JPH03180980A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to change the density of image data by modulating the area of image data to be edited in each optional matrix unit. CONSTITUTION:A grating size to be a picture element unit for editing the image data displayed on the screen of a display 2 is specified by a keyboard 5 or a pointing device 6. Area modulation for inverting bits from white to black or from black to white in accordance with a fixed rule correspondingly to color conversion instructed in each grating unit to gradually adjust the density of the image data. Thus, an image processor capable of changing the density of image data can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention develops created or read data such as characters, images, and figures (image data) into a dot pattern, and then develops it into a dot pattern of any size. The present invention relates to an image processing device having a function of editing a matrix as a unit.

[Prior Art] There is an image processing device, such as a personal computer, that can display created or externally read image data on a screen and change the color of the image data. In such a device, by specifying an area of displayed image data using a mouse, for example, and specifying a color for that area, that area can be filled in with a desired color.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] However, in the conventional case, density conversion is performed in which all bit data corresponding to a specified area is changed to ``1'' or 0'' and filled with white, black, or a specified color. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to adjust the delicate balance of shading, such as that expressed by halftone density, for the entire designated area of image data.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and involves area-modulating image data to be edited in arbitrary matrix units.
The purpose of this invention is to propose an image processing device that can change the shading of image data.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, an image processing device capable of displaying image data and changing the image data, comprising: a display means for displaying the image data; and an area for specifying the size of a division area into which the image data displayed on the display means is divided. The image forming apparatus includes a specifying means, and a density changing means for changing the density of the area specified by the area specifying means.

[Operation] The above configuration operates by specifying the size of the divided area into which the image data displayed on the display means for displaying the image data is specified, and by changing the density of these specified areas.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of Image Processing Apparatus (FIGS. 1 and 2)] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control section that controls the entire image processing apparatus, and the internal configuration thereof will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 2 is CR
Image data, processing data from the control section 1, etc. are displayed on a display such as T. 3 is an image scanner that reads and inputs image data to be edited. 4
is a printer that can print image data etc. onto recording paper. 5 is a keyboard for instructing various operations. Reference numeral 6 denotes a pointing device such as a mouse, which instructs the operation position with respect to the data image displayed on the display device 2.

Reference numerals 7 to 8 designate external storage media such as disks for storing and preserving image data, etc., which are editing results. These storage media may be directly connected to the control unit 1 or may be connected via a communication line or the like. Reference numeral 9 denotes a communication line and communication means, through which data can be exchanged with other processing devices and external storage media.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control section 1. As shown in FIG.

In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a CPU that controls all peripheral devices connected to the control unit 1 via a bus 19. 12 is a CPU 1 that executes the processing shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, for example.
This is a ROM that stores the 1 program and various data. A RAM 13 is used as a work area and stores image data to be edited. 14 is a video memory (VRAM) for storing image data displayed on the display 2;

15 is a memory management unit for managing each memory mentioned above; 16 is a memory management unit for managing the image displayed on the display 2 (internally data developed in the VRAM 16);
This is a raster operation unit that controls image operations such as movement and rotation. Reference numeral 17 denotes a data I10 control unit for controlling data exchange with the external storage media 7-8 and the data input/output peripheral devices 3-6. Reference numeral 18 denotes a communication control unit for controlling data exchange with other processing devices, external storage devices, and data output peripheral devices via the communication line 9. Reference numeral 19 denotes a bus for exchanging data between the CPUI 1 and each of the processing units described above.

<Explanation of Processing Overview> In the above-described configuration, the control operation executed by the image processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described below.

Here, the image data to be edited is stored in video memory 1.
4 and displayed on the display 2, editing of the image data is executed. The display of this image data will be explained based on the case where black is displayed as on (1) and white as off (0) in bit units, but the bit data of this image data may be reversed such that (1) is white. It is not limited to this example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of image data.

In FIG. 3, an enlarged representation of the rectangular portion enclosed by area 20 is indicated by reference numeral 21. In FIG. Each pixel in this enlarged display corresponds to one bit on the VRAM 14. In other words, the white part in Figure 3 is 0'°, and the black part is "°l°".
° bits are supported.

Now, when using the conventional dot editing method to specify an arbitrary area on the enlarged area 21 and invert the entire area consisting of multiple dots from black to white or from white to black, the specified area is The entire image is simply reversed from black to white or from white to black. Therefore, it is very difficult to adjust the specified area by adding gradations of light and shade in stages.

Therefore, in this embodiment, on the screen of the display 2 using the keyboard 5 or pointing device 6,
Specifies the grid size, which is the pixel unit of the displayed image data to be edited. Then, in accordance with the color conversion specified for each grid, the shading of the image data is adjusted in stages by performing area modulation that inverts bits from white to black or from black to white according to a certain rule. That's what I do.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a case where the image data shown in FIG. 3 is divided into grid units.

FIG. 4 shows the keyboard 5 for the enlarged area 21 in FIG.
This figure shows the state when the 3×3 grid information is manually inputted from the screen and the region 21 is divided into 3×3 editing grids 40.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of density change in a 3×3 editing grid, showing a stage in which a grid consisting of all black pixels becomes white. As an example of instructing this operation, for example, a stepwise change from black to white is indicated by pointing device (PD) 6.
This is executed by pointing the white paint brush icon on the display 2 and moving the brush icon etc. back and forth within that area using the PD 6 to perform the application operation. Also, to change from white to black, select the black paint brush icon,
This is executed by moving the brush icon etc. back and forth within the editing area 21.

FIG. 6 shows an example of such a display.

FIG. 6A shows an example of changing the gradation from white to black, and 23 indicates a black brush icon that changes the gradation from white to black. Similarly, FIG. 6(B) is a diagram showing an example in which the gradation is changed from black to white, and 25 indicates a white brush icon.

<Description of control procedure by CPUII> FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of CPTJII of the image processing apparatus of the embodiment. This control process involves detecting a density conversion instruction of image data inputted from the keyboard 5 or the like. is started by.

First, select the type of brush in step S].

As mentioned above, this refers to the process of selecting either the white paint brush to whiten (brighten) the color of image data or the black paint brush to darken (darken) the color of image data. Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where the editing grid size (mXn), which is a pixel unit for converting the image data density described above, is inputted from the keyboard 5 and set to 1.Next, step S2 is entered.
Proceeding to step 3, based on the position on the display screen of the display 2 indicated by the brush cursor indicated on the PD 6 or the keyboard 5, it is determined which grid is indicated.

Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and the gradation of the editing grid specified in step S2 is calculated (this can be obtained by counting the number of black bits i in the editing grid. However, O≦i≦ (mXn-1)). Next step S5
Then, the current editing grid pattern in the VRAM 14 and data regarding its position are saved in the RAM 13. This is saved for the undo process (step S7) described later, and the two grid data before editing are each saved in different buffers so that the undo process can be performed for the number of times the edits have been made. .

Next, the process proceeds to step S6, where it is determined whether the instructed operation is a brush painting operation or a cancellation operation. In the case of a cancellation operation, the process advances from step S6 to step S7, and the state of the VRAM 14 from one operation before the operation saved in step S5 is read from the buffer of the RAM 13 and stored in the VRAM 14, which is in one-to-one correspondence with the display screen. Returns the contents to the previous state.

On the other hand, in the case of a brush painting operation, the process proceeds to step S8, and the process branches according to the brush type instructed in step S1. That is, when the black brush is instructed, the process moves to step S9, inverts one white dot in the editing grid to a black dot, increases the black gradation by +l, and increases the number i of black dots in the grid.
1), i+1 ((i+1)≦nXm-1) and stores it in the VRAM 14. As a result, the gradation of the editing grid designated in step S3 is increased by +1 and displayed. This addition of black dots is performed, for example, in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow in FIG. 5 mentioned above.

Conversely, when using a white brush, the process advances from step S8 to step SIO, where one black dot in the editing grid is inverted, turned into a white dot, and the black gradation is lowered by one (the number of black dots is -IL,
(i-1≧O)), and the result is stored in the VRAM 14. As a result, the gradation of the editing grid designated in step S3 is reduced by -1 and displayed. This white brush painting process is
For example, this is done by decreasing the number of dots in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

In this way, when the instructed processing is completed, step Sll
Step S3 determines whether there is an instruction to end the process, and if there is an instruction to end the process, the process ends; otherwise, the process goes to step S3.
Proceed to and execute the process described above.

[Other Embodiments (FIGS. 8 and 9)] In the embodiments described above, the brush cursor is moved on the screen using the PD6 such as a mouse, and the black dot or black dot in the editing grid specified on the display screen is moved. In the previous example, image data with an increased number of white dots was created in the VRAM 14 to change the gradation of the displayed image data, but here, by specifying the dot pattern to be thinned out or added to the editing grid, The gradation of the designated image area is changed.

This embodiment is implemented by pointing to a dropper icon instead of the brush in the previous embodiment. FIG. 8 exemplifies the suction pattern and discharge pattern executed using this dropper icon, and the associated processing.

In FIG. 8(A), reference numeral 26 indicates a dropper pattern, and when the dropper suction is finally performed on, for example, the editing grid pattern 27, the dot 26 of the dropper pattern 26
Dot 2 of the editing grid 27 corresponding to a, 26 b
7a and 27b are sucked up and changed into a grid pattern shown at 28. Note that at this time, since there is no black pixel at the dot position corresponding to the dropper pattern 26c of the editing grid 27,
This dot part of the editing grid remains unchanged.

FIG. 8(B) shows the discharge process using the suction pattern 29. This suction pattern 29 is shown in FIG.
Edit grid pattern 27 and dropper pattern 26 in
It is obtained as the logical product of Here, when ejection dots are added to the editing grid 30 using the wicking pattern 29, a lattice pattern 31 is formed by taking the logical sum of the dot pattern of the lattice 30 and the wicking pattern 26. Note that in this dropper discharge process, it is of course possible to perform the discharge process using the dropper pattern 26 instead of the suction pattern 29.

The control of the other embodiment described above is shown in a flowchart as shown in FIG.

First, in step S21, the type of dropper pattern 26 is set using the keyboard 5, and then in step S22, the edit grid pattern size m is specified using the keyboard 5.
Enter x n. Next, the process proceeds to step 323, where the position of the editing grid in the VRAM 14 corresponding to the position of the cursor indicated by the PD 6 or the like on the display 2 is calculated.

In step S24, the designated editing grid data is stored in the editing buffer of the RAM 13 for comparison calculations and the like. Then, in step S25, the instructed editing grid pattern and data regarding its position in the current VRAM 14 are stored in the RAM 13. This is for restoring data at the time of cancellation processing, similar to step S5 in FIG. 7 described above.

Next, the process proceeds to step S26, where it is determined whether to suck up or discharge using the dropper, or to cancel. If it is a dropper suction, the process branches to step S27, if it is a discharge, the process branches to step 328, and if it is a cancellation process, the process branches to step S29.

In the siphoning process in step S27, the pattern data in the editing buffer (the edited lattice pattern specified in step S23) and the dropper pattern are logically ANDed bit by bit (this result is called the ``siphoning pattern''). For example, as shown by 29 in FIG. 8(B)), lattice pattern data is created by subtracting the "siphoning pattern" from the pattern in the editing buffer. This edited result pattern data is then written to the corresponding address in the VRAM 14. An example of grid pattern data created in this way is shown in Figure 8 (
It is indicated by 28 in A).

On the other hand, in the case of discharge processing, the process proceeds to step 828, and the suction pattern (
29) and the edited grid pattern. In this way, as shown in FIG. 8(B), a pattern 31 in which black dots are increased is created and rewritten in the corresponding area of the VRAM 14 as the editing result.

In addition, in the case of cancellation processing, the process advances to step S29, where the state stored in step S25 is read into the buffer of the RAM 13, thereby rewriting the VRAM 14 to return to the previous state. In this way, step S27. S
28 When the process of S29 is completed, the process proceeds to step S30, and it is determined whether or not there is an instruction to end the process. If there is an instruction to end the process, the process ends, and if not, the process returns to step S23 and continues the process.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the pattern of data to be edited is divided into arbitrary pixel matrix units, and the density of image data is finely adjusted by increasing or decreasing the output dots in units of pixel matrices. There are effects that can be changed.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the pixel unit is a 3 x 3 matrix, but it is not limited to this, and the density conversion in the matrix unit is of course not limited to that shown in FIG. It is.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the density of the image data can be changed by area-modulating the image data to be edited in arbitrary matrix units.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of an image processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the control section in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a display table of image data. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the image data in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a transition diagram showing an example of whitening the edited grid pattern. Figure 6 (A) is a black brush icon. A diagram showing a case where the density of an area is increased, FIG. 6(B) is a diagram showing an example of the operation of increasing the density of an area using a white brush icon, and FIG. FIGS. 8A and 8B are conceptual diagrams showing an example of changing the image density using a dropper pattern, and FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of controlling the dropper process in another embodiment. In the figure, l...control unit, 2...display, 3...
・Scanner, 4...Printer, 5...Keyboard,
6... Pointing device (PD), 7.8...
- External storage medium, 9... Communication line, 10... Other processing device, 11... CPU, 12... ROM, 13...
- RAM, 14... 3 Video memory (VRAM) 23... Black brush icon, 5... White brush icon, 6... Dropper pattern, 29... Suction pattern. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. 4

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) An image processing device capable of displaying image data and changing the image data, which specifies a display means for displaying the image data and a size of a division area into which the image data displayed on the display means is divided. An image processing apparatus comprising: an area specifying means; and a density changing means for changing the density of the area specified by the area specifying means. (2) The density changing means changes the density of the image data by changing the ratio of the number of dots displayed in the area specified by the area specifying means. The image processing device described in . (3) The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the image data is divided into matrix area units of m×n dots. (4) The device further includes instruction means for specifying an area to be subjected to density conversion among the image data displayed on the display means, and the area specification means specifies a size for dividing the area specified by the instruction means. The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: