JP2009239852A - Image processing apparatus and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and image processing method can accelerate image processing by reducing a load of the image processing on image data. <P>SOLUTION: A decoder section 12A, 12B generates decompressed data obtained by decompressing compressed data and detects a blank portion on the basis of the compressed data. Based on a detection result of the blank portion by the decoder section 12A, 12B, a blank skip section 18A, 18B performs control so that only a portion, other than the blank portion, of the decompressed data is subjected to image processing by an image processing section 20A, 20B. A merge section 22 synthesizes the decompressed data in which the portion other than the blank portion has been image-processed, to generate synthesized data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, and more particularly to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for decompressing compressed data and performing image processing.

  In recent years, in on-demand printing or the like, so-called variable printing is widely performed in which image data is partially printed by adding image data for each output unit or replacing part of the image data. . In a system for performing variable printing, printing is performed by combining an image of a fixed part (master image) that is common to a plurality of printed materials and an image of a variable part (variable image) that can be different for each printed material. Technology is widely adopted.

  In recent printing systems, in order to reduce the data transfer load, image data is also compressed and transferred using a compression technique such as the Packbits method or the JPEG method. In the printing system, the compressed image data is decompressed and subjected to image processing, and then printing processing is performed.

  For example, an apparatus is known that performs printout after decompressing and combining two types of compressed image data (Cone Tone image and Line Work image) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  An apparatus is also known in which an input image is compressed (error diffusion method), read out again, smoothed, subjected to image processing, recompressed and stored (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

Furthermore, a line data multiplication unit that multiplies the run-length converted image data and the filter coefficient in units of rows, a line data shift unit that shifts the run-length converted line data left and right by N pixels, and line data Receives multiple run-length line data that have been multiplied by the filter coefficient in the multiplication unit and shifted by the number of pixels required to the left and right by the line data shift unit, and adds them to generate spatial filter processing results There is also known an apparatus including a row data addition unit that outputs to an image output unit (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
US Pat. No. 5,966,504 Japanese Patent No. 3124839 Japanese Patent No. 3438474

  However, when generating image data to be printed with a line-type inkjet printing system, image processing performed after decompression of compressed image data is often complicated, such as non-ejection correction and non-uniformity correction. As a result, the load of image processing becomes heavy and the processing speed decreases. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the load of image processing. Furthermore, in variable printing or the like, since it is necessary to process two planes of a master image and a variable image, higher speed processing is required.

  The conventional apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 cannot cope with such problems. Furthermore, the apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is a technique for managing a compressed image before image processing and a compressed image after image processing in the same memory, and reduces the load on the image processing unit and performs high-speed processing. It does not become a thing. The device described in Patent Document 3 is characterized in that it performs spatial filter processing with run-length data as it is, but has a problem that it cannot cope with other compressed data such as JPEG format.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus and an image processing method capable of performing image processing at high speed.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image processing apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention decompresses compressed first image data to generate first decompressed data, and is compressed differently from the first image data. The second image data is decompressed to generate second decompressed data, and the first blank portion of the first image data is detected based on the compressed first image data, and the compression is performed. Decompression detecting means for detecting at least one of the second blank portion of the second image data based on the second image data, and when the first blank portion is detected, the first blank portion is detected. Image processing is performed on a portion other than the first blank portion of the first decompressed data, and when the second blank portion is detected, a portion other than the second blank portion of the second decompressed data is detected. Image processing is performed, and the first blank portion and the first blank portion are processed. When the blank portion is not detected, the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data are subjected to image processing, and the first processed image data and the second decompressed data corresponding to the first decompressed data are processed. Image processing means for generating second processed image data corresponding to the above, and combining means for combining the first processed image data and the second processed image data.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the compressed first image data is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and the compressed second image different from the first image data is generated. Decompressing data to generate second decompressed data, detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data, and compressing the second Composite image data obtained by synthesizing the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data with decompression detecting means for detecting at least one of the second blank portions of the second image data based on the image data And the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and when the first blank portion and the second blank portion have overlapping portions, the synthesized image The other part of the data When image processing is performed and at least one of the first blank portion and the second blank portion is not detected, or the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, the first blank portion and Image processing means for performing image processing on the composite image data when there is no overlapping portion in the second blank portion.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an image processing apparatus that performs image processing before composition, and the invention according to claim 2 is an image processing apparatus that performs image processing after composition. Since the image processing is performed on a portion other than the blank portion without being processed, even when heavy image processing is performed, the load is reduced and processing can be performed at high speed. Further, instead of detecting the blank portion based on the decompressed data, the blank portion is detected based on the compressed first and second image data (hereinafter collectively referred to as compressed data). The blank portion can be detected more efficiently than the blank portion detected based on the decompressed data obtained by decompressing the data, that is, the data expanded into the bitmap image data.

  The blank portion is a portion having no image information, and can be, for example, a portion of data that does not indicate a gradation value.

  Further, the blank portion detection performed by the decompression detection means is performed based on the compressed data. However, the present invention relates to a case where the present invention is performed based on the compressed data itself, and data generated from the compressed data. Including the case of performing based on the intermediate code before being generated.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the first image data is fixed image data whose content is fixed, and the second image data is variable image data whose content is variable, and the image processing Storage means for saving the first processed image data image-processed by the means, and the synthesis means generates the first processed image data stored in the storage means and the image processing means The second processed image data may be synthesized.

  According to such a configuration, since the stored fixed image data can be used for the synthesizing process of the synthesizing unit, the process becomes efficient.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the decompression detecting means includes a first line memory unit in which a plurality of line memories to which the compressed first image data is input are connected in series, and the first Connected to each of output terminals of a plurality of line memories of one line memory unit, and decompresses the compressed first image data input from the connected line memories to generate first decompressed data. A first decoding unit comprising a plurality of decoders for detecting the first blank portion based on the input compressed first image data and the compressed second image data are input. A plurality of line memories connected in series, and a plurality of line memories connected to the output terminals of the second line memory unit, and input from the connected line memories. A plurality of decoders that decompress the compressed second image data to generate second decompressed data, and that detect the second blank portion based on the input compressed second image data And a second decoding unit comprising:

  When image processing is performed in units of a plurality of lines, it is necessary to generate decompressed data for the plurality of lines and store it in a buffer or the like before image processing by the image processing means. However, by providing a plurality of line memories and a plurality of decoders as in the invention of claim 4, it is possible to perform processing in real time without providing a buffer memory after the decompression detecting means. Also, high-resolution image data and large-size image data are not affected and can be processed at high speed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for decompressing the compressed first image data to generate first decompressed data, and a compressed second image different from the first image data. Decompressing data to generate second decompressed data, detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data, and compressing the second A decompression detecting step for performing at least one of detection of a second blank portion of the second image data based on the image data; and when the first blank portion is detected, the first decompressed data Image processing is performed on a portion other than the first blank portion, and when the second blank portion is detected, the portion other than the second blank portion of the second decompressed data is subjected to image processing, The first blank portion and the second blank portion are If not, the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data are subjected to image processing, and the first processed image data corresponding to the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data corresponding to the second decompressed data are processed. Image processing step for generating the second processed image data, and a combining step for combining the first processed image data and the second processed image data.

  This method also operates in the same manner as the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect, so that it is possible to efficiently detect a blank portion, reduce the image processing load, and perform high-speed processing.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing method for decompressing compressed first image data to generate first decompressed data, and a compressed second image different from the first image data. Decompressing data to generate second decompressed data, detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data, and compressing the second A decompression detecting step for detecting at least one of the second blank portions of the second image data based on the image data, and the composite image data by combining the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data. And the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and if there is an overlapping portion in the first blank portion and the second blank portion, the synthesized image Other than the overlapping part of the data When the portion is image-processed and at least one of the first blank portion and the second blank portion is not detected, or the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and the first blank portion is detected. An image processing step of performing image processing on the composite image data when there is no overlapping portion between the portion and the second blank portion.

  This method also operates in the same manner as the image processing apparatus according to the second aspect, so that it is possible to efficiently detect a blank portion, reduce the image processing load, and perform high-speed processing.

  As described above, the present invention has an excellent effect that image processing can be performed at high speed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. This image processing apparatus 10 generates image data for so-called variable printing, which prints out image data with partially different contents by replacing a part of the image data, and is common to a plurality of printed materials. Image data of the fixed portion image (master image) that is the content of the image and the image data of the variable portion image (variable image) that can be different content for each printed matter.

  In the present embodiment, when the image data of the master image is image data expressed by gradation with 8 bits (256 gradations), one of them (for example, 0 of 0 to 255) is used as the transmission code. At the time of assignment and synthesis, if the image data of the master image is a transparent code, the image data of the variable image is selected and synthesized. Thus, the data portion assigned to the transparent code is a blank portion that does not have a gradation value (that is, image information). In the present embodiment, a transparent code is set to 0, and a portion corresponding to 0 data is processed as a blank portion (hereinafter referred to as a blank portion).

  As shown in the figure, the image processing apparatus 10 decompresses (decodes) the compressed data and performs image processing on the decompressed data decompressed by the decoder units 12A and 12B for detecting blank portions and the decoder units 12A and 12B. The image processing units 20A and 20B, the blank skip units 18A and 18B for performing the skip processing so that the image data of the blank portion detected by the decoder units 12A and 12B is not processed by the image processing unit 20, and the image processing unit 20A. And a merge unit 22 that synthesizes (merges) the image data that has been subjected to image processing in 20B.

  The decoder unit 12A, the blank skip unit 18A, and the image processing unit 20A are systems for processing image data of a master image (hereinafter referred to as master image data), and include a decoder unit 12B, a blank skip unit 18B, and an image processing unit. Reference numeral 20B denotes a system for processing image data of a variable image (hereinafter referred to as variable image data).

  In the present embodiment, since the decoder unit 12A and the decoder unit 12B have the same configuration, in the following description, the suffix at the end of the code is omitted and the decoder unit 12 and Called. The blank skip unit 18A and the blank skip unit 18B have the same configuration, and the image processing unit 20A and the image processing unit 20B have the same configuration. Subscripts are omitted, and are referred to as a blank skip unit 18 and an image processing unit 20.

  In the following description, the compressed master image data and the compressed variable image data will be referred to as compressed data when they are described without being distinguished, and the decompressed master image data, the decompressed variable image data, and Is referred to as decompressed data.

  The decoder unit 12 includes a first decoder 14 and a second decoder 16. The first decoder 14 is a decoder for decompressing compressed data compressed in the run length format, and the second decoder 16 is a decoder for decompressing compressed data compressed in the JPEG format.

  Normally, image data of Line Work images (LW images) such as characters and line drawings is compressed by a reversible method such as a run length format, and a continuous tone Cone Tone image (CT image) such as a photograph is compressed in JPEG format or the like Often compressed in a lossy manner. Therefore, also in this embodiment, the decoder unit 12 is composed of two types of decoders, the first decoder 14 and the second decoder 16, so as to be compatible with each of these compression methods. If there is always one type of compression format for the data to be decompressed, only one of the decoders may be configured.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the first decoder 14. The first decoder 14 includes a blank determination unit 30, a RUN value register 32, a counter 34, a data output register 36, a data selector 38, and an arithmetic circuit (not shown). Here, the arithmetic circuit is not shown so that the data flow can be easily identified.

  The blank determination unit 30 sequentially reads out the compressed data from the image memory in which the compressed data compressed in the run length format is stored, and determines whether the compressed data is blank portion data. The run-length format compressed data is configured by arranging a set of a data value indicating the value of the data itself and a RUN value indicating the number of consecutive data values. The blank determination unit 30 determines whether or not the data value of the compressed data is a specific value indicating the blank portion, and thereby whether or not the data including the data value and the RUN value is the compressed data of the blank portion. Determine.

  For example, when the original image data before compression is image data having 8 bits (256) gradation per pixel, and the blank portion is image data represented by x'00 '(hexadecimal display) For example, if the extracted data value is x'00 ', the blank determination unit 30 determines that the compressed data is the compressed data of the blank part, and if the extracted data value is a value other than x'00', the blank determination unit 30 It can be determined that the compressed data is other than the portion.

  As described above, when the blank determination unit 30 determines that the read data value is a specific value indicating the blank part, the blank code “1” indicating the blank part corresponds to the data value. Together with the RUN value to be output to the data selector 38.

  On the other hand, if the blank determination unit 30 determines that the read data value is not a specific value indicating a blank portion, the blank code “0” indicating that the data value is not a blank portion is displayed as a RUN value corresponding to the data value. At the same time, it is output to the data selector 38. Further, the data value is set in the data output register 36 and the RUN value is set in the RUN value register 32.

  The counter 34 counts down the set RUN value by one in synchronization with a predetermined clock.

  An arithmetic circuit (not shown) inputs the data value set in the data output register 36 to the data selector 38 in synchronization with the predetermined clock. The input of this data value is continued until the counter 34 becomes zero. Thereby, the compressed data is expanded (decompressed).

  The counter 34 outputs a LOAD command when the set RUN value is subtracted to 0. An arithmetic circuit (not shown) receives this LOAD command, reads the next RUN value set in the RUN value register 32 and sets it in the counter 34. An arithmetic circuit (not shown) shifts the read address for the data output register 36, reads the next data value stored in the data output register 36, and inputs it to the data selector 38 in synchronization with the predetermined clock. To do.

  A data value is input from the data output register 36 to the data selector 38, and a blank code and a RUN value are input from the blank determination unit 30. When a blank code “0” is input from the blank determination unit 30, the data selector 38 selects the data value input from the data output register 36 as output data, and stores it in a buffer memory (not shown) together with the blank code “0”. While storing, it outputs to the blank skip part 18 of a back | latter stage. Further, when the blank code “1” is input from the blank determination unit 30, the data selector 38 selects the RUN value input together with the blank code “1” from the blank determination unit 30 as output data, and the blank code “ 1 "is stored in a buffer memory (not shown) and output to the blank skip unit 18 in the subsequent stage.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2B, as decompressed data, for the data portion other than the blank portion, a combination of the blank code “0” and the data value is continuously output by the RUN value of the data value. For the data portion of the blank portion, a combination of the blank code “1” and the RUN value is output. In the example shown in FIG. 2B, it can be seen that there are blank portions of 30 pixels (pixels) in the image data. As described above, the decompressed data output from the data selector 38 also includes the RUN value of the blank part that has not been decompressed. However, since this part is expanded by the blank skip unit 18 at the subsequent stage, the merge unit 22 has a problem. It is processed without.

  In the present embodiment, the image processing performed in the image processing unit 20 is image processing performed in units of a plurality of lines, and the buffer memory in which decompressed data is stored corresponds to the image processing unit of the image processing unit 20. The line buffer memory has a capacity capable of storing the data.

  Next, the configuration of the second decoder 16 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the second decoder 16. The second decoder 16 includes a JPEG data analysis unit 40, a Huffman decoding unit 50, an inverse quantization unit 60, and an inverse DCT (Discret Cosine Transform) conversion unit 62. Further, the second decoder 16 includes a Huffman table 42 used in the Huffman decoding unit 50, a quantization table (Q table) 44 used in the inverse quantization unit 60, and a cosine (COS) table used in the inverse DCT conversion unit 62. Although a memory for developing 46 is provided, the illustration of the memory is omitted in FIG. 3, and each table developed in the memory is shown.

  The JPEG data analysis unit 40 analyzes the compressed data in the JPEG format, extracts the Huffman table 42, the Q table 44, and the COS table 46 necessary for the decoding process from the compressed data, and expands them on the memory. Note that these tables are tables generated at the time of JPEG compression, and are well known in the art, so further explanation here is omitted.

  The Huffman decoding unit 50 decodes the Huffman encoded code included in the compressed data using the Huffman table 42. The inverse quantization unit 60 uses the Q table 44 to perform an inverse quantization process on the image data decoded by the Huffman decoding unit 50. The inverse DCT transform unit 62 performs inverse DCT transform on the image data subjected to the inverse quantization process by the inverse quantization unit 60 using the COS table 46. The decompressed data obtained by decompressing the compressed data is generated by the processes in the Huffman decoding unit 50, the inverse quantization unit 60, and the inverse DCT transform unit 62.

  Next, the configuration of the Huffman decoding unit 50 will be described in more detail. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the Huffman decoding unit 50.

  The Huffman decoding unit 50 includes a data cutout unit 51, a Huffman code determination unit 52, a run-length data decoding unit 53, a first-in first-out (FIFO) memory 54 (hereinafter simply referred to as FIFO 54), a blank determination unit 56, and data generation. Unit 55 and a DC component storage unit 57.

  The data cutout unit 51 cuts out a part of the compressed data from the memory storing the compressed data compressed in the JPEG format and outputs the cutout data to the Huffman code determination unit 52.

  Here, the JPEG compressed data is data obtained by compressing, for example, one block of 8 pixels × 8 pixels as one compression unit, and the compressed data of one block is the DC component data and the AC component added after the DC component. Consists of component data. The DC component data includes a code obtained by Huffman-coding data indicating the bit size of the data value indicating the difference from the DC component of the previous block, and the data value indicating the difference itself. The AC component data includes a code obtained by two-dimensional Huffman coding of data indicating a bit size of a data value other than 0 and data indicating a RUN value indicating the number of consecutive “0”, and the value is other than 0. Data value itself.

  Based on the Huffman table 42, the Huffman code determination unit 52 first decodes the code portion that has been Huffman encoded. Thereby, the bit size is decoded in the case of DC component data, and the bit size and the RUN value are decoded in the case of AC component data. Among these, the bit size is output to the data cutout unit 51 as the cutout size. The data cutout unit 51 cuts out a data portion indicating the data value of the DC component data or the data value of the AC component data based on the input size. The data portion indicating the cut data value is input to the run-length data decoding unit 53.

  The run-length data decoding unit 53 receives the decoding result of the Huffman code determination unit 52 and the data value cut out by the data cut-out unit 51. When a data value indicating a difference between DC component data is input, the run-length data decoding unit 53 inputs the data value to the FIFO 54 as it is. When the data value of AC component data is input, the data value and the RUN value corresponding to the data value are input to the FIFO 54 as a set of data.

  Data is read from the FIFO 54 in the order of input, and the read data is input to the data generation unit 55 and the blank determination unit 56.

  The data generation unit 55 reads the DC component value of the previous block from the DC component storage unit 57, and adds the data value indicating the difference between the DC components input from the FIFO 54 to the read DC component value. Then, the DC component value of the block is obtained. This is stored in the DC component storage unit 57 by overwriting. Further, the data generation unit 55 generates data that expands the entire AC component part from the data value and the RUN value of the AC component, and data (hereinafter referred to as Huffman decoding process) including the generated DC component value and expanded AC component value (Referred to as completed data) is output to the inverse quantization unit 60 in the subsequent stage.

  The blank determination unit 56 performs the processing based on the DC component value stored in the DC component storage unit 57 and the data value of the AC component input from the FIFO 54 immediately after the data value indicating the difference between the DC components. It is determined whether or not the block portion of the compressed data is a blank portion.

  When the DC component value is 0 and the data value of the AC component is an EOB code (a code used when 0 continues to the end of the block), the blank determination unit 56 A blank code “1” indicating that the block is a blank portion is output to the blank skip unit 18 by determining that the block is a blank portion. It is unnecessary to include data indicating the size in the blank code output here. This is because the block size, which is a compression unit, is constant. On the other hand, if the read DC component value is not 0, or if the data value of the extracted AC component is not an EOB code, a blank code “0” indicating that the block is not a blank portion is blank skip unit 18. Output to.

  That is, the second decoder 16 performs blank determination based on the intermediate code (DC component value, AC component value) generated based on the compressed data.

  The inverse quantization unit 60 performs inverse quantization processing for each block on the Huffman decoded data input from the Huffman decoding unit 50, and then the inverse DCT conversion unit 62 performs inverse DCT conversion processing to perform JPEG compression. Generate decompressed data by decompressing the data. The decompressed data is sequentially stored in a buffer memory (not shown).

  In addition, although the example which processes all the Huffman decoding processed data by the inverse quantization part 60 and the inverse DCT transformation part 62 irrespective of whether it is a blank part was demonstrated here, about the Huffman decoding processed data of a blank part, Alternatively, the data may be stored in the buffer memory without being processed by the inverse quantization unit 60 and the inverse DCT conversion unit 62. In any case, the result is the same because the block is data in which 0 data is expanded.

  As described above, each of the first decoder 14 and the second decoder 16 performs a decoding process corresponding to the corresponding compression method, and determines a blank portion during the decoding process.

  Next, operations of the blank skip unit 18 and the image processing unit 20 will be described.

  As described above, the entire decompressed data is input from the first decoder 14 and the blank code is input from the second decoder 16 to the blank skip unit 18. Based on the input data, the blank skip unit 18 controls the image processing unit 20 to skip the blank portion and perform image processing only on the decompressed data other than the blank portion (skip processing).

  In the present embodiment, the blank skip unit 18 controls the read address counter so that the blank portion is skipped. The read address counter designates the address of the buffer memory where the decompressed data is stored, and the data written at the address designated by the read address counter is read and transferred to the image processing unit 20. . The read address counter counts up in synchronization with a predetermined clock signal and designates the next address.

  When the blank code “0” is input from the first decoder 14 to the blank skip unit 18, the count up of the read address counter is continued as it is.

  Further, when the blank code “1” is input from the first decoder 14, the blank skip unit 18 expands the data of the blank part and outputs it to the merge unit 22. Specifically, 0 data continuous for the RUN value input together with the blank code “1” is output. Further, the blank skip unit 18 outputs a control signal to the read address counter, skips the blank portion data, and sets the counter so that the next decompressed data (other than the blank portion) is transferred to the image processing unit 20. Proceed. Thereby, in the image processing unit 20, the image processing of the blank portion is skipped, and the image processing is performed on the decompressed data other than the blank portion.

  Further, when the blank skip unit 18 performs the skip control based on the blank code output from the second decoder 16, the same operation as described above is performed. That is, when the blank code “0” is input from the second decoder 16, the count up of the read address counter is continued as it is. When a blank code “1” is input from the second decoder 16, 0 data for one block is output to the merge unit 22. Further, the blank skip unit 18 outputs a control signal to the read address counter, skips the decompressed data of the blank part, and transfers the next decompressed data (other than the blank part) to the image processing unit 20. To proceed. Thereby, in the image processing unit 20, the image processing of the blank portion is skipped, and the image processing is performed on the decompressed data other than the blank portion.

  The decompressed data is read from the buffer memory and transferred to the image processing unit 20 in accordance with the address specified by the read address counter. The image processing unit 20 performs image processing on the transferred decompressed data. The content of the image processing performed by the image processing unit 20 is not particularly limited. For example, it may be gradation reduction processing such as error diffusion processing or dither processing, or image data used in an inkjet printer is generated. Alternatively, interpolation processing or unevenness correction performed when a defective nozzle exists in the print head may be used.

  If there is no blank portion in the master image data, skip processing is not performed and image processing is performed on all decompressed data. The same applies to variable image data.

  The merging unit 22 synthesizes the master image data and the variable image data after the image processing is performed on the portions other than the blank portion by the image processing units 20A and 20B.

  FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the merge unit 22. As shown in the figure, the merging unit 22 includes a combining unit 24 and a converting unit 26. Here, processing performed in the synthesis unit 24 and the conversion unit 26 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The combining unit 24 combines the master image data and the variable image data according to a predetermined merge rule. Here, specific data in the 8-bit gradation (here, “0”) is treated as a transmission code, and for the pixel whose master image data is 0, variable image data is selected and the master image data is other than 0. Pixels are synthesized according to a merge rule of selecting master image data. When the master image data shown in FIG. 6A and the variable image data shown in FIG. 6B are combined according to the merge rule, composite data shown in FIG. 6C is obtained.

  Next, the conversion unit 26 performs processing for converting 1 included in the composite data into 0. Thereby, converted composite data as shown in FIG. 6D is obtained. As described above, since “0” is used as the transparent code in the synthesizing unit 24, the conversion unit 26 in the subsequent stage performs a process of converting “1” to “0” to adjust the gradation.

  The merge rule is not limited to the above. For example, the master image data is selected for pixels whose variable image data is 0, and the variable image data is selected for pixels whose variable image data is other than 0. It may be a rule.

  The synthesized data synthesized by the merging unit 22 is output, for example, by a print processing unit provided at the subsequent stage of the image processing apparatus 10.

  As described above, the image processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment generates decompressed data obtained by decompressing the compressed data by the decoder unit 12, detects a blank portion based on the compressed data, and the blank skip unit 18 performs the processing. Since only the part other than the blank part is processed by the image processing unit 20, the load on the image processing unit 20 is reduced, and high-speed processing is realized.

  The first decoder 14 performs blank determination based on the compressed data, and the second decoder 16 performs blank determination based on the intermediate code generated before the decompressed data (before the decompressed data is generated). The blank determination can be performed more efficiently than the blank determination based on the decompressed data that has been decompressed and expanded into bitmap image data.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the decompressed data generated by the decoder unit 12 is stored in the buffer memory and transferred to the image processing unit 20 has been described. However, the image processing performed by the image processing unit 20 is as follows. When the image processing is performed sequentially for each line instead of the image processing performed in units of a plurality of lines, it may be directly transferred without using the buffer memory. However, even in this case, it is necessary to perform control so that the blank skip portion 18 skips the blank portion. Specifically, among the decompressed data input from the decoder unit 12, the blank portion data is expanded to 0 and output to the merge unit 22, and only the data other than the blank portion is input to the image processing unit 20. To do.

  In the present embodiment, a blank part is detected in both the system for processing the master image data and the system for processing the variable image, and the skip processing is performed so that the part is not image-processed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the function is provided only in one of the systems, and the other system decompresses the data as it is without performing blank determination to generate decompressed data. You may comprise so that image processing may be performed.

  In FIG. 7, only a system that processes master image data is provided with a function of detecting a blank portion and performing a skip process so that the image is not processed, and a system that processes variable image data is not provided with this function. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an image processing device 15. FIG.

  The system that processes the master image data including the decoder unit 12A, the blank skip unit 18A, and the image processing unit 20A operates as described above. Further, in the system for processing variable image data including the decoder unit 13 and the image processing unit 20B, the decoder unit 13 generates decompressed data without detecting a blank portion, and passes it to the image processing unit 20B as it is. In the image processing unit 20B, the image is processed as it is and transferred to the merge unit 22.

  The merge unit 22 synthesizes the input master image data and variable image data.

  Even in such an image processing apparatus, the load of image processing of either master image data or variable image data is reduced.

[Second Embodiment]
Since the master image data is repeatedly used in variable printing, if the master image data after being decompressed and image processed is saved, the synthesized data can be used from the next time using the saved master image data. Can be generated. In the present embodiment, an example in which a storage unit that stores master image data is provided in the configuration of the first embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing apparatus 70 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, an image processing apparatus 70 according to the present embodiment includes a master image data storage unit 72 that stores master image data in addition to the configuration of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment. ing. The master image data storage unit 72 is provided between the subsequent stage of the image processing unit 20A and the merging unit 22, and stores master image data after image processing by the image processing unit 20A.

  Here, the operation of the image processing apparatus 70 will be described.

  When the first compressed master image data is decompressed and processed, the decoder unit 12A first generates the decompressed data of the master image and detects a blank portion, as in the first embodiment.

  The blank skip unit 18A inputs the decompressed data other than the blank portion of the decompressed data to the image processing unit 20A. The decompressed data image-processed by the image processing unit 20A is output to the merge unit 22 and stored in the master image data storage unit 72. On the other hand, the blank skip unit 18A does not input the decompressed data of the blank part to the image processing unit 20A, and outputs the data in which 0 data is expanded by the size of the blank part to the merge unit 22 and stores the master image data. Stored in the unit 72. As a result, the master image data storage unit 72 stores image data on the portions other than the blank portion, and stores the master image data in which 0 data is embedded without image processing of the blank portion.

  On the other hand, in the system for processing variable image data, similarly to the first embodiment, decompressed data of the variable image is generated by the decoder unit 12B and a blank portion is detected, and the blank skip unit 18B and the image are processed. The processing unit 20 </ b> B performs image processing on a portion other than the blank portion, and the blank portion is not subjected to image processing, and variable image data in which 0 data is embedded is input to the merging portion 22.

  The merging unit 22 synthesizes the input master image data and variable image data.

  Thereafter, when generating composite data, master image data stored in the master image data storage unit 72 is used as master image data to be combined with variable image data. The merge unit 22 synthesizes the master image data stored in the master image data storage unit 72 and the variable image data that has been newly decompressed and processed in the system for processing the variable image data.

  Thus, since the stored master image data can be used, the processing becomes efficient.

  Note that the master image data that has been decompressed and subjected to image processing may be compressed and stored in the master image data storage unit 72, and may be decompressed and used when the stored master image data is used. . Thereby, the required storage capacity can be reduced.

[Third Embodiment]
In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the image processing apparatus that performs the image processing after performing the image processing has been described as an example. However, in the present embodiment, the image processing that performs the image processing after the image processing is performed. An image processing apparatus 80 that performs skip processing so as not to perform image processing on the blank portion of the combined data after combining will be described as an example.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing apparatus 80 according to the present embodiment. In addition, since the component with the code | symbol shown in FIG. 9 and the code | symbol shown in FIG. 1 means the component which respectively has the same function, description is abbreviate | omitted here and only a difference is demonstrated below. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the image processing device 80 includes a decoder unit 12A, a decoder unit 12B, a merge unit 22, a blank skip unit 28, and an image processing unit 20. The merging unit 22 is provided between the decoder unit 12A and the decoder unit 12B and the blank skip unit 28. The blank skip unit 28 and the image processing unit 20 process each one of the merged data after merging. Is provided.

  The decoder unit 12A and the decoder unit 12B generate decompressed data as in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the first decoder 14 included in the decoder unit 12A and the decoder unit 12B has been described as generating decompressed data represented only by the RUN value without developing 0 data in the blank portion. However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that decompressed data in which 0 data is expanded by the number of RUN values is generated for the blank portion.

  The merging unit 22 synthesizes the decompressed data of the merged image data and the decompressed data of the variable image data generated in this way, as in the first embodiment. The combined data that has been combined is input to the blank skip unit 18.

  The blank codes generated by the first decoder 14 and the second decoder 16 are input via the merge unit 22 (or directly to the blank skip unit 28). The blank skip unit 28 according to the present embodiment obtains a blank part of both the master image data and the variable image data based on the input blank code, and the image processing unit 20 does not perform image processing on this part. Skip processing. The skip process is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Since the blank part in both the master image data and the variable image data is an overlapping part of the blank part of the master image data and the blank part of the variable image data, the blank skip unit 28 is input from the decoder unit 12A. An AND (logical product) of the blank code and the blank code input from the decoder unit 12B is taken, and the part that becomes 1 is regarded as an overlapping part and skip processing is performed so that this part is skipped.

  If there is no overlapping part, or if there is no blank part in both master image data and variable image data, skip processing is not performed and image processing is performed on all decompressed data.

  Even with such a configuration, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Usually, image data is often streaming data in the line direction, and compressed data is also compressed in the line direction. On the other hand, image processing apparatuses often perform image processing in units of a plurality of lines. Therefore, when image processing is performed in units of a plurality of lines, it is necessary to provide a buffer memory for a plurality of lines in the subsequent stage of the decoder unit 12 as exemplified in the first embodiment.

  In this embodiment, instead of providing a buffer memory in the subsequent stage of the decoder unit, a plurality of line buffer memories and a plurality of decoder units are provided, and the plurality of decoder units simultaneously decode the compressed data for a plurality of lines. An image processing apparatus configured to perform blank skip determination on a unit basis and input decompressed data for a plurality of lines as it is to the image processing unit without going through the buffer memory will be described as an example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing apparatus 90 according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, the image processing apparatus 90 includes a system for processing master image data and a system for processing variable image data. The system for processing the master image data includes a plurality of FIFO type line buffer memories 82A _N−1 , 82A _N , 82A _{N + 1} (here, three line buffer memories are illustrated as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto), A decoder unit 12A that is connected to the output terminals of a plurality of line buffer memories 82A _N−1 , 82A _N , and 82A _{N + 1} and that decompresses the compressed master image data input from the connected line buffer memories and detects a blank portion. _N-1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} , a blank skip unit 84A, and an image processing unit 20A.

A system for processing variable image data includes a plurality of FIFO type line buffer memories 82B _N−1 , 82B _N , and 82B _{N + 1} (here, three line buffer memories are illustrated as an example, but are not limited thereto). A decoder connected to the output ends of the plurality of line buffer memories 82B _N−1 , 82B _N , and 82B _{N + 1} for decompressing the compressed variable image data input from the connected line buffer memories and detecting a blank portion Units 12B _N−1 , 12B _N , 12B _{N + 1} , a blank skip unit 84B, and an image processing unit 20B.

The decoder units 12A _N−1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} , and the decoder units 12B _N−1 , 12B _N , 12B _{N + 1} are respectively the same as the decoder unit 12A and the decoder unit 12B described in the first embodiment. Since it has the same function, description is abbreviate | omitted. The image processing unit 20A, the image processing unit 20B, and the merging unit 22 are also the same as those described in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

In addition, since the operation of the system that processes the master image data and the operation of the system that processes the variable image data are the same, in the case of explaining without particularly distinguishing each, A description will be given by omitting B. Furthermore, the decoder units 12A _N−1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} , the decoder units 12B _N−1 , 12B _N , 12B _{N + 1} , a plurality of line buffer memories 82A _N−1 , 82A _N , 82A _{N + 1} , a plurality of The line buffer memories 82A _N−1 , 82A _N and 82A _{N + 1} will be described by omitting not only the signs of A and B but also the suffixes N, N−1 and N + 1 at the end.

  The plurality of line buffer memories 82 are connected in series, and the compressed data input to the line buffer memory 82 is successively delayed by one line and output to the line buffer memory 82 in the subsequent stage, and each output terminal Is output to the decoder unit 12 connected to.

  Each decoding process of the decoder unit 12 is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, but all blank codes and decompressed data indicating blank determination results are output to the blank skip unit 84.

  First, a specific example of the case where the blank skip unit 84 performs skip control based on the data output from the first decoder 14 will be described. When the blank code “0” is input from the first decoder 14 to the blank skip unit 84, the data value (decompressed data) input together with the blank code is output to the image processing unit 20. When a blank code “1” is input from the first decoder 14, 0 data that is continuous by the RUN value input together with the blank code “1” is output to the merge unit 22.

  Next, the case where the blank skip unit 84 performs skip control based on the data output from the second decoder 16 will be described. When the blank code “0” is input to the blank skip unit 84, the decompressed data input together with the blank code “0” is output to the image processing unit 20. When a blank code “1” is input to the blank skip unit 84, 0 data for one block is output to the merge unit 22.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the buffer memory is not provided between the decoder unit 12 and the image processing unit 20, and the decompressed data is transferred directly from the decoder unit 12 to the image processing unit 20 via the blank skip unit 84. The

  As described above, in this embodiment, compressed data is held in a plurality of line buffer memories 82 for each line, and compressed by a plurality of decoder units 12 connected to the output ends of the plurality of line buffer memories 82. Since the data is decoded for each line, blank determination is performed, decompressed data is generated, and blank skip processing is performed by the blank skip unit 84. Therefore, processing is performed in real time without providing a buffer memory in the subsequent stage of the decoder unit 12. be able to. Also, high-resolution image data and large-size image data are not affected and can be processed at high speed.

  In the present embodiment, a blank part is detected in both the system for processing the master image data and the system for processing the variable image, and the skip processing is performed so that the part is not image-processed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the function is provided only in one of the systems, and the other system decompresses the data as it is without performing blank determination to generate decompressed data. You may comprise so that image processing may be performed.

[Fifth Embodiment]
In the fourth embodiment, an example in which a plurality of sequential line buffer memories 82 are provided and compressed data is input to the plurality of decoder units 12 in units of lines has been described. A plain space memory (memory having a continuous storage area) capable of storing compressed data is provided, and a plurality of decoders are designated by designating read addresses storing compressed data of a plurality of lines stored in the memory. The unit 12 may be configured to read compressed data of a plurality of lines.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing apparatus 92 according to the present embodiment. As can be seen from the figure, the configuration other than the memories 86A and 86B provided in place of the line buffer memory 82 is the same as that of the second embodiment.

  The memories 86A and 86B are plain space memories capable of storing a plurality of lines of compressed data, and the compressed data is stored in advance. Since the memories 86A and 86B are the same, the following explanation will be made by omitting the last symbols A and B, respectively.

  Each of the plurality of decoder units 12 simultaneously reads corresponding one line of compressed data from a storage area designated by a predetermined address in the memory 86. Then, the same processing as in the first embodiment is performed on the read compressed data. Since the processing of the blank skip unit 84 subsequent to the decoder unit 12 is the same as that of the second embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  In the present embodiment, a blank part is detected in both the system for processing the master image data and the system for processing the variable image, and the skip processing is performed so that the part is not image-processed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the function is provided only in one of the systems, and the other system decompresses the data as it is without performing blank determination to generate decompressed data. You may comprise so that image processing may be performed.

[Sixth Embodiment]
The configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth embodiment can be changed to a configuration in which image processing is performed after combining as in the third embodiment. Hereinafter, the image processing apparatus having such a configuration will be described as an example.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the image processing apparatus 94 according to the present embodiment. Note that components having the same reference numerals shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 10 mean components having the same functions, and thus description thereof will be omitted here, and only differences will be described below. To do.

As shown in FIG. 12, the image processing device 94 includes a plurality of decoder units 12A _N−1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} for generating decompressed data of compressed master image data, and compressed variable image data Merge units 22 _N−1 , 22 _N , and 22 _{N + 1} are provided corresponding to the plurality of decoder units 12B _N−1 , 12B _N , and 12B _{N + 1} that generate the decompressed data. The merge unit 22 _N-1 receives the decompressed data from each of the decoder units 12A _N-1 and the decoder unit 12B _N-1 , and synthesizes the input decompressed data. The synthesis method is the same as in the first embodiment.

Similarly, the merging unit 22 _N, decompressed data from each decoder 12A _N and the decoder unit 12B _N are input, to synthesize the decompressed data the input. Further, the merge unit 22 _N−1 receives decompressed data from each of the decoder units 12A _{N + 1} and the decoder unit 12B _{N + 1} , and synthesizes the inputted decompressed data.

The blank skip unit 88 includes, from each of the plurality of decoder units 12A _N−1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} , via the merge units 22A _N−1 , 22A _N , 22A _{N + 1} (or directly to the blank skip unit 88). with blank code has been entered, a plurality of decoder sections _{12B N-1, 12B} N, from each of _{12B N + 1,} the merge unit _{22A N-1, 22A} N, via _{22A N + 1} (or directly to the blank skip unit 88) A blank code is entered.

Further, the blank skip unit 88 receives the composite image data from each of the merge units 22A _N−1 , 22A _N , and 22A _{N + 1} .

  The blank skip unit 88 obtains the overlapping portion of the blank portion based on the blank code input from the corresponding two decoder units 12 as in the third embodiment. When there is an overlapping portion, the composite image data corresponding to the overlapping portion is not input to the image processing unit 20 and 0 data is output to the subsequent stage of the image processing unit 20. If at least one of the blank codes is “0” or there is no overlapping portion, the input composite image data is input to the image processing unit 20 for image processing.

  Note that the image processing apparatus as in the fifth embodiment provided with the memory 86 instead of the line buffer memory 82 is configured to perform image processing after combining processing as in the present embodiment. May be.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows the structural example of a 1st decoder, (B) is a figure which shows the structural example of the data output from a 1st decoder. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a 2nd decoder. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a Huffman decoding part. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a merge part. It is explanatory drawing explaining the synthetic | combination process of a merge part. Only in the system that processes the master image data, a blank part is detected and a skip processing function is provided so that the part is not subjected to image processing. A variable image data processing system is not provided with this function. It is a figure which shows the example of a structure. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 5th this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the image processing apparatus which concerns on 6th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 image processing devices 12A, 12A _N−1 , 12A _N , 12A _{N + 1} decoder unit 12B, 12B _N−1 , 12B _N , 12B _{N + 1} decoder unit 15 image processing devices 18A, 18B blank skip units 20A, 20B image processing unit 22, 22 _N−1 , 22 _N , 22 _{N + 1} merge unit 24 synthesis unit 26 conversion unit 28 blank skip unit 30 blank determination unit 32 RUN value register 34 counter 36 data output register 38 data selector 40 JPEG data analysis unit 50 Huffman decoding unit 51 data Cutout unit 52 Huffman code determination unit 53 Run length data decoding unit 54 FIFO
55 Data generation unit 56 Blank determination unit 57 DC component storage unit 60 Inverse quantization unit 62 Inverse DCT conversion unit 70 Image processing device 72 Master image data storage unit 80 Image processing devices 82A _N−1 , 82A _N , 82A _{N + 1} line buffer memory 82B _N−1 , 82B _N , 82B _{N + 1} line buffer memory 84 blank skip unit 86A, 86B memory 88 blank skip unit 90 image processing device 92 image processing device 94 image processing device

Claims (6)

The compressed first image data is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and the compressed second image data different from the first image data is decompressed to generate second decompressed data. And detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data and a second of the second image data based on the compressed second image data. Decompression detection means for performing at least one of detection of two blank portions;
When the first blank portion is detected, image processing is performed on portions other than the first blank portion of the first decompressed data, and when the second blank portion is detected, When a portion other than the second blank portion of the second decompressed data is subjected to image processing, and the first blank portion and the second blank portion are not detected, the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data are detected. Image processing means for image-processing the decompressed data and generating first processed image data corresponding to the first decompressed data and second processed image data corresponding to the second decompressed data;
Combining means for combining the first processed image data and the second processed image data;
An image processing apparatus. The compressed first image data is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and the compressed second image data different from the first image data is decompressed to generate second decompressed data. And detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data and a second of the second image data based on the compressed second image data. Decompression detection means for performing at least one of detection of two blank portions;
Combining means for combining the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data to generate composite image data;
When the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and there is an overlapping portion in the first blank portion and the second blank portion, other than the overlapping portion of the composite image data When the portion is image-processed and at least one of the first blank portion and the second blank portion is not detected, or the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and the first blank portion is detected. If there is no overlapping portion in the portion and the second blank portion, image processing means for image processing the composite image data;
An image processing apparatus. The first image data is fixed image data whose content is fixed, and the second image data is variable image data whose content is variable,
A storage unit that stores the first processed image data image-processed by the image processing unit;
The synthesizing unit synthesizes the first processed image data stored in the storing unit and the second processed image data generated by the image processing unit;
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. The thaw detection means is
A plurality of line memories to which the compressed first image data is input are connected in series, and connected to each of output terminals of the plurality of line memories of the first line memory unit. The compressed first image data input from the connected line memory is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and based on the input compressed first image data A first decoding unit comprising a plurality of decoders for detecting the first blank portion;
A plurality of line memories to which the compressed second image data is input are connected in series to a second line memory unit connected to each of output terminals of the plurality of line memories of the second line memory unit. The compressed second image data input from the connected line memory is decompressed to generate second decompressed data, and based on the input compressed second image data A second decoding unit comprising a plurality of decoders for detecting the second blank portion;
The image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The compressed first image data is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and the compressed second image data different from the first image data is decompressed to generate second decompressed data. And detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data and a second of the second image data based on the compressed second image data. A defrost detection step for performing at least one of detection of the two blank portions;
When the first blank portion is detected, image processing is performed on portions other than the first blank portion of the first decompressed data, and when the second blank portion is detected, When a portion other than the second blank portion of the second decompressed data is subjected to image processing, and the first blank portion and the second blank portion are not detected, the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data are detected. An image processing step of performing image processing on the decompressed data and generating first processed image data corresponding to the first decompressed data and second processed image data corresponding to the second decompressed data;
A combining step of combining the first processed image data and the second processed image data;
An image processing method. The compressed first image data is decompressed to generate first decompressed data, and the compressed second image data different from the first image data is decompressed to generate second decompressed data. And detecting a first blank portion of the first image data based on the compressed first image data and a second of the second image data based on the compressed second image data. A defrost detection step for performing at least one of detection of the two blank portions;
Combining the first decompressed data and the second decompressed data to generate composite image data;
When the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and there is an overlapping portion in the first blank portion and the second blank portion, other than the overlapping portion of the composite image data When the portion is image-processed and at least one of the first blank portion and the second blank portion is not detected, or the first blank portion and the second blank portion are detected, and the first blank portion is detected. An image processing step for image processing the composite image data when there is no overlapping portion in the portion and the second blank portion;
An image processing method.