JP4973607B2 - Image processing apparatus, method, and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a technique for creating a color document with a color scheme that is easy to see regardless of the presence or absence of color blindness.

In recent years, as color printers have become widespread, there is an increasing need to create color documents with easy-to-view color schemes regardless of the presence or absence of color blindness.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that makes it easy for a visually impaired person to add a contour line to a color change in a color document or to change a color scheme.

In this way, even color documents created without being conscious of the visibility of color blind persons can be easily viewed by persons with color blindness. And smooth transmission of information.
JP 2001-293926 A

However, there is a problem that even color documents that are easy to see for people with color blindness are not always easy to see for healthy people.
In such a case, since the above-described technique is applied, the color document is already easy to see for people with color blindness, so no changes are made and it is not easy for a healthy person to see. This results in a lack of smooth transmission of information from a color blind person to a healthy person.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an image processing apparatus and an image processing device that change a color document so that it can be easily viewed by a healthy person while maintaining the visibility of a color blind person It is an object to provide a method and an image processing program.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is an image processing apparatus comprising: an extracting unit that extracts two objects that contact each other from a color document; and a Lab color system for each of the colors of the two extracted objects. Colors that are obtained by acquiring the Lab value that is each component value, and the colors used for the extracted two objects are similar to those for healthy persons, and appear dissimilar to those with color blindness If the determination result of the determination means is positive based on the two Lab values obtained by the acquisition means, and if the determination result of the determination means is affirmative, A selection means for selecting an object having a low lightness of a blue component in the RGB color system, and colors of the two objects for a healthy person Value changing means for generating a changed Lab value by changing a value among Lab values for one object selected by the selecting means so that the combination becomes dissimilar, and the color of the selected object And a color changing means for changing the color to the color indicated by the changed Lab value.

  Here, the Lab value is composed of an L value, a value, and b value, which are three component values in the Lab color system, and is one of color models for digitizing colors. This Lab value is used as a color transmission standard as an absolute measure of color. The L value indicates the lightness, and the lightness is higher as the value is larger. The a value indicates the hue / saturation in red to green. The larger the a value, the higher the red hue, and the smaller the a value, the higher the green hue. The b value indicates the hue / saturation in yellow to blue. The larger the b value, the higher the yellow hue, and the smaller the b value, the higher the blue hue.

  According to the configuration described above, the image processing apparatus, when performing color change when the colors used for the extracted two objects are similar colors, for the healthy person, Among the two objects, the a value is changed among the Lab values of the objects with low lightness of the blue component so that the combination becomes dissimilar, so that the color combination is easy to see for a healthy person. Further, even if the a value is changed, the appearance is not changed for the color blind person, so that the color combination is easy to see for the color blind person. For example, in a color document created by a color blind person who is difficult to distinguish between red and green, the color blind person seems to be able to distinguish between two objects that touch the boundary included in the created color document. A healthy person may not be able to distinguish between the colors of the two objects. At this time, by using the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, by changing the value of a among the Lab values of the objects with low lightness of the blue component, even if the a value is changed, 2 is changed. The appearance of the color combinations of the two objects does not change. This is because even if the red hue is increased by changing the a value (the green hue is lowered at this time), it does not affect the discrimination between red and green by the color blind person. Conversely, the same applies to the case where the red hue is lowered by changing the a value (the green hue is raised at this time). In addition, for a healthy person, by changing the a value, the appearance of the color with respect to the object to be changed is changed, so that the colors of the two objects can be distinguished.

Here, the value changing means may change the a value by inverting the sign of the a value.
According to this configuration, since the image processing apparatus changes the color by inverting the sign of the a value, it can be surely changed to a color combination that is easy to see for a healthy person.
Here, the value changing means determines whether the a value is within a predetermined range prior to changing the a value, and changes the a value when determining that the a value is not within the predetermined range. You may do that.

Further, the predetermined range may be a collection of values that are in the vicinity of the value 0 and that indicate the a value for a color that can be identified by a color blind person.
According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus can change the color when the a value of the selected one object is outside the predetermined range. This is because when the a value of each of the two extracted objects is close to each other, but the a value of the selected object is within a predetermined range (when the value is close to 0), the healthy person and the color blind person In both cases, since the combination of the colors of the two objects is easy to identify, it is possible to reliably change the color for an object that requires the color change.

  Here, the determination means calculates a difference between the L value, the a value, and the b value from the two Lab values, and whether the calculated difference between the L values is equal to or less than a first determination value. A first determination unit that determines whether or not the difference between the a value is equal to or less than the second determination value and the difference between the b values is equal to the third determination value. A second determination unit that determines whether or not the determination is made, and the determination unit is used for the extracted two objects when the determination result by the second determination unit is affirmative. It may be determined that the current color is a combination of colors similar to a healthy person and a color combination that appears dissimilar to a color blind person.

According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus uses the difference between the L value, the a value, and the b value in the Lab values of the two objects, so that the combination of colors used for the extracted two objects is healthy. It is possible to determine with certainty whether the color combination is similar to the person who is similar to the color and the color combination that appears dissimilar to the person with color blindness.
Here, the image processing apparatus further includes a storage unit that stores a combination of colors that do not require color change, and a color combination of the two extracted objects prior to the determination by the determination unit. It is determined whether or not it is stored in the means, and when it is determined that it is not stored, control is performed so that the determination by the determination means is performed, and when it is determined that it is stored, determination by the determination means is performed. Judgment control means for performing control may be provided.

According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus does not perform the operation of the determination unit when the color combination of the two extracted objects is a combination that does not require color change. Changes can be reliably suppressed.
Here, the image processing apparatus further includes a combination of colors similar to those used by a healthy person in color used for the two objects extracted prior to the Lab value change by the value change unit, And a message output means for outputting a message indicating that a color combination similar to that for a healthy person is used when the color combination is dissimilar to a color blind person; An instruction whether or not to make a change is accepted, and if the accepted instruction is to change the color, control is performed to start the operation of the value changing means, and the accepted instruction is to make no color change. In some cases, a value change control means for storing in the storage means a combination of colors used for each of the two objects extracted by the extraction means. It may be.

According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus outputs a message indicating that a color similar to that for the healthy person is used. Therefore, the user of the image processing apparatus can change the color appearance by the healthy person. You can know if there is a combination. The user can also select whether or not to change the color.
Here, the image processing apparatus may be included in an image forming apparatus that prints a color document and operates when the color document is printed.

  According to this configuration, the image processing apparatus included in the image forming apparatus does not change the way that a color blind person sees the color combination of two objects when a color document is printed by the image forming apparatus. Since the combination of colors is very easy to see, the color document creator does not need to be aware of the combination of the colors of the two objects at the time of creation.

1. Embodiment 1
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1.1 Overview An image processing system 1 according to the present invention includes an image processing apparatus 10, a display 11, and an image forming apparatus 20, as shown in FIG.

  The image processing apparatus 10 generates a color document by a user operation, particularly an operation by a color blind person, and the color document included in the color document so that the generated color document can be easily viewed by both the color blind person and the healthy person. Change the color of the object. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the color blind person is a color blind person who is difficult to distinguish between red and green. A color object is a block formed by connecting pixels having the same value, that is, a region having a single color. For example, the region is formed from a graph, a figure, or a character. In addition, the color change of an object is to change the color combination in the object pair so that it can be easily seen by a normal person without changing the appearance of the color blind person. Here, the object pair refers to a set of two objects that are in contact with each other. For example, a set of two adjacent objects or a set of one object and other objects included in the object corresponds to this.

The display 11 displays a color document created by the image processing apparatus 10, a color-changed document, a message to be notified to the user, and the like.
The image forming apparatus 20 performs color printing of a color document created by the image processing apparatus 10 or a color-changed document.
1.2 Configuration of Image Processing Apparatus 10 As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 10 includes a storage unit 100, a document generation unit 101, an image processing unit 102, a first output unit 103, and a second output unit 104. It is configured. Specifically, the computer system includes a microprocessor, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk unit, a display unit, and the like. A computer program is stored in the ROM or the hard disk unit. The microprocessor causes the image processing apparatus 10 to achieve its function by operating according to the computer program.

(1) Storage unit 100
The storage unit 100 has an area for storing one or more color combinations that are designated by a user operation and need not be changed.
Here, it is assumed that the RGB values of the two colors are stored in pairs as color combinations that do not require color change.

In the present embodiment, a value from 0 to 255 is used as the RGB gradation, and the larger the value, the lower the lightness.
Note that the data to be stored need not be RGB values. For example, the Lab values of the two colors may be stored in pairs. That is, any information that can identify two colors as a combination of colors that do not need to be changed may be used.

(2) Document generation unit 101
The document generation unit 101 generates a color document by a user operation.
The generated color document is output to the display 11 via the second output unit 104. At this time, the generated color document is displayed on the display 11.
When the document generation unit 101 receives an instruction to print a color document by a user operation, the document generation unit 101 outputs an image processing start instruction to the image processing unit 102.

  When receiving a print start instruction for instructing start of printing from the image processing unit 102, the document generation unit 101 changes the color in the generated color document or the image processing unit 102 when the color change is not performed. Is applied, the color document after the color change is output to the image forming apparatus 20 via the first output unit 103. At this time, the image forming apparatus 20 performs color printing on the generated color document (that is, the color document whose color has not been changed) or the color document whose color has been changed.

(Concrete example)
Hereinafter, an example of a color document generated by the document generation unit 101 will be described.
Usually, people with color blindness (here, people with color blindness who are difficult to distinguish between red and green) intend to make the background color blue and the letters in it yellow, but actually the background color is magenta. In some cases, the characters inside are created in red. In this case, the created color-blind person has a blue background color and the characters in it appear yellow, but a healthy person has a magenta background color and the characters in it appear red. End up.

  In FIG. 3, a person with color blindness intends to create a figure in which the background color is light blue and the characters in it are yellow, but actually the background color is magenta and the characters in it are red. It is an example which shows the creation result when it has created. Here, it is assumed that the document created by the color blind person includes objects 150 and 152 that are regions indicating graphics and objects “K” 151 and “M” 153 that indicate characters. Object 150 is magenta (appears light blue to color blind people) and object “K” 151 is red (appears yellow to color blind people). In addition, the object 152 is blue (it appears to be blue for color blind persons), and the object “M” 153 is red (it appears yellow to color blind persons).

FIGS. 4A and 4B show how the color blind person and the healthy person see each other.
FIG. 4A shows how the color blind person sees. For a color blind person, the object 150a looks light blue and the object “K” 151a looks yellow. Also, the object 152a appears blue and the object “M” 153a appears yellow.
FIG.4 (b) shows the view in a healthy person. For a healthy person, the object 150b looks magenta and the object “K” 151b looks red. Further, the object 152b appears blue and the object “M” 153b appears red.

(3) Image processing unit 102
As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing unit 102 includes an object extraction unit 110, a color information analysis unit 111, and a color value conversion unit 112, and a combination of colors in an object pair included in a color document is healthy. The color of one object included in the object pair is changed so that the combination of colors is dissimilar to the healthy person when the object is dissimilar to the person with color blindness.

Hereinafter, the operations of the object extraction unit 110, the color information analysis unit 111, and the color value conversion unit 112 will be described using the objects 150, 151, 152, and 153 shown in FIG. 3 and the flowcharts shown in FIGS. To do.
When the object extraction unit 110 receives an image processing start instruction from the document generation unit 101, the object extraction unit 110 extracts all the objects 150, 151, 152, and 153 included in the document from the color document generated by the document generation unit 101. (Step S5). Here, the extraction of the object can be realized by checking whether adjacent pixel values are the same by using connected component processing. Since the connected component processing is a known technique, the description thereof is omitted here.

The object extraction unit 110 determines whether or not an unselected object pair exists (step S10).
Here, since the object pair has not yet been selected, the object extraction unit 110 determines that there is an unselected object pair (“YES” in step S10), and one object pair (object) among the unselected object pairs. 150 and object 151) are selected (step S15).

The object extraction unit 110 determines whether different colors are used in the two objects 150 and 151 included in the selected object pair (step S20).
Since the object 150 is magenta and the object 151 is red, the object extraction unit 110 determines that a different color is used between the object 150 and the object 151 (“YES” in step S20) and is included in the object pair. The RGB values of the two objects 150 and 151 are output to the color information analysis unit 111. The color information analysis unit 111 receives the RGB values of the two objects 150 and 151 included in the object pair from the object extraction unit 110. Here, the RGB value of the magenta object 150 is (255, 0, 255), and the RGB value of the red object 151 is (255, 0, 0).

If it is determined that different colors are not used for the two objects (“NO” in step S20), the process returns to step S10.
The color value conversion unit 112 converts each of the two RGB values received by the color information analysis unit 111 into a Lab value (step S25). In this case, red RGB (255, 0, 0) is converted to Lab (54, 81, 70), and magenta RGB (255, 0, 255) is converted to Lab (60, 93, -60). The

The color information analysis unit 111 determines whether or not the combination of the colors of the objects 150 and 151 is stored in the storage unit 100 as a combination that does not require color change (step S30).
When it is determined that the combination is not stored, that is, the color change is not an unnecessary combination (“NO” in step S30), the color information analysis unit 111 calculates the two Lab values calculated by the color value conversion unit 112 ((54, 81, 70), (60, 93, −60)), the differences ΔL (= 6), Δa (= 12), and Δb (= 130) of the L value, the a value, and the b value are calculated ( Step S35). Here, for the two Lab values (for example, (L1, a1, b1), (L2, a2, b2)), the differences ΔL, Δa, Δb are respectively ΔL = | L1-L2 |, Δa = | A1-a2 |, Δb = | b1-b2 |, and | xy | indicates the absolute value of the subtraction result of xy.

If it is determined that the combination is stored, that is, the color change is unnecessary (“YES” in step S30), the process returns to step S10.
The color information analysis unit 111 determines whether ΔL is 20 or less (step S40).
In this case, since the value of ΔL is 6, the color information analysis unit 111 determines that it is 20 or less (“YES” in step S40), and Δa is 20 or less and Δb is 100 or more. Is determined (step S45).

  Since the values of Δa and Δb are 12 and 130, respectively, the determination result is affirmative (“YES” in step S45), and the color information analysis unit 111 includes objects 150 and 151 that have many B components of RGB values. That is, an object having a low brightness of the B component, that is, the object 150 is selected as a candidate for the color change object (step S50).

If it is determined that the value of ΔL is not less than 20 (“NO” in step S40), and if the determination result using Δa and Δb is negative (“NO” in step S45), the processing Returns to step S10.
Further, the color information analysis unit 111 outputs a warning message M100 indicating that a combination of colors that are difficult to distinguish between colors is selected to the display 11 via the second output unit 104 (step S55). At this time, for example, a warning message M100 shown in FIG.

The color information analysis unit 111 receives either an instruction not to change the color or an instruction to change the color by a user operation when the warning message M100 is displayed (step S60), and the received instruction changes the color. It is determined whether or not it is an instruction to perform (step S65).
When it is determined that the received instruction is not an instruction to change the color, that is, when “No” is selected in the warning message M100 shown in FIG. 7 (“NO” in Step S65), the color information analyzing unit 111 As a combination that does not require color change, the RGB values of the two objects included in the object pair are paired and stored in the storage unit 100 (step S70).

  When it is determined that the received instruction is an instruction to change the color, that is, when “Yes” is selected in the warning message M100 shown in FIG. 7 (“YES” in Step S65), the color information analysis unit 111 Acquires the a value among the Lab values for the selected object (step S75), and determines whether the absolute value of the acquired a value is 20 or less, that is, the a value is -20 or more and 20 or less (step S75). S80).

  In this case, since the a value is 93, the color information analysis unit 111 determines that the a value is not −20 or more and 20 or less, that is, determines that the a value is less than −20 or greater than 20 (“ NO ”), the sign of the a value is inverted, and the changed a value (−93), that is, the changed Lab values (60, −93, −60) are acquired (step S85). Specifically, the color information analysis unit 111 calculates a value × (−1).

When it is determined that the a value is −20 or more and 20 or less (“YES” in step S80), the process returns to step S10.
The color value conversion unit 112 converts the changed Lab values (60, −93, −60) for the color change target object 150 into RGB values (0, 138, 253) (step S90). Here, the color indicated by the RGB values (0, 138, 253) is light blue.

  The object extraction unit 110 changes the RGB value (255, 0, 255) before the color value change to the RGB value (0, 138, 253) after the color value change for the object 150, The color is updated (step S95). As a result, the color document is displayed in a state where the color of the object 150 to be changed is changed from magenta to light blue, and the process returns to step S10.

The subsequent operation will be briefly described.
Next, since there is an unselected object pair, the object extraction unit 110 selects a pair of the object converted to light blue and the object 152 shown in FIG. 3 as the unselected object pair in step S15. To do.
Since different colors are used for the two selected objects, the color value conversion unit 112 converts the RGB values of the two objects (light blue, blue) into Lab values in step S25. . In this case, RGB (0, 138, 253) of the light blue object is converted to Lab (60, -93, -60), and RGB (0, 41, 128) of the blue object 152 is converted to Lab (20, 19, -53).

  The color information analysis unit 111 calculates ΔL (= 40), Δa (= 112), Δb (= 7) from light blue Lab (60, −93, −60) and blue Lab (20, 19, −53). 5, and ΔL and step S 40 shown in FIG. 5 determine that the color combination of the object and the object 152 converted to light blue is easy to see for both the color blind person and the healthy person (“NO” in step S 40). ), The color is not changed, and the process returns to step S10.

Next, since there are unselected object pairs, the object extraction unit 110 selects a set of objects 152 and 153 as unselected object pairs in step S15.
Since different colors are used for each of the two selected objects, the color value conversion unit 112 converts the RGB values of the colors (blue and red) of the objects 152 and 153 into Lab values in step S25. To do. In this case, RGB (0, 41, 128) of the blue object 152 is converted to Lab (20, 19, -53), and RGB (255, 0, 0) of the red object 153 is converted to Lab (54, 81, 70).

  The color information analysis unit 111 calculates ΔL (= 34), Δa (= 62), and Δb (= 123) from the blue Lab (20, 19, -53) and the red Lab (54, 81, 70). Then, ΔL and step S40 shown in FIG. 5 determine that the color combination of the object 152 and the object 153 is easy to see for both the color blind person and the healthy person (“NO” in step S40), and the color change is performed. Return to step S10.

  Since all the object pairs have been selected by the above operation, the object extracting unit 110 determines that there is no unselected object pair (“NO” in step S10), and ends the process. At this time, the object extraction unit 110 outputs a print start instruction to the document generation unit 101, and the document generation unit 101 starts printing.

Here, FIGS. 8A and 8B show how the object looks after the processing is completed.
FIG. 8A shows how the color blind person sees. For a color blind person, the object 150c looks light blue and the object “K” 151c looks yellow. Also, the object 152c appears blue and the object “M” 153c appears yellow.
FIG.8 (b) shows how it looks in a healthy person. For a healthy person, the object 150d appears light blue and the object “K” 151d appears red. The object 152d appears blue, and the object “M” 153d appears red.

By performing the above processing, the image processing apparatus 10 converts the magenta color of the object 150 to light blue, so that the color document including the objects 150, 151, 152, and 153 created by the color blind person is a color blind person. It is possible to distinguish between color-impaired and healthy persons without changing the appearance of color.
(4) First output unit 103
The first output unit 103 outputs the data received from the document generation unit 101 (here, the color document to be printed) to the image forming apparatus 20.

(5) Second output unit 104
The second output unit 104 outputs data (here, a color document to be displayed and a warning message) received from the document generation unit 101 and the color information analysis unit 111 to the display 11.
1.3 Summary In this embodiment, when performing color change, an object having a large B component in the RGB color system, that is, an object having a low B component brightness is selected from the two extracted objects. This is because a color blind person can discriminate the color of B, so that the larger the B component, that is, the lower the brightness of the B component, the easier it is for the color blind person to see. Moreover, even if the a value of the Lab value is changed, the change of the B value is not large. Therefore, by setting an object having a large B component (an object having a low brightness of the B component) as a color change target, the degree of influence on the appearance of the color blind person is reduced. Because, when an object having a small B component, that is, an object having a high brightness of the B component is set as a color change target, the B component is further reduced by changing the a value, that is, the brightness of the B component is further reduced. This is because the color may be difficult to identify.

  Moreover, since the a value indicates the hue / saturation in red to green, it is a hue that is difficult to identify for the visually impaired. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, when the color change is performed, even if the sign of the a value is reversed, it does not affect the appearance of the color blind person. Furthermore, by reversing the sign of the a value, the color is changed to a color having a high green hue, so that it is possible to obtain a combination of colors that are not similar to each other.

  Further, as conditions for color change, both ΔL and Δa are 20 or less and Δb is 100 or more. Usually, when both ΔL and Δa are 20 or less, the color combination is difficult for the healthy person to distinguish the two objects. This is because the L value and the a value respectively indicate the lightness of the color and the hue / saturation in red to green. When both ΔL and Δa are 20 or less, the lightness of the two colors and in red to green Since the hue and saturation are close to each other, it is difficult for a healthy person to distinguish between two objects. At this time, the hue / saturation in red to green is a color that is originally difficult to distinguish for persons with color blindness, so there is no effect on the distinction between the two objects. Further, when Δb is 100 or more, the color combination is easy for the color blind person to distinguish the two objects. This is because a color blind person can distinguish blue, and when the difference Δb between b values indicating hue / saturation in yellow to blue is 100 or more, the hue / saturation in yellow to blue of the two colors is similar. Therefore, the color blind person can distinguish the two objects based on the blue hue.

Therefore, when the condition that ΔL and Δa are both 20 or less and Δb is 100 or more, the color combination is easy to distinguish for the visually impaired and difficult to distinguish for the healthy person. . Therefore, it is necessary to make a combination of colors that can be distinguished from each other.
1.4 Modifications Although the present invention has been described based on the above-described embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The following cases are also included in the present invention.

(1) When the document generation unit 101 receives a print instruction, the document generation unit 101 outputs a start instruction to the image processing unit 102. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The timing at which the document generation unit 101 outputs a start instruction to the image processing unit 102 is selected when the color of an object included in the color document being created is selected, the arrangement of the object is changed, or the color document is saved It may be when.

(2) When displaying the warning message on the display 11, the color information analysis unit 111 blinks and displays two objects included in the object pair whose color combination is difficult for a healthy person to see. Also good. This makes it easy to understand which color combination is the target.
Further, the color information analysis unit 111 may blink the object selected as the change target. This makes it easier to understand the object whose color is to be changed.

(3) The image processing shown in the above embodiment may be performed by the image forming apparatus 20. At this time, the image forming apparatus 20 includes the storage unit 100 and the image processing unit 102 described in the above embodiment, and starts image processing when receiving a color document to be printed instead of receiving a start instruction. Thus, image processing by the image forming apparatus 20 can be realized.
(4) In the above embodiment, the reference values in the determination using the differences between the L value, the a value, and the b value (steps S40 and S45) are 20, 20, and 100. However, these values are examples. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, each of the reference values in the determination using the difference between the L value, the a value, and the b value may be another value (for example, 30, 25, 90).

  Moreover, although the reference value for determination in step S80 is 20, these values are examples and are not limited thereto. The determination reference value in step S80 may be any value as long as it is in the vicinity of the value “0” and indicates the range of the a value indicating the color that can be identified by the color blind person. At this time, even if the value in the range indicated by the reference value is reversed, the RGB value does not change greatly. For example, assuming that the reference value is 15, it may be determined whether the a value is −15 or more and 15 or less.

Further, the reference value for Δa in step S45 and the determination reference value in step S80 may or may not be the same.
(5) In the present invention, the concept of a color document includes not only documents, figures, tables, other single color areas generated by document creation software and spreadsheet software, and combinations of these, but also digital cameras and digital An image taken by a video camera or an edited image obtained by editing the image, an image read by an image scanner, or an edited image obtained by editing the image are also included.

(6) In the above embodiment, a value from 0 to 255 is used as the RGB gradation, but the present invention is not limited to this. Another range of values may be used as the gradation.
In addition, although the brightness is lower as the value is larger, the present invention is not limited to this. The higher the value, the higher the brightness. In this case, the color information analysis unit 111 may select an object having a small B value as an object for color change.

(7) In the above embodiment, when the color is changed, the a value is changed by reversing the positive or negative value of the a value. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The change method of a value should just be a change method which a healthy person can distinguish the color of two objects. For example, the sign of the a value may be inverted, and a predetermined value may be added to or subtracted from the inverted a value. Alternatively, a predetermined value may be added to or subtracted from the a value, and then positive / negative inversion may be performed. Here, the predetermined value is a value that does not become a value close to the original a value by performing an operation, and does not become a value close to the a value of an unselected object.

(8) In the above embodiment, the image processing apparatus allows the a value of the selected object to be within a predetermined range (here, a range of −20 or more and 20 or less) immediately before performing color change by positive / negative inversion of the a value. However, the present invention is not limited to this.
The image processing apparatus acquires a Lab value of each of the two objects and calculates ΔL, Δa, and Δb, and the a value is within a predetermined range (here, the a value of each of the two objects). , -20 or more and 20 or less), and if the two a values are not within the predetermined range, ΔL, Δa, Δb are calculated, and the subsequent operation is continued. May be.

An example of the operation in this case will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
The image processing apparatus 10 executes steps S5 to S30.
When the color information analysis unit 111 of the image processing apparatus 10 determines that the combination does not require color change (“YES” in step S30), the process returns to step S10.
When it is determined that the color change is not an unnecessary combination (“NO” in step S30), the color information analysis unit 111 determines that the a value is within a predetermined range (here, the a value of the two objects). , -20 or more and 20 or less).

If it is determined that neither of the two a values is within the predetermined range, the color information analysis unit 111 executes step S35 and subsequent steps.
If it is determined that at least one a value is within the predetermined range, the process returns to step S10.
(9) The image processing unit in the above embodiment may be realized by software or hardware.

(10) In the above embodiment, the color object is an area composed of a single color, but is not limited to this.
A color object is an area that looks the same color, in other words, a pixel having a reference color value as a starting point, and an error from the value is within a predetermined range (for example, each RGB value is −1 or more and 1) It is good also as the lump which connected the pixel of the value which is the range which is below, or the range which is -2 or more and 2 or less.

(11) The present invention may be the method described above. Further, the present invention may be a computer program that realizes these methods by a computer, or may be a digital signal composed of the computer program.
The present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk, hard disk, CD-ROM, MO, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, BD (Blu-ray Disc). ), Recorded in a semiconductor memory or the like. Further, the present invention may be the computer program or the digital signal recorded on these recording media.

In the present invention, the computer program or the digital signal may be transmitted via an electric communication line, a wireless or wired communication line, a network represented by the Internet, or the like.
The present invention may be a computer system including a microprocessor and a memory, wherein the memory stores the computer program, and the microprocessor operates according to the computer program.

In addition, the program or the digital signal is recorded on the recording medium and transferred, or the program or the digital signal is transferred via the network or the like, and is executed by another independent computer system. It is good.
(12) The above embodiment and the above modifications may be combined.
1.5 Others Although not included in the present invention, for color change of an object pair, instead of the Lab value shown in the above embodiment, an XYZ value composed of three component values in the XYZ color system is used to change the color. It may be determined whether or not the combination is easy to see for a healthy person.

  The present invention can be used in business, that is, repetitively and continuously in an industry for manufacturing and selling image processing apparatuses.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing system 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus 10. It is an example of objects 150 to 153 created by a color blind person. (A) is an example of how each object shown in FIG. 3 is seen by a color blind person, and (b) is an example of how each object shown in FIG. 3 is seen by a healthy person. 3 is a flowchart showing an image processing operation performed in an image processing unit 102. Continue to FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an image processing operation performed in an image processing unit 102. Continue from FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the warning message M100. (A) is an example of how the color blind person sees the object 150 shown in FIG. 3 after the color change, and (b) is an example of how the healthy person sees the object 150 shown in FIG. 3 after the color change. It is.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image processing system 10 Image processing apparatus 11 Display 20 Image forming apparatus 100 Storage part 101 Document generation part 102 Image processing part 103 1st output part 104 2nd output part 110 Object extraction part 111 Color information analysis part 112 Color value conversion part

Claims (10)

An extraction means for extracting two objects that contact each other from a color document;
Acquisition means for acquiring Lab values, which are component values in the Lab color system for the colors of the two extracted objects;
Whether the color used for the extracted two objects is a combination of colors similar to a healthy person and a combination of colors that looks dissimilar to a color blind person in the acquisition means A judging means for judging based on the obtained two Lab values;
If the determination result of the determination means is affirmative, a selection means for selecting an object having a low lightness of a blue component in the RGB color system from the two objects;
A value change for generating a changed Lab value by changing the a value among the Lab values for one object selected by the selection means so that the combination of the colors of the two objects becomes dissimilar for a healthy person Means,
An image processing apparatus comprising: a color changing unit that changes a color of the selected object to a color indicated by the changed Lab value. The value changing means is
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the a value is changed by inverting the sign of the a value. The value changing means is
Prior to the change of the a value, it is determined whether or not the a value is within a predetermined range, and when it is determined that the a value is not within the predetermined range, the a value is changed. An image processing apparatus according to 1. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined range is a collection of values that are in the vicinity of a value of 0 and that indicate an a value for a color that can be identified by a color blind person. The determination means includes
A calculating unit for calculating a difference between the L value, the a value, and the b value from the two Lab values;
A first determination unit that determines whether or not the calculated difference between the L values is equal to or less than a first determination value;
When determining that the difference is less than or equal to the first determination value, a second determination is made as to whether or not the difference between the a values is less than or equal to the second determination value and the difference between the b values is greater than or equal to the third determination value And a determination unit
When the determination result by the second determination unit is affirmative, the determination means is a combination of colors used by the extracted two objects that are similar to those of a healthy person, and color blindness The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus determines that the color combination looks dissimilar to a person. The image processing apparatus further includes:
Storage means for storing color combinations that do not require color change;
Prior to the determination by the determination means, it is determined whether or not the color combination of the two extracted objects is stored in the storage means. If it is determined that the combination is not stored, the determination by the determination means is performed. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination control unit that performs control so that the determination is not performed by the determination unit when it is determined to be stored. The image processing apparatus further includes:
Prior to the change of the Lab value by the value changing means, the colors used for the extracted two objects are a combination of colors that are similar for the healthy person and appear dissimilar to the color blind person A message output means for outputting a message indicating that a color combination similar to that for a healthy person is used,
After outputting the message, an instruction is received to determine whether or not to change the color. If the received instruction is to change the color, control is performed to start the operation of the value changing unit. A value change control means for storing, in the storage means, a combination of colors used for each of the two objects extracted by the extraction means when it is determined that no change is to be made. 6. The image processing apparatus according to 6. The image processing apparatus includes:
Provided in an image forming apparatus for printing a color document,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus operates when the color document is printed. An image processing method used in an image processing apparatus,
An extraction step for extracting two objects that contact each other from a color document;
An acquisition step of acquiring Lab values that are component values in the Lab color system for the colors of the two extracted objects;
Whether the color used for the extracted two objects is a combination of colors similar to a healthy person and a combination of colors that looks dissimilar to a color blind person in the acquisition means A determination step of determining based on the two obtained Lab values;
If the determination result of the determination step is affirmative, a selection step of selecting an object having a low lightness of a blue component in the RGB color system from the two objects;
A value change for generating a changed Lab value by changing the a value among the Lab values for one object selected by the selection means so that the combination of the colors of the two objects becomes dissimilar for a healthy person Steps,
And a color changing step of changing the color of the selected object to a color indicated by the changed Lab value. An image processing program used in an image processing apparatus,
On the computer,
An extraction step for extracting two objects that contact each other from a color document;
An acquisition step of acquiring Lab values that are component values in the Lab color system for the colors of the two extracted objects;
Whether the color used for the extracted two objects is a combination of colors similar to a healthy person and a combination of colors that looks dissimilar to a color blind person in the acquisition means A determination step of determining based on the two obtained Lab values;
If the determination result of the determination step is affirmative, a selection step of selecting an object having a low lightness of a blue component in the RGB color system from the two objects;
A value change for generating a changed Lab value by changing the a value among the Lab values for one object selected by the selection means so that the combination of the colors of the two objects becomes dissimilar for a healthy person Steps,
An image processing program for executing a color changing step of changing the color of the selected object to a color indicated by the changed Lab value.

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