JP4300960B2 - Image modification method, image modification apparatus, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for modifying image data.

  In recent years, with the spread of digital cameras, image modification software (photo retouching software) used in personal computers has become popular. According to this photo retouching software, it is possible to perform correction operations such as image enlargement / reduction and trimming on a monitor screen of a personal computer by operating a mouse (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, the mouse operation on the personal computer described above requires precise operation, and considerable training is required for the operator to perform the desired operation. An operator who is not good at operating the mouse cannot perform the operation as intended, and it is difficult to correct the image as desired.

JP-A-8-221196

  An object of the present invention is to enable an operator who is not good at operating a mouse to correct an image as desired.

  As means for solving at least a part of the problems described above, the following configuration is adopted.

The first image modification method of the present invention is:
An image modification method for modifying an image,
(A) a process of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a step of optically reading a manual operation image obtained by manually processing the target image printed out in the step (a);
(C) comparing the target image data with the optical read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b) to obtain difference data indicating the difference between the two,
(D) A step of modifying the target image data based on the difference data.

  According to the first image modification method having the above-described configuration, the worker manually draws a design or pastes an image to be added to the target image printed out in the process (a) by hand, for example. Processing such as. The content of the processing performed manually is stored as difference data in the process (c), and the target image data indicating the target image is modified based on the difference data in the process (d). For this reason, the operator can perform the modification operation of the target image manually without using a computer. Therefore, even an operator who is not good at operating the mouse can perform image correction as desired.

  In the first image modification method, the step (c) includes: (a) a step of obtaining image component data indicating an image component constituting the difference; and (b) an arrangement position of the image component on the target image. A step of obtaining layout data indicating the difference data, and the difference data can be constituted by the image component data and the layout data.

  According to this configuration, the operator can manually perform a modification operation for pasting the image data for pasting on the target image data without using a computer.

The second image modification method of the present invention is:
An image modification method for modifying an image,
(A) a process of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a process of printing output image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
(C) A manual operation image obtained by pasting at least a part of the pasting image printed and output in the step (b) by manual operation on the target image printed and output in the step (a). Optical reading process,
(D) comparing the target image data with the optically read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b), and extracting an image component constituting the difference between the two,
(E) a step of calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
(F) An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the image matches the target image with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. And a process of synthesizing as described above.

  According to the image modification method having the above-described configuration, the worker performs the work of pasting the image for pasting printed out in the process (b) by hand on the target image printed out in the process (a). . At this time, the operator may paste the image for pasting by cutting off unnecessary portions with scissors. The manually pasted image is extracted as an image part in step (d). The arrangement position of the image component with respect to the image for pasting is calculated as the layout data by the process (e). Thereafter, modified image data is created in step (f).

  For this reason, the operator can perform the retouching operation of pasting the pasting image on the target image manually without using a computer. Therefore, even an operator who is not good at operating the mouse can perform image correction as desired.

The first image modification device of the present invention is:
An image modification device for modifying an image,
Printing means for printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
An image reading means for optically reading a manual operation image obtained by manually processing the target image printed out by the printing means;
A difference calculation means for comparing the target image data with optically read image data obtained by optical reading by the image reading means to obtain difference data indicating a difference between the two,
And a target image modifying means for modifying the target image data based on the difference data.

The first computer program of the present invention is:
A computer program for modifying an image,
(A) a function of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a function of optically reading a manual operation image obtained by manually processing the target image printed out by the function (a);
(C) a function for comparing the target image data with the optically read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b) to obtain difference data indicating a difference between the two,
(D) A function of modifying the target image data based on the difference data is realized by a computer.

  According to the first image modification device and the first computer program of the present invention, as in the first image modification method of the present invention, even an operator who is not good at operating a mouse can perform image modification as desired. Play.

The second image modification device of the present invention is:
An image modification device for modifying an image,
First printing means for printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
A second printing means for printing output image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
The manual operation image obtained by pasting at least a part of the pasting image printed and output by the second printing unit by optically on the target image printed and output by the first printing unit is optically obtained. Image reading means for reading;
Image component extraction means for comparing the target image data with optically read image data obtained by optical reading by the image reading means, and extracting image components constituting the difference between the two,
Layout data calculating means for calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the extracted image with respect to the target image is matched with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. And a target image modifying means to be synthesized.

The second computer program of the present invention is:
A computer program for modifying an image,
(A) a function of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a function of printing image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
(C) A manual operation image obtained by pasting at least a part of the pasting image printed out by the function (b) by manual operation on the target image printed out by the function (a). Optical reading function,
(D) a function of comparing the target image data with the optically read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b), and extracting an image component constituting the difference between the two,
(E) a function of calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
(F) An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the image matches the target image with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. It is characterized by having a computer realize the function to synthesize.

  Even with the second image modification device and the second computer program of the present invention, as with the second image modification method of the present invention, even an operator who is not good at mouse operation can paste a pasting image on the target image as desired. There is an effect that the image correction can be performed.

  The recording medium of the present invention is characterized by a computer-readable recording medium on which the first or second computer program of the present invention is recorded. This recording medium has the same operation and effect as each computer program of the present invention.

Other aspects of the invention

  The present invention includes other aspects as follows. The 1st aspect is an aspect as a program supply apparatus which supplies the computer program of this invention via a communication path. In this first aspect, the above-described method and apparatus are realized by placing a computer program on a server or the like on a computer network, downloading a necessary program to a computer via a communication path, and executing the program. Can do.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on examples. This embodiment will be described in the following order.
A. Device configuration:
B. Computer processing:
B-1. State of processing:
B-2. Image modification software:
C. Action / effect:
D. Variations:

A. Device configuration:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of hardware of a computer system 10 to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied. The computer system 10 includes a so-called personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a computer), and includes a CRT display 12, a printer 13, and an image scanner 14 around the computer system 10. The computer includes a computer main body 16, a keyboard 18, and a mouse 20. The computer main body 16 is equipped with a CD-R drive 24 for reading the contents of the CD-ROM 22.

  The computer main body 16 includes a ROM 31, a RAM 32, a display image memory 33, a mouse interface 34, a keyboard interface 35, a CDC 36, an HDC 37, a CRTC 38, a printer interface 39, an input / output device interface 40, and a CPU 30. An I / O port 41 is provided. The display image memory 33 is a memory that stores image data of an image to be displayed on the CRT display 12.

  The mouse interface 34 is an interface that manages data exchange with the mouse 20. The keyboard interface 35 is an interface that manages key input from the keyboard 18. The CDC 36 is a CD controller that controls the CD-R drive 24. The HDC 37 is a hard disk controller that controls a hard disk drive (HDD) 42. The HDD 42 stores in advance a computer program to be described later, a mount management database DB1, an image management database DB2, and the like. The mount management database DB1 is a database for storing mount image data (corresponding to “target image data” in the claims) indicating a mount image serving as a base for generating a page image. The image management database DB2 It is a database which stores the image data for sticking which shows the image for sticking to a mount image.

  The CRTC 38 is a CRT controller that controls display of an image on the CRT display 12 based on display image data stored in the display image memory 33. The printer interface 39 is an interface that controls input / output of data to / from the printer 13. The input / output machine interface 40 is an interface that controls input / output of data to / from an externally connected input / output device, in this embodiment, the image scanner 14. The I / O port 41 has a serial output port, and is connected to a modem 44, and is connected to a public telephone line 46 via the modem 44. The computer main body 16 is connected to an external network via a modem 44 and can be connected to a specific server 47.

  In this computer system 10, image modification software (computer program) is stored in advance in the CD-ROM 22, and is installed in the computer main body 16 from the CD-R drive 24 by starting a predetermined installation program. The installed computer program is stored in the HDD 42, and is loaded into a predetermined area of the RAM 32 when a predetermined activation command is received.

  Various constituent requirements of the present invention are realized by the CPU 30 executing the image modification software. As described above, this computer program is stored in the CD-ROM 22, but instead of this, another portable recording medium (portable recording medium) such as a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk, or an IC card. It is good also as a structure stored in. The computer program described above can also be obtained by downloading program data provided via a network from a specific server 47 connected to an external network and transferring it to the RAM 32 or the HDD 42. . The network may be the Internet or a computer program obtained by downloading from a specific homepage. Alternatively, it may be a computer program supplied in the form of an email attachment.

B. Computer processing:
B-1. State of processing:
Next, the state of control processing according to the image modification software by the computer system 10 having the hardware configuration described above will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first example of a control process according to the image modification software 50 executed by the computer main body 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, according to the image modification software 50 operating inside the computer main body 16, first, mount image data (target image data) D1 read from the mount management database DB1 stored in the HDD 42. Is printed out from the printer 13 by the print control unit 51. Next, on the paper P1 on which the mount image is printed, the worker draws, for example, characters “currently holding a full-scale Chinese fair” as shown in the drawing. The operator sets the paper P1X on which the character is drawn on the scanner 14. According to the image modification software 50, the image reading control unit 52 activates the scanner 14 to perform a process of optically reading an image (manual operation image) on the paper P1X.

  Thereafter, according to the image modification software 50, the difference calculation unit 53 compares the mount image data D1 with the scanner image data (optical read image data) D2a obtained by the image reading control unit 52, Processing for obtaining difference data DSa indicating a difference is performed. Thereafter, the target image modification unit 54 performs a process of modifying the mount image data D1 based on the difference data DSa. The corrected mount image data D1 is stored in the HDD 42 as modified image data D3a as necessary.

  In this first example, the operator performs processing on the paper P1 on which the mount image is printed by drawing characters by hand, but instead, it is prepared in advance in the image management database DB2. The pasted image data D10 can be printed from the printer 13 and the printed image can be pasted on the paper P1 for processing. This will be described below as a second example.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second example of a control process according to the image modification software 50 executed by the computer main body 16. As shown in FIG. 3, according to the image modification software 50 operating inside the computer main body 16, first, the mount image data D1 read from the mount management database DB1 stored in the HDD 42 is displayed as a print control unit. In step 51, a process for printing out from the printer 13 is performed. Next, processing for printing out the pasting image data D10 read from the image management database DB2 stored in the HDD 42 from the printer 13 by the print control unit 51 is performed.

  The operator pastes the paper P10 on which the image data for pasting D10 is printed on the paper P1 on which the mount image data D1 is printed. At this time, the operator trims the image printed on the paper P10 with scissors (in the example of the figure, the oval on the left side and the rectangular part on the right side are cut off), or the image on the paper P10 is not shown. The paper P1 is enlarged / reduced using the copying machine (reduced in the example in the figure) or rotated by a predetermined angle (in the example in the figure, rotated about 30 degrees clockwise). Paste to. The trimming, enlargement / reduction, and rotation operations are selectively performed by an operator as appropriate, and all of these operations may be performed, or at least one of them may be performed. Alternatively, the image printed on the paper P10 may be directly pasted on the paper P1 without performing all the operations.

  Thereafter, the operator sets the paper P1Y on which the paper P10 is attached to the scanner 14. According to the image modification software 50, the image reading control unit 52 activates the scanner 14 to perform a process of optically reading an image (manual operation image) on the paper P1Y.

  Thereafter, according to the image modification software 50, the difference calculation unit 53 compares the mount image data D1 with the scanner image data (optical read image data) D2b obtained by the image reading control unit 52, Processing for obtaining difference data DSb indicating a difference is performed. Note that the difference calculation unit 53 also captures the pasting image data D10, and the difference data DSb includes trimming data indicating which position of the pasting image the image parts constituting the difference correspond to. . Thereafter, the target image modification unit 54 performs a process of modifying the mount image data D1 based on the difference data DSb and the pasting image data D10. Specifically, the modification is performed by extracting an image corresponding to the image component from the pasting image of the pasting image data D10 and combining the extracted image with the mount image of the mount image data D1. The corrected mount image data D1 is stored in the HDD 42 as modified image data D3b as necessary.

B-2. Image modification software:
By executing the image modification software 50 by the CPU 30 of the computer main body 16, the above-described print control unit 51, image reading control unit 52, difference calculation unit 53, and target image modification unit 54 are realized. The control process according to the image modification software 50 will be described in detail below. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a routine of this control process. This routine is started when an instruction to execute the image modification software 50 is given.

  As shown in the figure, when the process is started, the CPU 30 first performs a process of displaying the application window WD on the CRT display 12 (step S100). FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a top screen of the application window WD. As shown in the figure, a work field WFL is provided at the center of the application window WD, and a plurality of work instruction buttons are provided on the left side thereof. As these buttons, a “print” button BT 1 for instructing printing by the printer 13, a “scanner reading” button BT 2 for instructing reading of an image by the scanner 14, and a “content creation” instructing creation of content of the processed image ”Button BT3. The operator clicks these buttons BT <b> 1 to BT <b> 3 with the mouse 20 in this order, and can proceed with the work of modifying the image on the screen of the CRT display 12.

  Returning to FIG. 4, after execution of step S100, the CPU 30 takes in an operation command in which the “print”, “scanner reading”, and “content creation” buttons BT1 to BT3 are clicked by the mouse 20, and the operation commands are used as the operation commands. Corresponding printing processing, scanner reading processing, and content creation processing are executed (steps S200, S300, and S400).

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the printing process executed in step S200. As shown in the figure, when the processing shifts to this printing processing routine, the CPU 30 first changes the display of the application window WD (step S210).

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the application window WD after the change. As illustrated, buttons “BT11”, “BT12”, “BT13”, and “BT14” for “Select mount”, “Print”, “Select paste image”, and “Print” are provided on the left side of the application window WD. The operator can proceed with the operation of printing the mount image data D1 by clicking the “select mount” button BT11 and the “print” button T12 with the mouse 20 in this order. Further, the operator can proceed with the operation of printing the pasting image data D10 by clicking the “select image part” button BT13 and the “print” button T12 with the mouse 20 in this order.

  Note that the image data for pasting D10 is necessary in the case of the second example described above, and when trying to implement the first example, the operator prints the image data for pasting D10 after printing the image data for pasting D10. The button BT15 “return to the top screen” may be clicked without clicking the button BT13 “select components”.

  Returning to FIG. 6, after the execution of step S210, the CPU 30 takes in an operation command in which the “mounting sheet selection” button BT11 is clicked by the mouse 20 and executes a mounting sheet selection process corresponding to the operation command ( Step S220). The mount selection process is as follows in detail. First, the CPU 30 displays a list of all thumbnail images of the mount image data D1 stored in the mount management database DB1 in the work field WFL. Next, the CPU 30 takes in an operation command in which one of the thumbnail images is clicked with the mouse 20 and reads the mount image data D1 for the clicked thumbnail image from the HDD 42.

  Thereafter, in response to the “print” button BT12 being clicked by the mouse 20, the CPU 30 prints the mount image data D1 read in step S220 from the printer 13 (step S230).

  After the execution of step S230, the CPU 30 determines that the next operation command using the mouse 20 by the operator is an operation command for clicking the “select image for paste” button BT13, and a button BT15 for “return to the top screen”. Is an operation command to be clicked (step S240). Here, when it is determined that the operation command is to click the “selecting image for pasting” button BT13, processing for selecting an image for pasting is executed (step S250). The process for selecting the image for pasting is as follows in detail. First, the CPU 30 displays a list of all thumbnail images of the pasting image data D10 stored in the image management database DB2 in the work field WFL. Next, the CPU 30 takes in an operation command in which one of these thumbnail images is clicked with the mouse 20 and reads out the pasting image data D10 for the clicked thumbnail image from the HDD.

  After execution of step S250, the CPU 30 prints the pasting image data D10 read in step S250 from the printer 13 in response to the “print” button BT14 being clicked by the mouse 20 (step S260). Thereafter, a value 1 is set to a flag F (initial value = 0) indicating that the pasting image data D1 has been printed (step S270), and this printing processing routine is temporarily terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S240 that the operation command is to click the button BT15 of “return to top screen”, the process returns to “return” without executing steps S250 to S270, and this printing is performed. The processing routine is temporarily terminated.

  The scanner reading process in step S300 in FIG. 4 starts the image scanner 14 and optically reads a paper image. The sheet to be read is a sheet of the mount image data D1 printed in step S200 and processed manually. In the first example of the control process described above, characters are handwritten. In the second example, the sheet P1X corresponds to the sheet P1Y of the mount image data D1 on which at least a part of the sheet P10 of the pasting image data D10 is pasted. Image data (bitmap data) obtained as a result of reading by the image scanner 14 is stored in the RAM 32 as scanner image data D2 (corresponding to the above-described first example D2a or second example D2b).

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing details of the content creation processing executed in step S400 of FIG. As shown in the figure, when the process is started, the CPU 30 compares the mount image data D1 selected in step S220 with the scanner image data D2 obtained in the scanner reading process in step S300, and calculates the difference between the two. Processing for extracting the indicated image part PP is performed (step S410). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the mount image indicated by the mount image data D1 is removed from the scanner image indicated by the scanner image data D2, and the image component PP indicating the remaining image is extracted. This image part PP is extracted as data of a predetermined shape, here a rectangular bitmap. FIG. 9 is a case of the first example described above, and an image of the characters “real Chinese fair is being held” is extracted as the image part PP. FIG. 10 shows the case of the second example described above, and an image obtained by processing (trimming, enlarging / reducing, rotating) the pasting image data D10 is extracted as an image part PP.

  Returning to FIG. 8, after executing step S410, the CPU 30 determines whether or not the flag F is 1 (step S420). This determination is to determine whether or not the pasting image has been printed in the printing process, that is, whether or not the pasting image data stored in the image management database DB2 is included in the scanner image. If it is determined that the flag F is not 1, that is, the pasting image is not included in the scanner image, the process proceeds to step S430.

  In step S430, the bitmap data indicating the image part PP extracted in step S410 is stored in the RAM 32 as the image part data DP. Thereafter, the CPU 30 calculates layout data ly indicating the arrangement position of the image component PP on the mount image indicated by the mount image data D1 (step S440). Here, as shown in FIG. 11, the coordinate values (xa, ya), (xb, yb), (x) of the four vertices sa, sb, sc, sd of the image part PP in the coordinate system xy on the mount image. xc, yc), (xd, yd) are obtained as layout data ly. Instead of the four vertices, two vertices on a diagonal line may be used, or a predetermined point (for example, the upper left vertex, the center of gravity of a rectangle, or the like) may be used. Alternatively, the coordinate value of each point on the contour line of the image part PP can be used as the layout data ly.

  Returning to FIG. 8, after the execution of step S440, based on the layout data ly, the mount image of the mount image data D1 and the image component PP indicated by the image component data DP stored in step S430 are combined and modified. Processing for creating image data D3 (corresponding to D3a in the first example) is performed (step S450). More specifically, the composition is performed by matching the image component PP with the arrangement position determined by the layout data ly on the mount image. Thereafter, the process returns to “Return” to end the content creation process.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S420 that the flag F has a value of 1, that is, the pasting image is included in the scanner image, the process proceeds to step S460. In step S460, cutout information indicating which position of the pasting image indicated by the pasting image data D10 the image part PP extracted in step S410 is calculated as trimming data tm.

  FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing details of the processing in step S460. As shown in the figure, the contour C of the actual image portion shown in the image component PP is sampled from the difference image component PP extracted in step S410 (right side in the figure), and each point of the contour C is an image for pasting. Which position of the pasted image indicated by the data D10 corresponds to the coordinate system bx-by on the pasted image. The trimming data tm is shown as a set of coordinate values of the points corresponding to each point of the contour C obtained in this way, and is shown by the following equation, for example.

tm = {(bx1, by1), (bx2, by2),... (bxn, byn)}
However, n is a positive number.

  Returning to FIG. 8, after executing step S460, the CPU 30 performs a process of calculating layout data ly indicating the arrangement position of the actual image portion of the image part PP on the mount image indicated by the mount image data D1 (step S470). ). In detail, refer to the scanner image data D2 obtained in step S300 to determine in which position and orientation in the mount image the actual image portion indicated by the contour C obtained in step S460. Thus, layout data ly is obtained.

  FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing details of the process in step S470. As shown in the figure, it is assumed that the coordinate system on the scanner image indicated by the scanner image data D2 is the same as the coordinate system xy on the mount image indicated by the mount image data D1, and that the image part PP of the image component PP is obtained from the scanner image. It is obtained in the coordinate system on the mount image where each point of the contour C indicating the actual image portion is mapped on the mount image, and layout data ly is obtained as a set of coordinate values of each point. The layout data ly is represented by the following equation, for example.

ly = {(x1, y1), (x2, y2), ... (xm, ym)}
However, m is a positive number.

  Returning to FIG. 8, after executing step S470, the CPU 30 performs processing for creating modified image data D3 (D3b) based on the mount image data D1, the pasting image data D10, the trimming data tm, and the layout data ly (see FIG. 8). Step S480). FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing details of the processing in step S480. As shown in the drawing, first, an image D10X corresponding to the actual image portion of the image part PP described above is extracted from the pasting image data D10 using the trimming data tm. Next, the image data D10X is pasted to the arrangement position POS of the actual image portion on the mount image indicated by the mount image data D1 determined from the layout data ly. At the time of pasting, the image data D10X is enlarged / reduced and rotated as necessary, and pasting is performed so that the outer periphery coincides with the arrangement position POS. In this way, the modified image data D3b is created. Returning to FIG. 8, after executing step S480, the CPU 30 advances the process to “return” and once ends the content creation process.

  In the control process according to the image modification software 50 having the above configuration, step S200 corresponds to the print control unit 51, and step S300 corresponds to the image reading control unit 52. Steps S410 to S440, S460, and S470 correspond to the difference calculation unit 53, and steps S450 and S480 correspond to the target image modification unit 54. In this control process, the process in step S410 and the process until the actual image part (the part surrounded by the contour C) of the image part PP is obtained in step S460 correspond to the step (d) in claim 3. To do. That is, the image component in the process (d) corresponds to the actual image portion of the image component PP. Step S470 corresponds to the stroke (e) in claim 3, and steps S460 and S480 correspond to the stroke (f) in claim 3.

C. Effect:
According to this embodiment configured as described above, the operator manually draws a design, for example, by handwriting on the paper P1 of the mount image printed by the printing process, or affixed by the printing process. A desired modification can be made to the mount image data indicating the mount image only by performing an operation of cutting and pasting the image for use. For this reason, there is an effect that even an operator who is not good at operating a mouse can perform image correction as desired.

  The modified image data D3b is not created by using the scanner image data D2 as it is, but is created by synthesizing the mount image data D1 and the pasting image data D10, and therefore the mount image data D1. Even if image degradation occurs at the time of printing output or image scanning of the image data D10 for pasting, image quality degradation does not occur in the modified image data D3b.

D. Modification A modification of the above embodiment will be described next.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the layout data is used as data having a shape that defines a figure corresponding to the arrangement position by a set of points mapped on the mount image, and the image to be pasted is enlarged / reduced and rotated to the figure. However, instead of this, paste position data indicating the paste position on the mount image with a single coordinate value, and a parameter indicating the magnification / reduction ratio, rotation angle, etc. of the paste image The layout data may be determined from the above. The pasting image can be pasted so that the center of gravity is located at one point determined by the pasting position data by enlarging / reducing and rotating the pasting image as determined by the parameters.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the image modification software is configured to cope with the manual operation of pasting one image for pasting on the mount image, but instead, a plurality of pasting images are pasted. You may comprise so that it may respond to the manual work to attach. In this case, the operator operates to repeat the operations of the “select image for pasting” button BT13 and the “print” button BT14 shown in FIG. 7 a plurality of times. On the image modification software side, the processing of steps S460 and S470 shown in FIG. 8 is performed so that the trimming data tm and layout data ly are calculated for each printed pasting image. The mount image data D1 may be modified using D10, each trimming data tm, and each layout data ly.

  As mentioned above, although one Example of this invention and its modification were explained in full detail, this invention is not limited to such an Example at all, and it implements in various aspects in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. Of course you can.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the hardware of the computer system 10 to which one Example of this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the 1st example of the mode of the control processing according to the image modification software 50 performed by the computer main body. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd example of the mode of the control processing according to the said image modification software. 6 is a flowchart showing a control processing routine according to the image modification software 50; It is explanatory drawing which shows the top screen of application window WD. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the printing process performed by step S200. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the next screen of application window WD. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the content creation process performed by step S400. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the process of step S460 in the said 1st example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of the process of step S460 in the said 2nd example. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the layout data ly in the said 1st example. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of a process of step S460. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of a process of step S470. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of a process of step S480.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Computer system 13 ... Printer 14 ... Image scanner 16 ... Computer body 18 ... Keyboard 20 ... Mouse 22 ... CD-ROM
30 ... CPU
31 ... ROM
32 ... RAM
33 ... Display image memory 34 ... Mouse interface 35 ... Keyboard interface 36 ... CDC
37 ... HDC
38 ... CRTC
39 ... Printer interface 40 ... I / O interface 41 ... I / O port 42 ... Hard disk drive 44 ... Modem 46 ... Public telephone line 47 ... Server 50 ... Image modification software 51 ... Print control unit 52 ... Image reading control unit 53 ... Difference calculation unit 54 ... Target image modification unit DB1 ... Mount management database DB2 ... Image management database D1. .. Mount image data D10 ... Image data for pasting D2 ... Scanner image data D3 (D3a, D3b) ... Modified image data DS (DSa, DSb) ... Difference data ly ... Layout data tm ... Trimming data

Claims (5)

An image modification method for modifying an image,
(A) a process of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a process of printing output image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
And to target image printed out by (c) said step (a), at least part is pasted image of the image patch for which the print output by the step (b), a step of reading optically,
(D) comparing the target image data with the optically read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b), and extracting an image component constituting the difference between the two,
(E) a step of calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
(F) An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the image matches the target image with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. An image retouching method comprising: a step of compositing the images. The image retouching method according to claim 1 ,
The step (f) is
(F-1) a step of calculating trimming data indicating which position of the pasting image the image component corresponds to;
(F-2) An image modifying method comprising: creating modified image data indicating a modified image of the target image based on the target image data, the pasting image data, layout data, and trimming data. An image modification device for modifying an image,
First printing means for printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
A second printing means for printing output image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
And to print out the target image by the first printing means, at least part is pasted image of the image patch for which the print output by the second printing means, an image reading unit that reads optically,
Image component extraction means for comparing the target image data with optically read image data obtained by optical reading by the image reading means, and extracting image components constituting the difference between the two,
Layout data calculating means for calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the extracted image with respect to the target image is matched with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. An image modifying device comprising: a target image modifying means to be synthesized. A computer program for modifying an image,
(A) a function of printing out target image data indicating a target image to be modified;
(B) a function of printing image data for pasting indicating an image for pasting different from the target image;
(C) said function (a) with respect to printout the target image by, at least partially pasted image of the image patch for which the print output by the function (b), a function of reading optically,
(D) a function of comparing the target image data with the optically read image data obtained by optical reading in the step (b), and extracting an image component constituting the difference between the two,
(E) a function of calculating layout data indicating an arrangement position of the image component on the target image;
(F) An image corresponding to the image component is extracted from the image for pasting of the image data for pasting, and the image matches the target image with an arrangement position determined by the layout data. A computer program that allows a computer to realize the function of synthesizing in the same way. The computer-readable recording medium which recorded the computer program of Claim 4 .

Images