JPH10232945A - Processor and method for character image processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the processor and method for character image processing which generate a character attribute at the time of character input without indication by a user and enable a character to easily be inputted. SOLUTION: An image is stored and pieces of arrangement information including frame information for arranging the image on a form and character attribute information corresponding to the position on the form are stored; and one piece of arrangement information is selected out of the pieces of arrangement information and the image is outputted and arranged according to the frame information in the selected arrangement information. Then a character string is inputted and the character attribute of the character string is recognized according to the character attribute information in the selected arrangement information and the input position of the inputted character string; and the recognized character attribute is set for the character string, which is outputted and arranged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a character image processing apparatus and method for laying out a plurality of input images and characters in a fixed frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a general image layout process executed when a plurality of images and characters are arranged in a fixed frame, predetermined positions and sizes are determined. By having a large number of layout templates, we are trying to prevent a uniform layout as much as possible. Such a template is generally called a layout template, and by having a plurality of templates, an editor can
A favorite layout is selected, and images input from the image input device are arranged according to the selected template. In some cases, decoration is performed in response to input of characters such as the description of an image to be laid out and the title of the image group.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a template used in a conventional information processing apparatus.

[0004] The user selects an individual area, decides an image to be put in that area, and inputs an associated character string individually using the keyboard 7, and according to the role of each character string, for example, the input is performed. If the character string is a title, the layout is completed by adding character attributes that are like the title.

[0005]

However, in the conventional automatic layout processing as described above, since the character attribute is not specified in the template in advance, the user who has input the character can read the character string in the template. In the above, grasp the position of the character,
A complicated operation had to be performed. For example, since this character string is a title, it is necessary to display it in a large font. Further, since this character string is a descriptive sentence attached to a specific image, it has to be decorated and small. That is, when a comment is entered as a descriptive text or an entire title is entered for a plurality of images, the user has to specify a character attribute for each character string. When characters and images are inserted and arranged in a predetermined frame called a template, the complicated operation as described above is inevitable.

The present invention has been made under such a background, and enables a character attribute to be used for inputting a character to be generated without a user's instruction, and allows the character to be easily input. An object of the present invention is to provide a character image processing apparatus and method.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a character image processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: first storage means for storing an image; and frame information for arranging the image on a sheet. And a second storage unit for storing a plurality of arrangement information including character attribute information corresponding to a position on the sheet, and a plurality of arrangement information stored in the second storage unit.
Selecting means for selecting one piece of arrangement information; image arranging means for outputting and arranging an image stored in the first storage means based on frame information in the arrangement information selected by the selecting means; Input means, based on the character attribute information in the arrangement information selected by the selection means, and the input position of the character string input by the input means,
A recognition unit that recognizes a character attribute of the character string, a setting unit that sets a character attribute recognized by the recognition unit with respect to the character string, and a character attribute set by the setting unit. And character arrangement means for outputting and arranging a character string.

Preferably, the image arranging means scales and outputs the image stored in the first storage means in accordance with the size of the frame of the frame information.

[0009] Preferably, there is provided a moving means for moving a character string output and arranged by the character arranging means, and the recognizing means comprises a moving character string when the moving means moves the character string. , The character attribute of the character string is re-recognized.

[0010] Also, preferably, there is provided image input means for inputting an image, and the first storage means stores the image input by the image input means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a character image processing method comprising: a first storage unit for storing an image; frame information for arranging an image on a sheet; And a second storage unit for storing a plurality of arrangement information including character attribute information corresponding to an upper position, wherein a plurality of arrangement information stored in the second storage unit are stored. A selection step of selecting one arrangement information; and an image arrangement step of outputting and arranging an image stored in the first storage unit based on frame information in the arrangement information selected in the selection step. Recognizing a character attribute of the character string based on an inputting step of inputting a character string, character attribute information in the arrangement information selected in the selecting step, and an input position of the character string input in the inputting step And the recognition process The character attributes, a setting step of setting with respect to the character string, based on the character attributes set by the setting step, provided the character positioning step of outputting positioning the string.

Preferably, in the image arranging step, the image stored in the first storage means is scaled and arranged according to the size of the frame of the frame information.

Preferably, the method further includes a moving step of moving the character string output and arranged in the character arranging step. In the recognition step, when the character string is moved in the moving step, the character string after the movement is moved. , The character attribute of the character string is re-recognized.

[0014] Preferably, there is provided an image input step of inputting an image, and the first storage means stores the image input in the image input step.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the following description, a personal computer will be described as one of the components of the system, but it will be recognized that the personal computer can be replaced with any information processing apparatus that handles images.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an information processing device 10 and an image input device 20 are configured as a system. Here, in the information processing apparatus 10, 1 is a CPU, 2 is a read / write memory (RAM), 3 is a read-only memory (ROM), and 6 is an external storage device such as a hard disk or a CD-ROM. The program relating to the layout and the layout template are stored in the ROM 3 or the external storage device 6 in advance.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a keyboard as a character input device, and reference numeral 4 denotes a screen display device for confirming the arrangement of images. Reference numeral 5 denotes a power supply unit of the information processing apparatus, and reference numeral 8 denotes a bus connecting each unit. Here, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the relationship between the respective element functions.

In FIG. 2, each function is performed by CPU 1 in RAM.
2 by executing the program loaded. First, the image input device control function 100 controls image input from the image input device 20. The image acquired here is held in the external storage device 6. Then, the position information acquisition function 200 acquires an arbitrary template from a template group registered in the ROM 3 or the external storage device 6 in advance. Then, the character attribute acquisition function 40
0 searches character attributes assigned to the selected template and recognizes character attributes in each area. Then, the image arrangement function 300 arranges the image stored in the external storage device 6 in the image arrangement frame defined in the selected template. Then, when a character string for the arranged image or a character string describing the template itself is input from the keyboard 7, the character attribute setting function 500 uses the input character Set character attribute for.

FIG. 3 shows an area indicating a character attribute defined in a certain template. Any character string input in the character attribute area A will be displayed with the character attribute defined in this area A. Similarly, the same applies to the character attribute area B. An example is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the character attribute area A has attributes of a round gothic 20 points, a bold character, and a central arrangement as a title area. on the other hand,
It is assumed that the character attribute area B has an attribute of 12 points in the morning and a left-justified arrangement as a region for explanation of each image. Here, the character string entered in each area is
Regardless of the number of inputs, it is displayed with the defined character attributes in the area, and the user does not need to pay attention to the decoration of the individually input character strings.

Next, the operation by each function in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image input device control function 100.

First, in step S100, the image input device 20 to be used is determined. Then, when it is clear which device to use, the image input device 20 is opened in step S110. Here, an instruction such as initialization for acquiring an image is executed. Then, in step S120, the image input device 20 is driven to acquire desired image data. The acquired data is stored in the external storage device 6. Once the data is obtained, step S130
Then, the image input device 20 is closed as a termination process, and this function is terminated.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the position information acquisition function 200.

In step S200, a template group prepared in advance is opened, and in step S210,
Wait for the user to select a template to use. When the template is selected by the user, in step S220, information on the image arrangement frame defined in the template is obtained. This is executed a plurality of times to check all areas (step S23).
0). Then, in step S240, the template group is closed, and the operation of this function ends.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the image arrangement function 300.

First, in step S300, an image is read (loaded) from the external storage device 6 into the RAM 2. Then, in step S310, the template already selected by the user is read (loaded) into the RAM2. Then, in step S320,
Decide in which image layout frame the image is to be placed. next,
In step S330, the image is scaled so that the image fits the image layout frame defined in the template. Then, in step S340, the final image is arranged, and the processing from step S320 is repeated for all the images to be arranged (step S350).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character attribute acquisition function 400.

First, in step S400, a template already selected by the user is opened so as to be accessible. In step S410, character attribute information in the character attribute area registered in the template is read. Then, in step S420, this is stored in the external storage device 6. The processing of steps S410 and S420 is executed over all areas (step S430). Then, in step S440,
Close the template and end the process.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the character attribute setting function 500.

First, in step S500, an area for inputting a character is selected. Next, in step S510, character attribute information attached to the area is obtained from the external storage device 6. This information is a character attribute acquisition function 4
00 has already been obtained. In step S520, a character string is input. Then, step S530
In, the attribute of the input character string is set based on the character attribute information acquired in step S510.
Next, this is displayed in step S540. In step S550, it is determined whether or not the input of the character string is to be terminated. If the character string has been input, the process returns to step S500.

When the input character string is moved to another character attribute area, the character attribute of the character string is reset.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By preparing an area in which character attributes are defined in the template in advance, it is possible to set the attribute of the character string input in that area to an appropriate one without the user's instruction. In the layout process of arranging characters, characters can be input without paying attention to the attributes of the characters, and the layout can be more effectively performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a relationship between respective element functions according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a template having a character attribute used in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where images and characters are arranged on the template illustrated in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation by an image input device control function.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation by a position information acquisition function.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation by an image arrangement function.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation by a character attribute acquisition function.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an operation by a character attribute setting function.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a template used for conventional image arrangement.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 RAM 3 ROM 4 Display device 5 Power supply unit 6 External storage device 7 Keyboard 10 Information processing device 20 Image input device 100 Image input device control function 200 Position information acquisition function 300 Image arrangement function 400 Character attribute acquisition function 500 Character attribute setting function

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of arrangement information including first storage means for storing an image, frame information for arranging the image on a sheet, and character attribute information corresponding to a position on the sheet. A second storage unit, a selection unit for selecting one arrangement information from a plurality of arrangement information stored in the second storage unit, and a frame information in the arrangement information selected by the selection unit Image arrangement means for outputting and arranging the image stored in the first storage means, input means for inputting a character string, character attribute information in the arrangement information selected by the selection means, Recognition means for recognizing a character attribute of the character string based on the input position of the character string input by the input means, and setting means for setting the character attribute recognized by the recognition means for the character string And by the setting means Based on the constant character attributes, the character image processing apparatus characterized by comprising a character arrangement means for outputting positioning the string. 2. The image arrangement unit according to claim 1, wherein the image stored in the first storage unit is scaled and output in accordance with the size of the frame of the frame information. 2. The character image processing device according to 1. 3. A moving means for moving a character string output and arranged by the character arranging means, wherein the recognizing means moves the character string when the moving means moves the character string. 2. The character image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the character attribute of the character string is re-recognized based on the character string. 4. The character image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising image input means for inputting an image, wherein said first storage means stores the image input by said image input means. . 5. A plurality of arrangement information including first storage means for storing an image, frame information for arranging an image on a sheet, and character attribute information corresponding to a position on the sheet. A character image processing apparatus comprising: a selection step of selecting one piece of arrangement information from a plurality of pieces of arrangement information stored in the second storage means; An image arrangement step of outputting and arranging the image stored in the first storage means based on the frame information in the arrangement information, an input step of inputting a character string, and A recognition step of recognizing a character attribute of the character string based on the character attribute information of the character string and an input position of the character string input in the input step; Setting process to set for Based on the character attributes set by the setting step, a character image processing method characterized by comprising the character positioning step of outputting positioning the string. 6. The image arranging step, wherein the image stored in the first storage means is scaled according to the size of the frame of the frame information and output and arranged. 5. The character image processing method according to 5. 7. A moving step of moving a character string output and arranged in the character arranging step, wherein in the recognizing step, when the character string is moved in the moving step, the position of the character string after the movement The character attribute of the character string is re-recognized on the basis of:
The described character image processing method. 8. The character image processing method according to claim 5, further comprising an image input step of inputting an image, wherein the first storage unit stores the image input in the image input step. .