JP2006245943A - Image processing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing method and an image processing apparatus whereby an amount of data in transmitting a color image is suppressed and a receiver side can properly reproduce the image. <P>SOLUTION: When reading image data of images covering one page to be transmitted, a server generates image data by each block resulting from dividing the image into a plurality of blocks and generates concatenation information (steps 100 to 104). Thereafter the server confirms whether or not each block includes pixels for forming a color object, applies coding processing to the image data of the blocks including the pixels for forming the color object as a color image, converts the image data of the blocks not including the pixels for forming the color object into black/white image data and applies coding processing (steps 106 to 116). Thus, the data amount can be reduced in comparison with that of the case with the transmission of all the data as the color image. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing method and an image processing apparatus for transmitting image data of an image including a color object.

  As digitalization in the field of print processing, DTP (Desktop Publishing) has become popular. DTP creates a page layout by creating, processing, and editing images on a processing device such as a personal computer or workstation, and creates a film for exposing the printing plate based on the page layout. Or printing directly on the printing plate to create a printing plate for printing (CTP: Computer to Plate).

  Even in DTP, calibration is performed prior to actual printing using a printing plate. At this time, for example, the page layout displayed on the monitor is printed out (comp output) by a print output device such as a page printer using the WYSIWYG function or the like.

  Further, in the final calibration work, it is necessary to pass the color proof (comp output) created for calibration to the orderer (client) for calibration. In such a proofreading work, the comp output is used as an original document, and a proofreading manuscript with red correction or the like is created on the original document, and the proofreading document is received and the original image data (page Layout) is corrected, and in such a proofreading operation, an original document or a proofreading document is delivered.

  On the other hand, a facsimile using a public line (telephone line) is often used for transmission of an image to a remote place in consideration of transmission cost. This facsimile has a G4 mode capable of transmitting a color image in addition to a G3 mode capable of transmitting only a black and white image. By using the G4 mode, a color image can be transmitted using a communication line. It has become.

  By the way, when a color image is transmitted, the amount of data (data size) is larger than that of a black and white image, so that the communication time is increased and the communication cost is significantly increased.

  A method has been proposed in which a color image and a text image are separated from image data, the color image is directly encoded as a color image, and the text image is encoded as a black and white image, thereby suppressing the amount of data to be transmitted ( For example, see Patent Document 1.)

Also, a method has been proposed for suppressing the amount of transmission data by determining whether the corresponding line is a color image or a monochrome image for each line of image data, and encoding as a color image or a monochrome image based on the determination result. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
JP 7-325883 A JP-A-9-163152

  However, the proposal of Patent Document 1 has a problem that if the text image cannot be accurately extracted from the color image, the effect of suppressing the data amount cannot be obtained. In addition, in the proposal of Patent Document 2, if a pixel forming a color image is included in one line, the line is encoded as a color image. It may not be possible.

  In any method, if the receiving side does not support image division and encoding, there is a problem that it is difficult to reproduce the transmitted image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described facts, and provides an image processing method and an image processing apparatus that can suppress the amount of data when transmitting a color image and can appropriately reproduce an image on the receiving side. For the purpose.

  The present invention for achieving the above object is an image processing method for transmitting image data of an image including a color object, wherein the image data for each block is obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks from the image data. Among the divided blocks, color image processing is performed on image data of blocks including color pixels forming the color object, and image data of blocks not including color pixels forming the color object is processed. On the other hand, it is characterized in that it is converted into a monochrome format and subjected to monochrome image processing.

  According to this invention, image data obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks is generated from the image data of the image for one page. When the image data of each block includes pixels that form a color object, the image data of the corresponding block is processed as image data of a color image, but for image data of a block that does not include a pixel that forms a color object, Process as monochrome image data.

  Thus, if there is a block that does not include a color object, the amount of data when transmitting image data of an image for one page can be reduced.

  In the present invention, by combining the image data of each block together with the image data of each block, connection information that can reproduce the image data of the original image is generated, and the image processing is performed. It is preferable that the connection information can be transmitted together with the image data, so that the image data can be appropriately limited.

  According to the present invention, the image processing can be a color encoding process and a monochrome encoding process for performing a transmission process using a facsimile function, and the amount of data when transmitting the image data before the division The total data amount when divided into a plurality of precursor blocks may be compared, and the number of divisions may be changed based on the comparison result.

  According to the present invention, the image data of an image including a color object is divided into a plurality of blocks, and when each block includes a pixel forming the color object, an encoding process is performed as a color image, and the color object An image processing method for processing image data that has been converted to a black and white format and encoded as a black and white image when the image data of a block that has been encoded as a color image is not included The block image data encoded as the black and white image is decoded as a black and white image and converted into color format image data, and then the original block image data is synthesized by combining the image data of each block. It is only necessary to generate image data of the image of the original image from the plurality of blocks. When connecting information enabling restore over data is generated, it is preferable to synthesize the image data of the respective blocks on the basis of the consolidated information.

  In the present invention, when image data is transmitted using a facsimile function or the like, the image data of the block subjected to color processing is decoded as a color image as it is, but the image data of the block subjected to monochrome processing is not processed. After the decoding process as a black and white image, the image data is converted into color format image data. Thereby, appropriate image data can be reproduced.

  By applying the present invention as described above, when transmitting image data of an image including a color object, image data for each block obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks is generated from the image data and divided. Of each block, image data of a block including color pixels forming the color object is subjected to encoding processing as a color image, and image data of blocks not including the color pixels forming the color object is processed. The image data of each block subjected to the encoding process is transmitted after being converted into a black and white format and converted into a black and white image, and encoded at the transmission destination of the image data as the color image. The image data of the block is decoded as a color image, and the block of the block encoded as the black and white image is processed. The image data is decoded as a black and white image and converted into color format image data, and then the image data of each block is synthesized to form an image data transmission method for generating the image data of the original image Thus, the amount of data to be transmitted can be reduced, and the transmission time of the data can be shortened, and the charge when charging is made according to the data amount and the transmission time can be achieved.

  A transmission source image processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is an image processing apparatus capable of transmitting image data of an image including a color object, and divides the image into a plurality of blocks from the image data. A division unit that generates image data for each block, and a determination for determining whether or not each block includes color pixels that form the color object from the image data for each block divided by the division unit Means, color processing means for performing color image processing on the image data of the block determined to be included in the color pixel by the determination means, and image data of the block determined not to include the color pixel. Conversion means for converting to a monochrome format; and monochrome image processing for the image data converted by the conversion means. Black and white processing means, and the dividing means generates link information that can reproduce the image data of the original image by connecting the image data of the divided blocks, and the image What is necessary is just to be able to transmit the connection information together with the processed image data.

  When the transmission source image processing apparatus includes transmission means for transmitting image data using a facsimile function, the color processing means and the monochrome processing means perform encoding processing for transmission using the facsimile function. Anything you want to do.

  In addition, the image processing apparatus as a transmission destination may be configured such that image data of an image including a color object is divided into a plurality of blocks and the image data of each block is encoded as a color image, or An image processing apparatus which is converted into a black and white format and encoded and inputted as a black and white image, and a black and white decoding means for decoding the block image data encoded as the black and white image as a black and white image; A restoring means for converting the image data of the block decoded by the black and white decoding means into a color format; a color decoding means for decoding the image data encoded as the color image as a color image; The image data of the block converted by the restoring means and the block decoded by the color decoding means A first combining unit that combines the image data and generates image data of the original image, and when the image data is divided into the plurality of blocks, It is preferable that the first combining unit combines the image data of each block based on the connection information when the connection information that can restore the original image data is generated.

  Another invention is an image processing method for transmitting image data of an image including a color object, wherein the image data and position information of the color object are extracted from the image data, and the extracted image of the color object is extracted. Color data processing is performed on the data, and the image data including the color object is converted into black and white format image data to perform black and white image processing, and the color image processing and the black and white image The process is characterized in that it is an encoding process for performing a transmission process using a facsimile function.

  According to the present invention, image data and position information of a color object are extracted, and the color object image data is processed as a color image, but the original image data is processed as monochrome image data, A reduction in the amount of data when transmitting image data of an image for one page is intended.

  On the receiving side when applying the present invention, the image data of the image including the color object is converted into the monochrome format and subjected to the encoding process as the monochrome image, and the image data extracted together with the position information is used. An image processing method when image data of a color object is subjected to a coding process as a color image, wherein the color image processed image data for each color object is decoded as a color image, Based on the position information, the original black-and-white image processed is decoded as a black-and-white image, converted into color format image data, and then converted from the monochrome format to the color format. The image data of the original image is generated by combining the image data of the color object. If may.

  That is, according to the present invention, when transmitting image data of an image including a color object, the image data and position information of the color object are extracted from the image data, and color data is extracted from the extracted color object image data. Performing encoding processing, converting the image data including the color object into image data in black and white format, performing black and white encoding processing, and transmitting the position information together with the encoded image data; At the transmission destination, the color image processed image data for each color object is decoded as a color image, the original black-and-white image data is decoded as a black-and-white image, and the color format After image conversion to image data, the image converted from the monochrome format to the color format Data, by synthesizing the image data of the color object on the basis of the position information, to form a method for transmitting image data for generating image data of the original image, achieving a reduction in the amount of data to be transmitted.

  In this case, it is preferable to perform a predetermined color correction process on the image data decoded as the color image, and to perform the image synthesis, whereby an efficient color for executing the print process is obtained. Correction processing is possible.

  An image processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is an image processing apparatus that enables transmission of image data of an image including a color object, and extracts image data and position information of the color object from the image data. Means, color processing means for performing color image processing on the image data of the color object extracted by the extraction means, conversion means for converting the image data including the color object into monochrome image data, A monochrome processing unit that performs monochrome image processing on the image data converted by the conversion unit, and the color processing unit and the monochrome processing unit perform encoding processing for performing transmission processing using a facsimile function. It can be performed.

  In addition, the image processing apparatus of the transmission destination includes image data of the color object encoded as a color image together with image data of the image including the color object converted into the monochrome format and encoded. An image processing apparatus to which position information of the color object is input, the image data decoded by the monochrome decoding means for decoding the image data encoded in the monochrome format, and the image data decoded by the monochrome decoding means Image data converted into color format image data, color decoding means for decoding image data encoded in the color format, image data converted by the recovery means into the color data And second combining means for combining the image data decoded by the decoding means based on the position information. And a color correction unit that performs predetermined color correction processing on the image data decoded by the color decoding unit, and the second combining unit performs color correction by the color correction unit. Image data can be synthesized.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when image data of an image including a color object is transmitted, the image data of a block including the color object or the image data of only the color object is processed as a color image to obtain a monochrome image. The image data that can be processed is processed as a monochrome image.

  As a result, it is possible to reduce the amount of data when transmitting image data, and it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that transmission time can be shortened and transmission cost can be reduced.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a network 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. A plurality of network users 12 are connected to the network 10.

  Each network user 12 may form a network such as a local area network (LAN), or the network 10 may connect these networks to each other. The network 10 may be formed by connecting network users 12 using a telephone line, a public communication line network (Internet) or a dedicated communication line. It is possible to apply a pay-as-you-go network that charges in accordance with the amount of data to be transmitted.

  As such a network user 12 (hereinafter simply referred to as a user 12), for example, a printing company that creates a document and performs a printing process based on the created document, or creates / modifies and prints a document to a printing company. An ordering person to request can be applied, and in the network 10, various data such as image data is transmitted from any user 12 to another user 12.

  In the following description, the case where the image data created by the image processing terminal 14 of any user 12 is calibrated by another user 12 will be described as an example. A user 12A is a transmission source of image data generated by the terminal 14 and the like, and a user 12B is a transmission destination of this image data and a user 12B that returns image data of an image corresponding to the transmitted image data to the user 12A. To do.

  Each of the users 12 includes an image processing terminal 14 that performs various types of data processing such as image processing, and a printer 16 that executes print processing according to the image data.

  The image processing terminal 14 provided to the user 12A as the transmission source can form a print image (original) such as a page layout using at least various applications. The server 18 is provided as a print server that controls the print processing and can execute various image processing.

  It should be noted that the user 12A has a plate setter that directly exposes a photosensitive lithographic printing plate or the like to create a printing plate for printing based on image data created by the image processing terminal 14, or a photosensitive lithographic printing plate. An exposure device or the like for exposing a document film used for image printing (exposure) may be provided.

  In the user 12B as the transmission destination, the printer 16 can perform printing processing according to the image data transmitted from the user 12A. Further, the user 12B includes an image reading device (scanner 20) that reads an image recorded on a document or the like and generates image data, and the server 18 includes the image processing terminal 14, the printer 16, and the scanner 20. Connected.

  FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the server 18 applied to the present embodiment. The server 18 includes a CPU 22, a chipset 24, and a main memory 26, and has a general configuration in which the CPU 22 controls various processes including image processing and the operation of the server 18 itself.

  The server 18 is connected to a plurality of buses 28A, 28B, and 28C via a bridge 30. The bus 28A is connected to a communication interface (communication I / F) 34 such as an HDD 32 and a network card together with the chipset 24. Is connected.

  Further, the server 18 is provided with a monitor such as a CRT or LCD as a display device 36, and a keyboard and a mouse as input devices 38. The display device 36 is connected to the bus 28A via the video card 40, and the input device 38 is connected to the bus 28B via the input device interface (input device I / F) 42. It is possible to display various information and images, and input operations such as processing instructions for the display information and images.

  The server 18 is provided with a multi-drive 44, an FD drive 46, and the like on which a storage medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) is mounted. Reading and writing are possible.

  On the other hand, the server 18 is provided with an image processing unit 48, an image memory 50, and a peripheral device interface (peripheral device I / F) 52, which are connected to the bus 28C.

  The peripheral device I / F 52 is connected to the printer 16 or the printer 16 and the scanner 20, and the server 18 outputs print data to the printer 16 and the image from the scanner 20 via the peripheral device I / F 52. Data can be read. 2 shows an example in which the printer 16 and the scanner 20 are connected.

  That is, in the server 18, when a print job (image data) is input from the image processing terminal 14 or the like, the image processing unit 48 performs image processing based on the print job to generate print data. Is output to the printer 16 so that print processing corresponding to the print job is executed.

  In the server 18 to which the scanner 20 is connected, when image data generated by reading an image recorded on a document by the scanner 20 is input, the image processing unit 48 performs predetermined processing on the image data. And saving to the HDD 32 and outputting to the image processing terminal 14 or the like. Further, the server 18 generates print data based on the image data read by the scanner 20 and outputs the print data to the printer 16 so that the image recorded on the document can be copied.

  Further, the server 18 can be used as a facsimile apparatus that transmits a document read by the scanner 20 by using the communication I / F 34.

  Thus, the server 18 can exchange data not only with the image processing terminal 14 in the same user 12 but also with the image processing terminal 14 or the server 18 of another user 12. Yes.

  The server 18 can be configured by applying a conventionally known general configuration, for example, by adding a PCI board having a predetermined function to a personal computer (PC).

  In the present embodiment, the printer 16 and the scanner 20 are connected to the server 18, but the user 12B may use a multifunction machine that integrates the printer 16 and the scanner 22 and has a facsimile function. Good.

  Further, in the network 10, a conventionally known image processing terminal such as a personal computer or a workstation can be used as the image processing terminal 14. The operation of the printer 16 and the scanner 20 is controlled by the image processing terminal 14 instead of the server 18. You may do.

  By the way, in the network 10, image data such as a page layout created by the image processing terminal 14 or a document read by the scanner 20 using the facsimile function provided in the server 18 via the server 18 provided in the user 12. Can be transmitted to a facsimile machine (not shown), the image processing terminal 14, the server 18, and the like. At this time, the server 18 can reproduce the image data of the color image including the color object at the transmission destination (reception side) (color facsimile).

  FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of a data transmission function unit 60 that performs transmission / reception of data by the server 18 by taking a facsimile function as an example.

  The data transmission function unit 60 includes a transmission processing unit 62 and a reception processing unit 64, and image data of a document read by the scanner 20, image data such as a page layout and a document created by the image processing terminal 14. Is input to the transmission processing unit 62.

  The transmission processing unit 62 is provided with a division processing unit 66 and a determination unit 68. The division processing unit 66 divides the image data into a plurality of blocks by inputting the image data to be transmitted. At this time, the division processing unit 66 divides the image data for each page of image data.

  The determination unit 68 determines whether or not the image data for each block subjected to the division processing includes a pixel that forms a color object. That is, when an image provided with a color object is divided, a pixel that forms the color object is included in any block. In addition, in the case of an image including a black and white object such as a text object, any of the divided blocks may be only a black and white image.

  From here, the determination unit 68 determines whether each divided block includes only a text object or a color object, and extracts a block that is substantially black and white and includes a text object or the like.

  The transmission processing unit 62 of the data transmission function unit 60 is provided with an image conversion unit 70 and a signal processing unit 72, and image data that has been subjected to predetermined processing by the signal processing unit 72 is transmitted to the communication I / F 34. Is transmitted through the network.

  The image conversion unit 70 receives image data of a block determined not to include a color object, and the image conversion unit 70 converts the image data into monochrome image data. That is, the monochrome image on the color image data is converted into the image data on the monochrome image data.

  The signal processing unit 72 includes a monochrome signal processing unit 74 that processes image data as monochrome image data and a color signal processing unit 76 that processes image data as color image data.

  The black-and-white signal processing unit 74 receives image data of a block that is determined not to include a color object by the determination unit 68 after being converted into black-and-white image data by the image conversion unit 70. The monochrome signal processing unit 74 is configured to be able to transmit the input image data as image data (monochrome encoded data) obtained by performing monochrome image encoding.

  The color signal processing unit 76 receives image data of a block determined to include a color object (color format image data). The color signal processing unit 76 inputs the image data. Color image coding processing is performed on the image data to be transmitted as color image image data (color coded data).

  As a result, the image data input to the transmission processing unit 62 is transmitted as image data (encoded data) of a plurality of blocks through the communication I / F 34 together with attribute information including connection information. Yes.

  When image data of a monochrome image transmitted in the G3 mode is input to the transmission processing unit 62, the image data is input to the monochrome signal processing unit 74 and processed.

  Further, for the determination of the presence / absence of a color object and the processing in the signal processing unit 72 (the monochrome signal processing unit 74 and the color signal processing unit 76), any known configuration can be applied, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  On the other hand, the reception processing unit 64 is provided with a signal processing unit 78, and image data transmitted to the server 18 is input to the signal processing unit 78 via the communication I / F 34.

  The signal processing unit 78 includes a black and white decoding unit 80 and a color decoding unit 82, and black and white encoded data is input to the black and white decoding unit 80, and color encoded data is input to the color decoding unit 82. It is designed to be entered.

  The black and white decoding unit 80 decodes input encoded data (monochrome encoded data) into black and white image data and outputs the result. The color decoding unit 82 decodes the color encoded data into color image data and outputs the color image data. Note that the communication of the encoded data can be executed using a predetermined communication protocol, and the decoding processing of the encoded data and the conventionally known configuration can be applied, and detailed description thereof is omitted here. .

  The reception processing unit 64 is provided with an image conversion unit 84 and an image composition unit 86. The image conversion unit 84 is supplied with the monochrome image data output from the monochrome decoding unit 80. The image conversion unit 84 converts the image data into color format image data. That is, the image conversion unit 84 converts the image into a monochrome image on the color image. When an image for one page is formed only by the black and white encoded data, it is output from the black and white decoding unit 80 without passing through the image conversion unit 84.

  The image composition unit 86 includes the image data decoded by the black and white decoding unit 80 and converted into the color format by the image conversion unit 84, and the color format image data decoded by the color decoding processing unit 82. Link information is entered.

  The image composition unit 86 synthesizes the input image data based on the connection information to generate one page of image data. As a result, the image data divided into a plurality of blocks is combined with the image data of the original image for one page and output.

  In the server 18, the image data output from the reception processing unit 64 is output to the printer 16 by using, for example, image data for print output. As a result, a color image corresponding to the received image data is printed out from the printer 16.

  In the network 10 configured in this way, for example, when performing a calibration process on image data such as a page layout created by the image processing terminal 14 of the user 12A, the corresponding image data is transmitted to the user 12B via the server 18. The data is transmitted to the printer 16 (server 18) and printed out by the printer 16. As a result, the proofreading document (color proof) can be delivered to the proofreader of the user 12B.

In the network 10, when returning a calibration document formed by writing a calibration instruction to the calibration document (original document) by red marking or the like from the user 12 B to the user 12 A as a calibration instruction, the calibration document is used. It is read by the scanner 20 to generate image data for calibration instruction, and the image data for calibration instruction is transmitted to the server 18 or the image processing terminal 14 of the user 12A. Note that writing tools such as pencils, sign pens, and markers of any color can be used for configuration work such as red insertion.

  As a result, the user 12A can receive print output or image data corresponding to the proofreading document, and can edit image data on the original document based on the proofreading document.

  Here, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8, calibration between the users 12 (between the users 12A and 12B) using the transmission function such as the facsimile function of the server 18 according to the first embodiment. A description will be given of the transmission of the original document and the transmission of the calibration document.

  FIG. 4 shows the flow of processing at the transmission source. This flowchart is executed, for example, when the user 12A transmits a color document for calibration to the user 12B, or when a calibration document that has been calibrated by the user 12B is transmitted to the user 12A. Read the image data of the image to be transmitted.

  For example, when the page layout created by the processing terminal 14 of the user 12A is transmitted to the user 12B, the image data such as the page layout output from the processing terminal 14 is read, and the image data is read by the user 12B. When returning the calibration document created in step 1 to the user 12A, the calibration document is read by the scanner 20 and the image data of the calibration document is read. In addition, when transmitting image data of a black and white image, it is sufficient if it is transmitted in the G3 mode.

  In the next step 102, when image data for one page is read, the image data is divided into a plurality of preset blocks. At the same time, in step 104, division information for connecting the divided blocks so that the original image can be reproduced is generated, and the division information is included in the attribute information of the image data.

  FIG. 5A shows an image 92 formed on the original 90 as an example of an image to be transmitted. The image 92 is formed by a color object 94 (94A, 94B) and a black and white text object 96.

  When the image data of the image 92 is divided into a plurality of blocks, for example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the image 92 is made into a rectangular block PB of a predetermined size. At this time, the individual blocks PB are divided so as to form a part of the image 92.

Here, as an example, 20 blocks PB (PB _{1 to} PB ₂₀ , collectively referred to as PB) are formed by dividing into 5 along the vertical direction and dividing into 4 along the horizontal direction. An example is shown, and the division method and the number of divisions are not limited thereto.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, when the division of the image data is completed, the process proceeds to step 106, and the image data for one block is read and the pixels forming the color object 94 are included for each of the divided blocks PB. It is determined whether or not (step 108).

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, the block PB includes only the text object 96 and includes the color object 94 in addition to the color object 94 and the color object 94 and the text object 96. Nothing is obtained.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, blocks PB ₁₁ , PB ₁₂ , PB ₁₅ , and PB ₁₆ that divide the color object 94B, and a block PB that includes the divided color object 94A. ₁ , PB ₂ , PB ₅ , and PB ₆ are determined as including the color object 94. The blocks PB ₃ , PB ₄ , PB ₇ , PB ₈ , PB ₉ , PB ₁₀ , PB ₁₃ , PB ₁₄ , PB _{17 to} PB ₂₀ that do not include the pixels forming the color object 94 do not include a color object. Determined.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, for example, when the block PB is determined in order for each block PB and the determination is completed, the block PB does not include the color object 94 but includes only the text object 96 that is a monochrome object. An affirmative determination is made at 108 and the routine proceeds to step 110. If the block does not include an object, it is determined that the block PB is a monochrome object only.

  In step 110, the image data of the corresponding block PB is subjected to image conversion to obtain monochrome image data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step 112, and the black and white encoded data for transmission is generated by performing the encoding process set for the black and white format image data.

  If the image data of the block PB includes the color object 94, a negative determination is made at step 108, and the routine proceeds to step 114. In this step 114, the encoding process set with respect to the image data of a color format is performed, and color encoding data are produced | generated.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, image data of blocks PB ₁ , PB ₂ , PB ₅ , PB ₆ , PB ₁₁ , PB ₁₂ , PB ₁₅ , PB ₁₆ including the color object 94. On the other hand, the encoding process is performed as color image data as it is, whereas the black and white image blocks PB ₃ , PB ₄ , and PB ₇ including only the text object 96 without including the color object 94 are included. , PB ₈ , PB ₉ , PB ₁₀ , PB ₁₃ , PB ₁₄ , PB _{17 to} PB ₂₀ are converted into monochrome image data and encoded as monochrome image data. The total amount of data is reduced.

  When the encoding process for all the blocks PB obtained by dividing the image 92 is completed in this way, an affirmative determination is made at step 116 in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and the process proceeds to step 118. Along with the attribute information included, it is transmitted to the specified destination.

At this time, for example, the blocks PB _{01 to} PB ₂₀ divided from the image 92 for one page may be transmitted in the division order, and the image data (encoded data) may be transmitted in this order. Since they can be received in order, the connection information can be omitted.

  FIG. 6 shows a transmission destination, that is, a flow of reception processing. Here, a reception process for a color image for one page will be described as an example.

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is executed to receive image data divided into a plurality of blocks PB. In the first step 120, image data for one block PB is read. In step 122, the read image data is converted into a monochrome code. Whether the data is encoded data of monochrome format image data or color format image data.

  Here, when the image data (encoded data) of the read block PB is monochrome image data (monochrome encoded data), an affirmative determination is made at step 122 and the routine proceeds to step 124 to transfer the monochrome image data. Decoding processing for encoding is performed to generate monochrome image data. Thereafter, in step 126, the decoded image data is converted into image data in a color format.

  On the other hand, when the received image data (encoded data) of the block PB has been encoded as color format image data (color encoded data), a negative determination is made at step 122 and the routine proceeds to step 128. To do. In step 128, an encoding process corresponding to the decoding of the color image data is executed. Thereby, color-format image data is generated.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, for the image data of the blocks PB ₁ , PB ₂ , PB ₅ , PB ₆ , PB ₁₁ , PB ₁₂ , PB ₁₅ , PB ₁₆ encoded as color image data, The block PB ₃ , PB ₄ , PB ₇ , PB ₈ , PB ₉ , PB ₁₀ , PB ₁₃ , PB ₁₄ , PB ₁₇ encoded as monochrome image data is decoded. The image data of .about.PB ₂₀ is converted into color format image data after being decoded as a black and white format.

As a result, all the image data of the blocks PB _{01 to} PB ₂₀ are made to be color format image data. That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, the image data of the blocks PB _{01 to} PB ₂₀ is obtained as color format image data.

  In this way, when the image data of all the blocks PB is received and the decoding process for the received image data is finished, in the flowchart of FIG. 6, an affirmative determination is made in step 130 and the process proceeds to step 132.

In this step 132, the image data of each block PB (PB _{01 to} PB ₂₀ ) is synthesized based on the connection information. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8B, image data corresponding to the original image 92 is obtained based on the image data of the blocks PB _{01 to} PB ₂₀ (see FIG. 8A).

  As described above, when transmitting the color image (image 92) on which the color object 94 is formed, the server 18 divides the image data of the image 92 into a plurality of blocks PB, and the block PB of only a monochrome image is obtained. In some cases, by converting the image data of the corresponding block PB into black and white image data, the data amount can be reduced compared to when all of the image data of the image 92 is transmitted as color image data. Can do.

  Further, when the image data of the block PB transmitted as black and white image data is received, the image data that can appropriately reproduce the original image 92 is obtained by converting the image data into color image data.

  As a result, for example, when data is transmitted, costs can be reduced even when charging is performed according to the amount of data, transmission time, or the like.

  In addition, since each of the divided blocks PB is image data that forms a part of the image 92, the image data for each received block PB is decoded and printed out separately. For example, by manually connecting them, it is possible to obtain a print output corresponding to the original image.

  Thereby, even when the receiving side 2 is not equipped with the function of synthesizing the image data of the divided blocks PB, an output product (print output) corresponding to the image 92 of the document 90 can be obtained.

  It should be noted that the number of divisions of the image 92 may be changed based on the total data amount after division or encoding according to the formed object or the like.

  For example, when the image data of the image 92 is transmitted as it is as the image data of a color image, and when it is divided into a predetermined number and the block PB of only a monochrome image is converted into image data of a monochrome image The total amount of data is compared, and based on this result, the suitability of the number of divisions is determined. When the desired reduction ratio cannot be obtained, the number of divisions is increased, for example, the size (area) of each block PB. May be made smaller.

  At this time, the number of divisions or the minimum size of the block PB may be set, and it may be determined whether or not a desired reduction ratio has been obtained when the set value is divided.

  Further, when the distribution of the color object is examined and the image in which the color object is spread over the entire surface, it may be difficult to reduce the amount of data even if the size of the block PB is reduced. The image data may be transmitted as one page of image data without being divided.

In the first embodiment, the link information is added to the image data and transmitted. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the position information of the corresponding block PB is added to the image data of each block PB as the link information. It may be. Further, by setting the number of divisions, the division order, and the like in advance, it is possible to eliminate the need to add concatenation information by transmitting the image data of the block PB in this setting order.
[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The basic configuration of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment described above. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as those of the first embodiment. Will be omitted.

  FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of a data transmission function unit 60A provided in the server 18A applied to the second embodiment instead of the server 18. The basic configuration of the server 18A can be the same as that of the server 18.

  The data transmission function unit 60A includes a transmission processing unit 62A and a reception processing unit 64A. The transmission processing unit 62A is provided with a color object extraction unit 98 and an image conversion unit 70, as well as a signal processing unit 72 including a monochrome signal processing unit 74 and a color signal processing unit 76.

  The color object extraction unit 98 provided in the transmission processing unit 62A extracts the image data of the color object 94 from the image data of the image 92 to be transmitted. At this time, the color object extraction unit 98 generates position information of the extracted color object 92.

  The image data of the color object 94 extracted by the color object extraction unit 98 is input to the color signal processing unit 76, whereby the color signal processing unit 76 encodes the image data of the color object 94. Processing is performed to generate color coded data for each color object 94.

  In addition, the image data of the image 92 is input to the image conversion unit 70, whereby the image data of the image 92 is converted into image data in monochrome format.

  The black and white signal processing unit 74 performs encoding processing on the image data converted into the black and white format, and generates black and white encoded data of the image 92.

  The transmission processing unit 62A transmits the position information of the color object 94 together with the encoded data thus formed to a predetermined transmission destination.

  On the other hand, the reception processing unit 64A is provided with an image converting unit 84 and an image synthesizing unit 99 together with a signal processing unit 78 including a black and white decoding unit 80 and a color decoding unit 82. The image data of the image 92 that has been converted into the monochrome format and encoded is input, and the reception processing unit 64A decodes the image data, and then the color conversion unit 84 decodes the image data. It is designed to convert to data.

  On this image data, the color object 94 is represented as a black and white image together with the text object 96. That is, the entire surface of the image 92 is represented in black and white.

  In addition, the color encoded data for each color object 94 is input to the color decoding unit 82, whereby image data in color format for each color object 94 is obtained.

  The image composition unit 99 composes this image data. That is, the color object 94 is pasted on the monochrome image data based on the position information, so that the image data corresponding to the image 92 of the document 90 is output.

  Here, the image data transmission process using the facsimile function provided in the server 18A will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 shows the flow of processing at the transmission source. This flowchart reads the image data of the image 92 transmitted in the first step 140. Note that image data is read in one page at a time.

  In the next step 142, the color object 94 is extracted from the read image data, and in step 144, it is confirmed whether or not the color object 94 has been extracted.

  Here, when the color object 94 is extracted from the image data, an affirmative determination is made in step 144, the process proceeds to step 146, and position information of the extracted color object 894 is generated.

  Thereafter, in step 148, the extracted image data of the color object 94 is encoded in a color format. Thereby, position information and color encoded data for each color object 94 are generated.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, for the image data of the image 92 including the color object 94 (94A, 94B), the color object 94 is extracted from the entire area of the image 92.

  At this time, the image data of the color object 94 is formed by image data indicating the object itself, a rectangular drawing area corresponding to the drawing size, and data indicating the position of the drawing area.

From this, as shown in FIG. 11B, when extracting the color objects 94A and 94B, the rectangular area E (E _A , E _B ) is included in the image data and the position information (x, y) is included. ((X _A , y _A ), (x _B , y _B )) is extracted.

  On the other hand, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 10, when the extraction of the color object 94 is finished and an affirmative determination is made in step 150, the process proceeds to step 152. In step 152, the image data of the image 92 read in advance is converted into image data in monochrome format.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 11B, together with the image data of the color objects 94A and 94B, monochrome image data for the image 92 (image 92A) is generated.

  When the encoding process of the image data for the image 92 and the encoding process for the color object 94 on the image 92 are completed in this way, the process proceeds to step 154, and the encoded image data and each color object 94 are transferred. The position information is transmitted to the set transmission destination.

  On the other hand, FIG. 12 shows the flow of reception processing at the transmission destination. This flowchart is executed when the transmission destination server 18A receives the color encoded data of the color object 94 and the black and white encoded data of the image 92. In the first step 160, the black and white encoded data is read, In step 162, monochrome image data is generated by performing a decoding process on the monochrome encoded data.

  Thereafter, in step 164, the image data is converted into color format image data. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 13A, color-format image data in which the image 92 is a monochrome image 92A is generated.

  In step 166 of FIG. 12, color coded data is read, and in the next step 168, the color coded data is decoded. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13A, image data of the color object 94 is generated.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 12, when the generation of all the color encoded data, that is, the image data for all the color objects 94 is completed, a negative determination is made in step 170 and the process proceeds to step 172.

  In this step 172, the color object 94 is combined with the monochrome image of the color format of the image 92 based on the position information. That is, the image data of each color object 94 is pasted on the image data of the image 92 based on the position information.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 13B, image data capable of obtaining an image equivalent to the image 92 formed on the original document 90 is generated.

  Thus, since only the color object 94 is transmitted as color image image data (color encoded data) in the server 18A, compared to when all of the image data of the image 92 is transmitted as color image image data. The amount of data can be reduced. Also at this time, image data that can properly reproduce the original image 92 on the receiving side can be obtained.

  Note that when the color object is distributed over the entire surface of the image to be transmitted, the amount of data may increase by the amount of transmission of monochrome image data. In order to prevent this, for example, prior to the extraction of the color object, the distribution of the color object is examined, and an image in which the color object spreads over the entire surface may be transmitted as it is as a color image. Good.

  In the second embodiment, only a color object is extracted. However, even a monochrome object may be extracted in the same manner as a color object.

For example, as shown in FIG. 14, when an image 96 includes an object 96A that is a black and white graphic object, the object 96A is included together with the image data and position information (x _C , y _C ) of the region E including the color object 94. Image data and position information (x _C , y _C ) of the region E (E _C ) are extracted (see FIG. 14B). At this time, the object 96A is converted into monochrome image data together with the image 92.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 14B, the black and white image 92A, the image data of the object 96A, and the image data of the color objects 94A and 94B are generated and transmitted for each object. Good.

  On the other hand, in facsimile communication, the transmitted image is printed out. Further, in a printer 16 capable of color printing, color reproducibility is improved by performing color correction processing on a color image.

  From here, color correction processing may be performed only on the color object 94. FIG. 15 shows a server 18B as an example at this time. The server 18B is provided with a color correction processing unit 180 in the reception processing unit 64B so that print processing in which color correction processing is performed only on a color image can be performed.

  FIG. 16 shows an example of reception processing using such a server 18B. In this flowchart, when color-coded image data of the color object 94 is decoded and color-format image data is generated, the process proceeds to step 174 to perform color correction processing on the image data. The color correction processing may be performed for all the color objects 94, not for each color object 94, and then collectively for the generated image data.

  By performing color correction processing in this way, the amount of data to be color corrected can be reduced compared to performing color correction processing on the image data of the entire surface of the image 92, so that it is efficient in a short time. Color correction is possible.

  In the first and second embodiments, the data transmission using the facsimile function has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any configuration for transmitting image data. . At this time, by processing the image data indicating the monochrome image as the image data in the monochrome format, the total data amount can be reduced, and the data transfer time and the transfer cost can be reduced. it can.

It is a schematic block diagram of the network which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a schematic block diagram of the server which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a functional block diagram of the principal part of the server which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the transmission process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image of image data to be transmitted, (B) is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of division of image data, and (C) is a schematic diagram illustrating an image of each block of the divided image data. . It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the reception process which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is the schematic which shows the process with respect to each received block. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an image corresponding to image data of each block obtained by decoding and image conversion, and (B) shows an image of image data obtained by synthesizing the image data of (A). FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the principal part of the server which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the transmission process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image of image data to be transmitted. (B) is a schematic diagram illustrating an image according to the extracted color format image data and an image according to the image data converted into the black and white format. It is. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the reception process which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. (A) is a schematic diagram showing an image according to received image data, and (B) is a schematic diagram showing an image obtained by synthesizing the received image data. (A) And (B) is the schematic which shows the other example of extraction of an object, (A) shows the image according to the image data before object extraction, (B) is the image of the image data of the extracted object And the image according to the image data converted into the monochrome format is shown. It is a functional block diagram of the principal part which shows another example of the server which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the outline of the reception process using the server of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10 Network 12 (12A, 12B) User 14 Image processing terminal 16 Printer 18, 18A, 18B Server 20 Scanner 34 Communication I / F
60, 60A, 60B Data transmission function unit 62, 62A Transmission processing unit 64, 64A, 64B Reception processing unit 66 Division processing unit 68 Judgment unit 70 Image conversion unit 74 B / W signal processing unit 76 Color signal processing unit 80 B / W decoding unit 82 Color decoding unit 84 Image conversion unit (restoration means)
86 Image composition section (first composition means)
98 Object extraction unit 99 Image composition unit (second composition unit)
180 color correction processing unit

Claims (19)

An image processing method for transmitting image data of an image including a color object,
Generating image data for each block obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks from the image data;
Among the divided blocks, color image processing is performed on image data of blocks including color pixels forming the color object,
The image data of a block not including color pixels forming the color object is converted into a monochrome format and subjected to monochrome image processing.
An image processing method. Along with the image data of each block, generating link information that can reproduce the image data of the original image by connecting the image data of each divided block,
The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the connection information can be transmitted together with the image processed image data.   3. The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the image processing is color coding processing and monochrome coding processing for performing transmission processing using a facsimile function.   Comparing the amount of data when transmitting the image data before division and the total amount of data when dividing into a plurality of precursor blocks, the division number can be changed based on the comparison result The image processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Image data of an image including a color object is divided into a plurality of blocks, and each block is subjected to encoding processing as a color image when including pixels forming the color object, and black and white when not including the color object. An image processing method for processing image data that has been converted into a format and encoded as a black and white image,
The block image data encoded as the color image is decoded as a color image,
After the block image data encoded as the monochrome image is decoded as a monochrome image and converted into color format image data,
An image processing method comprising: generating image data of an original image by combining image data of each block.   The image data of each of the blocks is synthesized based on the connection information when connection information capable of restoring the original image data is generated from the plurality of blocks. Image processing method. An image processing apparatus capable of transmitting image data of an image including a color object,
Dividing means for generating image data for each block obtained by dividing the image into a plurality of blocks from the image data;
A determination unit that determines whether or not each block includes color pixels that form the color object from the image data of each block divided by the dividing unit;
Color processing means for performing color image processing on the image data of the block determined by the determination means to be included in the color pixel;
Conversion means for converting the image data of the block determined not to include the color pixels into a monochrome format;
Monochrome processing means for performing monochrome image processing on the image data converted by the conversion means;
An image processing apparatus comprising: The dividing unit generates link information that can reproduce the image data of the original image by connecting the image data of the divided blocks,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the connection information can be transmitted together with the image processed image data. When including a transmission means for transmitting image data using a facsimile function,
9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the color processing unit and the monochrome processing unit perform an encoding process for transmission using the facsimile function. Image data of an image including a color object is divided into a plurality of blocks, and the image data of each block is encoded as a color image or converted into a monochrome format and encoded as a monochrome image. An image processing apparatus that is processed and input,
A monochrome decoding means for decoding the image data of the block encoded as the monochrome image as a monochrome image;
Restoring means for converting the image data of the block decoded by the black and white decoding means into a color format;
Color decoding means for decoding the image data encoded as the color image as a color image;
First combining means for combining the image data of the block converted by the restoration means and the image data of the block decoded by the color decoding means to generate image data of the original image;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   When concatenating information that can restore the original image data from the block is generated when the image data is divided into the plurality of blocks, the first synthesizing unit is configured based on the concatenating information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image data of each block is synthesized. An image processing method for transmitting image data of an image including a color object,
Extracting image data and position information of the color object from the image data;
Perform color image processing on the extracted color object image data,
The image data including the color object is converted into monochrome image data and subjected to monochrome image processing.
An image processing method.   13. The image processing method according to claim 12, wherein the color image processing and the black and white image processing are encoding processing for performing transmission processing using a facsimile function. Image data of an image including a color object is converted into a monochrome format and encoded as a monochrome image, and the image data of the color object extracted together with position information is encoded as a color image. An image processing method when applied,
The color image processed image data for each color object is decoded as a color image,
After the original black and white image processed image data is decoded as a black and white image and converted into color image data,
An image processing method comprising: generating image data of an original image by combining image data of the color object based on the position information with image data converted from a monochrome format to a color format.   The image processing method according to claim 14, wherein a predetermined color correction process is performed on the image data decoded as the color image to perform the image synthesis. An image processing apparatus capable of transmitting image data of an image including a color object,
Extraction means for extracting image data and position information of the color object from the image data;
Color processing means for performing color image processing on the image data of the color object extracted by the extraction means;
Conversion means for converting the image data including the color object into image data in monochrome format;
Monochrome processing means for performing monochrome image processing on the image data converted by the conversion means;
An image processing apparatus comprising:   The image processing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the color processing unit and the monochrome processing unit perform an encoding process for performing a transmission process using a facsimile function. Image data of an image including a color object is converted into a black and white format and encoded, and the image data of the color object encoded as a color image and position information of the color object are input. An image processing apparatus,
Monochrome decoding means for decoding the image data encoded in the monochrome format;
Restoring means for converting the image data decoded by the black and white decoding means into image data in color format;
Color decoding means for decoding image data encoded in the color format;
Second combining means for combining the image data decoded by the color decoding means with the image data converted by the restoration means based on the position information;
An image processing apparatus comprising: Color correction means for performing a predetermined color correction process on the image data decoded by the color decoding means;
The image processing apparatus, wherein the second synthesizing unit synthesizes the image data color-corrected by the color correcting unit.

Images