Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

This information processing device is provided with at least one processor. The processor acquires a color developing member image obtained by capturing an image of a color developing member which develops color in a density distribution corresponding to an energy amount having been applied and / or an accompanying image related to the color developing member image, and determines whether the acquired image is the color developing member image or the accompanying image.

Description

Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

[0002] A conventional technique for measuring the amount of energy is known, which uses a color-developing material that changes color depending on the amount of energy applied (e.g., pressure, heat, ultraviolet light, etc.). One example of such a color-developing material is Prescale (registered trademark) (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), which provides color density depending on the applied pressure.

[0003] For example, International Publication No. 2021 / 235364 discloses a method of placing a pressure measurement sheet (e.g., a prescale) on a calibration sheet, photographing the photographed image, correcting the density, size, distortion, and shape of the photographed image based on the calibration sheet included in the photographed image, and converting the density value of the pressure measurement sheet included in the corrected image into a pressure value. Furthermore, International Publication No. 2022 / 059342 discloses a method of acquiring image signals of a photographed image captured by a sensor having multiple spectral sensitivities (e.g., R sensitivity, G sensitivity, and B sensitivity) using a measurement sheet that has developed a color density according to the amount of external energy, and deriving the surface distribution of the amount of external energy applied to the measurement sheet based on the ratio of the signals for each spectral sensitivity.

[0004] Incidentally, when photographing a color-producing member, it is desirable to be able to photograph and record images including identifiers (e.g., barcodes, two-dimensional codes, etc.) indicating the identification information of the color-producing member, as well as other images related to the color-producing member, such as photographs of the photographing environment of the color-producing member. Unlike images photographed of the color-producing member, such images do not require energy derivation processing, while it is desirable to perform analysis processing on the identifiers. For this reason, in the past, a user inputs image attributes, and a processor executes processing according to the input attributes. In recent years, there has been a demand for technology that can further improve convenience when photographing images including color-producing members and other images.

[0005] The present disclosure provides an information processing device, an information processing method, and an information processing program that can improve usability.

[0006] A first aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing device comprising at least one processor, which acquires at least one of a color-forming member image obtained by photographing a color-forming member that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied thereto, and an incidental image related to the color-forming member image, and determines whether the acquired image is a color-forming member image or an incidental image.

[0007] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, in the first aspect, the processor may execute a predetermined process depending on a result of discrimination of the acquired image.

[0008] A third aspect of the present disclosure is that, in the above-mentioned second aspect, when the processor determines that the acquired image is a color-forming member image, the processor may derive the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member based on the color-forming member image using characteristic data in which the relationship between the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member and the color of the color-forming member contained in the color-forming member image is predetermined.

[0009] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, in the third aspect, the processor may evaluate the derived amount of energy based on predetermined reference information.

[0010] A fifth aspect of the present disclosure is that in any one of the second to fourth aspects, when the processor determines that the acquired image is an incidental image, it may determine whether the incidental image includes at least one of a character string and an identifier.

[0011] A sixth aspect of the present disclosure is that in the fifth aspect, when the processor determines that the acquired image is an incidental image including at least one of a character string and an identifier, the processor may analyze at least one of the character string and the identifier included in the incidental image.

[0012] A seventh aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing method that acquires at least one of a color-forming member image obtained by photographing a color-forming member that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied, and an incidental image related to the color-forming member image, and includes processing for determining whether the acquired image is a color-forming member image or an incidental image.

[0013] An eighth aspect of the present disclosure is an information processing program that causes a computer to execute a process of acquiring at least one of a color-forming member image obtained by photographing a color-forming member that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied, and an incidental image related to the color-forming member image, and determining whether the acquired image is a color-forming member image or an incidental image.

[0014] According to the above aspects, the information processing device, the information processing method, and the information processing program of the present disclosure can improve usability.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an information processing system. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing how a color-forming member image is captured. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a color-forming member and a calibration member. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a capturing order. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a terminal device and a server device. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of characteristic data. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a terminal device and a server device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on a display. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of information processing of a terminal device. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of information processing of a server device. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a combined image.

[0016] An exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of an information processing system 1 of the present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information processing system 1. The information processing system 1 includes a terminal device 10, a server device 12, and a database 6. The terminal device 10 and the server device 12 are connected to each other in a state capable of communicating with each other via a wired or wireless network. The terminal device 10 is an example of an information processing device and a first information processing device of the present disclosure, and the server device 12 is an example of a second information processing device and an external device of the present disclosure.

[0017] The information processing system 1 is a system for measuring the amount of energy using a color-forming member 90 that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied when energy (e.g., pressure, heat, ultraviolet light, etc.) is applied. Specifically, the terminal device 10 acquires an image of the color-forming member 90 after energy is applied, and derives the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 from the image.

[0018] The images acquired by the terminal device 10 are transmitted to the server device 12, and are stored in the database 6 by the server device 12. The connection between the server device 12 and the database 6 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a connection via a data bus, or a connection via a network such as a NAS (Network Attached Storage) or a SAN (Storage Area Network).

[0019] An example of the color-forming member 90 is Prescale (registered trademark) (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), which produces a color density corresponding to the applied pressure. The prescale is a sheet-like support coated with a color former containing microcapsules containing a colorless dye and a color developer. When pressure is applied to the prescale, the microcapsules are destroyed, and the colorless dye is adsorbed to the color developer, producing color. Furthermore, because the color former contains multiple types of microcapsules with different sizes and strengths, the amount of microcapsules destroyed varies depending on the applied pressure, resulting in different color density. Therefore, by observing the color density, the magnitude and pressure distribution of the pressure applied to the prescale can be measured.

[0020] For example, the color-changing member 90 may be Thermoscale (product name) (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), which changes color depending on the amount of heat, or UVScale (product name) (manufactured by Fujifilm Corporation), which changes color depending on the amount of ultraviolet light.

[0021] In the information processing system 1, as shown in FIG. 2 , a user places a color-forming member 90 on a calibration member 80 and then takes a photograph using the camera 40 (see FIG. 5 ) included in the terminal device 10. As a result, the terminal device 10 acquires a color-forming member image 50 including the calibration member 80 and the color-forming member 90. When a user takes a photograph in this manner, the color-forming member image 50 may be affected by the characteristics of the camera 40, the lighting conditions (e.g., illuminance and color temperature) in the environment where the photograph is taken, the photographing angle, the photographing distance, and the like. That is, the color-forming member image 50 may have variations in distortion, tilt, size, shading, color, and the like. The calibration member 80 is used to correct these effects on the color-forming member image 50.

[0022] 3 shows the photographed surface 80S of the calibration member 80 with the color-developing member 90 placed thereon. The calibration member 80 is a support member formed into a sheet or plate shape, such as a support containing paper, resin, or the like. As shown in FIG. 3, the photographed surface 80S includes a plurality of patches 83, four figures 86A to 86D, a central region 88, and a frame 89 surrounding the outer edge of the central region 88. The colors of the plurality of patches 83 may be different from one another, or there may be two or more patches 83 of the same color.

[0023] The multiple patches 83 are used to calibrate the color of the color-producing member 90 in the color-producing member image 50. The four figures 86A to 86D are used to indicate the range that should be included in the angle of view when the user photographs the calibration member 80 and the color-producing member 90. The frame 89 is used to correct the shape of the color-producing member image 50, such as distortion, tilt, and size.

[0024] Furthermore, in the information processing system 1, imaging is performed according to an imaging order. Specifically, an imaging order is created in at least one of the terminal device 10 and the server device 12, and the imaging order is shared between the terminal device 10 and the server device 12. The user checks the imaging order displayed on the display 24A of the terminal device 10 and images the color-developing member 90 according to the imaging order (see FIG. 8 ).

[0025] The imaging order includes items related to additional information about the color-forming member image 50. The additional information may include, for example, information about at least one of the following: the object to be inspected using the color-forming member 90; the type of color-forming member 90; the type of energy applied to the color-forming member 90; the imaging environment of the color-forming member 90; and the person who photographed the color-forming member 90. The type of color-forming member 90 includes, for example, types of measurable energy, such as prescale, thermoscale, and UV scale, as well as varieties of prescale for low, medium, and high pressure. The type of energy includes, for example, pressure, heat, and ultraviolet light, as well as instantaneous pressure (the magnitude of pressure applied instantaneously) and sustained pressure (the time integral of the magnitude of sustained pressure). The imaging environment includes, for example, the room temperature, humidity, and light source (such as illuminance and color temperature) in the environment where the color-forming member 90 was imaged.

[0026] Furthermore, for example, the supplementary information may include information regarding at least one of the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 derived based on the color-forming member image 50 and an evaluation of the amount of energy. In the terminal device 10, various indices such as the maximum value, average value, and area of ​​the color-forming region are derived for the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 (details will be described later). Therefore, the radiography order may include an item for an index related to the amount of energy to be stored in the database 6. In addition, in the terminal device 10, evaluation is performed based on predetermined reference information related to the amount of energy (details will be described later). Therefore, the radiography order may include the reference information used for the evaluation.

[0027] An example of an imaging order is shown in Fig. 4. The imaging order shown in Fig. 4 includes items related to the object to be examined using the color-forming member 90, the type of color-forming member 90, the type of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 ("pressure type"), an index related to the amount of energy derived based on the color-forming member image 50 ("examination item 1"), and reference information ("reference value") used to evaluate the index.

[0028] The terminal device 10 and the server device 12 will be described in detail below. First, an example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 10 and the server device 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the terminal device 10 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21A, a non-volatile storage unit 22A, and a memory 23A serving as a temporary storage area. The terminal device 10 also includes a display 24A such as a liquid crystal display, an input unit 25A, a network I / F (Interface) 26A, and a camera 40. The CPU 21A, the storage unit 22A, the memory 23A, the display 24A, the input unit 25A, the network I / F 26A, and the camera 40 are connected via a bus 28A such as a system bus or a control bus so as to be able to exchange various information with each other.

[0029] The storage unit 22A is realized by a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory. The storage unit 22A stores an information processing program 27A and characteristic data 18 for the terminal device 10. The CPU 21A reads the information processing program 27A from the storage unit 22A, expands it in the memory 23A, and executes the expanded information processing program 27A. The CPU 21A is an example of a first processor and a processor of the present disclosure.

[0030] The input unit 25A is for accepting user operations and may be, for example, a touch panel, buttons, a keyboard, or a mouse. The network I / F 26A performs wired or wireless communication with the server device 12 and other external devices (not shown). The camera 40 has sensors with multiple different spectral sensitivities, and, under the control of the CPU 21A, captures an image of a subject using the sensors and outputs the resulting image signals. Examples of the terminal device 10 that can be used include smartphones, tablet devices, wearable devices, and personal computers with camera functions, as appropriate.

[0031] 5, the server device 12 includes a CPU 21B, a non-volatile storage unit 22B, and a memory 23B serving as a temporary storage area. The server device 12 also includes a display 24B such as a liquid crystal display, an input unit 25B, and a network I / F 26B. The CPU 21B, the storage unit 22B, the memory 23B, the display 24B, the input unit 25B, and the network I / F 26B are connected via a bus 28B such as a system bus and a control bus so as to be able to exchange various information with each other.

[0032] The storage unit 22B is realized by a storage medium such as an HDD, an SSD, or a flash memory. The storage unit 22B stores an information processing program 27B for the server device 12. The CPU 21B reads the information processing program 27B from the storage unit 22B, loads it into the memory 23B, and executes the loaded information processing program 27B. The CPU 21B is an example of a second processor of the present disclosure.

[0033] The input unit 25B is for receiving user operations and is, for example, a touch panel, buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, etc. The network I / F 26B performs wired or wireless communication with the terminal device 10, the database 6, and other external devices (not shown). As the server device 12, for example, a general-purpose computer installed with a software program that provides the functions of a database management system (DBMS) can be used as appropriate.

[0034] Fig. 6 shows an example of the characteristic data 18. The characteristic data 18 is data that defines a predetermined relationship between the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 and the color of the color-forming member 90 included in the color-forming member image 50. In Fig. 6, pressure is shown as an example of the amount of energy. In addition, the R (red), G (green), and B (blue) values ​​in the RGB color system are shown as values ​​that represent the color of the color-forming member 90 in the color-forming member image 50.

[0035] Next, an example of the functional configuration of the terminal device 10 and the server device 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In the following description, a form in which a plurality of color-developing member images 50 are acquired in accordance with the photographing order of Fig. 4 will be described.

[0036] First, a description will be given of the functions of the terminal device 10. As shown in Fig. 7, the terminal device 10 includes an acquisition unit 30, a determination unit 31, a correction unit 32, a derivation unit 33, an evaluation unit 34, and a control unit 35. The CPU 21A executes the information processing program 27A, causing the CPU 21A to function as each of the functional units of the acquisition unit 30, the determination unit 31, the correction unit 32, the derivation unit 33, the evaluation unit 34, and the control unit 35.

[0037] 8 shows an example of a screen D1 displayed on the display 24A by the control unit 35 when starting to photograph the color-forming member 90. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 35 displays the photographing order on the screen D1. After confirming the photographing order on the screen D1, the user selects the "Start continuous photographing" button 94. When the "Start continuous photographing" button 94 is selected, the control unit 35 starts the camera 40, and the user starts photographing the color-forming member 90 with the camera 40 according to the photographing order.

[0038] The acquisition unit 30 acquires a plurality of color-forming member images 50 obtained by photographing the color-forming member 90 with the camera 40. As described above, the color-forming member images 50 may include a calibration member 80 including a patch 83 for calibrating the color of the color-forming member 90.

[0039] At least one of the plurality of color-producing member images 50 may include a patch 83 for calibrating the color of the color-producing member 90, and some of the plurality of color-producing member images 50 may not include the patch 83. This is because, for a plurality of color-producing member images 50 captured using the same photographing device and photographing environment, the patch 83 included in at least one color-producing member image 50 may be reused for the other color-producing member images 50. In other words, the user may photograph at least one color-producing member 90 among the plurality of color-producing members 90 specified in the photographing order together with the calibration member 80, and photograph the other color-producing members 90 alone without the calibration member 80.

[0040] The acquisition unit 30 may also acquire an incidental image related to the color-forming member image 50. The incidental image may be, for example, an image including at least one of a character string and an identifier (e.g., a barcode and a two-dimensional code) related to the inspection of the color-forming member 90. For example, the acquisition unit 30 may acquire, as the incidental image, an image including a two-dimensional code indicating the identification information, type, and inspection item of the color-forming member 90, the identification information and type of the object to be inspected using the color-forming member 90, and the identification information of the inspector. For example, the incidental image may also be an image incidental to the inspection and photographing of the color-forming member 90, such as a photograph of the object to be inspected, a photograph of the environment in which the color-forming member image 50 was photographed, and a photograph of the inspector's face.

[0041] The discrimination unit 31 discriminates whether the image acquired by the acquisition unit 30 is a color-forming member image 50 or an incidental image. Furthermore, when the discrimination unit 31 determines that the image acquired by the acquisition unit 30 is an incidental image, the discrimination unit 31 further discriminates whether the incidental image includes at least one of a character string and an identifier. That is, the discrimination unit 31 discriminates whether the image is a color-forming member image 50, an incidental image including various information such as identification information, or an incidental image not including various information. Specifically, as shown in screen D1 of FIG. 8 , the discrimination unit 31 may accept a selection of the type of image to be captured and discriminate whether the image acquired by the acquisition unit 30 corresponds to one of the selected types of images. As a method for discriminating the type of image, for example, a known method such as pattern matching may be appropriately applied.

[0042] Each functional unit executes a predetermined process depending on the determination result by the determination unit 31. For example, if an accessory image is determined to include at least one of a character string and an identifier, the determination unit 31 may analyze at least one of the character string and the identifier included in the accessory image. For example, in the case of an accessory image including a two-dimensional code indicating identification information of the color-forming member 90, the determination unit 31 may analyze the two-dimensional code to obtain the identification information of the color-forming member 90. Furthermore, for example, in the case of an accessory image including handwritten or printed character strings, the determination unit 31 may analyze the character string using a known optical character recognition technique to obtain text data. Information analyzed from these accessory images may be used as accessory information for the color-forming member image 50.

[0043] The following describes the processing of each functional unit when the image acquired by the acquisition unit 30 is determined by the discrimination unit 31 to be the color-developing member image 50. The acquisition unit 30 acquires the characteristic data 18 stored in the storage unit 22A (see FIG. 6).

[0044] The correction unit 32 corrects at least one of distortion, tilt, size, shading, and color of the color-developing member image 50. This corrects the effects of the characteristics of the camera 40, lighting conditions (e.g., illuminance and color temperature) in the environment where the image is taken, the shooting angle, the shooting distance, and the like, which may occur in the color-developing member image 50 when the user takes a photograph.

[0045] For example, the correction unit 32 may extract a frame 89 from the color-producing member image 50, and correct the distortion, tilt, and size of the color-producing member image 50 based on the shape of the extracted frame 89. As a method for extracting the frame 89, a known method using an edge extraction process in an image or the like can be appropriately applied. For example, if the frame 89 is rectangular as shown in FIG. 3 , the correction unit 32 performs projective transformation, affine transformation, and the like to correct the shape, such as the distortion, tilt, and size, of the color-producing member image 50.

[0046] Furthermore, for example, the correction unit 32 may perform shading correction on the color-producing member image 50. Shading refers to variations in brightness that occur on the color-producing member image 50 due to a reduction in peripheral light intensity caused by the optical system of the camera 40 and variations in illuminance distribution in the lighting environment where the image is captured. As a method for shading correction, a known method can be appropriately applied.

[0047] Furthermore, for example, the correction unit 32 may calibrate the color of the color-producing member 90 included in the color-producing member image 50 by using the patch 83 included in the color-producing member image 50. This is because the color of the color-producing member 90 is affected by the characteristics of the camera 40 and the lighting conditions in the environment where the image is captured. As a calibration method, a known method may be appropriately applied. For example, a reference color for each patch 83 included in the calibration member 80 may be stored in advance in the storage unit 22A, and the correction unit 32 may adjust the color of the color-producing member image 50 so that the color of each patch 83 included in the color-producing member image 50 matches the respective reference color.

[0048] Furthermore, as described above, there may be cases where at least one of the plurality of color-forming member images 50 includes a patch 83, and some of the plurality of color-forming member images 50 do not include a patch 83. In this case, the correction unit 32 may use the patch 83 included in at least one color-forming member image 50 to perform calibration for the color of the color-forming member 90 included in each of the plurality of color-forming member images 50. Specifically, when a color-forming member image 50 includes a patch 83, the correction unit 32 preferably performs calibration for the color of the color-forming member 90 using the patch 83, and when a color-forming member image 50 does not include a patch 83, the correction unit 32 preferably performs calibration for the color of the color-forming member 90 using the patch 83.

[0049] That is, the correction unit 32 may also perform the same calibration on the color-forming member image 50 that does not include the patch 83 as on the color-forming member image 50 that includes the patch 83. On the other hand, for the color-forming member image 50 that includes the patch 83, it is preferable to perform calibration by preferentially using the patch 83 included in the image rather than other images.

[0050] As described above, the calibration member 80 may include two or more patches 83 of the same color. For example, due to the influence of the characteristics of the camera 40, the lighting conditions in the environment where the image is captured, the shooting angle, the shooting distance, and the like, two or more patches 83 that are originally formed with the same color may appear as different colors on the color-producing member image 50. Therefore, for example, the correction unit 32 may adjust the color of the color-producing member image 50 so that the average color in the color-producing member image 50 of the patches 83 formed with the same color matches the reference color. Furthermore, for example, the correction unit 32 may adjust the color of the color-producing member image 50 so that the color of the patch 83 formed with the same color that is closest to the reference color in the color-producing member image 50 matches the reference color.

[0051] The correction unit 32 may also perform calibration using some of the patches 83 among the multiple patches 83 included in the color-forming member image 50. For example, the correction unit 32 may vary the patches 83 used for calibration depending on the type of color-forming member 90. For example, prescales, which are an example of the color-forming member 90, are manufactured in multiple varieties with different measurable pressure ranges, such as for low pressure, medium pressure, and high pressure. For example, as described above, thermoscales, UV scales, and the like can also be used as the color-forming member 90 in addition to prescales.

[0052] Therefore, the correction unit 32 may perform calibration using some patches 83, among the multiple patches 83 included in the color-forming member image 50, that are predetermined according to the types of color-forming members 90 included in the color-forming member image 50. The correspondence between the types of color-forming members 90 and the patches 83 used for calibration may be stored in advance in, for example, the storage unit 22A. The types of color-forming members 90 included in the color-forming member image 50 may be input by the user via the input unit 25A (see FIG. 9 ), or the types of color-forming members 90 may be identified by attaching identification codes indicating the types of the color-forming members 90 to the color-forming members 90 and reading the identification codes.

[0053] The derivation unit 33 derives the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on each of the plurality of color-forming member images 50, using the characteristic data 18 acquired by the acquisition unit 30. Specifically, the derivation unit 33 derives the amount of energy based on the color-forming member images 50 after at least one of distortion, tilt, size, shading, and color has been corrected by the correction unit 32. Note that the characteristic data 18 may be prepared in advance for each type of color-forming member 90 (e.g., for low voltage, medium voltage, or high voltage) and stored in the storage unit 22A. In this case, the derivation unit 33 may derive the amount of energy using the characteristic data 18 corresponding to the type of color-forming member 90 included in the color-forming member image 50.

[0054] The derivation unit 33 may also derive various indices related to the amount of energy applied to the color-producing member 90. The various indices include, for example, an energy distribution obtained by deriving the amount of energy for each pixel in a color-producing region of the color-producing member 90 (hereinafter referred to as the "color-producing region"), and representative values ​​such as the maximum, minimum, average, and median of the amount of energy in the color-producing region. Other examples include the area of ​​the color-producing region, the proportion of the area of ​​the color-producing region whose energy amount falls within a predetermined range, the uniformity of the amount of energy in the color-producing region, and the weight of the color-producing region (the product of the area of ​​the color-producing region and the average amount of energy). Another example is the degree of agreement and deviation from a predetermined standard for the color-producing degree (i.e., the amount of energy and energy distribution) of the color-producing member 90.

[0055] The evaluation unit 34 evaluates the amount of energy derived by the derivation unit 33 based on predetermined reference information. The reference information may be, for example, a threshold value for the degree of agreement and deviation from a predetermined limit sample regarding the coloring degree (energy amount and energy distribution) of the color-producing member 90, as well as upper and lower limit values ​​of various indexes related to the amount of energy. The evaluation unit 34 may evaluate pass / fail depending on whether the amount of energy derived by the derivation unit 33 satisfies the criteria. Furthermore, the evaluation unit 34 may accept designation of a partial region to be evaluated from the region of the color-producing member 90 in the color-producing member image 50, and evaluate the partial region. The reference information may be, for example, included in the radiography order or may be stored in advance in the storage unit 22A.

[0056] The evaluation unit 34 may also perform a comprehensive evaluation based on the results of evaluating each of the amounts of energy derived by the derivation unit 33. For example, the evaluation unit 34 may perform a comprehensive evaluation of pass / fail based on whether or not the proportion of the color-developing member images 50 acquired in accordance with the imaging order that are evaluated as pass exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0057] The processing of each functional unit for the above-mentioned multiple color-forming member images 50 is preferably performed for each predetermined number of processing units. That is, rather than repeating the processing by the acquisition unit 30, the discrimination unit 31, the correction unit 32, the derivation unit 33, and the evaluation unit 34 for each color-forming member image 50, it is preferable to perform each processing for two or more color-forming member images 50 at once (so-called batch processing). In particular, it is preferable to perform the processing of acquiring (photographing) multiple color-forming member images 50, the processing of deriving the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on each of the multiple color-forming member images 50, and the processing of evaluating each of the energy amounts based on predetermined reference information for each predetermined number of processing units. For example, it is preferable to acquire (photograph) five color-forming member images 50 and then proceed to the processing of deriving the amount of energy for all five images at once.

[0058] The control unit 35 controls the display 24A to display the color-forming member image 50, the amount of energy derived by the derivation unit 33, and the evaluation results by the evaluation unit 34. Fig. 9 shows an example of a screen D2 displayed on the display 24A by the control unit 35. The screen D2 displays an image of the color-forming member 90 portion in the color-forming member image 50, various indices related to the amount of energy derived from the color-forming member 90, and the evaluation results.

[0059] As shown in screen D2, the control unit 35 may extract the color-forming member 90 portion from the color-forming member image 50 and control the display 24A to display it. The control unit 35 may also use the color-forming member image 50 after at least one of distortion, tilt, size, shading, and color has been corrected by the correction unit 32 as the color-forming member image 50 to be displayed on the display 24A. "Pressurized area" in screen D2 refers to the area of ​​the color-forming region. "Average pressure" refers to the average value of the energy amount of the color-forming region. "Load" refers to the product of the pressed area and the average pressure. "Uniformity of pressure value" refers to the uniformity of the pressure value of the color-forming region.

[0060] The control unit 35 may also accept input of additional information related to the color-forming member image 50. Screen D2 displays examples of the additional information related to the color-forming member image 50, such as the type of color-forming member 90, pressure type, room temperature, humidity, and light source, and displays a pull-down menu 92 for accepting input of the information. Examples of the pressure type include instantaneous pressure, which indicates the magnitude of pressure momentarily applied to the press scale, and sustained pressure, which indicates the time integral of the magnitude of pressure continuously applied to the press scale. Examples of the light source include standard illuminant D65 and auxiliary illuminants D50, D55, and D75, as specified in JIS Z 8720:2012. For example, the additional information may include identification information of the calibration member 80, the color-forming member 90, the user who applied energy to the color-forming member 90, the user who photographed the color-forming member 90, and the like; user evaluation results on the amount of energy; and various inspection conditions.

[0061] Furthermore, the control unit 35 transmits the color-forming member image 50 to the server device 12 via the network I / F 26A. Specifically, the control unit 35 transmits at least one of the color-forming member image 50 before correction by the correction unit 32, the color-forming member image 50 after correction, and an image of the portion of the color-forming member 90 extracted from the color-forming member image 50 to the server device 12.

[0062] The control unit 35 may also transmit auxiliary information of the color-developing member image 50 to the server device 12. As described above, the auxiliary information includes the energy amount derived by the derivation unit 33, the evaluation result by the evaluation unit 34, the auxiliary image acquired by the acquisition unit 30, information analyzed by the discrimination unit 31 from character strings and identifiers included in the auxiliary image, and input information. The control unit 35 may transmit information on items specified in the radiography order among the auxiliary information. In other words, the control unit 35 may exclude items not specified in the radiography order from the auxiliary information to be transmitted to the server device 12. For example, even if the minimum energy amount is derived by the derivation unit 33, if the radiography order does not include an item related to the minimum energy amount, the control unit 35 may not transmit the minimum energy amount to the server device 12.

[0063] Next, a description will be given of the functions of the server device 12. As shown in Fig. 7, the server device 12 includes a control unit 60 and a determination unit 62. When the CPU 21B executes the information processing program 27B, the CPU 21B functions as each of the functional units of the control unit 60 and the determination unit 62.

[0064] The control unit 60 stores the color-forming member images 50 and the accompanying information received from the terminal device 10 via the network I / F 26B in the database 6. Furthermore, the control unit 35 stores the color-forming member images 50 and the accompanying information included in one radiography order as a set of data in the database 6. That is, the control unit 60 stores the energy amounts derived based on each of the color-forming member images 50 as a set of data in the database 6.

[0065] The determination unit 62 determines whether or not the color-forming member images 50 stored in the database 6 satisfy predetermined conditions. Specifically, the determination unit 62 may determine whether or not the color-forming member images 50 stored in the database 6 comply with a predetermined photographing order.

[0066] For example, it is assumed that a temporary communication failure may prevent appropriate transmission of various data such as the color-forming member images 50 from the terminal device 10 to the server device 12. In this regard, the determination unit 62 may determine whether or not the number of color-forming member images 50 specified in the radiography order matches the number of color-forming member images 50 stored in the database 6. For example, if the radiography order includes 30 orders, the determination unit 62 may determine whether or not 30 color-forming member images 50 are stored in the database 6.

[0067] Furthermore, for example, even if the number of items matches, it is assumed that the user may carry out an examination without following the radiography order. Therefore, the determination unit 62 may determine whether or not the items related to the incidental information defined in the radiography order match the incidental information of the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6. For example, in the radiography order of FIG. 4, the No. 1 "pressure roller A" should be inspected with the "high-pressure" color-forming member 90, but is mistakenly inspected with the "low-pressure" color-forming member 90, and this is also stored in the database 6. In this case, the determination unit 62 may determine that the radiography order does not match the incidental information stored in the database 6. For example, in the radiography order of FIG. 4, the No. 1 "pressure roller A" has a "pressure area" of "150 mm ２ The inspection revealed that the value was "200 mm or less." ２ " is derived and stored in the database 6. In this case, the determination unit 62 may determine that the imaging order and the additional information stored in the database 6 do not match.

[0068] When the determination unit 62 determines that the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the control unit 60 may request the terminal device 10 to resend the color-forming member image 50. When the control unit 35 of the terminal device 10 receives a request for resend from the server device 12, it may resend the color-forming member image 50 to the server device 12.

[0069] Furthermore, when the determination unit 62 determines that the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the control unit 60 may notify the terminal device 10 of that fact. When the control unit 35 of the terminal device 10 receives a notification from the server device 12 indicating that the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the control unit 60 may notify the user of that fact. Note that the means of notification is not particularly limited, and for example, the notification may be displayed on the display 24A or may be notified by sound.

[0070] Furthermore, when the determination unit 62 determines that the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 satisfies the predetermined condition, the control unit 60 may notify the terminal device 10 of that fact. After transmitting the color-forming member image 50 to the server device 12, the control unit 35 of the terminal device 10 may store the color-forming member image 50 in the storage unit 22A in preparation for a retransmission request until a predetermined period (e.g., one month) has elapsed. On the other hand, when the control unit 35 receives a notification from the server device 12 that the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 satisfies the predetermined condition, the control unit 60 may delete the notified color-forming member image 50 from the storage unit 22A even before the predetermined period has elapsed.

[0071] Next, the operation of the terminal device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 10. In the terminal device 10, the CPU 21A executes the information processing program 27A, thereby executing the first information processing shown in Fig. 10. The first information processing is executed, for example, when a user issues an instruction to start execution via the input unit 25A.

[0072] In step S10, the control unit 35 displays the imaging order on the display 24A. In step S12, the acquisition unit 30 acquires an image captured by the camera 40. Here, the candidate images to be acquired by the acquisition unit 30 include the color-forming member image 50 captured according to the imaging order displayed in step S10 and an incidental image related to the color-forming member image 50. Among the incidental images, there are those that include a character string and / or an identifier indicating incidental information and those that do not. In step S14, the discrimination unit 31 discriminates whether the image acquired in step S12 is the color-forming member image 50 or an incidental image.

[0073] If it is determined in step S14 that the image is a color-forming member image 50 (Y in step S14), the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, the acquisition unit 30 acquires the characteristic data 18 from the storage unit 22A. In step S18, the correction unit 32 corrects at least one of distortion, tilt, size, shading, and color of the color-forming member image 50 acquired in step S12. In step S20, the derivation unit 33 uses the characteristic data 18 acquired in step S16 to derive the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on the color-forming member image 50 corrected in step S18. In step S22, the evaluation unit 34 evaluates the amount of energy derived in step S20 based on predetermined reference information.

[0074] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the image is an accessory image and not the color-forming member image 50 (N in step S14), the process proceeds to step S30. In step S30, the discrimination unit 31 discriminates whether the accessory image acquired in step S12 includes at least one of a character string and an identifier. If it is determined that the accessory image includes at least one of a character string and an identifier (Y in step S30), the process proceeds to step S32, where the discrimination unit 31 analyzes at least one of the character string and the identifier included in the accessory image.

[0075] After step S22, after step S32, or when it is determined in step S30 that the accessory image does not include either a character string or an identifier, the process proceeds to step S40. In step S40, the control unit 35 controls the display 24A to display the color-forming member image 50 corrected in step S18 and the accessory information of the color-forming member image 50. Here, the accessory information includes at least one of the energy amount derived in step S20, the evaluation result in step S22, the accessory image, and at least one of the character string and the identifier included in the accessory image analyzed in step S32. In step S42, the control unit 35 transmits the color-forming member image 50 and the accessory information to the server device 12, and the first information processing ends.

[0076] Next, the operation of the server device 12 will be described with reference to Fig. 11. In the server device 12, the CPU 21B executes the information processing program 27B, thereby executing the second information processing shown in Fig. 11. The second information processing is started when, for example, a color-developing member image is received from the terminal device 10.

[0077] In step S50, the control unit 60 stores the color-forming member image 50 and the accompanying information received from the terminal device 10 in the database 6. In step S52, the control unit 35 causes the determination unit 62 to determine whether or not the color-forming member image 50 and the accompanying information stored in the database 6 in step S10 satisfy predetermined conditions. If it is determined that the conditions are satisfied, the second information processing ends.

[0078] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S52 that the conditions are not satisfied, the process proceeds to step S54. In step S54, the control unit 60 may request the terminal device 10 to resend the color-forming member image 50 and the accompanying information. Alternatively, the control unit 60 may notify the terminal device 10 that the color-forming member image 50 and the accompanying information stored in the database 6 do not satisfy the predetermined conditions. When step S54 is completed, the second information processing ends.

[0079] As described above, the information processing system 1 according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a first information processing device (terminal device 10) including at least one first processor, and a second information processing device (server device 12) including at least one second processor. The first processor acquires a color-forming member image 50 obtained by photographing a color-forming member 90 that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied, and transmits the color-forming member image 50 to the second information processing device. The second processor stores the color-forming member image 50 received from the first information processing device in the database 6. The first processor or the second processor determines whether the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 satisfies predetermined conditions.

[0080] That is, according to the information processing system 1 according to the above aspect, when various data such as the color-forming member image 50 captured by the terminal device 10 is collected in the server device 12, it is possible to determine whether the data that should be collected in the server device 12 is properly collected. Therefore, various data acquired in the terminal device 10 can be properly collected in the server device 12, thereby improving usability.

[0081] In addition, an information processing device (terminal device 10) according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes at least one processor, which acquires a plurality of color-forming member images 50 obtained by photographing a color-forming member 90 that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied, and derives the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on each of the plurality of color-forming member images 50 using characteristic data 18 in which the relationship between the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 and the color of the color-forming member 90 contained in the color-forming member images 50 is predetermined.

[0082] That is, the information processing device (terminal device 10) according to the above aspect can derive the amount of energy for each of the plurality of color-developing member images 50. Therefore, when a plurality of examinations are performed consecutively, the imaging and derivation of the amount of energy can be smoothly performed, thereby improving usability.

[0083] In addition, an information processing device (terminal device 10) according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes at least one processor, which acquires at least one of a color-forming member image 50 obtained by photographing a color-forming member 90 that develops color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied, and an incidental image related to the color-forming member image 50, and determines whether the acquired image is the color-forming member image 50 or the incidental image.

[0084] That is, the information processing device (terminal device 10) according to the above aspect can reduce the user's effort in determining whether an image is a color-forming member image 50 or an accessory image and inputting the image type. Furthermore, even if the user does not distinguish between the color-forming member image 50 and an accessory image when capturing an image, the image type can be determined later. Therefore, usability can be improved.

[0085] In the above exemplary embodiment, the server device 12 may have some of the functions of the terminal device 10. For example, the server device 12 may execute the function of the derivation unit 33 (deriving the amount of energy based on the color-forming member image 50) instead of the terminal device 10. Similarly, the terminal device 10 may have some of the functions of the server device 12. For example, the terminal device 10 may execute the function of the determination unit 62 (determining whether the color-forming member image 50 stored in the database 6 satisfies a predetermined condition) instead of the server device 12.

[0086] In the above exemplary embodiment, the terminal device 10 acquires a plurality of color-developing member images 50 in accordance with the photographing order of Fig. 4 , but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the technology according to the present exemplary embodiment can also be applied to an embodiment in which at least one color-developing member image 50 is acquired.

[0087] Furthermore, as the multiple color-forming member images 50 in the above exemplary embodiment, images of a single color-forming member 90 divided into multiple regions, as shown in Fig. 12, can also be applied. Fig. 12 shows a single color-forming member 90 divided into four regions 90A to 90D. A situation in which such division is appropriate is assumed to be, for example, when photographing a color-forming member 90 that is so large that it is difficult to photograph it all at once using the camera 40 of the terminal device 10 (smartphone). ()

[0088] In this case, the acquisition unit 30 may combine multiple color-forming member images 50 obtained by photographing multiple regions 90A to 90D to generate one combined image. The derivation unit 33 may derive the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on this combined image. The derivation unit 33 may derive the distribution of the amount of energy applied to the color-forming member 90 based on this combined image and generate a two-dimensional graph (e.g., a heat map) representing the distribution of the amount of energy. The evaluation unit 34 may evaluate the amount of energy derived based on this combined image based on predetermined reference information.

[0089] Furthermore, in the above exemplary embodiments, the correction unit 32 performs shading correction on the color-producing member image 50, and the derivation unit 33 derives the amount of energy based on the color-producing member image 50 after shading correction. However, this is not limited to this. For example, International Publication No. 2022 / 059342 discloses eliminating unevenness in the surface distribution of density values ​​in an image without performing shading correction by using a ratio of signals for each spectral sensitivity of the image. The derivation unit 33 may use the technology described in International Publication No. 2022 / 059342 to derive a ratio of signals for each spectral sensitivity of the color-producing member image 50 and derive the amount of energy based on this ratio. In this case, the correction unit 32 does not need to perform shading correction on the color-producing member image 50.

[0090] In addition, in the above exemplary embodiments, the camera 40 provided in the terminal device 10 is used as a photographing device for capturing the color-forming member image 50, but this is not limiting. For example, a digital camera, scanner, or the like external to the terminal device 10 may be used as a photographing device. In this case, the terminal device 10 does not need to be provided with the camera 40.

[0091] Furthermore, in the above exemplary embodiments, an embodiment has been described in which the calibration member 80 is photographed together with the color-forming member 90 in order to correct at least one of distortion, tilt, size, shading, and color of the color-forming member image 50, but this is not limiting. For example, when a scanner is used as the photographing device, variations in distortion, tilt, size, shading, color, and the like of the color-forming member image 50 can be suppressed. In this case, it is also possible to photograph only the color-forming member 90 without photographing the calibration member 80. In this case, the function of the correction unit 32 may be omitted.

[0092] Furthermore, in each of the exemplary embodiments described above, the following various processors can be used as the hardware structure of processing units that perform various processes, such as the acquisition unit 30, the discrimination unit 31, the correction unit 32, the derivation unit 33, the evaluation unit 34, and the control unit 35, as well as the control unit 60 and the determination unit 62. As described above, the various processors include a CPU, which is a general-purpose processor that executes software (programs) and functions as various processing units, as well as dedicated electrical circuits that are processors having a circuit configuration specifically designed to perform specific processes, such as a programmable logic device (PLD) that is a processor whose circuit configuration can be changed after manufacture, such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0093] A single processing unit may be configured with one of these various processors, or may be configured with a combination of two or more processors of the same or different types (for example, a combination of multiple FPGAs, or a combination of a CPU and an FPGA). Also, multiple processing units may be configured with a single processor.

[0094] Examples of configuring multiple processing units with a single processor include: first, a form in which one processor is configured with a combination of one or more CPUs and software, as typified by computers such as client and server computers, and this processor functions as multiple processing units; second, a form in which a processor is used to realize the functions of an entire system including multiple processing units with a single IC (Integrated Circuit) chip, as typified by systems on chips (SoCs); and thus, various processing units are configured using one or more of the above-mentioned various processors as a hardware structure.

[0095] Furthermore, more specifically, the hardware structure of these various processors can be an electric circuit that combines circuit elements such as semiconductor elements.

[0096] In the above exemplary embodiment, the information processing program 27A is pre-stored (installed) in the storage unit 22A, and the information processing program 27B is pre-stored in the storage unit 22B. However, this is not limiting. The information processing programs 27A and / or 27B may be provided in a form recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. The information processing programs 27A and / or 27B may also be downloaded from an external device via a network. Furthermore, the technology disclosed herein extends to storage media that non-temporarily store information processing programs, in addition to information processing programs.

[0097] The technology of the present disclosure can also be appropriately combined with the above exemplary embodiments and examples. The above-described description and illustrations are detailed descriptions of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure and are merely examples of the technology of the present disclosure. For example, the above description of the configuration, function, action, and effect is an example of the configuration, function, action, and effect of the parts related to the technology of the present disclosure. Therefore, it goes without saying that unnecessary parts may be deleted, new elements may be added, or replacements may be made to the above-described description and illustrations within the scope of the gist of the technology of the present disclosure.

[0098] The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-093298, filed on June 8, 2022, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. All documents, patent applications, and technical standards mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference to the same extent as if each individual document, patent application, and technical standard was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Claims

1. At least one processor; The processor, Acquire at least one of a color-developing member image obtained by photographing a color-developing member that develops a color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied thereto and an auxiliary image related to the color-developing member image; It is determined whether the acquired image is the color-developing member image or the auxiliary image. Information processing device.

2. The processor, Executing a predetermined process according to the discrimination result of the acquired image. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

3. The processor, When the acquired image is determined to be the color-developing member image, Using characteristic data in which a relationship between the amount of energy applied to the color-developing member and the color of the color-developing member included in the color-developing member image is predetermined, the amount of energy applied to the color-developing member is derived based on the color-developing member image. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

4. The processor, The derived amount of energy is evaluated based on predetermined reference information. The information processing device according to claim 3 .

5. The processor, When the acquired image is determined to be the incidental image, Determine whether the incidental image includes at least one of a character string and an identifier. The information processing device according to claim 2 .

6. The processor, When the acquired image is determined to be the accessory image including at least one of a character string and an identifier, Analyzing at least one of the character string and the identifier included in the auxiliary image. The information processing device according to claim 5 .

7. The processor, Acquire a plurality of images, each of which is one of a color-developing member image obtained by photographing a color-developing member that develops a color with a density distribution according to an applied amount of energy and an auxiliary image related to the color-developing member image; For each of the plurality of acquired images, it is determined whether the image is a color-developing member image or an auxiliary image. The information processing device according to claim 1 .

8. Acquire at least one of a color-developing member image obtained by photographing a color-developing member that develops a color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied thereto and an auxiliary image related to the color-developing member image; It is determined whether the acquired image is the color-developing member image or the auxiliary image. Information processing method including processing.

9. Acquire at least one of a color-developing member image obtained by photographing a color-developing member that develops a color with a density distribution according to the amount of energy applied thereto and an auxiliary image related to the color-developing member image; It is determined whether the acquired image is the color-developing member image or the auxiliary image. An information processing program for causing a computer to execute processing.