JPH0439112B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an image processing system having a function of partially correcting images, documents, etc., and is widely applicable to file devices such as optical disks and magnetic disks, but is particularly applicable to file devices such as optical disks and magnetic disks. , provides a system suitable for non-rewritable file devices such as optical disks.

[Background technology]

In order to operate files such as image documents, a function for partially modifying data such as image texts (hereinafter referred to as image data) stored on a file device is generally required. The simplest method conventionally used for magnetic disks, etc. is a method in which image data read from a file device is corrected on a random access memory, and the corrected image data is written back to the file device. be. In this method, the entire image is re-registered each time a partial correction is made, so in a non-rewritable file device such as an optical disk, a problem arises in that a large amount of area is wasted. An extension of this conventional method is that at the time of registration, image data is divided into several small areas and stored in the file device, and at the time of correction, only the data of the small area that requires correction is read out from the file device, and the image data is randomly - A method is known in which the data is corrected in the access memory and then re-registered in the file device (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 114962/1983). Compared to the first method, this method has the advantage of reducing the disposable area in non-rewritable file devices such as optical disks, but on the other hand, images are divided into small areas and stored. However, due to the overhead associated with region division, it takes time to register and read data, and management of small regions becomes complicated.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to achieve fast and simple partial correction of data such as stored image documents, and to achieve high file utilization efficiency in a file device using storage media such as optical disks, magnetic disks, magnetic valves, etc. The purpose is to provide an image processing system. In particular, the purpose is to improve the utilization efficiency of non-rewritable storage media such as optical disks.

[Summary of the invention]

The basic principle of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the figure, 10
is the original image document etc. (hereinafter referred to as an image) stored in the file device, 20 is an image (partial view) to be added and corrected to the original image, 30 is the image after correction, 40
indicates the correction area. Furthermore, for convenience of explanation, a binary image is targeted. Modifying the original image 10 into image 30 means changing the original image 10 and image 20 to area 4.
This can be realized by superimposing them on the 0 position and composing them using a logical sum operation. Therefore, rather than storing the modified image in a file device, in addition to the original image 10, the data of the image 20 and
Image synthesis operation type (logical OR in the example in Figure 1),
The combining position and the like may be stored in the file device.
At this time, unlike the conventional method, there is no need to invalidate the original image on the file device and re-register the corrected image 30, so there is no need to discard the disposable file area, which is a problem with non-rewritable storage media such as optical disks. It is also possible to reduce the amount of data transferred to and from the file device.

Although FIG. 1 shows an example in which images are synthesized using a logical OR operation, other types of operations are possible in the process of composing images. FIG. 2 is an example of this, and shows a case where a part of the original image 50 is replaced with an image 60 to obtain a new image 70.

In addition, when correcting multiple areas of the original image, the partial images for correction (image 20 in Figure 1, image 60 in Figure 2, etc.), image compositing operation type, compositing position, etc. must be set as many times as there are correction areas. Store in file device.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the principle of the present invention will be explained with reference to Examples.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an image file. The image file consists of an index section and a data section. The index section is a file that stores the data name, storage address (starting address), data length, width and height of the image, etc. for each image data (each is called a member) stored in the image file. It is an area. Furthermore, the data section is a file area that stores the substance of image data. The index section and data section are respectively magnetic disks,
They may be on different media, such as an optical disc, or they may be on the same media.

FIG. 3 shows the contents of the index section and data section regarding the m-th member as a representative example of members stored in the file device. In the diagram,
“Overall image” means the original image of the member;
“Partial view” means an image for correction. One member has one overall view and a maximum of N partial views. However, if the member has not been modified since being registered in the file, the member does not have a partial diagram. The index section contains the storage address of the overall diagram,
In addition to memorizing data length, width, height, etc.
If the member has a partial diagram, it also stores the storage address (starting address) on the file, data length, width and height of the partial diagram, synthesis position, calculation type, etc. for each partial diagram. The substance of the image data of the partial view is stored in the data section of the image file, similar to that of the entire view.

FIG. 4 shows in detail the items stored in the index section. Figure 4 shows member m
Along with the width Um and the height Vm of the overall diagram 90,
Regarding the i-th partial view, a width Umi and a height Hmi combination position (Xmi, Ymi) are defined, and the relationship with the correction area 100 is illustrated.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a hardware configuration for implementing the method of the present invention. In the figure, 200 is a micro
210 is a main memory, 220 is an input keyboard, 230 is an image processor, 240 is an image memory, 250 is an image input device, 260 is an image display, and 270 is a file device. The system shown in FIG. 5 stores image data in a file device 270, reads appropriate image data from the file device 270 as needed, and displays the image data on the image display 26.
0 and also has the function to make corrections. Several commands are prepared to control the operation of this system, and among these, the commands that are most closely related to the present invention are as shown in FIG. An overview of each command is explained below.

(1) STORE command: The STORE command is a command that reads image data from the image input device 250 and stores it in an image file on the file device 270.

(2) FIND Command The FIND command is a command that reads the image data specified by the input keyboard 220 from the image file and displays it on the image display.

(3) DELETE command The DELETE command is a command for deleting the image data specified by the input keyboard 220 from the image file.

(4) OVERLAY command The OVERLAY command is a command for partially modifying a partial area of image data by combining partial figures with a logical sum.

(5) MASK command The MASK command is a command for partially modifying a partial area of image data by synthesizing a partial figure using logical AND.

(6) REPLACE command The REPLACE command is a command that partially corrects a partial area of image data by replacing it with a partial view.

(7) ERASE command The ERASE command is a command that partially corrects a partial area of image data by embedding it with pixels with a density of "0".

(8) The REVERSE command is a command that partially corrects the density of a partial area of image data by reversing black and white.

Among the above commands, OVERLAY,
MASK, REPLACE, ERASE, REVERSE are
This is a command related to partial correction of image data.
The operation type of each command is set to 1 as shown in Figure 6.
Defined by a value between ~5. Also, OVERLAY,
The MASK, REPLACE, ERASE, and REVERSE commands were processed by the previous FIND command (therefore, they exist in the image memory 240)
This is to partially correct image data.

The microprocessor 220 is the main memory 21
Controls the execution of commands based on the program and data on 0. The processing flow is shown in FIG. 7, and will be explained below.

(1) Processing 300: A command is read from the input keyboard 220.

(2) Processing 350: Parse the command and check if the input command is STORE,
For FIND and DELETE commands, proceed to processing 400, 450, and 500, respectively, and proceed to OVERLAY or DELETE commands.
For MASK and REPLACE commands, process 550,
Process when ERASE or REVERSE command
Go to 600. Further, in the case of an end command (not shown in FIG. 6), the process proceeds to process 650.

(3) Processing 400: Execute the STORE command as shown in Figure 8.

a Process 401: Read the data name, width, and height of the image data to be stored from the input keyboard 220.

b Process 402: Start up the image input device 250, read the image data, and store it in the image memory 240.

c. Processing 403: The image data on the image memory is compressed by the image processor 230, and the processing result is stored in the image memory 240. Various data compression methods have been known that have been put to practical use in facsimile transmission (e.g., modified Huffman method, modified read method), and since these are well-known technologies, image processors can Explanation of the processing procedure will be omitted.

d Process 404: Add the data name, storage address, and
Data length (length of compressed data on image memory),
Register the width and height. However, since there is no partial diagram related to the image at this point,
Leave the partial diagram item in the index section blank. Further, the storage address is set equal to the starting address of the unused area of the data section of the image file.

e Process 405: Store the image data (compressed data) on the image memory in the data section of the image file.

(4) Processing 450: Execute the FIND command as shown in Figure 9.

a Process 451: Read the data name of the image data to be searched from the input keyboard 220.

b Process 452: Refer to the index section of the image file and obtain the storage address, data length, width, and height of the overall diagram of the member.

c Process 453: Read out the image data of the overall view from the image file and store it in the image memory.

d Processing 454: The image data (compressed data) of the overall view on the image memory is decompressed by the image processor 230 (that is, the process opposite to compression), and the result is stored in the image memory.

e Process 455: Determine whether or not there is an unprocessed partial diagram for the member. This determination is made with reference to the number of partial views registered in the index section. If there are unprocessed partial views,
Proceed to process 456, and if it does not exist, proceed to process 459.

f Processing 456: Refer to the index section of the image file, and perform the processing for the smallest number among the unprocessed partial drawings.
Storage address, data length, width, height, composition position,
Find the operation type.

g Processing 457: Is the operation type “4” (i.e. ERASE)?
If “5” (i.e. REVERSE), process
Proceed to 458. The operation type is “1” (i.e.
OVERLAY), “2” (i.e. MASK),
If “3” (i.e. REPLACE), process
Proceed to 459.

h Process 458: Change the pixel density of a predetermined partial area with respect to the image data of the overall view on the image memory. That is, when the calculation type is "4", the pixel density of the relevant area is set to zero, and when the calculation type is "5", the pixel density of the relevant area is reversed. At this time, the position and size of the partial area to be processed are equal to the combination position, width, and length determined by referring to the index section in step 456. After completing this process, the process returns to process 455.

i Process 459: Read the image data of the partial view determined in process 456 from the image file and store it in the image memory (however, in a separate area from the entire view stored in process 454).

j Processing 460: The image data (compressed data) of the partial view on the image memory is decompressed by the image processor 230, and the result is combined with the overall view on the image memory. The synthesis position and operation type (logical sum, logical product, substitution, etc.) are as determined in step 456 with reference to the index section. The present applicant has already developed a method for quickly performing processes such as logical sum, logical product, and substitution between images (Japanese Patent Application No. 101238/1983), and the image processor 230
has such a mechanism. After completing the above process, the process returns to process 455.

k Process 461: Display the image data of the overall view on the image memory on the image display 260.

(5) Process 500: Implement the DELETE command using the procedure shown in FIG.

a Process 501: Read the data name of the image data to be deleted from the input keyboard 220.

b Process 502: Delete the image data from the index section of the image file.

(6) Processing 550: OVERLAY, MASK,
Execute the REPLACE command. However, as described above, these commands partially modify the image data processed by the previous FIND command (the processing results are stored in the image memory).

a Process 551: As shown in FIG. 3, each member allows up to N parts. OVERLAY, MASK,
Since each REPLACE command is for registering one additional partial diagram, it is determined whether the member in question satisfies the limit on the number of partial diagrams.
That is, if the number of current partial views of the member is less than N, the process proceeds to step 552, and if it is equal to N, the process proceeds to step 560.

b Processing 552: Read the image data for correction from the image input device 250 and store it in the image memory (in a separate area from the original image data stored as a result of the processing of the previous FIND command so as not to destroy it). do.

c Process 553: The original image data on the image memory and the correction image data are superimposed and displayed on the image display 260.

d Process 554: Read data from the input keyboard 220 that indicates the overlapping position of the original image data and the correction image data. At this time, the input keyboard 22
The cursor key above 0 is pressed, and if the overlapping position does not need to be moved, the "OK" key is pressed.

e Processing 555: Determine the input data from the input keyboard 220,
It is necessary to move the overlapping position (cursor keys)
If so, the process advances to process 561, and if no position movement is required ("OK" key), the process advances to process 556.

f Processing 556: Specify the correction area (100 in Figure 4) of the original image on the input keyboard, and set its position coordinates (Xmi, Ymi)
and read the width Wmi and height Hmi values.

g Processing 557: Processing from the correction image data on the image memory
The image processor 230 cuts out a partial view of the width Wmi and the height Hmi specified in 556, and compresses the data.

h Process 558: Information regarding the partial diagram created in process 557 is registered in the index section of the image file. That is, the storage address, data length, width,
Register the vertical orientation, composition position, and calculation type in the index section. Here, the operation type is OVERLAY
Set "1" for the command, "2" for the MASK command, and "3" for the REPLACE command.

i Process 559: Store the image data of the partial view created in process 557 in an image file. With that, OVERLAY,
Finishes processing for the MASK and REPLACE commands.

j Process 560: The image data of the member is stored in the image memory by the FIND command executed immediately before the OVERLAY, MASK, and REPLACE commands, but this is re-registered in the image file as one overall image. That is, the member is first deleted from the index section and then re-registered with the same data name. This image data is registered in the index section as consisting only of the entire image without any partial images. The image data on the image memory is compressed by the image processor 230 and then stored in an image file. After completing this process, the process proceeds to process 552.

k Processing 561: In processing 554, the overlapping position is corrected by one pitch according to the type of cursor key (up, down, left, right) read from the input keyboard 220, and processing is performed.
Return to 553.

(7) Process 600: Execute the ERASE and REVERSE commands according to the steps shown in Figure 12. However, these commands partially modify the image data processed by the previous FIND command (therefore, the processing results are stored in the image memory).

a. Processing 601, 606: These are the same as processing 551, 560 in FIG. 11, so their explanation will be omitted.

b Process 602: Specify the correction area (100 in Figure 4) of the original image on the input keyboard and set its position coordinates (Xmi, Ymi)
Read the values of width Wmi and height Hmi.

c. Process 603: The image data on the image memory is partially corrected by the image processor 230. The modifications are as follows:
When using the ERASE command, the correction area is filled with pixels with zero density, and when using the REVERSE command, the black and white of the pixels in the correction area are reversed.

d Process 604: Display the corrected image data on an image display.

e Process 605: The correction area is treated as one partial diagram, and its composite position, that is, position coordinates (Xmi, Ymi), width Wmi, height Hmi, and calculation type are registered in the index section. The calculation type is set to "4" for the ERASE command and "5" for the REVERSE command. however,
Unlike the OVERLAY, MASK, and REPLACE commands, the REVERSE and ERASE commands do not require the image data of the partial view, so the storage address and data length fields in the index section are left blank.

(8) Process 700: Finish all processing and stop program execution.

Although one embodiment has been described in detail above, index information in the present invention is input not only by the input keyboard 220 but also by touch panel input from the display screen and light pen input.
It is also possible to improve man-machine characteristics. In addition, it is also possible to use the index section file, which is often changed, as the main memory or other file memory. It is also effective to make the functions of the microprocessor 200, image processor 230, image memory 240, etc. part of the computer system, or to make them a dedicated device that integrates the necessary functions. In addition to simply determining the display length of an image, it can also be used as a technology for compositing images or documents within a memory system, or for an intelligent copier that prints out the results.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention has the following effects.

(1) Unlike the conventional method in which the original image on the file device is invalidated and the corrected image is re-registered, the corrected area can be additionally registered as a partial image. Therefore, the disposable file area, which is a problem with non-rewritable storage media such as optical disks, can be reduced. Furthermore, the amount of data transferred to and from the file device can be reduced.

(2) Unlike the conventional method, which divides image data into small regions, a partial view is created for each correction region, so the process of registering and reading image data is faster than with the conventional region dividing method. is fast and file management is simple.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams of the present invention, Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of an image file of the present invention, Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram of an image correction area in the present invention, and Figure 5 is a hardware diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a list of main commands in the present invention, and FIGS. 7 to 12 are process flow diagrams for image synthesis, etc. in the present invention. 200...Micro processor, 210...
Main memory, 220... Input keyboard, 230... Image processor, 240... Image memory, 250...
Image input device, 260... Image display, 2
70...File device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device comprising: a file means for storing an original image; a means for performing image processing on the original image read from the file means; and an output means for outputting the image. In the image processing system, the file means includes correction image data for forming a corrected partial area of one of the original images, position information for specifying the partial area, and the correction image data. storing calculation type information for specifying the type of image processing to be performed on the original image using the original image in association with the original image;
When outputting the original image read out from the file means to the output means, if correction image data is stored corresponding to the original image, the correction image data and the position information and information related to the correction image data are stored. An image processing system characterized in that the image processing means performs image synthesis processing on a part of the original image using the calculation type information. 2. The file means includes an image data storage area and a search information storage area, the original image and correction image data are stored in the image data storage area, search information for reading each original image, and each correction image data are stored in the image data storage area. 2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein search information for reading out image data for use in a computer, the position information, and calculation type information are stored in the search information area.