JP2009015540A - Page layout system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a page layout system allowing automatic editing work such as magnification, reduction, or centering of an individual image so as to efficiently lay out a large number of images each photographed with an article. <P>SOLUTION: This page layout system has: a resolution adjustment means; a frame processing means automatically performing magnification/reduction processing and centering processing of the image such that the whole placement object included in the image is included in a range of placement size; a manual adjustment means; a trimming means; and a layout means. The frame means of the page layout system can identify a boundary between the placement object and a portion except the placement object included in the image by recognizing a position having a large luminance change inside the image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a page layout system. In particular, the present invention relates to a system for efficiently editing and laying out a large number of images taken of articles such as automobiles, ceramics, blades, bags, and the like.

  There are known publications on which images of many articles are published such as catalogs and pamphlets. There are also known websites in which images of a large number of articles are disclosed on the same site. Many of these publications and websites are provided for the purpose of disclosing information about these items or selling the items.

  The images of articles published in such publications and websites clearly and clearly show the size and color of the article, and between other images of articles posted together. There is a strong demand for easy comparison. In order to satisfy these requirements, it is necessary to unify the position and size of the article in the image among the images, and thus editing operations such as enlargement, reduction, and centering are required for each image.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically laying out a human face. In the technique of Patent Document 1, a face area and a face variance value are calculated, and a face image is arranged in a well-balanced layout area based on these values. The layout technique of Patent Document 1 discloses a technique specialized for a human face, but does not particularly describe the applicability to other articles.
JP-A-2005-190401

  An image of an article for publication in a publication or website is enlarged or reduced to unify the characteristics of the image for the purpose of clearly showing the characteristics of the article and facilitating comparison with others. Editing work such as centering was necessary. Conventionally, however, all such editing work has been performed manually, so that the amount of work has become enormous as the number of images to be posted has increased, and it has taken much time for editing.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and automatically performs editing operations such as enlargement, reduction, and centering of individual images in a series of layout operations. It was made to improve efficiency.

  The invention of claim 1 relates to a page layout system for editing a plurality of images and arranging the images. The page layout system of the present invention includes a resolution adjustment unit that adjusts resolution by performing an enlargement / reduction process on each individual image before editing, and a publication size is set for each image. Frame processing means for automatically performing image centering processing and enlargement / reduction processing so that all the images edited by the frame processing means are input based on an input from the editor. Manual adjustment means for readjustment, trimming means for trimming an area outside the range obtained by adding the external offset area to the posted size in each image, and layout means for laying out the trimmed image, The processing means recognizes the boundary between the posting object included in the image and the part other than the posting object, and the position where the luminance change is large in the image Characterized in that it is identified by Rukoto.

  As a result of examining the images of articles that are many posting objects, the inventor has confirmed that the position and size of the posting object included in the image can be specified by detecting a change in luminance of the image.

  Based on this knowledge, the frame processing means of the present invention specifies the outline of the posting object based on the change in luminance of the image, and accurately recognizes the position and size of the posting object photographed in the image. Further, the frame processing means of the present invention can automatically perform the centering process and the enlargement / reduction process of the image based on the position and size data of the posting object in the specified image. ing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the page layout system further includes processing invalid range setting means for presetting an area that is not subject to centering processing for an image whose resolution has been adjusted.

  Among images to be subjected to page layout, in order to identify an image at the time of editing, a name plate or the like indicating a product name or a model number of an article may be photographed together with a posting object. In some cases, a building other than the object to be photographed is reflected in the background of an image photographed outdoors. In such an image, if an article other than the posting target is recognized as a part of the posting target in the process of editing, accurate frame processing of the image may be difficult. For this reason, the page layout system of the present invention can automatically perform frame processing such as accurate centering and enlargement / reduction with respect to an object to be posted by preliminarily designating a range not to be centered. It has become.

  In the page layout system according to the invention of claim 3, the enlargement / reduction processing of the frame processing means calculates the ratio of the placement size and the placement object size in one standard image selected from a plurality of images, It is characterized in that enlargement / reduction processing of another image is performed so as to be equal to the ratio.

  When performing a layout process using a group of images with a uniform shooting distance, the page layout system of the present invention uses the page layout system of the present invention to measure the size of the posting object captured in the standard image and the posting object of other images. It is possible to show the difference between the two accurately.

  With the page layout system of the present invention, it is possible to automatically perform editing operations such as enlargement, reduction, and centering of individual images in a series of layout operations, and the image editing operations are greatly improved in efficiency. A page layout system is provided. The page layout system of the present invention is particularly suitable for the work of laying out a large amount of images, and can promptly proceed with a series of layout work.

  The page layout system of the present invention can automatically perform a centering process and an enlargement / reduction process of a posting object even when an image in which something other than the posting object is photographed is edited.

  The page layout system of the present invention can provide an image that reflects the difference in size between the posting object photographed in the standard image and the posting object of other images very accurately.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention is listed below. The form described here is an exemplification, and the technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the following form.

(Form 1) A page layout system that handles images of articles such as pottery, bags, watches, etc., recognizes the position of the reference object by calculating the luminance in the image and selecting significant areas with large luminance changes. is doing.
(Mode 2) A page layout system that handles images with more complicated contours such as automobiles detects elements such as windshields and tire wheels having characteristic pixel values from the images. Then, the direction and position of the automobile or the like in the image is estimated from the position of the detected element.
(Mode 3) The page layout system can define the posting size by defining the vertical and horizontal dimensions according to the size of the area in which the image is laid out. Further, a certain distance can be defined toward the outside of the posting size, and an area outside the posting size and included within the defined distance can be defined as an outer offset area. The page layout system crops the area outside the outer offset of the framed image.
(Mode 4) The page layout system can define a certain distance toward the inside of the posting size, and can define an area included inside the distance within the posting size as an inner offset area. The page layout system can perform an image enlargement / reduction process so that the insertion target is included in the inner offset area during the frame process.
(Form 5) The page layout system can set a bottom alignment line at the bottom of the printing size, and can arrange the lower side of the printing target so as to be in contact with the line.

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, a page layout system 1 for creating a catalog of pottery among the page layout systems of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a block configuration diagram of the page layout system 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of processing performed by the page layout system 1.

  The page layout system 1 of this embodiment includes a resolution adjustment unit 2, a frame processing unit 3, a trimming unit 4, a manual adjustment unit 5, and a layout unit 6. The page layout system 1 is stored in the form of a program that can be executed by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) in internal storage means of a general-purpose personal computer (not shown), and these means perform sequential processing to perform layout work. Executed. The page layout system 1 can display the processing status on a display device (not shown), and the worker who performs the layout proceeds with the processing while confirming the display content.

  The page layout system 1 in this embodiment can read and lay out a plurality of digital images obtained by photographing ceramics from the image database 7. The digital image of the pottery used in this embodiment includes three types of pixel value data of R (red), G (green), and B (blue), which are color information, for each pixel. The page layout system 1 can also directly read images transferred from various digital photographing devices.

  Hereinafter, a procedure performed by the page layout system 1 according to the flow of FIG. 2 will be described. In the page layout system 1, a folder name in which an image is stored as an initial value, an image format to be read, a posting size, an external offset distance, and a resolution for adjusting the image are set ( Step S1). FIG. 3 shows an example of an image reading dialog 31 displayed on the display device by the page layout system 1. An operator of the page layout system 1 can change these values using an input device. When all necessary settings have been made, the operator clicks the “OK” button displayed in the upper right of the image reading dialog 31 to start reading the image.

  In step S2, a plurality of ceramic images are read from the folder set in the image reading dialog 31. In step S3, the resolution adjusting unit 2 performs an enlargement / reduction process for each image so that the resolutions of all the images are matched with the set resolution. Here, when the setting of “Match loaded image to image size” is enabled in the image reading dialog 31, the resolution adjusting unit 2 sets the size of all images for which resolution adjustment has been completed, Adjust the size so that the outside offset amount is evenly added to the outside of the posted size. If this setting is effective and the resolution-adjusted image is smaller than the specified image size with the external offset amount added to the posted size, the area that does not meet the specified size is blank. It is possible to add a frame part.

  Further, the resolution adjusting means 2 can unify the resolutions of a plurality of images by a method of “reading the resolution and matching the image” instead of designating a specific value for the resolution. In this method, the resolution is acquired from the read image, and the image is adjusted to a specified size while maintaining the resolution. If there is an image with a different resolution during reading, an error message is displayed and reading of the image is stopped.

  The image with the uniform resolution is subjected to enlargement / reduction and centering processing by the frame processing means 3 so that the object to be placed is placed in an optimum size. FIG. 4 shows a frame processing dialog 32 displayed by the frame processing means 3. Each image displayed by the frame processing dialog is displayed in a size obtained by adding an external offset amount to the posted size. In the frame processing dialog 32, the posting size and the distance of the outside offset are displayed for confirmation. Here, the distance of the inner offset and the setting of the recognition invalid range can be made.

  In step S4, the frame processing means 3 of the page layout system 1 of the present embodiment sets a region that is not subject to centering processing to a part of the image as a pre-processing of image enlargement / reduction and centering. Setting processing is being performed.

  In the image of the pottery in the present embodiment, a tag indicating a product name or a model number may be photographed in the lower part in order to identify the model number of the pottery photographed in the image. However, if this tag is mistakenly recognized as one of the pottery that must be posted, accurate image frame processing becomes difficult. In order to prevent such misrecognition, the page layout system 1 of the present invention performs frame processing such as accurate centering and enlargement / reduction for a posting object by setting a recognition invalid range.

  FIG. 5 shows the correspondence between the set values of various areas set by the frame processing means 3 and the dimensions on the image. The solid line frame 20 inside the image 23 shown in FIG. 5 indicates the boundary of the printing size, and the area in the solid line frame 20 is listed in the catalog. Hereinafter, this area is also referred to as a posting area. The posting area is defined by a vertical dimension 21 and a horizontal dimension 22 when the image is read.

  In the image 23 shown in FIG. 5, a broken line frame 25 inside the posting area indicates a boundary when the inner offset amount 26 is set. When the inner offset amount 26 is set, the frame processing means advances the process so that the ceramic image is arranged in the area inside the broken-line frame 25. Hereinafter, the area inside the broken line frame 25 is also referred to as an inner offset area.

  Here, since the image 23 illustrated in FIG. 5 is set to “fit the read image to the image size” at the time of reading, the image 23 is equal to the size obtained by uniformly adding the external offset amount 24 outside the posting area. ing. If the read image is not set to match the image size, the ceramic image handled by the frame processing means 3 may be a larger image.

  The frame processing means 3 can set a recognition invalid range in at least one rectangular area in the upper part, lower part, left part, and right part in the image 23. FIG. 5 illustrates a recognition invalid range set by defining a dimension 19 at the upper part of the posting area.

  In step S5, the frame processing means 3 automatically rearranges the pottery imaged in the image to a preferred size and position that fits in the posting area. For this rearrangement, the frame processing means 3 must first recognize the position and size of the pottery in the image. The frame processing means 3 recognizes the position of the pottery in the image by accurately defining its outline.

  A method in which the frame processing means 3 recognizes the position of the pottery in the image will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 6, the entire luminance of the portion 27 where the ceramics in the image are photographed is similar. In addition, the brightness of the pottery portion 27 and the brightness of the background portion 28 are greatly different. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the frame processing unit 3 divides the entire area in the image where the recognition invalid range is not defined by small squares, and has a square having a large luminance change area in the same square. Eye 29 is selected significantly. Then, the position of the pottery can be recognized from the position of the selected grid 29, and the outline can be estimated and defined.

  The frame processing means 3 recognizes the size of the pottery photographed in the image and the position in the image by defining the outline of the pottery on the image. With regard to an image in which a plurality of pottery is photographed, the size and position of each pottery can be recognized by defining the contour line in this way. Then, a centering process for resetting the placement area on the image is performed so that the center of gravity of all the pottery recognized in the image comes to the center of the placement area.

  Further, the frame processing means 3 calculates the distance between the outline of the pottery and the boundary 25 of the inner offset region. Then, if the outline of the pottery protrudes from the boundary 25 of the inner offset region, the reduction amount of the image is calculated by calculating the maximum amount protruding and comparing it with the size of the inner offset region, Perform image reduction processing. If the outline of the pottery is inside the inner offset area, the shortest distance between the outline of the pottery and the boundary 25 of the inner offset area is calculated and compared with the dimensions of the inner offset area, An enlargement ratio is calculated and image enlargement processing is performed.

  Here, if the inner offset amount is set to 0, the inner offset area and the posting area coincide with each other, and the frame processing means 3 determines the distance between the border 20 of the posting area and the outline of the pottery. The image enlargement / reduction ratio is calculated based on the calculation, and the image enlargement / reduction processing is performed.

  FIG. 8 shows a frame processing dialog 33 displayed by the frame processing means 3 after the centering and enlargement / reduction processing in step S5 have been performed on all images. Each image has a size in which the size of the pottery is substantially in contact with the boundary 25 of the inner offset region, regardless of whether enlargement or reduction is performed.

  When performing the centering and enlargement / reduction processing in step S5, the page layout system 1 in the present embodiment sets a bottom alignment line from the frame processing dialog 33 at the lower portion of the placement area, and places the subject to be in contact with the line. The bottom side can be placed. FIG. 9 shows a result display screen 34 when frame processing is performed with the bottom alignment line enabled. Here, a bottom line is set at a position of 5 mm from the variable of the printing area. By performing such bottom alignment, it is possible to arrange the pottery in the image with a sense of stability in a balanced manner.

  In step S <b> 6, the page layout system 1 performs a process of trimming all the images for which the frame process has been completed with a trimming unit 4 so as to have a size in which an external offset amount is evenly added to the outside of the printing area. When the posting area is moved and set by the centering in step S5 and a part of the image is smaller than the original trimmed area, the trimming means 4 sets an arbitrary background color and adds it to the image. Can do.

  In step S <b> 7, the manual adjustment unit 5 of the page layout system 1 can accept a manual adjustment instruction regarding final alignment of the ceramic image. Even if the placement area is slightly changed by the manual adjustment means 5, the outer offset area is set in the image in addition to the placement area and is left like a blank. Is less likely to break.

  In step S8, the page layout system 1 can also change the RGB pixel data of the pottery image that has been edited to a printing color mode of C (cyan) M (magenta) Y (yellow) K (black). . Further, the image data can be converted into a file format that can be easily handled at the time of layout as required.

  In step S9, the layout means 6 of the page layout system 1 creates page layout data by arranging all the images of pottery that have been edited in a predetermined layout area. In step S10, the layout means 6 stores the page layout data in the page layout data storage means 8. Save the data.

  As described above, the page layout system 1 according to the present embodiment automatically performs editing operations such as enlargement, reduction, and centering of individual images in a series of layout operations, so that the editing operations can be performed very efficiently. . In particular, since the page layout system 1 of the present embodiment can set the centering invalid range in advance, even when editing an image in which a thing other than the pottery that is the posting object is shot, It is possible to automatically perform centering processing and enlargement / reduction processing of pottery.

(Embodiment 2) In the page layout system of this embodiment, the frame processing means can set a reference image and perform the same enlargement / reduction processing as that image. Other configurations are the same as those of the page layout system according to the first embodiment, and thus redundant description is omitted.

  The frame processing means of the present embodiment includes the function of setting the centering processing invalid range, the centering function, and the function of enlarging / reducing the posting object so as to contact the posting area or the internal offset area of the frame processing means 3 of the first embodiment. It has an alignment function using the bottom alignment line. In addition to this, the frame processing means of the present embodiment calculates the ratio of the publishing size and the publishing object size in one standard image selected from a plurality of images, and based on this ratio, the standard image When the enlargement / reduction process is performed, the enlargement / reduction process of another image can be performed at a ratio equal to the enlargement / reduction ratio of the standard image.

  The standard image is selected by an input instruction from the operator. Generally, an image in which the largest posting object is photographed is selected. When the image in which the largest posting object is photographed is selected as the standard image and scaled so as to be in contact with the posting area or the internal offset area, the posting object in the other images is the standard image. This is because it is smaller than that and there is no fear of protruding from the posting area.

  The page layout system in the present embodiment is a system that is very suitable when performing layout processing using a group of images with a uniform shooting distance. With the page layout system of the present embodiment, it is possible to very accurately indicate the difference in size between the posting object photographed in the standard image and the posting object of other images.

(Embodiment 3) A page layout system 51 of the present embodiment is a page layout system for a car image. Similar to the page layout system 1 of the first embodiment, the page layout system 51 of this embodiment includes a resolution adjustment unit 2, a frame processing unit 52, a trimming unit 4, a manual adjustment unit 5, and a layout unit 6. ing. The configuration other than the frame processing unit 52 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are given and redundant description is omitted.

  The frame processing means 52 of the present embodiment can recognize the position and size in the image for a car with a more complicated contour. The frame processing unit 52 extracts a windshield, a tire wheel, and a bottom surface of the automobile having characteristic chromaticity from the image.

  In the image of the automobile, the windshield, the tire wheel, the bottom surface of the automobile, etc. all have characteristic pixel values. Therefore, by examining the pixel values in the image, the positions of these characteristic elements in the image can be detected, and the direction of the automobile can be estimated from the positional relationship.

  When the orientation of the automobile in the image is specified, the position and direction of the automobile in the image can be estimated by estimating the outline of the automobile based on the brightness calculation result as in the first embodiment.

  A frame processing dialog 41 displayed by the page layout system 11 of this embodiment is shown. The frame processing dialog 41 displays 12 images of the car after the centering and enlargement / reduction processing. In this embodiment, since no internal offset is set in the image of the car, the car in the image is subjected to enlargement / reduction processing so as to be in contact with the posting area.

  As mentioned above, although the specific example of this invention was described in detail in the Example, these are only illustrations and do not limit a claim. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. For example, the page layout system in the present embodiment handles only digital images, but it is also possible to edit analog images and photo clippings by digital processing. In the embodiment, the reading format is limited to JPEG, BMP, and TIFF. However, it is possible to edit images in other formats. In addition, the size of the area where the edited image is laid out and the arrangement of the images can be arbitrarily determined. Furthermore, although the page layout system of the present embodiment performs manual final alignment after image trimming, such alignment can also be performed before trimming.

  The present invention efficiently edits a large number of images taken of articles such as automobiles, daily goods such as ceramics and cutlery, and accessories such as bags, and lays them out in publications and web pages such as catalogs. It can be used as a means for

1 is a block configuration diagram of a page layout system 1 of Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the process which the page layout system 1 of Example 1 performs. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an image reading dialog 31 displayed on the display device by the page layout system 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. It is a figure which shows the frame process dialog 32 displayed by the frame process means 3 of Example 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the response | compatibility of the setting value of the various area | region which the frame process means 3 of Example 1 sets, and the dimension on an image. It is a figure which shows the process of the image processing for the frame process means 3 of Example 1 to recognize the position of the earthenware in an image. It is a figure which shows the process of the image processing for the frame process means 3 of Example 1 to recognize the position of the earthenware in an image. It is a figure which shows an example of the frame process dialog 33 which the frame process means 3 of Example 1 displays. It is a figure which shows an example of the frame process dialog 34 which the frame process means 3 of Example 1 displays. It is a figure which shows an example of the frame process dialog 41 which the frame process means 51 of Example 3 displays.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 51 Page layout system 2 Resolution adjustment means 3 Frame processing means 4 Trimming means 5 Manual adjustment means 6 Layout means 7 Image database 8 Page layout data storage means 9 Image processing means 19 Recognizing invalid range size 20 Posting area boundary 21 Vertical dimension of the area 22 Horizontal dimension of the posting area 23 Image 24 Outer offset dimension 25 Inner offset boundary 26 Inner offset dimension 31 Image reading dialog 32, 33, 34, 41 Frame processing dialog

Claims (3)

A page layout system for editing a plurality of images and arranging the images.
Resolution adjustment means for adjusting the resolution by performing enlargement / reduction processing on each individual image before editing,
A frame processing means that automatically sets the centering process and the enlargement / reduction process of the image so that the posting size is set for each image and all the posting objects included in the image are included in the range of the posting size;
Manual adjustment means for re-adjusting the individual images edited by the frame processing means based on an input from the editor;
In each image, trimming means for trimming an area outside the range obtained by adding the outer offset area to the posted size;
Layout means for laying out the trimmed image;
With
The frame processing means identifies a boundary between a posting object included in an image and a portion other than the posting object by recognizing a position where a luminance change is large in the image. system.   2. The page layout system according to claim 1, further comprising processing invalid range setting means for presetting an area that is not subject to centering processing for an image that has undergone resolution adjustment.   The enlargement / reduction processing of the frame processing means calculates the ratio of the posting size and the size of the posting object in one standard image selected from a plurality of images, and enlarges the other images to be equal to the ratio. The page layout system according to claim 1, wherein a reduction process is performed.