JP5767574B2 - Image processing apparatus and image processing system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image processing instrumentation 置及 beauty image processing system. For example, the retouched on a medium by handwriting or the like, stores an image of the retouched portions, it is capable of applying the image processing instrumentation 置及 beauty image processing system for combining images of a plurality of retouch contents.

  In recent years, for example, multifunction peripherals having multiple functions such as a printing function, a scanner function, a facsimile function, and a communication function are widely used in homes and business scenes.

  For example, in a company meeting or the like, handwritten information is written on a medium such as printed matter, and information including the added content is stored in the multifunction device as image data, or an image including the added content stored in the multifunction device. There is a technology to output data.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a technique for taking a difference between an image after writing and the original image and storing the added content as difference data in order to reduce the data size of the image to be stored.

  In other words, the technique described in Patent Document 1 extracts the content of a handwritten addition to a medium of a predetermined format as difference data, and associates the difference data, position information, and the like with the image data of the medium as update history information. Accumulate. In addition, it is described that when outputting a medium including the contents of rewriting, the difference data is superimposed and output at the position of the position information of image data in a predetermined format.

JP 2010-122210 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the difference data, which is a plurality of added contents, is output by being superimposed on the original image data, when the plurality of added contents are added at the same position on the medium, There is a problem in that a plurality of difference data overlap each other, and the contents of the writing are overlapped and output, making it difficult to see the contents of the writing.

Therefore, while the image of the retouch contents storing achieving reduction in data size, when synthesizing a plurality of difference data, the image processing instrumentation 置及 beauty image processing system capable of multiple retouch contents is adjusted so as not to overlap Is required.

In order to solve this problem, the first aspect of the present invention includes (1) image data storage means for storing the original images of a plurality of media, and (2) input for inputting the images of the added media. Means, (3) extraction means for extracting a difference based on the image of the medium that has been added by the input means, and the original image of the medium stored in the image data storage means; and (4 ) Information management means for managing the difference configuration information extracted by the extraction means in association with the original image; and (5) based on the plurality of difference configuration information associated with the original image. Overlap determination means for determining whether or not a plurality of differences overlap with each other in the original image; and (6) if the overlap determination means determines that the plurality of differences are overlapped, the configuration information of the overlapped differences is reproduced. a reconstruction means for configuring, re (7) A reconstruction method setting means for setting the reconstruction method by the composition means for each difference associated with the original image data, and (8) when reconstructing the difference configuration information, And (9) a reconfiguration unit that performs only a method permitted by the reconfiguration method determination unit. An image processing apparatus.

The second aspect of the present invention includes a server having a plurality of images and an image processing apparatus capable of communicating with the server, and the image processing apparatus corresponds to the image processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention. The image processing system is characterized in that image processing is also performed using an image acquired from the above.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when combining several difference data, aiming at reduction of a data size, it can adjust so that several addition contents may not overlap.

1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image processing system of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the designation | designated process of the difference extraction area | region in the image processing apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a screen which a display part occupies in the designation | designated process of the difference extraction area | region of 1st Embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of differential data extraction / storage processing in the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a screen which a display part displays in the difference data extraction and accumulation | storage process of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining extraction of the difference data of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the image data management table which manages the image data accumulate | stored in the image data storage part of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the update information which the information management part of 1st Embodiment manages. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the structure information of the difference data which the information management part of 1st Embodiment manages. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a composition process in the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a screen which a display part displays in the synthetic | combination process of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the structure information of the difference data which the information management part of 2nd Embodiment manages. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the setting information which sets the method of the reconstruction of the difference data which the information management part of 2nd Embodiment manages. It is explanatory drawing explaining the example of a screen which a display part displays in the difference data extraction and accumulation | storage process of 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the synthetic | combination process in the image processing apparatus of 2nd Embodiment.

(A) In the following first embodiment, the first embodiment of the image processing instrumentation 置及 beauty image processing system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the first embodiment, for example, a case where the present invention is applied to an image processing apparatus included in a multifunction peripheral will be described as an example.

(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image processing apparatus 100 included in a multifunction peripheral according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 1, an image processing apparatus 100 includes a display unit 104, an operation unit 114, a reading unit 103, an image data storage unit 102, an extraction area determination unit 109, an extraction unit 108, an information management unit 107, a synthesis unit 106, and a duplication determination unit. 101, a reconstruction unit 105, a fax transmission / reception unit 111, a communication unit 113, a printing unit 112, and a system control unit 110.

  Here, the image data storage unit 102, the extraction area determination unit 109, the extraction unit 108, the information management unit 107, the synthesis unit 106, the duplication determination unit 101, the reconstruction unit 105, and the system control unit 110 are functions of the image processing apparatus 100. Is shown. These functions of the image processing apparatus 100 are realized by, for example, the CPU executing an image processing program stored in the ROM.

  The image processing apparatus (multifunction device) 100, for example, constitutes the image processing system 700 illustrated in FIG. 2 and can be connected to the network 600. Through the network 600, the file server 300, the portable terminal 400, the fax machine 500, and the like.

  The system control unit 110 manages the functions of the image processing apparatus 100.

  The display unit 104 corresponds to, for example, a display, and displays a status display of the image processing apparatus 100, an operation screen, an image display, user input information, and the like.

  The operation unit 114 receives user operations, and corresponds to, for example, a numeric keypad, operation buttons, and a mouse. The operation unit 114 inputs information related to print processing, fax processing, communication processing (for example, communication processing with the file server 300, e-mail communication, etc.), specifies a differential extraction area, which will be described later, and a difference to be superimposed on image data. Information such as data selection is taken in and the input information is given to the system control unit 110.

  FIG. 1 illustrates the case where the operation unit 114 and the display unit 104 are separate components, but the operation unit 114 and the display unit 104 have an integrated configuration such as a touch panel, for example. Some or all of the 114 functions may be performed.

  The reading unit 103 reads a medium such as a sheet as an image and converts it into image data, such as a scanner. The reading unit 103 converts the added medium into image data. The reading unit 103 provides the converted image data to the image data storage unit 102 and the extraction unit 108.

  The image data storage unit 102 stores image data in a storage area. The image data accumulating unit 102 accumulates original image data before being added, or temporarily accumulates image data of the medium after being read read by the reading unit 103.

  Here, the original image data stored in the image data storage unit 102 is image data printed by the printing unit 112, for example, image data read by the reading unit 103, and image data transmitted / received by the fax transmission / reception unit 111. The image data received by the communication unit 113 (for example, image data based on the file data received from the file server 300) can be used.

  The extraction area determination unit 109 associates an area designated by the user in the image data of the medium with the image data as an area for extracting a difference (hereinafter also referred to as a difference extraction area) through the operation unit 114, and extracts the difference. Information indicating the area (hereinafter also referred to as difference extraction area information) is stored in the information management unit 107.

  Here, the difference extraction area is specified by, for example, displaying an image image of image data stored in advance in the image data storage unit 102 on the display unit 104 and specifying the user in the image image before the addition. Alternatively, for example, after writing, an image image of the medium after writing read by the reading unit 103 may be displayed on the display unit 104, and the user may specify the image image of the medium after writing. Of course, the difference extraction area may be designated both before and after the addition. In addition, as the difference extraction area, one area may be designated in the image data of one medium, or two or more areas may be designated.

  The extraction unit 108 extracts difference data based on the original image data and the image data of the medium after writing. Further, the extraction unit 108 causes the information management unit 107 to store the extracted difference data in association with the original image data.

  Here, the difference extraction by the extraction unit 108 refers to the information management unit 107, and if a difference extraction region is specified for the original image data, the difference extraction region is set as an extraction target. The difference data existing in the area may be extracted, or if the difference extraction area is not specified, the entire area of the image data of the medium after writing and the original image data is extracted. The difference data existing in the entire area may be extracted.

  The difference data refers to a small non-solid image area (small area) in the image data after writing by comparing the original image and the image after writing. That is, the difference data is a small area including the added part.

  Furthermore, the generation method of difference data is not particularly limited, and various methods can be widely applied. For example, when the extraction unit 108 detects a difference by comparing the pixel values of the original image and the image after the addition, the user can use a method of wrapping the difference portion in a rectangular area or an electronic pen such as a touch pen. It is possible to apply a method of wrapping the added part.

  The information management unit 107 manages the difference extraction area information determined by the extraction area determination unit 109 and the difference data extracted by the extraction unit 108 in association with the corresponding original image data. That is, the information management unit 107 assigns original image data and identification information (for example, a file name, an identification number, etc.) specifying each difference data, and corresponds the identification information of the difference data to the identification information of the original image data. Let them manage.

  Information management by the information management unit 107 will be described in detail in the operation section described later. The information management unit 107 stores the original image data and the difference data storage location, and the difference data superimposed on the image data. The association information and the version information of the updated image data are also managed.

  When the synthesis unit 106 receives an image processing instruction to superimpose difference data on the designated image data through the operation unit 114, the synthesis unit 106 stores the designated image data stored in the image data storage unit 102, information The specified one or a plurality of difference data held in the management unit 107 is synthesized.

  The overlap determination unit 101 determines whether or not a plurality of difference data overlap when the plurality of difference data is superimposed on the image data stored in the image data storage unit 102. For example, the overlap determination unit 101 can determine whether or not the difference data overlaps by determining whether or not the small areas that are the difference data overlap.

  The reconstruction unit 105 reconstructs a plurality of difference data to be superimposed on the image data when the overlap determination unit 101 determines that the plurality of difference data overlaps, and stores information on each difference data after the reconstruction. The information management unit 107 holds the information.

  Here, various methods can be applied to the method of reconstructing the difference data by the reconstructing unit 105. For example, the reconstruction unit 105 changes the area size of each difference data to increase or decrease, changes the position at which each difference data is superimposed on the image data, and changes in the content added to each difference data. There are color changes.

  The fax transmission / reception unit 111 performs fax transmission or fax reception via the network 600.

  The communication unit 113 performs data communication such as file information with the file server 300 via the network 600.

  The printing unit 112 performs a printing process based on the image data. For example, the printing unit 112 prints on a medium such as paper based on fax image data received by the fax transmission / reception unit 111, image data read by the reading unit 103, or image data based on file data received by the communication unit 113. It is something to print.

(A-2) Operation of the First Embodiment Next, an image processing operation in the image processing apparatus 100 of the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Below, the image processing apparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, with reference to the drawings, an operation for specifying a difference extraction area, an operation for extracting / accumulating difference data, and a composition operation for synthesizing difference data with image data.

(A-2-1) Difference Extraction Area Designation Operation FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the difference extraction area designation process in the image processing apparatus 100.

  The differential extraction area designation process can be performed when the medium is printed based on the original image data before the writing (preliminary designation) or after the medium after the reading is read (post-designation). Here, for convenience of explanation, a case of prior designation will be described as an example.

  First, in the image processing apparatus 100, the operation unit 114 captures operation information by the user, and a print command is given to the system control unit 110 for the image data stored in the image data storage unit 102 (S301).

  The system control unit 110 allows the user to select whether or not to designate the difference extraction area (S302). At this time, the display unit 104 displays a screen as to whether or not to designate a difference extraction area.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of a screen displayed by the display unit 104 in the difference extraction area designation process. FIG. 4A is an example of a selection screen for selecting whether or not to designate a difference extraction area. . The screen 301 in FIG. 4A includes a guidance display unit 3011 “Do you want to specify an area for scanning the added content?” And an explanation screen unit 3012 for explaining the case where the difference extraction area is specified. Have. Further, the display screen includes a “Yes” button 3013 and a “No” button 3014, and allows the user to select whether or not to specify a difference extraction area.

  If it is selected not to designate the difference extraction area (S302), the difference extraction area designation process ends.

  On the other hand, when the user selects to designate the difference extraction area (S302), a screen for designating the difference extraction area is displayed on the display unit 104, and the designation of the difference extraction area is accepted (S303).

  FIG. 4B is an example of a difference extraction area designation screen. A screen 302 in FIG. 4B includes a guidance display portion 3021 “Specify an area” and a display portion 3022 that displays an image. A pointer 3028 linked to the operation unit 114 is displayed on the screen of the display unit 3022.

  Further, the screen 3022 can display an image of a medium to be printed as a thumbnail, and allows the user to select an image for designating a difference extraction area by operating the operation unit 114. Then, when an image image that designates the difference extraction region is selected, the selected image image is enlarged and displayed on the displayed image image, as in the display unit 3022 illustrated in FIG. The specification of the difference extraction area is accepted.

  The screen 302 in FIG. 4B has an “enlarge” button 3023 for enlarging the size of the image image and a “reduction” button 3024 for reducing the image image size, and changes the size of the image image according to the user's preference. be able to. Further, the screen example of FIG. 4B includes a “complete” button 3025, a “cancel” button 3026, and a “save setting” button 3027.

  Here, as a method for designating the difference extraction area by the user, for example, a method in which the user moves the pointer 3028 by the operation unit 114 and designates a rectangular area as the difference extraction area on the image image is applied. Can do. That is, the difference extraction area can be set by designating the vertex coordinates of the opposite corners of the rectangular area (for example, the coordinates of the upper left corner and the lower right corner of the rectangular area).

  Also, the method for specifying the difference extraction area is not limited to the above, and various methods can be applied. For example, if the operation unit 114 and the display unit 104 are of a touch panel type, the area may be designated by an electronic pen such as a touch pen. The difference extraction area may be a closed area that is closed, and is not limited to a rectangular area.

  When the user designates the difference extraction area and selects the “complete” button 3025 and the “save setting” button 3027, the position information of the difference extraction area designated on the image data (for example, “ X coordinate, Y coordinate ”, horizontal and vertical sizes, etc.) are provided to the extraction region determination unit 109. The extraction area determination unit 109 associates the position information of the difference extraction area with the image data (S304) and causes the information management unit 107 to store the information as difference extraction area information (S305).

(A-2-2) Differential Data Extraction / Storage Operation Next, the differential data extraction / storage processing of the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of difference data extraction / storage processing in the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by the display unit 104 in the difference data extraction / accumulation process.

  First, in the image processing apparatus 100, when the user gives a reading instruction via the operation unit 114 (S101), the information management unit 107 determines whether or not difference data is accumulated (S102). That is, it is determined whether there is any original image data stored in the image data storage unit 102 in which difference data has been stored in the past.

  If the information management unit 107 determines that there is no difference data stored, the reading unit 103 performs a normal reading operation (S104). For example, normal reading operations such as copying of the read image, Email communication, fax communication, and image data accumulation are performed.

  On the other hand, when the information management unit 107 determines that the difference data has been accumulated, the reading unit 103 reads the medium including the added content after the writing (S103), and the image data of the medium including the added content is temporarily stored. Therefore, it is stored in the image data storage unit 102.

  Further, the reading unit 103 acquires the original image data corresponding to the image data of the medium after the reading read this time from the image data storage unit 102 (S105).

  Here, various methods can be applied to the original image data reading method. For example, the reading unit 103 determines the similarity based on the image data after the addition from the image data stored in the image data storage unit 102, and selects one or a plurality of candidates based on the determination result. . Then, as shown in the screen 401 in FIG. 6A, a method of displaying one or a plurality of candidate image images on the candidate display unit 4011 and selecting them with the operation unit 114 and the “execute” button 4011 can be applied. .

  Note that, as illustrated in the screen 401 of FIG. 6A, after the “area designation” button 4013 is displayed and the medium after reading is read, the difference extraction area designation described in (A-1-2) is designated. Processing may be performed. Further, by selecting a “cancel” button 4012, the difference data extraction / accumulation process can be canceled.

  As another method of reading the original image data, for example, a two-dimensional code such as a QR code (registered trademark) for identifying a medium, a one-dimensional code such as a barcode, a character string (for example, numbers, alphabets, characters) Etc.) may be given to a specific part of the medium, and the corresponding original image data may be read based on the identification information read by the reading unit 103. As another method, the user may input a file name of the medium, and the corresponding original image data may be read from the image data storage unit 102 based on the file name.

  Next, the extraction unit 108 refers to the information management unit 107 and determines whether or not a difference extraction area is specified for the original image data (S106).

  When the difference extraction area is designated for the original image data, the system control unit 110 acquires the difference extraction area information corresponding to the original image data from the information management unit 107, and based on the difference extraction area information. The difference extraction area on the image data is displayed on the display unit 104.

  For example, as shown in the screen 402 in FIG. 6B, the original image data is displayed on the image display unit 4021, and the difference extraction area selection unit 4022 has one or a plurality specified in the original image data. The difference extraction area is displayed. The difference extraction area selection unit 4022 is provided with a check box for selecting each difference extraction area, and accepts selection of the difference extraction area by the user (S108).

  When the difference extraction area is selected, the extraction unit 108 compares the difference extraction area on the image data before the writing with the difference extraction area on the image data after the writing, and calculates the difference data of the difference extraction area. The extracted difference data and the configuration information of the difference data are associated with the original image data and stored in the information management unit 107 (S110).

  Here, the extraction unit 108 may compare the image data after the current writing with the corresponding original image data, and if the previous writing has been made, The difference data corresponding to the above may be compared with the original image data and the image data after the current writing. Thereby, only the difference data corresponding to the part updated this time can be extracted.

  On the other hand, when the difference extraction area is not designated for the image data in S106, the extraction unit 108 compares the entire area of the image data before the writing with the entire area of the image data after the writing, (S107), and the extracted difference data and the configuration information of the difference data are associated with the original image data and accumulated in the information management unit 107 (S110).

  Here, the extraction unit 108 extracts a small area that encloses the detected difference portion as difference data. Further, the extraction unit 108 accumulates in the information management unit 107 as configuration information including at least position information of a small area of the difference data.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining extraction of difference data. As shown in FIG. 7, when detecting the difference in the difference extraction area 11, the extraction unit 108 extracts the difference data so that the small area becomes the difference data 12 so as to surround the detected difference portion. FIG. 7 shows the case where the difference data 12 is generated by a rectangular area, but it may be a circular area, an elliptical area, an arbitrary non-circular area so as to bundle the differences, and the like.

  The difference data detection method by the extraction unit 108 is, for example, a method in which the pixel values of the image data before the writing and the image data after the writing are compared, and if they do not match, the difference data is determined to be a difference. Can be applied. In addition, when the pixel value of the image data is not binary, it is possible to apply a method for determining that the pixel value is a difference when the pixel value exceeds a threshold value. As another method, in order to extract the difference with high accuracy, before comparison, each pixel of the image data after the addition is binarized and the black line portion is bolded, and then the comparison determination is performed. Also good.

  Further, when the extraction unit 108 extracts the difference data, the difference data extracted by the extraction unit 108 is displayed on the difference data screen 4031 as in the screen 403 of FIG. 6C, for example, and the user clicks the “OK” button. 4034 may be selected. This makes it possible to reliably extract the retouched part (that is, difference data) recognized by the user. Note that, as in the screen 4031, the display size of the difference data may be enlarged and reduced as in the “enlarge” button 4032 and the “reducing” button 4033.

  Next, the duplication determination unit 101 determines whether or not the difference data overlaps based on the difference data and the configuration information of the difference data (S111).

  In addition, the duplication determination unit 101 not only performs duplication determination between a plurality of current difference data, but also between the difference data accumulated in the past associated with the original image data and the current difference data. You may make it perform duplication determination of.

  Here, the overlap determination method by the overlap determination unit 101 determines whether overlap occurs in all or part of a small region based on position information of the small region included in the configuration information of a plurality of difference data. The method to do can be applied.

  Based on the determination result by the overlap determination unit 101, if there is no overlap between the past and current difference data, or if there is no overlap between the plurality of current difference data, the operation is terminated.

  On the other hand, when duplication occurs between a plurality of difference data based on the determination result by the duplication determination unit 101, the display unit 104 notifies the occurrence of duplication (S112).

  For example, as shown in a screen 404 in FIG. 6D, a warning notification unit 4041 that “duplication with past added content occurs” is provided, and a state of duplication of a plurality of difference data is displayed on the screen 4042. In addition, one overlapping difference data (difference data accumulated in the past in FIG. 6D) is displayed on the screen 4043, and a warning mark is displayed near the difference data.

  In addition, the screen 404 in FIG. 6D includes a “Reconfigure” button 4044 and a “Save without reconfiguration” button 4045, which select whether to reconfigure the difference data. Let

  If the user selects to save the difference data without reconstructing the difference data (S113), the operation ends. For example, even if the difference data partially overlaps, this can be selected for the reason that there is no big problem such that the added part is sufficiently visible.

  On the other hand, when it is selected that the user reconstructs the difference data (S113), the reconstructing unit 105 configures the configuration information of the overlapping difference data based on the operation information of the user via the operation unit 114. Is reconfigured (S114), and after the reconfiguration, the operation is terminated.

  For example, like the screen 405 in FIG. 6E, the difference data to be reconstructed is displayed on the screen 4051. In addition, for example, an “enlarge” button for enlarging the difference data area size, a “reduce” button for reducing the size, a “color setting” button for setting the color of the difference data, and a “frame setting” button for setting a frame line for the difference data A configuration setting button 4052 having “” is displayed, and the configuration of the difference data can be changed by the user's selection.

  Further, for example, the user may designate the difference data with a pointer using the operation unit 114 and move the difference data to a margin portion on the image data. At this time, after the difference data is moved, the reconstruction unit 105 connects the position of the difference data after the movement and the position of the difference data at the original position with a lead line, and at which position the difference data is located You may make it show.

  Furthermore, for example, when reading the medium, an attribute information table that associates the medium with attribute information such as the person who added the information and the date and time of writing, and the difference data is provided, and the attribute information is located near the position of the difference data. You may make it provide.

  Further, the screen 4053 in FIG. 6E displays the state of the difference data after the configuration change so that the user can confirm the state of duplication. Reconfiguration is performed by selecting the “Done” button 4054. finish.

  Note that the reconstruction unit 105 can reconstruct one or both of the past difference data and the current difference data that overlap each other.

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of an image data management table for managing image data stored in the image data storage unit 102.

  In FIG. 8, the image data management table 601 stores serial numbers “No.”, “image data file name”, “storage location” for storing image data, “update information management file name”, and update information “ The item has “storage location” and the like.

  For example, in FIG. 8, “No. 1” indicates that the image data “image data file name: Image1.img” is stored in “storage location: / Box / A / Image /” of the image data storage unit 102. The update information of the “image data file name: Image1.img” has the name “update information management file name: Version_image1.dat” and the “storage location: / box / version / A” of the information management unit 107. Means "/".

  FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of update information managed by the information management unit 107. The information management unit 107 manages update information for each image data file, and FIG. 9 illustrates update information of “image data file name: Image1.img”.

  In FIG. 9, update information 701 includes a serial number “No.”, “version identification information”, “difference data file name”, “storage location” for storing difference data, and “configuration information” indicating the file name of the difference data configuration information. “Management file name”, “Reconfiguration information management file name” and the like are included in the items.

  The “version identification information” stores version identification information for identifying a version of image data. The “version identification information” is for identifying a version when the information is added little by little on one medium. For example, when a plurality of people write on the same sheet (medium), different version identification information is added to the difference data added to the sheet (medium) by each person, and the difference data is different for different sheets (medium). It should be version identification information.

  Specifically, when a person writes in a medium corresponding to “Image1.img”, the person's image data is set to “1a”. The image data of another person is “1b”. Further, for example, “-1” of “1a-1” indicates the number of updates, “−1” indicates the first reading, and “−2” indicates the second reading.

  The “difference data file name” stores the file name of the difference data to be superimposed on the original image data as the version.

  For example, “No. 1” in FIG. 9 indicates that the version identification information of “image data file name: Image1.img” is “1a-1”, and this version includes “difference data” on the original image data. This means that the difference data named “File name: 1a-1.img” is superimposed. Also, the difference data of “difference data file name: 1a-1.img” is stored in “storage location: / Box / dif / A / image1 /”, and the configuration information of the difference data is “configuration information management” The file name is “info_1a-1.dat”. Since no reconfiguration is performed, “-” is added to “reconfiguration information management file name”.

  Further, “No. 3” in FIG. 9 is update information when difference data is reconstructed. In this case, the file name after reconfiguration is “reconfiguration information management file name: Modifyinfo_1b-1.dat”, and “No. 4” identifies the version after reconfiguration “version identification information: 1b -1-m1 ”is newly set, and“ version identification information: 1b-1-m1 ”is set to“ configuration information management file name: info_1b ”indicating the difference data after reconfiguration and the contents of the configuration information after reconfiguration. -1-m1.dat ”.

  FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of configuration information of difference data managed by the information management unit 107. That is, it is the configuration of the above configuration information management file.

  As illustrated in FIG. 10, the difference data configuration information 801 includes serial numbers “No.”, “position (X coordinate, Y coordinate)”, “size (horizontal, vertical)”, “color (R, G, B). ) ”Etc. in the item.

  “Position (X coordinate, Y coordinate)” indicates, for example, the position of the starting point when the difference data is a rectangular area (for example, the coordinate position of the upper left corner of the rectangular area). “Size (horizontal, vertical)” indicates, for example, the length in the horizontal direction and the length in the vertical direction from the starting point when the difference data is a rectangular area. The range of the rectangular area can be specified by “position” and “size”. “Color” stores, for example, pixel values according to the RGB color model. If the color is not set at the time of difference extraction, “-” is written, indicating that no setting has been made.

  Further, there may be a plurality of non-solid small areas in one differential data area. In this case, “No. 2”, “No. 3”,... May be added to the configuration information 801. Note that a method of forming a plurality of small areas in one differential data area can be realized by, for example, a user subdividing the differential data using an electronic pen or the like.

(A-2-3) Composition Operation for Combining Difference Data with Image Data Next, the composition processing operation in the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the composition process in the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed by the display unit 104 in the composition process.

  First, in the image processing apparatus 100, the user receives an instruction to use the image data stored in the image data storage unit 102 via the operation unit 114 (S201), and the display unit 104 displays the image data storage unit 102. The image data stored in is displayed.

  Here, the use of the image data is to realize the functions of the image processing apparatus 100 such as printing, e-mail, fax, and transfer to a file server by using the synthesized image data.

  FIG. 12A shows an example of a screen that displays a list of image data. In the screen 501 of FIG. 12A, the list screen 5011 displays thumbnail images of the image data stored in the image data storage unit 102. The user operates the operation unit 114, selects image data to be used, selects a “next” button 5013, and proceeds with the process.

  At this time, the “target file name”, “number of additional recordings”, and “version type” of each image data are displayed on the screen 5012 in FIG.

  Here, “target file name” is the file name of the image data. The target file name may be a file name managed by the information management unit 107, or may be a file name assigned by the user. When the user assigns the file name, the file name assigned is information It is necessary to manage the file in association with the file name managed by the management unit 107. “Number of additional recordings” is the number of extracted differential data related to image data. “Version type” is the number of version identification information related to image data.

  Next, the system control unit 110 refers to the information management unit 107 to display on the display unit 104 whether or not to reuse the difference data associated with the selected image data, and whether or not to reuse the difference data. Is received (S202).

  Here, as the reuse of the difference data, as in the update information 701 illustrated in FIG. 9, a case in which the difference data already associated with each version identification information is used, or in the current use is used. In addition, any of the cases of newly combining difference data can be applied.

  When there is no difference data associated with the image data, or when there is no instruction to reuse the difference data by the user (S202), the system control unit 110 uses normal accumulated image data. The designated function is executed (S211), and the operation is terminated.

  On the other hand, when the user reuses the difference data, if there is difference data associated with the image data, the system control unit 110 displays the difference data associated with the selected image data as the information management unit. A list of difference data is read from 107 and displayed on the display unit 104 (S203), and the user selects difference data to be superimposed on the image data (S204).

  FIG. 12B is an example of a screen in the case of using what superimposes each difference data already associated with each version identification information. FIG. 12C shows a screen example in the case of newly combining difference data at the time of use this time.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, the original image data selected by the user is displayed on the screen 5021, and each version of the image data in which the difference data is superimposed on the original image data is displayed on the screen 5022. Thumbnails are displayed, and the version, number of updates, number of reconstructions, etc. of each image data are displayed.

  In this case, when reusing the difference data already stored in the information management unit 107 by the operation unit 114, the user selects a version to be re-used with a check box and selects a “Next” button 5023. To proceed. If the version is not reused, the “Next” button 5023 is selected without proceeding to the process without selecting the check box.

  As shown in FIG. 12C, a list of difference data for the image data is displayed on the screen 5032, and the difference data to be used is selected by a check box. At this time, the user may select not only one difference data but also a plurality of difference data. The screen 5031 displays a screen in which the selected difference data is superimposed on the base image data.

  When the difference data is selected by the user, the duplication determination unit 101 determines whether or not the difference data overlaps based on the configuration information of the selected difference data (S205).

  When only one difference data is selected, or when all the selected difference data do not overlap (S205), the synthesis unit 106 superimposes the selected difference data on the original image data. Then, image composition is performed (S209).

On the other hand, when a plurality of difference data is selected and the difference data overlaps (S205), the display unit 104 notifies the occurrence of the overlap (S206 ). Then, as described above, the user selects whether or not to reconstruct the difference data (S207), and when reconstructing the difference data, the reconstruction unit 105 performs the difference data according to the user operation. Is reconstructed (S208), and the composition unit 106 superimposes the reconstructed difference data on the original image data and performs image composition (S209). If reconstruction is not performed (S207), the composition unit 106 performs image composition by superimposing difference data on the original image data without performing reconstruction (S209).

  Next, the display unit 104 displays a confirmation display as to whether or not to superimpose another difference data. If the user selects to superimpose another difference data, the process proceeds to S203. The process is repeated (S210).

  On the other hand, when the user selects not to superimpose another difference data, the system control unit 110 executes the designated function using the composite image (S211), and ends the operation.

  In the first embodiment described above, the case where image data is stored in the image data storage unit 102 of the image processing apparatus 100 and difference data is stored in the information management unit 107 is exemplified. However, the image data and the difference data may be stored in an external server such as the file server 300 on the network 600. In this case, the system control unit 110 can acquire the necessary image data and difference data via the communication unit 113, and can be realized by the same operation as that of the first embodiment.

  Further, in the first embodiment, a case where the user performs an operation or the like using the operation unit 114 and the display unit 104 of the image processing apparatus 100 is illustrated. However, the user may perform operations or the like using the portable terminal 400 as an operation unit and a display unit.

(A-3) Effect of First Embodiment As described above, according to the first embodiment, the medium in which the image data is added after the image data accumulated in advance is printed in the image forming apparatus. , The difference is extracted from the image data of the medium, accumulated as difference data, and the added image data can be used by superimposing the difference data on the image data as necessary.

  In addition, according to the first embodiment, by accumulating only the difference data, the capacity of the non-volatile storage area required in the image processing apparatus is not compressed, and a plurality of difference data are combined and added. It is possible to superimpose on the previous image data. For this reason, for example, it is possible to output the same printed matter at the conference in combination with the contents of the rewriting added by the participants of the conference.

  Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, when a plurality of difference data is combined and superimposed on the image data before the writing, it is determined whether or not duplication occurs between the difference data, and the size of the difference data is changed or the difference data is changed. By means of reconstructing difference data such as movement of partial areas, conventional problems such as being difficult to see duplicated or being unable to read the meaning are solved, and convenience is improved.

(B) Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the image processing instrumentation 置及 beauty image processing system of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the second embodiment will be described by exemplifying a case where the present invention is applied to, for example, an image processing apparatus included in a multifunction peripheral.

(B-1) Configuration of Second Embodiment FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image processing apparatus included in a multifunction machine according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 13, the image processing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment includes a display unit 104, an operation unit 114, a reading unit 103, an image data storage unit 102, an extraction area determination unit 109, an extraction unit 108, an information management unit 107, a composition unit. Unit 106, duplication determination unit 101, reconstruction unit 105, fax transmission / reception unit 111, communication unit 113, printing unit 112, system control unit 110, reconstruction method determination unit 201, and configuration method setting unit 202.

  Here, the image data storage unit 102, the extraction area determination unit 109, the extraction unit 108, the information management unit 107, the synthesis unit 106, the duplication determination unit 101, the reconstruction unit 105, the system control unit 110, the reconstruction method determination unit 201, The configuration method setting unit 202 indicates the function of the image processing apparatus 200. These functions of the image processing apparatus 200 are realized by, for example, the CPU executing an image processing program stored in the ROM.

  The image processing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment is that the configuration of the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment further includes a reconstruction method determination unit 201 and a configuration method setting unit 202.

  Therefore, in FIG. 13, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 are given to the components described in the first embodiment, and the description of the components already described in the first embodiment is omitted below. The characteristic components of the second embodiment will be described in detail.

  The configuration method setting unit 202 stores the extracted difference data in the information management unit 107, and among the methods for reconfiguring the configuration information of the difference data, the information management unit 107 allows a method based on a user instruction. Is set to Thereby, the method of reconstructing the configuration information for each difference data can be limited.

  FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of configuration information of difference data managed by the information management unit 107 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 15 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of setting information for setting a method for reconfiguring configuration information of difference data.

  As in the first embodiment, the information management unit 107 illustrates the difference data configuration information illustrated in FIG. 9, the difference data configuration information 901 illustrated in FIG. 14 as each difference data configuration information, and the difference data configuration information illustrated in FIG. 15. Manage configuration information.

  The configuration information 901 illustrated in FIG. 14 includes serial numbers “No.”, “position (X coordinate, Y coordinate)”, “size (horizontal, vertical)”, and “color (R, G, B)”. The item has “reconfiguration method setting file name” indicating the setting information of the reconstruction method as an item. In the example of FIG. 14, “reconfiguration method setting file name: ModifyMethod1.dat” is the setting information 1001 illustrated in FIG.

  The configuration method setting unit 202 sets a permitted method and a non-permitted method among methods for reconfiguring the configuration information based on a user instruction. For example, in the example of FIG. 15, “not permitted” is set for “position change”, and “permitted” is set for “size change” and “color change”.

  This can be done by moving the position of the difference data, etc., to avoid duplication of the retouched part, but for that reason, the important retouched part has moved or the size has been reduced. The importance of the added part may be unclear. In such a case, the above problems can be avoided by limiting the methods that can be reconfigured for each difference data.

  The reconstruction method determination unit 201 determines whether or not setting information is set in difference data to be reconfigured when reconfiguring the difference data configuration information.

(B-2) Operation of Second Embodiment Next, the operation of the reconstruction process in the image processing apparatus 200 of the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the following, the extraction / accumulation operation of difference data and the operation of reconstruction processing in the synthesis operation will be described.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing the operation of differential data extraction / accumulation processing. In FIG. 16, the same processes as those in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same numbers as in FIG.

  The operations in S101 to S109 are the same as those in the first embodiment. When the extraction unit 108 extracts the difference data from the read image data of the medium in S107 or S109, the display unit 104 displays the extracted difference data and reconstructs the difference data when the difference data is accumulated. Whether to set a method for permitting or not permitting is selected (S401).

  When the user does not set permission or disapproval of the reconfiguration method, the process proceeds to S110 and performs the same process as in the first embodiment (S110 to S114).

  On the other hand, when the user sets permission or disapproval of the reconfiguration method, the user inputs what is permitted or disallowed among the reconfiguration methods through the operation unit 114, and configures the method. The setting unit 202 sets the setting information illustrated in FIG. 15 based on the user instruction information (S402).

  Here, as the setting method of the setting information, for example, the size change (reduction, enlargement) of the difference data, the change (movement) of the position of the difference data to be superimposed on the image data, the change of the color setting of the difference data, the difference data (For example, setting a closed area bundled with an electronic pen or the like, and aiming to change the size, change the position, and change the color settings for the difference data in the closed area) For the operation), a method of selecting permission or disapproval can be applied.

  When the user completes the setting operation on the operation unit 114, the configuration method setting unit 202 associates the setting of permission and non-permission of each method for reconstructing the difference data with the difference data. Accumulate (S403). Thereafter, the process proceeds to S110, and the same process as in the first embodiment is performed (S110 to S114).

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the composition process in the image processing apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 17, the same processes as those in FIG. 11 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same numbers as in FIG.

  The operations in S201 to S207 are the same as those in the first embodiment. In S207, when the difference data on the image data overlaps, when the user reconstructs the difference data, the reconstruction method determination unit 201 determines that the setting information associated with each overlapping difference data is information management. It is determined whether it is in the unit 107 and obtained from the information management unit 107 (S501).

  At this time, when the setting information of all the overlapping difference data cannot be acquired (S502), that is, when the setting information is not set for all the difference data, the process proceeds to S208 and is the same as in the first embodiment. Is performed (S208 to S211).

  On the other hand, when any setting information is acquired from all the difference data (S502), the reconstruction method determination unit 201 can execute only the method permitted by the setting information for the difference data from which the setting information is acquired. The reconfiguration unit 105 is notified as described above.

  For example, the reconstruction unit 105 may cause an error message to be displayed on the display unit 104 when an unauthorized method is instructed. For example, the reconstruction unit 105 selects an unauthorized method. It is possible to prevent the user from executing the program without making the user aware of it.

  In addition, when the difference data is further selected and the duplication occurs, the process may proceed to S205 and the subsequent operation may be repeatedly performed.

  Thereafter, the process proceeds to S208, and the same process as in the first embodiment is performed (S208 to S211).

(B-3) Effect of Second Embodiment As described above, according to the second embodiment, an operation that is not permitted when differential data is extracted during reconfiguration of differential data is performed. Difference data can be reconstructed. The data extracted as the difference may be read at a predetermined position on the image data, or the meaning may be set for the set color. The user who reuses the difference data can save the trouble of noticing what operation should not be performed when reconstructing all the difference data to be reused, and the convenience is improved.

(C) Other Embodiments In this embodiment, a multifunction peripheral is described as an example of one form of the image processing apparatuses 100 and 200. However, the present invention is not limited to a multifunction peripheral, and may be applied to an image processing apparatus such as a facsimile machine and a copying apparatus. Is also applicable.

  In the image processing apparatuses 100 and 200, image data, difference data, and management information of difference data are stored inside the multifunction peripheral. However, it is also possible to store the file server on the network as an example. .

100 and 200: image processing apparatus, 101: duplication determination unit,
102: Image data storage unit, 103: Reading unit, 104: Display unit,
105 ... Reconstruction unit, 106 ... Composition unit, 107 ... Information management unit,
108 ... extraction unit, 109 ... extraction region determination unit, 110 ... system control unit,
112 ... Printing unit, 113 ... Communication unit, 114 ... Operation unit,
201: Reconfiguration method determination unit, 202 ... Configuration method setting unit.

Claims (4)

Image data storage means for storing original images of a plurality of media;
Input means for inputting the image of each medium that has been rewritten;
Extraction means for extracting a difference based on the image of the rewritten medium input by the input means and the original image of the medium stored in the image data storage means;
Information management means for managing the difference configuration information extracted by the extraction means in association with the original image;
Based on the configuration information of a plurality of differences associated with the original image, an overlap determination unit that determines whether the plurality of differences overlap with each other in the original image;
When it is determined by the duplication judgment means that a plurality of differences are duplicated, reconfiguration means for reconstructing the configuration information of the overlapping differences;
Reconstruction method setting means for setting a reconstruction method by the reconstruction means for each of the differences associated with the original image data;
Reconfiguration method determination means for determining whether or not the instructed reconfiguration method is permitted when reconfiguring the difference configuration information; and
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reconstruction unit performs only a method permitted by the reconstruction method determination unit. When there is an instruction to use the original image stored in the image data storage means, the difference associated with the specified original image is displayed on the display means with reference to the information management means. Control means to display,
When a plurality of differences to be superimposed in the original image are selected, the overlap determination unit determines whether or not the plurality of differences overlap in the original image based on the selected configuration information of the plurality of differences. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reconfiguration unit reconfigures the configuration information of the overlapping differences determined by the duplication determination unit. .   3. The configuration according to claim 1, wherein the reconfiguration unit causes the management unit to manage configuration information after reconfiguration of the reconfigured difference in association with the original image. Image processing apparatus. A server having a plurality of images, and an image processing apparatus capable of communicating with the server,
The image processing apparatus corresponds to the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and performs image processing using an image acquired from the server. system.

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