JP2021081792A - Information processing device, information processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology for simplifying an operation of a user for setting of printing.SOLUTION: An information processing device acquires an image file conforming to a prescribed file format and having a configuration for containing image data and management data indicating information regarding the image data, analyzes the management data, creates information indicating a candidate of a print setting for printing the image data based on the results of the analysis, and presents the created information to a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and a program.

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) is developing a standard for storing a single still image, a plurality of still images, or a sequence such as a burst of still images in one file. This standard is called HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) and enables the exchange, editing, and display of images and image sequences. HEIF is an extended storage format based on a tool defined by the ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF: ISO Base Media File Format). HEIF is being standardized as an "Image File Format" in ISO / IEC2308 Part 12. In addition, HEIF defines a normative structure that includes management data, and defines how to associate management data with image data and the structure of management data in a specific format. Conventionally, as management data, image position information when displaying an image included in a file, information for designating an image to be displayed with first priority when a plurality of images are included, and the like are defined. Patent Document 1 describes a method of storing and generating a dynamically derived image in HEIF.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/371265

When printing a HEIF file that stores multiple image data, if the image to be displayed with the first priority is specified, a method of printing that image can be considered, but in the HEIF standard, the setting information related to printing is Not defined. Therefore, when printing a HEIF file, software that presents information on candidates for print settings, such as embedded software in a printer or a print control application, cannot present an appropriate image to the user. If these softwares present all the images or combinations of images to the user, the operation for the print setting by the user becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for simplifying a user's operation for printing settings.

As one means for achieving the above object, the information processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an information processing apparatus, an acquisition means for acquiring an image file according to a predetermined file format having a structure including image data and management data indicating information about the image data, and an analysis means for analyzing the management data. And, based on the result of the analysis by the analysis means, the creating means for creating the information indicating the candidate of the print setting for printing the image data, and the presenting means for presenting the created information to the user. Have.

According to the present invention having the above configuration, it is possible to simplify the user's operation for printing settings.

The hardware configuration diagram of the information processing apparatus according to Embodiments 1 and 2. The functional block diagram of the information processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1. The flowchart of the process executed by the information processing apparatus 100. Flowchart of management data analysis processing. A flowchart of a process of creating candidate information indicating candidates for print settings for each print style. The figure which shows the specific example of the HEIF file by Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the structural example of the candidate information which shows the candidate of the print setting by Embodiment 1. FIG. The figure which shows the specific example of the HEIF file according to Embodiment 2. A flowchart of a process for creating candidate information indicating candidates for print settings for each print setting information. The figure which shows the structural example of the candidate information which shows the candidate of the print setting by Embodiment 2. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the plurality of features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Further, the same or similar configuration will be given the same reference number, and duplicate description will be omitted.

[Embodiment 1]
In the first embodiment, the information processing apparatus analyzes an image file (HEIF file in the present embodiment) conforming to a predetermined format (HEIF in the present embodiment), and presents information on print setting candidates from the analysis result to the user. An embodiment will be described.

(Device configuration)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. Examples of the information processing device 100 include, but are not limited to, a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, a tablet, a printer, and the like. FIG. 1 illustrates a case where the information processing apparatus 100 is a printer. The system bus 101 includes one or more CPU (Central Processing Unit) 102, ROM (Read Only Memory) 103, RAM (Random Access Memory) 104, communication interface 105, input unit 106, display unit 107, image storage unit 108, The printing unit 109 is connected to serve as a transfer path for various data. The CPU 102 comprehensively controls each hardware component and controls the information processing apparatus 100. The ROM 103 stores a control program or the like executed by the CPU 102. The RAM 104 functions as a main memory, a work area, etc. of the CPU 102, and temporarily stores programs and data. The communication interface 105 is an interface for transmitting and receiving communication packets via a network, and is composed of, for example, a wireless LAN interface, a wired LAN interface, a public mobile communication interface, or the like, but may be other than these. The input unit 106 is an interface for the image file printer (user) to select one of the candidate information indicating the print setting candidates and set the priority of the print style to the information processing device 100. For example, the input unit 106 is an interface. It consists of a keyboard, mouse, touch pad, touch panel, buttons, etc. The display unit 107 is a display that presents candidate information for print settings and displays information input by the input unit 106, processing results, and the like. The input unit 106 and the display unit 107 may be configured as an integrated module such as a touch panel. The image storage unit 108 is a component that stores an image file or the like, and includes, for example, a storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive), a USB (Universal Serial Bus), an SD (Secure Digital), or the like. It consists of the auxiliary storage device used. The printing unit 109 performs a printing process. The communication interface 105, the input unit 106, the display unit 107, the image storage unit 108, the printing unit 109, and the like do not have to be built in the information processing device 100, and information processing is performed via a predetermined interface such as wired or wireless. It may be configured to be connected to the device 100.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The image file acquisition unit 201 acquires a HEIF file in which at least one or more image data is stored. The HEIF file is composed of an image data area for storing image data and a management data area for storing management data indicating information about the image data. The image data area is called a media data box, and an image encoded by a coding method such as HEVC is stored. The management data area is called the metadata box. The image file acquisition unit 201 may acquire the HEIF file from an external device such as a camera or a smartphone via the communication interface 105, or may acquire the HEIF file from the image storage unit 108 or the like. The management data analysis unit 202 analyzes the management data, which is information related to the image data, in the acquired HEIF file. In the present embodiment, the management data analysis unit 202 analyzes the management data according to a preset print format and extracts a print target (print target image or print target character string). The printing style will be described later. The information creation unit 203 creates candidate information indicating candidates for print settings. The priority setting unit 204 sets the priority for the print format as the priority for presenting the candidate information. The priority may be set by an operation via the input unit 106 by the user, or may be set by the priority setting unit 204 according to predetermined information (for example, a history of settings related to printing processing such as selection of past candidate information). May be done. It is not essential to set the priority for the print format. The display control unit 205 controls the display on the display unit 107. For example, the display control unit 205 causes the display unit 107 to display the candidate information in order to present the candidate information to the user. When the priority is set for each print style by the priority setting unit 204, the display control unit 205 gives priority to the candidate information corresponding to the print style having a high priority (for example, on the screen of the display unit 107). It is displayed on the display unit 107 (so that it is arranged at the top).

As described above, the management data analysis unit 202 analyzes the management data according to the preset print format and extracts the print target. In the present embodiment, as printing styles, (1) a style for printing a first priority image (an image item designated to be displayed with the first priority in the management data), (2) a printing style for printing a thumbnail image, (3) Printing style for printing all display images (all image items scheduled to be displayed), (4) Printing style for printing all hidden images (all image items scheduled to be displayed), (5) Attribute character string The printing style for printing is set. The printing style is an example, and styles other than these may be included.

Here, the print target corresponding to each print style extracted by the management data analysis unit 202 will be described for each style. Note that these are only examples, and the print target to be extracted is not limited to these.
(1) In the printing format for printing the first priority image, the image item specified by the PrimaryItemBox that specifies the first priority image item in the management data is extracted as the image to be printed.
(2) In the printing format for printing the thumbnail image, the image item referenced (designated) with Type = "thmb" in the ItemReferenceBox that specifies the item reference in the management data is extracted as the image to be printed.
In the printing style for printing the all-display image and the print style for printing the all-display image, the print target is extracted based on the Flags in the ItemInfoEntryBox of the ItemInfoBox that specifies the item information.
(3) In the printing format for printing the entire display image, the image item specified by the ItemInfoEntryBox in which the formula of (Flags & 1) is false is extracted as the image to be printed.
(4) In the format for printing all non-display images, the image item specified by ItemInfoEntryBox in which the formula of (Flags & 1) is true is extracted as the image to be printed. Here, the non-display image includes, for example, an alpha channel image expressing the opacity of a pixel for which Type = "auxl" is specified in the ItemReferenceBox that specifies an item reference in the management data.
(5) In the format for printing the attribute character string, information such as management data and EXIF is extracted as the character string to be printed. The character string is expressed in a layered manner, for example, XML (Extension Markup Language).

(Processing flow)
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 100 in the present embodiment. The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 can be realized by the CPU 102 of the information processing apparatus 100 executing a control program stored in the ROM 103, calculating and processing information, and controlling each hardware.

In S301, the image file acquisition unit 201 acquires an image file (HEIF file). In S302, the management data analysis unit 202 extracts a print target from the acquired HEIF file according to a preset print format. The processing of the management data analysis unit 202 will be described later with reference to FIG. In S303, the information creation unit 203 creates candidate information indicating candidates for print settings. The processing of the information creation unit 203 will be described later with reference to FIG. In S304, the display control unit 205 displays the candidate information created in S303 on the display unit 107 and presents it to the user. The presentation of the candidate information to the user is not limited to the presentation via the display unit 107, and may be presented on a paper medium printed by the printing unit 109 or the like.

The process of S302 of FIG. 3 executed by the management data analysis unit 202 will be described. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of the process executed by the management data analysis unit 202. It is assumed that the printing style is set in advance as in (1) to (5) above. In S401, the management data analysis unit acquires one of the preset print styles as the target print style. In S402, the management data analysis unit 202 scans the management data from above in the HEIF file and acquires the attribute Box (information in the management data) in the management data. In S403, the management data analysis unit 202 determines whether or not the acquired attribute Box matches the conditions of the target print format. If the conditions are met, the process proceeds to S404, and if the conditions are not met, the process proceeds to S405. In S404, the management data analysis unit 202 extracts the image items corresponding to the attribute Box (that is, designated or referred to by the attribute Box) as print targets, and lists them for each print style. In S405, the management data analysis unit 202 determines whether or not all the attribute Boxes in the management data have been scanned. If all scans have been completed, the process shifts to S406, and if not scanned, the process shifts to S402. In S406, the management data analysis unit 202 determines whether or not the management data has been analyzed for all the preset print formats. If all the print formats have been analyzed, the management data analysis process ends, and if there are unanalyzed print formats, the process shifts to S401.

The process of S303 of FIG. 3 executed by the information creation unit 203 will be described. FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of processing executed by the information creation unit 203. In S501, the information creation unit 203 acquires, as the target print style, one print style among the print styles for which the candidate information indicating the candidate for the print setting is not created. In S502, the information creation unit 203 determines whether or not there is a list of image items (extracted image list) for the target print style in the list created by the management data analysis unit 202 in S404 of FIG. If there is an extracted image list, the process shifts to S503, and if not, the process shifts to S501. The information creation unit 203 acquires the extracted image list in S503, and creates candidate information indicating print setting candidates in S504 based on the list. The candidate information includes, for example, a print preview image of an image item included in the extracted image list and other print setting items. The print setting items are composed of items such as the print paper size and the vertical and horizontal orientation of printing. These items can be determined from the resolution, type, and the like of the image item. In S505, the information creation unit 203 adds the created candidate information to the list of candidate information. In S506, the information creation unit 203 determines whether or not all the print formats have been acquired. If all the print formats have been acquired, the print setting candidate creation process is terminated, and if there are print formats that have not been acquired, the process shifts to S501.

(Explanation of candidate information indicating print setting candidates)
Subsequently, a configuration example of candidate information indicating candidates for print settings will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the management data 601 in the HEIF file 600 is expressed in XML. Further, FIG. 7 shows an example of the screen 700 of the candidate information displayed by the control of the display control unit 205. Each candidate information on the screen 700 is candidate information included in a list of candidate information created by the management data analysis unit 202 analyzing the management data 601 of FIG. 6 and the information creation unit 203 based on the analysis result. The printing styles are as described above.

In FIG. 7, the candidate information 701 to 705 includes information on the print preview image, the print paper size, and the vertical and horizontal orientation of printing. The candidate information 701 is candidate information analyzed and created in the first priority image printing format, and includes a print preview image of the image B because the image item “B” is specified in the PrimeryItemBox602 in FIG. The candidate information 702 is a print setting candidate analyzed and created in the full display image printing format, and the images “A”, “B”, “D” in which (Flags & 1) is false in each Item InfoEntry Box of Item InfoBox 603 in FIG. Includes a print preview image of. Further, as the attribute of each image item, the property index of the attribute defined in the ItemPropertyContainerBox605 in FIG. 6 is specified in the ItemPropertyAssicationBox606. The portrait / landscape orientation and the paper size may be set for each image item based on the attribute information specified here. For example, the image "A" is set to landscape because the horizontal resolution is specified as 1440 and the vertical resolution is 960, and the image "D" is set to portrait because the horizontal resolution is specified as 960 and the vertical resolution is specified as 1440. To do. The candidate information 703 is a print setting candidate analyzed and generated in the all hidden image print format, and includes a print preview image of the image “C” in which (Flags & 1) is true in each ItemInfoEntryBox of the ItemInfoBox603 in FIG. The candidate information 704 is the candidate information analyzed and created in the thumbnail image printing format, and the thumbnail images of the images “A”, “B”, and “D” specified by Type = “thmb” in ItemReferenceBox604 in FIG. 6 are displayed. Included as a preview image. In the present embodiment, the candidate information 704 includes a plurality of thumbnail images, that is, a plurality of thumbnail images are shown to be printed on one sheet of paper, but each of the plurality of thumbnail images is printed separately on a plurality of sheets of paper. It may be shown as. The candidate information 705 is candidate information analyzed and created in the attribute character string printing format, and includes a preview image including a character string representing the HEIF file 600 in XML. In the example of FIG. 7, it is assumed that the candidate information 701 to 705 are displayed from the top in order from the printing style having the highest priority. The display control unit 205 may display all the candidate information on the display unit 107 as shown in FIG. 7, or may display only the candidate information corresponding to the print format having the highest priority, or may display only the candidate information corresponding to the print format having the highest priority. Any number of candidate information may be displayed in descending order of degree. Radio buttons 706 to 710 are radio buttons for selecting each candidate information. Button 711 is a detailed setting button, and depending on the button being selected, additional settings such as color / monochrome print settings and current settings are made for the candidate information selected by any of the radio buttons 706 to 710. Settings such as printing paper size may be changed. The button 712 is a decision button, and the candidate information selected by any of the radio buttons 706 to 710 is determined. Button 713 is a cancel button and cancels the display of candidate information. When the print setting is confirmed through the selection of the button 711 or the button 712, the corresponding print target is printed by the printing unit 109 according to the confirmed print setting.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when printing a HEIF file, the print setting performed by the user is performed by presenting the candidate information indicating the candidate of the print setting generated for each image type and purpose from the result of analyzing the management data to the user. It is possible to simplify the operation for.

[Embodiment 2]
In the first embodiment, an embodiment in which the management data is analyzed and the print setting candidates generated according to the preset print style are presented to the user has been described. In the second embodiment, when the print setting information is stored in the management data, the embodiment in which the candidate information indicating the print setting candidate is presented to the user will be described. Hereinafter, the points different from the first embodiment will be described.

(Device configuration)
Since the hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 in this embodiment is the same as that in FIG. 1, the description thereof will be omitted. The functional configuration of the information processing device 100 in this embodiment is the same as that in FIG. However, the management data analysis unit 202 acquires the print setting information included in the HEIF file acquired by the image file acquisition unit 201, and the information creation unit 203 creates candidate information corresponding to the print setting information. Further, the display control unit 205 causes the display unit 107 to display the candidate information for each print setting information created by the information creation unit 203 and the candidate information for each print style created by the same method as in the first embodiment. It is presented to the user. The presentation of the candidate information to the user is not limited to the presentation via the display unit 107, and may be presented on a paper medium printed by the printing unit 109 or the like.

Since the setting information related to printing is not defined in the HEIF standard, the print setting information in this embodiment is explained as a Box specified independently, but the print setting information may be stored in any format. .. A new Box may be specified in the MetaBox, or a new Box may be specified in the Item Properties Box as an item setting. Further, the print setting information may be stored in EXIF instead of in MetaBox.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the management data 801 in the HEIF file 800 is expressed in XML. Print PropertiesBox 802 is stored in the management data 801 as a print setting item. The Print PropertiesBox 802 can include paper size, color / monochrome print settings, position information of a plurality of image items, and the like as print setting items. The print setting information in which a plurality of print setting items are specified by indexes can be stored in the PrintPropertyAscation Box as the Association Entry. The Association Entry 803 and the Association Entry 804 are independent print setting information, and may be stored in the order of priority, or the Box for storing the priority may be defined so that the Box for storing the priority can be stored in the PrintPropertyContainerBox. In this embodiment, they are stored in order of priority.

(Processing flow)
The flow of processing executed by the information processing apparatus 100 in this embodiment is the same as that in FIG. However, the processes (S303, S304) of the information creation unit 203 and the display control unit 205 are different. That is, the information creation unit 203 creates candidate information for each print setting information in addition to the candidate information for each print style by the same method as in the first embodiment. Then, the display control unit 205 causes the display unit 107 to display the candidate information created by the information creation unit 203.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the process of creating candidate information for each print setting information, which is executed by the information creation unit 203. In S901, the information creation unit 203 acquires the print setting information in the management data. In S902, the information creation unit 203 extracts all the image items specified in the acquired print setting information. In S903, the information creation unit 203 creates an image in which all the extracted item images are re-laid out according to the position information, and creates a print setting candidate together with the created image and other print setting items. In S904, the information creation unit 203 adds the created print setting candidate to the list of candidate information. In S905, the information creation unit 203 determines whether or not all print setting information has been acquired. If all print setting information has been acquired, the process ends, and if there is print setting information that has not been acquired, the process proceeds to S901. When the print setting information is included in the management data, the information creation unit 203 may create only the candidate information for each print setting information, or the analysis by the preset print style and each print style. Print setting candidate creation may be used together.

(Explanation of candidate information indicating print setting candidates)
Subsequently, a configuration example of candidate information indicating candidates for print settings will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 shows an example of the screen 1000 of candidate information displayed under the control of the display control unit 205. Each configuration information on the screen 1000 is candidate information included in a list of candidate information created by the management data analysis unit 202 analyzing the management data 601 of FIG. 6 and the information creation unit 203 based on the analysis result. The candidate information 1001 is the candidate information generated from the print setting information 1 in which the image items "E" and "F" are laid out side by side in the Association Entry 803. The candidate information 1002 is the candidate information generated from the print setting information 2 in which the image items "E" and "F" are laid out vertically in the Association Entry 804. Candidate information 701 to 703 are print setting candidates that are analyzed by the management data analysis unit 202 from the preset print style and created by the information creation unit 203. In the example of FIG. 10, candidate information 701 to 703 is presented under the print setting candidate generated from the print setting information, but it may not be presented if there is print setting information.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when printing the HEIF file, it is possible to simplify the operation for the print setting performed by the user by presenting the print setting candidate generated from the print setting information included in the management data to the user. It will be possible.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiment to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by the processing to be performed. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

100 Information processing device, 201 Image file acquisition unit 201, 202 Management data analysis unit, 203 Information creation unit, 204 Priority setting unit, 205 Display control unit

Claims (15)

It is an information processing device
An acquisition means for acquiring an image file according to a predetermined file format of a structure including image data and management data indicating information about the image data, and an acquisition means.
An analysis means for analyzing the management data and
Based on the result of analysis by the analysis means, a creation means for creating information indicating candidates for print settings for printing the image data, and a creation means.
A presentation means for presenting the created information to the user,
An information processing device characterized by having. The analysis means analyzes the management data and determines whether the management data contains information satisfying the condition of any of one or more print styles.
When it is determined by the analysis means that the management data includes information satisfying the conditions of the print style, the creation means sets the print for each print style by using the print target corresponding to the print style. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information indicating the candidates of the above is created. The one or more print styles include a first print style that prints an image item designated to be displayed with first priority.
When it is determined by the analysis means that the management data includes information for designating the first image item designated to be displayed with the first priority, the creation means is the first. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein information indicating a candidate for the print setting is created by using the first image item as a print target corresponding to a print format. The one or more printing styles include a second printing style for printing thumbnail images.
When it is determined by the analysis means that the management data includes information for designating one or more second image items that refer to the thumbnail image, the creation means corresponds to the second printing style. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein information indicating a candidate for the print setting is created by using the second image item as a print target. The one or more printing styles include a third printing style that prints all the image items to be displayed.
When it is determined by the analysis means that the management data includes information for designating one or more third image items designated to be displayed, the creation means uses the third printing mode. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein information indicating a candidate for the print setting is created by using the third image item as a print target corresponding to the above. The one or more printing styles include a fourth printing style that prints all image items to be hidden.
When it is determined by the analysis means that the management data includes information for designating one or more fourth image items that are not designated to be hidden, the creation means is said to be the fourth. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein information indicating a candidate for the print setting is created by using the fourth image item as a print target corresponding to the print style of the above. .. The one or more printing styles include a fifth printing style for printing an attribute character string.
When the analysis means determines that the management data includes a character string indicating the attribute of the image data, the creation means uses the character string as a print target corresponding to the fifth printing style. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein information indicating a candidate for the print setting is created. Further having a setting means for setting the priority for each of the print styles,
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the presenting means presents information to a user in order from information indicating a candidate for the print setting corresponding to the print style having a high priority. .. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein the setting means sets the priority by an operation by a user. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the setting means sets the priority based on a history of settings related to printing processing. When the print setting information for setting printing is included in the management data, the creating means selects the print setting candidate for each print setting information by using the information of the print target included in the print setting information. Create the information to show
The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 10, wherein the presentation means presents information indicating a candidate for the print setting to the user. The creation means includes claims 2 to 11 including at least one of a preview image to be printed, a size of printing paper, and information on the vertical and horizontal orientations of printing in the information indicating the candidates for print settings. The information processing apparatus according to any one of the above items. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the file format is HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format). Information processing method
An acquisition step of acquiring an image file according to a predetermined file format of a structure including image data and management data indicating information about the image data, and
An analysis process for analyzing the management data and
A creation step of creating information indicating candidates for print settings for printing the image data based on the analysis result in the analysis step, and a creation step.
A presentation process for presenting the created information to the user,
An information processing method characterized by having. A program for causing a computer to function as the information processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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