JP2000050096A - Image printing method and electronic blackboard system using the method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently reduce the consumption of toner and ink, etc. SOLUTION: In this image printing method, among image data for one screen or for one page to be an output object, the color information or the density information of the specified image data is changed and is printed. The method is provided with a setting process (S3701) for setting whether or not the color information of the specified image data is changed at the time of printing the images, a maximum image area extraction process (S3702) for extracting a maximum image area to be painted out by the same color information among the image data for one screen or for one page to be the output object in the case that the change is set through the setting process, a change process (S3703) for changing the color information of the maximum image area extracted in the maximum image area extraction process to white and a printing process (S3704) for printing the image data for one screen or for one page on recording paper after changing the color information of the maximum image area in the change process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method of outputting an image to be output.
The present invention relates to an image printing method in which color information or density information of specific image data is changed and printed out of image data for a screen or one page and an electronic blackboard system using the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been an electronic blackboard device that reads handwritten information written on a writing surface such as a whiteboard or a writing sheet using a writing implement with a dedicated scanner and outputs it on recording paper with a dedicated printer. Known,
This type of electronic blackboard device is used as a so-called copy board.

There is also provided an electronic blackboard system in which a touch panel is arranged on a writing surface of an electronic blackboard and information written by hand on the writing surface is input in real time. For example, a soft board manufactured by Microfield Graphics, Inc. (Microfield Graphics, Inc.) has an optical touch panel on a whiteboard that is a writing surface, and displays visuals such as characters and pictures written on this whiteboard. This is a touch input device that can capture data in real time into a connected personal computer (personal computer). In an electronic blackboard system using this software board, visual data captured by the software board is input to a personal computer and displayed on a CRT, displayed on a large screen using a liquid crystal projector, or printed on a recording paper by a printer. It is possible to output.
It is also possible to project the screen of the personal computer to which the software board is connected on the software board with a liquid crystal projector, and operate the personal computer screen on the software board using a dedicated pen.

Further, a display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel surface disposed on the front surface of the display device, and a control for controlling display of the display device based on an input from the touch input device There is also provided an electronic blackboard system that includes a display device and a touch input device and configures a display surface and a writing surface of the electronic blackboard. For example, Smart Technologies (SMAR
T Technologies Inc.) uses a liquid crystal projector connected to a personal computer to project images of characters, pictures, figures, and graphics onto a panel, which is arranged in front of the projection surface (display surface) of the panel. Using a pressure-sensitive touch panel (writing surface), the handwritten information is taken into a personal computer, the handwritten information and the image information are combined in the personal computer, and can be displayed again in real time via a liquid crystal projector.

[0005] As described above, in such an electronic blackboard system, an image input using the touch input device can be displayed as an overwrite image on an image on the screen displayed by the display device. It has already been widely used for meetings, presentations, education, etc., and its use effect has been highly evaluated.

[0006] Further, since an image to be displayed on a display device can be read out and displayed as necessary from image data created in advance by a personal computer or the like, when the display device is a color display device, it can be expressed in rich colors. That is, even in the case of a black-and-white display device, rich expression can be performed in consideration of gray skel (gradation).

[0007]

However, according to the above-described conventional electronic blackboard system, it is possible to easily perform a colorful expression and an expression having a gradation.
When the screen displayed on the display device is output to recording paper by the printing device using the basic copyboard function of the electronic blackboard system, if the image data on the screen is output as it is, the consumption of toner, ink, etc. There was a problem that the amount increased.

In particular, when the display device is a color display device, in order to enhance the visual effect, not only the background screen, but also
Since it is common to fill a closed area (closed area) on the screen, printing such a screen as it is consumes a large amount of toner and ink, etc.
There is a possibility that the toner may run out when necessary, and there is a disadvantage that usability is deteriorated.

On the other hand, in order to reduce the consumption of toner, ink and the like, there is provided an image printing method in which only the background color is simply set to white for printing. In this case, the area of the background screen is occupied. If the area of the other image area is larger than the area, there is a problem that it is not always possible to efficiently reduce the consumption of toner, ink and the like.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image printing method and an electronic blackboard system capable of efficiently reducing the consumption of toner and ink.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, an image printing method according to a first aspect of the present invention provides a method of printing a specific image data of one screen or one page of image data to be output. An image printing method for printing by changing color information or density information, wherein a setting step of setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, the change being set through the setting step In this case, the maximum image area extraction step of extracting the maximum image area filled with the same color information from the image data for one screen or one page to be output, and the maximum image area extraction step A changing step of changing the color information of the extracted maximum image area to white, and printing for printing the image data of one screen or one page on a recording sheet after the color information of the maximum image area is changed in the changing step. Process , It is intended to include.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image printing method for changing the color information or density information of specific image data in one screen or one page of image data to be output. A setting step of setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and, when the change is set through the setting step, the output target of one screen. Or a character color changing step of changing the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information in the image data of one page to the color information of one specific color;
When the change is set through the setting step, the color information of the image data for one screen or one page to be output, other than the character information and the outline, is changed to white. And a printing step of printing, on a recording sheet, the image data for one screen or one page after the color information is changed in the character color changing step and the changing step.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image printing method for changing the color information or density information of specific image data in one screen or one page of image data to be output, and printing the image data. A setting step of setting whether or not to change density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and, when the change is set through the setting step, the output of one screen to be output. Or a change step of changing density information of image data other than text information of one page of image data except for character information so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast; and after changing the density information in the change step. And printing the image data for one screen or one page on recording paper.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic blackboard system, comprising: a display device for displaying characters and images; a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided on the front surface of the display device; A printing device that outputs, and a control device that performs display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on an input from the touch input device, and includes an electronic device using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a display surface and a writing surface of a blackboard, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means A maximum image area extracting method for extracting a maximum image area filled with the same color information from one screen or one page of image data to be output. And changing means for changing the color information of the maximum image area extracted by the maximum image area extracting means to white, and the printing apparatus, after changing the color information of the maximum image area by the changing means, One screen or one page of image data is printed on recording paper.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic blackboard system, comprising: a display device for displaying characters and images; a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided on the front surface of the display device; A printing device that outputs, and a control device that performs display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on an input from the touch input device, and includes an electronic device using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a display surface and a writing surface of a blackboard, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means In the image data for one screen or one page to be output, color information of image data corresponding to character information is converted into color information of a specific one color. Character color changing means to be changed, and other image data excluding character information and contour lines from image data for one screen or one page to be output when the change is set via the setting means. Changing means for changing the color information of the color to white, the printing device,
The image data for one screen or one page after the color information is changed by the character color changing means and the changing means is printed on recording paper.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic blackboard system, comprising: a display device for displaying characters and images; a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided on a front surface of the display device; A printing device that outputs, and a control device that performs display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on an input from the touch input device, and includes an electronic device using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a display surface and a writing surface of a blackboard, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means An image corresponding to an overwritten image input via the touch input device, out of image data for one screen or one page to be output; Character color changing means for changing the color information of data to one specific color information, and image data for one screen or one page to be output when the change is set via the setting means Changing means for changing the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image and other image data other than the outline to white, and wherein the printing apparatus performs the color changing by the character color changing means and the changing means. The image data for one screen or one page after the information is changed is printed on recording paper.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic blackboard system, comprising: a display device for displaying characters and images; a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided in front of the display device; A printing device that outputs, and a control device that performs display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on an input from the touch input device, and includes an electronic device using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a display surface and a writing surface of a blackboard, setting means for setting whether or not to change density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means To
Changing means for changing density information of image data other than character information of one screen or one page of image data to be output so as to decrease the density while maintaining the overall contrast; The printing device prints, on a recording sheet, the image data for one screen or one page after the density information is changed by the changing unit.

An electronic blackboard system according to an eighth aspect of the present invention provides a display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel on the front of the display device, and image data on a recording paper. A printing device that outputs, and a control device that performs display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on an input from the touch input device, and includes an electronic device using the display device and the touch input device. In an electronic blackboard system constituting a display surface and a writing surface of a blackboard, setting means for setting whether or not to change density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means To
Density information of image data for one screen or one page to be output, other than image data corresponding to an overwrite image input via the touch input device, is stored while maintaining the overall contrast. Changing means for changing the density information to be low, wherein the printing apparatus prints the image data for one screen or one page on the recording paper after the density information is changed by the changing means. .

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an image printing method and an electronic blackboard system using the method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, an electronic blackboard system using an image printing method (hereinafter referred to as “electronic blackboard system”) will be described as an embodiment of the present invention.

[Embodiment 1] An electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 is as follows. 1. System configuration Operation 3. The effects will be described in detail in order. The specific processing using the image printing method of the present invention and the configuration of the electronic blackboard system for realizing the image printing method will be described when the printing processing in the electronic blackboard system is described in “2. Operation”.

1. System Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1. Electronic blackboard system 100 shown in FIG.
Are mainly a plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as “PDP”) 101 for displaying an image, and a PDP 1
01 and a touch input device 102 capable of inputting a character or a figure by touching a touch surface (writing surface) with a fingertip or a touch pen, and a coordinate position on the touch surface touched by the fingertip or the touch pen. A controller for a touch input device (hereinafter referred to as a “controller”) 103 for performing calculations and the like, coordinate position information is input from the controller 103, and is input via the touch input device 102 based on the input coordinate position information. A computer 104 (personal computer) that controls the entire system, such as processing for drawing characters and graphics on the PDP 101, is provided.

Various peripheral devices can be connected to the computer 104 of the electronic blackboard system 100. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, a state in which a computer 105 is connected to a scanner 105 for reading an image of a document and a printer 106 for outputting image data to recording paper. Further, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be connected to the network 107 via the computer 104. Data created by another computer connected to the network 107 can be displayed on the PDP 101, or data created by the electronic blackboard system 100 can be displayed. Can be transferred to another computer.

Although illustration is omitted, the PD
The P101 is provided with a video input terminal and a speaker. The PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor by connecting various information devices and AV devices such as a laser disk player, a DVD player, and a video camera, in addition to the video player 108. Can be.

Here, as the PDP 101, a large screen type, such as 40 inches or 50 inches, which can be used as an electronic blackboard is used. Plasma displays include:
Since it is possible to increase the size, it is not necessary to darken the room as in the case of using a projector with high brightness, and it has a wide viewing angle unlike liquid crystal displays, and it also has the feature that it can smoothly play moving images, Embodiment 1
Then, they decided to adopt a plasma display as the display. Since a plasma display is used as described above, the display device in Embodiment 1 can be reduced in thickness (size).

As the touch input device 102, an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type touch input device is used. FIG.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a touch input device used in the electronic blackboard system; This touch input device 102
And a transmitting transducer 202 for transmitting a surface acoustic wave to one surface of a substrate 200 which has a transparent substrate 200 and serves as a touch surface (writing surface) 201 for writing characters and graphics with a fingertip or a touch pen. , A receiving transducer 203 for receiving a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 202, and a reflection array 204 for reflecting the surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 202 and guiding the surface acoustic wave to the receiving transducer 203. Similarly, 205, a transmitting transducer 206 for transmitting a surface acoustic wave, a receiving transducer 207 for receiving a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 206, and a surface acoustic wave transmitted from the transmitting transducer 206. To the receiving transformer. And a reflective array 208, 209 for guiding a surface acoustic wave inducer 207. Note that the touch surface 201 has a size corresponding to the screen size of the PDP 101.

In FIG. 2, the transmitting transducer 2
02.206 and receiving transducer 203.2
07 is a cable 210 and a connector 211, respectively.
Is connected to the controller 103 via the. The cable 210 is preferably routed along the edge of the substrate 200 so as to pass through the shortest distance to the transmitting transducers 202 and 206 and the receiving transducers 203 and 207, but is not shown here.

When connecting the cable 210 and the receiving transducers 203 and 207, the cable 2
10 shield layer is peeled off and the receiving transducer 2
03.207 must be connected. Therefore, the portion of the cable 210 from which the shield layer has been removed becomes an antenna and picks up electromagnetic waves generated from the PDP 101 as noise. Therefore, a shielding member, for example, a copper shield tape (copper foil tape) is provided between the PDP 101 and the substrate 200. ). This shield tape is
The present inventors have found that when the PDP 101 is combined with the ultrasonic surface acoustic wave type touch input device 102, the touch input device 102 does not function with high accuracy due to the influence of the electromagnetic waves generated from the PDP 101. It is provided based on the result.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the shield tape. FIG. 3 shows a state in which a portion where the receiving transducers 202 and 206 are provided on the substrate 200 is viewed from the touch surface 201.
PDP 1 of substrate 200 with masking tape 301 interposed
01 (the surface opposite to the touch surface 201). The shield tape 300 shown in FIG. 3 has an L-shaped shape, and as a result of the experiment, the width is 35 mm ± 3 m.
m, length in the vertical direction with respect to the substrate 200 is 70 mm ± 20
mm, the horizontal length with respect to the substrate 200 is 130 mm ±
A size of 20 mm has been found to be optimal.

In FIG. 3, a shield tape 30 is provided so as to cover the receiving transducers 203 and 207.
0 is provided between the PDP 101 and the substrate 200, but by further providing a similar shield tape on the touch surface 201 side, noise countermeasures can be strengthened. In this case, the receiving transducers 203 and 207 may be covered with one shield tape. However, when a shield tape is provided on the touch surface 201 side, care must be taken so that the shield tape does not contact the reflective arrays 205 and 209.

As the substrate 200, any type of material such as glass and plastic may be used as long as it is transparent and can transmit surface acoustic waves. Further, for example, when the substrate 200 is a glass substrate, the reflection arrays 204, 205, 208, and 209 screen-print a glass paste,
0 is formed by firing at a predetermined temperature.

Next, an outline of a method of specifying the coordinates of the touch position when the user touches the touch surface with a fingertip or a touch pen will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the process of specifying the coordinates of the touch position. In FIG. 4, the transmitting transducer 202 and the receiving transducer 203 are used to detect the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction, and the transmitting transducer 206 and the receiving transducer 207 detect the touch position in the Y-axis direction. Used to Here, for convenience of explanation, the description will focus on the processing for detecting the position in the X-axis direction.

The process of specifying the coordinates of the touch position is executed by the touch input device 102 and the controller 103. The transmitting transducer 202 receives an electric signal from the controller 103 and converts the inputted electric signal into mechanical vibration. As a result, a surface acoustic wave that propagates along the surface or interface of the touch surface 201 of the substrate 200 is generated.

The surface acoustic wave generated by the transmitting transducer 202 is sequentially reflected by the reflecting elements constituting the reflecting array 204 at 90 degrees from the side closer to the transmitting transducer 202, and propagates through the touch surface 201. become. That is, the phenomenon that a part of the surface acoustic wave is reflected and a part of the surface acoustic wave is repeated by each of the reflective elements constituting the reflective array 204 is repeated.
Surface acoustic wave propagates over the entire surface of. The surface acoustic waves reflected by each reflective element constituting the reflective array 204 propagate in the touch surface 201 in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the touch surface 201 and with a time difference based on the position of the reflected reflective element. Go. Then, the reflection array 205
Reflects the surface acoustic wave propagating through the touch surface 201 by 90 degrees, and guides the reflected surface acoustic wave to the receiving transducer 203.

The receiving transducer 203 receives the surface acoustic wave, converts it into an electric signal, and
To enter. After amplifying the input electric signal, the controller 103 performs rectification and A / D conversion processing. Then, the controller 103 processes the A / D-converted signal along the time axis so that the position on the touch surface 201 in the X-axis direction corresponds to time.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the user touches an arbitrary position on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip. In this case, the surface acoustic wave propagating at the touch position is absorbed or scattered by the fingertip, and is greatly attenuated. By specifying the point at which such attenuation has occurred based on the result of the above-described signal processing, the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction can be specified. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a solid line crossing the touch surface 201 is specified as the position of the touch position in the X-axis direction.

Regarding the position of the touch position in the Y-axis direction,
It can be specified by performing the same processing as the processing for specifying the position in the X-axis direction using the transmitting transducer 206, the receiving transducer 207, and the reflection arrays 208 and 209. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, a dotted line crossing the touch surface 201 is specified as the position of the touch position in the Y-axis direction.

In this way, the controller 103
The positions in the axial direction and the Y-axis direction are specified, and are input to the computer 104 shown in FIG. 1 as coordinate position information. Based on the input coordinate position information, the computer 104 executes various processes described later, such as displaying the mouse cursor on the position touched by the user on the touch surface 201 on the PDP 101, and the like.

The receiving transducer 203.2
07, the surface acoustic wave is attenuated by the reflection by each reflection array and the propagation of the touch surface 201,
The electric signals output from the receiving transducers 203 and 207 are very small. Therefore, when noise such as an electromagnetic wave generated from the PDP 101 is mixed, it becomes impossible to detect the attenuation of the surface acoustic wave due to the touch of the touch surface 201 due to the influence of the noise. The shield tape 300 shown in FIG. 3 is provided to prevent such a situation from occurring.
In the first embodiment, the coordinate detection of the touch position with high accuracy can be performed due to the presence of. In other words, the shield tape 300 has a large role to enable a plasma display to be employed as a display device used with the ultrasonic elastic wave touch input device 102.

Subsequently, the computer 104 shown in FIG.
Will be described. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the computer 104. Computer 104 shown in FIG.
Is a personal computer, a CPU 500 for controlling the entire system, a ROM 501 storing a boot program and the like, a RAM 502 used as a work area of the CPU 500, and a keyboard for inputting characters, numerical values, various instructions, and the like. 503, a mouse 504 for moving a cursor, selecting a range, and the like; an operating system (OS) 505;
Electronic blackboard software 50 that makes 00 function as an electronic blackboard
6, a touch panel driver 507 and a word processor for operating the touch input device 102 and the controller 103 on the computer 104 as coordinate input devices.
Various application programs 50 such as spreadsheet software
8 and the like, and the PDP 101
A graphics board 510 for controlling display of an image on the PDP 101 and an electronic blackboard system 100 via the computer 104
7, a network card 511 (or a modem), a controller 103, and a scanner 10.
5, an interface (I / F) 512 for connecting the printer 106 and the like, and a bus 513 for connecting the above components.

In FIG. 5, for convenience of explanation, an interface for connecting a peripheral device to the computer 104 is shown by one block called I / F 512. Specifically, the I / F 512 is, for example, a controller 1
03, a serial interface such as RS-232C for connecting the printer 106, a parallel interface such as Centronics for connecting the printer 106,
It is composed of SCSI or the like for connecting a scanner.

Although the controller 103 is independent of the computer 104 as shown in FIG. 1, the controller 103 may be built in the computer 104. Although not shown in FIG. 5, the computer 104 includes a floppy disk drive, a CD-ROM drive, an MO drive, and the like.

The devices constituting the electronic blackboard system 100 described above are housed in a housing unit and integrated, so that the overall system can be reduced in size, operability, handling, and convenience. The storage of the electronic blackboard system 100 in the housing unit in this manner is performed by the electronic blackboard system 100.
Is composed of a plurality of devices as shown in FIG.
If these are managed separately, a large installation space is required, and there is a problem that it takes time to move.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the housing unit containing the electronic blackboard system 100 as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing unit as viewed from the rear side. A housing unit 600 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 includes a panel unit 601 containing the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 and a controller 10.
3 and a panel storage 6
And a stand 603 for supporting the controller housing portion 602 at a predetermined height.
04, a scanner 105, a printer 106, a device storage unit 604 that stores a video player 108 and the like.

PDP 101 and Touch Input Device 102
Are integrated so that the touch input device 102 is located on the front surface of the PDP 101, and as shown in FIG.
Are stored in the panel unit 601 so that the As described above, the panel unit 601 houses the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102, and forms the display surface and the writing surface (touch surface 201) of the electronic blackboard.

As shown in FIG. 7, the controller 103 is stored in a controller storage section 602 provided on the back of the panel section 601. Then, the panel unit 601
Is the image display surface of the PDP 101 and the touch input device 1
01 so that the touch surface 201 is located at a predetermined height,
The stand 60 of the device storage unit 604 is provided via the stay 605.
3 and supported. Further, the controller storage section 602 is similarly attached to the stand 603.

On the front side of the panel section 601 shown in FIG. 6, reference numeral 606 denotes a speaker, and 607 denotes a PDP 101.
Are shown. Although a detailed description is omitted, in the electronic whiteboard system 100 according to the first embodiment, switching of an image output source for the PDP 101 such as the computer 104 and the video player 108, volume adjustment, and the like can be operated by a remote controller. It is possible, and 608 corresponds to a remote control light receiving unit that receives light from the remote control.

On the back side of the panel unit 601 shown in FIG. 7, 609 is a handle for moving the electronic blackboard system 100, 610 is an operation panel for setting the brightness, contrast and the like of the PDP 101, and 611 will be described later. The angle adjustment lever for adjusting the angle of the panel unit 601 is shown. Although not shown, the computer 104,
A connector panel for connecting the video player 108 and the like to the PDP 101, the controller 103 and the like is provided.

That is, the image output cable and the audio output cable of the computer 104 are connected to the PDP 101 via this connector panel, and the computer 104 and the controller 103 are connected via this connector panel. In addition, video player 1
Various information devices such as 08 and AV devices are also connected to the PDP 101 via this connector panel.

Device storage section 604 of housing unit 600
Is a computer storage unit 612 for storing the computer 104 from below in the vertical direction, a video player 108, a laser disk player, a DV
A video storage unit 613 for storing various information devices and AV devices such as a D player, and a printer storage unit 614 for storing the printer 106 are provided. As described above, by arranging heavy equipment from below in the vertical direction, even when the board unit 601 having the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 exists above, even when the board unit 601 is moved and installed, The stability of the body unit 600 can be ensured. Note that the device storage unit 604 is not provided with a storage portion for storing the scanner 105 illustrated in FIG. 1, but as long as a condition that a heavy device is arranged from below in the vertical direction is maintained, the scanner A storage section for the storage 105 may be provided.

Doors are provided on both sides of the computer housing 612 so that a floppy disk or a CD-ROM can be inserted and removed. The front of the video storage unit 613 is a door so that a video tape, a laser disk, or the like can be inserted and removed. Further, the front of the printer housing 614 is also a door, which allows the user to operate the printer 106. The door has a touch pen (not shown) for touching the touch surface 201 of the touch input device 102. Can be stored. In addition, the back of the printer housing 614 is not covered by the housing, and the printer 106 can be housed so that the paper feed tray is located outside the housing unit 600 (see FIG. 8), thereby improving operability. Have been.

On the front side of the device storage section 604 shown in FIG. 6, reference numeral 615 denotes a keyboard table on which the keyboard 503 of the computer 104 can be always used, and 616 denotes the electronic blackboard system 100 in the housing unit 6.
The casters for moving every 00 are shown. Further, on the rear side of the device storage unit 604 shown in FIG. 7, 617 is a power tap for supplying power to the PDP 101, the controller 103, the computer 104, and the like.
Reference numeral 18 denotes a cable guide for wiring various cables, and reference numeral 619 denotes a main power switch of the electronic blackboard system 100.

As described above, by storing the electronic blackboard system 100 in the housing unit 600, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be easily moved and installed simply by moving the housing unit 600. In addition, the device storage section 604 of the housing unit 600 has a gravity direction (vertical direction).
Since the heavy devices are arranged in order from the bottom, the stability of the housing unit 600 at the time of moving and setting can be ensured.

Further, in consideration of the possibility that light of a fluorescent lamp, for example, directly enters the display surface of the PDP 101 and the image displayed on the PDP 101 becomes difficult to see in the housing unit 600 described above, An angle adjustment mechanism for adjusting the angle of the display 601 (display surface and writing surface of the electronic blackboard) is provided. Therefore, a configuration example of the angle adjusting mechanism will be described.

FIG. 8 shows the housing unit 60 viewed from the right side.
FIG. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 800 denotes a rotation fulcrum;
01 denotes a rotation guide, respectively, and the board unit 601 includes
It is rotatably attached to the stunts 603 existing on the left and right sides of the housing unit 600 via the stay 605 with the rotation fulcrum 800 as a fulcrum. In other words, the board unit 601 can be turned around the turning fulcrum 800 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 8 so that the head is swung up and down, so that the light of the fluorescent lamp is not reflected on the PDP 101. It can be adjusted. Here, the rotation guide 801 regulates the angle of the board part 601 that rotates about the rotation fulcrum 800. The angle adjustment lever 611 is
The angle is adjusted by rotating the board unit 601 via a mechanism described later.

In the first embodiment, the angle of the board unit 601 is changed from 0 degree (in a state where the board unit 601 stands vertically) to 5 degrees (the board unit 6 is operated) by operating the angle adjusting lever 611.
01 is tilted downward). The rotation fulcrum 800, the rotation guide 801,
The angle adjusting mechanism 802 is configured by the angle adjusting lever 611 and the components described below.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 803 denotes a tray of the printer 106 housed in the printer housing 614. As shown in FIG. 8, an angle adjustment lever 611 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601 is provided at a position where the angle adjustment lever 611 does not hinder the feeding of recording paper to the tray 803.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are diagrams showing the configuration of the angle adjusting mechanism 802 as viewed from above, and FIG.
10 shows a state where the angle is set to 5 degrees, and FIG. 10 shows a state where the angle is set to 0 degrees. FIG. 11 is similar to FIG. 9 and FIG.
FIG. 11 is a side view of the angle adjustment mechanism 802 shown in FIG. 10 and corresponds to a state where the angle of the board unit 601 shown in FIG.

9 to 11, reference numeral 900 denotes a stay 6.
The PDP angle 902 is rotatably mounted by a PDP fulcrum 901 during the time 05, and the 902 is rotatably mounted by a stand fulcrum 903 between the stands 603, and is used together with the angle adjustment lever 611 when adjusting the angle of the board unit 601. The stunt stay to which the lever receiving base 904 is attached is shown.

The angle adjusting lever 611 has such a shape as to sandwich the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902, and has a lever fulcrum 905 on the PDP angle 900 side.
Is mounted to be rotatable. In addition, the angle adjusting lever 611 has a flat portion 906 and a slope portion 907 of a lever receiving base 904 attached to the stand stay 902.
And a bearing 908 that rotates with the rotation of the angle adjustment lever 611 is provided.

Here, it is assumed that the state of the angle adjusting mechanism 802 is in the state shown in FIG. 9 and the angle of the board part 601 is inclining at 5 degrees. When the user operates the angle adjustment lever 611 to the left (in the direction of the arrow in the figure), the angle adjustment lever 611 rotates around the lever fulcrum 905, and the bearing 908 of the angle adjustment lever 611 is accordingly moved to the lever receiving position. As a result of moving the flat portion 906 of the base 904 and climbing the slope of the slope portion 907, the PDP angle 9
00 is generated. That is, the lever receiving base 904 is connected to the stand 6 via the stand stay 902.
03, the PDP angle 900 is fixed to the board portion 60 at the rotation fulcrum 800 and the rotation guide 801.
1 is attached to the stay 605 that supports the PDP 1 rotatably.
The board unit 601 can be rotated together with the angle 900 (the lower end of the board unit 601 can be pushed forward).

By operating the angle adjusting lever 611, the angle adjusting mechanism 802 changes from the state shown in FIG. 9 to the state shown in FIG. 10, and the angle of the board 601 changes from 5 degrees to 0 degrees. Can be. That is, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, by increasing the interval between the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902 from L1 to L2, the angle of the board part 601 can be changed from 5 degrees to 0 degrees.

Similarly, from the state shown in FIG. 10, the user moves the angle adjustment lever 611 rightward (in the direction of the arrow in the figure).
The angle of the board part 601 can be changed from 0 degree to 5 degrees by operating the above.

Although not shown, the angle of the angle adjustment lever 611 shown in FIG. 11 also changes with the change of the angle of the board portion 601. However, the PDP stay 900 and the stand stay 90
2 are rotatably fixed, so that they are not affected by an angle change of the board unit 601.

As shown in FIG. 12, by providing one or more springs 1200 between the PDP angle 900 and the stand stay 902, the operability of the angle adjusting lever 611 can be improved. This is because the weight of the board unit 901 and the angle adjustment lever 611
This takes into account that the operation of the angle adjustment lever 611 becomes heavy depending on the length of the angle adjustment lever 611. Therefore,
The operability can be further improved by adjusting the number of springs 1200 and the spring force according to the weight of the board portion 601.

The lever receiving base 904 is fixed to the stand stay 902 with, for example, a screw, and the hole (not shown) of the stand stay 902 through which the screw is passed may be formed as an elongated hole like a rectangle. preferable. As a result, since the fixing position of the lever receiving base 904 can be changed as desired, the angle range of the adjustable board portion 601 can be changed.

Further, as shown in FIG.
04 is provided on the PDP stay 900, and the lever fulcrum 905 is provided on the stand stay 902, so that the angle of the board 601 can be adjusted in the same manner as the angle adjustment mechanism 802 shown in FIGS. It can be carried out.

The configuration of the angle adjustment mechanism 802 described above is merely an example, and various designs and changes can be made. For example, the components of the angle adjustment mechanism 802 including the angle adjustment lever 611 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 are provided on the upper side of the board unit 601, and the positions of the rotation fulcrum 800 and the rotation guide 801 are reversed. Is also good.

As described above, by providing the housing unit 600 with the angle adjusting mechanism 802 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601, it is possible to input disturbance light to the PDP 101, particularly, light from a lighting fixture such as a fluorescent lamp on the ceiling. Can be avoided. Therefore, the screen is easy to see, and the convenience of the electronic blackboard system 100 can be improved.

2. Operation Next, the electronic blackboard system 100 having the above-described configuration will be described.
(1) Overview (2) When using the system as an electronic blackboard (3) When printing data created on the electronic blackboard (the image printing method of the present invention) (4) When using the system as a computer (5) Adjustment of touch input device (6) Use of AV equipment (7) Network connection The image printing method according to the present invention will be described in “(3) When printing data created on an electronic blackboard”.

(1) Overview The electronic blackboard system 100 according to the first embodiment combines a large-screen PDP 101 with a touch input device 102 of an ultrasonic surface acoustic wave method, and has a large screen like a projector, Free writing on the screen with a touch pen,
This is a communication tool that enables clear display of computer data and can be used for meetings and meetings.

Specifically, the user operates the touch input device 10
By writing characters and figures on the touch surface 201 of the second screen with a fingertip or a touch pen, the written characters and figures
01 can be displayed. In addition, the screen of a word processor or spreadsheet software can be captured, characters and figures can be written on the captured screen, and a part of the screen can be emphasized with a pen tool.

In the system, since the screen displayed on the PDP 101 is one page and the written information is managed in page units, editing processing such as displaying a list of all pages, rearranging pages, adding and deleting pages, and the like is performed. It can be carried out. Each created page can be saved as a file, and when a meeting of the same agenda is held several times, it can be called and used as many times as necessary. Then, the called file can be processed and reused for creating new material.

A file created by another computer using the presentation software is transferred to the network 1
07, etc., and it is also possible to give a presentation using the file. Since the presentation can be performed using the data of the file, the OHP film required for the presentation using the projector is unnecessary. As described above, while performing the presentation, the touch input device 1 is displayed on the screen on which the file created by the presentation software is opened.
02, and a more effective presentation can be made.

Further, the present invention can be used as a normal computer, and can be used for education of a method of operating a computer by using the PDP 101 having a large screen.

Further, an image printing function (an image printing method according to the present invention) for effectively reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like when printing data created by the electronic blackboard system 100 is implemented. .

(2) When Using the System as an Electronic Blackboard Next, when using the electronic blackboard system 100 as an electronic blackboard, 1) electronic blackboard software 2) writing of characters and figures by handwriting 3) handwritten characters and figures 4) Drawing a figure 5) Creating a new page 6) Opening a previously created file 7) Importing the screen of a word processor / spreadsheet / presentation software 8) Displaying a list of pages being created 9) Creating 10) Save in the other order.

1) Electronic Blackboard Software When the electronic blackboard software 506 shown in FIG. 5 is executed by the CPU 500, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be operated as an electronic blackboard. The electronic blackboard software 506 is similar to various application programs 508 such as a word processor and a spreadsheet software.
505 is a type of application program that operates under the control of 505. In the first embodiment, when the main power switch 619 of the system shown in FIG.
It is preferable in terms of workability to set the electronic blackboard software 506 to be activated immediately after the activation of the electronic blackboard 505. However, the desktop screen provided by the OS 505 may be displayed when the system is started, and the electronic blackboard software 506 may be started by selecting an icon displayed on the desktop screen.

When the electronic blackboard software 506 is started, an electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.
Displayed above. The electronic blackboard screen 1400 corresponds to, for example, a writing surface of a whiteboard. Touch surface 201 of touch input device 102 located in front of PDP 101 displaying electronic blackboard screen 1400
When the user draws a character or figure on top with a fingertip or touch pen,
The electronic blackboard screen 140 on the PDP 101 displays the characters and graphics written by the user on the touch surface 201 as if the characters and graphics were written on the whiteboard with the pen via the touch input device 102, the controller 103, and the computer 104.
0 is drawn.

The electronic blackboard software 506 is configured to manage information on a page basis. The electronic blackboard screen 1400 corresponds to an information writing area for one page managed by the electronic blackboard software 506. The user can operate the electronic blackboard software 506 to create a plurality of pages, and display any page among them on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
Can be displayed as

Further, the electronic blackboard software 506 is provided in FIG.
23, a toolbar 1401 including a plurality of buttons for performing various operations is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. Here, an outline of functions assigned to each button in the toolbar 1401 will be described. As will be described later, the toolbar displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 includes an extended toolbar (see FIG. 15) and a graphic drawing toolbar (see FIG. 16) in addition to the toolbar 1401.

Computer screen button 1402: PD
The display on P101 is switched to a computer screen (a desktop screen or a screen of another application program). Pen button 1403: A character or line can be written on PDP 101 by handwriting (use of pen tool is specified). -Eraser button 1404: A handwritten character or line can be erased. -Previous page button 1405: Displays the previous page.・ Page number window 1406: Current electronic blackboard screen 1
The number of pages displayed as 400 is displayed. Next page button 1407: Displays the next page. Print button 1408: Prints the page of the file currently being created by printer 106. Thumbnail button 1409: Displays a list of pages making up the file currently being created. Exit button 1410: Terminates the electronic blackboard software 506. Extension button 1411: Extension toolbar 1 shown in FIG.
Display 500. When an extension button 1411 in the extension toolbar 1500 is touched, the screen returns to the toolbar 1401 shown in FIG.

The function assigned to each button in the extension toolbar 1500 displayed when the extension button 1411 is touched will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the same buttons as those in the toolbar 1401 shown in FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

File button 1501: A new page can be opened or a previously created file can be opened. Save button 1502: Saves the currently created file. Display button 1503: Switches between thumbnail display, whole display, and window display, and can set zoom (enlarge) display. Graphic drawing button 1504: A graphic drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG. 16 is displayed, and a line, a rectangle, and an ellipse can be drawn (use of a graphic drawing tool is designated). Each button in the graphic drawing toolbar 1600 will be described later. Background setting button 1505: A background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 displayed on the PDP 101 can be set. Option button 1506: display of the electronic blackboard software 506 at the time of power-on and at the time of termination, and setting of page insertion when capturing another screen described later can be performed. In addition, a setting for changing a work folder can be made. Help button 1507: A help screen on which operation and function descriptions are described can be displayed.

Further, a graphic drawing toolbar 1600 displayed when the graphic drawing button 1504 is touched
The function assigned to each of the buttons inside will be described with reference to FIG.

Selection button 1601: When editing a created figure, a figure to be edited can be selected. Straight line button 1602: A straight line can be drawn. -Square button 1603: A square can be drawn. Ellipse button 1604: An ellipse can be drawn. Edit button 1605: Edits the created figure.

Note that the electronic blackboard software 506 can know which button the user has touched based on the coordinate position information input from the controller 103.

Further, the user can move the toolbar to a desired place by touching a predetermined position of each toolbar shown in FIGS. 14 to 16 with the fingertip and moving the fingertip as it is.

The electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
0 is a display form called so-called full-screen display
It is displayed on the entire display area 101. The user touches the display button 1503 in the extension toolbar 1500 and performs a predetermined operation, so that the electronic blackboard screen 14 is displayed.
00 can be switched to window display. Further, since the electronic blackboard software 506 is a type of application program that operates on the OS 505, the display of the PDP 101 is displayed by touching a computer screen button 1402 in the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500) as described later. It is possible to easily switch from the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to a desktop screen or a display screen of a word processor or the like.

Further, the operation of the touch input device 102 (touch on the touch surface 201) is performed in addition to the fingertip and the touch pen.
The operation may be performed using any material that can attenuate surface acoustic waves. Therefore, in the following description, for example, “touch with a fingertip”
Is described, the same operation can be performed by touching with a touch pen or another object.

2) Writing of Characters and Figures by Handwriting Next, various operations using the above-described electronic blackboard software 506 will be described in order. Here, a method of writing characters and figures by handwriting will be described.

The electronic blackboard software 506 has a pen tool for writing characters and figures on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by hand using a user's fingertip or touch pen like a real pen. The pen tool is used when the user operates the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 150).
By touching the pen button 1403 in 0), it becomes available. The user can display a corresponding character or line on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by writing a character on the blackboard or whiteboard by handwriting and writing a character or line on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip or a touch pen. it can. With this pen tool, the user's fingertip or touch pen becomes like a real pen, and it is also possible to set the color and line thickness of characters and figures that can be written with the fingertip.
FIG. 17 shows that the result of writing characters and lines by hand is PDP10.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state displayed on an electronic blackboard screen 1400 above the first electronic blackboard;

Here, using FIGS. 1, 4 and 5,
Processing for displaying characters on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 will be briefly described. When the user writes a character on the touch surface 201 with a fingertip, the surface acoustic wave propagating on the touch surface 201 is attenuated. As a result, the controller 103 can obtain coordinate position information corresponding to the trajectory of the fingertip based on the attenuation of the surface acoustic wave, and sequentially input the obtained coordinate position information to the computer 104. In the computer 104, when the coordinate position information is input from the controller 103, the electronic blackboard software 506 and the OS 505 generate drawing information for drawing a line in a preset color and thickness, and adjust the drawing information to the corresponding coordinate position. To the video memory (not shown) of the graphics board 510. The graphics board 510 transmits an image signal to the PDP 101 according to the contents of the video memory, and controls a process of displaying the same character as the character written on the touch surface 201 by the user on the PDP 101.

In short, the computer 104 recognizes the touch input device 102 and the controller 103 as a pointing device such as a mouse. Therefore, the computer 104 writes characters using a mouse on drawing software. Will be performed. It should be noted that the following processes such as erasing characters and drawing graphics are also performed in the process described above.

3) Erasing Handwritten Characters / Figures By touching the eraser button 1404, the user can erase characters and figures written by hand on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 with an eraser. When the user touches the eraser button 1404, the user's fingertip or touch pen can be used like a real eraser, and the size of the eraser, that is, the range in which characters and figures can be erased at one time can be set. FIG. 18 shows an eraser 1 for erasing the handwritten characters and lines shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when erasing is performed at 800.

In the handwritten character erasing mode,
As shown in FIG. 19, a handwritten character or line
The characters and lines in the frame 1900 can be erased at a time by enclosing with 900 (enclosing).

4) Drawing of Graphic The electronic blackboard software 506 is provided with a graphic drawing tool for drawing a graphic such as a straight line, a rectangle or an ellipse.
This graphic drawing tool can be used via the drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG. The user touches the extension button 1411 of the toolbar 1400 (see FIG. 14) to open the extension toolbar 1500.
Is displayed (see FIG. 15), and the extended toolbar 1500 is displayed.
By touching the drawing button 1504 of FIG.
The drawing toolbar 1600 shown in FIG.
Can be displayed above.

Drawing a Straight Line When drawing a straight line, the user touches a straight line button 1602 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches an arbitrary point on the touch surface 201, which is a starting point of the straight line, with the fingertip to directly set an end point. The fingertip may be moved to a certain location, and the fingertip may be separated from the touch surface 201. As a result, as shown in FIG. 20, a straight line is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

Drawing a Rectangle When drawing a rectangle, the user must use the drawing toolbar 1600.
After touching the middle square button 1603 with the fingertip, the user touches an arbitrary place on the touch surface 201 with the fingertip, moves the fingertip in any direction as it is, and separates the fingertip from the touch surface 201. As a result, a rectangle is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.

In the electronic blackboard software 506,
A function is provided for easily creating a table using the rectangle drawn as described above. First, the user touches a background setting button 1505 in the extended toolbar 1500 to display a setting screen (not shown).
A setting is made to display a grid on the background of 0. At this time, the vertical and horizontal intervals of the grid, the left start position, and the upper start position can be specified. In addition, for convenience in creating a table using a grid, a setting is provided for displaying the drawn rectangle so that it matches the grid.

When the settings relating to the grid are made, the grid is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG. Then, by repeatedly drawing the rectangle as described above, a table as shown in FIG. 23 can be created. Note that, when the grid is set, if the setting is made so that the drawn rectangle is displayed so as to match the grid, the electronic blackboard software 506 executes a process of drawing the rectangle along the grid.

Drawing of an Ellipse When drawing an ellipse, the user touches an elliptical button 1604 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, then touches an arbitrary place on the touch surface 201 with the fingertip, and moves the fingertip in an arbitrary direction as it is. The fingertip may be separated from the touch surface 201. As a result, an ellipse is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG.

Deformation of a Drawn Graphic When deforming a rendered graphic, the user touches a selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches a line of the graphic to be transformed to select the graphic. As a result, as shown in FIG.
0 is displayed.

When the user touches one of the handles 2500 with the fingertip and moves the fingertip as it is, the size and shape of the figure can be changed according to the movement. FIG. 25B shows a state in which the lower right handle 2500 of the handles 2500 shown in FIG. 25A is moved to enlarge the figure.

Moving a Drawn Graphic When moving a rendered graphic, the user touches a selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches a line of the graphic to be transformed to select the graphic. As a result, as shown in FIG. 26A, the handle 2500 is displayed diagonally above, below, left, and right of the selected figure.

Then, when the user touches the line of the figure with the fingertip and moves the fingertip as it is, the figure can be moved in accordance with the movement. FIG.
FIG. 7A illustrates a state in which the graphic illustrated in FIG.

Editing of a drawn figure Here, editing of a drawn figure means cutting or copying of the figure. First, when cutting and pasting a drawn figure at an arbitrary position, the user touches a selection button 1601 in the drawing toolbar 1600 with a fingertip, and then touches a line of the figure to be cut to select a figure. When an edit button 1605 in the drawing toolbar 1600 is touched with a fingertip, an edit menu 2700 shown in FIG. 27 is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
Thereafter, when the user touches “Cut” in the edit menu 2700, the selected figure is cut.

To paste the cut figure, display the edit menu 2700 again, touch “Paste”, and then touch an arbitrary place on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. Pasted.

When the user wants to paste the cut figure on another page instead of the currently displayed page, the user can click the previous page button 140 in the extension toolbar 1600.
After touching 5 or the next page button 1407 to display a desired page, the above-described pasting operation may be performed.

When the drawn figure is copied and pasted at an arbitrary location, the same operation as in the above-described cut-out may be performed except for touching “copy” in the edit menu 2700.

Next, a case where a drawn figure is deleted will be described. As explained in the cut operation for shapes,
A figure to be deleted is selected, and an edit menu 2700 is displayed. Then, when "delete" is touched on edit menu 2700, the selected figure is deleted.

If you want to cut, copy, or delete all the drawn figures, select Edit menu 27
When the user touches “select all” of 00, all the drawn figures are selected, and cut, copy, and delete operations can be performed on all the figures. Note that when "select all" is touched, handles are displayed on all the figures, so that all the figures can be moved with a fingertip.

5) Creation of New Page When creating a new page other than the page currently displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400, the user touches the next page button 1407 of the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500). good. When the next page button 1407 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506
A new page is generated and displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

If a plurality of pages are currently created, touch the next page button 1407 to display the last page, and then touch the next page button 1407 again to create a new page. Can be.

When the user wants to open the previous page, the user can use the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 150).
What is necessary is just to touch the previous page button 1405 of 0). When the previous page button 1405 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506 displays the corresponding page as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

6) Opening a previously created file To open a previously created file, use the extension toolbar 1
A file menu (not shown) is displayed by touching a file button 1501 of 500, and a dialog box 2800 shown in FIG. 28 is displayed by touching "Open" in the file menu. Then, by touching and selecting a desired file name and touching an “open” button 2801, the page of the corresponding file is displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400. The file can also be opened by touching the file name twice consecutively (hereinafter, referred to as “double touch”), as in a so-called “double click”.

When the contents of a previously created file are lost, a file list is displayed by using the file thumbnail function, the contents are confirmed, and an operation of opening a target file is performed. be able to. To use the file thumbnail function, a “thumbnail” button 2802 in the dialog box 2800 is used.
By touching, a thumbnail dialog box 2900 is displayed as shown in FIG. 29, in which a list of files is displayed as thumbnails. The thumbnail image displayed here is the first page of each file.
Then, by touching and selecting a desired thumbnail and touching an “open” button 2901 or by double-touching a desired thumbnail image, a page of a corresponding file is displayed as an electronic blackboard screen 1400.

To create a new file, touch the file button 1501 on the extension toolbar 1500 to display a file menu (not shown), and touch “New” in the file menu to open a new page. It is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

7) Capture the screen of the word processor / spreadsheet / presentation software (capture function) The electronic blackboard software 506 captures the contents of the file created by the word processor / spreadsheet / presentation software as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 For "capture" function. Below, using this capture function, word processor, spreadsheet software,
The process of capturing the screen of the presentation software will be described.

First, when the user touches the computer screen button 1402 of the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500), the display of the PDP 101 is switched from the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to the computer screen 3000 as shown in FIG. In FIG. 30, reference numeral 3001 denotes a capture toolbar displayed when the screen is switched to the computer screen 3000.
The functions of each button in the capture toolbar 3001 are as follows.

Electronic blackboard screen button 3002: Switches from the computer screen 3000 to the electronic blackboard screen 1400. -Capture button 3003: Computer screen 300
Capture the screen displayed on 0. Mouse button 3004: Assigned to the right mouse button in an environment where the right button of a two-button mouse can be used (for example, when Microsoft Windows (registered trademark) is used as the OS). Make the feature available.

Then, the user operates the computer screen 3000 shown in FIG.
After touching (double-touching) the icon of the program or the icon of the desired file to start the corresponding application program, and displaying the target file on the PDP 101, the capture button 300 is displayed.
Touch 3. As a result, the electronic blackboard software 506
The currently displayed screen is captured, the display of the PDP 101 is switched to the electronic blackboard screen 1400, and the captured screen is displayed as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 32, the user can write characters and graphics on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 by the above-described method. Thus, a word processor
Since screens such as spreadsheet software and presentation software can be easily captured as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400, an effective presentation can be performed using the electronic blackboard system 100.

That is, when a presentation is performed using presentation software in the electronic blackboard system 100, if the user touches the capture button 3003 when he wants to write something on the screen and explain it, the current screen is immediately captured, and The screen is switched to the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as shown in FIG. 31, and desired items can be written on the screen. When the user wants to return to the presentation software, the user immediately touches the computer screen button 1402 to immediately switch to the presentation software screen (computer screen 3000). The screen on which the characters and the like are captured and written can be saved as described later.

Here, the computer screen 3
000 is displayed, and a desired screen is captured after the application program is started. However, by specifying a file of a word processor or a spreadsheet software directly from the electronic blackboard software 506, the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is directly displayed. The specified file can also be opened by starting the corresponding application program. Then, when it is desired to capture the screen of the application program, the same operation as described above may be performed. Further, when another screen of the application program is captured, by touching a next page button 1407, the screen of the application program can be displayed on the PDP 101 again.

8) Displaying a List of Pages Under Creation In the electronic blackboard software 506, all pages currently being created can be displayed as thumbnails. When displaying the page list by the thumbnail display, the user can use the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500).
Touch the thumbnail button 1409 of. When the thumbnail button 1409 is touched, the electronic blackboard software 506, as shown in FIG.
Is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

This thumbnail display dialog box 3
At 300, 3301 is an open button, 3302 is a close button, 3303 is a forward button, 330
4 is the next move button, 3305 is the insert button before,
3306 indicates an insert button, 3307 indicates a delete button, and 3308 indicates a print button.

[0127] Thumbnail display dialog box 330
When 0 is displayed, the user can perform the following operation.

Specifying and Opening a Page Touching and selecting a desired thumbnail (page) in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, and touching an open button 3301 can display the selected page as the electronic blackboard screen 1400. it can. Also,
By double-touching a desired page, the page can be similarly displayed as the electronic blackboard screen 1400.

Move Page Touch and select a page to be moved in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, and when moving before the current page, touch the move forward button 3303 to move the page after the current page. When moving, a move button 3304 is touched next. By moving the page in this way, a page switching operation can be performed.

Insert New Page In the thumbnail display dialog box 3300, touch and select the previous or next page of the page to be newly inserted, and insert it before inserting the selected page. If the user touches the button 3305 and inserts it after the selected page, the user touches the insert button 3306 next. By such an operation, a new page can be inserted at a desired position.

By selecting the last page and then touching the insert button 3306, it is possible to perform the same operation as touching the above-described next page button 1407 to create a new page.

Deleting a Page By touching and selecting a page to be deleted in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300 and touching a delete button 3307, the selected page can be deleted.

Printing a Page By touching and selecting a page to be printed in the thumbnail display dialog box 3300 and touching a print button 3308, the selected page can be printed. Various settings can be made when printing is performed. The print settings will be described later.

9) Saving the created page As described above, the page created on the electronic blackboard software 506 can be saved as a file. To save, click the save button 150 on the extended toolbar 1500.
Touch 2 to select overwrite save or save as. When “Save as” is selected, the electronic blackboard software 506 presents, as a default, a file name including the current date and the serial number of the day. The user can save the created page as a file by inputting a file name and specifying a folder as necessary, and instructing to save. The file name can be input using the keyboard 503 (see FIG. 5).

On the other hand, when the overwrite save is selected, the electronic blackboard software 506 overwrites and saves the corresponding file.

The electronic blackboard software 506 manages the electronic blackboard screen 1400 in a plurality of layers. For example, a background layer that manages the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 (including the captured screen: bitmap data), a grid layer that manages grid lines (vector data), and a figure (vector data) drawn by a figure drawing tool are managed. And a handwritten layer for managing handwritten characters and figures (vector data). And
When the above-mentioned storage is designated, the electronic blackboard software 506 is used.
Creates a single file while maintaining these layers. Therefore, when the data is read again, the contents of each page can be easily processed. Depending on the setting, it is also possible to convert data of a plurality of layers into one bitmap data and save it as a bitmap file.

10) Others By touching the display button 1503 of the extension toolbar 1500 to open the menu, the electronic blackboard screen 1400 is displayed.
Of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 at the time of displaying a window or the like, and the display magnification of the characters and the like displayed in the window can be set.

By touching the background setting button 1505 of the extension toolbar 1500 to open the menu, the background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 can be set using a color palette.

Further, by touching the option button 1506 of the extended toolbar 1500 to open the menu, it is possible to set a work folder in which files used by the electronic blackboard software 506 are collectively stored.

(3) Printing Data Created on Electronic Blackboard FIG. 34 is a block diagram of a print processing unit of the electronic blackboard system 100. Print processing unit 3400 shown in FIG.
A printing condition setting unit 3401 for setting printing conditions; an image processing unit 3402 for performing predetermined image processing on image data to be output based on the printing conditions set by the printing condition setting unit 3401; A drawing processing unit 3403 that controls a drawing process of the image data that has been subjected to the image processing by the unit 3402, and image data input from the drawing processing unit 3403, and prints the image data to the printer 106 (see FIG. 1) based on the input image data. A printer driver 3404 for generating and outputting data.

In the print processing unit 3400 shown in FIG. 34, for example, the print condition setting unit 3401 and the image processing unit 3402 are modules constituting the electronic blackboard software 506, and the drawing processing unit 3403 is a module constituting the OS 505. The printer driver 3404 is installed in the system according to the printer 106 to be used.

When printing a page currently being created on the electronic blackboard software 506, the user touches a print button 1408 on the toolbar 1401 (or the extended toolbar 1500) to open a print menu (not shown), and the print menu is displayed. Touch “Print” of. When the user touches “Print” on the print menu, the print condition setting unit 3401
Displays a print dialog box 3500 shown in FIG. 35 on the electronic blackboard screen 1400. The user can set the printer setting column 350 in the print dialog box 3500.
1, print range setting field 3502 and print copy number setting field 35
At 03, a print range and the number of copies are designated, and an OK button 3504 is touched. When the user touches an OK button 3504, the print condition setting unit 3401 inputs the print conditions set via the print dialog box 3500 to the image processing unit 3402.

The image processing unit 3402 performs predetermined image processing on image data to be printed based on the input printing conditions, based on the set conditions, when various conditions described later are set, and sends the image data together with the print request. The data is input to the drawing processing unit 3403. The drawing processing unit 3403 performs processing such as color matching on the input image data. The printer driver 3404 receives the image data from the drawing processing unit 3403 and generates print data suitable for the printer 106. Input to the printer 106 shown.

In this way, the page being created can be printed on the electronic blackboard software 506. Note that when canceling printing, the user may touch a cancel button 3505. Although a detailed description is omitted, it is also possible to set the size and margin of the recording paper to be printed, and to display a print image.

Next, an image printing process (image printing method) for effectively reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like of the printer, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. The setting of the image printing process can be performed in a print color setting field 3506 in the print dialog box 3500.

In the print color setting column 3506, 3507
Is a "print color of maximum image area in white" check box. When the “Print the color of the maximum image area in white” check box 3507 is checked, the color information of the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information in the image data for one screen or one page is changed to white. The printing process is executed.

The electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
The image printing process (image printing method) when the “Print the color of the maximum image area in white” check box 3507 is checked using the image on 0 (an image for one screen or one page) as an example. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 36 shows an electronic blackboard screen 1 on which an image is drawn.
400 shows an example, and 3600 is a pie chart drawn by using the above-described graphic drawing tool.
A region 3601 painted in red and a region 3602 painted in blue exist in 0. 3603
Indicates a handwritten character (freehand line) written with a pen tool. Here, “Company A” and “Company B” correspond to the handwritten character 3603. 3604 is an electronic blackboard screen 14
The background area 3600 is green, and the background area 3600 is painted green. Note that the hatching in FIG. 36 corresponds to the color that fills each area.

The user operates the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
In order to print 400 minutes of image data (one page of image data), a print dialog box 3 shown in FIG.
500 is opened, the check box 3507 in the print color setting column 3506 is checked, and the change of the color information of the image data is set (S3701).

When the user touches an OK button 3504 in FIG. 35 to specify execution of printing, the image processing unit 340
2 inputs the setting information (print condition) set via the print dialog box 3500 from the print condition setting unit 3401, and checks whether the check box 3507 is checked. If the check box 3507 is checked, the image processing unit 3402 extracts the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information from the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 (one page) to be output (one page). S3702).

Image areas to be filled with the same color information in FIG. 36 include a region 3601 to be filled with red color information, a region 3602 to be filled with blue color information, and a background region 3604 to be filled with green information. It is assumed that the size of these image areas is as follows: area 3602 <area 3601 <background area 3604. In this case, the image processing unit 3402
Examines the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 and specifies that the background area 3604 is the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information.

Subsequently, the image processing unit 3402 executes processing for changing the color information of the background area 3604, which is the extracted maximum image area, to white (S3703). That is, FIG.
When the image of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 of No. 6 is printed on recording paper, the color of the portion corresponding to the background area 3604 is the background color of the recording paper.

After changing the color information of the maximum image area, the image processing unit 3402 inputs image data to the drawing processing unit 3403 together with a print request. As a result, the drawing processing unit 340
3 and the printer driver 3404 execute a predetermined process, and the printer 106 outputs the image data after the color information of the maximum image area is changed on the recording paper (S
3704).

FIG. 38 shows the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which image data for 400 minutes is output on recording paper. As shown in FIG. 38, on the recording paper 3800, the area 3601 and the area 3602 are printed in red and blue, respectively. However, as a result of making the color information of the background area 3604, which is the maximum image area, white, the area 3801 corresponding to the background area 3604 is the ground color of the recording paper 3800.

In the example shown in FIG. 36, since the size of each image area has a relationship of area 3602 <area 3601 <background area 3604, the color information of the background area 3604 is changed to white. But, for example, pie chart 3
If the area 3601 in 600 is the maximum image area,
The color information of the area 3601 is changed to white. Therefore, the print result in this case is different from FIG. 38 in that the area 3602 is red and the area 38 corresponding to the background area 3604 is different.
01 is printed in green, but the area 3601 is printed on the recording paper 380
The background color is 0.

Unlike the case shown in FIG. 36, when no color information is set in the background area 3604, the image area to be determined as the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information is the area of the circle graph 3600. 3601 and region 360
It becomes 2. In the example of FIG. 36, the area 3601 is the area 3
Since it is larger than 602, the color information of the area 3601 is changed to white in step S3703 in FIG. Therefore, in this case, as shown in FIG.
Only the color is printed and output.

As described above, since the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information is extracted and the color information of the area is made white, it is possible to effectively reduce the consumption of the toner and ink of the printer 106. it can.

When a plurality of pages are to be printed simultaneously with the check box 3507 checked, the process of extracting the maximum image area to be filled with the same color information and whitening the color information of the area is performed for each page. The process is performed for each page, and a process for reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like is performed for each page.

Returning again to the description of the print color setting column 3506 in the print dialog box 3500 shown in FIG. In a print color setting field 3506, reference numeral 3508 denotes a “print background color in white” check box for printing by setting the background color of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to a white background. If this check box 3508 is checked, the color information of the background area 3604 is changed to white or the print processing is executed assuming that the background has not been set. Therefore, if the check box 3508 is checked and the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 shown in FIG. 36 is printed, a print result as shown in FIG. 38 can be obtained.

Also, the two check boxes 3507 and 3508 for “print the color of the maximum image area in white” and “print the background color in white” are checked, and the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 shown in FIG. Is printed, FIG. 39
Can be obtained.

Further, in the print color setting field 3506,
Reference numeral 3509 denotes a “print freehand line in black” check box for printing a line drawn by hand in black. When the check box 3407 is checked and the printing process is executed, the image processing unit 3402 determines whether or not the color information of the handwritten line is red, for example.
Change the color information to black. Therefore, all the lines drawn by hand on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 are printed in black.

(4) Use of System as Computer To use the electronic blackboard system 100 as a computer, touch the computer screen button 1401 on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 as in the case of using the above-described capture function. Or electronic blackboard software 506
Is switched to the computer screen 3000 as shown in FIG. By switching the display of the PDP 101 to the computer screen 3000, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be used as a computer. The electronic blackboard system 100 is a large-screen PD
Since it has P101, it can be effectively used for computer operation education and the like.

Further, since the touch input device 102 can be used as a pointing device such as a mouse, various application programs can be operated on the screen. Further, the mouse button 300 shown in FIG.
By touching 4, the function assigned to the right button of the mouse can be used with a fingertip or a touch pen in an environment where the right button of a two-button mouse can be used.

(5) Adjustment of Touch Input Device The touch panel driver 507 shown in FIG.
01 and the display position of the mouse cursor on the touch surface 201
A tool is provided to match a fingertip or a touch position touched with a touch pen. Hereinafter, a position correction operation for matching the display position of the mouse cursor with the touch position will be described.

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting screen of the touch input device 102. As shown in FIG. Setting screen 4 shown in FIG.
Touching the calibrate button 4001 in 000 displays a display screen of the PDP 101 and a correction screen for adjusting the coordinates of the touch surface 201 on the touch input device 102 on the PDP 101. This display screen is, for example, P
The three correction points are displayed at the upper left, upper right, lower right, etc. of the DP 101. The user only has to touch three points on the PDP 101 with a fingertip or a touch pen.

When three correction points are touched by the user, the touch panel driver 507 executes a position correction process for matching the display position of the mouse cursor with the touch position based on the touched positions, and the position correction result is obtained. To a predetermined file.

However, since the position correction operation described above is performed in advance when the electronic blackboard system 100 is actually shipped as a product, there is no need for the user to perform the position correction operation unless the resolution or the like is changed. .

The outline of other setting items on the setting screen 4000 will be described. A mouse button emulation mode setting field 4002 is used to set what processing is performed when the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen. Mouse button
In the emulation mode setting column 4002, for example, a setting that is considered as a click when the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen, a setting that is considered as a click when the touch surface 201 is touched and released with a fingertip or a touch pen, A setting that considers moving when touched with a fingertip or a touch pen as a drag. When touching the touch surface 201 twice (double touch) with a fingertip or a touch pen, it is regarded as a double click, and the touch surface 201 is touched with a fingertip or a touch pen. A setting can be made such that a movement when touched and moved is regarded as a drag (when the electronic blackboard software 506 is used, this setting is used).

Reference numeral 4003 denotes a touch sound output setting check box.
Is checked, a beep sound is output each time the touch surface 201 is touched. Reference numeral 4004 denotes a setting button. When the user touches the setting button 4004, a screen for setting a connection method of the controller 103 is displayed. Reference numeral 4005 denotes an information button for displaying information on the controller 103 and the touch panel driver 507; 4006, a help button for displaying a help screen; 4007, an OK button for validating items set on the setting screen 4000; Cancel buttons for invalidating items set in the setting screen 4000 are shown.

(6) Use of AV Equipment As shown in FIG.
Various information devices and AV devices such as a laser disk player, a DVD player, and a video camera, as well as a video player 108, are connected to the 101 so that video and audio can be reproduced. Further, an external speaker can be connected to the PDP 101 via an amplifier, and powerful sound can be enjoyed on a large-screen display. The information device, the AV device, or the computer 104
Can be easily switched using a remote controller or the like (not shown).

As described above, various information devices and AV devices can be connected to and operated on the PDP 101 without using the computer 104, and the PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor. Not
The operability, handling, and convenience of the electronic blackboard system 100 can be improved.

(7) Network Connection Further, as shown in FIG.
Can be connected to a network such as a LAN or the Internet. Therefore, the electronic blackboard software 506
Transmitting the materials of the meeting created in the above to another computer, reading data created by the other computer and using it for the meeting, connecting a plurality of electronic whiteboard systems 100 to conduct a remote meeting, The application range of the electronic blackboard system 100, such as application to a system, can be expanded. In addition, the electronic blackboard system 100 can be connected to a network wirelessly using a PHS.

[0173] 3. Effect As described above, the electronic blackboard system 10 according to Embodiment 1
According to 0 (image printing method), when a change in color information of specific image data is set at the time of printing an image, 1 which is an output target is set.
Of the image data for the screen or one page, the color information of the largest image area to be filled with the same color information is changed to white and printed on the recording paper, so that the consumption of toner, ink, etc. can be reduced efficiently. Can be done

In addition, the above-described electronic blackboard system 100
Has the following effects in addition to the above-mentioned items relating to printing. That is, the PDP 101 and the touch input device 1
The housing unit 6 includes a board unit 601 that configures a display surface and a writing surface of the electronic blackboard using the “02”, and a device storage unit 604 that sequentially stores the computer 104, the video player 108, and the printer 106 from below.
Since the electronic blackboard system 100 is configured using 00, the system can be easily moved and installed only by moving the housing unit 600. In addition, since the heavy devices are arranged in order from the bottom in the direction of gravity (vertical direction), the housing unit 60 at the time of movement and installation is arranged.
0 can be ensured. Further, in the touch input device 102 of the ultrasonic surface acoustic wave method, the PDP 10
Since the shield tape 300 that shields electromagnetic waves is provided on the first surface, the PDP 101 can be used as a display device, and the display device can be made thinner (smaller) and the brightness of the display screen can be improved. That is, the first embodiment
According to the electronic blackboard system 100 according to the above, the size and integration of the entire electronic blackboard system 100 can be reduced, and the operability, handling, and convenience can be improved.

Further, since the angle adjustment mechanism 802 for adjusting the angle of the board unit 601 accommodating the PDP 101 and the touch input device 102 is provided, incidence of disturbing light on the display surface of the PDP 101, particularly, such as a fluorescent lamp on the ceiling, etc. Light from lighting equipment can be avoided, the screen can be easily viewed, and convenience can be improved.

Further, the PDP 101 can be used as a large-screen monitor by using a plurality of connection terminals for connecting various information devices such as a digital camera, a DVD player, and a video device, and AV devices.
It is possible to provide an electronic blackboard system 100 that allows connection and operation of various information devices and AV devices without the intervention of the electronic device 4.

[Embodiment 2] Next, an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 2 will be described. Here, only another example of the image printing process for effectively reducing the consumption of toner and ink of the printer described in the first embodiment will be described, and the configuration of the electronic blackboard system and other examples will be described. The operation is the same as in the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

FIG. 42 shows a print dialog box 350.
It is explanatory drawing which shows 0. The print color setting field 3506 in the print dialog box 3500 according to the second embodiment includes
A check box 4200 is provided for “print the image other than the character and the outline in white with one color of the character”. This check box 4200 is a setting for changing the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information to the color information of one specific color, and printing the color information of the image data other than the character information and the outline with white. It is for doing.

[0179] The character information referred to here means characters displayed based on the character code. Although a detailed description is omitted, by providing a character recognition function to the electronic whiteboard system 100 described in the first embodiment, a character recognition process is performed on a handwritten character input by the touch input device 102, and the electronic recognition is performed based on the character code. Characters can be displayed on the blackboard screen 1400. The check box 4200 shown in FIG. 42 is used to efficiently reduce the amount of toner and ink consumed by the printer when printing image data for the electronic blackboard screen 1400 (one page) containing such character information. This is for setting an image printing method for reduction.

An electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
Taking the image on 0 (an image for one screen or one page) as an example, an image when the “Print text except for characters and outlines in white color” check box 4200 is selected. The printing process (image printing method) will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 43 shows an electronic blackboard screen 1 including character information.
An example 400 (to be printed) is shown. In FIG. 43, reference numeral 4300 denotes a capture screen captured as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 using the capture function described in the first embodiment. This capture screen 4
300 includes a pie chart 4301 created by another application program, and the pie chart 4301 is an area 4302 painted red and an area 4303 painted blue.
Contains. Note that reference numeral 4304 denotes a contour line of the areas 4302 and 4303 in the pie chart 4301, and hatching in the areas 4302 and 4303 corresponds to a color that fills the areas 4302 and 4303. Also, 4305
Indicates recognized characters that have been subjected to character recognition as an example of character information. In this case, “Company A” and “Company B” are character information 430.
The character information “Company A” has green color information,
The character information “company B” has yellow color information.

The user operates the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
To print 400 minutes of image data (one page of image data), a print dialog box 3 shown in FIG.
In step S4401, the user checks the check box 4200 in the print color setting field 3506 to change the color information of the image data. Checkbox 420
By checking 0, the color information of the character information 4305 is changed to color information of a specific one color, and the character information 4305 is changed.
The color information of the other image data except for the outline 4304 is changed to white and printed. Character information 4 after change
The user can freely set the color information 305, but here, it is changed to black.

Thereafter, when the user touches the OK button 3504 in the print dialog box 3500 and specifies execution of printing, the image processing unit 3402 shown in FIG.
Inputs setting information (printing conditions) set via the printing dialog box 3500 from the printing condition setting unit 3401, and checks whether the check box 4200 is checked. If the check box 4200 is checked, the image processing unit 3402
Of the 0-minute image data, the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information 4305 is changed to black color information (S44).
02).

Subsequently, the image processing section 3402 outputs the character information 4305 from the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
Then, the color information of the image data other than the outline 4304 is changed to white (S4403). That is, area 4 in pie chart 4301 on capture screen 4300
The color information of 302 and 4303 is changed to white.

[0185] The image processing unit 3402 determines in step S440
After the color information is changed in step 2 and S4403, the image data is input to the drawing processing unit 3403 together with the print request. As a result, the drawing processing unit 3403 and the printer driver 34
In step S4404, predetermined processing is executed, and the image data after the color information is changed in the printer 106 is output on recording paper (S4404).

FIG. 45 shows the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which image data for 400 minutes is output on recording paper 4500. As shown in FIG.
Only the outline 4304 of the pie chart 4301 and the black character information 4305 are output on 500. That is, regions 4302 and 4303 of pie chart 4301
Is changed to white, the colors of the areas 4302 and 4303 on the recording paper 4500 are changed to white.
Has become the ground color.

As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system of the second embodiment, the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information 4305 is changed to the color information of one specific color, and the character information 4305 and the outline 4304 are changed. In order to print the color information of the image data other than the
Consumption of the toner, ink and the like can be effectively reduced. In other words, it is possible to print the character information 4305 in a form that can be reliably read while effectively reducing the amount of toner and ink consumed by the printer.

When printing a plurality of pages at the same time with the check box 4200 checked, the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information 4305 is specified by a specific 1
The color information is changed to color information, and the character information 4305 and the outline 4
A process for whitening the color information of the image data other than 304 is executed for each page, and a process for reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like is executed for each page.

In the case where the outline 4304 as shown in FIG. 43 does not exist in the image other than the character information,
In the image processing unit 3402, an outline may be generated at a boundary between regions having different color information. For example,
A boundary line may be generated on a boundary between regions having different color information, or a line indicating the extension of the region may be generated as a boundary line using the color of the region for each region.

Also, the color information of the image data corresponding to the contour line 4304 may be changed to a specific color similarly to the character information 4305.

Further, the capture screen 4 shown in FIG.
If the image 300 includes a character as an image different from the character information 4305, the image processing unit 3402
By processing such characters as contour lines,
It is possible to prevent such color information of the character from being changed to white.

[Embodiment 3] Next, an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 3 will be described. Note that, similarly to the second embodiment, only another example of the image printing process for effectively reducing the consumption of the toner and ink of the printer will be described.

FIG. 46 shows a print dialog box 35 displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 when making print settings.
It is explanatory drawing which shows 00. The print color setting field 3506 in the print dialog box 3500 according to the third embodiment is provided with a check box 4600 that “sets the color of the overwritten image to one color and prints images other than characters and outlines in white”. The check box 4600 changes the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image input via the touch input device 102 to color information of a specific one color, and excludes the image data and the outline corresponding to the overwrite image. This is for making a setting to make the color information of the image data white for printing. Note that, as described in Embodiment 1, handwritten characters and figures written using the pen tool and figures drawn using the figure drawing tool are included in the overwritten image input via the touch input device 102. It is.

The electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
Taking the image on 0 (an image for one screen or one page) as an example, a case where the “Print overwrite image in one color and print images other than characters and outlines in white” check box 4600 is checked FIG. 4 shows the image printing process (image printing method).
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 47 shows an example of an electronic blackboard screen 1400 (print target) including an overwrite image. In FIG. 47, reference numeral 4700 denotes a capture screen captured using the capture function described in Embodiment 1 and displayed as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400. This capture screen 4700 includes a pie chart 4701 created by another application program,
1 includes a region 4702 filled with red and a region 4703 filled with blue. Reference numeral 4704 denotes the outline of the areas 4702 and 4703 in the pie chart 4701, and the hatching in each of the areas 4702 and 4703 corresponds to the color for filling the areas 4702 and 4703. Reference numeral 4705 denotes a character (a character created by another application program) in the pie chart 4701. Here, “Company A” and “Company B” correspond to the character 4705.
Reference numeral 4706 denotes a handwritten character input via the touch input device 102 as an overwrite image. In this case, “Head Office Tokyo” and “Head Office Osaka” indicate the overwrite image 4706.
It is assumed that “Head Office Tokyo” has blue color information and “Head Office Osaka” has green color information.

The user operates the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
To print 400 minutes of image data (one page of image data), a print dialog box 3 shown in FIG.
In step S4801, the user checks the check box 4600 in the print color setting field 3506 to change the color information of the image data. This check box 460
By checking 0, the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 4706 is changed to the color information of one specific color, and the color of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 4706 and the color of the other image data except the contour line 4704 The information is changed to white and printed. Note that the overwritten image 4706
It is possible for the user to freely set which color information is to be used, but here, it is changed to black.

After that, when the user touches an OK button 3504 in the print dialog box 3500, FIG.
The image processing unit 3402 illustrated in FIG. 4 includes setting information (print conditions) set via the print dialog box 3500.
Is input from the print condition setting unit 3401 to check whether the check box 4600 is checked. If the check box 4600 is checked, the image processing unit 3
Step 402 changes the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 4706 from the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 to specific black color information (S4802).

Subsequently, the image processing section 3402 outputs the overwritten image 470 out of the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400.
The color information of the image data corresponding to No. 6 and the image data other than the outline 4704 is changed to white (S480).
3). That is, the color information of the areas 4702 and 4703 in the pie chart 4701 on the capture screen 4700 is changed to white.

The image processing unit 3403 processes the character 4705 in the capture screen 4700 in the same manner as the outline 4704, and does not change the color information of the image data corresponding to the character 4705 to white. Character 470
This is because if the color information of the image data corresponding to No. 5 is changed to white, the characters 4705 will not be output on the recording paper.

The image processing section 3402 determines in step S480
After the color information is changed in steps 2 and S4803, the image data is input to the drawing processing unit 3403 together with the print request. As a result, the drawing processing unit 3403 and the printer driver 34
In step S4804, a predetermined process is executed, and the image data after the color information is changed in the printer 106 is output on recording paper (S4804).

FIG. 49 shows the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which image data for 400 minutes is output on recording paper 4500. As shown in FIG.
900, only the outline 4704 of the pie chart 4701, the character 4705, and the overwrite image 4706 are output. That is, as a result of changing the color information of the areas 4702 and 4703 of the pie chart 4701 to white, the recording paper 4
The colors of the areas 4702 and 4703 in 900 are the ground colors of the recording paper 4500.

As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system of the third embodiment, the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 4706 input via the touch input device 102 is changed to the color information of one specific color. In addition, since the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 4706 and the color information of the other image data except for the outline 4704 is printed in white, it is possible to effectively reduce the amount of toner and ink consumed by the printer. In other words, it is possible to print the overwritten image 4706 in a form that can be reliably read while effectively reducing the amount of toner and ink consumed by the printer.

If a plurality of pages are designated to be printed while the check box 4600 is checked, steps 4802 to S48 in FIG. 48 are performed for each page.
04 is executed, and a process for reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like is executed for each page.

Also, the color information of the image data corresponding to the contour line 4704 may be changed to a specific color similarly to the overwrite image 4706.

[0205] If the outline 4704 as shown in Fig. 47 does not exist in the image other than the overwritten image, the image processing unit 3402 may generate the outline at the boundary of the area having different color information. Good. For example, a boundary line may be generated using a specific color on the boundary between regions having different color information, or a line indicating the extension of each region may be generated using the color of the region for each region. , May be used as a boundary line.

Further, considering that the overwrite image 4706 and the character information 4305 described in the second embodiment may be present on the same electronic blackboard screen 1400, one check box is used in the second and fourth embodiments. The two image printing processes described in 3 may be executed together.

[Embodiment 4] Next, an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 4 will be described. Here, as in the second and third embodiments, only another example of the image printing process for effectively reducing the consumption of the toner and ink of the printer will be described.

FIG. 50 shows a print dialog box 35 displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 when making print settings.
It is explanatory drawing which shows 00. In the print color setting field 3506 in the print dialog box 3500 according to the fourth embodiment, a “Print with reduced density of images other than characters” check box 5000 is provided. The check box 5000 is used to reduce the density of image information other than character information (for example, recognized characters as a result of character recognition processing) described in the second embodiment while maintaining the overall contrast. The print setting is changed as described above.

The electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
Taking an image on 0 (an image for one screen or one page) as an example, the image printing process (image printing method) when the “Print with reduced density of non-character image” check box 5000 is checked. This will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 51 shows an electronic blackboard screen 1 including character information.
An example 400 (to be printed) is shown. In FIG. 51, reference numeral 5100 denotes a capture screen captured using the capture function described in Embodiment 1 and displayed as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400. This capture screen 4700 includes a bar graph and a number created by another application program. Also, 5
101 is a touch input device 102 as an example of character information
This is a recognized character obtained by performing a character recognition process on a handwritten character input through the, and corresponds to the character information described in the second embodiment.

The user operates the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
To print 400 minutes of image data (one page of image data), a print dialog box 3 shown in FIG.
In step S5201, the user checks the check box 5000 in the print color setting field 3506 to change density information in image data other than characters.

When the user presses the print dialog box 3500
When an OK button 3504 in the middle is touched, the image processing unit 3402 shown in FIG.
The setting information (printing condition) set via the printing condition setting unit 3401 is input from the printing condition setting unit 3401 and a check box 500 is input.
Check if 0 has been checked. Check box 50
If 00 is checked, the image processing unit 3402
Changes the density information of the image data other than the character information 5101 in the image data of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 so that the density is reduced while maintaining the overall contrast (S5202).

[0213] The image processing unit 3402 determines in step S520
After changing the density information in step 2, image data is input to the drawing processing unit 3403 together with the print request. As a result, predetermined processing is executed in the drawing processing unit 3403 and the printer driver 3404, and the image data after the density information is changed in the printer 106 is output on recording paper (S520).
3).

FIG. 53 shows the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which image data for 400 minutes is output on a recording sheet 5300. As shown in FIG. 53, the image processing unit 3402 changes the density information of the image data other than the character information 5101 so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast. The density of the image is lower than the density of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 shown in FIG. On the other hand, the character information 5101 is printed at the same density because the process of changing the density is not performed.

However, since the density of the captured image 5100 is reduced and printed as shown in FIG. 53, the characters and numerals in the captured image 5100 other than the character information 5101 are also printed with reduced density. , And characters other than the character information 5101 may be difficult to see. Therefore, when the image processing unit 3402 changes the density information, the character information 5 is changed based on the image data.
It is preferable to perform a process of extracting characters other than 101, and not to perform a process of lowering the density of image data corresponding to the extracted characters.

As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system of the fourth embodiment, the density information of the image data other than the character information 5101 is changed so that the density is reduced while maintaining the overall contrast. Since the printing is performed based on the image data in which is changed, it is possible to effectively reduce the consumption of the toner and ink of the printer. In other words, the character information 5101 can be reliably read, and the printing process can be performed without damaging the entire image of the image data, while effectively reducing the amount of toner or ink consumed by the printer.

When a plurality of pages are designated for printing with the check box 5000 checked, steps S5202 and S5203 in FIG. 52 are performed for each page.
Is performed, and a process for reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like is performed for each page.

[Embodiment 5] Next, an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 5 will be described. Here, as in the second to fourth embodiments, only another example of the image printing process for effectively reducing the consumption of the toner and ink of the printer will be described.

FIG. 54 shows a print dialog box 35 displayed on the electronic blackboard screen 1400 when making print settings.
It is explanatory drawing which shows 00. The print color setting field 3506 in the print dialog box 3500 according to the fifth embodiment is provided with a check box 5400 “Print with reduced density of images other than overwritten images”. This check box 5400 is used to change the density information of the image data other than the image data corresponding to the overwrite image input via the touch input device 102 so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast and print. It is for setting. Note that the touch input device 102
As described in the first embodiment, handwritten characters and figures written using the pen tool and figures drawn using the figure drawing tool are included in the overwrite image input via the.

An electronic blackboard screen 140 shown in FIG.
Image printing processing (image printing method) when the “Print with reduced density of images other than overwritten image” check box 5400 is taken taking the image on 0 (image for one screen or one page) as an example. Will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 55 shows an example of an electronic blackboard screen 1400 (to be printed) including an overwritten image. In FIG. 55, reference numeral 5500 denotes a capture screen captured using the capture function described in Embodiment 1 and displayed as the background of the electronic blackboard screen 1400. This capture screen 5500 includes a bar graph, characters, and numbers created by another application program.
Reference numeral 5501 denotes an overwrite image (handwritten character or handwritten figure in FIG. 55) input via the touch input device 102.
5501 is shown.

The user operates the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
In order to print 400 minutes of image data (one page of image data), a print dialog box 3 shown in FIG.
500 is opened, the check box 5400 in the print color setting field 3506 is checked, and the change of the density information in the image data other than the overwritten image is set (S5601).

The user sets the print dialog box 3500
When an OK button 3504 in the middle is touched, the image processing unit 3402 shown in FIG.
00, the setting information (printing condition) set via the printing condition setting unit 3401 is input to the check box 540.
Check if 0 is checked. If the check box 5400 is checked, the image processing unit 340
2 changes the density information of the image data other than the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 5501 out of the image data for the electronic blackboard screen 1400 so that the density becomes lower while maintaining the overall contrast (S5602).

[0224] The image processing unit 3402 determines in step S560
After changing the density information in step 2, image data is input to the drawing processing unit 3403 together with the print request. As a result, predetermined processing is executed in the drawing processing unit 3403 and the printer driver 3404, and the image data after the density information is changed in the printer 106 is output on recording paper (S560).
3).

FIG. 57 shows the electronic blackboard screen 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which 400 minutes of image data is output on a recording paper 5700. As shown in FIG. 57, the result of the image processing unit 3402 performing a process of changing the density information of the image data other than the image data corresponding to the overwritten image 5501 so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast. 55, the density of the image on the capture screen 5500 is lower than the density of the electronic blackboard screen 1400 shown in FIG. On the other hand, as for the overwrite image 5501, since the process of changing the density has not been performed, it is printed at the same density.

However, as shown in FIG. 57, since the density of the captured image 5100 is reduced for printing, characters and numerals in the captured image 5500 are also reduced in density and printed. Characters and numbers may be difficult to see. Therefore, when the image processing unit 3402 changes the density information, it performs a process of extracting the above-described characters and numbers based on the image data. It is preferable not to perform the process of lowering.

As described above, according to the electronic blackboard system of the fifth embodiment, the density information of the other image data except the image data corresponding to the overwrite image 5501 inputted via the touch input device 102 is used as the overall contrast. Since the printing is performed based on the image data in which the density is changed while maintaining the density and the density information is changed, it is possible to effectively reduce the consumption of toner, ink, and the like of the printer. In other words, the overwriting image 5501 can be reliably read, and the printing process can be performed without damaging the entire image of the image data, while effectively reducing the amount of toner or ink consumed by the printer.

If printing of a plurality of pages is designated with the check box 5400 checked, steps S5602 and S560 of FIG. 56 are performed for each page.
The processing of No. 3 is executed, and the processing for reducing the consumption of toner, ink, and the like is executed for each page.

Further, considering that the overwrite image 5501 and the character information 5101 described in the fourth embodiment may be present on the same electronic blackboard screen 1400, one check box is used in the fourth and fourth embodiments. Alternatively, both image printing processes described in 5 may be executed together.

Each of the image printing processes (image printing methods) in the first to fifth embodiments described above is realized by executing a prepared program on the computer 104. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer 104. This program can be distributed via the recording medium or via a network.

In Embodiments 1 to 5, different image processing (image printing methods) have been described.
The execution of the image printing process described in the first to fifth embodiments can be set from the same print dialog box 3500, and the execution can be performed in any combination.

Further, in the first to fifth embodiments, the case where the image printing method according to the present invention is applied to an electronic blackboard system has been mainly described, but the image printing method according to the present invention is not limited to the electronic blackboard system. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that

[0233]

As described above, the image printing method of the present invention (claim 1) and the electronic blackboard system (claim 4)
Is set to change the color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, the color information of the largest image area to be filled with the same color information among the image data for one screen or one page to be output Is changed to white and printed on recording paper, so that the consumption of toner, ink and the like can be reduced efficiently.

The image printing method of the present invention (Claim 2)
When the electronic blackboard system (Claim 5) is set to change the color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, the electronic blackboard system corresponds to character information in one screen or one page of image data to be output. The color information of the image data to be output is changed to the color information of one specific color, and the color information of the image data for one screen or one page to be output, other than the character information and the outline, is excluded. Is changed to white and printed on recording paper, so that the consumption of toner, ink and the like can be reduced efficiently.

In addition, the image printing method of the present invention (Claim 3)
When the electronic blackboard system (Claim 7) is set to change the density information of the specific image data at the time of printing the image, the character information is excluded from the image data for one screen or one page to be output. Since the density information of the other image data is changed so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast and is printed on the recording paper, it is possible to efficiently reduce the consumption of toner, ink, and the like. Also,
The character information can be reliably read, and the consumption of toner, ink, and the like can be efficiently reduced without damaging the entire image of the image data.

In the electronic blackboard system of the present invention (claim 6), when setting to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, image data for one screen or one page to be output is set. Of the image data, the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image input via the touch input device is changed to the color information of one specific color, and the image data of one screen or one page to be output is selected. Since the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwritten image and the image data other than the outline is changed to white and printed on the recording paper, it is possible to efficiently reduce the consumption of toner and ink. . Further, the overwrite image can be reliably read, so that the consumption of toner, ink, and the like can be reduced efficiently.

In the electronic blackboard system of the present invention (claim 8), when setting to change the density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, the image data for one screen or one page to be output is set. Of the density information of the other image data except for the image data corresponding to the overwrite image input via the touch input device is changed so that the density is reduced while maintaining the overall contrast, and printed on recording paper. The amount of consumption of toner, ink, and the like can be reduced efficiently. Further, the overwritten image can be reliably read, and the amount of consumption of toner, ink, and the like can be reduced efficiently without damaging the entire image of the image data.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a touch input device included in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a shield tape provided between the PDP and a substrate of the touch input device in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of specifying coordinates of a touch position in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a computer (personal computer) constituting the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the housing unit that houses the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the front side.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the housing unit that houses the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the rear side.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the housing unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention as viewed from the right side.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is viewed from above the housing unit (the angle of the board unit is 5 degrees).

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is viewed from above the housing unit (the angle of the board unit is 0 degrees).

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram when the angle adjustment mechanism unit according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is viewed from the side of the housing unit.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram showing a modification of the angle adjustment mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram showing a modified example of the angle adjustment mechanism according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an electronic blackboard screen and a toolbar displayed on the PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an extended toolbar displayed on the PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a drawing toolbar displayed on the PDP together with the extended toolbar in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which a result of writing characters or lines by hand on the touch surface is displayed on the electronic blackboard screen on the PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention; is there.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which handwritten characters and lines displayed on the electronic blackboard screen are erased with an eraser in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a state in which, in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, a handwritten character or line displayed on the electronic blackboard screen is surrounded by a frame, and the character or line in the frame is erased at a time. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a straight line is drawn on the screen of the electronic blackboard in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a rectangle is drawn on the electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a grid is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a table is created on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an ellipse is drawn on an electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

25A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a graphic to be transformed is selected in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 25B is a diagram in which a graphic to be transformed is transformed; It is explanatory drawing which shows a situation.

26A is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a graphic to be moved is selected in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 26B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the selected graphic is moved; It is explanatory drawing which shows a situation.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an edit menu displayed when editing a drawn figure in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of opening a created file in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a process of opening a created file using a thumbnail image in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a computer screen and a capture toolbar displayed on the PDP in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a state in which a screen of a captured application program is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the captured application program screen is displayed as a background of the electronic blackboard screen and characters and the like are written thereon in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention; It is.

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a thumbnail display dialog box displaying a list of pages being created is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a block configuration diagram of a print processing unit in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print target in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart showing an image printing process when the “print the color of the maximum image area in white” check box is checked in the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result of printing by the image printing process shown in FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an image print processing result when the “print color of maximum image area in white” check box is checked in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen of the touch input device in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram illustrating network connection of the electronic blackboard system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print target in the electronic blackboard system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is an image printing process in the case where the “print characters in one color and print images other than characters and outlines in white” check box is checked in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a result of printing performed in the image printing process illustrated in FIG. 44;

FIG. 46 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print target in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 48: Image printing when the “Print overwrite image in one color and print images other than characters and outlines in white” check box is checked in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows a process.

FIG. 49 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result of printing by the image printing process shown in FIG. 48;

FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print target in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 52: “Print with reduced density of images other than characters” in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.
9 is a flowchart illustrating an image printing process when a check box is checked.

FIG. 53 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result of printing by the image printing process shown in FIG. 52;

FIG. 54 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a print dialog box is displayed in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a print target in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 56 is a flowchart showing image printing processing when the “Print with reduced density of image other than overwrite” check box is checked in the electronic blackboard system according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention.

FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a result of printing by the image printing process shown in FIG. 56;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Electronic blackboard system 101 Plasma display panel (PDP) 102 Touch input device 103 Controller for touch input device 104 Computer 105 Scanner 106 Printer 107 Network 108 Video player 200 Substrate 201 Touch surface (writing surface) 202, 206 Transducer 203, 207 Transducers for reception 204, 205, 208, 209 Reflection array 210 Cable 300 Shield tape 506 Electronic blackboard software 507 Touch panel driver 600 Housing unit 601 Panel section 602 Controller storage section 603 Stand 604 Equipment storage section 612 Computer storage section 613 Video storage section 614 Printer storage section 615 Keyboard stand 802 Angle adjustment mechanism section 3400 Printing processing unit 3401 print condition setting unit 3402 the image processing unit 3403 rendering unit 3404 printer driver 3500 Print dialog box 3506 print color setting field

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 3/12 G06F 3/12 L 13/00 13/00 H04N 1/00 H04N 1/00 H 1/46 1/46 Z

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An image printing method for changing color information or density information of specific image data of one screen or one page of image data to be output, and printing the image data. A setting step of setting whether or not to change the color information of the image data; and when the change is set through the setting step, of the image data for one screen or one page to be output, A maximum image area extraction step of extracting a maximum image area to be filled with the same color information; a change step of changing color information of the maximum image area extracted in the maximum image area extraction step to white; and a maximum image in the change step. A printing step of printing the image data for one screen or one page after changing the color information of the area on recording paper. 2. An image printing method for changing the color information or density information of specific image data of image data for one screen or one page to be output, and printing the image data. A setting step of setting whether or not to change the color information of the image data; and when the change is set through the setting step, of the image data for one screen or one page to be output, A character color changing step of changing the color information of the image data corresponding to the character information into color information of a specific one color; A changing step of changing the color information of the image data other than the character information and the outline out of the image data of one page to white; and the character color changing step and the first step after changing the color information in the changing step. screen Or image printing method comprising a printing step of printing one page of image data on recording paper, the. 3. An image printing method for changing the color information or density information of specific image data in image data for one screen or one page to be output, and printing the image data. A setting step of setting whether or not to change the density information of the image data; and when the change is set through the setting step, of the image data for one screen or one page to be output, A changing step of changing the density information of the image data other than the character information so as to reduce the density while maintaining the overall contrast; and a change for the one screen or one page after changing the density information in the changing step. A printing step of printing image data on a recording sheet. 4. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel surface provided on a front surface of the display device, a printing device for outputting image data to recording paper, and the touch input device. And a control device for performing display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on input from a computer. In an electronic blackboard system, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set via the setting means, for one screen to be output or A maximum image area extracting means for extracting a maximum image area filled with the same color information from image data of one page; Changing means for changing the color information of the maximum image area to white, wherein the printing apparatus changes the color information of the maximum image area by the changing means and outputs the image data for one screen or one page. An electronic blackboard system characterized by printing on a recording paper. 5. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel on the front of the display device, a printing device for outputting image data to recording paper, and the touch input device. And a control device for performing display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on input from a computer. In an electronic blackboard system, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set through the setting means, the output target for one screen is output. A character color changing unit for changing color information of image data corresponding to character information to color information of a specific one of image data of one page; Means for changing the color information of the image data other than the character information and the outline from the image data for one screen or one page to be output to white when the change is set via The printing apparatus prints, on a recording paper, the image data for one screen or one page after the color information has been changed by the character color changing unit and the changing unit. . 6. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel disposed on the front of the display device, a printing device for outputting image data to recording paper, and the touch input device. And a control device for performing display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on input from a computer. In an electronic blackboard system, setting means for setting whether or not to change color information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when the change is set through the setting means, the output target for one screen is output. Alternatively, of the image data for one page, the color information of the image data corresponding to the overwrite image input via the touch input device is changed to color information of a specific one color. A character color changing unit that changes the image data and an outline corresponding to the overwrite image among image data for one screen or one page to be output when the change is set through the setting unit. Changing means for changing the color information of the other image data to white except for the one screen or one page after the color information is changed by the character color changing means and the changing means. An electronic blackboard system for printing image data on recording paper. 7. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel disposed on the front surface of the display device, a printing device for outputting image data to recording paper, and the touch input device. And a control device for performing display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on input from a computer. In an electronic blackboard system, setting means for setting whether or not to change density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when a change is set via the setting means, for one screen to be output or Changed the density information of the image data other than the text information in one page of image data so that the density becomes lower while maintaining the overall contrast That a changing unit, wherein the printing device includes an electronic blackboard system characterized in that to print the image data of the one screen or one page after changing the density information with the changing means on a recording sheet. 8. A display device for displaying characters and images, a touch input device having a touch panel disposed on the front of the display device, a printing device for outputting image data to recording paper, and the touch input device. And a control device for performing display control of the display device and print control of the printing device based on input from a computer. In an electronic blackboard system, setting means for setting whether or not to change density information of specific image data at the time of printing an image, and when a change is set via the setting means, for one screen to be output or Density information of other image data of one page of image data except image data corresponding to an overwrite image input via the touch input device Changing means for changing the density to be low while maintaining the overall contrast, wherein the printing apparatus records the image data for one screen or one page after changing the density information by the changing means. An electronic blackboard system characterized by printing on paper.