Image processing device, image processing method, and computer readable medium

Abstract

The present invention provides an image processing device, an image processing method, and a computer-readable medium. The image processing device comprises: a reading unit that irradiates light toward an object from two directions at different angles to read images of the object respectively; and a control unit that controls the reading unit to obtain two images from the object so that the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from one direction is lower than the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from another direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a computer-readable medium. Background Art

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-279228 discloses an imaging device that performs two scans, namely, scanning with diffusely reflected light and scanning with specularly reflected light, and synthesizes images obtained by each scan, thereby obtaining an image that exhibits both texture and color well. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present disclosure is to provide an image processing device, an image processing method and a computer-readable medium. When acquiring two image data, the image processing device can reduce the amount of image data that needs to be stored compared to the case of acquiring two image data with the same resolution. The two image data are used to display an image that reproduces the gloss of an object by irradiating light toward the object from two directions at different angles.

[0004] [Image processing device]

[0005] According to the first scheme of the present disclosure, there is provided an image processing device comprising: a reading unit which irradiates light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object; and a control unit which, when controlling the reading unit to acquire two images from the object, controls the image read by irradiating light toward the object from one direction so that the resolution of the image read is lower than the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from another direction.

[0006] According to the second scheme of the present disclosure, the two directions at different angles are the following two directions: a direction for obtaining diffusely reflected light when light is irradiated toward the object as a direction for reading an image; and a direction for obtaining mirror reflected light when light is irradiated toward the object as a direction for reading an image, and the control unit is controlled in such a manner that a resolution of a mirror reflected light image of the mirror reflected light of the object is lower than a resolution of a diffuse reflected light image of the diffusely reflected light of the object.

[0007] According to the third scheme of the present disclosure, the control unit controls the reading unit in such a manner that the resolution of a mirror reflection light image of the mirror reflection light of the object is lower than the resolution of a diffuse reflection light image of the diffuse reflection light of the object by making the reading speed of the reading unit faster when reading the mirror reflection light of the object than when reading the diffuse reflection light.

[0008] According to the fourth scheme of the present disclosure, the control unit performs control by performing interval elimination on the pixel values ​​of the mirror reflection light image so that the resolution of the mirror reflection light image for reading the mirror reflection light of the object is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image for reading the diffuse reflection light of the object.

[0009] According to the fifth scheme of the present disclosure, the image processing device also has: a storage unit, which stores the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image; an enlargement unit, which enlarges the specular reflection light image to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image; a calculation unit, which calculates the difference between the specular reflection light image enlarged by the enlargement unit and the diffuse reflection light image; a synthesis unit, which synthesizes the difference image calculated by the calculation unit and the diffuse reflection light image, thereby generating an image showing the gloss of the object; and a display unit, which displays the image synthesized by the synthesis unit.

[0010] According to the sixth scheme of the present disclosure, the image processing device also has: a storage unit, which stores the mirror reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image; a reduction unit, which reduces the diffuse reflection light image to the same size as the mirror reflection light image; a calculation unit, which calculates the difference between the diffuse reflection light image reduced by the reduction unit and the mirror reflection light image; an enlargement unit, which enlarges the difference image calculated by the calculation unit to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image; a synthesis unit, which synthesizes the difference image enlarged by the enlargement unit and the diffuse reflection light image, thereby generating an image showing the gloss of the object; and a display unit, which displays the image synthesized by the synthesis unit.

[0011] [Computer readable medium]

[0012] According to the seventh scheme of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute processing, wherein the processing comprises: a reading step of irradiating light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object; and a control step of controlling, when two images are acquired from the object in the reading step, such that the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from one direction is lower than the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from another direction.

[0013] [Image processing method]

[0014] According to the 8th scheme of the present disclosure, there is provided an image processing method, comprising: a reading step of irradiating light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object; and a control step of controlling, when two images are acquired from the object in the reading step, in such a manner that the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from one direction is lower than the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from another direction.

[0015] (Effect)

[0016] According to the first scheme, an image processing device can be provided, which can reduce the amount of image data that needs to be stored when acquiring two image data, compared with the case of acquiring two image data with the same resolution. The two image data are used to display an image that reproduces the gloss of an object by irradiating light toward the object from two directions at different angles.

[0017] According to the second aspect, it is possible to provide an image processing device that can reduce the amount of image data that needs to be stored compared to a case where two image data having the same resolution are acquired without reducing color information of the object.

[0018] According to the third aspect, it is possible to provide an image processing device capable of acquiring a specular reflection light image having a resolution lower than that of a diffuse reflection light image simply by adjusting the reading speed in the reading unit.

[0019] According to the fourth aspect, it is possible to provide an image processing device capable of acquiring a specular reflection light image having a resolution lower than that of a diffuse reflection light image simply by thinning out the pixel values ​​of the specular reflection light image.

[0020] According to the fifth aspect, it is possible to provide an image processing device capable of generating a difference image showing glossiness from a diffuse reflection light image and a specular reflection light image even when the resolution of the specular reflection light image is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image.

[0021] According to the sixth aspect, it is possible to provide an image processing device capable of generating a difference image showing glossiness from a diffuse reflection light image and a specular reflection light image even when the resolution of the specular reflection light image is lower than that of the diffuse reflection light image.

[0022] According to the seventh scheme, a computer-readable medium is provided, which stores the following program: when acquiring two image data, the amount of image data that needs to be stored can be reduced compared to the case of acquiring two image data with the same resolution. The two image data are used to display an image that reproduces the gloss of an object by irradiating light toward the object from two directions at different angles.

[0023] According to the eighth scheme, an image processing method can be provided, which can reduce the amount of image data that needs to be stored when acquiring two image data, compared with the case of acquiring two image data with the same resolution. The two image data are used to display an image that reproduces the gloss of an object by irradiating light toward the object from two directions at different angles. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a diagram for explaining specular reflection and diffuse reflection.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a diagram for explaining a state in which an image reproducing a glossy feeling is generated by reading a diffuse reflection light image and a specular reflection light image from a reading object and synthesizing them.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 4 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 5 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 6 This is a diagram for explaining a specific configuration of the image reading unit 65 in the image forming apparatus 10 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 7 This is a diagram for explaining the detailed structure of the image reading unit 65 .

[0031] Figure 8 1 and 2 are diagrams showing the operation of reading the mirror-reflected light image of the reading object 50 by the image reading section 65 .

[0032] Fig. 9 1 and 2 are diagrams showing the operation of reading the diffuse reflection light image of the reading object 50 by the image reading section 65 .

[0033] Fig.10 This is a diagram for explaining a state in which a specular reflection light image and a diffuse reflection light image are transmitted from the image forming device 10 to the terminal device 20 .

[0034] Fig.11 It is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the terminal device 20 in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Fig.121 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the terminal device 20 in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Fig.13 The diagram shows a state in which a specular reflection light image having a resolution of 300 dpi is enlarged by two times to have a resolution of 600 dpi and a difference calculation is performed between the enlarged 600 dpi specular reflection light image and the 600 dpi diffuse reflection light image.

[0037] Fig.14 This is a diagram showing a state where a difference image obtained by difference calculation and a diffuse reflection light image are combined.

[0038] Fig.15 This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the terminal device 20A when a difference calculation is performed after reducing the diffuse reflection light image to the same size as the specular reflection light image.

[0039] Fig.16 This is a diagram showing a state where a diffuse reflection light image is reduced and a difference image is calculated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0041] First, before describing an image reading device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 1 Explain specular reflection and diffuse reflection. Figure 1 60 is a diagram for explaining the reflection state when light is irradiated from the light source 60 toward the read object 50. When the read object 50 is a completely flat surface, light incident on the read object 50 at a certain incident angle is reflected at an emission angle equal to the incident angle. Figure 1 In the embodiment, when the light from the light source 60 is incident on the read object 50 at 45 degrees, it is reflected at an emission angle of 45 degrees. In this way, reflection such that the incident angle is equal to the emission angle is called specular reflection, and light reflected by specular reflection is called specular reflected light.

[0042] However, if the surface of the object to be read 50 is not a perfect plane, the light irradiated to the object to be read 50 is reflected at various emission angles. Such reflection where the incident angle and the emission angle are not equal is called diffuse reflection, and the light reflected by diffuse reflection is called diffuse reflection light.

[0043] Furthermore, when light is irradiated onto an object having high glossiness such as metal, the specular reflected light becomes strong, and conversely, when light is irradiated onto an object having low glossiness, the specular reflected light becomes weak.

[0044] In a conventional image reading device, an image based on diffuse reflection light from a reading object (hereinafter referred to as a diffuse reflection light image) is obtained as a scanned image of the reading object. This is because the diffuse reflection light image contains color information of the reading object, and the color of the reading object can be grasped from the diffuse reflection light image.

[0045] However, since most of the reflected light from the portion with high reflectivity is specular reflected light, when a diffuse reflection light image is read from an object having a portion with high reflectivity, the portion with high reflectivity in the diffuse reflection light image becomes a dark image.

[0046] Therefore, if Figure 2 As shown, the following actions are performed: not only the diffuse reflection light image of the read object is read, but also the image based on the mirror reflection light from the read object (hereinafter referred to as the mirror reflection light image) is read, and the read diffuse reflection light image and mirror reflection light image are synthesized to generate an image that reproduces the glossiness.

[0047] Furthermore, by reproducing the glossiness, the texture and convexoconcavity of the object displayed in the image are also reproduced, and an image is generated that reproduces not only the glossiness but also the texture in a broader sense.

[0048] Furthermore, by changing the synthesis method when synthesizing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image, the glossiness in the synthesized image can be adjusted. Therefore, by changing the glossiness, it is possible to generate images of a certain object when viewed from various angles.

[0049] However, in order to display an image with a changed glossiness as described above, two image data, namely, a specular reflection image and a diffuse reflection image, need to be stored. For example, if the specular reflection image and the diffuse reflection image are set to the same data volume, the amount of image data that needs to be simply stored is doubled.

[0050] Therefore, in the image reading device of this embodiment, by performing the method described below, the amount of image data that needs to be stored is reduced when acquiring the following two image data, wherein the two image data are used to display an image that reproduces the gloss of an object by irradiating light toward the object from two directions at different angles.

[0051] Figure 3 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an image forming system including an image reading device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] like Figure 3As shown, an image forming system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is composed of an image forming apparatus 10 and a terminal device 20 connected to each other via a network 30. The terminal device 20 generates print data and sends the generated print data to the image forming apparatus 10 via the network 30. The image forming apparatus 10 receives the print data sent from the terminal device 20 and outputs an image corresponding to the print data on a sheet of paper. The image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called multifunction machine having multiple functions such as a printing function, a scanning function, a copying function, and a facsimile function.

[0053] Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 10 in the present embodiment includes an image reading device that can generate an image that reproduces a glossy feeling by irradiating light from two directions at different angles toward a reading object such as a document to acquire an image.

[0054] Then, in Figure 4 2 shows the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming system of the present embodiment.

[0055] like Figure 4 As shown, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a CPU 51, a memory 52, a storage device 53 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (abbreviated as IF) 54 for transmitting and receiving data with an external device via a network 30, a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device 55 including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display and a keyboard, a scanner 56, and a print engine 57. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 58.

[0056] The CPU 51 executes a predetermined process according to a control program stored in the memory 52 or the storage device 53, thereby controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 10. In the present embodiment, the CPU 51 reads out and executes a control program stored in the memory 52 or the storage device 53, but the program may be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and provided to the CPU 51.

[0057] Figure 5 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 realized by executing the above-mentioned control program.

[0058] like Figure 5 As shown, the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment includes an operation input unit 61 , a display unit 62 , a data transmission and reception unit 63 , a control unit 64 , an image reading unit 65 , an image data storage unit 66 , and an image output device 67 .

[0059] The display unit 62 is controlled by the control unit 64 and displays various information to the user. The operation input unit 61 inputs various operation information performed by the user.

[0060] The image output device 67 outputs an image to a recording medium such as printing paper under the control of the control unit 64. The image reading unit 65 is a reading unit that irradiates light to read an image of an object, and performs a scanning operation to read an image of a reading object such as various originals under the control of the control unit 64.

[0061] As described above, the image reading unit 65 is configured to irradiate light toward the object to be read from two directions at different angles and read the image of the object to be read. Specifically, the image reading unit 65 is configured to read diffuse reflection light images and specular reflection light images of the object to be read.

[0062] The control unit 64 performs control such that print data is generated based on the print job received from the terminal device 20 via the data transceiver unit 63, and the generated print data is output from the image output device 67. The control unit 64 also performs a scanning process of controlling the image reader 65 to read an image of a read object based on an operation of the operation input unit 61.

[0063] The image data storage unit 66 stores various data such as print data generated by the control unit 64 and image data read by the image reading unit 65 .

[0064] Furthermore, when the control unit 64 in this embodiment controls the image reading unit 65 to obtain two images from the reading object, the control unit 64 performs control in such a manner that the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from one direction is lower than the resolution of the image read by irradiating light toward the object from another direction.

[0065] In this embodiment, the two directions at different angles are: a direction for acquiring diffusely reflected light when light is irradiated toward the object to be read as a read image; and a direction for acquiring specularly reflected light when light is irradiated toward the object to be read as a read image.

[0066] Therefore, the control unit 64 performs control so that the resolution of a specular reflection light image obtained by reading specular reflection light of the object to be read is lower than the resolution of a diffuse reflection light image obtained by reading diffuse reflection light of the object to be read.

[0067] As a specific method of making the resolution of the specular reflection light image lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image, various methods as described below can be used.

[0068] For example, the control unit 64 controls the image reading unit 65 so that the reading speed when reading the mirror reflected light of the reading object is faster than the reading speed when reading the diffuse reflected light, so that the resolution of the mirror reflected light image read by the mirror reflected light of the reading object is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflected light image read by the diffuse reflected light of the reading object.

[0069] Alternatively, the control unit 64 may perform control such that the resolution of the specular reflection light image obtained by reading the specular reflection light of the object to be read is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image obtained by reading the diffuse reflection light of the object to be read by thinning out the pixel values ​​of the specular reflection light image.

[0070] In addition, in the present embodiment, description is given using a case where the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image is set to 600 dpi (dot per inch) and the resolution of the specular reflection light image is set to 300 dpi.

[0071] Furthermore, assuming that the data amount of an image with a resolution of 600 dpi is 1, when the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image are simultaneously acquired with a resolution of 600 dpi, the total data amount is 2.

[0072] Here, when reading an image in the same reading range, assuming that the data amount of an image with a resolution of 600 dpi is 1, the data amount of an image with a resolution of 300 dpi is 0.25.

[0073] Therefore, the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image is 600dpi, but when the resolution of the mirror reflection light image is set to 300dpi, the total data volume is 1.25, which is 62.5% (=1.25 / 2×100) compared to the case where the resolution of both the diffuse reflection light image and the mirror reflection light image is set to 600dpi respectively.

[0074] Next, refer to Figure 6 The specific configuration of the image reading section 65 in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0075] like Figure 6 As shown, the image reading section 65 is composed of a cover section 11 and a main body section 14 .

[0076] A document tray 12 for placing a document to be read is provided on the cover 11. The document placed on the document tray 12 is transported by various transport rollers and transported to a predetermined document reading position.

[0077] The main body 14 is provided with the platen glass 13 and the image reading section 65 for reading an image of various objects such as a document transported to a document reading position or a document placed on the platen glass 13 .

[0078] The image reading unit 65 is composed of two lamps 21 and 22 for irradiating a document, reflecting mirrors 31 to 33 , an imaging lens 34 , and a photoelectric conversion element 35 such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device).

[0079] The image reading section 65 is configured to read a specular reflection light image based on specular reflection light from the reading object 50 and a diffuse reflection light image based on diffuse reflection light from the reading object 50 .

[0080] The image reading section 65 is provided on a carriage (not shown) and is movable in the sub-scanning direction. Therefore, when reading an image of the reading object 50 placed on the platen glass 13, the image reading section 65 can read the document while moving in the sub-scanning direction.

[0081] Next, refer to Figure 7 The detailed structure of the image reading unit 65 will be described.

[0082] As described above, the image reading section 65 is provided with two lamps 21 and 22. The lamp 21 is a diffuse reflection light source used to read a diffuse reflection light image of the reading object 50. The lamp 22 is a specular reflection light source used to read a specular reflection light image of the reading object 50.

[0083] For example, the lamp 21 is set to irradiate light toward the object 50 to be read from a direction of 45 degrees with respect to a line connecting the reflector 31 and the object 50 to be read, and the reflector 31 initially reflects the reflected light from the object 50 to be read. Furthermore, the lamp 22 is set to irradiate light toward the object 50 to be read from a direction of 5 degrees with respect to a line connecting the reflector 31 and the object 50 to be read.

[0084] Then, the reflected light from the read object 50 is sequentially reflected by the reflection mirrors 31 to 33 , passes through the imaging lens 34 , and then enters the photoelectric conversion element 35 .

[0085] As a result, the incident reflected light is decomposed into R signal, G signal, and B signal and outputted from the photoelectric conversion element 35. The R signal, G signal, and B signal of the analog signals outputted from the photoelectric conversion element 35 are inputted to the A / D converters 41R to 41B, respectively, and converted into the R signal, G signal, and B signal of the digital signals.

[0086] Then, in Figure 8FIG. 6 shows the operation of reading the mirror-reflected light image of the reading object 50 by the image reading unit 65. Fig. 9 2 shows the operation when reading a diffuse reflection light image.

[0087] like Figure 8 As shown, when reading a specular reflection light image, the lamp 21 is turned off and the lamp 22 is turned on in the image reading section 65 .

[0088] In this way, the light irradiated by the lamp 22 is reflected by the object to be read 50 , and enters the photoelectric conversion element 35 via the reflection mirrors 31 to 33 and the imaging lens 34 .

[0089] Here, the reason why the positions of the lamp 22 and the reflector 31 are different by 5 degrees is that if the lamp 22 and the reflector 31 are arranged on the same line, they interfere with each other.

[0090] By performing such an operation, only the specularly reflected light of the object to be read 50 , out of the reflected light of the light irradiated from the lamp 22 , enters the photoelectric conversion element 35 .

[0091] And, if Fig. 9 As shown, when reading a diffuse reflection light image, the lamp 21 is turned on and the lamp 22 is turned off in the image reading section 65 .

[0092] In this way, the light irradiated by the lamp 21 is reflected by the object to be read 50 , and enters the photoelectric conversion element 35 via the reflection mirrors 31 to 33 and the imaging lens 34 .

[0093] Furthermore, since the lamp 21 and the reflector 31 are arranged at positions different from each other by 45 degrees, the specularly reflected light of the object to be read 50 with respect to the light irradiated from the lamp 21 does not return to the reflector 31 .

[0094] By performing such an operation, only diffusely reflected light of the reflected light of the object to be read 50 with respect to the light irradiated from the lamp 21 enters the photoelectric conversion element 35 .

[0095] Moreover, if Fig.10 As shown, the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image read by the image reading unit 65 are sent from the image forming device 10 to the terminal device 20. In addition, in this embodiment, the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image sent from the image forming device 10 to the terminal device 20 is 600 dpi, but the resolution of the specular reflection light image is 300 dpi.

[0096] Furthermore, browser software (or display software) is installed in the terminal device 20, and a composite image is generated and displayed by the browser software.

[0097] Then, in Fig.11 2 shows a hardware configuration of a terminal device 20 that synthesizes a specular reflection light image and a diffuse reflection light image to display an image that reproduces a sense of gloss.

[0098] like Fig.11 As shown, the terminal device 20 includes a CPU 71, a memory 72, a storage device 73 such as a hard disk drive, a communication interface (abbreviated as IF) 74 for transmitting and receiving data with an external device via the network 30, and a user interface (abbreviated as UI) device 75 including a touch panel or a liquid crystal display and a keyboard. These components are connected to each other via a control bus 76.

[0099] The CPU 71 executes a predetermined process according to a control program stored in the memory 72 or the storage device 73 to control the operation of the terminal device 20. In addition, in the present embodiment, the CPU 71 reads out and executes a control program stored in the memory 72 or the storage device 73, but the program can also be stored in a storage medium such as a CD-ROM and provided to the CPU 71.

[0100] Fig.12 2 is a block diagram showing the functional structure of the terminal device 20 realized by executing the above-mentioned control program. Fig.12 In the description, only the structure for synthesizing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image to display an image that reproduces the glossiness is described.

[0101] like Fig.12 As shown, the terminal device 20 includes an image data storage unit 81 , a brightness value calculation unit 82 , a difference operation unit 83 , an adjustment unit 84 , a texture generation unit 85 , an image synthesis unit 86 , a display unit 87 , and an enlargement unit 88 .

[0102] The image data storage section 81 stores the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image sent from the image forming apparatus 10. For example, the image data storage section 81 stores the diffuse reflection light image with a resolution of 600 dpi and the specular reflection light image with a resolution of 300 dpi.

[0103] The enlarging unit 88 enlarges the specular reflection light image stored in the image data storage unit 81 to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image. Specifically, the enlarging unit 88 enlarges the specular reflection light image having a resolution of 300 dpi to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image at 600 dpi.

[0104] When the display of the image reproducing the glossiness is instructed, the brightness value calculation unit 82 calculates the brightness values ​​of the diffuse reflection light image stored in the image data storage unit 81 and the specular reflection light image enlarged by the enlarging unit 88 .

[0105] The difference calculation unit 83 calculates the difference between the brightness value of the specular reflection light image and the brightness value of the diffuse reflection light image calculated by the brightness value calculation unit 82 for each pixel. That is, the difference calculation unit 83 calculates the difference between the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image amplified by the amplification unit 88. The difference image calculated by the difference calculation unit 83 becomes the gloss information of the object to be read.

[0106] That is, if the difference between the brightness value of the specular reflection light image and the brightness value of the diffuse reflection light image is large, it means that the pixel corresponds to a portion with a strong sense of gloss. On the contrary, if the difference between the brightness value of the specular reflection light image and the brightness value of the diffuse reflection light image is small or zero, it means that the pixel corresponds to a portion with a weak sense of gloss or a portion without gloss.

[0107] The adjustment unit 84 performs processing such as adjusting the glossiness of the difference image obtained by the difference calculation unit 83, such as emphasizing or reducing the glossiness. Furthermore, the texture generation unit 85 performs processing such as calculating and changing the reflection amount of the glossy part according to the display angle and the position of the assumed light source, etc., for the difference image after the glossiness adjustment by the adjustment unit 84.

[0108] The image synthesis unit 86 uses the difference image obtained after the reflection amount is calculated by the texture generation unit 85 as gloss information and synthesizes it with the diffuse reflection image of the color information stored in the reproduced image data storage unit 81. That is, the image synthesis unit 86 synthesizes the difference image calculated by the difference calculation unit 83 and the diffuse reflection image to generate an image expressing the gloss of the object to be read.

[0109] The display unit 87 displays the image synthesized by the image synthesizing unit 86 .

[0110] In this way, refer to Fig.13 , Fig.14 A description will be given of a state in which the mirror-reflected light image is enlarged and made the same size as the diffuse-reflected light image and then combined.

[0111] exist Fig.13 , a state is shown in which a specular reflection light image having a resolution of 300 dpi is enlarged by a factor of two to set the resolution to 600 dpi and a difference calculation is performed between the enlarged 600 dpi specular reflection light image and the 600 dpi diffuse reflection light image.

[0112] In addition, here, since the resolutions of the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image are both 600 dpi, the resolution of the obtained difference image is naturally also 600 dpi.

[0113] Moreover, in Fig.14The state when the differential image obtained in this way is synthesized with the diffuse reflection light image is shown in FIG. Fig.14 , a state in which a composite image with a resolution of 600 dpi is generated by combining a diffuse reflection light image with a resolution of 600 dpi and a difference image with a resolution of 600 dpi is shown.

[0114] As described above, the diffuse reflection light image is an image mainly including the color information of the object to be read, and the difference image is an image mainly including the gloss information of the object to be read.

[0115] Then, in this embodiment, when acquiring the specular reflection light image of the object to be read, its resolution is set to half of that of the diffuse reflection light image. Here, the specular reflection light image is an image acquired in order to calculate the gloss information of the object to be read, and even if the amount of the gloss information is slightly reduced, it is not easy for people to notice it when they look at it visually. In contrast, since the diffuse reflection light image is an image containing the color information of the object to be read, when the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image is reduced, the color information in the obtained synthetic image is also reduced, and it is conspicuous when people look at it visually.

[0116] Therefore, in this embodiment, the specular reflection light image acquired to obtain the gloss information is read at a low resolution, and the diffuse reflection light image acquired to obtain the color information is read at a high resolution.

[0117] As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of image data that needs to be stored in the image data storage unit 81 of the terminal device 20 without reducing the color information of the synthesized image displayed on the display unit 87.

[0118] In the above description, the case where the specular reflection light image is enlarged to be the same size as the diffuse reflection light image when calculating the difference image is described. However, the difference calculation may be performed after the diffuse reflection light image is reduced to be the same size as the specular reflection light image.

[0119] exist Fig.15 The functional structure of the terminal device 20A when performing such calculations is shown in the block diagram of Fig.15 Middle pair and Fig.12 Functional blocks with the same structure are assigned the same reference numerals and their descriptions are omitted.

[0120] like Fig.15 As shown, the terminal device 20A includes an image data storage unit 81 , a brightness value calculation unit 82 , a difference operation unit 83 , an adjustment unit 84 , a texture generation unit 85 , an image synthesis unit 86 , a display unit 87 , a reduction unit 89 , and an enlargement unit 90 .

[0121] The reduction section 89 reduces the diffuse reflection light image having a resolution of 600 dpi stored in the image data storage section 81 to 300 dpi, which is the same size as the specular reflection light image.

[0122] Then, the brightness value calculation section 82 calculates the brightness values ​​of the specular reflection light image stored in the image data storage section 81 and the diffuse reflection light image reduced by the reduction section 89 .

[0123] The difference calculation unit 83 calculates the difference between the brightness value of the specular reflection light image and the brightness value of the diffuse reflection light image calculated by the brightness value calculation unit 82 for each pixel. That is, the difference calculation unit 83 calculates the difference between the diffuse reflection light image reduced by the reduction unit 89 and the specular reflection light image stored in the image data storage unit 81.

[0124] Then, the enlarging section 90 enlarges the difference image calculated by the difference calculating section 83 to an image of 600 dpi having the same size as the diffuse reflection light image.

[0125] Then, the differential image amplified by the magnifying unit 90 is subjected to gloss adjustment in the adjusting unit 84, and the reflection amount of the glossy part is adjusted in the texture generating unit 85, and then synthesized with the diffuse reflection light image in the image synthesizing unit 86, thereby generating an image showing the gloss of the read object.

[0126] exist Fig.16 2 shows the state where the diffuse reflection light image is reduced in this way and the difference image is calculated.

[0127] exist Fig.16 , a state is shown in which a diffuse reflection light image having a resolution of 600 dpi is reduced by half to a resolution of 300 dpi and a difference calculation is performed between the diffuse reflection light image having a resolution of 300 dpi and the specular reflection light image having a resolution of 300 dpi after the reduction.

[0128] In addition, here, since the resolution of the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image are both 300 dpi, the resolution of the obtained difference image is naturally also 300 dpi.

[0129] However, in order to finally generate a composite image, the difference image needs to be combined with the 600 dpi diffuse reflection light image. Therefore, the 300 dpi difference image is enlarged to 600 dpi by the enlarging unit 90.

[0130] Then, the state when the differential image obtained in this way is synthesized with the diffuse reflection light image is as follows: Fig.14 As shown. Fig.14, a state in which a composite image with a resolution of 600 dpi is generated by combining a diffuse reflection light image with a resolution of 600 dpi and a difference image with a resolution of 600 dpi is shown.

[0131] [Modifications]

[0132] In the above embodiment, the present disclosure is described as being applied to the image reading device provided in the image forming apparatus 10 , but the present disclosure is not limited thereto and can be applied to various image reading devices such as a single scanner device.

[0133] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present disclosure is described using the case where the image reading device of the image forming device 10 reads the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image of the read object and synthesizes the two images in the terminal device 20 to display the image reproducing the glossiness, but is not limited to such a structure. The structure of the image reading device that reads the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image and the structure of the terminal device that synthesizes the two images and displays them may be constituted in one device as the image processing device.

Claims

1. An image processing device, wherein: The image processing device comprises: A reading unit, wherein two lamps are used to irradiate light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object, wherein the two directions at different angles are the following two directions: diffusely reflected light for obtaining color information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; and specularly reflected light for obtaining gloss information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; a control unit that controls the reading unit to acquire two images from the object so that the resolution of the specular reflection light image is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image; a storage unit, which stores the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image; a synthesis unit for generating an image expressing the glossiness of the object by synthesizing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image stored in the storage unit; as well as A display unit displays the image synthesized by the synthesizing unit.

2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The control unit performs control so that the resolution of the specular reflection light image obtained by reading the specular reflection light of the object is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image obtained by reading the diffuse reflection light of the object.

3. The image processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The control unit controls the reading unit in such a manner that the resolution of a specular reflection light image obtained by reading the specular reflection light of the object is lower than the resolution of a diffuse reflection light image obtained by reading the diffuse reflection light of the object by making the reading speed of the reading unit faster when reading the specular reflection light of the object than when reading the diffuse reflection light.

4. The image processing device according to claim 2, wherein: The control unit performs control such that the resolution of the specular reflection light image obtained by reading the specular reflection light of the object is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image obtained by reading the diffuse reflection light of the object by thinning out the pixel values ​​of the specular reflection light image.

5. The image processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising: an enlarging unit, which enlarges the specular reflection light image to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image; and a computing unit for computing the difference between the specular reflection light image amplified by the amplifying unit and the diffuse reflection light image, The synthesis unit generates an image expressing the glossiness of the object by synthesizing the difference image calculated by the calculation unit and the diffuse reflection light image.

6. The image processing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein: The image processing device also has: a reduction unit, which reduces the diffuse reflection light image to the same size as the specular reflection light image; a calculation unit for calculating a difference between the diffuse reflection light image reduced by the reduction unit and the specular reflection light image; and an enlarging unit, which enlarges the difference image calculated by the calculation unit to the same size as the diffuse reflection light image, The synthesis unit generates an image expressing the glossiness of the object by synthesizing the difference image amplified by the amplification unit and the diffuse reflection light image.

7. A computer-readable medium storing a program for causing a computer to perform a process, the program being executed by a processor to perform a method comprising the following steps: The steps include: A reading step, wherein two lamps are used to irradiate light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object, wherein the two directions at different angles are the following two directions: diffusely reflected light for obtaining color information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; and specularly reflected light for obtaining gloss information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; a control step of performing control in such a manner that the resolution of the specular reflection light image is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image when two images are acquired from the object in the reading step; A storing step of storing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image; a synthesis step of generating an image showing the glossiness of the object by synthesizing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image stored in the storage step; as well as A display step of displaying the image synthesized by the synthesizing step.

8. An image processing method, wherein: The image processing method has the following features: A reading step, wherein two lamps are used to irradiate light toward an object from two directions at different angles to respectively read images of the object, wherein the two directions at different angles are the following two directions: diffusely reflected light for obtaining color information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; and specularly reflected light for obtaining gloss information of the object when the light is irradiated toward the object is obtained as a direction for reading the image; a control step of performing control in such a manner that the resolution of the specular reflection light image is lower than the resolution of the diffuse reflection light image when two images are acquired from the object in the reading step; A storing step of storing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image; a synthesis step of generating an image showing the glossiness of the object by synthesizing the specular reflection light image and the diffuse reflection light image stored in the storage step; as well as A display step of displaying the image synthesized by the synthesizing step.

Images