JP4095450B2 - Image output apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image output apparatus that inputs image data and performs output such as printing, and a control method thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, digital image input / output devices such as printers and digital copying machines have been widely used, and accordingly, higher gradation and higher resolution have been demanded.
[0003]
In addition, a large number of printers as multifunction machines with functions such as facsimiles and image scanners have been made, and according to these, digital images are no longer becoming general media, and at the same time, image quality related to image processing is improved. The demand is getting higher.
[0004]
Furthermore, a small number of color prints are becoming common due to the development of ink jet printer and electrophotographic printer technologies.
[0005]
By the way, unlike a conventional optical analog copying machine, for example, a digital copying machine captures an image once as digital data before printing. Therefore, it is convenient because digital image data before printing can be confirmed in advance on a display and erroneous printing due to reading failure can be prevented in advance. By using a function (preview function) for preliminarily displaying an image before printing, it becomes possible to make corrections by re-importing the original or editing the image after capturing. As described above, digital copiers having a preview function for confirming digital image data in advance have appeared as products.
[0006]
However, with respect to the preview function in the digital image input / output device such as the digital copying machine described above, the conventional method has the following problems.
[0007]
First, in the preview function, there is generally a difference in the expression of an image on the paper on which printing is actually performed compared to the preview display unit. This is because the resolution on the display and paper is greatly different. Since there is a physical limitation of the display structure regarding the resolution, an output image can be predicted and confirmed by providing a function for enlarging / reducing the image and allowing the user to change and confirm the magnification appropriately. For example, an A4 size image can be displayed by displaying the entire A4 image on the display, grasping the entire layout as the reference size of the A4 size, and further displaying the details in an enlarged manner for confirmation.
[0008]
However, the following problems have been conventionally recognized in this method. In other words, since the resolution of the original image and the resolution of the preview are different, the detailed display is naturally omitted when the reduced display is performed, but there are various problems such as the specific frequency of the original image and the sample frequency of the preview. Are known to interfere with each other.
[0009]
Several solutions have been proposed for this problem. For example, a print image created by binarizing a scanned input image with a screen such as a halftone dot is used for a lower resolution preview display. In order to display dots appropriately, at the time of preview, one set of dither patterns is applied to one dot of the stored halftone dot, the number of lighting display pixels in the dither pattern is obtained from the dot area, and this is used as gradation data. There has been proposed a method for generating low-resolution data for display by converting into values (for example, Patent Document 1).
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-179964
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above method can be realized because the number of halftone dots is known in advance at the time when the halftone dot is converted into binary data as printing data at the time of input. In general, however, screen tones with arbitrary frequency characteristics as a design may be used for the input image, and the resolution of the preview can be changed in real time to an arbitrary magnification. It is actually difficult to do effectively.
[0012]
The above preview display can be realized by using, for example, a TFT liquid crystal display or an STN liquid crystal display. However, when the number of colors that can be expressed is small as in the case of using the STN liquid crystal display, the continuous tone is changed to an error. Although it is expressed in a pseudo manner by multi-value processing by image processing such as a diffusion method, there may be a specific frequency characteristic for each pattern of this image processing, and in such a case, a problem occurs in the preview display. There is a case.
[0013]
Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to intuitively understand how much information is lost due to a decrease in resolution during previewing only by looking at the previewed image. For example, even if there is an image with few thin lines, there is a problem that it is difficult to intuitively understand whether the original image is as it is or whether the resolution is lowered by the preview processing.
[0014]
As described above, in the above image processing apparatus, when a scan image having an arbitrary frequency characteristic is input, it is difficult to completely represent the original image by a preview image display having a variable resolution and a reduced resolution. However, there is a problem of how to effectively convey the information of the original image to the user while using the preview display which is limited in terms of resolution.
[0015]
An object of the present invention is to provide a preview display function capable of easily grasping the configuration of the entire original image.
[0016]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to one aspect of the present invention, a preview display unit that displays a preview for confirming the input image before printing the input image is provided, and when a print instruction is received after the preview display by the preview display unit An image output device that prints out the input image, the generating means for generating a test chart image showing a test chart for confirming the resolution of a plurality of resolutions, and the first area of the preview display means in the first area A display control unit for displaying the input image and the test chart image generated by the generation unit in a second area; and a designation unit for designating a display magnification. The display control unit includes the designation unit. Each time the display magnification by is designated, the input image and the test chart image are scaled according to the designated magnification, and after the scaling, The force picture first region, the image output apparatus characterized by displaying the test chart image after the magnification change in the second region is provided.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following description is an example of one embodiment of the present invention, and is intended to assist understanding. The scope of the present invention is not limited by this embodiment.
[0018]
1A and 1B are a side view and an external perspective view of a digital image input / output device according to an embodiment, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1A, the digital image input / output device 1000 according to the embodiment includes an image input unit (scanner unit) 200 and an image output unit (printer unit) 100. As shown in FIG. 1B, a display unit 10 for displaying a preview image or the like is disposed on the upper surface of the printer unit 100.
[0019]
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the display unit 10. In the figure, 11 is a preview display unit for displaying a preview image, and 12 is a test chart display unit for displaying a test chart described later. The preview display unit 11 and the test chart display unit 12 are divided into areas in the same display, and both the same adjustments are made to change the setting of the display unit 10. The display mode of the test chart will be described later.
[0020]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the digital image input / output device 1000 according to the embodiment.
[0021]
Reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU that controls the operation of the entire digital input / output device 1000, and 2 denotes a RAM that functions as a work memory for the CPU 1. In addition to the image data input from the image input unit 200, the RAM 2 temporarily stores a preview image and a test chart to be displayed on the display unit 10.
[0022]
A hard disk device (HDD) 3 stores image data input from the image input unit 200. The HDD 3 also stores a test chart for the preview function, a control program for realizing the preview function, and the like.
[0023]
An image processing unit 4 performs predetermined image processing on the input image data. For example, the image processing unit 4 performs movement processing, enlargement / reduction processing, and the like in preview display on the image data.
[0024]
Reference numeral 5 denotes an operation unit for an operator to input an instruction to the digital input / output device 1000. The operation unit 5 is also used for designating the display magnification of the preview image (designating display resolution), scrolling, and the like.
[0025]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing details of the display unit 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the test chart display area 12 is further divided into a plurality of display areas. In the test chart display area 12, reference numeral 69 denotes an area for displaying a gradation chart, and reference numerals 61, 62, and 63 denote areas for displaying a line chart in which lines having a predetermined width are arranged at predetermined intervals as a test chart. The line chart lines and the intervals thereof are different in the respective areas 61, 62, and 63, and the line widths and the intervals displayed in the order of 61, 62, and 63 are wide. This will be described in detail later.
[0026]
As described above, the preview function is realized by the CPU 1 executing the control program stored in the HDD 3. That is, the CPU 1 functions as a display control unit that realizes preview display. When previewing in the embodiment, resolution conversion of an image to be printed and a test chart is performed according to a specified display magnification.
[0027]
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of image data to be displayed as a preview. Reference numeral 501 denotes an image read by the image input unit 200 and has a large size with high resolution for printing. Therefore, in the case of the resolution, only a partial area near the outer frame 509 is displayed on the preview display unit 11. Will be.
[0028]
Reference numeral 590 denotes a halftone gradation chart, and here, the gradation expression is indicated by pointillism. Reference numerals 510, 520, and 530 are vertical striped line charts having different line widths and line intervals. The line chart 510 is created with the minimum line width and line interval. However, the line width and the line interval are sizes that can express the vertical stripe pattern with the resolution of the image 501 (that is, the highest resolution). The line chart 520 is created with twice the line width and line spacing of the line chart 510, and the line chart 530 is created with twice the line width and line spacing of the line chart 520. The digital image input / output device 1000 holds such a gradation chart 590 and line charts 510, 520, 530 in advance in the HDD 3, for example.
[0029]
6 to 8 are diagrams showing a display mode when the image 501 is previewed on the display unit 10 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 shows the image 501 displayed at the maximum resolution, and FIG. FIG. 8 shows the display when the resolution is further lowered. Since digital images are handled here, it should be noted that when the image size to be displayed is fixed (for example, A4 size), the resolution can be expressed by the number of pixels. .
[0030]
First, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the enlargement ratio of the preview is maximized and displayed at the same maximum resolution as that of the input image 501. The meaning of the maximum resolution here means that the original image of the same size such as A4 size is displayed using the data with the largest number of pixels in the digital image, as described above. The resolution (number of pixels / inch) of the unit 10 (implemented by a liquid crystal panel or the like) itself is fixed. In the case of FIG. 6, it is shown that when the input image data 501 is displayed in the preview display area 11 at the highest resolution due to the display pixel density and display area limitations, the entire image cannot be displayed.
[0031]
At this time, the gradation chart 590 displayed in the area 69 and the line charts 510, 520, and 530 displayed in the areas 61, 62, and 63, respectively, have the same resolution as the input image data 501 displayed in the preview display area 11. Displayed in resolution.
[0032]
Since the gradation display is constant regardless of the resolution, the gradation chart is displayed in the same state regardless of the resolution. That is, all the gradation charts displayed in FIGS. 6 to 8 are displayed with the same gradation as the gradation chart 590 shown in FIG.
[0033]
In the case of FIG. 6, since the resolution is displayed at the maximum, the line charts 510, 520, and 530 displayed in the same figure are displayed at the same pitch as the line charts 510, 520, and 530 shown in FIG. Will be.
[0034]
The most enlarged state as shown in FIG. 6 is the most faithful display to the original image shown in FIG. 5 and the details are easy to see, but the entire page cannot be seen. Scroll (pan) to grasp the whole image or find a desired position.
[0035]
FIG. 7 shows a case where the input image 501 is reduced and displayed with a larger display range of the input image 501 than in FIG. At this time, the gradation chart 590 displayed in the area 69 and the line charts 510, 520, and 530 displayed in the areas 61, 62, and 63 are also reduced to the same extent as the input image data 501 displayed in the preview display area 11. Displayed.
[0036]
Then, naturally, the pitch of each line chart is displayed narrowly, but when the line chart 510 is expressed here, it is expressed in halftone in FIG. This is the result of the highest resolution line chart being converted to halftones by the frequency filter used for image reduction, and is thus displayed.
[0037]
As described above, also in FIG. 7, the gradation display of the gradation chart 590 is constant regardless of the resolution, and is therefore displayed in the same state regardless of the resolution.
[0038]
FIG. 8 shows a case where the input image 501 is further reduced and displayed at a zoom magnification such that the entire image of the input image 501 can be seen as compared with FIG. In this case, not only the line chart 510 is expressed in halftone, but the line chart 520 is similarly expressed in halftone. From this, it can be immediately understood that even the line chart 520 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed in halftone with the reduced resolution of FIG.
[0039]
In this way, the limitation of the display state when a reduced display is performed at a specific zoom resolution can be easily understood visually, so the user using the preview function can check this limitation as needed. Thus, zoom / scroll can be performed efficiently.
[0040]
Here, a case where there is no function of the present invention, that is, a case where only the preview display area 11 is prepared in the display unit 10 and there is no test chart display area 12 as described above will be considered for comparison.
[0041]
In this case, it is not possible to recognize how much detail the line drawing part of the zoom resolution currently in use contains, so rely on zoom scaling and scrolling and display in halftones. , You must operate while remembering the structure of the omitted image. In particular, if the zoom magnification range is large, there will be many magnification steps as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and the higher resolutions will all be in the same halftone. Recognition of an image expressed at the zoom magnification of the image becomes more difficult.
[0042]
On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the display state of the reference resolution and gradation can be recognized at all times, the extent to which the line drawing is omitted at the current magnification can be directly visually recognized. Thus, it becomes possible to determine and operate the zoom magnification as necessary while recognizing the display capability at the current zoom magnification.
[0043]
In addition, since various effects of image processing appear in the test chart, the user can easily know operations such as slightly changing the zoom magnification by checking the preview display while confirming it.
[0044]
With the configuration as shown above, even if the input image becomes an image display that depends on the zoom scaling function of the preview, the effect of the zoom scaling can be immediately and intuitively understood, depending on intuition. The configuration of the entire original image can be easily grasped without repeating zooming and scrolling.
[0045]
In the above-described embodiment, the line chart of three patterns having different resolutions is used as a test chart. The configuration can take any form.
[0046]
In the above-described embodiment, the line chart having three patterns with different resolutions has been described as the most suitable test chart. However, in order to realize the present invention, at least one type of test chart is displayed. You can do it.
[0047]
In the above-described embodiment, the gradation chart 590 is also displayed. As described above, the gradation display is constant regardless of the resolution, and the gradation chart is displayed in the same state regardless of the resolution. Therefore, a configuration in which the gradation chart 590 is not displayed is also conceivable.
[0048]
As shown in FIG. 9, for example, it may be possible to more accurately represent the display state at the time of preview by using a halftone line chart 531 corresponding to the line chart 530 as necessary.
[0049]
(Other embodiments)
The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above. However, the present invention can take an embodiment as a system, apparatus, method, program, storage medium, or the like. In addition, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices, or may be applied to an apparatus composed of a single device.
[0050]
In the present invention, a software program that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is directly or remotely supplied to a system or apparatus, and the computer of the system or apparatus reads and executes the supplied program code. Including the case where it is also achieved by. In that case, as long as it has the function of a program, the form does not need to be a program.
[0051]
Accordingly, since the functions of the present invention are implemented by computer, the program code installed in the computer also implements the present invention. That is, the scope of the claims of the present invention includes the computer program itself for realizing the functional processing of the present invention.
[0052]
In this case, the program may be in any form as long as it has a program function, such as an object code, a program executed by an interpreter, or script data supplied to the OS.
[0053]
As a recording medium for supplying the program, for example, flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, MO, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD (DVD-ROM, DVD-R).
[0054]
As another program supply method, a client computer browser is used to connect to an Internet homepage, and the computer program itself of the present invention or a compressed file including an automatic installation function is downloaded from the homepage to a recording medium such as a hard disk. Can also be supplied. It can also be realized by dividing the program code constituting the program of the present invention into a plurality of files and downloading each file from a different homepage. That is, a WWW server that allows a plurality of users to download a program file for realizing the functional processing of the present invention on a computer is also included in the claims of the present invention.
[0055]
In addition, the program of the present invention is encrypted, stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM, distributed to users, and key information for decryption is downloaded from a homepage via the Internet to users who have cleared predetermined conditions. It is also possible to execute the encrypted program by using the key information and install the program on a computer.
[0056]
In addition to the functions of the above-described embodiments being realized by the computer executing the read program, the OS running on the computer based on the instruction of the program is a part of the actual processing. Alternatively, the functions of the above-described embodiment can be realized by performing all of the processes.
[0057]
Furthermore, after the program read from the recording medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion board or The CPU or the like provided in the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0058]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the preview display function which can grasp | ascertain the structure of the whole original image easily can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1A is a side view of a digital image input / output device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 1B is an external perspective view of the digital image input / output device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display unit in the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the digital image input / output device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a detailed example of a display unit in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of image data to be previewed in the embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preview display mode in the embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preview display mode in the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a preview display mode in the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a modification of the line chart in the embodiment.

Claims (4)

An image that includes a preview display unit that displays a preview for confirming the input image before printing the input image, and that prints out the input image when a print instruction is received after the preview display by the preview display unit An output device,
Generating means for generating a test chart image indicating a test chart for confirming the resolution of a plurality of resolutions;
Display control means for displaying the input image in the first area of the preview display means and the test chart image generated by the generating means in the second area;
A designation means for designating a display magnification,
With
The display control unit performs a scaling process on the input image and the test chart image according to the specified magnification every time a display magnification is specified by the specifying unit, and the input image after the scaling is processed in the first An image output apparatus characterized by displaying the scaled test chart image in the area in the second area . The image output apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the test chart includes a plurality of lines having a predetermined width and interval. An image that includes a preview display unit that displays a preview for confirming the input image before printing the input image, and that prints out the input image when a print instruction is received after the preview display by the preview display unit An output device control method comprising:
A generation step of generating a test chart image indicating a test chart for confirming the resolution of the plurality of resolutions;
A display control step of displaying the input image in the first region of the preview display means and the test chart image generated in the generation step in the second region;
A specification step for specifying the display magnification,
Have
The display control step performs a scaling process on the input image and the test chart image according to the specified magnification every time a display magnification is specified in the specifying step, and the input image after the scaling is processed in the first A method for controlling an image output apparatus, wherein the test chart image after the scaling is displayed in a region in the second region . An image that includes preview display means for displaying a preview for confirming the input image before printing the input image, and that prints out the input image when a print instruction is received after the preview display by the preview display means. To control the output device, to the computer,
Generating step for generating a test chart image showing a test chart for confirming the resolution of the plurality of resolutions;
A display control step of displaying the input image in the first area of the preview display means and the test chart image generated in the generation step in the second area;
A specification step to specify the display magnification,
A program for executing,
The display control step performs a scaling process on the input image and the test chart image according to the specified magnification every time a display magnification is specified in the specifying step, and the input image after the scaling is processed in the first In the area, the scaled test chart image is displayed in the second area.
A program characterized by that .

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