JPH0319989B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Technical Field> The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that performs image creation, editing, correction, etc. using two displays.

<Prior art> Recently, a device has been developed that inputs an image from an image input means such as a television camera, and edits and creates the image based on this image using coordinate input means such as a light pen, digitizer, and joystick. has been done. This device does not require paint to create images, and it is very easy to save, partially modify/edit, and even copy images.
In the future, it is thought that it will spread to various fields such as design fields and new technology fields.

The present inventors have filed three patent applications for "Image Creation Device" dated March 22, 1980 in connection with the above device;
The "electronic image synthesis device" and the "image quality changing device" have first and second image information storage memories, and information in one memory specified by coordinate input is transferred to the same coordinates in the other memory. We have proposed an image processing device whose basic configuration is to transfer and store images.
These devices have two memories for storing image information that are transferred and have the advantage of being able to create, edit, and modify images with simple operations.

By the way, in conventional image processing apparatuses, there is usually one display for displaying image content, and as a result, in order to display different images at once, the only option is to divide one screen into a plurality of parts and display them. As a display method for dividing, there are methods such as displaying only one part of one image, or displaying each image in a reduced size. However, with the device proposed by the present inventors, unless the entire image contents of both memories are viewed at the same time, it is difficult to grasp the overall image, making it difficult to use. Furthermore, if the contents of the memory are each displayed in a reduced size, although the whole can be seen, it becomes difficult to precisely control and input the coordinate points when inputting the coordinates. Furthermore, in this device, it is very important which point on one memory corresponds to which point on the other memory. Therefore, it is required to accurately display the memory contents to the operator.

<Object of the Invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the present invention is to display color gradation image information stored in two memory means on two display means respectively, and to display the information from the coordinate input means. By displaying different types of cursors at input coordinate positions, image information stored in each memory means can be transferred from one memory means to the other memory means with high precision. By exchanging the cursor displayed on each display in response to exchanging the image of interest, it is possible to easily understand which image on which display the user is currently paying attention to. The present invention provides an image information processing device with excellent operability.

<Example> An example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of the device of the present invention, including a coordinate input device 1, a control device 2, and two displays 3A, 3.
It has B etc. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electrical circuit.

In FIG. 2, 4 is a control microprocessor, 5 is a ROM that stores control programs, etc.
6 is a RAM that stores variables and the like used during control. Reference numerals 7A and 7B are a first memory and a second memory for storing image information including color and light colors, and their contents are constantly displayed on displays 3A and 3B via interface circuits 8A and 8B, respectively. 9 is an external storage device such as a cassette tape, floppy disk, or hard disk for storing image data; 10 is an interface circuit thereof; and 11 is a keyboard for inputting commands.

In an image processing apparatus, when correcting or editing an image, it is necessary to input coordinates. For example, when adding a line, the coordinates of the line, when cutting out an image, the coordinates of the cutting line, etc. At this time, what is important is the positional relationship with the input coordinates. Conventionally, in order to clarify this relationship, a method has been adopted in which a cursor is displayed at the input coordinate point on the image.

This method is also applied in the present invention, and as shown in FIG. 1, for one input coordinate point, the input coordinate point on the two displays 3A and 3B is
The cursors are displayed at the same time. Note that, as will be explained in detail later, the cursor displays 12A and 12B have different shapes here. In this way, the first memory 7A, the second
Since the cursor is displayed at the same coordinate point on each screen corresponding to each of the memories 7B (see FIG. 2), it is possible to move from the first memory 7A to the second memory 7B, or from the second memory 7B to the first memory 7A. When transferring image information at a coordinate position indicated by a cursor from one side to another, it is very easy to understand which points correspond to which points.

Below, a case will be described in which image information is transferred between two corresponding points on two memory means. Assume that you are currently focusing on the first memory 7A (or second memory 7B), and by specifying an arbitrary point on the display 3A (or display 3B) using the coordinate input device 1, coordinate values can be obtained. It is assumed that P has been input. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, a cursor 12A is displayed on the display 3A at a position corresponding to the coordinate value P, and at the same time, a cursor 12B is displayed on the display 3B at a position corresponding to the coordinate value P. Ru.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a basic transfer subroutine, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an image processing subroutine.

In the basic subroutine, a coordinate value P is given as an input. First, the address on the first memory 7A (or second memory 7B) corresponding to the coordinate value P is calculated, and information Cp at that point is extracted (step n ₁ ). Next, the address on the other second memory 7B (or first memory 7A) corresponding to the coordinate value P is calculated, and the information Cp obtained in step _n1 is written into that memory (step _n2 ). Then, the process returns to the main routine (step _n3 ).

In the image processing routine, cursors 12A and 12B are displayed on both screens by inputting the coordinate value P (step _n11 ), and the above basic subroutine (step
n ₁₂ ) to transfer information on the coordinate value P. Next, it is determined whether or not this screen processing should be terminated (step _n13 ). If not, the process returns to step _n11 and the process corresponding to the next value is continuously performed.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the composition of two screens performed by the above processing. FIG. 5a shows, for example, an original image stored in the first memory 7A, depicting thin tree branches and leaves that were difficult to synthesize using conventional methods. When cutting out this tree and combining it with the background image as shown in FIG. 5B stored in the other second memory 7B, first, the coordinate input device 1 is used to input the coordinate point where the tree is located. Then, by the processing of the control microprocessor 4, the coordinate P of the first memory 7A is
The color information, etc. corresponding to the memory is read out and written into the second memory 7B. By repeating this process and inputting coordinate values by tracing the top of the tree using the coordinate input device 1, you can cut out the screen as shown in Figure 5c and obtain a composite screen as shown in Figure 5d. Is possible.

In such image composition, the present invention displays the cursors 12A and 12B at the same coordinate points on both the original image and the background image at the same time, making it very easy to see which points correspond to which points. , which significantly improves operability.

Also, as mentioned above, two displays 3
Changing the shape of the cursors 12A and 12B on A and 3B reveals which image the user is paying attention to. This is useful for indicating from which screen the color information is to be retrieved, for example, when reading color information from a certain point on an image and performing some processing. In the example shown in Figure 1, if the "+" shaped cursor on the display 3A is the image of interest, if the color information of the input coordinate point is extracted in this state, the color information on the display 3A will be It will be read out and transferred onto the display 3B. If you want to exchange images of interest,
"+" by inputting a command from the keyboard 11 etc.
The cursor "x" may be switched and displayed on the display 3B and the cursor "X" may be displayed on the display 3A. Note that there is no problem in distinguishing the cursor by different display modes such as color or dot reduction/lighting.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, according to the present invention, image information stored in two memory means is stored in two memory means.
Since the image information indicated by the cursor can be transferred between the memory means by displaying the cursor on two display means and displaying different types of cursors at the coordinate positions input from the coordinate input means,
The image information stored in the respective memory means can be transferred with high precision from one memory means to the other.

In addition, by changing the display mode of the cursor and exchanging the cursor between both displays in response to exchanging the image of interest, it is possible to easily understand which memory image is currently being focused on. This is very effective in extracting color information and knowing the transfer direction when transferring image information between memories.

By using the device of the present invention in this way,
Operability during image processing can be dramatically improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of an electric circuit, Fig. 3 is a flowchart explaining basic subroutine operation, and Fig. 4 is an image processing subroutine. Flowchart explaining the operation of FIG. 5 a, b, c, d
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an example of image synthesis. 1... Coordinate input device, 2... Control device, 3A,
3B... Display, 4... Control microprocessor, 7A... First memory, 7B... Second memory, 12A, 12B... Cursor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first display means for displaying an image corresponding to the image information stored in the first memory means; and a first display means for displaying an image corresponding to the image information stored in the second memory means. a second display means for displaying; a coordinate input means; and a coordinate input means for displaying an image on the first display so as to clearly indicate the currently focused image corresponding to the coordinate position indicated by the coordinate input means. cursor display means for displaying a cursor in a first display mode on the second display and at the same time displaying a cursor in the second display mode on the second display; a transfer processing means for transferring between the second memory means; and a cursor displayed by the cursor display means is exchanged to display the second image on the first display in response to the exchange of the image of interest; and cursor exchange means for displaying a cursor in a display mode and displaying a cursor in the first display mode on the second display.