JP5489839B2 - Display control apparatus and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for displaying an image to be printed on a display unit.

  Conventionally, a technique of using a display as a table and displaying digital data on the table is known. Here, contents such as moving images, still images, and documents are displayed. In addition, a technique for exchanging data between devices by bringing a plurality of devices into contact with or in proximity to each other is also known.

JP 2008-123476 A

  For example, when a portable printer is brought into contact with the content displayed on the display, the printer receives data representing the content displayed on the display wirelessly from the display, and the printer prints the content. be able to. However, depending on the setting of the printer, the size of the content displayed on the display and the size of the printed matter printed by the printer do not always coincide with each other, and it is not always possible to print according to the user's intention.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to know the size of a content printed on a display when the printer prints the content.

In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the present invention, a detection unit that detects a printing device that is in contact with or close to the display unit, and an image displayed on the display unit according to the detection by the detection unit is displayed. And a display control means for displaying on the display means a preview image having a size corresponding to the size of the print image when the printing apparatus prints.

  According to the present invention, the size when the printer prints the content can be determined from the size of the content displayed on the display. Therefore, the user can view or edit the content on the display while imagining the image after printing.

Block diagram of the print processing system The figure which shows the processing flow of a display device The figure which shows the appearance of the printing device and the display unit Diagram explaining contact position Diagram showing the relationship between the contact position and the image to be printed The figure which shows the appearance of the printing device and the display unit The figure which shows the appearance of the printing device and the display unit

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a print processing system according to this embodiment. In the present embodiment, the print processing system mainly includes two devices. One is a printing apparatus 101 and the other is a display apparatus 102. Although the display device 102 is described as including the communication unit 104, the display control unit 111, the application extraction unit 115, and the like in addition to the display unit 112, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the display device 102 may include only the display unit 112 in the figure, and may include other processing means as a display control device. In that case, the display control device may be considered as being close to the display device 102.

  In FIG. 1, a printing apparatus 101 can communicate various data wirelessly with a display apparatus 102 (communication means 104). In addition, the printing apparatus 101 includes a print button for inputting a print instruction. Based on the print button instruction, the display apparatus 102 receives image data corresponding to an image being displayed (a preview image described later), and This can be printed. At that time, an instruction signal corresponding to the instruction of the print button is transmitted from the printing apparatus 101 to the display apparatus 102, and the image data is returned from the display apparatus 102 based on the instruction signal.

  The display device 102 can display digital contents such as moving images, still images, and documents, and corresponds to, for example, a table-type display. The display device 102 includes a CPU and a memory (not shown) as in the personal computer, and can operate various applications including an image editing application via the CPU. In addition, the display device 102 includes a touch pen, which will be described later, and other user interfaces such as a mouse and a keyboard, and can be operated by the user while displaying the application on the display unit 112. In the present embodiment, the content displayed on the display unit 112 will be collectively referred to as an image. The image displayed on the display unit 112 will be described as a target to be edited by the user on the display unit 112 and a target to be printed from the printing apparatus 101. The communication unit 104 is a unit that performs wireless communication with the printing apparatus 101. The approach / contact detection unit 105 is an approach / contact detection unit that detects that an object has contacted the display device 102 (display unit 112). The approach / contact detection unit 105 corresponds to a sensor that detects contact of the printing apparatus 101 with the display device 102 (display unit 112) and user operation on the display unit 112 using a touch pen or the like. The contact position detection unit 106 detects position information of a contact object (such as a printer or a touch pen) detected by the approach / contact detection unit 112. The data selection unit 107 selects a display image at a position overlapping the position information detected by the contact position detection unit 106 from display images (display data) read out from the storage unit 108 and being displayed. Note that the storage unit 108 holds one or more images being displayed on the display unit 112. The print setting extraction unit 113 extracts information regarding print settings of the printing apparatus 101. This information is extracted from the data group received from the printing apparatus 101 via the communication unit 104. The display attribute extraction unit 114 is a unit that extracts the display attribute of the display unit 112, receives the setting information of the display device from the display unit 112, and extracts the display attribute from the setting information. The preview generation unit 109 displays the display image based on the print setting extracted by the print setting extraction unit 113, the display attribute extracted by the display attribute extraction unit 114, and the display image selected by the data selection unit 107. Control the way. Specifically, a preview image is generated so that the display image to be printed becomes “the same size as the image after printing” even when the display image is displayed on the display unit 112. To display. The application extraction unit 115 extracts an application (image editing application) for editing the preview image from the storage unit 108 or an external device as necessary. The display control unit 111 controls the image displayed on the display unit 112. For example, the preview image generated by the preview generation unit 109 is displayed on the display unit 112 in a state where it can be edited by the image editing application. Then, based on the editing instruction from the user acquired via the contact position detecting means 106, the editing unit displays the editing content again on the display unit 112 so as to reflect it.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure related to the display device 102 in the present embodiment. In step 201, the approach / contact detection means 105 detects a contact between the printing apparatus 101 and the display apparatus 102 (display unit 112) or an approach within a specified distance between the two apparatuses. If contact or approach is detected, the process proceeds to step 202. In step 202, the contact position detection unit 106 detects the contact position of the printing apparatus 101 in which contact has been detected. In step 203, the display image corresponding to the contact position detected in step 202 is specified by the data selection means 107. Specifically, the image displayed at the contact position on the display unit 112 is specified as the display image to be printed. If there are a plurality of images displayed at the contact position (when a plurality of images are displayed in a superimposed manner), the image displayed on the top surface is specified as the image to be printed. To do. Note that the specified display image that is displayed in advance may be edited later, and thus is not necessarily the same content as the image after printing. Therefore, it can be considered that the specified display image is an original image of an image to be printed. In step 204, the communication unit 104 and the print setting extraction unit 113 detect the print setting of the printing apparatus 101. Specific examples of print settings correspond to print paper size, print mode (such as 2 in 1), borderless printing, and bordered printing. In step 205, the display attribute extraction unit 114 detects the display attribute of the display unit 112. Specific examples of display attributes correspond to the resolution of the display unit 112, the size of dots when displaying one pixel, the size of the screen of the display unit 112, and the like. In step 206, based on the print settings and display attributes described above, the preview generation unit 109 regenerates an “image corresponding to the specified display image and having the same size as the printed image” for preview. . In step 207, the application extraction unit 115 detects an image editing application. In step 208, the display control unit 111 causes the image editing application to be displayed on the display unit 112, and an image having the same size as the printed image (preview image) is also displayed on the display unit 112. Let In step 209, it is determined whether the user has issued a print instruction (pressing the print button) from the printing apparatus 101. If there is a print instruction, the process proceeds to step 211, and if there is no print instruction, the process proceeds to step 210. In step 210, it is determined whether or not the user has performed an editing operation using the image editing application. This determination is made by a CPU (not shown) in the display device 102 or the like. If an editing operation has occurred, the process proceeds to step 212. If no editing operation has occurred, the process returns to step 209. In step 212, a preview image (image data) generated in step 206 and displayed in step 208 is edited by a CPU (image editing application) (not shown) according to the editing operation. Here, separately from the application, the preview image may be edited by the display control unit 111 in the same manner as the editing operation described above. Here, since the premise is that “the size of the image after printing is the same as the size of the preview image”, editing that changes the size of the image is prohibited. When the editing in step 212 is completed, the process returns to step 208, and the edited preview image is displayed instead of the conventional preview image. Further, the image data representing the preview image (or the preview image after editing) generated in step 206 is always in the display control unit 111 so that it can be used for printing and editing in the subsequent stage. To keep. In step 211, image data representing the latest preview image currently displayed in step 208 is transmitted from the display control unit 111 to the printing apparatus 101, and the printing apparatus 101 displays “the currently displayed preview image. Print an image of the same size as

  Next, the above processing will be described with reference to specific examples in FIGS. FIG. 3 visually shows a state when the printing apparatus 101 comes into contact with the display apparatus 102 (display unit 112). The display device 102 includes a table type display unit 112, and an image A is displayed on the display unit. In this figure, the printing apparatus 101 is in contact with a part of the image A. As described above, when the printing apparatus 101 contacts the display unit 112, the approach / contact detection unit 105 detects the contact, and the contact position detection unit 106 detects the contact position with the printing apparatus 101. As a specific example, a sensor that detects contact of an object with the pressure applied on the display unit 112 outputs position information indicating that the pressure is applied and a location where the pressure is applied. This position information is represented by “1” for pixels where pressure is applied and “0” for pixels where pressure is not applied. In addition, as long as it is a method which can detect approach and contact, you may detect by the method different from the method of detecting the pressure to the display part 112. FIG. For example, the approach or contact position of an object may be detected using a known optical or magnetic technique.

FIG. 4 shows an example of position information indicating the approach position or the contact position. The printing apparatus 101 is approaching / contacting only an area 401 of 200 pixels × 150 pixels shown in the figure. Here, for simplicity of explanation, the contact area is described as a rectangle. However, if the contact area is not a rectangle, the circumscribed rectangle or the inscribed rectangle may be recognized as the contact area. . In this embodiment, the start point (Xstart, Ystart) corresponding to the upper left pixel of the contact area is combined with the X-axis and Y-axis sizes (Xwidth, Ywidth) of the area (Xstart, Ystart, Xwidth, Ywidth). Is the position information of the contact area. Therefore, in FIG. 4, (Xstart, Ystart, Xwidth, Ywidth) = (400, 100, 150, 200). When the contact position information is detected as described above, next, processing for selecting an image for preview is performed. The data selection unit 107 extracts an image that is at least partially overlapped with the contact position information (Xstart, Ystart, Xwidth, Ywidth) in the image being displayed on the display unit 112 as an image to be printed. Based on the start point (X′start, Y′start) of each image displayed on the display unit 112, the data selection unit 107 selects an image that satisfies both of the following expressions (1) and (2) as “ The image is identified as “the image overlapping the contact area”.
Xstart <X′start <Xstart + Xwidth (1)
Ystart <Y′start <Ystart + Ywidth (2)

FIG. 5 shows an example when an image A that satisfies the above equation exists. In FIG. 5, since the start point coordinates of the image A are (500, 200), the image A satisfies the above two expressions. From the above results, it is determined that the image A is an image overlapping the contact area, that is, an image to be printed. In the present embodiment, the image to be printed is determined using the above two formulas, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, not only the upper left starting point (X′start, Y′start) of the image A but also three vertices of upper right, lower left, and lower right may be used to apply the above two equations. For example, even if it is determined whether the following two expressions are satisfied by using the end point (X′end, Y′end) at the lower right of the image A, an equivalent determination can be made.
Xstart <X′end <Xstart + Xwidth (3)
Ystart <Y′end <Ystart + Ywidth ... Formula (4)

  Furthermore, for all four vertices of the image A, the image can be determined by determining whether “the vertex of the image A is included in the contact area” according to the concept of the above formulas (1) to (4). A could be accurately identified.

  Next, the print setting extraction unit 113 receives, from the printing apparatus 101, “print setting information that affects the appearance of the printed matter, such as print paper size and print format (2-in-1 printing, margin setting)”, as a preview generation unit. Send to 109. Next, the display attribute extraction unit 114 sends the display attribute information including the screen resolution, the screen size, or the size information per pixel to the preview generation unit 109. Next, the application extraction unit 115 acquires the above-described image editing application. Next, the preview generation unit 109 generates a preview image corresponding to the size after the print target image A shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 is printed. This corresponds to enlargement or reduction processing of the image A. For example, let us consider a case where the screen resolution of the display unit 112 is 4000 pixels × 2000 pixels, and the screen size is 2 m × 1 m. In this case, the size of one pixel in the display unit 112 is 0.5 mm × 0.5 mm. Consider a case where the print paper size in the print settings is 200 mm long × 150 mm wide and borderless printing is performed. In this case, if the preview image corresponding to the image A is displayed on the display unit 112 in a size of 400 pixels in length × 300 pixels in width, it is displayed in the same size as when it is printed. Become. In other words, the vertical Y = 200 mm = 400 pixels is set, and the horizontal X = 150 mm = 300 pixels. By the way, if the aspect ratio of the image A is different from the ratio of the printed matter, the image A is enlarged so as to align the vertical sides of the printed matter according to the user's intention (print setting). What is necessary is just to determine whether it expands so that the position of the horizontal side of image A and printed matter may be aligned. The specific numerical values in the above description are merely examples. For example, when printing in A4 size used in a normal printer, the above-described various calculations may be performed according to the numerical values. As described above, a preview image having the same size as that when the image A is printed is generated.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the preview image is newly generated and displayed as “preview image 601” different from image A. As described above, the preview image 601 is an image having the same size as that when the image A is actually printed by the printing apparatus 101. This image is displayed in conjunction with the image editing application, and additional editing such as 603 can be performed by an editing instruction from the editing menu 602 of the application. The preview image 601 is re-displayed as an image reflecting the editing result after desired editing is performed. A printed matter having the same size and the same content as the preview image displayed at the end is output from the printing apparatus 101.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state when the user presses the print button 702 of the printing apparatus 101 while referring to the last preview image. In the figure, when the print button 702 is pressed, the printing apparatus 101 receives image data corresponding to the preview image 601 being displayed on the display unit 112 from the display apparatus 102, and performs printing based on the image data. Do. As a result, a printed material 701 is output. As described above, since the printed material 701 and the preview image 601 have the same size, printing according to the user's intention is surely performed.

[Modification]
Each embodiment described above is also realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (computer program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system via a network or various storage media, and the computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system reads the program and executes it. It is processing. The computer program and a computer-readable storage medium storing the computer program are also included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

Detecting means for detecting a printing device in contact with or approaching the display means ;
Depending on the detection by said detecting means, the size of the image for preview corresponding to the size of the printed image when to print the image displayed on the display means prior SL printing apparatus, on said display means display control device characterized by comprising a display control hand stage to be displayed. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a generating unit that generates the preview image based on setting information for printing by the printing apparatus and attribute information to be displayed on the display unit. The display control apparatus described. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the setting information includes a print paper size. 4. The display control apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the attribute information includes either a resolution of the display unit or a screen size. 5. The display control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission unit that transmits data corresponding to the preview image to the printing apparatus. A detection step of detecting a printing device in contact with or close to the display means;
In response to detection by the detection step, a preview image having a size corresponding to the size of the print image when the image displayed on the display unit is printed on the printing apparatus is displayed on the display unit. Display control process
A display control method comprising: 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a generation step of generating the preview image based on setting information for printing by the printing apparatus and attribute information for display on the display unit. The display control method described. The display control method according to claim 7, wherein the setting information includes a print paper size. The display control method according to claim 7, wherein the attribute information includes either a resolution of the display unit or a screen size. The display control method according to claim 6, further comprising a transmission step of transmitting data corresponding to the preview image to the printing apparatus. In the computer of the display control device,
A detection step of detecting a printing device in contact with or approaching the display means;
Display control for causing the display unit to display a preview image corresponding to the size of the print image when the image displayed on the display unit is printed on the printing apparatus in response to detection by the detection step. Step and
A program for running

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