JPH03224370A - Time controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain data processing in a desired time by providing a wait time calculation means to obtain a wait time when a current time is larger than a processing start time and a means to await the execution of a data processing unit for an obtained wait time. CONSTITUTION:At first, a command of a wipe start time and a wipe end time is sent from a direction control section 18 to a wipe speed control section 40. The wipe speed control section 40 sends a current time to a wait time calculation section 42 together with the command of the sent wipe start time and wipe end time. Then a wait control section 44 awaits (in standby) the wipe speed control section 40 for the obtained wait time and when the wait time is finished, the end of wait is informed to the relevant wipe speed control section 40. Then the wipe speed control section 40 outputs a calculation start command to a threshold level calculation section 48 to start the calculation of a succeeding threshold level after the end of the wait time.

Description

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

The present invention relates to a time control device, and particularly to data processing with time constraints such as multi-task processing in computer control, and still image program data to be broadcast on high-definition playback devices in art museums, libraries, museums, etc. at a desired time. The present invention relates to a time control device suitable for use when creating a wipe effect.

[Conventional technology]

When producing a still image program to be broadcast on NTSC television or high-definition, each still image data used in the program is subjected to desired effects, such as wiping, and then compiled into m formats. There are several ways to perform a wipe on still image data.
There are analog systems, such as analog video editors, which handle image data in the form of analog data, and digital systems, which handle image data in the form of digital data. When producing a still image program by wiping, it may be necessary to change the wipe time or speed in order to obtain a desired computational effect. In such cases, in analog editing devices, the processing speed varies depending on the wipe pattern, so the operator changes the speed intuitively while looking at the image being wiped. Furthermore, in digital still image presentation devices, it has not been possible to control the wipe time.

[Problem to be achieved by the invention]

Therefore, in the past, it has been difficult to wipe at a specified time accurately, making it difficult to produce still image program data with a fixed time. Furthermore, since the wipe time is limited, there is also the problem that program production operations often have to be redone. To solve this problem, it is possible to use a time control device that processes still image data in several steps and controls the wait time between steps. Some conventional time control devices have a method of inserting the same wait time between each step for a processing device that performs one process in every step. However, this type of time control device has the disadvantage that if the processing time at each step is unstable, there will be a large deviation in the end time. Furthermore, if the data processing device performs multitask processing, it is extremely difficult to control the processing time. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and provides a time control device that can accurately control time even in a multitasking data processing device or a data processing device with unstable data processing speed. is the first issue. A second object of the present invention is to provide a time control device that eliminates restrictions on cutting processing time when producing a still image program and allows the program to be produced freely.

[Means to achieve the task]

The present invention is a device for controlling the processing time of a device that processes data with an arbitrary number of processing steps, in which the time to start the data processing is Ts, the time to end the processing is Te, and the current The time is T, the calculation time including data processing at the current step is Tp, the total number of steps for data processing is K, and the current number of processing steps is n, and the current time T is longer than the processing start time Ts. If it is small, the wait time TV is calculated using the formula % (1), and if the current time T is greater than the processing start time Ts, the wait time Tw is calculated using the formula (2). The first problem is achieved by enabling a time calculation means, a means for making the execution of the data processing device wait for the obtained wait time Tw, and a means for making the execution of the data processing device wait. It is something. The present invention also provides a device for controlling the wipe processing time of a video production device that processes still image data in an arbitrary number of steps, the device comprising: means for generating gradation data corresponding to a desired wipe pattern; , means for binarizing the gradation data using a dark value to create mask data, means for cutting out still image data based on the mask data, and changing the threshold value sequentially for each processing step. Means for creating mask data for each threshold value, sequentially cutting and combining a plurality of still image data using each of the created mask data, and wiping the plurality of still image data; and a means for wiping the plurality of still image data, and cutting and combining the image data. The wait time calculation for determining the wait time from the end of processing for the dark value of the current step to the start of cutting and combining the dark value in the next step based on the desired time for the wipe. The second object is achieved by making it possible to perform the wipe process at a desired time by including means and means for making the execution of the cutting and compositing process of the video production device standby during the wait time. It is something.

[Effect]

In the present invention, in the time control device, when the current time T is smaller than the processing start time TS, the wait time TV is calculated by the above equation (1), and when the current time T is larger than the processing start time, the wait time TV is calculated using the above equation (1). , the wait time Tw is set as (2
), and the execution of the data processing device is made to wait for the obtained wait time TwO, thereby enabling data processing at a desired time. Therefore, in order to execute time control to find the optimal wait time at each step, taking into consideration the processing end time Te, current time T, total processing steps K, current number of processing steps n, etc., the processing at each step is Even when the time is unstable, there is no fear that a large deviation will occur in the processing time, and even in a data processing apparatus for multi-task processing, there will be no large deviation in the completion time. Further, in the present invention, in a time control device used in a still image video production device, gradation data corresponding to a desired wipe pattern is generated, and the gradation data is binarized using a threshold value to create mask data. The darkness value is sequentially changed for each processing step to create mask data for each threshold value, and each of the created mask data is used to sequentially cut out and synthesize a plurality of still image data, thereby wiping the plurality of still image data. I do. At the time of this wipe, the wait time from when the clipping and compositing processing of the image data ends at the threshold value of the current step to when the darkness value is changed and the clipping and compositing starts at the next step is set as follows:
(1) and (2) based on the desired time for the wipe.
), and the execution of the cutting and combining process of the video presentation device is made to wait during the wait time, thereby enabling the wipe process to be performed at a desired time. Therefore, when producing still image program data, there is no restriction on the wipe processing time, so the wipe processing can be carried out in free time, and programs can be produced freely.

【Example】

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. First, a first example will be explained. In this first embodiment, for example, in order to produce a high-definition still image program, in an apparatus that processes still image data, a cutout mask is created, and the still image data is wiped from an A image to a BEAU image by using the mask. This is a device for controlling the effect processing time when performing the effect processing to switch to. As shown in FIG. 1, this production processing time control device includes:
Image data (number of pixels for each of red R, green G, and blue B is 1920 horizontally)
xM1035), an image storage section 12 for memorizing and storing the input image data, and an effect control section 18 (described later) for storing the stored image data.
an image transfer section 14 for transferring the image to the wipe execution section 20 according to a command from the operator; a production command input section 16 for inputting video production commands such as wipe execution time and order for the operator to produce the video; The effect control unit 18 controls the effect based on the generated effect command, and also controls the image transfer unit 14, the wipe execution unit 20, and the wipe time control unit 22 described later, and the effect command for executing the wipe is input. In this case, a wipe execution section 20 is provided to create a mask based on the wipe gradation data, cut out and combine images using the mask, and execute the wipe process, and the wipe gradation data in the wipe execution section 20 is A wipe time control unit 22 that calculates a threshold for binarization processing based on the desired wipe time and controls the wipe execution time; and a threshold storage unit 24 that stores the calculated threshold. and a display section 26 consisting of a high-definition monitor for digital/analog (D/A) converting and displaying the images cut and synthesized by the wipe execution section 20.
and will be provided. As shown in detail in FIG. 2, the wipe execution unit 20 includes input image memories 28A and 28 for storing one image each of two images to be cut out and combined for wiping.
B, a gradation generation unit 30 for generating gradation data for wiping (in the embodiment, 8 bits and 256 gradations for double door wipe) according to the production command input to the production command input unit 16; A gradation storage memory 32 for storing generated gradation data, and a gradation storage memory 32 for binarizing the gradation data in the gradation storage memory 32 using a binarization threshold output from the threshold storage unit 24 to create mask data. A binarization unit 34 and a synthesis unit 36 for cutting out and synthesizing images using the created mask data.
and a composite image memory 38 for storing composite image data. The gradation storage memory 32 has horizontal 1920X
*It is possible to use one with a memory capacity of 1035. As shown in FIG. 1, the wipe time control section 22 includes:
A wipe speed control unit 40 for reading the wipe start time, wipe end time, and current time input as a production command from the production control unit 18, and instructing the start of threshold calculation, and the transferred wipe start. , a wait time calculation unit for calculating the wait time from the end time and current time from the end of clipping and combining image data for the current threshold until starting the clipping and combining of image data by changing the threshold next time. 42, a wait control unit 44 for waiting (standby) the start of image data clipping and compositing processing without performing the next threshold calculation during the calculated wait time, and instructions for the wipe speed control unit 40. The threshold value is calculated to be increased by one step for each clipping and compositing process, and the calculated value is transferred to the threshold value storage unit 24, and after the transfer, the threshold value calculation is performed to notify the wipe execution command issuing unit 46 of the end of threshold setting. 48, and a wipe execution command issuing unit 46 for instructing the wipe execution unit 20 to execute a wipe process. The operation of the first embodiment will be explained below. The performance processing performed by the performance processing time control device according to the first embodiment is divided into two processes: performance preparation and performance execution. In the example, the images displayed on the screen are 8 from the A image.
It performs a production process that switches between images while wiping them in a double-folded manner. In the production preparation process, image data (R
. This completes the production preparation process. Next, when performing the effect execution process, the wipe effect is performed according to each step of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 based on the input effect command (wipe time, type, etc.). That is, first, the operator enters the type of wipe and the screen 2 to be produced by wiping in the production command input section 16.
A rendering command that specifies the name of image data for each sheet, wipe processing time (wipe start time, end time), etc. is input (step 101). Next, based on the input production command, the production system # unit 18 issues an image transfer command to the image transfer unit 14, a gradation data generation command to the gradation generation unit 30 of the wipe execution unit 20, and a wipe time control unit 22. Wipe start and end time commands are input to (step 102). Next, the image transfer unit 14 reads two still image data from the image storage unit 12 based on the image file name specified by the production command, and stores the data in the first and second input image memories 28A.
, 28B (step 103). Next, the gradation generation unit 30 generates gradation data of a wipe pattern not specified by the production command, and transfers the generated gradation data to the gradation storage memory 32 for storage (step 104).
. The generated gradation data has a gradation of 8 bi
t ranges from 0 to 255. In addition, in the embodiment, the wipe pattern is double-folded, and for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the gradation at the center of the screen is 0 and the gradation at both left and right ends is 2.
55 gradation data are generated. Next, the wipe time control unit 22 calculates the wait time based on the wipe start time and wipe end time specified in the production command, and the current time input from the wipe speed control unit 40, as will be described in detail later. After waiting for the wait time, the next dark value is increased by 1 step and the threshold value is written into the threshold value storage section 24. In the embodiment, the first threshold value is increased by 1 step (count up), and the second threshold value is increased by 1 step. is not changed (step 105). Next, the binarization unit 34 binarizes the previously generated gradation data based on the designated darkness value to create mask data (step 106). In the embodiment, when creating this mask data, the gradation of the mask data is set to 0 for pixels in which the second threshold value ≦ the gradation data and the first threshold value is related, and the gradation level of the mask data is set to 0, and For pixels having a relationship of threshold value≦gradation data, the gradation of the mask data is set to 255. Next, in the synthesizing section 36, based on the mask data created as described above, two images @ (A image, 8 images) stored in the input image memories 28A and 28B are cut out and synthesized, and the images are stored in the synthesized image memory. 38 (step 107)
), in this case, the part where the mask data value is gradation 0 is taken as data of 8 images, the part of [11255 is taken as data of image A, each image data is cut out, and the cut out image data are combined. Next, the image data in the composite image memory 38 is digital/analog (D/A) converted and displayed on the display unit 26 (step 108). The processing from steps 105 to 108 is performed by the wipe time control unit 22 incrementing the first threshold value by one gradation step from 0 to 256 gradations, and repeating this until the dark value reaches 256. Execute (Step 109>, that is, the total number of processing steps for cutting and combining is 257. As a result, the mask data changes sequentially for each cutting and combining, so the composite image obtained by cutting and combining the A image and 8 images changes sequentially. At the same time, a wipe process in which an appropriate wait time is set for each cut and composite will be executed within the specified wipe time.A wipe process will be executed to switch from image A to image 8 in a manner greater than or equal to 0. Here, the control of the wipe time control section 22 is performed in detail according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 40 (
Step 201). The wipe speed control unit 40 transmits the current time to the wait time calculation unit 42 along with the transmitted wipe start time and wipe end time commands (step 202). Next, the wait time calculation unit 42 calculates the wait time as follows based on the transmitted wipe start time Ts, wipe end time Te, and current time T (step 203
). That is, if the current time T has not reached the wipe start time TS (that is, T is smaller than Ts: T<TS), the wait time Tvt is calculated by combining the wipe start time TS and the current time as shown in the following equation (3). It is calculated by the difference from the time T. TV = Ts - T ・・・・・・・・・
(3) Furthermore, if the current time T has passed the wipe start time Ts (T≧Ts), the wait time Tw is calculated from the wipe end time Te, etc. using the following equation (4). Tw = ((Te −T) /(257−(G±IN−t)...(4n(0≦
G≦256) However, the total number of processing steps is 257, and G is the current threshold value. Since the threshold value increases by 1 m in one processing step, the value obtained by adding 1 to the darkness value G corresponds to the current number of steps. 1 is the time required to calculate the threshold value in the threshold calculation unit 48, and the fixed time required to binarize the gradation data using the threshold value and cut out and combine the image data once in the wipe execution unit 20 (for example, approximately This is the computation time including data processing plus 0.03 seconds). That is, this calculation time t includes calculation of the threshold value (including calculation of the wait time Tw), storage of image data, issuance of a wipe execution command, generation of mask data by binarizing gradation data, and processing based on the mask data. This is the time required to perform a series of processing to cut out and combine the two image data. Next, the weight control unit 44 causes the wipe speed control unit 40 to wait (stand by) for the wait time Tw determined as described above, and after the wait time ends, the weight control unit 44 causes the wipe speed control unit 40 to wait or terminate the wait time. Let me know (
Step 204). Next, after the wait time ends, the wipe speed control section 40 outputs a calculation start command to the threshold calculation section 48 to start calculation of the next darkness value. With this command, the threshold calculation unit 4
Step 8 calculates the current threshold based on the previous threshold, transfers the calculated threshold to the threshold storage section 24, and after transfer, instructs the wipe execution command issuing section 46 that the threshold setting is completed (step 205) In the embodiment, the threshold value is calculated by adding the current threshold value by one step to the previous threshold value, and the threshold value is increased by one step each time the calculation is performed. Next, the wipe execution command issuing unit 46 is informed that the setting of the dark value has been completed, and the wipe execution unit 20 binarizes the gradation data using the current threshold value to create mask data, and performs cutting and synthesis of the image data. (Step 206). Next, after completing the cutting and combining of the images, the wipe execution command issuing unit 46 notifies the wipe speed control unit 40 that the combining has ended (step 207). Next, the wipe speed control unit 40 determines whether the current time T has passed the wipe end time Te (T>Te?), and if the wipe end time has not passed, the wipe speed controller 40 performs step 2.
Returning to step 202, the series of weight and wipe processing is repeated again (step 208). On the other hand, if the wipe end time has passed, the wipe execution is ended (step 209). In the manner described above, it is possible to create an effect in which images are switched while wiping within the wipe time specified by the effect command. In the first embodiment, the present invention is applied to an effect processing time control device used when producing a high-definition still image program, but the present invention is applied to an effect processing time of still image data. The control device is not limited to the production and production of high-definition still images of this type, but is also suitable for use as a production time control device used when creating other still image programs, such as NTSC still image programs. be. Further, the wipe pattern is not limited to the double door pattern as in the first embodiment, and the wipe time can be freely controlled when performing a wipe in other patterns, such as a circular wipe. Next, a second example will be described. In this second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in an apparatus that processes still image data in order to produce a still image program,
From A image to B# by scrolling still image data
This is a time control device for controlling scroll processing time when performing arithmetic processing for switching to J image. As shown in FIG. 5, this time control device has a second clock for inputting image data (the number of pixels of each R, G, B or horizontal 1280 x #111024) used in the still image/video processing device 50. an image input unit 52, a second image storage unit 54 for storing input image data, a process start time Ts, a process end time Te, and the number of steps for one scroll process for video production processing. K. A processing command input section 56 for the operator to input image data names (A, B) used for scrolling, etc., a processing command storage section 58 for storing the input processing commands, and a processing command storage section 58 for storing the input processing commands; A still image/video processing device 50 for scrolling two still image data according to a processing command, a display unit 60 for displaying the scrolled image, and a time control for the scrolling process. A time control section 62 is provided. The forward bending time control section 62 includes a wait time calculation section 66 for calculating the wait time Tw based on the current time T outputted from the timer section 70 together with the processing start time Ts etc. inputted from the processing instruction storage section 58. and the calculation section 66
A wait unit 6 for making the still image/video processing device 50 wait for execution during the wait time Tw calculated in
8, and a control section 64 for transmitting a processing time control command for the still image/video processing device 50 by transmitting a control signal for the weight section 68 and the like. The operation of the second embodiment will be explained below. The production processing performed by the time control device according to the second embodiment is as follows:
The process is divided into two parts: performance preparation and performance execution. In the actual repair example, an effect process is performed in which the images displayed on the screen are switched from image A to image 8 while scrolling upward. In the performance preparation process, the image data used in the scroll process (the number of pixels of each R-G, B is 1280 horizontal x 102
4> Input A and B using the second image input unit 52 such as a television camera or color scanner, and store the second image (i) in the storage unit 54. Thereby, the production preparation process ends. Next, When performing the effect execution process, the scroll effect is performed according to each step of the flowchart shown in Fig. 6 based on the input effect command (scroll time, type, etc.). As shown in
First, the operator enters the scroll start time Ts, scroll end time Te, scroll type (shrink/horizontal), and scroll direction (up, down, left,
right), number of scroll steps K, image name used (A, B
) and stores the command in the processing command storage section 58 (step 301). In the embodiment, the type of scrolling is vertical scrolling, the scrolling direction is upward, and 1024 is specified as the number of steps. Here, the number of steps refers to the total number of steps when effect processing is performed until image A is scrolled and switched to image gAB, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7(A), the state of step 0 is shown as (
B) shows the state at step 512, and (C) shows the state at step 1024. The still image/video processing device 50 stores the scroll type (vertical), the scroll direction (up), the number of scroll steps (1024), and
The name of the image to be used (A, B) is input. Further, the images (A) and (B) are read into the video processing device 50 from the second image storage unit 54 according to the input images (A, B) to be used. In this way, the scroll preparation of the still image/video processing device 50 is completed. On the other hand, the time control unit 62 reads the scroll start time Ts, end time Te, and number of steps K(
1024> is read. In this case, the control unit 64 of the time control unit 62 instructs the wait time calculation unit 66 to calculate the wait time Tw. The wait time calculation unit 66 calculates the wait time T based on the current time T, scroll start time Ts, scroll end time Te, and number of steps K according to the calculation command.
V is calculated as follows (step 302). Note that the current time T is input from the timer section 70 every moment. That is, if the current time T is smaller than the processing start time TS, the current time T is the processing start time Ts in the following equation (5).
If it is larger, the wait time TV4 is calculated using the following equation (6). TV = Ts, −T −・−・−(5)T
w = f (Te −T) / (K−n) l
-T+)... (6) However, n is the current number of processing steps, and Tl+ is the processing time required for one step, which also includes the calculation time of the wait time. Next, the control section 64 transfers the calculated wait time Tv to the wait section 68. The wait unit 68 waits (stands by) for a wait time Tw, and after the wait time ends, notifies the control unit 64 that the wait has ended (step 303). Next, the control unit 64 instructs the processing device 50 to execute the n-th step (step 304). In response to this command, the processing device 50 starts processing the n-th step. Next, it is determined whether the processing end time Te is smaller than the current time 1sflT (step 305). If the current time T is still smaller than the processing end time, the process returns to step 302 and repeats each processing step in FIG. 6 from calculating the wait time Tiv. On the other hand, if the processing end time Te is smaller than the current time T If so, it can be determined that the processing end time Te has passed, and this processing is ended. In this way, the scroll effect of the two images (A, B) can be executed within the specified time. Note that the first embodiment exemplifies the case where the wait time during wipe processing is controlled by the time control device according to the present invention, and the second embodiment exemplifies the case where the wait time during scroll processing is controlled. However, the data processing device that can be controlled by the time control device according to the present invention is not limited to those that handle such image data. In this case, it is possible to use the time control device according to the invention.

【Effect of the invention】

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing time can be accurately controlled even when the data processing time is unstable in each step of processing or in the case of a multitasking processing device. Furthermore, when creating a still image program, since the wipe processing time can be accurately controlled, the wipe processing can be performed without time constraints, and excellent effects such as freedom in program production can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a still image video presentation time control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of a wipe execution unit in the device of the embodiment. , FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an image processing procedure for explaining the operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a wipe time control procedure, and FIG. Still image video processing F according to the embodiment
! A block diagram showing the overall configuration of the time control device of the device; FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the time control device; FIG. 7 is a scrolling process for explaining the operation of the second embodiment. It is a top view which shows the example of a change of a screen in . O... Image input section, 12... Image storage section, 4
... Image transmission unit, 6... Effect command input unit, 8... Effect control unit, 20... Wipe execution unit, 2... Wipe time control unit, 4... Darkness value storage unit, 26...Display section, 8A.
...Input image memory 1. 8B...Input image memory 2. 0...Gradation generation unit, 2...Gradation storage memory, 4...Binarization unit, 36...Composition unit, 8...
- Composite image memory, O... Wipe speed control unit, 2... Wait time calculation unit, 4... Wait control unit, 6... Wipe execution command issuing unit, 8... Threshold calculation unit, O ...Still image/video processing device, 52...Second image input section, 54...Second image storage section, 56...Processing instruction input section, 58...Processing instruction storage section , 60... Display section, 64... Control section, 66... Wait time calculation section, 68... Wait section, 70... Timer section. 62... Time control unit,

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A device for controlling the processing time of a device that processes data using an arbitrary number of processing steps, wherein the time to start the data processing is Ts, and the time to end the processing is Ts.
e, the current time is T, the calculation time including data processing of the current step is Tp, the total number of steps for data processing is K, and the current number of processing steps is n, and the current time is T.
If the current time T is smaller than the processing start time Ts, the wait time Tw is calculated using the formula Tw=Ts-T. If the current time T is larger than the processing start time Ts, the wait time Tw is calculated using the formula Tw={(Te-T). T)/(K-n)}-Tp; and means for causing the data processing device to wait for execution during the calculated wait time Tw. A time control device characterized in that it enables data processing. (2) In claim 1, there is provided a device for controlling the wipe processing time of a video production device that processes still image data in an arbitrary number of steps, the device for generating gradation data corresponding to a desired wipe pattern. means for binarizing the gradation data using a threshold value to create mask data; means for cutting out still image data based on the mask data; and changing the threshold value sequentially for each processing step. means for wiping the plurality of still image data by creating mask data for each threshold value, sequentially cutting out and compositing a plurality of still image data using each of the created mask data, and wiping the plurality of still image data; 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a wait time from when compositing processing ends for a threshold value of the current step to when cutting and compositing starts by changing the threshold value at the next step is determined based on the time desired for the wipe. A time control device comprising: a wait time calculation means; and a means for causing a video production device to wait for execution of the cutting and compositing process during the wait time, thereby making it possible to perform the wipe process at a desired time. Device.