JP2009081791A - Image processing apparatus, and image processing program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of preventing the visibility of characters in an image after image processing from being more deteriorated as compared to characters subjected to an image processing to be determined as an image a background region including the characters when performing the image processing on an image including characters. <P>SOLUTION: An image separating means of the image processing apparatus separates, from an image region including a character image, the character image and a background image that does not include the character image, a dimension designating means accepts a reduction dimension designation of the image region including the character image, and an image processing means performs, on the basis of the reduction dimension designated by the dimension designating means on the character image or the background image separated by the image separating means. A combination means composites the image on which image processing has been performed by the image processing means, and the image separated by the image separating means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing program.

  Image processing apparatuses such as copiers provide image processing such as reduction, enlargement, enlargement / reduction by independent vertical and horizontal magnifications, and a function of outputting a plurality of pages collectively on one sheet. In addition, there is a technique for improving the visibility (ease of viewing and readability) of images.

  As a technique related to this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228867 has an object of enlarging a character image without a sense of incongruity by a relatively simple process, and outputting a character image in a manner that is easy for a reader to read. The processing unit inputs the document image information as digital data, the image data storage unit stores the input image data, the image analysis result, the image processing result, and the like, and the image region division processing unit converts the document image into a character Divide according to attributes such as area, graphics area, image area, etc., character area is divided up to one character unit, and character image processing unit expands to character image cut out by one character unit Appropriate character image enlargement processing is performed according to the rate, and enhancement processing and color processing such as increasing contrast and color conversion are performed. Relocating accordance with the algorithm various processed image is disclosed in the unit.

Further, for example, Patent Document 2 provides an image processing system that can remove excess blank portions from data to be printed, and can efficiently print out by saving paper during printing and copying. The image processing system performs rasterization (or PDL analysis) on the input data, separates the characters, graphics, and blanks into attributes and discriminates them by object, and sets the priority (importance level) set in advance. ), The object to be moved is reduced, the blank object is searched from the data in which a new blank part is generated, the reduced object is moved to the searched blank object, and the data is generated on the data after the movement. It is disclosed that the blank portion is deleted and the print layout is automatically changed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-025283 JP 2006-048520 A

By the way, even if a character is included in the image area, the entire area including the character has been determined as an image, so when image processing such as reduction processing is performed on the image. Since the characters are reduced in the same manner, the visibility of the characters may not be maintained.
Therefore, according to the present invention, when image processing is performed on an image including characters, a background area including characters is determined as an image and compared with characters subjected to image processing. An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing program that suppress the deterioration of the visibility of characters.

The gist of the present invention for achieving the object lies in the inventions of the following items.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, image separation means for separating an image region including a character image into the character image and a background image not including the character image, and a reduction size designation of the image region including the character image are received. Dimension designation means, image processing means for performing image processing on the character image or background image separated by the image separation means based on the reduced dimension designated by the dimension designation means, and an image by the image processing means An image processing apparatus comprising: a combining unit that combines a processed image or an image separated by the image separating unit.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application is characterized in that the image processing means converts the background image separated by the image separation means based on the reduced size and the size of the character image separated by the image separation means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus performs reduction processing so as to include image data.

  In the invention according to claim 3, the image processing means reduces the character image with a reduction size close to the annihilation degree as a lower limit value based on the annihilation degree of the blank in the character image extracted by the image separation means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

  The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that the image processing means fills a portion where the character image exists in a background image extracted by the image separation means. An image processing apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 5 of the present application is an image separating means for separating a computer from an image region including a character image into the character image and a background image not including the character image, and a reduction size of the image region including the character image. Dimension designation means for accepting designation, image processing means for performing image processing on the character image or background image separated by the image separation means based on the reduced dimension designated by the dimension designation means, and the image processing An image processing program that causes an image processed by the means or an image separated by the image separating means to function as a combining means.

  According to the image processing apparatus of claim 1, when image processing is performed on an image including a character image, the background region including the character image is determined as an image and compared with the character image subjected to image processing. It is possible to suppress the deterioration of the visibility of the character image in the image after the image processing.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the second aspect, the visibility can be improved without the character image protruding from the background image.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the third aspect, the reduction process can be performed without eliminating the blank portion in the character image.

  According to the image processing apparatus of the fourth aspect, it is possible to prevent the background image from being lost even when the character image and the background image are separately processed.

  According to the image processing program of claim 5, when image processing is performed on an image including a character image, the background region including the character image is determined as an image and compared with the character image subjected to image processing. It is possible to suppress the deterioration of the visibility of the character image in the image after the image processing.

Hereinafter, an example of a preferred embodiment for realizing the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a conceptual module configuration diagram of a configuration example of the present embodiment.
The module generally refers to components such as software (computer program) and hardware that can be logically separated. Therefore, the module in the present embodiment indicates not only a module in a computer program but also a module in a hardware configuration. Therefore, the present embodiment also serves as an explanation of a computer program, a system, and a method. However, for the sake of explanation, the words “store”, “store”, and equivalents thereof are used, but these words are stored in a storage device when the embodiment is a computer program, or It means to control to be stored in the storage device. In addition, the modules correspond almost one-to-one with the functions. However, in mounting, one module may be composed of one program, or a plurality of modules may be composed of one program. A plurality of programs may be used. The plurality of modules may be executed by one computer, or one module may be executed by a plurality of computers in a distributed or parallel environment. Note that one module may include other modules. In the following, “connection” includes not only physical connection but also logical connection (data exchange, instruction, reference relationship between data, etc.).
In addition, the system or device is configured by connecting a plurality of computers, hardware, devices, and the like by communication means such as a network (including one-to-one correspondence communication connection), etc., and one computer, hardware, device. The case where it implement | achieves by etc. is also included.

In the present embodiment, a case where a font character image is used as a character image and a simple pattern using a pattern as a background image will be mainly described as an example.
The image area including a character image refers to an image area including characters in a photo area or a graphic area, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment includes an image processing apparatus 100, an image receiving module 150, an image output module 160, and an image storage module 170.

  The image reception module 150 is connected to the image processing apparatus 100, the image output module 160, and the image storage module 170, receives a document image, and passes the document image to the image processing apparatus 100. Accepting a document image includes reading a document image with a scanner, receiving a document image with a fax, reading a document image from an image database, and the like. The document image includes an image including characters. The document image may be a single image or a plurality of images. Further, the content of the document image may be a document used for business, a pamphlet for advertisement, or the like.

  The image output module 160 is connected to the image processing apparatus 100, the image receiving module 150, and the image storage module 170, and outputs a document image processed by the image processing apparatus 100. Output includes printing on paper, outputting to a liquid crystal display, and the like.

  The image storage module 170 is connected to the image processing apparatus 100, the image reception module 150, and the image output module 160, and is a hard disk or the like that stores a document image processed by the image processing apparatus 100, and functions as a document DB or the like. It may be.

  The image processing apparatus 100 is connected to an image reception module 150, an image output module 160, and an image storage module 170, receives a document image received by the image reception module 150, and reduces, enlarges, Image processing such as enlargement / reduction by independent vertical and horizontal magnifications, processing for outputting a plurality of pages collectively on a single sheet, rotation, image extraction, and the like, and processing the document image as an image output module 160 or image It is passed to the storage module 170.

  The image processing apparatus 100 includes a layout adjustment module 110, a new dimension designation module 120, an image component separation module 130, and an image composition module 140. The layout adjustment module 110 further includes an image processing control module 111, a foreground image processing module 112, and a background image processing module 113.

  The new dimension designation module 120 is connected to the layout adjustment module 110, the image component separation module 130, and the image composition module 140, and designates a reduced dimension to be passed to the image output module 160 or the image storage module 170 after image processing. The designation may be performed in accordance with an operation by the operator, or may be designated by a predetermined value. The reduced dimensions include those for enlargement in addition to reduction, and are reduction dimensions for reducing / enlarging an image received by the image receiving module 150. The reduction size is the size of the document image, for example, the size of the output paper (specifically, A4, A3, etc.), and the enlargement / reduction ratio (vertical / horizontal) of the document image passed from the image receiving module 150. There are the number of pages to be output together on a single sheet. Then, the designated reduced size is transferred to the image processing control module 111 of the layout adjustment module 110.

The image component separation module 130 is connected to the layout adjustment module 110, the new dimension designation module 120, and the image composition module 140, and converts the document image received by the image reception module 150 into an element image constituting the document image. To separate. Element images include character images (either font character images or handwritten character images) and background images (single color areas, simple patterns (patterns, screen tones, gradations, etc.), figures (line drawings), etc. ) Further, the image component separation module 130 separates a character image and a background image not including the character image from the image region including the character image. This separation process will be described later with reference to FIG. The separated results (each image, coordinates representing the position of each image, etc.) are passed to the layout adjustment module 110. Whether or not the pattern is a simple pattern determines whether or not a pattern having the same identity is repeatedly generated.
The image component separation module 130 may further separate the background image into an effective element image and a background image. Here, the effective element image is an image that is in the background image and is not a character image, but is different from an area that occupies most of the area in the background image. For example, a line figure such as a logo mark in a single color background image is applicable.
The image component separation module 130 may separate the character image into a character image for each line and a character image for each character (for example, a black pixel block composed of connected pixels).
Further, the image component separation module 130 may separate margins. The margin is a single color area continuous from the periphery of the document image. The image component separation module 130 may perform the separation process after correcting (removing) dirt, image reading noise, and the like.

  The layout adjustment module 110 is connected to the new dimension designation module 120, the image component separation module 130, and the image composition module 140, receives the character image and the background image separated by the image component separation module 130, and receives the new dimension designation. Based on the reduced size specified by the module 120, image processing is performed on the character image or background image.

The image processing control module 111 controls the foreground image processing module 112 and the background image processing module 113. Image processing by the foreground image processing module 112 is performed on the character image separated by the image component separation module 130, and the image by the background image processing module 113 is performed on the background image separated by the image component separation module 130. Let the process do. Control is performed so that separate processing suitable for each image is performed.
Further, the image processing control module 111 may determine the reduction rate of the reduction processing by the foreground image processing module 112 according to the disappearance degree of the blank in the character image.
Further, the enlargement ratio or reduction ratio of the background image may be determined according to the size of the character image. That is, in the case of a background image that includes a character image and surrounds the character image, the background image is enlarged or reduced so as to have a size surrounding the character image.
Further, the image processing control module 111 controls the foreground image processing module 112 or the background image processing module 113 to enlarge either the background image or the character image separated by the image component separation module 130. Good. For example, if the image area includes a character image and the character image extends beyond the background image, only the background image is enlarged by the background image processing module 113 so that the character image remains the same size. You may control to.

The foreground image processing module 112 performs image processing on the character image separated by the image component separation module 130 based on control by the image processing control module 111.
Further, the character image may be reduced based on the disappearance degree of the blank in the character image. Here, the extinction degree of white space in a character image means that the distance between lines constituting the character disappears and the lines overlap each other (for example, the “field” part in the “drawing” is black). This means the reduction ratio in the case of a square. For example, if the reduction rate is smaller than the reduction rate, as described above, there is no space between lines constituting the character, and the lines overlap each other, so that the character visibility deteriorates. Therefore, the character image may be reduced to a value close to the reduction rate with the reduction rate as the lower limit value.
Further, the color of the character image may be reduced. Color reduction refers to reducing the number of colors.

The background image processing module 113 performs image processing on the background image separated by the image component separation module 130 based on the control by the image processing control module 111.
Further, the background image may be subjected to image processing based on the size of the character image. For example, the background image may be reduced to a size that surrounds the character image.
Further, a portion where the character image exists in the background image may be filled. For example, a background image obtained by erasing the character image from the image area including the character image, and the trace of the erased character image may be filled with pixels around the character image.
The background image may be lightened or subtracted. Lightening means converting a dark color image into a light color image.

The image composition module 140 is connected to the layout adjustment module 110, the new dimension designation module 120, and the image component separation module 130, and performs composition processing with the character image or background image subjected to image processing by the layout adjustment module 110. In this case, in addition to the case where the image (character image or background image) resulting from the image processing by the layout adjustment module 110 and the image separated by the image component separation module 130 (background image or character image) are combined, There are cases where both of the images to be combined are images resulting from image processing by the layout adjustment module 110.
Further, when the effective component image is separated from the background image by the image component separation module 130, the image composition module 140 may synthesize a character image based on the effective component image. For example, a character image is synthesized so as not to overlap the effective element image.

A processing example for reducing and synthesizing the background image will be described with reference to FIG.
The image reception module 150 receives the document image 200.
The document image 200 includes a background image 201, a character image 202, a character image 203A, a character image 203B, and a graphic 204 (see FIG. 2A). That is, the character image 202 is included in the area of the background image 201.
The new dimension designating module 120 designates a reduction ratio according to the operation of the operator. Specifically, the reduction ratio is designated to make the document image 200 the size of the processed document image 210.

The image component separation module 130 separates the document image 200 into a background image 201, a character image 202, a character image 203A, a character image 203B, and a graphic 204.
The image processing control module 111 controls the background image processing module 113 to reduce the background image 201 according to the reduction ratio specified by the new dimension specifying module 120 and the size of the character image 202. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform image processing (reduction processing) on the character image 202 or the like, reduction processing by the foreground image processing module 112 is unnecessary. Further, since it is not necessary to perform a reduction process on the graphic 204 based on the size and distribution of the margin, the reduction process of the background image processing module 113 on the graphic 204 is also unnecessary.
The background image processing module 113 reduces the background image 201 according to the reduction ratio specified by the new dimension specifying module 120 and the size of the character image 202 under the control of the image processing control module 111. That is, the background image 201 is reduced at a reduction rate that approximates the reduction rate specified by the new dimension specification module 120 and that is a size that surrounds the character image 202.

The image composition module 140 reduces the respective areas (background image 211, character image 202, character image 203A, character image 203B, figure 204) image-processed by the layout adjustment module 110, which are designated by the new dimension designation module 120. Composite according to the rate, the coordinates of each original area, the size and distribution of the margin.
A post-processing document image 210, which is a synthesis result by the image synthesis module 140, has a background image 211, a character image 202, a character image 203A, a character image 203B, and a graphic 204 (see FIG. 2B). When the background image 201 and the character image 202 are reduced without being separated, an image as shown in FIG. That is, the character image 222 is also reduced, and the visibility is degraded as compared with the character image 202 in the original document image 200.

Examples of character image and background image separation processing, painting processing, and composition processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. That is, an example of processing by the image component separation module 130, the layout adjustment module 110, and the image composition module 140 will be described.
The image component separation module 130 separates the background image 201 and the character image 202 from an image (see FIG. 3A) that includes the character image 202 in the background image 201 (see FIGS. 3B and 3C). ). As the separation method here, for example, edge extraction is performed, the feature of the image within the edge is extracted, and the background image 201 and the character image 202 are separated according to the position in the feature space.
The background image 201 is generated by deleting the portion where the character image exists (see the white “Abc” in FIG. 4A). FIG. 4B shows the character portion background 202A of the “A” portion.

The image processing control module 111 of the layout adjustment module 110 passes the background image 201 to the background image processing module 113. The background image processing module 113 fills a region where the character image 202 in the background image 201 was present (see FIGS. 3D and 4C). FIG. 4D shows a character portion background 302A in which the portion “A” is filled.
Next, the background image processing module 113 performs a reduction process on the background image 301 that has been filled (see FIG. 3E).
The image composition module 140 synthesizes the character image 202 separated by the image component separation module 130 and the background image 211 that has been painted and reduced by the background image processing module 113 (see FIG. 3F). When the image component separation module 130 performs the separation process without performing the separation process, the result is as shown in FIG. In general, since a character image is composed of thin lines, even a relatively simple process of filling with surrounding colors is reduced so that the filling does not stand out.

A processing example relating to further separation of the character image will be described with reference to FIG.
The document image 500 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes a photograph 501, a character image 502, a character image 503, a graphic 504, a character image 505, and a character image 506 (see FIG. 5A). ).
The document image 500 is separated into respective regions by the image component separation module 130, and the character image 503 (see FIG. 5B) is separated into character line regions 5031, 5032, and 5033 for each line. (See FIG. 5C). Further, for example, the character line area 5031 is separated into character unit areas 5031a, 5031b, 5031c, 5031d, 5031e, 5031f, and 5031g (see FIG. 5D).
Here, the separation for each row is performed by generating a histogram of colored pixels in the vertical direction (or horizontal direction) and separating the character image in the horizontal direction (or vertical direction) where there is no distribution. Similarly, separation for each character is performed by generating a histogram of colored pixels in the horizontal direction (or vertical direction) and separating the character image in the vertical direction (or horizontal direction) where there is no distribution.

An example of character image processing will be described with reference to FIG.
That is, when the composition is simply performed according to the reduction ratio, a circumscribed rectangle of a certain character image may protrude from the paper in the horizontal direction, but the area may be included in the vertical direction. If the character image is a two-dimensional continuous area (character image consisting of two or more lines) or a one-dimensional continuous area (character image consisting of one line), the character image is further separated, and the horizontal / vertical ratio of the circumscribed rectangle Is changed and combined with the background image or the like to generate a reduced image.

The document image 600 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes a photograph 601, a character image 602, a character image 603, a graphic 604, and a character image 605 (see FIG. 6A).
The document image 600 is separated into respective areas by the image component separation module 130, and the character image 603 is separated into character images for each character as described above. That is, “a” to “m”, “n” to “v”, and “w” to “z” in the character image 603 are further divided into 26 characters “a” to “z”. .

The image composition module 140 determines whether the character image 603 separated by the image component separation module 130 fits in the margin area and its distribution when they are combined. In this case, it is determined that the characters do not fit, and the character images for each character are rearranged using the character images for each character (26 characters “a” to “z”) so as to fit in the margin when combined. However, the rearrangement is performed without changing the order of the character images.
As a result of synthesis by the image synthesis module 140, as shown in FIG. 6B, each element image is not reduced, but each element image is reconstructed with a reduced margin.

A processing example in the case where each element image fits within the output paper will be described with reference to FIG.
The image component separation module 130 calculates the minimum circumscribed rectangle of each separated element image. Then, when the circumscribed rectangle of the element image fits within the output paper designated by the new dimension designation module 120, the image composition module 140 performs the composition reduction without reducing each element image in the original image. An image.

Specifically, the document image 700 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes a photograph 701, a character image 702, a character image 703, a figure 704, and a character image 705 (FIG. 7A). reference).
The circumscribed rectangle of the element image is calculated by the image component separation module 130, and the image composition module 140 determines that the circumscribed rectangle can be accommodated in the output paper without being reduced.
Therefore, the image composition module 140 arranges each element image with the same size as it is in the output paper image (processed document image 710) (see FIG. 7B). In the arrangement, the margin is generally reduced. However, in the case of FIG. 7, the size of the margin does not change because the target image 706 in the document image 700 (an area including all the element images) is the same size as the processed document image 710.

A processing example in the case where each element fits in the output paper by rotation will be described with reference to FIG.
The image component separation module 130 calculates the minimum circumscribed rectangle of each separated element image. Here, the minimum circumscribed rectangle is a rectangle surrounding the outer periphery, and may be a tilted rectangle. Then, the image composition module 140 does not reduce each element image in the original image when the circumscribed rectangle of the element image fits within the output paper designated by the new dimension designation module 120 if the rotation processing is performed. Then, a combined reduced image is obtained.

Specifically, the document image 800 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes a photograph 801, a character image 802, a character image 803, a figure 804, and a character image 805 (FIG. 8A). reference).
The circumscribed rectangle of the element image is calculated by the image component separation module 130, and it is found that the image composition module 140 fits in the output paper by performing rotation processing without reducing the circumscribed rectangle.
Therefore, the image composition module 140 performs a rotation process on each element image and arranges it in the output paper image (processed document image 810) with the same size (see FIG. 8B). . In the arrangement, the margin is generally reduced. However, in the case of FIG. 8, the size of the margin does not change because the target image 806 in the document image 800 (an area including all the element images) is the same size as the processed document image 810. Note that the image composition module 140 may instruct the layout adjustment module 110 to perform each rotation process.

An example in which the composition process is performed based on the image of the effective element in the background image will be described with reference to FIG.
In the description using FIGS. 2 to 4, the background image is reduced to the same size as the character image and synthesized. In other words, whatever the background image is, the character image occupies most of the area of the background image.
However, the background image may include a characteristic figure (effective element image) such as a logo or a mark.
Therefore, in order to suppress the deterioration of the visibility of not only the character image but also the background image, the following may be performed.
The image component separation module 130 detects the position of the effective element image. Here, the position of the effective element image is detected with respect to the background image by extracting a figure that is not a repetitive pattern.
If there is an effective element image in the background image, the image composition module 140 avoids superimposition with the effective element image and arranges the character image. When there are a plurality of effective element images, a large graphic is selected from them, and a character image is arranged avoiding superposition with the graphic.

The document image 900 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes effective element images 901 and 902, a character image 903, and an effective element image 904 (see FIG. 9A).
The image component separation module 130 separates the background image 910 (see FIG. 9B) and the character image 920 (see FIG. 9C). Further, the effective element images 901, 902, and 904 in the background image 910 are separated. However, the separation here is to detect the position without having to erase the portion where the effective element image exists unlike the separation of the character image.

  Since there are a plurality of effective element images in the background image 910, the image composition module 140 selects a large processed effective element image 934 among them. Then, the image composition module 140 places the character image 920 in the processed document image 930 while avoiding the position where the processed effective element image 934 is located (see FIG. 9D). FIG. 9E shows a case where the character image 920 is arranged in the center of the processed document image 940 without avoiding the effective element image. In this case, the processed effective element image 944 that is a logo in the background image is hidden by the character image 920.

An example in which the enlargement process is performed so as to eliminate the protrusion of the character image will be described with reference to FIG.
In the above-described embodiment, it has been explained that the deterioration of the visibility of characters mainly due to the reduction process has been described. Similarly, in the enlargement process, in order to suppress the deterioration of the visibility of characters, the background image and the character image Control magnification individually.
For example, in a design drawing or the like, characters are superimposed on a graphic element and written, but the character may be written so as to protrude from the graphic element due to document size or layout restrictions. For such a document, when enlarging the image, only the margin and the background image are enlarged, and the character image is not enlarged, and is arranged so as to fit in the figure as each background element after enlargement.

Specifically, the document image 1000 is an image received by the image receiving module 150, and includes a character image 1001, a character image 1002, and a character image 1003 (see FIG. 10A).
The image component separation module 130 separates the background image 1010 (see FIG. 10B) and the character images 1001, 1002, and 1003 (see FIG. 10C).
The background image processing module 113 in the layout adjustment module 110 enlarges the background image 1010 according to the enlargement ratio designated by the new dimension designation module 120 under the control of the image processing control module 111.
Then, the image composition module 140 arranges the character images 1001, 1002, and 1003 based on the enlargement ratio and the position of the background image after the enlargement process (see FIG. 10D).

  In the description using FIGS. 2 to 10 of the above embodiment, it is shown that the character image is used as it is without being reduced. However, even if the character image is reduced to such a degree that visibility deterioration can be suppressed. Good. For example, it is assumed that the character image needs to be reduced to 25% from the size of the output paper. However, assuming that the character image is limited to 50% due to the disappearance of white space in the character image, if the area of the background image is more than four times the area of the character image, the background image is reduced to 25. %, And the character image may be reduced to 50% and synthesized.

In addition, when the background image separated by the image component separation module 130 is lightened or subtracted in order to maintain the visibility of the character image, the character image may be synthesized as it is.
In order to improve the visibility of the character image, when the character image separated by the image component separation module 130 is to be reduced, it may be reduced to a darker color.

  A hardware configuration example of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration shown in FIG. 11 is configured by a personal computer (PC), for example, and shows a hardware configuration example including a data reading unit 1117 such as a scanner and a data output unit 1118 such as a printer.

  A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1101 is a computer that describes execution sequences of various modules described in the above-described embodiments, that is, the image component separation module 130, the layout adjustment module 110, the image composition module 140, and the like. A control unit that executes processing according to a program.

  A ROM (Read Only Memory) 1102 stores programs used by the CPU 1101, calculation parameters, and the like. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 1103 stores programs used in the execution of the CPU 1101, parameters that change as appropriate during the execution, and the like. These are connected to each other by a host bus 1104 including a CPU bus.

  The host bus 1104 is connected to an external bus 1106 such as a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect / Interface) bus via a bridge 1105.

  A keyboard 1108 and a pointing device 1109 such as a mouse are input devices operated by an operator. The display 1110 includes a liquid crystal display device or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), and displays various types of information as text and image information.

  An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 1111 includes a hard disk, drives the hard disk, and records or reproduces a program executed by the CPU 1101 and information. The hard disk stores the document image received by the image receiving module 150, the document image after the composition processing by the image composition module 140, and the like. Further, various computer programs such as various other data processing programs are stored.

  The drive 1112 reads out data or a program recorded in a removable recording medium 1113 such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and the data or program is read out as an interface 1107 and an external bus 1106. , A bridge 1105, and a RAM 1103 connected via a host bus 1104. The removable recording medium 1113 can also be used as a data recording area equivalent to a hard disk.

  The connection port 1114 is a port for connecting the external connection device 1115 and has a connection unit such as USB or IEEE1394. The connection port 1114 is connected to the CPU 1101 and the like via the interface 1107, the external bus 1106, the bridge 1105, the host bus 1104, and the like. The communication unit 1116 is connected to the network and executes data communication processing with the outside. The data reading unit 1117 is a scanner, for example, and executes document reading processing. The data output unit 1118 is a printer, for example, and executes document data output processing.

Note that the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 11 illustrates one configuration example, and the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG. 11, and is a configuration capable of executing the modules described in the present embodiment. I just need it. For example, some modules may be configured with dedicated hardware (for example, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.), and some modules are in an external system and connected via a communication line In addition, a plurality of systems shown in FIG. 11 may be connected to each other via a communication line so as to cooperate with each other. Further, it may be incorporated in a copying machine, a fax machine, a scanner, a printer, a multifunction machine (an image processing apparatus having any two or more functions of a scanner, a printer, a copying machine, a fax machine, etc.).
For example, it may be realized as an additional function of an enlargement / reduction function in a copying machine or a multifunction machine. Further, it may be used when creating a thumbnail image (reduced image) of a photograph in which characters are photographed. Also, when displaying a Web page that contains characters in the image, use it for universal design (design that fits everyone regardless of age or ability). Also good. Moreover, when displaying the above-mentioned Web page on a small display such as a mobile phone, it may be used to improve the visibility of characters.

The program described above may be provided by being stored in a recording medium, or the program may be provided by communication means. In that case, for example, the above-described program may be regarded as an invention of a “computer-readable recording medium recording the program”.
The “computer-readable recording medium on which a program is recorded” refers to a computer-readable recording medium on which a program is recorded, which is used for program installation, execution, program distribution, and the like.
The recording medium is, for example, a digital versatile disc (DVD), which is a standard established by the DVD Forum, such as “DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM,” and DVD + RW. Standards such as “DVD + R, DVD + RW, etc.”, compact discs (CDs), read-only memory (CD-ROM), CD recordable (CD-R), CD rewritable (CD-RW), etc. MO), flexible disk (FD), magnetic tape, hard disk, read only memory (ROM), electrically erasable and rewritable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, random access memory (RAM), etc. It is.
The program or a part of the program may be recorded on the recording medium for storage or distribution. Also, by communication, for example, a local area network (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wired network used for the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, etc., or wireless communication It may be transmitted using a transmission medium such as a network or a combination of these, or may be carried on a carrier wave.
Furthermore, the program may be a part of another program, or may be recorded on a recording medium together with a separate program. Moreover, it may be divided and recorded on a plurality of recording media. Further, it may be recorded in any manner as long as it can be restored, such as compression or encryption.

It is a conceptual module block diagram about the structural example of this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process example which reduces and synthesize | combines a background image. It is explanatory drawing which shows examples, such as a separation process of a character image and a background image. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a painting process of the part in which the character image existed. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process example regarding isolation | separation of a character element. It is explanatory drawing which shows the image processing example of a character image. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a process in case each element image fits in the paper for output. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process example in case each element image fits in the paper for output by rotation. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which performs a compositing process based on the image of the effective element in a background image. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example which performs an enlargement process so that the protrusion of a character image may be eliminated. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware structural example of the computer which implement | achieves this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Image processing apparatus 110 ... Layout adjustment module 111 ... Image processing control module 112 ... Foreground image processing module 113 ... Background image processing module 120 ... New dimension designation module 130 ... Image component separation module 140 ... Image composition module 150 ... Image reception Module 160 ... Image output module 170 ... Image storage module

Claims (5)

Image separating means for separating the character image and a background image not including the character image from an image region including the character image;
Dimension designation means for receiving a reduced dimension designation of an image area including the character image;
Image processing means for performing image processing on the character image or background image separated by the image separation means based on the reduced size designated by the dimension designation means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: a combining unit that combines the image processed by the image processing unit or the image separated by the image separating unit. The image processing means reduces the background image separated by the image separating means so as to include the character image based on the reduced size and the size of the character image separated by the image separating means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The image processing means reduces the character image with a reduction size close to the annihilation degree as a lower limit value based on the annihilation degree of white space in the character image extracted by the image separation means. An image processing apparatus according to 1. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image processing unit fills a portion where the character image exists in the background image extracted by the image separation unit. Computer
Image separating means for separating the character image and a background image not including the character image from an image region including the character image;
Dimension designation means for receiving a reduced dimension designation of an image area including the character image;
Image processing means for performing image processing on the character image or background image separated by the image separation means based on the reduced size designated by the dimension designation means;
An image processing program causing an image processed by the image processing means or a combining means for combining the images separated by the image separating means.

Images