JPH02117267A - Trimming method and auxiliary tools - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and exactly prepare a desired picture, for which trimming is executed, by providing the reading part of picture data, accumulating part and a control part, etc., and using a window frame, a mount and a transparent mask for trimming, etc. CONSTITUTION:When the trimming is executed, at first, the picture data are read from an original 6 by a reading part 2 and accumulated in an accumulating part 3 as first digital picture data. Next, trimming data are read from a mask 7 for trimming by the part 2 and accumulated in the part 3 as second digital picture data. The arithmetic processing of the first and second digital picture data is executed by a control part 4 and the data are housed in the part 4 as third digital picture data, for which the trimming is executed. In such a case, since an area 9 to be surrounded by an outline 8 is painted out by using the window frame to have a window hole which partitions the reading range of the original 6, the mount to fix and support the original and the transparent mask 7 for trimming to be fixed or to be freely attached and detached to this mount, the desired picture, for which the trimming is executed, can be easily and exactly prepared.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be easily and effectively implemented in printing by a digital color copying machine or color printing machine (hereinafter referred to as a "printing device") that reads a document and copies or prints it (hereinafter referred to as "printing"). Concerning trimming methods and trimming aids used.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the trimming method used in this type of device is to overlay an opaque trimming mask with a window for determining the trimming area on the original to be trimmed, and then read the relevant area. The method was to make only that part of the window effective.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above method has the advantage of being able to perform trimming with only one reading and reducing the amount of memory that must be built into the device, but it requires cutting out and forming a window in the trimming mask to determine the trimming area. For,
Not only is it difficult to make the shape of the window complicated, but it is also time-consuming to cut out the window itself.Furthermore, with this method, the trimming mask must be made of an opaque material, and it must be placed over the original to be trimmed. When stacked, the document at the bottom cannot be seen, so the position and shape of the window cannot be determined easily. The object of the present invention is to overcome such drawbacks.

[Means to solve the problem]

The configuration of the present invention is as follows. A reading unit of the printing device reads image data from a document and stores it in a storage unit as first digital image data. The reading section reads trimming data from the trimming mask and stores it in the storage section as second digital image data. These first and second digital image data are subjected to arithmetic processing in the control section to create trimmed third digital image data, which is stored in the control section. In the above, the trimming mask is transparent,
If a desired portion of the image is filled in as a trimming area, the work of reading the trimming data and creating the second digital image data becomes easy and accurate. In order to read the trimming data from the trimming mask, there is a window frame with a window hole that divides the reading range of the original, a mount for fixedly supporting the original, and the transparent transparent material that is fixed to or detachable from the mount. It is convenient to use a trimming aid consisting of a trimming mask.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, the reading unit of the printing device reads separately the image to be trimmed from the document and the trimming data in which the trimming area, that is, the trimming position and shape are written, from the trimming mask. , respectively as digital image data in the M product unit and perform arithmetic processing based on the two digital image data, it is possible to easily and accurately create a desired trimmed image.

【Example】

Next, the trimming method of the present invention and its auxiliary tool will be explained in detail based on illustrated embodiments. Printing apparatuses that perform this type of trimming generally handle color images, but to simplify the explanation, a monochrome image will be described here. However, if the target is a color image, it can be easily handled by expanding from one color to three colors. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a printing apparatus l used to implement the trimming method of the present invention. Reference numeral 6 denotes a document to be trimmed, which is usually a photograph representing an image with halftones. A reading unit 2 has a function of receiving reflected light from the original 6 and creating digital image data corresponding to the image drawn on the original 6. The main elements constituting the reading section 2 include, for example, an illumination light source, a CCD image sensor, and a reduction lens. Recently, image sensors that do not require a reduction lens have been developed, but all of these are devices that break down the original into small pixels and extract the density of each pixel as predetermined gradation data. It can be used in the reading section. Reference numeral 3 denotes a storage unit (memory) for digital image data, which has a capacity capable of storing digital image data for at least two images. It is desirable that the storage section 3 has a capacity that can store digital image data for three or more images if various image processing is to be performed efficiently, but here, the explanation will be made assuming that it has a capacity for two images. . Reference numeral 4 denotes a control unit which controls the operation of the apparatus and, if necessary, performs calculations for image processing such as contrast processing and edge enhancement to create digital image data suitable for printing. However, it is desirable to have a memory for storing digital image data suitable for the created prints separately from the memory for the two sheets mentioned above. 5 is a printing section, which prints and reproduces the image represented on the original document 6 on printing paper based on the digital image data created by the control section 4; This printing reproduction means can be selected from printing methods such as thermal recording, electrostatic recording, electrophotography, ink transfer recording, and the like. The control section 4 takes into account the characteristics of the color materials used in these printing methods and creates digital image data suitable for printing. Next, the method of 1=rimming will be explained. First, the reading unit 2 reads the entire image of a document 6 to be trimmed, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, and stores it in the storage unit 3 as first digital image data. FIG. 3 shows the trimming mask 7, and the trimming mask 7 includes the area (
An area 9 surrounded by an outline 8 drawn corresponding to the area 9 is filled in, and the area 9 is read by the reading unit 2 and stored in the storage unit 3 as second digital image data. In this case, it is important to store the second digital image data as a binary image for effective trimming. However, when creating the trimming mask 7, binarization is not necessarily necessary if a color material to fill in the area 9 is selected appropriately, but processing similar to binarization is required in the calculation for trimming. Become. Assuming that the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is capable of halftone processing of 32 gradations, the first digital image data stored in the storage section 3 is a collection of data from 0 to 31. Similarly, the second digital image data, which is multiplied by one in the one-product unit 3, has been subjected to binarization processing, so it is a collection of two types of data, 0 and 31. That is, the data of the portion corresponding to the filled area 9 drawn on the trimming mask 7 is 3I, and the data of the other portions is 0 (the correspondence between 0 and 3■ may be reversed). The control unit 4 compares the first digital image data and the second digital image data pixel by pixel, and
The first digital image data corresponding to O of the digital image data of is set to 0, and the first digital image data corresponding to 31 of the second digital image data is left unchanged. In this case, the first digital image data may be replaced with an older one, or arithmetic processing may be used to replace only 31 data of the second digital image data with the corresponding first digital image data. The new third digital image data created in this way is data that has been trimmed, and if this is converted into digital image data suitable for printing and then printed, it will be trimmed as shown in the printing paper 10 in FIG. In other words, an area 9' that is surrounded by an outline 8' that corresponds to the outline 8, and a corresponding part of the original 1!6 that corresponds to the area 9 is printed, Nothing is printed on the outside 11 of the contour 8'.Here, as an example, 3 of the second digital image data
Although we have shown a method of replacing only 1 with the corresponding first digital image data, if 0 of the second digital image data
Replace only with the corresponding first digital image data,
Similarly, by replacing 31 with O, a trimmed image as shown on the printing paper 12 in FIG. 5 can be obtained. This is a portion of the entire image of the document 6 that corresponds to an area 9 surrounded by the outline 8 of the trimming mask 7, that is, the outline 8.
The area 9'' surrounded by `` is deleted. In the above, if the second digital image data is not binarized, a certain level is set at which trimming is effectively performed, this is compared with the second digital image data, and the second digital image data is 0 if the data is smaller
, the larger case may be regarded as 31 and the same method as above may be used. In this method, it is clear that if the trimming mask is made of a transparent material, the trimming area can be determined easily and in a short time. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when a trimming mask 13 made of a transparent material is placed over the original 6 to be trimmed, the image of the original 6 below can be seen through.
It is possible to write the outline 14 for trimming and fill in the area 15 easily and accurately. The coloring material used in this case is preferably one that allows the image of the original document 6 below to be seen through when the area 15 is filled in.
By doing so, it is possible to set the area while viewing the entire trimming area. The subsequent trimming work is performed according to the procedure already described.
When reading the data and storing it as second digital image data, it is natural to appropriately select the slice level for binarization so that the binarization is effectively performed. Incidentally, in the above, when reading the original 6 and the trimming mask whose trimming area is filled out separately, it is naturally necessary to be careful not to shift the relative positions of each. Therefore, an embodiment of the trimming aid of the present invention, which prevents the relative position of the document 6 and the trimming mask from shifting and allows easy setting of the trimming area, will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. That's it. Reference numeral 16 denotes a rectangular window frame made of an opaque material, with a rectangular window hole 17 opened in the center and a document holding portion 18 around the periphery. The window 17 defines an effective reading or printing area. Reference numeral 19 is a rectangular mount made of a non-transparent material and is formed to have the same size as the window frame 16. Reference numeral 20 denotes a rectangular trimming mask made of a transparent material such as a synthetic resin transparent film, and the trimming mask 20, the window frame 16, and the mount 19 are hinged at their corresponding one side edges, and are attached to each other. It can be opened and closed freely. Reference numeral 19' denotes a fixing member for fixing the original 6 to the mount 19, such as a double-sided adhesive tape. To set a trimming area using this trimming aid, follow the steps below. First, as shown in FIG. 8, an original 6 such as a photograph is fixed onto a mount 19 using a fixing member 19'. Thereafter, the trimming mask 20 and window frame 16 are sequentially closed over the original 6 (FIG. 9). This allows the document 6 to be viewed through the window hole 17 and the trimming mask 20, and if necessary, the image of the document 6 viewed through the window hole 17 can be freely changed to the most appropriate position. Can be done. This is an effect due to the trimming mask 20 being made of a transparent material. Then, the desired trimming area can be set directly on the trimming mask 20 while looking at the image of the original 6 below, and the coloring material used for filling in at this time is such that the image of the original 6 is transparent. As described above, if the material is visible, the trimming area can be set more easily and accurately. The trimming mask 20 is not hinged to the window frame 16 or the mount 19, but can be attached to and removed from the mount 19 using an appropriate adhesive tape, and a new one can be replaced when trimming is required. May be attached. Further, during reading, by using, for example, the outer edge of the window frame 16 or the mount 19 to position the mark of the reading unit 2 of the printing device 1, misalignment can be completely prevented.

【Effect of the invention】

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the method of the present invention, a desired cropped image can be easily and accurately produced in a printing device such as a digital color copier or color printer that reads and prints a document. Therefore, it is suitable for effectively printing the required cropped image. Further, according to the assisting tool of the present invention, the trimming area can be set easily and accurately without shifting the relative position of the original and the trimming mask, and the reading unit of the printing device can easily and accurately set the trimming area. When reading the original image and the trimming area of the trimming mask separately, there is no need to shift the relative positions of each. l...Printing device, 2...Reading section, 3.
...Accumulation unit, 4...Control unit, 5...
...Printing department, 6...Manuscript, 7゜13.20...
...Trimming mask, 17...Window hole,
16...Window frame, 19...Mount.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings are for explaining an embodiment of the method of the present invention. Fig. 1 is a pronk diagram of a printing device, Fig. 2 is a document such as a photograph to be trimmed, and Fig. 3 is a trimming diagram with a trimming area drawn. Figures 4 and 5 are a plan view of the stamp H1+ paper on which the trimmed image is printed, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the transparent trimming mask and original overlapped, and Figure 7 is a plan view of the trimming mask. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the trimming aid of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the document set on the mount, and FIG. 9 is a plan view of the trimming aid with the document set and closed. It is. Juice 3 figure Spear 2 figure λ4 figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The image data read from the document by the reading section is stored in the storage section as first digital image data, and the trimming data read from the trimming mask by the reading section is stored as the second digital image. The first and second digital image data are stored in the storage unit as data, and the control unit performs arithmetic processing on the first and second digital image data to create trimmed third digital image data, which is then stored in the control unit. Featured trimming method. 2. The trimming method according to claim 1, wherein the trimming mask is transparent and fills out the desired trimming area. 3. Trimming characterized by comprising a window frame having a window hole that partitions the reading range of the document, a mount for fixedly supporting the document, and a transparent trimming mask that is fixed to or detachable from the mount. Auxiliary equipment.