Document editing apparatus, image forming apparatus, document editing method, and computer program product

• US 8,139,257 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Fabrice, Matulic
• Primary Examiner(s): LETT, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US11/606,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20070133074A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,938 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.16, 358/1.18, 358/1.9, 358/2.1, 358/452, 358/453, 358/462, 358/464, 358/505, 358/537, 358/540, 345/1.1, 345/1.3, 345/2.2, 345/33, 345/619
• US Class Current: 358/1.18
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04845 for image manipulation, e.g. dragging, rotation, expansion or change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/60 Editing figures and text; Combining figures or text

Abstract

An area identifying unit separates input image data into each image area. An editing unit performs an editing process on the input image data in units of separated image area. An operation displaying unit displays the input image data with an input display module and an editing display module. The operation displaying unit is capable of accepting editing inputs and an input of various settings through a touch input on the display. The editing unit performs the editing process on the image data based on the editing input. The operation displaying unit further displays an editing result performed by the editing unit.

Claims

1. An image editing apparatus comprising:

an input unit to input an image data;

an area identifying unit to separate input the image data into each image area corresponding to attributes;

a processing unit to process each image area corresponding to the attribute associated with each image area;

an editing unit to perform an editing process on the image data in units for each image area;

a first operation displaying unit to display a first screen that displays the image data, the first screen to receive a selection of an image area while not accepting edits to the image data, and a second screen that displays edited image data edited in the image area units in a data format corresponding to the attribute of the image area by the editing unit;

a receiving unit to receive a change of setting of the attribute corresponding to the image area which is displayed in the second screen; and

a second operation displaying unit to display the image area processed corresponding to the attribute of the image data by the processing unit in response to the change of setting of the attribute of the image area.

2. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit accepts an input signal requesting at least one of editing processes of add, move, and delete, for each of the separated image areas to be displayed,

the editing unit performs accepted editing processes, and

the operation displaying unit further displays each of the image areas on which the editing process is performed.

3. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit accepts a drag operation for performing at least one of operations of move and copy for each of the image areas displayed in the input display module, produces a display with the image area being dragged to the editing display module, and accepts an editing input from a display of each of the image areas dragged to the editing display module.

4. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit produces a display with each of the image areas being inserted in the editing display module.

5. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit accepts an operation input requesting for insertion of each of the image areas displayed on the operation displaying unit, and produces a post-insertion display according to the insertion request.

6. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit displays each of the image areas having a character attribute to be displayed by the operation displaying unit as an image area of a character image having an image attribute.

7. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a relating unit to link the separated image areas based on attributes of the image areas, wherein

the operation displaying unit displays a linking status performed by the relating unit.

8. The image editing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the operation displaying unit displays the linking status of each of the image areas with an arrow.

9. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the operation displaying unit displays an accommodation area representation occupying a predetermined area for display in a form of an area accommodating each of the image areas in the display, accepts a drag operation for performing at least one of operations to move and copy each of the image areas to the accommodation area representation, and further displays each of the image areas in a state of being accommodated in the accommodation area representation, and

the editing unit edits the image data with each of the image areas being accommodated in the accommodation area representation.

10. The image editing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the operation displaying unit accepts a request for linking an image area with characters and a plurality of the accommodation area representations displayed by the operation displaying unit, and produces a display by inserting the same image area with characters in the accommodation area representations linked to the image area with characters.

11. The image editing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

the receiving unit to receive a change of setting for the image area from a document attribute to an image attribute or from the image attribute to the document attribute; and

the processing unit to process the image area based on the change of setting.

12. An image editing method comprising:

inputting an image data;

separating the image data into each image area;

determining an attribute associated with each image area;

processing each image area corresponding to the attribute associated with each image area;

editing the image data in units for each image area; and

operating displaying including

displaying the image data in a first screen that displays the image data, the first screen receiving a selection of an image area while not accepting edits to the image data, and

displaying edited image data in a second screen that displays the edited image data in the image area units in a data format corresponding to the attribute of the image area;

and

in response to receiving a request to change a setting of an attribute of an image area, displaying the image area in the second screen, the image area displayed in the second screen processed based on the change to the setting of the attribute.

13. The image editing method according to claim 12, wherein

the operation displaying includes accepting an input signal requesting for at least one of editing processes that include add, move, and delete, for each of the separated image areas to be displayed,

the editing includes performing accepted editing processes, and

the operation displaying further includes displaying each of the image areas on which the editing process is performed.

14. The image editing method according to claim 12, wherein

the operation displaying includes displaying each of the image areas that have a character attribute to be displayed, as an image area of a character image having an image attribute.

15. The image editing method according to claim 12, further comprising:

linking the separated image areas based on attributes of the image areas, wherein the operation displaying includes displaying a linking status performed at the linking.

16. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable non-transitory medium having computer readable program codes embodied in the medium that when executed cause a computer to execute:

inputting an image data;

separating the image data into each image area;

determining an attribute associated with each image area;

processing each image area corresponding to the attribute associated with each image area;

editing the image data in units for each image area; and

operating displaying including

displaying the image data in a first screen that displays the image data, the first screen receiving a selection of an image area while not accepting edits to the image data, and

displaying edited image data in a second screen that displays the edited image data in the image area units in a data format corresponding to the attribute of the image area;

and

in response to receiving a request to change a setting of an attribute of an image area, displaying the image area in the second screen, the image area displayed in the second screen processed based on the change to the setting of the attribute.

17. The computer program product according to claim 16, wherein

the operation displaying includes accepting an input signal requesting for at least one of editing processes that include add, move, and delete, for each of the separated image areas to be displayed,

the editing includes performing accepted editing processes, and

the operation displaying further includes displaying each of the image areas on which the editing process is performed.

18. The computer program product according to claim 16, wherein

the operation displaying includes displaying each of the image areas that have a character attribute to be displayed, as an image area of a character image having an image attribute.

19. The computer program product according to claim 16, further comprising:

linking the separated image areas based on attributes of the image areas, and the operation displaying includes displaying a linking status performed at the linking.