JP4205053B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or the like that employs an electrophotographic method as an image forming method.

Conventionally, image processing in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile that employs an electrophotographic method as an image forming method is read in order to easily recognize output image information as shown in FIG. In the case where the object 131 of the image 130 is black and the background 132 is dark gray, it is proposed that the object 131 is white and has a border 133 to prevent the object 131 from being melted into the background 132 and to be easily recognized. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-28686 A

  However, in the conventional method, when only monochrome printing is considered, when reading a color image, for example, when the background is yellow and the object is yellow-green, the object is The problem of being melted into the background arises.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and it is easy to recognize an object even when the color of the object and the background is approximate or when the object and the background are close to white. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus.

  Each configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-described problems is as follows.

An image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an object designating function for designating an object to be outlined as a character or a figure from an input color image, and a recorded image on which the color image is printed with respect to a hue constituting the object. and background colors specified function that specifies the color on the printed surface of the medium as the background color of the object, a hue that constitutes the background color specified by the color and the background color indicated the ability to configure the object specified by the object pointed feature A color recognizing function for recognizing a color, a color approximation determining function for determining whether or not a hue constituting the object and a hue constituting a background color adjacent to the outer periphery of the object are approximate, and the object of the object in accordance with the hue constituting the background color hues adjacent to the outer periphery of the object And object border color setting function for setting a hue bordering circumference, is characterized in a kite comprising a border processing unit having a.

The image processing apparatus includes an approximation parameter setting function for setting a value that the border processing unit sets as a value that a hue constituting an object and a hue constituting a background color adjacent to an outer periphery of the object are approximated, and the color approximation The determination function makes a determination based on a value set in the approximate parameter setting function .

The image processing apparatus is characterized in that it has a function that allows display with images display means objects that are edging processed by the edging unit.

According to the present invention, by painting Bei edging processing unit, to allow only be matched to the characteristics of the color printer or display, for example, the gray background, if black object, the edging white or yellow etc. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the object from melting into the background and make it easy to recognize.

According to the present invention, the configuration of the edging unit, with respect to the hue constituting the objects, by providing the background color specifying function for specifying the color of the background of the object, the document creator, difficult to recognize The border processing can be performed only on the combination of the color object and the background color.

According to the present invention, an object designating function for designating an object to be trimmed is provided in the configuration of the trimming processing unit, so that it is possible to select an object to be trimmed, such as only characters or lines.

According to the present invention, as a background color designation function, a function for designating the color of the printing surface of a recording medium on which a color image is printed as the background color of an object is provided. It can also be used when printing objects.

According to the present invention, the object that has been subjected to the border processing by the border processing unit can be displayed by the image display means such as a display, so that not only the print data but also the object displayed on the display blends with the background. Can be prevented.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 are examples of embodiments for carrying out the invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment to which the image processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. FIG. It is a block diagram of a processing system.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a color image forming apparatus 1, an image processing apparatus 2, and a display 3 are mainly connected, and based on a print job from the image processing apparatus 2 such as a personal computer connected to the outside. Then, when the document data is read and the print data is expanded, the border processing is performed, and the data is formed on the recording paper as a multicolor image or a single color image, or displayed on the display 3 connected to the outside. Processing system A.

A functional block diagram of the image processing system A in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
In the image processing apparatus 2, as shown in FIG. 2, an application program 2a such as a word processor or a spreadsheet is operating. In the application program 2a, font data of characters, vector data representing graphics, and the like are edited as objects. Yes.

  When these objects are printed, the object is transferred from the application program 2a to the printer driver 2b together with the color data, and the object is rasterized by the printer driver 2b and transferred to the color image forming apparatus 1 as bitmap data. . The color image forming apparatus 1 prints the transferred bitmap data.

  When the object is displayed on the display 3 by the application program 2a, the object is rasterized by the display driver 2c, transferred to the display 3 as bitmap data, and displayed.

  The border processing, which is a feature of the present invention, is processed as part of rasterization processing in the printer driver 2b or display driver 2c.

Here, the border processing function according to the present embodiment will be described in detail by taking the printer driver 2b as an example.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of the printer driver in the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the printer driver 2b includes a color recognition function 2b1 for recognizing a hue constituting an object and a hue constituting background information adjacent to the outer periphery of the object, a hue constituting the object, and the object. A color approximation determining function 2b2 for determining whether or not the hue constituting the background information adjacent to the outer periphery of the object is approximate, and the hue constituting the hue constituting the object and the background information adjacent to the outer periphery of the object And an object border color setting function 2b3 for setting a hue for bordering the outer periphery of the object.

  The color approximation determination function 2b2 is a function for designating the hue that borders the outer periphery of the object to black when it is determined that the hue that configures the object approximates the hue that configures background information adjacent to the outer periphery of the object. It has.

  The object border color setting function 2b3 has a function of setting the hue that borders the outer periphery of the object to be a complementary color of the hue that constitutes the object, and a function that is a complementary color of the hue that constitutes background information adjacent to the outer periphery of the object; It has.

  Further, the printer driver 2b includes an object border width setting function 2b4 for setting the border width, a recording paper color designation function 2b5 for designating the color of the recording paper, an object designation function 2b6 for designating a target object from the image, And an approximate parameter setting function 2b7 for setting the degree of approximation of hue according to the hue constituting the object and the hue constituting the background.

Next, the edging process according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an object processed in the present embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an image that has been trimmed and output by the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  When reading a document image, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the hue of the object 21 to be processed and the hue of the background 22 are similar, the object 21 is blended into the background 22 and recognized in the output image. It becomes difficult.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, by forming a black border 33 around the object 31 of the output image 30 by the border processing in the color image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the object 31 becomes the background 32. It is easy to recognize by preventing it from blending in.

Hereinafter, the edging process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a border processing process in the image processing apparatus.
S1, S2,... In the figure indicate each process (step).

  In the border processing by the printer driver 2b of the image processing apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, first, an image reading operation is started by the color image forming apparatus (step S1), and the border function is enabled at the time of image reading. (Step S2).

Then, the recording paper color designation function 2b5 designates the color of the recording paper (step S3).
Thereby, the color of the recording paper is set as the background color.

The color of the recording paper to be printed is usually white, but it may be yellow or red.
However, a normal PC cannot recognize the color of the recording paper, so it is necessary to specify the color of the recording paper. When the color of the recording paper can be recognized by the PC, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it may be automatically specified on the apparatus side.

Next, the object to be trimmed is designated by the object designation function 2b6 (step S4).
That is, it specifies whether the object to be outlined is a character or a figure such as a straight line in the object.

Next, an edge parameter is designated (step S5).
As a parameter to specify, if color is a parameter,
(1) Complementary color of the object color (2) Complementary color of the background color (3) Although the designated color or the like can be set, in this embodiment, the border color is set to black by the object border color setting function 2b3.

  In this embodiment, the border width is set by the object border width setting function 2b4 using the border width as a parameter.

As an example, if the ratio of the border to the border width (line thickness) and the number of dots in the border width are 40 dots and the percentage of the border line is 5%, Border with 2 dots. When the calculation result is 1 dot or less, the border is created with 1 dot.
If the number of border dots is designated as 10, the border of the line is bordered with 10 dots regardless of the thickness of the line.

  Next, based on the object and background color recognized by the color recognition function 2b1, it is set whether or not the degree of approximation between the object and background color is automatically determined by the color approximation determination function 2b2 (step S6).

  Here, the definition of the color approximation in the case of automatically determining the approximation between the object color and the background color will be described with an example.

For example, the hue that makes up the object and the hue that makes up the background
Red component of object: object_r: 0 to 255
Green component of object: object_g: 0-255
Blue component of object: object_b: 0-255
Background red component: back_r: 0 to 255
Background green component: back_g: 0-255
Background blue component: back_b: 0 to 255
, The degree of approximation of red, green and blue is
Red approximation: kinkido_r = | object_r − back_r |
Green approximation: kinkido_g = | object_g − back_g |
Blue approximation: kinjido_b = | object_b − back_b |
And Here, “||” represents an absolute value.

For approximate values for each color,
Value considered as an approximate color for the red component: kinji_r
Value regarded as approximate color for green component: kinji_g
Value considered as an approximate color for the blue component: kinji_b
As
kinjido_r <kinji_r & kinjido_g <kinji_g & kinjido_b <kinji_b
If the above condition is satisfied, the object and the background color are considered to be close.

  In S6, when the degree of approximation between the object color and the background color is automatically determined, a value regarded as an approximate color is set by the approximate parameter setting function 2b7. A value regarded as an approximate color can be set (step S7).

  On the other hand, if the degree of approximation between the object color and the background color is not automatically determined in S6, a combination of the object color and the background color to be trimmed is designated (step S8). For example, white and yellow or yellow and yellow-green are designated.

  Next, document data is read from a storage device such as a hard disk of the image processing apparatus 2 (step S9).

  When the above-described border processing of the object is expanded as bitmap data into print data, the border of the object is bordered by the parameter (color) set in S7 or specified in S8 (Steps S10, S11, S12).

  If the document data is not finished, the process returns to S9 and the process of developing the data for printing again is repeated (step S13).

  When the development of the printing data is finished, the printing data is transferred to the printer (step S14).

  Through the processing steps as described above, the object can be prevented from being melted into the background by bordering the target object in black.

  Here, the border of the target object in the recorded image output from the color image forming apparatus has been described. However, when an object such as a character font is displayed on the display 3, it is the same as the printer driver 2b. In addition, the border processing function by the display driver 2c can prevent the object from blending into the background.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the printer driver 2b includes the color recognition function 2b1, the color approximation determination function 2b2, and the object border color setting function 2b3. Since the object 31 is separated from the background 32 by the border portion 33, the object 31 can be prevented from being melted into the background 32.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the hue of the border portion 33 is set to black by the object border color setting function 2b3, the outer peripheral portion of the object 31 can be clarified.

  Note that the hue of the border portion 33 set by the object border color setting function 2b3 is not limited to black. Other colors may be used.

  As a modification, the color of the border set by the object border color setting function 2b3 may be a complementary color of the object color. With this configuration, the object 31 can be clarified.

  Further, as a modification, the color of the border set by the object border color setting function 2b3 may be a complementary color of the background color. By configuring in this way, the background can be clarified.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the object border width setting function 2b4 is added to the configuration of the printer driver 2b so that the border width of the object 31 is automatically set. Even if the thickness of the character is different, the border can be easily trimmed with an appropriate width according to the thickness of the character.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, the recording paper color designation function 2b5 is added to the configuration of the printer driver 2b so that the color of the recording paper can be designated. Therefore, even if the color of the recording paper changes, the color can be easily set. Can be performed.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the object designation function 2b6 is added to the configuration of the printer driver 2b so that the object can be designated. Therefore, even if there are a plurality of target objects, the border processing is performed according to each object. can do.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, an approximate parameter setting function 2b7 is added to the configuration of the printer driver 2b so that the degree of hue approximation can be set according to the hue constituting the object and the hue constituting the background. Therefore, printing and display can be performed in accordance with the coloring characteristics of the printer or display.

  Note that the image processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, as a modification of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a background color designation function 2b8 (a portion indicated by a two-dot chain line) for designating the background hue of an object is added to the configuration of the printer driver 2b described above. It may be a thing.

  The background color designation function 2b8 may designate the color of the printing surface of the recording paper on which image information is printed as the background color of the object.

  With this configuration, for example, the background color is designated by the background color designation function 2b8 only for a combination of an object having a color that is difficult to be recognized by the document creator and the background color. Can be processed.

  Further, the background color designation function 2b8 designates the color of the printing surface of the recording paper on which the image information is printed as the background color of the object, thereby selecting the object to be trimmed from the image information such as only characters or lines. be able to.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, image processing is performed by the image processing apparatus 2 configured separately, but the present invention does not limit the configuration of the image processing apparatus. For example, a color image forming apparatus ( It is also possible to develop a so-called composite printer having a printer), an image forming function, an image reading function, an image transmission function, and the like so as to have the function of the present invention.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image processing system according to an embodiment to which an image processing apparatus of the present invention is applied. It is a block diagram of the image processing system. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a printer driver in the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the image processed in this embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image output by the bordering process by the said image processing apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the process of the border process in the said image processing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the image process by the conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color image forming apparatus 2 Image processing apparatus 3 Display 20, 30 Image 21, 31 Object 22, 32 Background 33 Border part 110 Image input device 2b1 Color recognition function 2b2 Color approximation judgment function 2b3 Object border color setting function 2b4 Object border width setting Function 2b5 Recording paper color designation function 2b6 Object designation function 2b7 Approximate parameter setting function 2b8 Background color designation function

Claims (3)

An object specification function for specifying an object to be outlined as a character or figure from the input color image ;
A background color designating function for designating the color of the printing surface of the recording medium on which the color image is printed as the background color of the object for the hue constituting the object;
And the recognizing color recognition function hues constituting a background color specified hue constituting the specified object by the background color indicated functions by the object pointed function,
A color approximation judgment function for judging whether or not the hue constituting the object and the hue constituting the background color adjacent to the outer periphery of the object are approximate;
An object border color setting function for setting a hue bordering the outer periphery of the object according to a hue constituting the object and a hue constituting a background color adjacent to the outer periphery of the object;
The image processing apparatus according to claim and kite includes a border section having. The border processing unit is
It has an approximate parameter setting function that sets a value that the hue that constitutes an object and the hue that constitutes the background color adjacent to the periphery of the object are approximate,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color approximation determination function makes a determination based on a value set in the approximation parameter setting function . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image processing apparatus has a function of enabling an object displayed by the border processing unit to be displayed by an image display unit .

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