, the data analysis processing 114, the specific region determination processing 115, the specific region image processing 116, and the print data generation processing unit 117 are performed, and the printer engine 118 performs image printing. In the present embodiment, a PD machine will be described as an example.

  The present invention can also be applied to a configuration in which the function of the image processing unit 112 is realized by a personal computer and printing is performed by a normal printing apparatus instead of the PD machine.

  The image processing unit 112 is configured by an information processing device including a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and the functions of the specific area determination image processing unit 113 and the print data generation unit 117 are realized by this information processing device. The specific area determination image processing unit 113 expands and decompresses the compressed image file 102 and uses the image attachment information 103 for the captured image data 104 included in the compressed image file 102 to perform the specific area determination processing 115 and the specific area image. Processing 116 is performed. The print data generation unit 117 generates print data according to a print command based on the captured image data 104 that has been subjected to such processing, and outputs the print data to the printer engine 118. The printer engine 118 performs print output based on the print data. The display panel 119 displays print data and the like, and performs user interaction input.

  The feature of the present embodiment is that the data analysis process 114 and the specific area determination process 115 performed by the image processing unit 112 are controlled using the image attached information 103 in the image file 102, and the print data generation unit 117. This is the point of controlling the process.

<Recording Method of Input Device 101>
As a recording method of the input device 101, for example, an Exif image file format (Ver. 2.2) generally used as an image file format for a digital camera is used. The structure of an Exif image file is basically the same as the structure of a JPEG image file. The difference is that data such as image attached information is embedded in a JPEG image file in a format conforming to the JPEG rules.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the Exif format sub-information (IFD tag) according to the present embodiment.

  The sub information of the Exif format according to the present embodiment is composed of image attached information regarding various shooting conditions. That is, as the image ancillary information in this example, as shown in FIG.

-Subject distance-Metering method-Subject area-Focal plane width resolution-Focal plane height resolution-Focal plane resolution units-Digital zoom ratio-Subject shooting mode <Operation of printing device 111>
Next, image printing performed by the printing apparatus 111 according to the image file 102 will be described with a focus on the specific area determination processing 115 and the specific area image processing 116 performed by the image processing unit 112.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the sequence of a series of operations executed by the printing apparatus 111 according to this embodiment.

  When the image file 102 is given from the input device 101 to the printing apparatus 111, in step S301, the image attached information 103 is extracted from the image file 102, and the presence / absence of information for determining the setting value for the specific area is analyzed. I do. When information is detected, a setting value for specifying the area is set. The image ancillary information extraction processing in S301 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG.

  In the next S302, a specific area determination process 115 is executed. In the specific area determination processing 115, when the setting value for the specific area is set in S301, the setting value is used, and in other cases, the initial setting value is used. A specific area is determined from the list.

  In the subsequent S303, if a specific area is determined in the specific area determination process 115, a specific area image process 116 is executed. In this specific area image processing 116, specific image processing such as thinning-out processing is performed on the data outside or inside the determined specific area of interest. In this thinning-out process, the inside / outside range of the specific area is determined, and for the outside of the range, for example, a resolution reduction process is forcibly executed as the thinning-out process. Thereby, the data amount as the whole image can be reduced, and the subsequent image processing time can be shortened.

  In step S304, print data is generated. In other words, the print data generation unit 117 converts the final data subjected to image processing outside the specific area together with the specific area into print data (PDL data: page description language) that can be printed by the printer engine 118. In step S305, the printer engine 118 performs printing according to the generated print data.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the image ancillary information extraction processing in S301 in FIG.

  First, in S401, it is determined whether or not the print image file 102 has been acquired. If acquired, the process proceeds to S402. In step S <b> 402, it is determined whether the image attachment information is included in the image file 102. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the presence / absence of image ancillary information that is effective for specifying an area is determined.

  If such image attached information is included, the process proceeds to S403, and if not included, the process proceeds to S405. In S403, the contents of the image attached information are analyzed. In the next step S404, a setting value necessary for determining the specific area is set based on the analysis result in step S403.

  On the other hand, in S405, it is specified that there is no image ancillary information, and after that, control is performed so as to use an initial setting value or the like.

<Details of region determination processing using image attachment information>
Next, details of the specific area determination process (S302) using the image attached information will be described.

(A) Specific Area Determination Processing Method Using “Subject Area” and “Subject Distance” As shown in FIG. 2, information on the subject area is indicated by dots, circles, and rectangles. Each will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8 are conceptual diagrams illustrating an example of area determination processing using the subject area and the subject distance.

(A) In the case of a point-like position As shown in FIG. 5, in the case where the information regarding the subject area is a point-like position based on the X direction / Y direction distance data x, y, the radius t r, Calculate s. The radii r and s are set with reference to 1/6 of the vertical and horizontal sizes of the image.

That is, r = xsize / 6
s = ysize / 6
It becomes.

  Further, when the area of the region is changed according to the subject distance parameter using the “subject distance” D (Subject Distance), the following is performed.

  When the reference focal length is K, if the focal length is longer than that, the area of the specific region is adjusted by reducing the region.

That is, r = xsize / 6 + A where A = (KD) / (D ^ 2)
s = ysize / 6 + B where B = (KD) / (D ^ 2)
It becomes.

(B) In the case of a circular position As shown in FIG. 6, in the case where the information regarding the subject area is a circular position based on the X direction / Y direction distance data x, y and the radius data r, the attached information included in the image The information is used as it is, and it is the same as in the case of the above-described point-like position by x and y.

  Furthermore, in this case, as described above, the area of the region may be changed according to the subject distance parameter using the subject distance D. In this case, since the reliability of r is considered to be high, correction may be performed so as to reduce the rate of change.

(C) In the case of a rectangular position As shown in FIG. 7, when the information regarding the subject area is a rectangular position based on the X direction / Y direction distance data x, y, the width data w, and the height data h (where x , Y is the center point), and the parameters of the image attachment information are used as they are as a specific area.

  Furthermore, in this case, as described above, the area of the region may be changed according to the subject distance parameter using the subject distance D.

(D) In the case of other circular positions As shown in FIG. 8, the information on the subject area is a circular position based on a plurality of X / Y direction distance data x and y and radius data r (three points). In the case), a single region that collects the tangents of the three circles is extracted and set as a specific region.

(B) Specific Area Determination Process Method Using “Subject Shooting Mode” Information on the subject shooting mode is further added to the above-described (A) specific area determination process method using “Subject Area” and “Subject Distance”. Then, the specific area determination process is performed. That is, the area of the specific area is corrected according to the information of the subject photographing mode. For example, in the foreground mode, the subject is considered to be close, and the area of the specific area that matches the focus (hereinafter referred to as the specific focus matching area) is considered to be larger than the information included in the image. Correction is performed in the direction of increasing the area of the region.

<Control of image processing using image ancillary information>
Next, a method for using image ancillary information to control image processing will be described.

(A) Change in thinning processing amount using “subject shooting mode” When the macro mode and the foreground mode are specified in the subject shooting mode, there is a large difference between the specific focus matching area and the other areas. Conceivable. In other words, the depth of field is large. In this case, correction is performed in the direction of increasing the thinning amount in the image processing of other areas. While increasing the thinning amount, the image is printed with less damage to the image.

(B) Change in processing using “focal plane width / height resolution” There exists an image format in which the focal plane resolution differs from the resolution of other regions. This one case is a case where shooting is performed with a higher resolution of a specific focus matching area at the stage of creating an original image. In this case, if the printing process is applied as it is, usually one resolution is applied to the image object in accordance with the high resolution. That is, uniform resolution conversion is applied as a whole.

  In such a case, the processing in one uniform low resolution direction is applied by lowering the resolution of the specific focus matching area in accordance with the resolution information of the focal plane width / height. Become. As a result, high-speed draft printing processing can be performed.

<Advantages of First Embodiment>
According to the present embodiment, since the image ancillary information 103 included in the image file 102 is used, the speed of image processing can be increased only by processing on the printing apparatus side. In other words, by using the image ancillary information 103, it is possible to perform a thinning process outside or inside a specific area of the captured image data 104 on the printing apparatus 111 side. Thereby, for example, in a photo direct printer (PD machine), it is possible to speed up image processing, and as a result, it is possible to perform printing processing at high speed.

[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment, the present invention is applied to a photo direct printer (PD machine). In the second embodiment, the present invention is applied in a configuration in which image data is transmitted from an external host device such as a personal computer to the printing apparatus. Therefore, it is assumed that the printing apparatus 111 according to the present embodiment is configured to be connected to a network or has an external interface, for example, and receives print data (PDL data) from an external host apparatus.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the flow of image processing and printing processing of the image processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, in process 901, print data (PDL data) is received from a network or an external interface, and the data is held in the PDL spool. In the next process 902, the received PDL data is analyzed, and if necessary, it is expanded and stored in the line buffer.

  In subsequent processing 903, PDL processing (color conversion, thinning, color reduction, color determination) designated in the PDL is performed. Photographed image data is detected during the PDL processing, and the photographed image data is thinned out and developed on the line buffer. In other words, the inside / outside range of the specified specific area is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment using the image attached information, and if it is outside the range, the thinning process (resolution reduction process) is forcibly executed. Thereby, the data amount as the whole image can be reduced and the image processing time can be shortened.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the thinning process is performed on the captured image data 104 before the print data (PDL data) is generated. However, the second embodiment is already generated. Thinning-out processing is executed for the print data (PDL data).

  In subsequent processing 904, JPEG compression processing is performed and stored in DisplayList (DL). In processing 905, rendering processing (image processing) is performed and stored in the image spool.

  Next, output from the image spool to the printer engine 118 is performed, and printing is actually performed on paper.

<Advantages of Second Embodiment>
Since the image attached information 103 included in the image file 102 is used, the specific area can be determined and the image processing can be controlled only by the processing on the printing apparatus 111 side. As a result, even if the configuration is such that image data is transmitted from the external host device such as a personal computer to the printing device 111, the printer driver on the personal computer side processes the determination of the specific area and the control of the image processing. There is no need to do. Therefore, there is no burden on the printer driver in realizing the present invention.

  In the first and second embodiments, the thinning process is performed outside the range of the specific area. However, the present invention can also be applied to performing the thinning process within the range. Further, the thinning-out process may be a process of reducing the gradation in addition to the process of reducing the resolution of the image data.

  In the second embodiment, the thinning process is executed during the PDL process. However, the compression rate may be changed by performing the thinning process during the compression process. That is, when image processing is performed, any image processing can be applied as long as the inside / outside of the specific area can be determined by referring to the image attached information.

  An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and a computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the program codes. Is also achieved. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention. .

  Examples of the storage medium for supplying the program code include the following. That is, an optical disk such as a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CDROM, a CDR, a CDRW, a DVDROM, a DVDRAM, a DVDRW, and a DVD + RW, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, and the like can be used. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  The present invention not only realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments by executing the program code read by the computer. In some cases, an OS (operating system) running on a computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. included.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system including an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the content of the sub information (IFD tag) of an Exif format. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of operations performed by the printing apparatus 111 according to the first embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the image attachment information extraction process of S301 in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the area | region determination process using a to-be-photographed area and to-be-photographed object distance. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the area | region determination process using a to-be-photographed area and to-be-photographed object distance. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the area | region determination process using a to-be-photographed area and to-be-photographed object distance. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the area | region determination process using a to-be-photographed area and to-be-photographed object distance. It is a figure which shows the flow of the image process of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, and a printing process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Input device 102 Image file 103 Image attached information 104 Photographed image data 111 Printing apparatus 112 Image processing part 113 Specific area determination image processing part 114 Data analysis part 115 Specific area determination part 117 Print data generation part 118 Printer engine 119 Display of printing apparatus apparatus

Claims (10)

In an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added, an extraction unit that extracts predetermined information from the image ancillary information;
Area determining means for determining a specific area in the image data using the predetermined information extracted by the extracting means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: image processing means for performing specific image processing on the specific area determined by the area determination means or outside the specific area.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a printing unit that executes printing based on the image data processed by the image processing unit. The predetermined information is subject area information and subject distance information representing photographing conditions of the image data,
The region determining means includes
The said specific area is temporarily determined according to the subject area information, and the temporarily determined specific area is corrected according to the subject distance information. Image processing device. The predetermined information is subject shooting mode information representing shooting conditions of the image data,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that controls an operation of the region determination unit according to the subject photographing mode information. The predetermined information is subject shooting mode information representing shooting conditions of image data,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that controls an operation of the image processing unit according to the subject photographing mode information. The predetermined information is resolution information of a focal plane width / height representing imaging conditions of image data,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit that controls a resolution conversion operation for the specific region in accordance with the resolution information of the width / height of the focal plane.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specific image processing of the image processing unit is a thinning process for the image data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the thinning-out process is a process of reducing resolution or a process of reducing gradation. A control method of an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added,
An extraction step of extracting predetermined information from the image attached information;
A region determining step of determining a specific region in the image data using the predetermined information extracted by the extracting step;
A control method for an image processing apparatus, comprising: an image processing step of performing specific image processing on the specific region or outside the specific region determined by the region determination step. A computer-readable control program for executing a control method of an image processing apparatus that performs image processing on image data to which image ancillary information is added,
An extraction step of extracting predetermined information from the image attached information;
A region determining step of determining a specific region in the image data using the predetermined information extracted by the extracting step;
A control program comprising: an image processing step for performing specific image processing on the specific region or outside the specific region determined by the region determination step.

Images