JPH05191761A - Index picture printer for optical disk - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To print out an index picture onto an index sheet added to an optical disk of the Compact Disk standard in an optimum size. CONSTITUTION:Picture data with a maximum of 5 layers of resolution factors in compliance with the Sony Philips standards are recorded on an optical disk 26. A central processing unit 10 selects an optimum resolution layer of a printed picture based on a dot resolution of a printer 30 and a picture frame number recorded on a Compact Disk 26. When an index sheet 30 is printed out, the picture data of the selected resolution layer are read from the Compact Disk 26 and arranged to generate index picture. The edited picture is printed on the sheet 300 as an index print. Furthermore, when a picture frame number is more than a prescribed number, the picture is printed out on plural index sheets 300 separately.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an index image printing apparatus for an optical disc, and more particularly to a printing apparatus for printing an index image as an index print sheet attached to a compact disc (CD).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A so-called photo for recording a photographic image using a compact disc standard (Orange Book standard)
A large number of high-resolution images can be recorded on an optical disc used for a CD. According to this, a reduced image obtained by reducing the image recorded therein is prepared as an index image in the lead-out area. The individual index images are
The so-called Base / 16 size is 192 pixels in the horizontal direction and 128 pixels in the vertical direction. For example, 24 sheets are arranged in the image area of one frame and printed on paper by a printer, for example. This sheet is housed as an index print sheet in a plastic case that houses the compact disc. This is convenient because the recorded image on the compact disc can be viewed at a glance. According to the Orange Book standard, an index image having a uniform number of pixels, that is, a Base / 16 size image is uniformly printed on the index print regardless of the number of images recorded on the disc.

[0003]

It is possible to record a large number of images, for example 100 or more, from one image on a compact disc. On the index print sheet, a large number of index images can be visually recognized at a glance, and when the individual index images are printed as large as possible, the contents such as the state of the image are easier to understand. However, the size of the index print sheet to be put in the standard compact disc case is about a square of about 12 cm square, and the size is limited. Therefore, when the index image is printed with a constant image size and layout without depending on the number of images recorded on the compact disc, the area of the margin portion of the index print sheet becomes large when the number of images is small. Under such restrictions, there has been no printing method for printing an index image with an appropriate size and layout for an index print sheet.

In view of the above demands, it is an object of the present invention to provide an index image printing apparatus that prints an index image with an appropriate size and layout.

[0005]

According to the present invention, attention is paid to the relationship that the image data is recorded on the optical disc of the Orange Book standard with the resolution of up to 5 layers and the print image size depends on the dot resolution of the printer. Achieve the purpose of.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention reads an image data from an optical disc in which image data is recorded in a plurality of resolution layers according to the compact disc standard and creates an index print sheet by creating an index print sheet. Is a reproducing means for reading the data recorded on the optical disc, a printing means for printing an image represented by the image data as a visible image to create an index print sheet, and a data recorded on the optical disc from the data read by the reproducing means. The number of frames of the image being identified is identified, and the index image is arranged by arranging the image representing the image data and selecting means for selecting the resolution hierarchy of the image to be printed according to the identified number of frames and the dot resolution of the printing means. Editing means for editing and playback means are controlled to select The image data of the read resolution hierarchy is read from the optical disc, the editing means is controlled to edit the index image from the image represented by the read image data, and the edited index image is printed by the printing means. And control means.

According to the present invention, the selecting means may determine distribution for dividing the image to be edited into a plurality of index sheets according to the identified number of frames and the number of dot resolutions of the printing means.

[0008]

In the index image printing apparatus for the optical disk according to the present invention, the reproducing means reads the data recorded on the optical disk, and the selecting means determines the number of frames of the image recorded on the optical disk from the read data. Identification is performed, and the resolution hierarchy of the image to be printed is selected according to the identified number of frames and the dot resolution of the printing unit. Therefore, the reproducing means reads the image data of the selected resolution layer from the optical disc, and the editing means edits the index image from the image represented by the read image data. The printing unit prints the edited index image to create an index print sheet.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an index image printing apparatus for an optical disk according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to FIG. 1, the index image printing apparatus of the embodiment is an apparatus for reading out image data recorded on an optical disk 26 and printing it as a visible image on an index print sheet, that is, a label 300 by a printer 30. In this embodiment, the optical disk 26 is a write-once compact disk (CD) 26 of the Photo CD standard by Sony Philips, that is, the Orange Book standard. Therefore, image data is recorded on the optical disc 26 with a maximum of five layers of resolution. The resolution of these five layers is based on an image size of 512 × 768 pixels according to the standard of a standard television or electronic still camera, that is, Base.
5 levels of resolution centered on, namely Base / 16, Base /
It has a hierarchical structure of 4, 4Base and 16Base. Each of the image data of these five layers represents the same one frame image. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any optical disc on which image data of such a plurality of hierarchical resolutions is recorded can be used, for example, in a CD-RO, regardless of standard or type.
It can be used for all types of discs such as M, CD-I, mini discs, and recordable, write-once, and rewritable discs. Also in this embodiment, the index print sheet 300 is
It is approximately square with dimensions that fit in a standard compact disc case, approximately 12 cm square. However, the present invention is also not so limited.

In this embodiment, when the index print sheet 300 is created by the printer 30, the number of frames of the image recorded on the compact disc 26 is checked, and the index image to be printed on the sheet 300 according to the number of frames. The number of sheets and the layout are determined, and the image data of the corresponding resolution is read out from the disk 26, and thereby the index print sheet 300 having the number of frames and the layout suitable for the sheet 300 is created. This will be described in detail later.

The system comprises a central processing unit 10, a plurality of external devices and a plurality of peripheral devices. The central processing unit 10 is a device that controls the operation of the entire system and occupies the center of the system. This will be described in detail later. As the external device, the reproducing device 20 and the printer 30 are used.
Are provided, which are interfaced with the central processing unit 10 by a small computer system interface (SCSI) via connection lines 82 and 84, respectively. The reproducing device 20 is a device to which the compact disc 26 is detachably mounted and which reads out image data from this under the control of the central processing unit 10.

As a peripheral device of the central processing unit 10, the present system is provided with a display device 14 such as a CRT, a hard disk (HD) 12 and an operating device 18, and these peripheral devices and the central processing device 10 are advantageous. Consists of a personal computer system that is a commercially available general-purpose machine.

The display device 14 is a device for visually displaying the state of the system and the image to be processed to the operator. The operating device 18
It is an input device for inputting an operator's instruction to this system.
In this embodiment, for example, the print instruction for the index print, the setting data of the model of the printer 30 or the dot resolution, and the like are input thereby. The printer 30 is a device for printing an image, particularly an index image on the index print sheet 300 as a part related to the present invention based on a command from the central processing unit 10. In the present embodiment, for the purpose of explanation, for example, Fuji Photo The product name "Pictrography" manufactured by Film Co., Ltd. and the model "XL7700" manufactured by Eastman Kodak Company are applicable. The former is about 12 d / mm (dots / mm) or 300 d / in
It has a dot resolution of (dots / inch), the latter about 8
It is d / mm (200 d / in). When the printer 30 is connected to the central processing unit 10, the type of the printer 30, especially the dot resolution thereof, is set in the central processing unit 10 by a method such as setting a memory switch or printer file data. Alternatively, the central processing unit 10 may identify the type of the printer 30 each time a printing operation is performed, for example, from the connector pin arrangement, or may be fixedly set in the system. The index print sheet 300 is an image recording medium such as paper having a predetermined size. This predetermined size is, in this embodiment, a size that can be properly accommodated in a standard compact disk case, and is about 12 × 12 cm.

The central processing unit 10 mainly controls the reproducing unit 20 to read out image data to be used as an index image from the optical disk 26, form an image for index printing suitable for the index print sheet 300, and form this image. The printer 30 is controlled to print. The central processing unit 10 includes a control calculation unit 102 that performs calculation and control, a temporary storage memory unit (RAM) 104 that temporarily stores various data necessary for operating this device, and an image processing unit that edits image data. 106, and an input / output (I / O) unit 108 for exchanging signals with external devices and peripheral devices are connected to each other by a connecting line unit 112 as shown in the drawing. The connection line unit 112 is a bus system that transmits data and control signals between the respective units in the device 10.

The control calculation unit 102 is a functional unit that controls the operation of the entire apparatus. The function is basically to read out the image data recorded on the optical disc 26 to check the number of frames of the image recorded on the compact disc 26, and to display the index image to be printed on the sheet 300 according to the number of frames. The unit determines the number of sheets and the layout, reads out the image data of the corresponding resolution from the disk 26, and causes the printer 30 to print the index print sheet 300. The image data of the resolution to be the index image is selected by the control calculation unit 102 from the above-mentioned five layers recorded for each frame. The control calculation unit 102 also performs processing for decompressing / decoding image data. The temporary storage memory unit 104 functions as a work area of the control calculation unit 102, a buffer memory in data transfer with an external device or a peripheral device, and the like.

The image processing unit 106 is a functional unit that performs image data processing, such as image synthesis, editing / organization, and repair. In particular, image processing for forming an index print image by arranging image data of a resolution corresponding to the number of index images and layout determined by the control calculation unit 102 in an image area corresponding to the print area of the index print sheet 300 is performed. It is a unit to perform. These processes are performed under the control of the control calculation unit 102, and the memory unit 104 is used as its work area.

By the way, the data recording format on the compact disc 26 includes the following three areas. That is, a lead-in area, a program area, and a lead-out area (none of which are shown) from the center of the disk 26. The lead-in area is an index data part, and the recording area of the entire volume and data such as the number of images are recorded therein. If the program area is further classified, image data is recorded for each image at the above-mentioned five-layer resolution. The relationship between the hierarchical resolution and the image size (the number of scanning lines × the number of pixels) is shown in FIG. Data indicating the end of the data recording area is recorded in the lead-out area. An image of the size Base / 16 dedicated to the index image described above is also recorded in this area.

The index print sheet 300 can theoretically print any of the image data having the resolution of these five layers. A commonly used index print sheet 300 is about 12 cm square, for example 5 m.
Considering a margin of about m, an index image can be recorded in an area of about 115 × 115 mm. On the one hand, it is obvious that the content of each index image is as large as possible so that it is easy to confirm the content, and on the other hand, if one sheet 300 contains a large number of index images, it is easy to visually recognize the whole. In this embodiment, an index image as large as possible is printed within the constraints of the size of the sheet 300 and the number of recorded image frames on the disc 26.

The table shown in FIG. 3 shows a compact disc with the dot resolution applicable to the printer 30 as a parameter.
As an index image corresponding to the number of recorded images in 26, a layer of image data resolution that can be appropriately printed in the index print sheet print area of the above size is shown. As a printer 30, for example, a resolution of 6.4 d / m
When using a printer within the range of m to 8.6 d / mm, when the number of frames of the image recorded on the compact disc 26 is 2 to 6, the image data of the resolution hierarchy Base / 4 is used as the index image. .. If a printer having a resolution within the range of 8.6 d / mm to 12.8 d / mm is used as the printer 30, for example, if the number of frames of the image recorded on the compact disc 26 is 1 or 2, the resolution hierarchy is Image data of Base is used as an index image. The values in this figure are examples, and may be further subdivided or simplified. Since the print size of the index image changes depending on the dot resolution of the printer 30, the dot resolution has a width. This width is determined in consideration of the size of the index print sheet 300 and a margin of 5 mm in 12 × 12 cm.

An example of the layout of index images on the sheet 300 based on the values shown in FIG. 3 is conceptually shown in FIGS.
It is shown in FIG. 4 to 6 are examples in which a printer having a resolution of 8 d / mm is used as the printer 30, which corresponds to the condition in the left column of FIG. 7 to 9 are examples in which a printer having a resolution of 12 d / mm is used as the printer 30, which corresponds to the conditions in the center column of FIG. More specifically, FIG. 4 shows an example of a layout in which the index print sheet 300 is printed with the index image 310 including one image having the image resolution of Base and the printer resolution of 8 d / mm. Hereinafter, with the same printer resolution, FIG. 5 shows an example of a layout for printing an index image 320 containing 6 frames of image hierarchy Base / 4, and FIG. 6 shows an index image 330 containing 24 frames of image hierarchy Base / 16. An example of a layout for printing is shown.
Also, in Fig. 7, the printer resolution is 12 d / mm and the image hierarchy is Ba.
An example of a layout is shown in which an index image 340 including two se images in a vertical arrangement is printed on the index print sheet 300. Below, at that printer resolution, FIG. 8 is an index image including 15 images of the image hierarchy Base / 4. FIG. 9 shows an example of a layout for printing 350, and FIG. 9 shows an example of a layout for printing an index image 360 including 24 Base / 16 images. The control calculation unit 102 selects the hierarchical resolution and layout, and the image processing unit 1 performs the process of editing the image data of that resolution to form the index image.
06 runs. The process flow will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

As described above, in this embodiment, the printer 30 is constructed so that the dot resolutions of 8 d / mm and 12 d / mm can be selectively used. For example, as the printer 30, a printer having a resolution of 8 d / mm is used as the central processing unit 10.
When connected to, the value of the type or dot resolution is set in the central processing unit 10. Based on this setting, the central processing unit 10 identifies the dot resolution of the printer 28 (202,
204), and select and set the corresponding constants k1 to k6 (20
6, 208). In this example, since the dot resolution is 8 d / mm, the value shown in step 206 is set.

The operator loads the recorded compact disc 26 into the reproducing device 20 and instructs the recording of the index image by operating the operating device 18. The central processing unit 10 responds to this by command-controlling the reproducing device 20, and
26 Decode the number of recorded image frames (210). The playback device 20 then reads the data in the lead-in area of the compact disc 26 and transfers it to the central processing unit 10.
Transfer via 82. In the central processing unit 10, the control calculation unit 102 identifies the value of the number of images included in this lead-in data.

The resolution selection routine is shown in FIG. 11, and the control calculation unit 102 determines, for example, when the image frame number X is 1 (222).
In this example, since the constant k1 is set to 1, Base is set as the hierarchical resolution of the image data to be printed on the index print sheet 300 (242). Similarly, if the number of image frames X is 2 to 6 (224), Base / 4 is set (24
Four) . Furthermore, when the number of frames X is 7 or more (226, 228, 230 or 232), Base / 16 is set (246),
Before the setting 246, if the number of image frames X is a predetermined number k3 + 1 or more (228, 230 or 232), the division of the index image is set. The division of the index image means that each index image is distributed so that the index images of all the images included in the compact disc 26 are divided and printed on a plurality of print sheets 300. In this example, when the number of frames X is 7 to 24, it is not divided,
In the case of 25 to 48, it is divided into two (252). That is, the two index print sheets 300 are printed separately. In case of 49 to 72, it is divided into three (254), 73 to 96.
In the case of, it is set to 4 divisions (256), and in the case of 97 or more, it is set to 5 divisions (258). This sets the hierarchical resolution and the layout of the index image used for printing the index image. Multiple labels for this split
The reason for printing on 300 is that if too many images are printed on one sheet 300, the size of each reduced image becomes too small. The maximum number of images printed on one label 300 is set to 24 because it corresponds to the number of frames of a commonly used negative film, and another number may be used.
In addition, it is the label 30 that the division beyond 5 divisions is not performed.
An optical disc that has one image with a frame number of 0 or more.
This is because it is not practical in this case.

In the central processing unit 10, the control calculation unit 102
Instructs the playback device 20 to read out the image data of the resolution layer set in the resolution selection processing 220 from the disc 26. The reproducing apparatus 20 reads the image data of the corresponding resolution layer from the program area of the disc 26 for all the recorded images for which the index image should be printed (260). The read image data is transferred to the central processing unit 10 and accumulated in the memory unit 104. The image processing unit 106 is a control calculation unit.
According to the layout of the index image set in 102, the image data in the memory unit 104 is subjected to an array of images for printing and a dividing process for printing a plurality of sheets (270). When the editing process of the index image is completed, the control calculation unit 102 sends the completed index image data to the printer 30, and the printer 30 prints this on the label, that is, the print sheet 300 (280). In this way, the index print sheet 300 having the image array as shown in FIG. 4, 5 or 6 is completed.

Even in the case of a printer having a dot resolution of 12 d / mm, the only difference is that the numerical values of the constants k1 to k6 are set to the values shown in the box 208 in FIG. Although the resolution and the number of divisions change, the basic operation is the same.

The index print sheet 300 thus printed has an appearance as shown in FIG. The print image size of the image 310 of the resolution hierarchy Base shown in FIG. 4 is 96 horizontal × 64 mm vertical per image. Similarly, FIG. 5 shows that the print size of the image 320 of the resolution layer Base / 4 is horizontal per image.
48 × 32 mm, and FIG. 6 shows the resolution layer Base / 16 and the print size is 24.5 × 16 mm for each image.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the size to be printed can be changed without being particular about the image data of a single size prepared as the index image, while the dot resolution of the printer and the number of index image frames are restricted. Decide The index sheets can be stored in an appropriate number, and the print image size can be made as large as possible. When the number of frames of the image to be printed is small, it is possible to reduce the loss of the printing paper surface. Further, by selecting the image data recorded on the disc and using them properly, reduction processing such as thinning out is not necessary.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the system configuration of an embodiment of an index image printing apparatus for an optical disc according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates a layer of image resolution recorded on a compact disc and a data size of one image corresponding thereto in a case where the dot resolution of the printer is 8 d / mm and 12 d / mm. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram exemplifying a hierarchical relationship of image resolutions to be printed according to the number of frames of an image recorded on a compact disc using a dot resolution of a printer used for printing as a parameter in an embodiment of the present invention. ..

4 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which one image of image data having a printer dot resolution of 8 d / mm and an image resolution of Base is printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which 6 images of image data having a printer dot resolution of 8 d / mm and an image resolution of Base / 4 are printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG. ..

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which 24 images of image data having a printer dot resolution of 8 d / mm and an image resolution of Base / 16 are printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG. ..

7 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which two images of image data having a printer dot resolution of 12 d / mm and an image resolution of Base are printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which 15 images of image data having a printer dot resolution of 12 d / mm and an image resolution of Base / 4 are printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG. ..

9 is a diagram showing an example of an index print sheet on which 24 images of image data having a printer dot resolution of 12 d / mm and an image resolution of Base / 16 are printed in the index image printing apparatus for the optical disc shown in FIG. ..

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation of printing the label shown in FIGS. 4 to 9 in the embodiment shown in FIG.

11 is a flowchart showing a specific example of a resolution selection routine in the flowchart shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Central processing unit 12 Hard disk 14 Display device 18 Operating device 20 Playback device 26 Compact disk 30 Printer 102 Control calculation unit 106 Image processing unit 300 Label (index print sheet)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An index image printing apparatus for an optical disc, wherein the image data is read from an optical disc on which image data is recorded in a plurality of resolution layers according to the compact disc standard to create an index print sheet, the device comprising: Reproduction means for reading the recorded data, printing means for printing an image represented by the image data as a visible image to create an index print sheet, and data recorded on the optical disc from the data read by the reproduction means. The index image is edited by identifying the number of frames of the image, selecting means for selecting the resolution hierarchy of the image to be printed by the identified number of frames and the dot resolution of the printing means, and arranging the images represented by the image data. The selection means is controlled by controlling the editing means and the reproducing means. The image data of the read resolution hierarchy is read from the optical disc, the editing means is controlled to edit the index image from the image represented by the read image data, and the edited index image is printed by the printing means. An index image printing apparatus for an optical disc, comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit determines a distribution for dividing the image to be edited into a plurality of index sheets according to the identified frame number and the dot resolution number of the printing unit. An index image printing device characterized by the above. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resolution layer includes at least Base / 16, Base / 4 and Base according to the photo compact disc standard, and the selection unit has a dot resolution of the printing unit. Is 6.4 d /
If within the range of mm to 8.6 d / mm, the number of frames is 1
Is selected, the hierarchical resolution Base / 4 is selected when the number of frames is 2 or more and 6 or less, and the hierarchical resolution Base / 16 is selected when the number of frames is 7 or more. Characteristic index image printing device. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resolution layer includes at least Base / 16, Base / 4 and Base according to the photo compact disc standard, and the selection unit has a dot resolution of the printing unit. Is 8.6 d /
mm to 12.8. d / mm, if the number of frames is 1 or 2, then the hierarchical resolution Base, and if the number of frames is 3 or more and 15 or less, then the hierarchical resolution Base / 4,
Further, if the number of frames is 16 or more, the hierarchical resolution Base
Index image printing device characterized by selecting / 16.