JPH10307903A - Image composite print device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To produce a print including various ornamental designs by means of an image composite print device such as a face photo seal production machine by changing properly plural ornamental designs which are shown to a user for his alternative selection. SOLUTION: This print device includes a data base storing many ornamental design data which are produced to be added to the figure images, a design, selection/guidance means which shows plural ornamental design data to a user for this alternative selection of them, an image composite means which shows a composite image combining the selected ornamental design data with the image photographed by a video camera 10 on a display 12, and a means which designates the timing to print the composite image via a video printer 11. The ornamental design data stored in the data base includes the attribute information on the season, and the design selection/guidance means selects plural ornamental design data to be shown to the user based on the matching between the season of a working time or the season information inputted by the user and the attribute information.

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 printing apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for appropriately changing a plurality of decorative designs which are presented to a user and which are to be selected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, a video print supply apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3014733 has become popular in the town. This is a machine that combines a video camera, video display, and video printer, and is operated by the user himself to take a picture of himself and create a sticker of a face photo. Multiple types of frame pictures to be combined with the face photo are converted into data and built-in, and the frame picture selected by the user arbitrarily, additional information such as letters and numbers input by the user, and the face image taken by the camera are The images are combined and printed from a video printer at an arbitrary pause timing.

In this case, the frame pattern (decorative design) is
For example, there are 81 types and 27 types are classified into three genres of A, B, and C. When the user selects one genre, a decoration pattern included in the genre is displayed on the screen, and the user can select one genre. From among them, he used the keys on the operation panel to select a decorative pattern to be added to the face photo.

[0004]

However, these 81 kinds of decorative designs are always the same until a new design is distributed by the device provider. If the types of decorative patterns that can be made are the same, the user will quickly get bored. In this case, frequent distribution of the latest design inevitably increases maintenance costs. It may be downloaded by communication, but it was difficult to obtain the cooperation of the owner for the cost of the communication equipment, and it was difficult to obtain consent even to draw a new telephone line in the first place.

On the other hand, since the data amount of the decorative design can be kept small by the data compression technique, a decorative design of 81 × several times is prepared in advance, and a user can select a desired design from among them. Although it is possible to cause the user to give too many options, the operation takes time and the operation rate does not increase, and not only does the user wait in line, but also annoy the user.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has as its object to provide a variety of decorative designs by appropriately changing a plurality of decorative designs that are presented to the user and made to be selected. An object of the present invention is to provide an image synthesis printing apparatus capable of creating a print by a user.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An image synthesizing and printing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a display, a video camera, a video printer for sampling and printing an image displayed on the display, A database storing a large number of decorative pattern data created to be created, a plurality of decorative pattern data appropriately selected from the database, and a pattern selection inducing means for presenting to the user and selecting one of them; Image synthesizing means for displaying, on the display, a composite image obtained by combining the decorative design data and the video taken by the video camera, and means for instructing the timing at which the composite image displayed on the display is printed by the video printer Is provided as a basic configuration, and in addition, the decorative design data stored in the database is Section and the attribute information is attached about the design selection guidance means, by matching between said attribute information and season during operation, it is to elect a plurality of decorative design data to be presented to the user.

The image synthesizing and printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention further includes, in addition to the above basic configuration, time information input means for operating a user to input information relating to an arbitrary time, and the database. The decorative design data stored in the storage device is accompanied by attribute information relating to the time period, and the pattern selection inducing means presents the information to the user by matching the information input by the time information input means with the attribute information. A plurality of decorative design data to be selected are selected.

In the device of the first invention, a decoration pattern suitable for the current time is automatically selected and presented to the user, whereas in the device of the second invention, regardless of the current time, A decorative design is selected based on the time information entered by the user.

[0010] In a third aspect of the present invention, in the image synthesizing and printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the design selection inducing means classifies the plurality of selected decorative design data into an appropriate genre. The user is allowed to select one of the genres, and the decorative pattern data included in the genre selected by the user is presented to the user to make a selection. Thus, a wide variety of decorative designs can be selected without fixing the type of decorative design data included in each genre as in the related art.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image synthesis printing apparatus according to the first, second or third aspect, the design selection inducing means appropriately combines a result of matching with a plurality of the attribute information. In this way, a plurality of decorative design data to be presented to the user is selected. As a result, it is possible to further select a design that matches the seasonal information.

[0012]

FIG. 1 mainly shows the configuration of an image synthesizing printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The central processing unit 1 in the image synthesizing printing apparatus according to the present invention is a central element of the main control unit, and includes a CPU, a RAM, and an R.
OM and a computer body including a clock unit. The main body of the image synthesizing printing apparatus has an operation panel 3 for a user interface including a display and operation buttons. The operation panel 3 is connected to the central processing unit 1 via an operation control unit 2. The user performs various operation inputs such as frame picture selection and date / number input from the operation panel 3, and the operation contents and the response information of the apparatus to the operation input are displayed on the operation panel 3 and the like.

On the other hand, a video printer 11 is inserted in a display output path connecting the display controller 9 and the display 12. In the normal operation mode, the display output from the display controller 9 simply passes through the video printer 11 and is supplied to the display 12 (through mode). When a freeze command signal is supplied from the central processing unit 1 to the video printer 11 in this state, the image data displayed at that time is held in the internal RAM of the video printer 11, and the held image data is stored as a still image. Displayed on the display 12 (freeze mode). When a through command signal is supplied from the central processing unit 1 to the video printer 11, the freeze mode is released and the mode returns to the above-described through mode.

In the freeze mode, when a print command signal is supplied from the central processing unit 1 to the video printer 11, the image data (the still image) held in the internal RAM of the video printer 11 is printed on paper. The process is started, and at the same time, the process returns to the through mode (it takes several tens seconds to about one minute until printing is completed).

The hard disk device 4 of the image synthesizing and printing apparatus stores a large number of decorative design data to be added to a person image photographed by the video camera 10, and a decorative design database is constructed. In general, the decorative design here is a decorative illustration designed to border the periphery of a face photograph, and the decorative image data is obtained by compression-encoding the illustration image. The decorative design data is created by the provider of the device, and is usually supplied off-line from a storage medium such as a CD-ROM. Delivered in a timely manner. Then, the image synthesizing printing apparatus stores the received decorative design data in the hard disk device 4, and at this time, replaces old data with new data sequentially.

The central processing unit 1 includes a hard disk drive 4
Is read and decoded, and the bitmap data of the decorative design is developed in the video RAM 8. The display control unit 9 synthesizes the decorative image in the video RAM 8 so as to fit the person image captured by the video camera 10, and supplies the synthesized image data to the display 12 via the video printer 11 for display. If the video printer 11 is in the above-described through mode, the displayed composite image is included in the frame of the decorative pattern of the still image.
0 is a combination of moving pictures taken. When the video printer 11 enters the freeze mode,
The composite image at that time is fixedly displayed on the display 12, and when a print command is given in that state, the composite image is printed.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an example of the image synthesizing printing apparatus according to the present invention. The device includes a video camera 10, a video printer 11, a display 1
2. Necessary equipment such as a half mirror and an illuminating device for projecting the screen of the display 12 toward the user is mounted inside. There is a coin box serving as a billing device inside, and the user inserts coins through the coin insertion slot 13 and starts an interactive process until giving a print command.

In the step from the start of the interactive processing to the time when the user selects one of the decorative designs, a plurality of designs presented to the user are appropriately changed. It has the following two modes.

In a first mode, the central processing unit 1 reads current time information such as year, month, day, day of the week, time, etc. from a clock unit in the central processing unit 1, and reads these information and decorations in the decoration design database. This is to select a decorative design to be presented to the user by performing matching with attribute information to be described later attached to the design data.

In the second mode, information such as date and time input by the user is fetched as time information, and this information is matched with the attribute information attached to the decorative design data in the decorative design database to allow the user to perform the matching. Is to select a decorative pattern to be presented to the user. In this second mode,
The user inputs time information such as a date (for example, a date such as a birthday, a wedding anniversary, or a star anniversary) and a time, and a suitable decoration pattern is selected.

Without distributing the new decorative design data or replacing the data presented to the user among the 81 × several times of the decorative design data stored in the apparatus, the first or second user can change the data. In this mode, it is possible to perform matching between predetermined time information and attribute information attached to decorative design data, and automatically change a plurality of decorative designs to be presented to the user.

FIG. 3 shows an example of attribute information attached to each decorative design data. This attribute information can be provided, for example, in the header part of each decorative design data file, and reference numeral 100 indicates the format of the header part of the file. Reference numerals 101 to 106 describe the detailed data format of the attribute information recorded in the header portion. Note that this attribute information may be collectively recorded in one table instead of being provided in the header portion of each decorative design data file. This is particularly effective when a large number of decorative design data are present in the decorative design database, since it may take time to access all the decorative design data files.

The attribute information is composed of time information suitable for the user to select the data. Here, each of the seasonal information ~ indicates a date (adapted date), a month (adapted month), a time (adapted time), and a day of the week (adapted day) suitable for selection. Expiration date of data (for example,
Regarding decorative designs using famous copyrighted characters, it is customary that a copyright fee is collected and the expiration date is limited. ) Corresponding to the use start date and the use end date, respectively.

For example, in the case of a pattern suitable for Valentine's Day (a pattern of a heart mark, cupid, bouquet, chocolate, etc.), the date of conformity is recorded as 14, and the date of conformity is recorded as 2. If the date entered by the user is February 14, a plurality of designs suitable for Valentine's Day as described above will be presented, and the user will select the best one from among them, It can be a frame pattern. Similarly, a pattern suitable for New Year's Day (Kadomatsu, first sunrise, hagoita,
If the data is a pattern such as a kagami mochi or a lion dance)
It is assumed that 1 is recorded in the applicable month.

In the case of design data (designs such as constellations, shooting stars, night views, etc.) suitable for midnight, it is assumed that the appropriate time is recorded, for example, from 23:00 to 3:00. In the case of the design of the zodiac, although it is not listed in the seasonal information, a matching year item is provided as attribute information and the corresponding year is recorded.

As shown by reference numeral 101, the information on the matching date is composed of 4 bytes (32 bits), and the date is expressed by turning on one of the bits. Here, the MSB of the first byte corresponds to one day, and the date is sequentially associated with each bit in the following order to determine the LSB of the first byte.
It is assumed that each bit corresponds to the 31st day, such as the 8th day and the 2nd byte MSB on the 9th day. For example, if the 5th to 15th is the matching date, all bits corresponding to the 5th to 15th may be turned ON. The time information of the relevant month, the relevant time, the relevant day of the week, the use start date, and the use end date indicated by reference numerals 102 to 106 are also expressed in the same manner.

As described above, each decoration design data has attribute information indicating the optimal use period, in which month, date, day of the week, time zone, and the like are recorded. The central processing unit 1 accesses the header portion of each decorative design data file, moves the file pointer (or file descriptor) and reads the header information by a predetermined number of bytes, thereby easily extracting each attribute information. it can. Then, the decorative design data to be presented to the user is selected by matching the information with the time information in the first mode or the second mode.

In this case, by appropriately combining the matching results of the time information and a plurality of pieces of attribute information attached to the decorative design data, a design that matches the time pattern that is more pleasing to the user is selected. be able to. For example, a design whose expiration date is until this month and which is suitable for this month can be presented to the user. In addition, the decorative pattern data selected based on the seasonal information is classified into, for example, three genres of A, B, and C,
The user can select the genre, present only the decorative design data included in the selected genre to the user, and select a favorite design from among them. Further, for example, attribute information of design data, such as crayon, bus, television, national flag, and soap, which is not considered to be particularly limited to time information, sets an appropriate flag to record nothing and presents it to the user. Of the three genres B and C, it is also possible to present to the user a pattern that matches the seasonal information for the genre of AB and a pattern that is not limited to the seasonal information for C. It is.

As described above, Friday night, daily midnight, 25th of every month, annual holiday, Friday 13th, Christmas, spring / summer / autumn / winter, Olympic period, creatures growing daily For example, designs that match various time settings can be selected from the decorative design database and presented to the user.

[0030]

According to the present invention, in an image synthesizing and printing apparatus such as a face photograph sticker making machine, a person in charge of a maker replaces decoration designs and updates the design data via a network as needed. Significantly reduce the number of pattern variations that the user can select.

In particular, a decorative pattern that can be selected by the user is flexibly selected based on the time of the operation of the user and the time information entered, so that a decorative pattern with a rare value appropriate to the occasion is included. A face photo sticker can be created.

Therefore, it is possible to satisfy the demands of regular customers and enthusiasts who always want to use a novel picture, and that the operation rate of the apparatus temporarily increases when a new decorative pattern is entered, and then the fire falls. And a stable occupancy rate and profit can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram mainly showing a main part of an image synthesis printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of an appearance of the image synthesizing printing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an example of attribute information attached to decorative design data.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Central processing unit 2 Operation control part 3 Operation panel 4 Hard disk drive 8 Video RAM 9 Display control part 10 Video camera 11 Video printer 12 Display

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A display, a video camera, a video printer for sampling and printing an image displayed on the display, a database storing a large number of decorative design data created to be added to a person image, and A design selection inducing means for presenting a plurality of decorative design data appropriately selected from the database to the user to make a selection, and a composite image combining the selected decorative design data and the video taken by the video camera And a means for instructing a timing at which the synthesized image displayed on the display is printed by the video printer. The pattern data is accompanied by attribute information on the time pattern, and the pattern selection guidance is provided. Means for selecting a plurality of pieces of decorative design data to be presented to a user by matching a time period during operation with the attribute information. 2. A display, a video camera, a video printer for sampling and displaying an image displayed on the display, a database storing a large number of decorative design data created to be added to a person image, and A design selection inducing means for presenting a plurality of decorative design data appropriately selected from the database to the user to make a selection, and a composite image combining the selected decorative design data and the video taken by the video camera An image synthesizing and printing apparatus, comprising: an image synthesizing means for displaying the image on the display; and a means for instructing a timing at which the synthesized image displayed on the display is printed by the video printer. A time period information input means for inputting information relating to the time period; The accumulated decorative design data is accompanied by attribute information relating to the time period, and the design selection inducing means presents the information to the user by matching the information input by the time information input means with the attribute information. An image synthesizing and printing apparatus, wherein a plurality of decorative design data to be selected are selected. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein
The design selection inducing means classifies the selected plurality of decorative design data into an appropriate genre, allows the user to select one of the genres, and provides the user with decorative design data included in the genre selected by the user. An image composing and printing apparatus characterized by presenting an alternative. 4. The design selection guiding means according to claim 1, wherein the design selection guiding means appropriately combines a plurality of pieces of decorative design data to be presented to a user by appropriately combining a result of matching with the plurality of pieces of attribute information. An image synthesizing and printing device characterized by being selected.