JPH0795386A - Picture processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain the picture processing system optimum especially to printing of leaflets by processing plural versions in matching with a specific condition to be one logical processing in the case of pattern image edit of a work station. CONSTITUTION:The system is provided with a picture processing unit comprising a work station 300 provided with 40 input controller 100, a file server 200, an image setter and a storage section and since each processing unit is provided with an independent CPU, each processing unit is operated independently and in parallel. Then all of three conditions, that is, an object is a combined object resulting from two objects or over, all objects are picture arrangement objects and coordinates and picture arrangement points of the objects are identical to each other and two versions or over are in existence, are satisfied, pictures of plural versions are processed as one picture logically and processed as one component. Thus, it is not required operate separately the pictures of the plural versions and to process them and then this system is most suitable for picture processing a photograph and a two/three color print.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention has a workstation adapted to read a character image and an image of a design of a layout mount (a block mount, a rough designation paper, etc.) and then lay out and output it. In image processing system, it is especially suitable for leaflet printing by judging whether or not there are multiple editions when editing the screen of the workstation and logically integrating them when the specified conditions are met. Image processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image processing apparatus for a printing company that demands high quality, there is no apparatus for editing images by comprehensively integrating images of characters, patterns, etc. It was not the target. In particular, the desktop publishing field is becoming possible by a page description language such as Postscript, but the capabilities and performance of the image field are low. Image processing devices for printing companies also exist, but they are not sufficient for handling large amounts of data at high speed. The reason for this is that there is too much data to be processed in order to support processing by a descriptive language for collectively processing characters and images, and processing by a CPU (software), resulting in lack of performance. is there. To output only the code data in order to create a block for printing, it is necessary to convert each character to a bit map and also to expand it into a bit map every few rasters in advance. Stores all or part of the output image in a temporary buffer and sends it to the output device. In order to reduce the memory capacity of the buffer, the output device is stored in the buffer of the output image. It is supposed to wait.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned device, characters and pictures cannot be laid out and output at the same time, and even if the character bitmap is laid out in advance on the buffer for outputting the bitmap, It has a drawback that it takes a lot of time to realize it. Alternatively, characters and pictures are output on different papers or films, and the operator manually cuts and pastes them on the papers or films. For this reason, a lot of repetitive work such as exposure and printing takes a lot of time, and intermediately generated photosensitive materials are wasted.

Further, in the conventional image processing apparatus, when a photograph is color-separated into two images (for example, red and black) and arranged at the same position and size, each color image is operated separately and fitted into a predetermined frame. , Processing such as moving by a predetermined amount is performed. Therefore, it is necessary to operate the two images separately, it is very difficult to align the two images, and the image processing is also inefficient.

The present invention has been made under the circumstances described above, and an object of the present invention is an image processing system having a workstation for interactively editing a large amount of character and picture image data electronically at high speed. In order to provide an image processing system capable of processing a plurality of versions that meet a predetermined condition logically as one when editing the screen of the workstation.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a screen is edited using a display means, and a work station having a storage section and an edit data which is connected to the work station and screen-edited by the work station are stored. It relates to an image processing system consisting of storage means,
The above object of the present invention is that, when the screen of the workstation is edited, it is a composite object of two or more objects, all the objects are image arrangement objects, and the coordinates and the image arrangement points of the objects are the same. , A plurality of versions is determined, and when all the conditions are satisfied, the plurality of objects are logically made one and can be processed.

[0007]

The image processing system of the present invention has an image processing device including an input controller, a file server, an image setter, and a workstation having a storage unit, each of which has an independent CPU (microprocessor, microcomputer, etc.). Since each part can be operated independently and in parallel, high-speed and efficient image processing can be realized, and the information on the layout mount and the pattern and characters can be edited interactively. Thus, the memory capacity can be made as small as possible to obtain a higher quality image than the image output device as a hard copy or a printing block. Moreover, according to the present invention, when all the predetermined conditions are satisfied, the plurality of versions are logically made one so that they can be operated like one part. For this reason, it is most suitable for editing leaflet printing in which the advertising effect is increased by using two colors or three colors and the printing is simple.

[0008]

1 to 3 are block diagrams showing the structure of an image processing apparatus which is a premise of the present invention. An input device 1 such as a scanner for a design, a character, a figure, and an original such as a layout mount.
The density data DD of the image obtained by reading the input density data DD is input to the input controller 100, and the input controller 100 inputs the above-mentioned density data DD via the built-in CPU 101.
Is converted into a halftone dot by the halftoning circuit 102, and the compression circuit 103
After being compressed by the method, the data is temporarily stored in the buffer 104, then transferred via the SCSI bus and stored in the magneto-optical disk 230, the magnetic tape 210 or the hard disks 220, 221, ... Of the file server 200. The input controller 100 has a local disk (hard disk) 105 for temporarily storing data. The file server 200 of the file system has a CPU 201 and is connected to other devices via interfaces 202 to 205. Further, the code information CD such as characters obtained by the edit input device 2 such as a word processor or a typesetting machine is once stored in the floppy disk 3 and then read out and input to the workstation 300. Workstation 30
Reference numeral 0 denotes a CRT 301 as a display unit, a keyboard 302 as an input operation unit, a mouse 306 and a digitizer 303, a hard disk 304 as a storage unit,
The workstation 300 has a plurality of sets of terminal devices each having a floppy disk 305.
It is mutually connected to the file server 200 via the net. The image data, frame data, and contour display image data thinned out for CRT display obtained by the input controller 100 are the magneto-optical disk 230 and the magnetic tape 21.
0 or the hard disks 220, 221, ... Are stored together with high-density data that has not been thinned out for image output,
The thinned-out data is read out via the SCSI bus and transferred to the workstation 300 via the interfaces 204 and 202. Control commands and the like with the input controller 100 are interfaced with the file server 200 via the auxiliary data line 4. An image setter 400 is further connected to the file server 200. CPU 40 for the imagesetter 400
1 is provided and is connected to the auxiliary data line 5 of the file server 200 via the interface 402,
It is connected to the SCSI bus via the interface 403. The imagesetter 400 is a sequencer 41
0 and a buffer 411 for storing necessary data, and the image setter 400 includes a high-quality image output device 6 for outputting a high-quality image and a laser beam printer (LBP) 7 for outputting an image of a relatively low image quality. It is connected.
The hard disks 220, 221, ... Or the magneto-optical disk 230 previously store fixed data (bitmap data) such as logos, coats of arms, meshes, and vector font data for character output.

In the input device 1, a pattern (halftone image), a line drawing, and a character image (binary image) are digitized by density data (8 bits / pixel). The signal input at 8 bits / pixel is converted into a dot pattern by the input controller 100,
Information of 4 bits / pixel is generated. The binary image is converted into 1-bit / pixel information. Further, although characters are input as codes from the workstation 300, they may be input as images from the input device 1. Therefore, when input as an image, even a character is treated as an image (bitmap data). Although all images are output by the imagesetter 400, the code set and vector information are all converted to bitmap data in the imagesetter 400. Therefore, use image output to mean that bitmap data is output. become.

The details of the input controller 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The input controller 100 converts the density data DD input from the input device 1 into high density data for the high image quality output device 6 and a laser beam printer. Data for 7, CRT 301 on workstation 300
The two sets of data for displaying and the five sets of rough image data sufficient to show the contour are simultaneously generated. By performing simultaneous parallel processing, overall speedup can be realized, and the CPU 10 can be implemented by hardware.
This is because the load of the data generation calculation 1 can be reduced. That is, the high-density data for the high-quality image output device 6 is converted into a halftone dot by the halftone dot conversion circuit 1021, compressed by the compression circuit 1031, and the compressed data is temporarily stored in the buffer 1041. In addition, the laser beam printer 7 having a relatively low image quality
In the data for image output in step (110), the density data DD is thinned out at a predetermined interval (for example, 1/3) (110), and the rough data is converted into a halftone dot by the halftone dot circuit 1022 and the compression circuit 103.
It is compressed at 2, and then temporarily stored in the buffer 1042. Further, two types of coarser data to be displayed on the CRT 301 are screened by the halftone dot circuits 1023 and 10 after thinning out the density data DD at predetermined intervals.
In the case of a line drawing for forming a cutout mask from a halftone image, the image data after Laplacian processing or unsharp masking processing is thinned out in 24 in the case of halftone dot formation and temporary storage in buffers 1043 and 1044 respectively. (113), and then the binarization circuit 1025 outputs 2
It is adapted to be digitized and temporarily stored in the buffer 1045.

In such a configuration, the CPU 101 communicates with the input device 1 via a data line (not shown), and also the auxiliary data line 4 and the dual port RA.
It communicates with the file server 200 via M (not shown). Then, when there is a data transmission request from the input device 1, the CPU 101 sets necessary data in each circuit shown in FIG. 4, stores the setting data in the local disk 105, and further sets the setting values related to the sub-scanning. set. The density data DD from the input device 1 is input line by line, and the circuits shown in FIG.
It is stored in (1041 to 1045). CPU1 during this time
01 checks the SCSI bus switching, the data compression output buffer 1041 switching, and the presence or absence of error information from various circuits. The data once stored in the buffer 104 and the local disk 105 is sorted by a command from the CPU 101 and output to an external SCSI bus.

The configuration of the file server 200 that constitutes the file system is as shown in FIG. 2. This file server 200 has common file management functions such as file management and file sharing, and communication for network communication and unit communication. It has a control function. That is, the file server 200 is connected to the hard disk (220, 221, ...) And the magnetic tape 2 via the SCSI bus.
10 and the magneto-optical disk 230 are managed, and the workstation 3 is connected via Ethernet.
00 and a software interface function, and further includes an input controller 100 and an image setter 400.
File management information service to the PC and utility function for file management via the SCSI bus. For example, font registration and garbage collection of SCSI disk (dust removal processing). There are two types of font registration here. One is registration of fonts possessed by the system, and this registration stores vector fonts created by other font creation systems in the form of magnetic tape in the hard disk of the image processing apparatus. The other is the registration of external character fonts. The external character font is a character that does not exist in the device. In this case, the font created by another device is registered in this device from a floppy or magnetic tape.

The file server 200 stores services and data for transferring data between the workstation 300, the input controller 100 and the imagesetter 400, and the input controller 100 stores the auxiliary data line 4 and the dual port RAM. Then, necessary information is obtained from the file server 200 for securing and deleting areas of various files. Input controller 100
In order to register the data once stored in the internal buffer 104 as a file of the image processing apparatus, information such as the file name and the file capacity is transferred to the file server 200, and the SCS
Magneto-optical disk 230 or hard disk 2 on I-bus
Access 20, 221 ... As a result, the file server 200 manages directory communication and disk area management. Also, the file server 200 is Eth
File data is transferred to the workstation 300 or data is received from the workstation 300 via the Internet. At this time, the file server 200 executes the SCS according to the instruction from the workstation 300.
Magneto-optical disk 230, hard disk (2
20, ...) and the magnetic tape 210, and updates necessary information such as directories. Also, imagesetter 4
The command for 00 and the command for the magnetic tape 210 are obtained, and the service is performed according to the command. Further, a predetermined command is sent to the imagesetter 400 via the auxiliary data line 5 and the dual port RAM, file management information is sent in response to a request from the imagesetter 400, and disk data on the SCSI bus is sent. As a result, the imagesetter 400 is directly accessed. Further, utility information related to the entire image processing apparatus is managed by the magneto-optical disk 230, hard disks 220, 221, ... On the SCSI bus, and font information, common files on the apparatus, etc. correspond to those information.

Next, the operation of the workstation 300 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 5. The document data edited by the edit input device 2 and stored is read from the floppy disk 3 (step S310).
The code information CD of the document data is converted in data format (step S311). And CRT
One page of document contents is displayed on 301 (step S3
12) The image data output position of the image read from the layout mount or the like is designated by the mouse 306, the keyboard 302, and the digitizer 303 (step S313), and page description data for each page is created together with the frame of the layout mount (step S314). ). Such data creation is performed for all pages (step S315), and then an imposition instruction for creating a printing block is issued using the keyboard 302 (step S316) to create impositioned page description data (step S317). ). Then, the file server 20
The created data is transferred to 0 (step S318).
The image setter 400 is instructed to output an image, and the operation ends (step S319).

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, an operation example at the time of imposition will be described. The workstation 300 includes the magneto-optical disk 230 and the hard disk 2 of the file server 200.
The image data thinned out from 20, 221, ... Is read (step S330), the document data is read from the floppy disk 3 (step S331), necessary information is displayed on the CRT 301 of the workstation 300, and the mouse 306, The keyboard 302 and the digitizer 303 are operated to lay out images, documents, and frames page by page (step S332). Then, the type of imposition registered in advance is designated with the keyboard 302 (step S333), and each page is laid out and displayed together with the number of pages on the CRT 301 in the designated imposition state (for example, A to D in the figure). (Step S334). Here, registration of imposition is, for example, four sides of A4 or A5
Like the 8th page of the plate, the number of pages is stored in advance in consideration of folding during binding of a plurality of pages, and by selecting and designating from the registration, it is possible to select from A to D in FIG.
, The imposition state is the number of pages (“1” in B,
It is displayed together with "8", "5", "4"). As described above, the contents such as images and characters are not displayed, and the image setter 400 generates and outputs a bitmap according to the page description data (step S335).

FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of the imagesetter 400. The sequencer 410 is connected to a CPU bus 412 and an image data bus 413, and is also connected to a logical operation circuit 420 and a first memory 421. Further, the main memory 430 for the CPU 401 is connected to the CPU bus 412, the common memory 424 is connected between the common memory 424 and the image data bus 413, and the interface 4
The outputs of 02 and 403 are input to the CPU bus 412. CPU bus 412 and image data bus 413
A buffer 433, a decompressor 440, and a third memory 423 are connected between the two, and a buffer 434, a raster image converter 431, and a second memory 422 are connected.
The buffer 435 and the output control circuit 436 are connected. The CPU bus 412 has a vector font memory 43.
2 is connected to the output control circuit 436 and the output buffer 4
The high image quality output device 6 and the laser beam printer 7 are connected via 36A. Vector font memory 432
In the table, vector fonts necessary for the raster image converter 431 to generate a character bitmap are stored. Usually vector fonts are disk (230, 2
, 221, ...), but it is inefficient to read the vector font via the SCSI bus every time the character bitmap is generated, so all necessary vector fonts are stored in the vector font memory 432 in advance. By reading it in, the speed of character bitmap generation is improved.

In such a structure, the operation is as shown in FIG.
First, an output instruction request is output from the file server 200 to the imagesetter 400 via the auxiliary data line 5 using the file name in the hard disk 220, 221, ... Or the magneto-optical disk 230 as a parameter. Specifications to be output from that file are written in that file. The specifications are sequentially decoded, code data and compressed data are subjected to address calculation for each unit image, and overlay processing by logical operation is repeated for that address, The processing result is stored in the first memory 421. The imagesetter 400 calls the parameter file via the SCSI bus and repeats this operation. For example, for code data, character code and instruction information such as position, typeface, size, etc. are input via the SCSI interface 403 (step S400), and converted into a raster image by the raster image converter 431 via the buffer 434 (step S401). ), The raster image data is stored in the second memory 422 (step S402). Further, the image data whose data has been compressed is input via the interface 403 via the SCSI bus (step S403),
The data is decompressed and restored by the decompressor 440 via the buffer 433 (step S404), and the restored image data is stored in the third memory 423 (step S40).
5). Further, the bitmap data such as the logo stored in the hard disks 220, 221, ... Or the magneto-optical disk 230 is input through the interface 403 (step S406) and stored in the common memory 424 (step S407). The data stored in the second memory 422 to the common memory 424 are all bitmap data, and these stored data are logically operated by the logical operation circuit 420 via the CPU 401 (step S410).
Data that has been logically operated to synthesize, edit, or image-process a picture, a document, or the like is stored in the first memory 421 (step S411). After the data is stored in the first memory 421, it is judged whether or not it is finished, that is, whether there is no correction or addition (step S412), and the above operation is continued until the logical operation such as correction is finished. The logical operation circuit 420 performs logical operations such as sum, product, difference and exclusive OR of bit map data generated from code data such as characters, bit map data obtained by expanding compressed image data, and bit map data. In collaboration with
The image information to be output to the high-quality output device 6 or the laser beam printer 7 is generated.

In the image processing apparatus described above, in the case of printing a leaflet or the like of two colors or three colors, as shown in FIG. 9, the photograph 10 is separated into two colors by, for example, a red filter and a black filter, and a red image plate 11 and The black image plate 12 is obtained. When the red image plate 11 is edited on the screen of the workstation 300, the red image plate 11 may be fitted in the photo frame 13 as shown in FIG. 10, and in such a case, the black image plate 12 may be further fitted. You need to combine the images. In this case, it is necessary to dispose the red image plate 11 and the black image plate 12 at the same position, and conventionally such an operation has been very complicated.

In the present invention, the image placement command is shown in Photo 2.
Multiple colors can be specified for color separation, and photo masks can be specified for both sheets. The image layout sheet of the single-printable sheet is shown in FIG. 11, and the image layout sheet of the multiple-printable sheet is shown in FIG. In each sheet, the mask image number is valid only when the mask image designation is "Yes", and is "0" when other image numbers are not designated.
Leave it alone. Also, the contents of both the "one color" / "two color" sub-sheets are not linked with the "option" multiple-sheet display. Then, in the situation where the image numbers of "two colors" are input in two or more editions, even if "one color" is selected, the following message is displayed and ignored. It is necessary to distinguish between a single plate and a plurality of plates, and regarding a multi-plate image layout object, the following objects are regarded as a multi-plate image layout object. That is, when all of the following conditions 1 to 3 are satisfied, a multi-version image layout object is set. Condition 1: It is a composite object of two or more objects Condition 2: All objects are image layout objects, and the coordinates and image layout points of the objects are the same Condition 3: Version is 2 or more

In the present invention, when all of the above conditions 1 to 3 are satisfied, a plurality of images are logically made into one and processed as if they were one part. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately process and process images of a plurality of plates, which is most suitable for image processing of two-color / three-color separation of photographs. Also, when the object is a multi-version image layout object, the processing of the following commands is different from that of other objects. The trimming command includes a temporary display image which is an image of the first object and a trimming result which is reflected on other constituent objects. The specification result of the matching point command is calculated by the first object and reflected on other constituent objects. And the image placement command is
When the selected object is a multi-version image arrangement object, the photo two-color separation sheet is displayed from the beginning.
The quadrangle R, ruled line attribute, flat line attribute, and plate-making processing attribute command are such that the designation result changes the attributes of all three objects.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, a large amount of character and picture image data can be edited at high speed, and a high-quality printing image with a layout-designated appearance can be output. In an image processing system having a workstation that can easily perform bitmap processing of vector information by hardware and can perform image processing, processing, and editing, and can layout and output characters and pictures, meet a predetermined condition. When they match, the two parts are logically made one so that they can be operated like one part. Therefore, it is possible to combine the images and perform the work efficiently with one operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram (workstation, input controller) showing a configuration example of an image processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram (file server) showing a configuration example of an image processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram (image setter) showing a configuration example of an image processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an input controller.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation example of a workstation.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an imposition operation.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of an imagesetter.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating two-color separation of a photograph.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining fitting of a photographic image.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a single plate corresponding sheet.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a multi-version compatible sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Input Device 2 Editing Input Device 3 Floppy Disk 6 High Quality Output Device 100 Input Controller 200 File Server 300 Workstation 301 CRT 302 Keyboard 303 Digitizer 306 Mouse 400 Imagesetter 101 CPU 201 CPU 401 CPU

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image processing system comprising: a workstation that edits a screen using a display unit and has a storage unit; and a storage unit that is connected to the workstation and that stores the edited data screen-edited by the workstation. In the system, when the image of the workstation is edited, it is determined that the object is a composite object of two or more objects, that the coordinates and image placement points of all the objects are the same, and that there are multiple plates, An image processing system, wherein the plurality of objects are logically united and processed when all the conditions are met. 2. The plate as claimed in claim 1, which is a two-color separated photo plate.
The image processing system described in 1.