Patent Publication Number: US-2006007503-A1

Title: Image editing apparatus, and image editing method and program

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to an image editing apparatus, an image editing method and a program, and more particularly to an image editing apparatus, an image editing method and a program that can insert a date into an image in which a subject is photographed.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Conventionally, techniques are known in which the photography date is inserted into the photographed image at the time of printing and a photo print is created when a photographed image to be printed is received from a customer (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-224793 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-10066). For example, the year, month, and day of photography are inserted into a corner of the photographed image and the photo print is created.  
      On the other hand, a variety of photographic devices are provided in which the photography date is written into the photographed image in advance at the time of photographing.  
      However, if the date is already inserted into a photographed image by the photographic device at the time of photographing the subject, the date may be inserted in duplicate by inserting the date into the photographed image by the printer at the time of printing. In the case in which the date is inserted in duplicate, if the dates are inserted at displaced positions at the time of photographing and the time of printing, a photographic print may be created that has a poor appearance, or a photographic print may be created in which the date is unrecognizable.  
      In order to avoid such a duplicate insertion of the date, generally, while displaying on a monitor one by one each image which is to be printed, the operator must perform an operation to reject the function which inserts the date to the photographed image if the date has already been inserted to the image.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is contrived in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an image editing apparatus, an image editing method and a program that can output an image avoiding duplicate insertion of the date without requiring an extra operation.  
      In order to attain the aforementioned object, the present invention is directed to an image editing apparatus comprising: an image input device to which an image photographed by a predetermined photographic device is inputted; a date presence determination device which determines whether or not a date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device; a date insertion device which has a capacity of inserting a date into the image having been inputted to the image input device; an image output device which outputs the image inputted to the image input device; and a control device which determines whether or not to control the date insertion device to insert the date according to a result determined by the date presence determination device, wherein if the control device determines to control the date insertion device to insert the date, the control device controls the image output device to output the image in which the date has been inserted by the date insertion device.  
      In order to clearly differentiate the subject of inserting the date in the claims, it should be noted that the term “enter” is used for inserting the date carried out by the photographic device, and that the term “insert” is used as it is for inserting the date carried out by the image editing apparatus according to the present invention.  
      Furthermore, there are various modes of inserting the date. For example, sometimes the insertion order may be year, month, day, and sometimes it may be day, month, year, but the insertion is not limited to those orders in particular. The hour and minute may be inserted along with the year, month, and day. Sometimes, the hour, minute and second may be inserted along with the year, month, and day. It is also possible that only the month and day are inserted. In addition, it is also possible that the day of the week is inserted.  
      Herein, the “date” that is inserted is specifically an image that indicates the date (i.e. a date image). The insertion of the date image is carried out, for example, by superimposing the date image on a portion of an image that is obtained by photographing a subject with a photographic device (photographed image). The present invention is not particularly limited to the case in which a date image is inserted by superimposing.  
      By this configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not a date is present that has been entered by the photographic device into the image photographed by the photographic device, and to control the image output device to output an image in which the date has been inserted by the date insertion device according to the result of the determination. Therefore, it is possible to output an image, and to avoid duplicate insertion of the date without an extra operation at the time of image output.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus wherein if the date presence determination device determines that the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device controls the date insertion device to insert the date into the image having been inputted to the image input device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: a date erasure device capable of erasing a date from the image having been inputted to the image input device, wherein if the date presence determination device determines that the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device controls the date erasure device to erase the date which has been entered by the photographic device from the image having been inputted to the image input device, and controls the date insertion device to insert the date into the image that the date which has been entered by the photographic device is erased by the date erasure device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus wherein if the date presence determination device determines that no date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device controls the date insertion device to insert the date into the image having been inputted to the image input device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: an order information obtaining device which obtains order information indicating whether or not there is an order for inserting the date, wherein if there is no order for inserting the date according to the order information, the control device controls the date insertion device not to insert the date into the image having been inputted to the image input device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising an order information obtaining device which obtains order information indicating whether or not there is an order for inserting the date, wherein if there is no order for inserting the date according to the order information, the control device controls the date insertion device not to insert the date into the image having been inputted to the image input device; and controls the date erasure device to erase the date which has been entered by the photographic device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus wherein if the date presence determination device determines that the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device controls the image output device to output the image without inserting the date by the date insertion device; and if the date presence determination device determines that no date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device controls the image output device to output the image that the date has been inserting by the date insertion device in the image having been inputted to the image input device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus wherein: if the date presence determination device determines that the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image having been inputted to the image input device, the control device determines a visibility of the date according to a difference in color between the date which is entered by the photographic device and a peripheral area thereof; and if the control device determines that the visibility of the date which has been entered by the photographic device is lower than a prescribed threshold value, the control device controls the date insertion device to insert the date into the image having been inputted to the image input device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: a date information obtaining device which obtains at least one of date information in a header appended to the image, and date information in a photography information file associated with an image file containing the image, wherein the date insertion device inserts the date according to the date information which is obtained by the date information obtaining device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: a storage device which stores table information including information related to the date which has been entered by the photographic device in accordance with a model of the photographic device, and a model information obtaining device which obtains at least one of model information in a header appended to the image, and model information in a photography information file associated with an image file containing the image, wherein the date presence determination device determines whether or not the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present according to the model information which is obtained by the model information obtaining device, and the table information.  
      Preferably, the table information includes at least one of a position, a color, and a character shape of the date which are entered by the photographic device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus wherein the image output device carries out at least one of a process which outputs the image to a predetermined printer, and a process which records the image on a predetermined recording medium.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: an output target range extraction device which extracts an image of an output target range from the image having been inputted to the image input device, wherein: the date presence determination device determines whether or not the date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image of the output target range; and the date insertion device inserts the date into the image of the output target range according to a result determined by the date presence determination device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising: a portrait/landscape photography determination device which determines whether the image having been inputted to the image input device is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image, wherein the date insertion device conforms a vertical orientation of the date to be inserted in the image to the vertical orientation of the image, according to a result determined by the portrait/landscape photography determination device.  
      The present invention is also directed to the image editing apparatus further comprising a date correction device which corrects an incorrect photography date which has been entered by the photographic device to a correct photography date.  
      In order to attain the aforementioned object, the present invention is directed to an image editing method comprising the steps of: inputting an image which is photographed by a predetermined photographic device; determining whether or not a date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting; determining whether or not to insert a date into the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting according to a result of the step of determining a date presence; and inserting the date into the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting, if determining to insert the date into the image at the step of determining a date insertion.  
      In order to attain the aforementioned object, the present invention is directed to a computer readable medium having embodied thereon a computer program for processing by a compute, the computer program comprising: a first code segment for a step of inputting an image which is photographed by a predetermined photographic device; a second code segment for a step of determining whether or not a date which has been entered by the photographic device is present in the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting; a third code segment for a step of determining whether or not a date is inserted into the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting according to a result of the step of determining a date presence; and a fourth code segment for a step of inserting the date into the image which has been inputted at the step of inputting, if determining that the date is to be inserted into the image at the step of determining a date insertion.  
      The present invention is also directed to the medium wherein the medium is a propagated signal. The present invention is also directed to the medium wherein the propagated signal is a carrier wave.  
      As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to output an image in which duplicate insertion of the date is avoided without an extra operation being required. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      The nature of this invention, as well as other objects and advantages thereof, will be explained in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures and wherein:  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of a printer control device according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a diagram showing date information and model information described in a header of an image file according to the embodiment;  
       FIG. 3  is a diagram showing table information relating to date insertion according to the embodiment;  
       FIG. 4  is a plan view showing an example of a date region according to the embodiment;  
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process according to a first embodiment of the present invention according to the embodiment;  
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process according to a second embodiment of the present invention according to the embodiment;  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process according to a third embodiment of the present invention according to the embodiment; and  
       FIG. 8  is a plan view showing an example of a date-inserted image according to the embodiment. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram of a printer control device  1  (image editing apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the printer control device  1  inserts the date into an image which has been obtained by a photographic device  2  photographing a subject, and prints the date-inserted image on a paper using a printer  4 . The printer control device  1  comprises: a storage unit  10 ; a control unit  11 ; an image input unit  12 ; a photography information obtaining unit  134  which includes a date information obtaining unit  13  and a model information obtaining unit  14 ; an output target range extraction unit  15 ; a date region extraction unit  16 ; a date presence determination unit  17 ; a date insertion unit  18 ; an image output unit  19 ; an order information obtaining unit  21 ; a date erasure unit  22 ; a portrait/landscape photography determination unit  23 ; and a date correction unit  24 .  
      The storage unit  10  stores a date insertion table  110  shown in  FIG. 2 . The date insertion table  110  describes conditions (date insertion conditions) in which the date is inserted into an image when a subject is photographed with the photographic device  2 , according to model of the photographic device  2 . For example, the date insertion conditions include a date insertion position  111 , a date color  112 , and a date character shape  113 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The date insertion position  111  indicates the position in which the date is inserted by the photographic device  2  within an image that is obtained by photographing a subject. For example, the date insertion position  111  indicates top right, bottom right, top left, bottom left, and so on. The date color  112  indicates the color of the date. For example, the date color  112  indicates a color such as red. The date character shape  113  indicates a geometric feature and other character shape relating the date.  
      The image input unit  12  is a unit to which the image obtained by photographing a subject with the photographic device  2  is inputted. Though the mode relating to image input is not limited particularly, there are three modes as following, for example: a first mode in which the image is read out from a memory card or other recording medium; a second mode in which the image is received from a communications terminal such as a user&#39;s mobile telephone or a user&#39;s personal computer (hereinafter, simply “PC”) via the Internet or other network; and a third mode in which the image is obtained by being directly transmitted wirelessly or by wire from a user&#39;s mobile telephone or other photographic device.  
      For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , an image file  30  appending a header  310  to an image  300  is inputted to the image input unit  12 . The image file  30  is structured in a file format of an Exif (Exchangeable image file format).  
      In the case of the Exif, various tag information, such as the date information  313  and the model information  314 , is written in the header  310  shown in  FIG. 3 . More specifically, in the case of the Exif, the year/month/day and the hour/minute/second when the photographic device  2  has photographed an image, are written in the header  310  as the date information  313 . Furthermore, in the case of the Exif, the manufacturer name and the model name relating to the photographic device  2  are also written in the header  310  as the model information  314 . Additionally, the name of the used software may also be written. Moreover, there are also photographic devices  2  with a GPS (Global Positioning System) function of writing in the header  310  information (hereinafter referred to as “photography position information”) which indicates the position at the time of having photographed. In addition, the photographic device  2  may also write in the header  310  information (hereinafter referred to as “portrait/landscape photography information”) which indicates whether an image is photographed with a portrait orientation or with a landscape orientation.  
      The photography information obtaining unit  134  obtains information related to the photography at the time when the subject has been photographed with the photographic device  2  (hereinafter referred to as “photography information”). The photography information obtaining unit  134  comprises a date information obtaining unit  13  and a model information obtaining unit  14 . The date information obtaining unit  13  obtains the date information  313  from the header  310  in the image file  30 . The model information obtaining unit  14  obtains the model information  314  from the header  310  in the image file  30 . Furthermore, when photography position information or portrait/landscape photography information are present in the header  310  of the image file  30 , these sets of information are obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30  by the photography information obtaining unit  134 .  
      Hereinafter, an example is described in a case in which the image file  30  appending the header  310  to the image  300  is inputted to the image input unit  12  as shown in  FIG. 3 , but the present invention is not particularly limited to those. It is possible to input a photography information file (not shown) which is a different file that is associated with the image file containing the image  300  and which includes the date information  313 , the model information  314 , and other photography information, together with the image file. When such the photography information file is inputted, the photography information obtaining unit  134  obtains the photography information from the photography information file. For example, the date information obtaining unit  13  and the model information obtaining unit  14  obtain the respective date information  313  and model information  314  from the photography information file.  
      The order information obtaining unit  21  obtains order information of a user.  
      There are various types of order information obtained by the order information obtaining unit  21 . Firstly, there is date insertion order information that indicates whether or not there is an order for date insertion. Secondly, there is date correction order information that indicates whether or not there is an order for correcting to the correct date an incorrect date of photographing, which is inserted by the photographic device  2 .  
      If a user requests date insertion at the time of ordering, then the date insertion order information is set to “requesting date insertion” and if a user does not request date insertion at the time of ordering, then this is set to “no need of date insertion”.  
      The date correction order information concerns an order that corrects the date image indicating the incorrect photographing day and hour inserted into a photographed image by the photographic device  2  to a date image indicating the correct day and hour of photographing, in following cases: a case in which the date settings in the photographic device  2  are incorrect; and a case in which a user forgets to set the date settings of the photographic device  2  from the domestic time to the time of a destination country when moving from one&#39;s own country to a foreign country for overseas travel, for example.  
      There are various modes for obtaining order information, such as a mode to obtain an order information file that the photographic device  2  has created, and a mode that the printer control device  1  receives an order input operation.  
      The output target range extraction unit  15  extracts an image of the output target range  315  from the image  300  (original image) of the image file  30  that has been inputted to the image input unit  12 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . More specifically, when trimming of the image is necessary, an image of a range  315  that is to be printed on the paper is cropped out except for a portion that is cropped. On the other hand, when trimming is not necessary, the entire range of the original image  300  becomes the output target range.  
      The date region extraction unit  16  extracts a date region  316  from within the image of the output target range  315 , according to the model information  314  obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30  and the date insertion table  110  that is stored in advance in the storage unit  10 . For example, if the model information  314  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30  indicates “F001,” the date insertion position  111  of the “F001” model is obtained from the date insertion table  110 , and then the date region  316  (that is, the region in which the date is inserted when the photographic device  2  has inserted the date) is extracted according to the obtained date insertion position  111 . On the other hand, if no date has been inserted by the photographic device  2 , there is no date present in the date region  316 . Incidentally, when the date is not present in the date region  316  due to trimming, the date is not present in the output target range  315  even if the photographic device  2  has inserted the date.  
      The date presence determination unit  17  determines whether or not the date is inserted within the output target range  315 , according to the model information  314  obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30  and the date insertion table  110 . For example, if the model information  314  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30  is “F001,” the date presence determination unit  17  determines whether or not there is a date in the date region  316 , according to the date color  112  and the date character shape  113  of the model “F001”. Incidentally, even if the specific date (what year/month/day is the date) is not identified, it is sufficient to determine whether or not a date of some kind is present.  
      The date insertion unit  18  inserts the date into the image of the output target range  315  according to the date information  313  obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30 . For example, a date image indicating the year/month/day when the subject was photographed by the photographic device  2  is inserted. It should be noted that there is a mode in which insertion is in the order year-month-day, and a mode in which insertion is in the order day-month-year. Furthermore, the hour/minute/second may be inserted along with the year/month/day.  
      Such the insertion of the date image is carried out by overlaying (superimposing) the date image on a portion of the image of the output target range  315 , for example. It is also possible to insert the date image by a method other than superimposing.  
      The date erasure unit  22  erases the date (i.e. the date image) that has already been inserted by the photographic device  2  in the image of the output target range  315 , according to the model information  314  obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30  and the date insertion table  110 .  
      The portrait/landscape photography determination unit  23  determines whether the image inputted to the image input unit  12  is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image. Herein, the “portrait orientation image” refers to an image in which the subject is photographed while the photographic device  2  is in a vertical state. On the other hand, the “landscape orientation image” refers to an image in which the subject is photographed while the photographic device  2  is in a horizontal state.  
      There are various modes of determining the portrait/landscape photography orientations by the portrait/landscape photography determination unit  23 .  
      Firstly, there is a mode for determining whether the image is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image, according to portrait/landscape photography information which indicates whether the image obtained from the header  310  of the image file  30  is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image. This mode is effective to measure the angle of the photographic device  2  by using a gyro or the like of the photographic device  2  when the subject is photographed, and to store the measured angle as the portrait/landscape photography information in the header  310  of the image file  30 .  
      Secondly, there is a mode for determining whether the image is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image, by analyzing the image that is inputted to the image input unit  12 . For example, it is preferable to determine whether or not an image of a human face is contained in the image that is inputted to the image input unit  12 . If a face image is contained the image inputted to the image input unit  12 , the control unit  11  analyzes the orientation of the face image, and then determines whether the image is a portrait orientation image or a landscape orientation image, according to the results of the analysis.  
      The date correction unit  24  corrects the date image indicating the incorrect date of photography inserted into the image by the photographic device  2  to a date image that indicates the correct date of photography, in following cases: a case in which the date setting in the photographic device  2  is incorrect; and a case in which a user forgets to set the date setting of the photographic device  2  from the domestic time to the time of a destination country when moving from one&#39;s own country to a foreign country for overseas travel, for example. More specifically, the date image indicating the incorrect date of photography is erased by the date erasure unit  22 , and a date image indicating the correct date of photography is inserted by the date insertion unit  18 .  
      There are various modes of correcting the date by the date correction unit  24 .  
      Firstly, there is a mode for correcting the date according to the photography position information and the date information (information of the day and hour of photography) obtained by the photography information obtaining unit  134 . For example, if a person travels from Japan to the East Coast of the USA without changing the date setting and takes a plurality of photographic shots in the East Coast, the date correction unit  24  converts at once the date images indicating Japan time in the plurality of images obtained from that plurality of photographic shots to date images indicating the local time in the East Coast where the photographic shots have been taken. For example, the order information obtaining unit  21  obtains information indicating whether or not the image includes the incorrect date (hereinafter referred to as “correct/incorrect date information”) as a part of the date correction order information. The date correction unit  24  identifies an image to be subjected to date correction according to the correct/incorrect date information, and then determines whether or not the image is photographed in the East Coast according to the photography position information. If the date correction unit  24  determines that the image has been photographed in the East Coast, the date correction unit  24  calculates the Eastern Standard Time from the Japan time indicated in the date information. After the date erasure unit  22  erases the date image that indicates the Japan time, then the date insertion unit  18  inserts a date image that indicates the Eastern Standard Time.  
      Secondly, there is a mode for correcting the dates at once according the user information.  
      The image output unit  19  outputs the image in which the date has been inserted. Though, the image output mode is not limited particularly, for example, there are a first mode which outputs the image to the printer  4 , a second mode which records the image on a recording medium such as an optical disk, and a third mode which transmits the image to a predetermined third party via the Internet or other network.  
      The control unit  11  comprises a CPU (central processing unit), and exercises general control over the various portions of the printer control device  1 .  
      In the control unit  11 , there are various types of control modes for date insertion. Firstly, if the date presence determination unit  17  determines that a date is inserted within the output target range  315  of the photographed image that has been inputted, the control unit  11  controls the image output unit  19  to output the image without insertion of the date by the date insertion unit  18 . On the other hand, if the date presence determination unit  17  determines that a date is not inserted within the output target range  315  of the photographed image that has been inputted, the control unit  11  controls the image output unit  19  to output an image in which the date has been inserted by the date insertion unit  18 . Secondly, even if the date presence determination unit  17  determines that a date is inserted within the output target range  315  of the photographed image that has been inputted, the control unit  11  determines the quality of the visibility of the date according to the difference in color between the date that is inserted and peripheral areas of the date. At this time, if the control unit  11  determines that the visibility of the inserted date is poor, the control unit  11  controls the date erasure unit  22  to erase the inserted date according to the date information  313  in the header  310  of the image file  30 , and controls the date insertion unit  18  to re-insert the date within the output target range  315 . Instead of erasing and re-inserting the inserted date, the date may be inserted by overwriting the inserted date. Thirdly, if there is no order for date insertion according to the date insertion order information that indicates whether or not there is an order for date insertion, the control unit  11  controls so that date insertion is not carried out by the date insertion unit  18 . There is also a mode in which the above-described first to third modes are combined.  
       FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process in the printer control device  1  (image editing apparatus) shown in  FIG. 1  according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
      First, the image file  30  including the image  300 , in which a subject is photographed, is inputted (S 2 ). Next, the date information  313  and the model information  314  are obtained  30  from the header  310  of the image file  30  (S 4 ). Next, the image of the output target range  315  is extracted from the image  300  in the image file  30  (S 6 ). Next, a determination is made according to the date insertion order information as to whether or not the user has requested date insertion (S 7 ). If the user has not requested date insertion, the image of the output target range  315  is output to the printer  4  without inserting the date (S 16 ). On the other hand, if the user has requested date insertion, then the image of date region  316  is extracted from the image of the output target range  315  according to the model information  314  and the date insertion table  110  (S 8 ). Next, a process which determines whether or not a date is inserted within the date region  316  by the photographic device  2  is carried out according to the model information  314  and the date insertion table  110  (S 10 ).  
      First, the control unit  11  determines whether or not there is a region of the date color  112  within the date region  316 , for example. At this time, if there is no region of the date color  112  (for example, red color), the control unit  11  determines “no date”. On the other hand, if there is a region of the date color  112 , then the date region  316  is binarized. At this time, if there is not satisfaction of conditions such as the following: (a) there are three or more regions; (b) the heights of the regions are within a predetermined range and uniform; and (c) the regions are lined up horizontally, then the date presence determination unit  17  determines “no date”. Furthermore, a thinning process on the date region  316  is carried out, and then a geometric feature quantity is calculated. For example, the directional line element feature quantity, the connectivity number, and the number of holes are used as the geometric feature quantity. When the difference between the calculated geometric feature quantity and the geometric feature quantity stored in advance (stored in advance in the date character shape  113  of the date insertion table  110 ) is not less than a threshold value determined in advance, the date presence determination unit  17  determines “no date”.  
      The process branches depending on whether or not there is a date in the date region  316  (S 12 ). If the control unit  11  determines “no date”, the date is inserted in the image of the output target range  315  according to the date information  313  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30  (S 14 ), and then the image in which the date has been inserted is outputted to the printer  4  (S 16 ). On the other hand, if the control unit  11  determines “date present,” the image of the output target range  315  is outputted to the printer  4  without date insertion being performed (S 16 ).  
      Then, as shown in  FIG. 8 , a date-inserted image  319  is printed on the paper by the printer  4 .  
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process in the printer control device  1  (image editing apparatus) shown in  FIG. 1  according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
      As shown in  FIG. 6 , steps (S 2  through S 10 ), from the step of inputting the image file to the step of determining the presence of a date, are the same as the image editing process according to the first embodiment shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      In the second embodiment, in the case of determining that a date is present in the image of the output target range  315 , the control unit  11  determines the quality of the visibility relating to the date image (S 22 ). More specifically, the control unit  11  determines whether or not the date image is easily recognizable in terms of human vision, according to the difference between the color of the date image that is inserted and the color of areas peripheral to the date image. For example, the hue of the already inserted date image, and the hue of the peripheral area are compared according to a hue circle. If the angle between the hue of the peripheral area and the hue of the date image on the hue circle is not less than a predetermined angle (for example, when the date image is a red color and the peripheral area is a blue color), the control unit  11  determines that visibility of the date image is good.  
      If the control unit  11  determines that the visibility is poor, the date is re-inserted into the image of the output target range  315 , according to the model information  314  and the date information  313  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30 , and information of the date insertion table  110 . For example, the position of the inserted date is specified according to the date insertion position  111  of the specified model (for example, “F001”) which is indicated in the model information  314 . Then, after the inserted date is erased, the date indicated in the date information  313  is inserted into the image of the output target range  315 . The color of the date used here is a color distinct from the color of the peripheral area. For example, it is preferable to use a color that has an angle not less than a predetermined angle on the hue circle.  
       FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing a schematic sequence of an image editing process in the printer control device  1  (image editing apparatus) shown in  FIG. 1  according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
      First, as shown in  FIG. 7 , when the image file  30  containing the image  300  in which a subject is photographed is inputted (S 2 ), the date information  313  and the model information  314  are obtained from the header  310  of that image file  30  (S 4 ), and then the image of the output target range  315  is extracted from the image  300  within the image file  30  (S 6 ).  
      Next, a date region image  316  is extracted from the image of the output target range  315  (S 8 ), and then the date presence determination unit  17  determines whether or not a date is already inserted within the image of date region  316  according to the model information  314  and the date insertion table  110  (S 10 ). More specifically, the date presence determination unit  17  determines whether or not a date image indicating the photography date has already been inserted by the photographic device  2  within the image of date region  316 .  
      The process branches depending on whether or not there is a date in the image of date region  316  (S 12 ). At this time, if the date presence determination unit  17  determines “date present,” the date erasure unit  22  erases the date from the image of the output target range  315  according to the model information  314  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30 , and information of the date insertion table  110  (S 30 ).  
      There are various modes of erasing the date. Firstly, there is a mode which copies an image surrounding the date region  316  to the date region  316 . Secondly, there is a mode which carries out the date erasure by interpolation according to an image surrounding the date region  316 .  
      For example, the control unit  11  analyzes an image positioned surrounding the date region  316 , and selects a mode of carrying out the date erasure by copying a partial image positioned surrounding the date region  316  to the date region  316 , or a mode of carrying out the date erasure by interpolation according an image positioned surrounding the date region  316 . Then, the date erasure is carried out by the selected mode, either copying or interpolation.  
      More specifically, the control unit  11  analyzes the texture of the image positioned surrounding the date region  316 . If the images surrounding the date region  316  have the same uniform texture, the date erasure is carried out using the first mode, i.e. copying. In the case of excluding this case, in other words, if the color surrounding the date region gradually changes from the top to the bottom (or from the left to the right) of the date region, the date erasure is carried out using the second mode, i.e. interpolation.  
      Incidentally, the date erasure may also be carried out using a method other than the above-described copying and interpolation.  
      Next, after the inserted date has been erased, the control unit  11  determines whether or not there is an order for date insertion, according to the date insertion order information (S 32 ). At this time, if there is an order for date insertion, the date is inserted into the image of the output target range  315  according to the model information  314  and the date information  313  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30 , and information of the date insertion table  110  (S 46 ), the image into which the date is inserted is outputted to the printer  4  (S 36 ).  
      When the date presence determination unit  17  determines that the date has been inserted already by the photographic device  2  according to the result of the determination step S 10 , the control unit  11  firstly determines whether or not there is an order for the date insertion according to the date insertion order information (S 42 ). At this time, if there is an order for the date insertion, the date is inserted into the image of the output target range  315  according to the date information  313  extracted from the header  310  of the image file  30  (S 46 ). Then, the image into which the date is inserted is output to the printer  4  by a printer control device  1  (S 50 ). On the other hand, if there is no order for the date insertion, the image of the output target range  315  is output to the printer  4  without date insertion being performed (S 50 ).  
      As described above, the first through third embodiments are described in a case in which inputs the image file  30  appending the header  310  to the image  300  shown in  FIG. 3 , but the present invention is not limited to those, particularly. It is also possible to input a photography information file including the date information  313  and the model information  314 , which is a separate file that is associated with the image file including the image  300 , together with the image file. When such a photography information file is inputted, the date information  313  and the model information  314  are obtained from the photography information file. At this time, if the date information  313  is a flag indicating the presence or absence of a date, that is, if a flag shows whether or not the photographic device  2  has already inserted the date, then it is possible to determine the presence or absence of a date easily by reading this flag.  
      It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternate constructions and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.