JPH0720239B2 - Image creation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in the following order.

A Industrial field of use B Outline of the invention C Conventional technology D Problems to be solved by the invention E Means for solving the problems F Action G Example G ₁ Description of image forming apparatus (Fig. 1) G description of automatic definition of the _second color palette (Fig. 2) G ₃ color palettes manual modifications described (FIG. 3,
Fig. 5) G ₄ Description of functional block diagram (Fig. 4) H Effect of the invention A Industrial field of use The present invention relates to a videotex image creating device, and more particularly to a technique for coloring the image.

B Summary of the Invention The present invention creates converted video data for color representation of the input color image data with N colors, eg, 16 colors, which are less than M colors, eg, 4096 colors, that can be represented by the input color image data,
In an image creating apparatus that creates image data such as a videotex image for transmission by encoding image information of the converted video data, the N colors are input image data (for one screen).
The selection is made in order from the highest appearance frequency of the medium color, but an external input device that specifies the position on the screen instead of defining N colors from the appearance frequencies of the colors of all image data for one screen. By selecting N colors from the area and the specific color portion designated by, it is possible to intentionally color the image.

C Conventional Technology The NAPLPS system is a display system for videotex and the like.
In this method, the components of the image are divided into points (Points) and lines (Lin
e), Arc, Rectangle, Polyg
On) display information (attribute control command) that is defined by dividing it into five basic geometric figures, and display information (attribute control command) that numerically specifies the size, position on the screen, color, etc. Information is coded and transmitted, and the terminal side decodes these codes and converts them into dot patterns for display.

According to the NAPLPS method, it is possible to significantly reduce the amount of transmitted image information as compared with the case where each dot is encoded and transmitted, and image transmission with high transmission efficiency can be performed.

By the way, when encoding color image information into image information such as videotex, first, the input color video signal is digitized for each dot, and the encoding process is performed based on this. In this case, 1 dot
When the primary color signals R, G, and B are represented by the three primary color signals R, G, and B, and each of these primary color signals is digitized with 4 bits, the image is 40
May contain 96 colors. However, if all the 4096 colors are transmitted as information, the amount of information will be large. Therefore, in an image creating device such as a videotex, normally, for example, 16 colors are used as a display color and 40 colors of the original color image are used.
After the process of assigning 96 colors to the 16 colors is performed, the encoding process is performed.

The 16 display colors can be fixed, but
Then, the color tone of the original color image may be impaired. Therefore, the applicant previously proposed a method of automatically determining the 16 display colors based on the original color image information (1984).
See Patent Application 8 dated November 30).

This is a method in which the upper 16 colors are selected in descending order of appearance frequency as the color of each dot of color image information for one screen.

D Problems to be solved by the invention However, when the display color is selected from the color information of one screen in this way, it is not possible to intentionally weight the central object of the image, and unnecessary parts There is a drawback that many colors are used.

For example, if the image is a person image as shown in FIG.
For the purpose of expressing the characteristics of a person, the background portion of the person is completely unnecessary. However, since this background portion occupies a large area on the screen, the frequency of color appearance is high in this portion, and the color of this background portion is selected as the display color, so in order to reproduce the important person portion in detail. In some cases, the colors required for the image are not selected, giving the impression that the original image is different.

E Means for Solving Problems This invention corresponds to a microcomputer, a monitor receiver (512), a memory (507) capable of storing input video data for one screen, and an address of this memory (507). An external input device (502) capable of specifying a position on the screen of the monitor receiver (512), and this external input device (502)
Means (504) for obtaining the appearance frequency of the color in the image data in the area specified by, and means (50) for obtaining the appearance frequency.
A means (505) for selecting an upper N color from colors having a higher appearance frequency than the output information of 4) and a color of a specific image portion designated by the external input device (502) are forced as one of the above display colors. Setting means (513), means (506) (507) for creating converted video data in which the input video data is expressed in N or less colors, and encoding the image information of the converted video data. And an encoding means (508) for converting into transmission data.

F action For example, in the person image of FIG. 5, if only the person portion is specified by the external input device (502), the means (504) obtains the appearance frequency of the color of only this person portion, and the appearance frequency is high. The upper N colors are sequentially selected from the colors by means (505). After that, by designating, for example, a lip portion, an eye portion, etc. with the external input device (502), the lip color and the eye color are exchanged with the selected N colors, for example, the lower two colors, and the N color is changed. Be elected again.

G Embodiment G ₁ Description of Image Creating Apparatus FIG. 1 is an example of the apparatus of the present invention, and a videotex image creating apparatus will be described. In this example, the device is a frame data creation unit (100) that converts input color image information into data for each screen, and a videotex device unit (100) that creates data such as a videotex image from the data for each screen. 200) and.

In the frame data creation unit (100), (101) is an analog color video signal input terminal, which is a video camera, a VT
Source of color video signal such as R, video disc (1
0) NTSC color video signal from this input terminal (101)
It is supplied to the NTSC decoder (102) through and is decoded to obtain the three primary color signals R, G, B from this.

Further, (103) is an input terminal for the three primary color signals R, G, B. From the generation source (20) of the three primary color video signals R, G, B from an image information creation device such as a microcomputer, this input terminal (103) The three primary color signals are input to the frame data creation unit (100) through.

Then, the three primary color signals from the NTSC decoder (102) and the three primary color signals from the input terminal (103) are selected and taken out by the input selection circuit (104), and the selected output is supplied to the A / D converter (105). To be done. This A / D converter (10
In 5), the three primary color signals R, G, B are set to 4 for each sample.
One sample (1 bit) as bit data is converted into a 12-bit digital signal. The 12-bit digital signal is supplied to the field memory (106) and written in the memory (106) for each one field.

Writing and reading of the field memory (106) are performed by commands from the microcomputer (201) of the videotex device section (200) as described later. Switching of the input selection circuit (104) is also performed by a command from the videotex device section (200) side. (108) is a timing control circuit for controlling the timing.

Therefore, a signal for each field is obtained from the field memory (106), which is the D / A converter (107).
The analog three primary color signals R, G, B are thereby returned to the monitor receiver (230) through the selector (231) of the videotex device section (200) and the image is displayed on the screen.

The videotex device section (200) is provided with a microcomputer (201).

That is, (202) is the processor of that CPU, and (203)
Is a ROM in which a data processing program as described later is stored, and (204) is a work area RAM. Further, (205) is a data bus.

Also, (211) is 1 from the frame data creation unit (100).
This is a buffer RAM that captures 12-bit dot digital data.

(212) is created as described later with respect to the data for one screen taken into this buffer RAM (211).
It is a video RAM that stores converted digital video data converted into data representing the color of each dot by a color palette of colors. In this case, in the video RAM (212), in addition to the video data from the frame data creation section (100), a plurality of commands for performing processing intended by the operator on the video data are provided in a command menu (230M). As shown in FIG. 5, menu data to be displayed on the screen is stored.

Reference numeral (213) is a controller of the video RAM (212), which is connected to the data bus (205).

(214) is a color palette memory in which 16 colors of video data set as described later, that is, data in which each of the three primary color signals R, G, and B is represented by a 4-bit digital signal is 16 colors Minutes are remembered.

Further, (215) is a RAM for storing the data converted from the converted digital video data stored in the video RAM (212) to the NAPLPS PDI code including the geometric figure code and its attribute code.

(216) is a tablet as an external input device, and this tablet (216) is a coordinate input device for designating a position on the screen of the monitor receiver (230). The coordinate input device may be a so-called mouse or other input device instead of the tablet.

When one command of the above-mentioned command menu is selected on the tablet (216), the command is executed. That is, the address of the video RAM (212) can be designated by the stylus on the tablet (216), and the position on the screen designated by Stalice is displayed on the screen by the cursor. This tablet (216) has an interface (2
21) and is connected to the data bus (205).

(217) is a floppy disk in which the NAPLPS code for each screen stored in the RAM (215) is stored.
It is also designed to be readable, which is also connected to the data bus (205) via the interface (222).

(218) is a modem for modulating the NAPLPS code of the RAM (215) and transmitting it through, for example, a telephone line, which is also connected to the data bus (205) via the interface (223). ing.

Further, (220) is an interface for taking in one screen of digital video data from the frame data creation section (100), and through this, the data bus (205)
The video data supplied to is first taken into the buffer RAM (211) as raw data.

Explanation of automatic definition of G ₂ color palette In the videotex device configured as above,
According to the flowchart as shown in FIG. 2, color image data represented by 16 colors is created according to a color palette set for 12-bit video data capable of expressing 4096 colors from the frame data creation unit (100). .

That is, first, in the videotex device (200) from the field memory (106) of the frame data creation unit (100), the video data for one screen is displayed according to the command selected on the menu (230M) by the tablet (216). Is taken into the data bus (205) via the interface (220) (step [301]).

The data thus fetched is transferred to the buffer RAM (211) and temporarily stored (step [302]).

Then, as shown below, all of the data for one screen of the buffer RAM (211) is used to automatically allocate 16 display colors, and the conversion created based on the selected 16 colors The data is written to the video RAM (212) (step [303]).

That is, the appearance frequency of the color of each dot is obtained from the data loaded into the buffer RAM (211) according to the program of the ROM (203), and the higher 16 colors of digital video data (12 bits ) Is written to the color palette memory (214).

In this way, the color of each dot of the raw data of the buffer RAM (211) is recolored by the data of 16 colors automatically selected from the image data of the entire screen stored in the color palette memory (214).

In this case, the information of each dot is converted into data of one color out of 16 colors in the color palette memory (214) which is closest to the original color of the video data in the buffer RAM (212). Then, data corresponding to the recolored video data is written in the video RAM (212) as data of each dot. The data stored in the video RAM (212) is not the 12-bit video data but the address data (4 bits) of the converted color video data in the color palette memory (214). In this way, video RAM (21
In 2), the converted video data of 1 dot 4 bits is written to the raw data of 1 dot 12 bits of the buffer RAM (211).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, in the tablet (216), the tablet (216) is displayed in the command menu (230M) displayed on the lower part of the screen of the monitor receiver (230).
When the command for displaying the recolored image is selected, the selection circuit (231) is switched to the state opposite to that shown in the figure. Then, under the control of the controller (213), the address data for specifying the color of each dot is sequentially read out in the horizontal and vertical directions from the video RAM (212),
Color palette memory (21
4) The color data selected from (that is, the three primary color signals R, G, B are 4
A signal expressed in bits) is obtained, and this is converted back into an analog signal by the D / A converter (233), and the analog three primary color signals R, G, B are sent via the selection circuit (231) to the monitor receiver (230). ), The recolored image is displayed on the screen.

At this time, the menu (230M) stored in the RAM (212) can also be displayed on the screen.

In this way, a new recolored image created based on the color palette created from the data of the entire screen is displayed on the screen of the monitor receiver (230).

Next, it is determined whether manual modification is necessary (step [304]). When the user sees the display screen and determines that it needs to be corrected, move the stylus on the tablet (216) to display the menu as shown in Fig. 5,
Hit the modify command. Then, it is determined that the correction is necessary, and the apparatus enters the manual correction mode (step [305]).

If there is no need for manual correction on the screen, the command for processing the next image data is hit on the tablet (216), and the definition of the color palette is completed.

Description Figure 3 of G ₃ color palette manual modification is a flow chart of the manual modification.

In this manual correction mode, there is a function that allows you to specify an area that you want to attach particular importance to when specifying a color palette and also use a specific color in the image as one color of the color palette. It is equipped.

First, it is judged whether or not the area to be colored is designated (step (401)).

When the user wants to specify the area, the command "MASK" in the command menu (230M) on the screen described above is hit by the stylus of the tablet (216). Then, a portion not used for the definition of the color palette, for example, the background portion of the human figure on the screen of FIG. 5 is filled with the stylus on the tablet (216). Then, the buffer RAM (21
The address of 1) will be specified, and this buffer R
The digital video information of the human figure portion is read from the AM (211), and a histogram of the appearance frequency of the color of each dot of this digital video information is created again (step [402]). Then, the frequency count obtained from the created histogram is superimposed on the frequency count of each color automatically selected from the entire screen information, and the upper 16 colors of the superimposed colors are re-selected (step (403)).

In this way, the color palette is recreated only from the color image information of the face and the head of the person other than the background portion, and the recreated 16-color data is stored in the color palette memory (214). Is written.

Then, this newly defined color palette is displayed in the uppermost part of the lower menu (230M) on the screen of FIG. 5 described above. At this time, the arrangement order of colors is also changed according to the histogram.

In addition, the screen has been newly recreated with a color palette of 16
The image becomes an image whose color tone is changed according to the data of the video RAM (212) recolored by the color.

Furthermore, when looking at this image, if you want to restore the color of the original image, such as when the color of the lips, the color of the eyes, or a specific color part is different from the original image, the specific color part is You can add it as one of the 16 colors in the color palette. In this case, to compare the difference between the original screen color and the created screen color, hit the command menu (230M) with the stylus on the tablet (216) to switch the selection circuit (231) and create the frame data. The color of the original image from the copy (100) and the color of the recolored image data of the video RAM (212) can be compared.

Then, it is judged whether or not a command for adding a specific color to the color palette is selected by the tablet (216) (step [404]). When the command is hit on the command menu (230M) on the tablet (216), the process proceeds to step [405], and the mode for adding a specific color is entered. In step [405], with the selector (231) in the state shown in the figure, the image from the original frame data creation unit (100) is displayed on the screen of the monitor receiver (230), or in the newly created image. , Hit the part where you want to add the original specific color, such as the lip part. Then, the address is specified in the buffer RAM (211), and the color palette is the frequency of the 12-bit video data read from the buffer RAM (211) among the data stored in the color palette memory (214). Exchanged with the lowest number of video data, selection of 16 colors is redone. If you also want to add eye color, hit the stylus with the tablet (216) in this part as well, and in the same way, the video data of the original color of that eye color is forcibly forced to 16 colors in the color palette memory (214). It will be defined as one of the colors. The above is performed in step [405] and step [406].

The buffer RAM (2
Video data of 16 colors is created for the data of 11), and this is stored again in the video RAM (212) (step [407]).
2) The image based on the data stored in
0) is displayed on the screen.

At this time, the video information of the video RAM (212) can be created by using, for example, 14 colors out of 16 colors instead of using all 16 colors. In that case, the tablet (216) may be used to hit and specify the color to be used among the 16 colors displayed on the menu (230M).

When the correction is completed as described above (step [408]), the correction mode is completed and the definition of the color palette is completed. If the correction is not completed, steps [401] to [407] are repeated.

Thus, the video RAM (212) is loaded with data equal to the color video data represented by 16 colors or less than 16 colors.

Then, the data from the video RAM (212) is represented by the program of the ROM (203) of the microcomputer (201), and the figure code consisting of the above-mentioned five types of basic geometric figures and the attributes indicating the color, the size, and the coordinate position thereof. The code is encoded into a NAPLPS system code, and the encoded code is written in the RAM (215). further,
This N through the interface (222) depending on the case
The image data of the APLPS code is stored in the floppy disk (217) as a data image file.

The NAPLPS code created in this way is a tablet (21
6) When the send command is hit by the modem (218)
Will be transmitted to and modulated over the telephone line.

In addition, the place where you can specify the part you want to replace with the original color can be defined from 16 colors as a color palette to 16 places as a matter of course.

Further, in the mode for designating a part unrelated to the definition of the color palette, the operation of designating a specific original color can be performed even for the area excluded from the definition of the color palette.

G ₄ Description of functional block diagram Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functions according to the flowchart described above.
The input digital video signal from (0) is supplied to the buffer RAM (501) through the input terminal (500), and this buffer RAM
The address of (501) is the tablet (5
02) is specified via the addressing circuit (503), and the information in the specified position and area is stored in the buffer RAM.
The histogram is read from (501), and a histogram is created in the histogram creating circuit (504) from the read information. Then, the upper 16 colors are selected by the selection circuit (505) from the created histogram, and the 16 colors selected by the selection circuit (505) are stored in the color palette memory (506). And this selected 16
Video data represented by 16 colors in the video RAM (507), that is, represented by the address data (4 bits) of the color palette memory (506) for all the data for one screen of the color in the buffer RAM (501) After being formed and written, it is supplied to the NAPLPS encoder (508) and converted into a code expressed as a graphic code and an attribute code, and the code is stored in the buffer RAM (509). Then, it is sent to a transmission line, for example, a telephone cable via the modulation circuit (510).

Further, the 4-bit signal of the video RAM (507) is supplied to the color palette memory (506) as an address, and the three primary color information of each dot is read out from the color palette memory (506), which is the D / A converter ( It is converted into an analog signal by 511) and the analog signal is supplied to a monitor receiver (512) so that it is displayed on the screen.

When the tablet (502) hits a specific screen portion, the address is specified, the portion is read from the buffer RAM (501), and the data is loaded into the specific color setting circuit (513). The data is supplied to the N color selection circuit (505) and is forcibly defined as one color out of 16 colors and written in the color palette memory (506). Therefore, this specific color is forcibly set to one of 16 colors, which causes the information in the video RAM (507) to be rewritten again.

Although a description has been given of defining a color palette from information for one screen, as described above, in the histogram creation circuit (504), the tablet (50
If the area is not specified from 2), of course, a histogram is created based on the information for the entire screen, and the color palette is automatically defined.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, not only the display color that defines the color palette is selected from the full screen information for one screen, but also the area that the user wants to emphasize is designated, and the area is emphasized. Since it is possible to define a color palette and also to define a specific original color of the original image as one color of the color palette, image creation such as videotex with user's intentional coloring is made. It is possible to obtain the device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of the device of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are flowcharts showing the operation thereof, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the function of the device of the present invention in a structural manner.
The figure is a diagram for explaining an example of a display screen. (201) is a microcomputer, (230) is a monitor receiver, (211) is a buffer RAM, (212) is a video RAM, (21
4) is a color palette memory, and (216) is a tablet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A microcomputer, (b) a monitor receiver, (c) a memory capable of storing input video data for one screen, and (d) the monitor receiver corresponding to an address of this memory. An external input device capable of designating a position on the screen of (e) a means for obtaining the appearance frequency of a color in screen data in an area designated by the external input device, and (f) a means for obtaining the appearance frequency. Means for selecting upper N colors from colors having a higher appearance frequency than output information, and (g) Means for forcibly setting the color of a specific image portion designated by the external input device as one of the display colors. And (h) means for creating converted video data in which the input video data is represented by the N or less colors, and (i) encoding the image information of the converted video data to convert it into transmission data. Image creating apparatus comprising a encoding means.