EFFECTS MODULE FOR COMPACT PRINTER SYSTEM

Abstract: An effects module useful in a digital imaging system such as a compact printer system. The effects module includes an image processor that applies one or more effects to a stored image, which may be read from a printer module. The resultant image is written back to the printer module or another module able to store images. The effects module preferably incorporates two connection means. One or other of the connection means may connect to corresponding connection means on the printer module. The connection means includes a physical connection and a logical connection. The logical connection is a serial bus that communicates power and data. Buttons are provided to choose, select and apply different types and numbers of effects to the image read from the printer module. Feedback is provided via a LCD.

Description: EFFECTS MODULE FOR COMPACT PRINTER SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an effects module useful in a digital imaging system It is useful for applying effects to images pπor to pπnting m a compact pπnter system able to pπnt full-color, business card size documents from a device about the size of a pen Reference may be had to co-pending applications claiming pπoπty from Australian Provisional Patent Application number PQ0560 dated 25 May 1999 The co-pending applications descπbe related modules and methods for implementing the compact pπnter system The co-pending applications are as follows BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Microelectronic manufactuπng techniques have led to the miniatuπzation of numerous devices Mobile phones, personal digital assistant devices, and digital cameras are very common examples of the miniatuπzation trend One device that has not seen the advantage of microelectronic manufactuπng techniques is the pπnter Commercially available pπnters are large compared to many of the devices they could support For instance, it is impractical to carry a color pπnter for the purpose of instantly pπnting photographs taken with known compact digital cameras A compact pπnthead has been descπbed in co-pending Patent Cooperation Treaty applications filed simultaneously to the present application and hereby incorporated by cross reference It is known in some compact devices such as cameras to provide on-board processing to apply effects such as labels, for example the time and date It is even known to have facility to produce custom labels, although these are normally only simple text The problem with these known devices is that they are very limited in the range of effects provided. Furthermore, they are built in to the device and are therefore fixed. A more versatile approach to memory devices is desirable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form, the invention resides in an effects module comprising: a body; an image processor within said body that applies one or more effects to a stored image; at least one connection means incorporated in said body for connecting said effects module to a bus providing power and data between said effects module and said stored image. In a further form the invention resides in an effects module for a compact printer system comprising: a body; an image processor within said body that applies one or more effects to an image stored in a further module of said compact printer system; at least one connection means incorporated in said body for connecting said effects module to a bus providing power and data between said effects module and said further module. In a still further form the invention resides in a method of applying one or more effects to a stored image in a compact printer system comprising the steps of: reading said stored image from a first storage location to an image processor; applying a selected effect to said stored image; writing a resultant image to a second storage location. Further features of the invention will be evident from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to assist with describing preferred embodiments of the invention, reference will be made to the following figures in which: FIG 1 is a printer module; FIG 2 is a camera module; FIG 3 is a memory module; FIG 4 is a communication module; FIG 5 is a flash module; FIG 6 is a timer module; FIG 7 is a laser module; FIG 8 is an effects module; FIG 9 is a characters module; FIG 10 is an adaptor module; FIG 11 is a pen module; FIG 12 is a dispenser module; FIG 13 is a first compact printer configuration; FIG 14 is a second compact printer configuration; FIG 15 is a third compact pπnter configuration; FIG 16 is a fourth compact pπnter configuration, FIG 17 is a perspective view of the effects module, FIG 18 is an exploded view of the effects module, and FIG 19 is a block schematic diagram of a central processor chip for the effects module DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The invention is descπbed in terms of the application to a compact pπnter system It will be understood that the invention is not limited to this particular application but rather can be employed with any digital imaging system Nonetheless, the compact pπnter system provides a convenient environment in which to descπbe the details of the effects module invention Referπng to FIGs 1 to 12, there are shown vaπous modules that together form a compact pπnter system Individual modules can be attached and detached from the compact pπnter configuration to allow a user-definable solution to business-card sized pπnUng Images can also be transferred from one compact pnnter to another without the use of a secondary computer system Modules have a minimal user-interface to allow straightforward interaction A compact pπnter system configuration consists of a number of compact pπnter modules connected together Each compact pπnter module has a function that contπbutes to the overall functionality of the particular compact pπnter configuration Each compact pπnter module is typically shaped like part of a pen, physically connecting with other compact pπnter modules to form the complete pen-shaped device The length of the compact pπnter device depends on the number and type of compact pπnter modules connected The functionality of a compact pπnter configuration depends on the compact pπnter modules in the given configuration The compact pπnter modules connect both physically and logically The physical connection allows modules to be connected any order, and the logical connection is taken care of by the compact pπnter Seπal Bus - a bus that provides power, allows the modules to self configure and provides for the transfer of data In terms of physical connection, most compact pπnter modules consist of a central body, a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other Since most modules have both a male and female connector, the modules can typically be connected in any order Certain modules only have a male or a female connector, but this is determined by the function of the module Adaptor modules allow these single-connector modules to be connected at either end of a given compact pπnter configuration A four wire physical connection between all the compact pπnter modules provides the logical connection between them in the form of the compact pπnter Seπal Bus The compact pπnter Seπal Bus provides power to each module, and provides the means by which data is transferred between modules Importantly, the compact pπnter Seπal Bus and accompanying protocol provides the means by which the compact pπnter system auto-configures, reducing the user-interface burden on the end-user Compact pπnter modules can be grouped into three types • image processing modules including a Pπnter Module (FIG 1), a Camera Module (FIG 2), and a Memory Module (FIG 3) Image processing modules are pnmaπly what sets the compact pπnter system apart from other pen-like devices Image processing modules capture, pπnt, store or manipulate photographic images, • housekeeping modules including an Adapter Module (FIG 10), an Effects Module (FIG 8), a Communications Module (FIG 4), and a Timer Module (FIG 6) Housekeeping modules provide services to other modules or extended functionality to other modules, and • isolated modules including a Pen Module (FIG 11) and a Laser Module (FIG 7) Isolated modules are those that attach to the compact pπnter system but are completely independent of any other module They do not necessaπly require power, and may even provide their own power Isolated Modules are defined because the functionality they provide is typically incorporated into other pen-like devices Although housekeeping modules and isolated modules are useful components in a compact pπnter system, they are extras in a system dedicated to image processing and photographic manipulation Life size (1 1) illustrations of the compact pπnter modules are shown in FIGs 1 to 12, and example configurations produced by connecting vaπous modules together are shown in FIGs 13 to 16 FIG 1 shows a pπnter module that incorporates a compact pπnthead descπbed in co-pending United States Patent Applications listed in the Background section of this application, incorporated herewith by reference, and referred to herewith as a Memjet pπnthead The Memjet pπnthead is a drop-on-demand 1600 dpi mkjet pπnter that produces bi- level dots in up to 4 colors to produce a pπnted page of a particular width Since the pπnlhead pπnts dots at 1600 dpi, each dot is approximately 22 5μm in diameter, and spaced 15 875μm apart Because the pπnting is bi-level, the input image should be dithered or error-diffused for best results Typically a Memjet pπnthead for a particular application is page- width This enables the pπnthead to be stationary and allows the paper to move past the pπnthead A Memjet pπnthead is composed of a number of identical 1/2 inch Memjet segments The pπnter module 10 compπses a body 11 housing the Memjet pπnthead Power is supplied by a three volt battery housed in battery compartment 12 The pπnthead is activated to commence pπnting when a business card (or similar sized pπntable media) is inserted into slot 13 Male connector 14 and female connector 15 facilitate connection of other modules to the pπnter module 10 FIG 2 shows a camera module 20 The camera module provides a po t-and-shoot camera component to the compact pπnter system as a means of captuπng images The camera module compπses a body 21 having a female connector 22 A lens 23 directs an image to an image sensor and specialized image processing chip within the camera 24 A conventional view finder 25 is provided as well as a lens cap 26 An image is captured when the Take button 27 is pushed Captured images are transferred to the Pπnter Module 10 for subsequent pπnting, manipulation, or storage. The Camera Module also contains a self-timer mode similar to that found on regular cameras FIG 3 shows a Memory Module 30 compπsmg a body 31 , LCD 32, IN button 33, OUT button 34 and SELECT button 35 The Memory Module 30 is a standard module used for stoπng photographic images captured by the Camera 20 The memory module stores 48 images, each of which can be accessed either at full resolution or at thumbnail resolution Full resolution provides read and wπte access to individual images, and thumbnail resolution provides read access to 16 images at once in thumbnail form The Memory Module 30 attaches to other modules via a female connector 36 or male connector 37 The male and female connectors allow the module to be connected at either end of a configuration Power may be provided from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Seπal Bus or from a separate power source, such as a power module A Communications Module 40 is shown in FIG 4 The communications module 40 consists of a connector 41 and a cable 42 that terminates in an appropπate connector for a computer port, such as a USB port, RS232 seπal port or parallel port The Communications Module 40 allows the compact pπnter system to be connected to a computer When so connected, images can be transferred between the computer and the vaπous modules of the compact pπnter system The communications module allows captured images to be downloaded to the computer, and new images for pπnting to be uploaded into the pπnter module 10 and the memory module 30 A Flash Module 50 is shown in FIG 5 The Flash Module 50 is used to generate a flash with flash cell 51 when taking photographs with the Camera Module 20 The Flash Module attaches to other modules via female connector 52 and male connector 53 It contains its own power source The Flash Module is automatically selected by the Camera Module when required A simple switch allows the Flash Module to be explicitly turned off to maximize battery life FIG 6 shows a Timer Module 60 that is used to automate the taking of multiple photos with the Camera Module 20, each photo separated by a specific time interval The captured photos are stored in Memory Module 30 Any flash requirements are handled by the Camera Module 20, and can therefore be ignored by the Timer Module The Timer Module 60 consists of a body 61 housing a LCD 62, START/STOP button 63 and UNITS button 64 A SELECT button 65 allows the user to select time units and the number of units are set by UNITS button 64 The Timer Module 60 includes a male connector 66 and female connector 67 The Timer Module takes its power from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Seπal Bus or from a separate power source, such as a power module A Laser Module 70 is shown in FIG 7 The Laser Module 70 consists of a body 71 containing a conventional laser pointer operated by button 72 As the Laser Module is a terminal module it only has one connector, which in the example is a male connector 73 The Laser Module is an isolated module, in that it does not perform any image capture, storage, or processing It exists as a functional addition to the compact pπnter system It is provided because laser pointer services are typically incorporated into other pen-like devices The Laser Module contains its own power supply and does not appear as a device on the Seπal Bus The Effects Module shown in FIG 8 is an image processing module It allows a user to select a number of effects and applies them to the current image stored in the Pπnter Module 10 or other module having an image store The effects include borders, clip-art, captions, warps, color changes, and painting styles The Effects Module compπses a body 81 housing custom electronics and an optional LCD 82 The LCD is optional as data from the Effects Module can be transferred to another module for display A CHOOSE button 83 allows a user to choose between a number of different types of effects A SELECT button 84 allows the user to select one effect from the number of effects of the chosen type Pressing the APPLY button 85 applies the effect to an image stored in memory in the Pπnter Module 10, the Memory Module 30 or any other module that stores an image The Effects Module obtains power from the Seπal Bus Male connector 86 and female connector 87 allow the Effects Module to be connected to other compact pπnter system modules FIG 9 shows a Character Module 90 that is a special type of Effects Module (descπbed above) that only contains character clip-art effects of a given topic or genre. Examples include The Simpsons ® , Star Wars ® , Batman ® , and Dilbert ® as well as company specific modules for McDonalds ® etc. As such it is an image processing module. It consists of a body 91 housing custom electronics and a LCD 92. SELECT button 93 allows the user to choose the effect that is to be applied with APPLY button 94 The Character Module obtains power from the Seπal Bus through male connector 95 and female connector 96 The Adaptor Module 100, shown in FIG 10, is a female/female connector that allows connection between two modules that terminate in male connectors A male/male connector (not shown) allows connection between two modules that terminate in female connectors The Adaptor Module is a housekeeping module, in that it facilitates the use of other modules, and does not perform any specific processing of its own All "through" modules have a male connector at one end, and a female connector at the other end The modules can therefore be chained together, with each module connected at either end of the chain However some modules, such as the Laser Module 70, are terminating modules, and therefore have either a male or female connector only Such single- connector modules can only be connected at one end of the chain If two such modules are to be connected at the one time, an Adaptor Module 100 is required FIG 11 shows a Pen Module 110 which is a pen in a module form It is an isolated module in that it attaches to the compact pπnter system but is completely independent of any other module It does not consume or require any power The Pen Module is defined because it is a convenient extension of a pen shaped, pen sized device It may also come with a cap 111 The cap may be used to keep terminating connectors clean in the case where the chain ends with a connector rather than a terminating module To assist with accurately feeding a business card sized pπnt media into slot 13 of the pπnter module 10, a dispenser module 120 is provided as shown in FIG 12 The dispenser module 120 compπses a body 121 that holds a store of business card sized pπnt media A Pπnter Module 10 locates into socket 122 on the dispenser module 120 When correctly aligned, a card dispensed from the dispenser module by slider 123 enters slot 13 and is pπnted In the sense that a minimum configuration compact pnnter system must be able to pπnt out photos, a minimum compact pπnter configuration contains at least a Pπnter Module 10 The Pπnter Module holds a single photographic image that can be pπnted out via its Memjet pπnter It also contains the 3V battery required to power the compact pπnter system In this minimum configuration, the user is only able to pπnt out photos Each time a user inserts a business card 130 into the slot in the Pπnter Module, the image in the Pπnter Module is pπnted onto the card The same image is pπnted each time a business card is inserted into the pπnter In this minimum configuration there is no way for a user to change the image that is pπnted The dispenser module 120 can be used to feed cards 130 into the Pπnter Module with a minimum of fuss, as shown in FIG 13 By connecting a Camera Module 20 to the minimum configuration compact pπnter system the user now has an instant pπnting digital camera in a pen, as shown in FIG 14 The Camera Module 20 provides the mechanism for captunng images and the Pπnter Module 10 provides the mechanism for pπntmg them out The battery in the Pπnter Module provides power for both the camera and the pπnter When the user presses the "Take" button 27 on the Camera Module 20, the image is captured by the camera 24 and transferred to the Pπnter Module 10 Each time a business card is inserted into the pπnter the captured image is pπnted out If the user presses "Take" on the Camera Module again, the old image in the Pπnter Module is replaced by the new image If the Camera Module is subsequently detached from the compact pπnter system, the captured image remains m the Pπnter Module, and can be pπnted out as many times as desired The Camera Module is simply there to capture images to be placed in the Pπnter Module FIG 15 shows a further configuration in which a Memory Module 30 is connected to the configuration of FIG 14 In the embodiment of FIG 15, the user has the ability to transfer images between the Pπnter Module 10 and a storage area contained m the Memory Module 30 The user selects the image number on the Memory Module, and then either sends that image to the Pπnter Module (replacing whatever image was already stored there), or bπngs the current image from the Pπnter Module to the specified image number in the Memory Module The Memory Module also provides a way of sending sets of thumbnail images to the Pπnter Module Multiple Memory Modules can be included m a given system, extending the number of images that can be stored A given Memory Module can be disconnected from one compact pπnter system and connected to another for subsequent image pπnting With the Camera Module 20 attached to a Memory Module/Pπnter Module compact pπnter system, as shown in FIG 15, the user can "Take" an image with the Camera Module, then transfer it to the specified image number in the Memory Module The captured images can then be pπnted out in any order By connecting a Communications Module 40 to the minimum configuration compact pπnter system, the user gains the ability to transfer images between a PC and the compact pπnter system FIG 16 shows the configuration of FIG 15 with the addition of a Communications Module 40 The Communications Module makes the Pπnter Module 10 and any Memory Modules 30 visible to an external computer system This allows the download or uploading of images The communications module also allows computer control of any connected compact pπnter modules, such as the Camera Module 20 Each module is visible on the Seπal Bus Each module is self identifying and self-configuπng using standard USB protocols Apart from the standard protocol functions (including identification), there are a number of functions to which each module is also capable of responding These are outlined in Table 1 Each module also has a number of module-specific functions These commends allow the modules to be controlled by an external device, such as a personal computer, and by other modules Table 1 Basic Module Functions Name | Descπption The 8-bit mode returned by GetlmageAccessMethods is interpreted as follows: The 8-bit mode used for image read and write access via Getlmage, Storelmage and Transferlmage is interpreted as follows: In some situations, certain modules may be configured without the printer module. For example, it may be convenient to configure a camera module 20 and a memory module 30 for capturing and storing images for later printing by the printer module 10. The timer module 60 and the flash module 50 may be added to the camera module 20 and memory module 30 to produce a digital camera having many of the features of a conventional camera. Additional memory modules can easily be added to provide virtually unlimited memory storage. An Effects Module may be added to apply effects to stored images for later printing. The above commands allow images to be transferred to and from the modules without going through the printer module. For example, the Memory Module 30 can act under control of the Timer Module 60 to transfer a captured image from the Camera Module 20 to the Memory Module 30 using the Transferlmage command. The Camera Module 20 will have a module specific 'capture' command for captuπng an image The Effects Module will have module specific commands for applying selected effects to an image In the general case, the Pπnter Module holds the "current" image, and the other modules function with respect to this central repository of the current image The Pπnter Module is therefore the central location for image interchange in the compact pπnter system, and the Pπnter Module provides a service to other modules as specified by user interaction A given module may act as an image source It therefore has the ability to transfer an image to the Pπnter Module A different module may act as an image store It therefore has the ability to read the image from the Pπnter Module Some modules act as both image store and image source These modules can both read images from and wπte images to the Pπnter Module's current image The standard image type has a single conceptual definition The image definition is deπved from the physical attπbutes of the pπnthead used in the Pπnter Module The pπnthead is 2 inches wide and pπnts at 1600dpi in cyan, magenta and yellow bi-level dots Consequently a pπnted image from the compact pπnter system is 3200 bi-level dots The compact pπnter system pπnts on business card sized pages (85mm x 55mm) Since the pnnthead is 2 inches wide, the business cards are pπnted such that 1 line of dots is 2 inches 2 inches is 50 8mm, leaving a 2mm edge on a standard business-card sized page The length of the image is deπved from the same card size with a 2mm edge Consequently the pπnted image length is 81 mm, which equals 5100 1600dpi dots The pπnted area of a page is therefore 81mm x 51mm, or 5100 x 3200 dots To obtain an integral contone to bi-level ratio a contone resolution of 267 ppi (pixels per inch) is chosen This yields a contone CMY page size of 850 x 534, and a contone to bi-level ratio of 1 6 in each dimension This ratio of 1 6 provides no perceived loss of quality since the output image is bi-level The pπnthead pπnts dots in cyan, magenta, and yellow ink The final output to the pπnted page must therefore be in the gamut of the pπnthead and take the attπbutes of the inks into account It would at first seem reasonable to use the CMY color space to represent images However, the pπnter's CMY color space does not have a linear response This is definitely true of pigmented inks, and partially true for dye-based inks The individual color profile of a particular device (input and output) can vary considerably Image capture devices (such as digital cameras) typically work in RGB (red green blue) color space, and each sensor will have its own color response characteπstics Consequently, to allow for accurate conversion, as well as to allow for future image sensors, inks, and pπnters, the CIE L*a*b* color model [CIE, 1986, CIE 15 2 Coloπmetry Technical Report (2 nd Edition), Commission Internationale De l'Eclairage] is used for the compact pπnter system L*a*b* is well defined, perceptually linear, and is a superset of other traditional color spaces (such as CMY, RGB, and HSV) The Pπnter Module must therefore be capable of converting L*a*b* images to the particular pecu aπties of its CMY color space However, since the compact pπnter system allows for connectivity to PCs, it is quite reasonable to also allow highly accurate color matching between screen and pπnter to be performed on the PC However the pπnter dnver or PC program must output L*a*b* Each pixel of a compact pπnter image is therefore represented by 24 bits 8 bits each of L*, a*, and b* The total image size is therefore 1,361,700 bytes (850 x 534 x 3) Each image processing module is able to access the image stored in the Pπnter Module The access is either to read the image from the Pπnter Module, or to wπte a new image to the Pπnter Module The communications protocol for image access to the Pπnter Module provides a choice of internal image organization Images can be accessed either as 850 x 534 or as 534 x 850 They can also be accessed in interleaved or planar format When accessed as interleaved, each pixel in the image is read or wπtten as 24 bits 8 bits each of L*, a*, b* When accessed as planar, each of the color planes can be read or wπtten independently The entire image of L* pixels, a* pixels or b* pixels can be read or wπtten at a time The Effects Module 80 is an image processing module It allows a user to select a number of effects and applies them to the current image in the Pπnter Module 10 The effects include borders, clip-art, captions, warps, color changes, and painting styles FIG 17 shows a magnified perspective view of the Effects Module 80, as previously descπbed with reference to FIG 8 As shown in FIG 17, the optional LCD 82 is showing all segments active It is convenient to include the LCD the module but as all data can be available on the seπal bus it would be possible to configure a single LCD module that could display information from any module FIG 18 shows an exploded view of the Effects Module 80 The Effects Module compπses a LCD 82 mounted on a flexible pπnted circuit board (PCB) 300 Also formed on the PCB 300 is an image processor that is suitably an application specific integrated circuit known as the Effects Module Central Processor (EMCP) 350 The SELECT button 84 is a double button and operates in the manner of a known rocker switch to increment or decrement the effect number Selections made using the SELECT button 84 are communicated to the PCB 300 via contact 301 The flexible PCB 300 is mounted on a support 303 of chassis molding 302 In the prefeπed embodiment the PCB 300 is mounted such that the LCD 82 lies substantially parallel with a front face 304 of the support 303 The flexible PCB 300 passes over the support such that the EMCP 350 lies substantially parallel with a back face 305 of the support 303 The flexible PCB 300 passes under the EMCP and extends away from the base 306 of the chassis molding 302 The contact 301 conforms to a curved edge of the support 303 allowing the base of SELECT button 84 to he substantially parallel with a side face 310 of the support The male bayonet connector 86 compπses a cap molding 307, a latch stπp 308 and a plurality of contact stπps 309 The upper end of the cap molding is essentially dome-shaped and compπses two holes 311 positioned diametπcally opposite each other The holes 311 are pos oned and shaped to receive the folded ends 312 of latch stπp 308 The lower end of the cap molding 307 compπses an elongated section 313 that is shaped to carry contact stπps 309 The contact stπps extend from the upper end of the cap molding, where they form part of the male connector 86, to the bottom of the elongated section 313 The bottom of the elongated section fits into a recess 314 in the base 306 of the chassis molding such that the contact stπps 309 form part of the female bayonet connector 87 Raised portions 315 of the contact stπps 309 fit into an aperture 316 in the elongated section 313 of the cap molding Contacts on the flexible PCB 300 mate with the raised portions 315 to make contact with the Seπal Bus The CHOOSE button 83 and the APPLY button 85 are incorporated m a molding 317 A contact in the base of the molding for each button connects with the PCB 300 when one or other of the buttons is pressed The internal components of the Effects Module 80 are contained within a metal extrusion 318 that compπses a plurality of apertures It is clear from FIG 18 the manner in which the buttons 83, 84 and 85, and the male connector 86 protrude from the extrusion through the associated apertures to perform their function A fascia molding 319 clips into the aperture 320 and provides a protective cover for the LCD 82 The Effects Module 80 connects to a compact pπnter configuration via the male connector 86 or the female connector 87 Either the male or the female bayonet connector joins the Effects Module to the Seπal Bus via contact stπps 309 Power may be provided to the Effects Module from the Pπnter Module 10 via the Seπal Bus Alternatively, the Effects Module may be connected to a compact pπnter configuration via both the male and female bayonet connectors An example of this pπnciple is shown in FIG 16 where the Memory Module 30 is connected via both its male and female connectors The Effects Module may be used to select an effect and then to apply that effect to the current image in the Pπnter Module 10 or in the Memory Module 30 The LCD 82 provides feedback in the form of an effect type 321 and number 322. and an animated thermometer 323 that is shown while the effect is being applied to the image Pressing the CHOOSE button 83 cycles through the effect types Each effect type has its own LCD icon and a current effect number The effect types are borders, clip-art, captions, warps, color changes, and painting styles These effects can be combined in any way and in any order Pressing the SELECT button 84 increments or decrements the effect number The effect number is visible on the LCD screen Ideally each effect type has 100 effects (although this is not stπctly required) The Effects Module stores the current effect number for each effect type so that the next time the effect type is chosen the previously used effect number is selected Once the desired effect type and effect number have been chosen, the effect can be applied to the image currently in the Pπnter Module 10 or Memory Module 30 This is done by pressing the APPLY button 85 below the LCD As the image is being read, the effect applied, and resultant image wπtten back, a seπes of animated segments appears on the left side of the LCD to form a thermometer-style status bar 323 The proportion of segments displayed is the proportion of the work that has been completed so far The user knows that the effect has been applied once all the segments have been displayed Effects can also be applied to images external to the compact pπnter system The Communications Module 40 allows the Effects Module 80 to be connected directly to a personal computer The personal computer may then use the commands descπbed above to command the Effects Module to apply a specific effect, or number of effects, to an image supplied from memory in the personal computer The user must consult a manual to determine the correspondence between effect and effect number To apply multiple effects to an image a user simply applies each effect one at a time The order may be important if a specific end image is desired For example, adding a border and then warping the image will produce a different result to warpmg the image followed by adding a border Image borders can range from simple white to elaborate and complex designs Some borders incorporate the image, but the majoπty of borders and frames are straightforward, consisting of one image being overlaid over another Clip-art consist of photographic and stylized cartoon characters and images inserted into the image at a specific location The characters and clip-art included in a general Effects Module would require little or no licensing Examples include clowns, action figures, smiley faces, ugly faces, animals and specific objects Captions consist of speech bubbles, lines of text or other textual effects applied to an image Examples include "Happy Birthday'", "How old are you 9 ", "It was this big'", "Wow 1 ", "Help 1 " No effort is made to inteφret the image before the caption is added For a given effect number a specific caption is added at a specific fixed place in the image Captions are overlaid as graphics Therefore they can include anything and be in any language, any color combination, and be in multiple fonts The user is unable to change any part of the caption or style - the caption is simply added to the image A choice between 100 captions is envisaged Images can be warped using the Waφ effect type Each waφ effect number affects a fixed area of the image, which can be the entire image, or a limited part of the image As with other effect modes, no effort is made to inteφret the image before the waφ is applied For a given effect number, the specific waφ is added at a specific fixed place in the image Some waφs are specifically designed to affect a face image, although there is no specific face detection mechanism Instead, the waφ is applied to the part of the image where the face should be For these waφs, the effect is applied to the relevant part of the image irrespective of whether a face is present in that part of the image It is often desirable to transform an image in terms of color Simple color effects include removal of color to produce a grey-scale image or a sepia tone image More complex effects include exaggeration of certain colors, substitution of one color for another and the like The painting styles effect mode lets the user apply a painting style to an image For example, an image can be changed into an impressionist drawing of the oπginal, or drawn with a vaπety of brush strokes from a limited color palette Painting styles also includes limited tiling effects These painting styles do not utilize lighting calculations Certain types of metallic or bump-map based painting effects are therefore not possible As mentioned above, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) may be configured as the Effects Module Central Processor (EMCP) 350 The elements of the EMCP 350 are shown in FIG 1 The elements of the EMCP are descπbed in detail in a co-pending application titled Effects Processor for Effects Module It is envisaged that alternatives to an ASIC known in the art, such as a VLSI, may be used to configure the EMCP The EMCP 350 is a single chip containing a standard RISC processor core 351 with DSP 352 for fast integer multiplication and a small memory The EMCP 350 includes a ROM 353 for software and data storage and RAM 354 for vaπable storage Bus interface 355 communicates with the Seπal Bus for transfer of an image to and from the Effects Module 80 Also included in the EMCP is a memory decoder 356 and parallel interface 357 (that communicates with the LCD and vaπous buttons) The EMCP need not contain memory for stoπng an image since the image is retπeved from an image source, has the effect applied and is returned to the image source Nonetheless, local memory may be provided for image storage if desired The software running on the EMCP is a limited subset of the VARK language and a lookup table of VARK scπpts as descπbed in co-pending United States Patent Applications whose USSNs are as follows Since the effects are coupled with the VARK implementation, there is no specific future-proofing required The combination of the Effects Module 80 with the Pπnter Module 10 constitutes a minimum compact pπnter system that allows one or more effects to be applied to an image stored in the Pπnter Module and pπnted directly The combination of the Memory Module 30 with a Camera Module 20 constitutes a digital imaging system This combination allows an image captured by the Camera Module to be stored in the Memory Module Throughout the specification the aim has been to descπbe the preferred embodiments of the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize vaπations from the specific embodiments that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention

Claims: CLAIMS 1 An effects module compπsing a body, an image processor within said body that applies one or more effects to a stored image, at least one connection means incorporated in said body for connecting said effects module to a bus providing power and data between said effects module and said stored image 2 The effects module of claim 1 having two or more connection means incorporated in said body, at least one connection means connecting said effects module to at least said stored image 3 The effects module of claim 1 having two or more connection means incorporated in said body including a first connection means connectable to said stored image and a second connection means connectable to further modules in a stackable manner The effects module of claim 1 having two or more connection means incorporated in said body, said two or more connection means providing through connection to said stored image and one or more further modules of a compact pπnter system 5 The effects module of claim 1 wherein the image processor includes means for retπeving the stored image from a first image store, means for applying said one or more effects to said stored image, and means for transferπng a resultant image to a second image store The effects module of claim 1 further compπsing a LCD within said body, said LCD being connected to said image processor and providing information about said effects The effects module of claim 6 wherein said LCD is capable of displaying a plurality of icons indicative of effect type, effect number and effect application status The effects module of claim 1 further compπsing a CHOOSE button to cycle through a plurality of effect types The effects module of claim 1 further compπsing a SELECT button to increment or decrement an effect number 0 The effects module of claim 1 further compπsing an APPLY button to apply a selected effect to said stored image 1 The effects module of claim 1 wherein said effects are borders, clip-art, captions, waφs, color changes, and painting styles 2 The effects module of claim 1 wherein said at least one connection means compπses a male bayonet fitting providing physical connection between said effects module and a module stoπng said stored image 3 The effects module of claim 1 wherein said at least one connection means compπses a female bayonet fitting providing physical connection between said effects module and a module stoπng said stored image 4 The effects module of claim 1 wherein said bus is a Seπal Bus 5 The effects module of claim 1 wherein said bus enables said effects module to be controlled externally allowing said one or more effects to be applied to external stored images 6 An effects module for a compact pπnter system compπsing a body, an image processor within said body that applies one or more effects to an image stored in a further module of said compact pπnter system, at least one connection means incorporated m said body for connecting said effects module to a bus providing power and data between said effects module and said further module 7 The effects module of claim 16 wherein said further module is a pπnter module 8 The effects module of claim 16 wherein said further module is a memory module 19. A method of applying one or more effects to a stored image in a compact printer system compπsing the steps of: reading said stored image from a first storage location to an image processor; applying a selected effect to said stored image; writing a resultant image to a second storage location. 20. The method of claim 19 wherein said first storage location and said second storage location is a pnnter module of said compact pπnter system. 21. The method of claim 19 wherein said first storage location is a memory module of said compact pπnter system and said second storage location is a printer module of said compact printer system.

Inventors: LAPSTUN PAUL, SILVERBROOK KIA, WALMSLEY SIMON ROBERT, LAPSTUN, PAUL, SILVERBROOK, KIA, WALMSLEY, SIMON, ROBERT
Applicants: LAPSTUN PAUL, SILVERBROOK KIA, SILVERBROOK RES PTY LTD, WALMSLEY SIMON ROBERT, LAPSTUN, PAUL, SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY. LTD., SILVERBROOK, KIA, WALMSLEY, SIMON, ROBERT
Application year: 2000
Main classification: G06T5
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J13, B41J23, B41J29, H04N1, H04N5