JPH1141450A - Image editing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reproduce an image inconspicuous in the shadow being image noise of unspecified shape by detecting the sticking section of an original, setting the frame area of a rectangular loop with fixed width including its peripheral edge, and performing prescribed image editing to all the areas in the set frame area or inside its outer peripheral edge. SOLUTION: Image data are sent from a selector 241 to a shadow detection circuit 242 at the time of an editing copy mode and the sticking section is detected. A 1st image memory 243 temporarily stores image data transferred from the shadow detection circuit 242 and in a 2nd image memory 244, the image composed of only the shadow obtained by the shadow detection circuit 242 is stored. The image data of second scanning are inputted to a subtracter 422 and at the same time, the image data stored in the 1st image memory 243 by first scanning are inputted. When the subtracted result is larger than a threshold value, a comparator 423 sends a signal and the selector 424 sends white data Dw from a CPU 102 to an I/O control circuit 421 and erases the shadow of density higher than the threshold value.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image editing apparatus which optically scans a document image and performs processing on the read image.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When an image scanner is used to read a pasted or cut and pasted original document with an image scanner, uneven illumination occurs due to a step on the original surface. Therefore, if the read image is printed out as it is, image noise called shadow appears along the periphery of the cut and pasted portion. Shadows impair the appearance of the printed image.

Conventionally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-311307 discloses a digital copying machine having a function of automatically deleting the shadow of a cut and pasted portion. In this copying machine, the cut and pasted document is scanned twice by changing the illumination direction, and a shadow is detected by comparing the image data of each time.

Further, when copying a cut and pasted original by a copying machine having an editing function for synthesizing a frame line of an arbitrary size, a user designates synthesis of a frame line overlapping the periphery of the cut and pasted portion by specifying the composition. That is, by adding a frame line that covers and hides the shadow, it is possible to make it appear as if there is no shadow.

[0005]

However, in the prior art, there has been a case where the shadow is not completely erased but remains halfway and the shadow is rather conspicuous. Conversely, if the shadow is completely erased, it is not possible to determine whether the original has been cut or pasted simply by looking at the copy result. However, there is a possibility that an inconvenient situation in which it is not detected may occur.

On the other hand, when a frame line is added by the editing function, the user must specify the position and size of the frame line by specifying a marker, inputting a numerical value, inputting a position with a stylus pen, and the like. there were. in addition,
In some cases, the position of the document on the document table is shifted after designating the frame line, and a desired print image cannot be obtained.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to enable image reproduction in which shadows, which are image noises of an unspecified shape, are inconspicuous, without the user having to specify the position of the cut and pasted portion.
Another object of the present invention is to clarify the range of cut-and-paste in a document and prevent tampering of an image due to cut-and-paste.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image editing apparatus having scanning means for reading a document image and editing the read image, wherein a cut and pasted portion of the document is detected. Means for setting a rectangular annular frame area of a fixed width including the periphery of the detected cut and pasted portion, and specifying the set frame area or the entire area inside the outer periphery thereof Means for editing the image. The cut-and-pasted portion is a general term for the pasted portion and the notched portion.

In the apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, as image editing, frame synthesis for filling a frame area, erasing of the entire area inside the outer peripheral edge, or filling of the entire area inside the outer peripheral edge is performed. Filling includes solid painting, shading, and hatching.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a digital copying machine 1 according to the present invention. The digital copier 1 includes an image reader unit I which is an image editing apparatus of the present invention.
R, a page printer unit PR as an electrophotographic image forming mechanism, and an automatic double-sided document feeder (ADFR) 500 as an additional device. Although not shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel is arranged on the upper surface of the image reader unit IR.

The image reader unit IR performs a line-sequential scanning system 10 for reading an image of a document placed face down on a document glass 18 and quantizes a photoelectric conversion signal from the scanning system 10 to perform various data processing. An image processing circuit 20 and a memory unit 30 for storing image data corresponding to a document are provided. The scanning system 10 includes a scanner 19 in which two lamps 11a and 11b are assembled, a mirror 1
It comprises a condenser lens 3a, 13b, a condenser lens 14, a mirror 15, a one-dimensional image sensor 16 composed of a CCD array, and a motor M2 for driving a scanner 19. The main scanning is performed by the image sensor 16 and the scanner 19
The sub-scan is performed by the constant-speed movement of. The arrival of the scanner 19 at the moving end is detected by the position sensors SE1 and SE2. The image information read by the scanning system 10 is sent to the memory unit 30 after being subjected to various processes by the image processing circuit 20. The memory unit 30 is provided to realize additional functions such as electronic sorting and page synthesis, and can compress (encode) and store image data for up to 100 pages.

The page printer unit PR includes a print processing unit 40, a print head 60 using a semiconductor laser 62 as a light source, a developing / transfer system 70A using a photosensitive drum 71 as a latent image carrier, a fixing roller pair 84, and a discharge roller 85. And a paper transport system 70C having various rollers and a transport belt 83. The print processing unit 40 controls the print head 60 based on the image data transferred from the memory unit 30. Around the photosensitive drum 71, a charging charger 72, a developing unit 73, a transfer charger 74, a separation charger 75, and a cleaner 76 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. Two paper cassettes 80a and 80b are provided in a lower part in the housing.

The ADFR 500 conveys the original set on the original tray 510 onto the original glass 18 and discharges the read original onto the discharge tray 511. In the case of double-sided copying, the original is once sent to the left after the reading of the front side is completed, reversed, and returned to the reading position. Then, it is discharged after the reading of the back surface is completed.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a lamp and a scanning line. As shown in FIG. 2A, two lamps 11
Reference numerals a and 11b extend in the main scanning direction and are arranged in the sub-scanning direction. Each of the lamps 11a and 11b is independently turned on and off. At an intermediate position between these lamps 11a and 11b,
Mirror 12 so that light from directly above is effective subject light
Is arranged. That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, an intermediate position between the lamps 11a and 11b is a scanning line position,
The density of the scanning line position illuminated from obliquely below is captured as a document image for one line. Note that the condenser lens 1
Reference numeral 4 is composed of five lenses and a diaphragm mechanism 16.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the structure of the operation panel 90. The operation panel 90 includes a liquid crystal touch panel 91 for interactive operation, a numeric keypad 92 for inputting numerical values such as the number of copies and a magnification, a clear key 93 for initializing a numerical input state, and initializing all designated contents. Key, a stop key 95 for instructing to stop the copy operation, a start key 96 for instructing the start of the copy operation, and an interrupt key 99 for instructing the interrupt copy. I have. The liquid crystal touch panel 91 performs various displays such as a guide message, operation buttons, a setting state, and occurrence of an abnormal state. By touching the liquid crystal touch panel 91 so as to press the displayed operation button, the user can specify an operation mode corresponding to the operation button.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the data processing system 100. The data processing system 100 includes an image processing circuit 20, a memory unit 30, a print processing circuit 40, and a total of three CPUs 102, 103, 104 that control these components.
have. As described above, the document information read by the image sensor 17 is used for controlling the semiconductor laser 62 through the image processing circuit 20, the memory unit 30, and the print processing circuit 40 in this order. The image processing circuit 20 includes an AD conversion unit 21 that converts a photoelectric conversion signal from the image sensor 17 into, for example, 8-bit image data, and a shading correction unit 2 that compensates for uneven light distribution of illumination and a sensitivity difference between CCD elements.
2. The image processing unit 23 includes an image processing unit 23 that performs processing for density adjustment and image quality improvement, and a cut-and-paste region editing unit 24 that performs data processing according to the present invention.

Each of the CPUs 102 to 104 includes a microcomputer, a program ROM, and an R as a work area.
AM. Note that the digital copying machine 1 has a CP
In addition to U102-104, operation panel control, scanning control,
4 CPUs for ADF control and timing adjustment
It has.

The digital copying machine 1 having the above configuration is provided with an edit copy mode suitable for cut and pasted originals.
Hereinafter, the edit copy mode will be described. FIG.
6 and 7 are views showing the contents of editing.

In the present embodiment, three types of editing, that is, frame line synthesis, erase, and fill can be selectively performed on the cut and pasted original. 5 to 7, the document Q1 is
This is a cut-and-pasted original in which another sheet on which a graph is printed is pasted on a sheet of a predetermined size on which characters are printed, and has two cut-and-pasted portions q1 and q2.

In the frame line composition mode as shown in FIG.
A copy (duplicate) R1 is formed by adding black frame lines f1 and f2 that hide the shadows of the edges of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2 to the original image. Since the frame lines f1 and f2 are rectangular annular lines formed by sides parallel to the edge of the sheet, even if the contours of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2 are inclined or bent, the irregular contours become squares. It is shaped and looks better.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the erase mode,
A copy R2 is formed by erasing (filling in white) the image in the range surrounding each of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2. In the filling mode as shown in FIG. 7, a copy R3 is formed in which the area surrounding the periphery of each of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2 is filled. Fill patterns include:
There are black solids, diagonal lines and halftone dots. Further, as the form of the filling, there are “overwriting” for replacing the original image in the target area with the filling pattern, and “overwriting” for combining the original image with the filling pattern (the example in FIG. 7 is overwriting). .

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure of an editing mode designating operation. On the liquid crystal touch panel 91, screens corresponding to each of the four large items (basic, original / copy, edit, and finish) are alternatively displayed. User is tag TP
By touching any one of the items 1 to 4, the switching of the large item is instructed. When the tag TP3 corresponding to "edit" is touched, buttons TP5, TP6, TP7 corresponding to three options of the edit mode are displayed as shown in FIG. The button TP5 may be touched when the user desires the frame line synthesis mode, the button TP6 may be touched when the erase mode is desired, and the button TP7 may be touched when the fill mode is desired. Button T
When P5 is touched, buttons TP8 and TP9 for setting the width of the frame line are displayed as shown in FIG. 8B. When automatic setting is desired, the button TP8 may be touched. In the automatic setting, a minimum width for completely hiding the shadow is calculated for each of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2 as described later. If manual setting is desired, the user touches the button TP8 and then inputs a numerical value of a desired width according to the message. In the manual setting, an arbitrary width can be specified, but depending on the specified value, the shadow may not be completely hidden, and when adding a plurality of frame lines f1 and f2, the widths are uniform. However, it is possible to specify the width for each of the cut and pasted portions q1 and q2.

The digital copying machine 1 of the present embodiment uses a publicly-known JP-A-6-311 in order to specify an area to be edited.
As in No. 307, two scans are performed. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of scanning of a document.

The document Q here is composed of a sheet Qa for specifying the document size and a substantially rectangular pasting sheet Qb smaller than the sheet Qa. In the first scan, only one lamp 11a is turned on as shown in FIG. Thus, since there is a step corresponding to the thickness of the pasting sheet Qb, a shadow 6 is generated on one end side of the pasting sheet Qb in the sub-scanning direction. Although not shown, the other lamp 11b is used in the second scan.
Only light up. At this time, a shadow 6 is generated on the other end side of the sticking paper Qb. By calculating the difference between the two read images thus obtained, the cut-and-pasted portion (pasted paper Qb)
Can be extracted. Then, the position and size of the cut and pasted portion can be specified from the positions of the pair of shadows 6. The scanning direction may be the same each time, but it is preferable to use a reciprocating method after a required time.
In the case of the reciprocating type, when the data at the time of the first scan is read from the memory and the difference is obtained, if the reading order is reversed from the writing order, the orientation of the read image in each time can be made uniform.

It should be noted that both lamps 11a and 11b are turned on to perform reciprocal scanning, and the cut-and-pasted portion can also be detected by calculating the difference between the read images at the time of forward movement and at the time of backward movement.
In that case, it is desirable to limit the amount of incident light by the aperture mechanism 16 in order to increase the luminance difference between the shadow and the bright part.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the cut-and-paste area editing unit 24 of FIG. Image data from the image processing unit 23 is input to the selector 241. In normal copy mode,
The selector 241 outputs the image data to the selector 247 on the output side.
Send to At this time, the selector 247 sends the image data from the selector 241 to the memory unit 30. That is,
In the normal copy mode, the cut-and-paste area editing unit 24 enters a data-through state. Each selector 241, 247 has a CP
A switching instruction is provided from U102.

On the other hand, in the case of the edit copy mode, image data is sent from the selector 241 to the shadow detection circuit 242. The cut and pasted portion is detected by the shadow detection circuit 242. The first image memory 243 temporarily stores the image data (up to 6,400 lines) transferred from the shadow detection circuit 242 as it is obtained by scanning. Second
First, the image memory 244 stores an image consisting of only the shadow obtained by the shadow detection circuit 242, and thereafter stores the pattern image generated by the edit pattern setting circuit 245. The combining circuit 246 combines the image from the first image memory 243 and the image from the second image memory 244 and sends the combined image to the selector 247. When the logical product of the image data is obtained at the time of synthesis, overwriting is performed, and when the logical sum is obtained, overwriting is performed.

The shadow detection circuit 242 includes an input / output controller 421, a subtractor 422, a comparator 423, and a data selector 424. In the first scan, the image data input from the selector 241 is sequentially stored in the image memory 243. In the second scan, the image data is input to the subtractor 422. At the same time, the image data for the first scan read from the image memory 243 is input to the subtractor 422. The subtractor 422 performs subtraction (difference operation) between data at the same position on the document in pixel units. Comparator 42
When the result of the subtraction is larger than the threshold value Sth from the CPU 102, a signal S423 indicating the result is output to the selector 424 as a switching control signal. Selector 424
When the signal S423 is active,
2 is sent to the input / output controller 421. As a result, shadows having a density equal to or higher than the threshold value Sth are erased. At this time, the position of the pixel corresponding to the shadow is stored. Actually, data indicating whether or not the image is a shadow is stored for each pixel in the reading range. When the signal S423 is inactive, the selector 424 outputs the image data from the second scan as it is to the input / output controller 42.
Send to 1. The input / output controller 421 is connected to the selector 42
4 is written to the first image memory 243.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the procedure for setting the range of editing, and FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the data structure of a control data table for editing. First, the CPU 102 sequentially assigns the management numbers ki (i = 0, 1, 2, 3) to the even number of shadow areas (a set of pixels corresponding to the shadows) detected by the shadow detection circuit 242 from the upper side of the read image. …). The upper side is one end in the sub-scanning direction. Next, with respect to each of the shadow areas k0 to k3, the XY coordinates of four upper, lower, left, and right end points are obtained, and a shadow area-specific coordinate table DT1 shown in FIG. 12A is created. The X direction is the main scanning direction, and the Y direction is the sub scanning direction.

Subsequently, the shadow areas k0 to k3 are divided into two sets from the upper side, and a management number Ki (i = 0, 1,...) Is assigned to each set as a shadow area pair corresponding to the same cut and pasted portion. I do.
For each shadow region pair K0, K1, an intersection Mi0 (upper left center) of the upper center line and left center line and an intersection (lower right center) Mi1 of the lower center line and right center line are obtained, and FIG. A reference position table DT2 shown in B) is created. The upper center is the center position between the upper and lower ends in the upper shadow area, and the lower center is the center position between the upper and lower ends in the lower shadow area. The left center is the center position between the left ends of the pair of shadow regions, and the right center is the center position between the right ends of the pair of shadow regions.

FIG. 13 shows the relationship between the frame area E1 and the frame line width wi. FIG. 14 shows the inclusion of the shadow areas k0 to k3 and the frame lines f1 and f2 when the frame line width is automatically set. It is a figure showing a relation.

An annular region E1 having a fixed width and having a center line defined by a rectangular frame passing through the upper left center Mi0 and the lower right center Mi1.
Is a frame area that is painted black in the frame line composition mode. The width wi of the frame area E1 is the larger of the upper and lower widths (number of pixels) of each of the pair of shadow areas in the case of automatic setting, and the length specified by the user is the number of pixels in the case of manual setting. The value is converted to In the erase mode or the fill mode, the entire region inside the outer peripheral edge of the frame region E1, that is, the region E in which the frame region E1 and the region E2 surrounded by the frame region E1 are to be edited.

The operation of the digital copying machine 1 in the edit copy mode will be described below with reference to the flowchart. FIG.
5 and 16 are flowcharts of the edit copy setting process.

This routine is executed by the panel control CPU when the tag TP3 is touched on the liquid crystal touch panel 91. First, the editing mode selection screen shown in FIG. 8A is displayed (# 10). When the frame line composition mode is designated by touching the button TP5, FIG.
Switch the display to the frame width setting screen of (B) (# 1)
2). When the automatic setting button TP8 is touched, the automatic setting is registered in the setting information table after the button is highlighted (# 14, # 18). Manual setting button T
When P9 is touched, the button is highlighted (# 1
5) After accepting numerical input (# 16) and displaying the input value (# 17), the input value is registered in the setting information table (# 18). After registering data in the setting information table, change the edit copy mode to the timing control CP.
U is notified (# 19).

On the other hand, when the erase button TP6 is touched on the edit mode selection screen, the button is highlighted (# 20), and the flow advances to step # 19. When the paint button TP7 is touched, the button is highlighted (#
21) and the setting process (# 22) of the paint pattern is performed, and the process proceeds to step # 19.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of the scanning process in the edit copy mode. The moving direction of the scanner 19 is set to the front direction (F), and one of the lamps 11a is turned on to start the first scan (# 150 to # 152). When the scanner 19 reaches the moving end in the front direction, the position sensor S
When E1 is turned on, the scanner 19 is stopped and the lamp 1 is turned off.
1a is turned off (# 153 to # 155). Subsequently, the moving direction of the scanner 19 is switched to the rear direction (R), the other lamp 11b is turned on, and the second scanning is started (# 1).
56 to # 158). When the scanner 19 reaches the rear moving end and the position sensor SE2 is turned on, the scanner 19 is stopped and the lamp 11a is turned off (# 159 to # 159).
1).

FIG. 18 is a block diagram of C which controls the image processing circuit 20.
5 is a flowchart of an editing process executed by a PU 102. The CPU 102 reads the image data including the shadow area information from the image memory 244 (# 31), and
Extraction of f3 and calculation of reference positions Mi0 and Mi1 are performed (#
32). In the case of the frame line composition mode (# 33), the setting format of the frame line width is read from the setting information table (# 34), and the frame line width wi is set according to the specified format (# 36 to # 3).
8). Then, a pattern creation process of the edited image is executed (# 39).

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of the frame line width calculation subroutine of FIG. Shadow area-specific coordinate table DT1
(# 41), the optimum frame width wi is calculated for each shadow area pair Ki in the manner described with reference to FIG. 11 (# S36), and the value is stored in the frame width table DT3. (# 41 to # 50).

FIG. 20 is a flowchart of the composite image creation subroutine of FIG. Reference position table DT
2. Data is read from the frame line width table DT3, and the upper left corner (point A) of the outer peripheral edge and the upper left corner (B) of the inner peripheral edge of the frame area E1 are read.
), The lower right end of the inner periphery (point C), and the lower right end of the outer periphery (point D) are calculated (# 51 to # 57). Then, predetermined processing is performed on the target area according to the editing mode (# 58).
~ # 65). At that time, in the case of the frame line composition mode, first,
A rectangular range (including a square) having the vertices of points A and D is painted black, and a rectangular range (including a square) having the vertices of points B and C is painted white. As a result, a black frame line having the set width wi is obtained.

In the above embodiment, the start key 9
If the operation mode is fixed so as to always detect the shadow each time the button 6 is depressed and to perform the frame line synthesis, erase, or fill, the cut and pasted portion will be clearly indicated in the copy image, so that the bills and valuables can be used. It is possible to prevent falsification of a document due to cut and paste including forgery of securities. Although the cut-and-paste original 3 having been pasted is illustrated, the present invention can be applied to a cut-and-paste original in which a part of a sheet (main sheet) Qa for determining the original size is cut out. When the frame line is synthesized or filled in the cutout portion, the range of the cutout becomes clear.

If the frame area is erased instead of synthesizing the frame lines f1 and f2, a good-looking copy image in which the shadow is completely eliminated can be obtained. Techniques for detecting shadows include:
Instead of providing the lamps 11a and 11b on both sides of the scanning line position in the sub-scanning direction as shown in FIG. 2B, the illumination light reflected at one and the other side of one lamp 11a is converted into one image. An optical system for selectively guiding the sensor 17 is provided, and one or the other position is set as a scan line position.
There is a technique of performing scanning twice. An image sensor having the same characteristics may be provided for each scanning line position. That is, two lamps 11a and 11b are not necessarily required.

[0042]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention,
Even if the user does not specify the position of the cut and pasted portion, it is possible to realize image reproduction in which shadows, which are image noise of an unspecified shape, are inconspicuous.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to clarify the range of cut-and-paste in a document and prevent image falsification due to cut-and-paste.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a digital copying machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a lamp and a scanning line.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a configuration of an operation panel.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a data processing system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the contents of editing.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the contents of editing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the contents of editing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure of an editing mode designating operation.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of document scanning.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a cut-and-paste area editing unit in FIG. 4;

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for setting an editing range.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a data configuration of a control data table for editing.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a frame area and a frame line width.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an inclusion relationship between a shadow area and a frame when automatic setting of a frame width is performed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart of an edit copy setting process.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart of an edit copy setting process.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart of a scanning process in an edit copy mode.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart of an editing process executed by a CPU that controls an image processing circuit.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a frame line width calculation subroutine of FIG. 18;

20 is a flowchart of a composite image creation subroutine of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 IR image reader unit (image editing apparatus) 10 scanning system (scanning means) 24 cut-and-paste area editing unit (means for performing specific image editing) 102 CPU 242 shadow detection circuit (means for detecting cut-and-pasted portion) E1 frame area q1 , Q2 cut and pasted part

Claims (2)

[Claims] An image editing apparatus, comprising: scanning means for reading a document image, for editing a read image, a means for detecting a cut and pasted portion of a document, Means for setting a rectangular annular frame area having a constant width including the peripheral edge, and means for performing specific image editing on the set frame area or the entire area inside the outer peripheral edge thereof An image editing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, as the image editing, frame synthesis for filling the frame area, erasing the entire area inside the outer peripheral edge, or filling all the area inside the outer peripheral edge is performed. .