JPH0652277A - Method and device for synthesizing and outputting picture - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the method and device for synthesizing and outputting pictures capable of synthesizing the picture of fratal graphic and the picture of other character and graphic or the like and outputting them without requiring much time and trouble. CONSTITUTION:According to a parameter inputted by a parameter input section 11, the picture data of the fratal 19 graphic stored in a fratal graphic development section 31 are sent to a data storage section 21 under the control of a data input control section 51 and synthesizes them with the data of the picture to be processed inputted from a picture data input section 12, outputting them to an output section 41.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image synthesizing and outputting apparatus and an image synthesizing and outputting method capable of synthesizing and outputting fractal figures and image information such as characters and figures.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent books, a modified figure is inserted between the sentences or in the margin of a headline so that the atmosphere of a sentence image composed of a series of monotonous characters has a change and the reader can feel a change. You can see the style of this. A modified figure is one that gives more persuasive power by an image that embodies it in relation to a sentence, or a figure that is irrelevant to the sentence and is intended only for changing the mood. Such a modified figure is generally created by a designer in accordance with the intention of the author or editor, or a well-known figure is incorporated, and the like, and an image of a text portion that is printed or electronically edited, and a modified figure. The graphic image is finally combined.

[0003]

By the way, recently, due to the spread of a document creation / editing machine called a word processor, it has become possible to easily create a text and make a clean copy. However, it is possible to create a graphic by using such a device. Or it is not easy to edit and requires a lot of labor and time. In addition, drawing a good-looking figure on a paper surface with drawing tools requires skill and requires a lot of labor, and also the electronically edited sentence and the drawn figure image are combined. In order to do so, it is necessary to read a graphic image using an image reading device and convert it into electronic data. Therefore, in addition to books intended for mass sales, small magazines published in small quantities, or printed materials not intended for sales, insert such modified figures to change the atmosphere of printed materials consisting of monotonous text. It wasn't really easy to have. The present invention is intended to solve such a problem in the prior art, and an image synthesis output device capable of outputting a synthetic image of a fractal figure and an image of another character or figure without much time and labor. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image synthesis output method.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an input means for inputting image information such as characters and figures, a storage means for storing image information, and a fractal figure for developing a fractal figure. A development means, an image synthesis means for synthesizing the image information stored in the storage means, a fractal figure developed by the fractal figure development means, and an image output means for outputting the image-synthesized image. Is.

[0005]

When the input means inputs image information such as characters and figures, the image information is stored in the storage means. The fractal figure expanding means expands the fractal figure, and the expanded fractal figure is combined with the image information stored in the storage means by the image combining means. The image output means outputs the image that has been subjected to image synthesis.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 2 is a block diagram showing the outline of a composite image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram thereof. In FIG. 1, the solid line shows the flow of data and the broken line shows the flow of control signals. As shown in FIG. 2, the composite image recording apparatus stores an input device 1 that reads an image and inputs it as image data, or that takes in various parameters input by operating the operation panel as input information, and input image data. A storage device 2, an editing device 3 for performing processing such as image composition on image data, a corresponding image is formed on a recording paper according to the recording data, and is ejected,
Output device 4 for displaying an image on (CRT display screen), control device (CPU) for controlling these devices as a whole
5 and a data bus 6 for communicatively connecting these devices. A fractal figure synthesizing and outputting operation of synthesizing the image read by the input device 1 with a fractal figure image stored in the storage device 2 in advance and outputting will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the main operation of the fractal figure synthesis output operation. As shown in the figure, the fractal figure synthesizing output operation includes an image reading step (S-1), a fractal figure selection step, a development area designation step (S-2), a fractal figure drawing step (S-3), and an image output step (S). -4). Hereinafter, each process will be sequentially described in detail.

(I) Image reading process (S-1) FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the image reading process. This process is a process in which an image to be processed in which a fractal figure is combined is input, and fractal figure combination information is input. The image data input unit 12 monitors the presence / absence of data input, and when the data is input (the determination result of step S-11 is Yes), the data is read (S-12).
When the input data is the image data of the image to be processed, the image of the desired document placed at the document placement position of the input device 1 is read by the scanning of the scanner, and is controlled by the data input control unit 51. The image data input unit 12 converts the image signal into an image signal representing the density of each pixel of the image and sends the image signal to the data input control unit 51. The data input control unit 51 determines the type of data sent (S-13). If the input data is the image data of the image to be processed, it is stored in the data storage unit 21 of the storage device 2 (S-14), and if it is the fractal figure composition information (fractal parameter), the fractal of the editing device 3 is performed. It is stored in the graphic development unit 31 (S-15).

(II) Fractal Figure Selection / Expansion Area Designation Process (S-2) FIGS. 5 and 6 are flow charts showing details of the fractal figure selection / expansion area specification process. This process is a process of selecting whether to synthesize the fractal figure, which figure is the fractal figure to be synthesized, and how to synthesize the figure with the original image. The input device 1 includes a liquid crystal screen, which is a display device, and a touch panel capable of inputting information by finger contact. An operator operates the touch panel of the parameter input unit 11 while looking at the liquid crystal screen and other display devices. And input the synthetic information of the fractal figure. FIG. 7 shows an initial screen displayed on the liquid crystal screen when the fractal figure synthesis mode is selected. The operator operates the touch panel according to the display on the illustrated liquid crystal screen to determine whether to synthesize the fractal figure (S-2
1) Depress a selection key for determining which fractal figure to select and input composition information (S-2).
2). The black and white reverse display in the figure shows a state in which the operator has pressed the selection keys for fractal graphic composition and graphic selection. When the selection key for figure selection is pressed, the display on the liquid crystal screen is changed and a list of fractal figures is displayed on the liquid crystal screen as shown in FIG. 8 (S-23). Therefore, the operator operates the mouse, which is another input means of the parameter input unit 11, to select a desired composite image from the fractal graphic list menu and input selection information (S-24).
When the selection end key is pressed (Yes in S-25), the display on the liquid crystal screen is changed to a screen display prompting the parameter designation of the order and dimension of the fractal figure, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the operator specifies the parameters of the order and dimension of the desired fractal figure (S-2
6). The input parameter data is held in the fractal figure developing unit 31 under the control of the data input control unit 51. When the designation of the fractal figure parameters is completed, the development area of the fractal figure is designated (S-27). FIG. 10 shows the display of the liquid crystal screen when the selection key for designating the expansion area is pressed. By pressing the selection key, the display on the liquid crystal screen is changed, and the image data of the image to be processed, which has been stored in the data storage unit 21 in advance through the image data input unit 12 in the image reading process of (I), is read out. , The image to be processed is displayed on the liquid crystal screen (S-28). Therefore, the operator uses the parameter input unit 1
The mouse 1 is operated to specify a desired area of the image to be processed as a development area (S-29). The information of the designated development area is stored in the fractal figure development unit 31 under the control of the data input control unit 51. FIG. 11 shows the processed image 1
It shows an example and a specified expansion area in the image. FIG. 12 shows an example in which the Peano curve is expanded to a general dimension to form an n-dimensional fractal figure of order P. A cube in n-dimensional space is 3 with one side length of 1/3
It is divided into ⁿ cubes. Furthermore, if the order is P, then 3
It is divided into ^nP cubes. (a) is P = 1, n = 2,
(b) is P = 1, n = 3, (c) is P = 1, n = 4, (d) is P = 1, n = 5, and (e) is P = 2, n = 3. Show.
Thus, the fractal figure becomes more complex as the degree and dimensionality of the figure increase. Therefore, many fractal figures can be developed by specifying the order and dimension parameters of the fractal figure.

(III) Fractal figure drawing process (S-
3) FIG. 13 shows the procedure of the fractal figure drawing process for the example of the processed image shown in FIG. When the selection of the type of fractal figure and the designation of the expansion area are completed, the data input control unit 51 secures an area for the expansion area specified in the data storage unit 21 (a). First, the image data of one selected fractal figure stored in the fractal figure developing unit 31 is stored in the secured area of the data storage unit 21 according to the designated parameter (b). Next, the same image data is sequentially copied to the secured area to fill the area with the image data (c). The image data of the area filled with the image data of the fractal figure is transferred to the designated development area of the image to be processed stored in the data storage unit 21 (d). The fractal figure developing unit 31 stores software for developing the fractal figure, and the CPU 1 controls the development of the fractal figure according to the software corresponding to the selected fractal figure. FIG. 14 shows an example of a procedure of drawing a Koch curve fractal figure which has been known as a fractal figure for a long time. First, draw a straight line
(a) Divide into three parts (b). Form an equilateral triangle with the middle line segment as one side, and remove the middle line segment (c). next,
As in (b), bend each line segment that is connected and
Divide into equal parts (d). Perform the same operation as (c) for each line segment
(e). Furthermore, by repeating the above procedure, (f)
The fractal figure of the Koch curve shown in is obtained.

(IV) Image Output Process (S-4) FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing details of the image output process. First, it is checked whether there is image data to be output (S-4
1) If present, the image data is read from the data storage unit 21 (S-42) and output to the output device 4. The output device 4 forms a corresponding image on the recording paper according to the image data and discharges it, or displays the image on the CRT. By the way, when the recording operation for recording on the recording paper is performed in the same size mode, it does not become a problem, but when the scaling mode is selected, in the conventional example, the image data is thinned out during the reduction recording and enlarged. Since there occurs a problem that the image data is stretched at the time of recording, in the scaling mode in the present embodiment, the scaling process is performed only on the fractal figure that is first expanded in the specified expansion area, and then the expansion is performed. With respect to the fractal figure to be generated, the first developed fractal figure is redeveloped to obtain a recorded image having a sharpness which is not so different from the recorded image in the normal size mode. FIG. 16 is a flow chart of recording control when the variable magnification mode is selected. First, it is checked whether or not there is a fractal figure in the image data to be output (S-51), and if there is, a parameter of the size of the developed area of the fractal figure is read out (S-51).
-52), and calculates the size of the expanded area after the scaling processing (S-53). Next, an area corresponding to the calculated expansion area after the scaling processing is secured in the data storage unit 21 (S-
54). Then, the same image data as that of the fractal figure before the scaling process is sequentially applied to the secured area (S-55). After that, the image data of the area filled with the image data of the fractal figure is transferred to the developed area of the processed image stored in the data storage unit 21 (S-5).
6). FIG. 17 shows an image of a fractal figure before the scaling process and an image of the fractal figure after the scaling process for the conventional example and the present example, respectively (a) and (b).
It is shown in comparison with.

[0011]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, image information such as characters and figures is input and stored, the fractal figure developing means develops the fractal figure, and the stored image. By combining the information and the fractal figure developed by the fractal figure developing means,
Since an image that is composed of images is output, in order to output the fractal figure as an image, a fractal figure prepared in advance can be read by an image reading device, or the fractal can be displayed on the display screen by operating the input keys in the figure mode. Fractal shapes and other images, because you don't have to draw shapes
In particular, a composite image with a character image can be output without much time and effort. According to the second aspect of the invention, the fractal figure is expanded according to the set parameters, so that various fractal figures having different orders can be drawn and output.
According to the invention described in claim 3, since the parameter for selecting the fractal figure can be set, it is possible to select and output the desired fractal figure by simply specifying and setting the parameter. According to the invention described in claim 4, when the image scaling processing for changing the size of the output image is performed, the fractal figure processing and the other image processing are performed separately, and the scaling processing is further performed. I made it possible to copy the processed fractal figure, so
It is possible to obtain an output image having the same definition as that of the same-magnification output image without thinning out the image data or extending the image by the scaling process. According to the invention described in claim 5, the image information such as characters and figures is input and converted into image data, the image information is stored, the fractal figure is selected, and the parameters of the fractal figure are set and set. The fractal figure is expanded according to the parameters, the stored image information is combined with the expanded fractal figure, and the fractal figure is drawn and output through a process including each step of outputting the image combined image. So, without spending a lot of time and effort,
A composite image of a fractal figure and another image can be output. According to the invention described in claim 6, a figure combining area in which the fractal figure is combined is specified in the stored image information, and the specified area is calculated according to the specified magnification. However, the stored image information is processed, and the stored image information scaling process is performed at the same scale factor as the above-described scale factor. After processing
The sharpness of the output image can be the same as that of the 1 × output image.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a composite image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an outline of a composite image recording device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main operation of a fractal figure synthesis output operation.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of an image reading process.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing details of a process of selecting a fractal figure and specifying a development area.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart following FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial screen displayed on the liquid crystal screen when the fractal figure synthesis mode is selected.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a liquid crystal screen on which a list of fractal figures is displayed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a screen display that prompts designation of parameters of the order and dimension of a fractal figure.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a display of a liquid crystal screen when a selection key for designating a development area is pressed.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image to be processed and a designated expansion area in the image.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a fractal figure obtained by expanding a Peano curve to a general dimension.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a fractal figure drawing process.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a procedure for drawing a fractal figure of a Koch curve.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing details of an image output process.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of a recording operation when the variable magnification mode is selected.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing images of a fractal figure before and after a scaling process is compared for the conventional example and the present example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input Device 2 Storage Device 3 Editing Device 4 Output Device 5 Control Device 6 Data Bus 11 Parameter Input Section 12 Image Data Input Section 21 Data Storage Section 31 Fractal Figure Development Section 41 Output Section 51 Data Input Control Section 52 Output Control Section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Kitaguchi 1-3-3 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Konosuke Maruyama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Shares Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Hironori Suzuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An input means for inputting image information such as characters and figures, a storage means for storing the image information, a fractal figure developing means for developing a fractal figure, and image information stored in the storage means. An image synthesizing output device comprising image synthesizing means for synthesizing the fractal graphic developed by the fractal graphic developing means, and image output means for outputting the image synthesized image. 2. The image synthesizing output device according to claim 1, further comprising parameter setting means for setting the parameters of the fractal figure, wherein the fractal figure developing means develops the fractal figure according to the parameters set by the parameter setting means. . 3. The image information stored in the storage means includes area designating means for designating a graphic composition area in which a fractal graphic is composited, and the parameter set by the parameter setting means is a parameter for selecting a fractal graphic. The image synthesizing output device according to claim 2, wherein the image synthesizing output device includes the image synthesizing output device. 4. An image scaling means for processing the image data output to the image output means to vary the size of the image output from the image output means, the image scaling means including the image scaling means. When performing the image scaling processing for changing the size of the image output from the output means, the fractal figure processing and the other image processing are performed separately, and the scaled fractal figure is copied. The image synthesizing output device according to claim 1, which also has a function to perform. 5. An image information input process of inputting image information such as characters and graphics and converting it into image data, an image information storage process of storing image information, a fractal graphic selection process of selecting a fractal graphic, and a fractal. Parameter setting process to set the parameters of the figure, fractal figure development process to develop the fractal figure according to the set parameters, stored image information, and image composition process to synthesize the fractal figure developed in the previous process. ,
An image combining and outputting method including an image outputting step of outputting an image combined image. 6. An area designating process for designating a graphic synthesis region in which fractal graphics are synthesized in the stored image information before the image synthesis process, and changing the designated region according to a designated magnification. A variable area calculation process for calculating the doubled area and the stored image information,
The image synthesizing and outputting method according to claim 5, further comprising a stored image information scaling processing for performing scaling processing with the same scaling factor as the scaling factor.