JP2009111611A - Image processor, image processing method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor which easily changes document layouts. <P>SOLUTION: A scanner part reads a document that editing areas are previously designated with marker lines, and then colors of the marker lines are extracted from the read images. A marker signal generation circuit 114 and an area generation circuit 117 determine types of the editing areas in the read images based on the extracted colors. A layout determination circuit 118 automatically rearranges editing areas that are determined as the same type according to instructions so as to output them on one A4 paper for each color type. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method such as a copying machine that reads and processes a document whose editing area is designated in advance by a marker or the like, and a computer readable image for controlling the image processing apparatus. Regarding the program.

  A layout change operation has been conventionally performed in which related portions that are spread over a plurality of originals are cut out from the respective originals, are combined into one place, and the original is recreated. This is so-called scrap work using newspapers and magazines as manuscripts.

  When performing these operations, for example, the following methods can be considered.

  (1) Manually cut a relevant portion of an actual paper document using a tool such as a clip or a cutter, bring the relevant portions close together, and paste them with glue or the like to create a new document.

  (2) An original is read by an image reading device such as a scanner unit of a copying machine, and the read image data is electrically processed to perform editing such as movement, cutout, rearrangement, and related portions are brought close to each other. Create a new manuscript.

Conventionally, when the user designates an area in which the editing is performed, it is possible to input numerical values of coordinates of the editing area via a numeric keypad, or to use a pointing device for the read image display unit. This is proposed in Patent Document 1.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-48877

  However, both of the conventional methods (1) and (2) are complicated operations, and particularly in the method (2) using a device such as a copying machine, there is a problem that skill is required to use the device.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program that can easily perform a document layout change operation.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads a document in which one or more types of editing regions are specified in advance, and the type of the editing region in the read image read by the image reading unit. And an automatic rearrangement unit that automatically rearranges editing areas determined to be of the same type by the determination unit based on a predetermined instruction.

  The image processing method of the present invention includes an image reading step of reading a document in which one or more types of editing areas are specified in advance, and a determination step of determining the type of the editing area in the read image read in the image reading step. And an automatic rearrangement step of automatically rearranging the editing areas determined to be the same type by the determination step based on a predetermined instruction.

  The program of the present invention is a computer-readable program for realizing control of an image processing apparatus having an image reading unit that reads an original in which one or more types of editing areas are designated in advance, and a determination unit However, the step of determining the type of the editing area in the read image read by the image reading unit, and the automatic rearrangement unit automatically determines the editing area determined to be the same type by the step based on a predetermined instruction. And a rearrangement step.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to easily change the layout of a document by reading a document whose editing area is designated in advance by a marker or the like.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Copier configuration>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail by taking a digital color copying apparatus as an example of the image processing apparatus of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic internal structure of a digital color copying apparatus which is an embodiment of an image processing apparatus of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the copying apparatus includes an image scanner unit 201, a printer unit 200, and an operation unit 300. The image scanner unit 201 is a part that reads a document and performs digital signal processing. The printer unit 200 is a part that prints out an image corresponding to the original image read by the image scanner unit 201 in full color on a sheet such as paper. The operation unit 300 is a part where the user performs operations related to the copying apparatus.

  In the image scanner unit 201, 202 is a document pressure plate, and a document 204 on the document table glass 203 is irradiated with light from a halogen lamp 205. Reflected light from the original is guided to mirrors 206 and 207, and an image is formed on a three-line sensor (CCD) 210, which is a full-color sensor, by a lens 208. The lens 208 is provided with an infrared cut filter 231.

  The 3-line sensor 210 color-separates the light information from the original, reads the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) color components of the full color information and sends them to the image signal processing unit 209. The reading sensor row for each color component of the 3-line sensor 210 is composed of, for example, 5000 pixels. Thus, 297 mm in the short side direction of the A3 size document which is the maximum size among the documents placed on the platen glass 203 is read with a resolution of 400 dpi (dots / inch).

  The first mirror base and the second mirror base on which the halogen lamp 205 and the mirror 206 are mounted are mechanically perpendicular to the electrical scanning direction (main scanning direction) of the three-line sensor 210 (sub-scanning direction). By moving, the entire document surface is scanned. At this time, the first mirror stage moves at a speed v, and the second mirror stage on which the mirror 207 is mounted is moved at a speed 1 / 2v.

  The image scanner unit 201 includes a home position sensor 230 and a standard white plate 211. The home position sensor 230 detects the position of the first mirror base by detecting that the protrusion 229 attached to the first mirror base enters between the home positions. The standard white plate 211 is used to generate correction data of read data of the R, G, B sensors 210-1 to 210-3 of the three-line sensor 210. The standard white plate 211 exhibits a substantially uniform reflection characteristic with respect to visible light, and has a white color in the visible. The standard white plate 211 is used to correct the output data of the visible sensors of the sensors 210-1 to 210-3.

  The image signal processing unit 209 electrically processes the R, G, and B signals read by the sensors 210-1 to 210-3, and outputs magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K ) And sent to the printer unit 200. In addition, for each original scan (scan) in the image scanner unit 201, one component of M, C, Y, and K is sequentially sent to the printer unit 200, and is printed once by a total of four original scans. Out is completed.

  The printer unit 200 includes a laser driver 212, a semiconductor laser 213, a polygon mirror 214, a coupling lens 215, a mirror 216, a photosensitive drum 217, developing devices 219 to 222, a transfer drum 223, paper cassettes 224 and 225, and a fixing device 226. ing.

  M, C, Y, and K image signals sent from the image scanner unit 201 are sent to the laser driver 212. The laser driver 212 modulates and drives the semiconductor laser 213 according to the image signal. Laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 213 is exposed and scanned on the photosensitive drum 217 via the polygon mirror 214, the coupling lens 215, and the mirror 216.

  The developing units 219 to 222 include a magenta developing unit 219, a cyan developing unit 220, a yellow developing unit 221, and a black developing unit 222. These four developing units alternately contact the photosensitive drum 217 and develop the M, C, Y, and K electrostatic latent images formed on the photosensitive drum 217 with the corresponding toner. The transfer drum 223 winds the paper fed from the paper cassette 224 or 225 and transfers the toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 217 onto the paper.

  After the four colors M, C, Y, and K are sequentially transferred in this way, the sheet passes through the fixing device 226, is heated and fixed, and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is an external view showing a schematic configuration of the operation unit 300.

  The operation unit 300 includes an operation panel 50 for displaying various information related to operations and operation buttons (for example, 50a to 50d in FIG. 2), a start key 51 for starting a copying operation, and a numeric keypad 53. Yes.

<Configuration and operation of image signal processor>
FIGS. 3 and 4 are block diagrams showing the circuit configuration of the image signal processing unit 209 and its peripheral parts. FIG. 3 shows a configuration part of the preceding stage of the image signal processing unit 209, and FIG. Show.

  A full color sensor (CCD) 210 is composed of three lines of CCDs 101, 102, and 103 of red (R), green (G), and blue (B), and color-separates light information of one line from a document. R, G, B electrical signals are output at a resolution of 400 dpi. In this embodiment, since a maximum of 297 mm (A4 length) is read as one line, the CCD 210 outputs an image of 4777 pixels for each of R, G, and B lines.

  4 includes a main scanning address counter, a sub scanning address counter, and the like. The main scanning address counter is cleared for each line by a BD signal (beam detection signal) which is a synchronization signal for laser recording for each line to the photosensitive drum 217, and a VCLK signal (pixel clock signal) from the pixel clock generator 105. Count. Then, a count output H-ADR corresponding to each pixel of one line of image information read from the CCD 210 is generated. Since this count output H-ADR is up-counted from 0 to 5000, the image signal for one line from the CCD 210 can be read out sufficiently. The synchronization signal generation circuit 104 outputs various timing signals such as a line synchronization signal LSYNC, an image signal main scanning effective section signal VE, and a sub-scanning effective section signal PE.

  3 decodes the count output H-ADR and generates a reset pulse for the shift pulse of the CCD 210 and a CCD-DRIVE signal (CCD drive signal) as a transfer clock. By generating the CCD-DRIVE signal, R, G, B image signals for the same pixel are sequentially output from the CCD 210 in synchronization with the VCLK signal. The output signal of the CCD 210 is amplified by the amplifying circuit 107, and the amplified R, G, B image signals are converted into 8-bit digital signals by the A / D converter 108.

  The output signal of the A / D converter 108 is input to the shading correction circuit 109, where the variation in signal output for each pixel in the CCD 210 is corrected. The shading correction circuit 109 has a memory for one line of each of the R, G, and B image signals, reads the image of the standard white plate 211, and corrects the variation in signal output for each pixel of the read image signal. It is used as a reference signal when

  The output signal of the shading correction circuit 109 is input to the sub-scanning connection circuit 110, where the image signal read by the CCD 210 is subjected to processing for absorbing the shift of 8 lines in the sub-scanning direction. The output signal of the sub-scanning connection circuit 110 is input to the input masking circuit 111, where the processing for removing the color turbidity of the input signals R, G, B is performed.

  For the scanned document, as shown in FIG. 5, the x-coordinate is the direction toward the right of the page and the y-coordinate is the direction toward the bottom of the page. Each image signal is accompanied by image position information for each pixel. is doing. When an A4 image (297 × 210 mm) is read, the upper left corner of the document corresponds to coordinates (0, 0) and the lower right corner corresponds to (4679, 3307), where one pixel is one unit of the coordinate system.

  3 is a three-state buffer. When the ZO-ED signal, which is a control signal for selection, is at L (Low) level, an image signal is passed, and the ZO-ED signal is at H (High) level. In this case, the image signal is not passed. Usually, when the editing function is used, the ZO-ED signal is H-bell.

  The output of the input masking circuit 111 is sent to the buffer 112 and the marker signal generation circuit 114. The marker signal generation circuit 114 performs color extraction on the R, G, and B image signals. The R, G, and B image signals are converted into H, S, and L (hue, saturation, and brightness) colors. It has a function of converting to spatial coordinates and extracting a predesignated color. The marker signal generation circuit 114 converts a multi-value signal into a binary value with a constant threshold value, and outputs a MARKER signal for editing area processing.

  The MARKER signal output from the marker signal generation circuit 114 is supplied to the area generation circuit 117. The area generation circuit 117 is a circuit that generates one or more types of editing areas designated for each color of a line such as a color marker, stores the area data in an internal memory, and generates an AREA signal described later. The AREA signal is sent to the layout determination circuit 118. The layout determination circuit 118 determines the arrangement of the plurality of editing areas in accordance with the instruction signal LAYOUT from the layout instruction circuit 119 (automatic relocation), and REPLACE including the information. Generate a signal. The layout determination circuit 118 supplies the REPLACE signal to the layout change circuit 133 in FIG.

  The output signal of the buffer 112 is sent to the color space compression circuit 123. The color space compression circuit 123 performs a predetermined matrix operation. An output signal of the color space compression circuit 123 is input to a light amount-density conversion unit (LOG conversion unit) 127. The light amount-density conversion unit (LOG conversion unit) 127 performs logarithmic conversion on red (R), green (G), and blue (B) 8-bit light amount signals to generate cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y ) For each 8-bit density signal. The output signal of the light quantity-density conversion unit 127 is supplied to the output masking processing unit 128.

  The output masking processing unit 128 extracts the density signal of black (K) from the density signals of the C, M, and Y colors by the known UCR process (under color removal process), and the developer color corresponding to each density signal. Perform a known masking operation to remove turbidity.

  From the M ′, C ′, Y ′, and K ′ density signals generated in this way, the selector 129 selects a color signal corresponding to the currently used developer. The ZO-TONER signal supplied to the selector 129 is a 2-bit signal generated from the CPU 146 of FIG. 4 for this color selection. When the ZO-TONER signal is 0, the M 'signal is obtained. When the ZO-TONER signal is 1, the C' signal is obtained. When the ZO-TONER signal is 2, the Y 'signal is produced by the ZO-TONER. When the signal is 3, the K ′ signal is output.

  The layout change circuit 133 in FIG. 4 generates post-layout image information based on the output signal from the selector 129 and the REPLACE signal from the layout determination circuit 118. The F value correction circuit 134 can perform gamma processing according to the development characteristics of the printer and can also set the density for each mode. The output of the F value correction circuit 134 is sent to the smoothing circuit 136. The output of the smoothing circuit 136 is sent to the edge enhancement circuit 137. The smoothing circuit 136 and the edge enhancement circuit 137 are each composed of a 5 × 5 filter. The output of the edge enhancement circuit 137 is sent to the add-on circuit 142. The add-on circuit 142 outputs the image signal in a specific coded pattern. This encoded output is sent to the laser and laser controller 143.

  The laser and laser controller 143 controls the light emission amount of the laser in accordance with the VIDEO signal (video signal) output from the add-on circuit 142. This laser beam (laser beam) is scanned in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 217 by the polygon mirror 214 to form a one-line electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 217.

  In addition, a photodetector (photodetector) is provided in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 217, and the passage of laser light immediately before scanning the photosensitive drum 217 is detected to generate a one-line synchronization signal BD.

<Details of marker signal generation circuit>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration example of the marker signal generation circuit 114 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, the marker signal generation circuit 114 includes an RGB → HSL conversion unit 301 and a marker type identification unit 303. The RGB → HSL conversion unit 301 is a circuit that generates 8-bit H, S, and L (hue, saturation, and brightness) signals from the input 8-bit R, G, and B color separation data. The R, G, and B color separation data are converted into H, S, and L signals by the conversion formula shown below.
L = (Max (R, G, B) + Min (R, G, B)) / 2
If Max (R, G, B) = Min (R, G, B),
S = 0
If Max (R, G, B) ≠ Min (R, G, B) and L ≦ 128,
S = (Max (R, G, B) −Min (R, G, B)) /
(Max (R, G, B) + Min (R, G, B))
If Max (R, G, B) ≠ Min (R, G, B) and L> 128,
S = (Max (R, G, B) −Min (R, G, B)) / (256Max (R, G, B) + 256Min (R, G, B))
If S = 0,
H = 0
If S ≠ 0 and Max (R, G, B) = B,
H = G−R (However, when H <0, H = 192 + (G−R))
If S ≠ 0 and Max (R, G, B) = R,
H = 64 + BG
If S ≠ 0 and Max (R, G, B) = G,
H = 128 + R−B
Max (R, G, B): R, G, B having the largest value Min (R, G, B): R, G, B having the smallest value RGB → HSL conversion unit 301 Is sent to the marker type identification unit 303.

  A marker type identification unit 303 receives R, G, B color separation data and H, S, L signals, detects a portion marked with a marker on the original when editing the marker, and detects the detected data as a MARKER signal. Output as.

  FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of the marker type identification unit 303 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the marker type identification unit 303 includes enable signal generation circuits 405 to 416 having the same internal configuration. The enable signal generation circuits 405 to 407 are circuits for detecting a red marker, and the enable signal generation circuits 408 to 410 are circuits for detecting a green marker. The enable signal generation circuits 411 to 413 are circuits for detecting a blue marker. As a representative example, an internal configuration of an enable signal generation circuit 405 for detecting a red marker will be described.

  The enable signal generation circuit 405 includes comparison circuits 401 and 402, an AND circuit (logical product circuit) 403, and an exclusive OR circuit 404. The comparison circuits 401 and 402 respectively compare the values input to the A input and the B input, and output 1 if B <A and 0 if B ≧ A. The upper limit CMP0HU for red marker detection is input to the A input of the comparison circuit 401, and H data (hue data) is input to the B input. When the H data is smaller than the value of CMP0HU, 1 is output, and when a value equal to or larger than the value of CMP0HU is input, 0 is output.

Further, the H data is input to the A input of the comparison circuit 402, and the H lower limit value CMP0HD for detecting the red marker is input to the B input. When the H data is equal to or larger than the value of CMP0DU, 1 is output, and when a value smaller than the value of signal CMP0DU is input, 0 is output. The outputs of the comparison circuits 401 and 402 are input to the AND circuit 403. The output of the AND circuit 403 is CMP0HD ≦ H <CMP0HU from the above description.
It becomes 1.

  The output of the AND circuit 403 is input to the exclusive OR circuit 404. The exclusive OR circuit 404 outputs the output of the AND circuit 403 as it is when the inverted signal INV0H is 0, and inverts and outputs the output of the AND circuit 403 when the inverted signal INV0H is 1.

With the above configuration, in the enable signal generation circuit 405, for the input comparison value H data (hue), the upper limit value CMP0HU, the lower limit value CMP0HD, and the inverted signal INV0H,
When INV0H = 0, H is CMP0HD ≦ H <CMP0HU
When INV0H = 1, H is H <CMP0HD or CMP0HU ≦ H
1 is output in the range of.

In the enable signal generation circuit 406, S data (saturation data) is input as a comparison value. That is, CMP0SU is input as the upper limit value, CMP0SD is input as the lower limit value, and INV0S is input as the inverted signal.
When INV0S = 0, S is CMP0SD ≦ S <CMP0SU
When INV0S = 1, S is S <CMP0SD or CMP0SU ≦ S
1 is output in the range of.

Similarly, in the enable signal generation circuit 407, L data (lightness data) is input as a comparison value. That is, CMP0LU is input as the upper limit value, CMP0LD is input as the lower limit value, and INV0L is input as the inverted signal. Therefore, when INV0L = 0, L is CMP0LD ≦ L <CMP0LU.
1 is output in the range of, and when INV0L = 1, L is L <CMP0LD or CMP0LU ≦ L
1 is output in the range of.

  A three-input AND circuit 417 is connected to the output side of the exclusive OR circuit 404. The 3-input AND circuit 417 outputs the logical product of the outputs of the enable signal generation circuits 405, 406, and 407 as a signal MARKER <0>.

  Similarly, the logical product of the outputs of the next-stage enable signal generation circuits 408, 409, and 410 by the AND circuit 418 is output as a signal MARKER <1>. Further, a logical product result of the outputs of the enable signal generation circuits 411, 412, and 413 in the subsequent stage by the AND circuit 419 is output as a signal MARKER <2>.

  In the present embodiment, in the signal MARKER <0>, a portion marked with a red marker pen is detected on the original, so the set values of the upper limit value and the lower limit value are taken by the red marker pen portion. Setting is performed in advance so that 1 is output in the range of H, S, and L to be obtained.

  Specifically, in the upper enable signal generation circuit 405, “8Ch” (h represents a hexadecimal number) is set as the upper limit value CMP0HU, “14h” is set as the lower limit value CMP0HD, and “1” is set as the inverted signal INV0H. is doing. In the enable signal generation circuit 406 in the middle stage, “FFh” is set as the upper limit value CMP0SU, “32h” is set as the lower limit value CMP0SD, and “0” is set as the inverted signal INV0S. In the lower enable signal generation circuit 407, “C8h” is set as the upper limit value CMP0LU, “32h” is set as the lower limit value CMP0LD, and “0” is set as the inversion signal INV0L. Here, H, S, and L are represented by 8-bit data.

  The signal MARKER <1> is a signal for detecting the MARKER signal in the green marker pen, and the signal MARKER <2> is a signal for detecting the MARKER signal in the blue marker pen. Therefore, the setting values of the enable signal generation circuits 408, 409, and 410 include the HSL range that the green marker can take, and the setting values of the enable signal generation circuits 411, 412, and 413 include the HSL range that the blue marker can take. It is set.

  After performing the above settings, when the original is scanned by the image scanner unit 201, the read image data is input to the image signal processing unit 209. As a result, in the enable signal generation circuits 405, 406, and 407, the H, S, and L data for the input image are compared with the upper limit value and the lower limit value, and a detection signal for the red marker pen is obtained as the signal MARKER <0>. , And output from the marker type identification unit 303. Similarly, detection signals for the green marker pen and the blue marker pen are output for the signals MARKER <1> and <2>, respectively.

<Details of area generation circuit>
The area generation circuit 117 generates an AREA signal based on the MARKER signal and the coordinate (POSITION) signal. When the editing area (area) is divided by rectangles, the AREA signal has data contents as shown in FIG. That is, "rectangular upper left point coordinates", "lower right point coordinates", "region type" corresponding to the marker color, "original number" when multiple originals are read at once, and numbers for each area. It consists of the “area number”.

<Details of layout decision circuit and layout instruction circuit>
Based on the LAYOUT signal from the layout instruction circuit 119 and the AREA signal from the area generation circuit, the layout determination circuit 118 generates a REPLACE signal in which the document is rearranged.

  In the layout instruction circuit 119, for example, LAYOUT signals corresponding to the buttons 50c and 50d arranged on the operation unit 300 of the device are set in advance. Which signal of the LAYOUT signals is used is determined by the selection of the button by the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the LAYOUT signal is set so as to realize “output one by one for each type”, “output one by two types together”, and the like. In addition to this, for example, “Output to separate paper for each area surrounded by colors”, “Red area, blue area, and green area from the top to the bottom of the sheet are arranged on one sheet of paper. "Output" can also be realized.

<Layout change operation in this embodiment>
Next, the layout change operation in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a read original handled in the present embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a layout change operation in the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 9, two regions each designated by a user with a marker pen or the like and written in a blue, red, and black three-color closed curve are designated on three originals. That is, on the document 1, an editing area 1 surrounded by a red marker pen and an editing area 2 surrounded by a blue marker pen are displayed. In the document 2, an editing area 3 surrounded by a red marker pen and an editing area 4 surrounded by a green marker pen are displayed. The document 3 also displays an editing area 5 surrounded by a green marker pen and an editing area 6 surrounded by a blue marker pen. Hereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the direction toward the right of the page is the x coordinate, and the direction toward the bottom of the page is the y coordinate.

  The user places the document shown in FIG. 9 on the platen glass 203 of the image scanner unit 201 and presses the button 50a or 50b on the operation unit 300 to select “normal copy” or “change layout”. (S11). If “normal copy” is selected, a normal copy operation is performed (S12).

  After selecting “change layout”, the layout change instruction buttons 50c and 50d are used to select a desired layout as required. However, the copier presses one of the layout change instruction buttons 50c and 50d. (S13).

  Now, it is assumed that the “output one sheet for each type” button 50c is pressed, that is, it is instructed to output one sheet for A4 for each color type. In this state, the start key 51 is pressed (S14). Then, the image scanner unit 201 starts scanning, and an image signal is sent to the image signal processing unit 209.

Through the marker signal generation process (S15) by the marker signal generation circuit 114 and the area generation process (S16) by the area generation circuit 117, an AREA signal having the contents as shown in FIG. 11 is generated. Here, the region surrounded by the red closed curve is assigned to the region type 1, the region surrounded by the blue closed curve is assigned to the region type 2, and the region surrounded by the green closed curve is assigned to the region type 3.
That is, the marker signal generation circuit 114 and the area generation circuit 117 determine the type of the edit area in the read image based on the detected marker color.

  The layout instruction circuit 119 has already sensed that the “output one for each type” button 50 c has been pressed, and has sent the corresponding signal LAYOUT to the layout determination circuit 118. The layout determination circuit 118 rearranges the data shown in FIG. 11 based on the LAYOUT signal and the AREA signal sent to generate data as shown in FIG. 12, and sends it to the layout change circuit 133 as a REPLACE signal ( S17).

  Next, a method for generating the REPLACE signal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the output image after the layout change in the present embodiment.

  The layout determination circuit 118 performs the following calculation using the x and y coordinates on the A4 sheet and generates a REPLACE signal.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in terms of coordinates, A4 paper is assigned numerical values of 0 to 4667 in the x-axis direction and 0 to 3307 in the y-axis direction. The layout determining circuit 118 performs layout within a range not exceeding this coordinate.

  First, the layout start point at the upper left of the output image is set. In order to make the output image easy to see, a value of (480, 480) is used as a default value in this embodiment in order to create a left margin above the output image as shown in FIG. . This value may be set by the user. Based on the AREA signal in FIG. 11, the areas of area numbers 1 and 3 (hereinafter referred to as editing area 1 and editing area 3 respectively) assigned to area type 1 are arranged on one sheet as output image A. To do.

  The upper left point of the editing area 1 is arranged according to the layout start point (480, 480). The upper left point of the editing area 3 is set to the upper right point (1580, 480) of the editing area 1 so that the editing area 3 is arranged in contact with the right boundary line of the editing area 1 that has already been arranged. . Regarding the output image A, even if the editing areas 1 and 3 are arranged with respect to the size of A4 paper, the layout does not protrude in the x coordinate direction and the y coordinate direction.

  Next, the output image B will be described. The upper left point of the editing area 2 is arranged according to the layout start point (480, 480). The upper left point of the editing area 6 is set to the upper right point (2480, 480) of the editing area 2 so that the editing area 6 is arranged in contact with the right boundary line of the editing area 2 that has already been arranged. . Then, the coordinates of the lower right point of the editing area 2 are (5760, 2080), and the editing area 6 protrudes with respect to the x coordinate direction. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 13, the editing area 6 is edited at the lower left point (480, 1280) of the editing area 2 so as to be placed in contact with the lower boundary line of the editing area 2. The points on the upper left of the region 6 are arranged together. Thus, by arranging the editing area 6 in contact with the lower boundary line instead of the right side of the editing area 2, the arranged editing areas 2 and 6 can be accommodated on A4 paper.

  If the editing area 6 cannot be fit on the A4 sheet even if it is arranged on the right side or the lower side of the editing area 2, each editing area can be reduced to fit on the A4 sheet. Conceivable.

  As with the output image A, the output image C can determine the layout.

  Through the above process, the image after the layout change in this embodiment is finally generated as shown in FIG. 13 based on the instruction “output one image for each color type”. (S18, S19).

  In this way, the editing areas determined to be the same type with the same marker color can be automatically rearranged based on a user instruction.

<Advantages of this embodiment>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily change the layout of a document by reading a document whose editing area is designated in advance by a marker or the like. That is, the user can easily obtain a document in which related sentences are rearranged in the vicinity without having knowledge about re-editing of the document.

  The object of the present invention can also be achieved by executing the following processing. That is, a storage medium that records a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, etc.) of the system or apparatus is stored in the storage medium. This is the process of reading the code.

  In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the program code and the storage medium storing the program code constitute the present invention.

  Moreover, the following can be used as a storage medium for supplying the program code. For example, floppy (registered trademark) disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD + RW, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM or the like. Alternatively, the program code may be downloaded via a network.

  Further, the present invention includes a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by executing the program code read by the computer. In addition, an OS (operating system) running on the computer performs part or all of the actual processing based on an instruction of the program code, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing. Is also included.

  Furthermore, a case where the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized by the following processing is also included in the present invention. That is, the program code read from the storage medium is written in a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer. Thereafter, based on the instruction of the program code, the CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic internal structure of a digital color copying apparatus according to an embodiment. It is an external view which shows schematic structure of an operation part. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of an image signal process part and its peripheral part. It is a block diagram which shows the circuit structure of an image signal process part and its peripheral part. It is explanatory drawing of the coordinate system of the read image in embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit configuration example of a marker signal generation circuit in FIG. 3. It is a circuit diagram which shows the circuit structural example of the marker kind identification part of FIG. It is a table format figure which shows the data content of the AREA signal in embodiment. It is the schematic showing the read original handled by embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the layout change operation | movement in embodiment. It is a table format figure which shows the data content of the AREA signal produced | generated in embodiment. It is a tabular form figure showing the data contents of the signal of the layout result generated in an embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the output image after the layout change in embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

114 Marker signal generation circuit 117 Area generation circuit 118 Layout determination circuit 119 Layout instruction circuit 133 Layout change circuit 146 CPU
200 Printer Unit 201 Image Scanner Unit 300 Operation Unit

Claims (6)

Image reading means for reading a document in which one or more types of editing areas are designated in advance;
Determination means for determining the type of the editing area in the read image read by the image reading means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: an automatic rearrangement unit that automatically rearranges edit areas determined to be the same type by the determination unit based on a predetermined instruction.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the type of the editing area based on a color of a line surrounding the editing area. The determination unit includes an extraction unit that extracts the color of the line from the read image, and an area generation unit that generates an editing region corresponding to each line color as a different type of editing region,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the automatic rearrangement unit rearranges the same type of edit area generated by the area generation unit based on a predetermined instruction.   4. The image processing according to claim 3, wherein the automatic rearrangement unit automatically contacts the boundary lines of the same type of editing area generated by the area generation unit and rearranges the editing area. 5. apparatus. An image reading step of reading a document in which one or more types of editing areas are designated in advance;
A determination step of determining a type of the editing area in the read image read in the image reading step;
An image processing method comprising: an automatic rearrangement step of automatically rearranging edit regions determined to be the same type by the determination step based on a predetermined instruction. A computer-readable program for realizing control of an image processing apparatus having an image reading unit that reads a document in which one or more types of editing areas are designated in advance,
A step of determining a type of the editing area in the read image read by the image reading unit;
A program characterized in that the automatic rearrangement means includes a step of automatically rearranging the editing areas determined to be of the same type by the above-described step based on a predetermined instruction.

Images