JP2018029228A - Image processing apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus and a program that can appropriately perform image processing compared with ones that receive a divided image and perform image processing on the divided image as it is.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 comprises: receiving means 30 that receives an image; combining means 32 that, when the receiving means 30 receives an image divided into plurality of pieces, combines the plurality of pieces; image processing means 34 that performs image processing on an image obtained by the combining means 32 combining the plurality of pieces; and division means that divides the image on which the image processing is performed by the image processing means 34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a program.

  Patent Document 1 is an image processing apparatus that performs filter processing on input image data, and a dividing unit that divides the input image data into a plurality of image blocks, and image data of each image block divided by the dividing unit. Filter means for sequentially inputting and filtering, the filter means for temporarily storing an intermediate result in the vicinity of the periphery in the target image block when the target image block is filtered; Disclosed is an image processing apparatus comprising: means for performing a filtering process with reference to an intermediate result temporarily stored in an already-filtering process adjacent to the target image block when the image block is filtered.

JP 2005-94212 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and a program capable of appropriately performing image processing when a divided image is received as compared to performing image processing while being divided.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a receiving unit that receives an image, a combining unit that combines the plurality of images when an image divided into a plurality of images is received by the receiving unit, and an image that is combined by the combining unit. An image processing unit that performs image processing on the image and a dividing unit that divides the image processed by the image processing unit.
It is.

  The present invention according to claim 2 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image divided by the dividing means is converted into an intermediate format.

  The present invention according to claim 3 is the image processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising conversion means for converting the image divided by the dividing means into print data.

  The present invention according to claim 4 is the image according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the combining unit combines the plurality of images when the plurality of images received by the receiving unit satisfy a predetermined condition. It is a processing device.

  The present invention according to claim 5 is the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the order of images to be combined by the combining unit is stored, and the output order of images to be divided by the dividing unit is the same. .

  The present invention according to claim 6 is a reception step for receiving an image, a combination step for combining the plurality of images when receiving an image divided into a plurality of images by the reception step, and an image combined by the combination step. An image processing step for image processing, a division step for dividing the image processed by the image processing step, and a program executed by a computer.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus capable of appropriately performing image processing when a divided image is received, as compared with the case of performing image processing while being divided. Can do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform processing at a higher speed than in the case where the intermediate format is not converted.

  According to the present invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the present invention of claim 1 or 2, image processing can be performed before conversion to print data.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the present invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, it is possible to determine whether or not to combine the divided images.

  According to the present invention of claim 5, in addition to the effects of the present invention of any one of claims 1 to 4, the order of combining and the order of dividing can be made the same.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a program capable of appropriately performing image processing when a divided image is received, as compared with the case of performing image processing while being divided. .

It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function which the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention has. 3 is a flowchart showing an overall control flow of the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the collection process in the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. 5 is a flowchart showing details of flash processing in the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the joining decision | availability determination process in the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a chart which shows the conditions of the combination decision processing in the image processing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function which the image processing apparatus which concerns on a 1st comparative example has. It is a functional block diagram which shows the function which the image processing apparatus which concerns on a 2nd comparative example has.

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

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a printing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 10 includes an operation unit 14, a CPU 16, a storage unit 18, a printing unit 20, and a display unit 22 that are connected to each other via a bus 12. The operation unit 14 is an operation key or the like of the printing apparatus 10 and receives an operation by an operator of the image processing apparatus 10. The CPU 16 operates by a program stored in the storage unit 18 and realizes each function described later. The storage unit 18 includes a storage element such as a hard disk or a memory. The printing unit 20 actually prints an image, a drawing, or the like based on the print data on the printing paper. The display unit 22 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display, and displays a menu for operating the image processing device 10, an operation status of the image processing device 10, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of the image processing apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The image processing apparatus 10 includes an intermediate data generation unit (decomposer) 24, a spool unit 26, and a print data generation unit (rasterizer) 28.

The intermediate data generation unit 24 receives input data described in a page description language (PDL) such as Postscript (registered trademark) or PDF (registered trademark), and receives intermediate data in an intermediate format from the input data. Is generated. The input data may include an image (bitmap data) obtained by dividing one image into a plurality of images by an application.
The input data is not limited to PDL, and may be intermediate data, including the case where first intermediate data is received and second intermediate data is generated from the first intermediate data.

  The intermediate data generation unit 24 includes an input / output unit 30, a combining unit 32, and an image processing unit 34. The input / output unit 24 receives input data and outputs intermediate data. The combining unit 32 combines the data sources divided into a plurality.

The image processing unit 34 processes the images combined by the combining unit 32. Specifically, the state of the image is grasped by statistical processing, and edge processing, filter processing, and the like are performed according to the state of the image.
Thus, the image processed by the image processing unit 34 is divided, and the divided image is converted into an intermediate format and output to the spool unit 26. The images combined by the combining unit 32 are divided in the same order as in the case where the images are not combined.

  The spool unit 26 temporarily stores the intermediate data generated by the intermediate data generation unit 24 and adjusts the processing speed with the print data generation unit 26.

  The print data generation unit 28 generates print data which is bitmap data based on the description of the intermediate data from the intermediate format data spooled by the spool unit 24 and outputs the print data to an output device such as a printer.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overall control flow of the image processing apparatus.
First, in step S10, input data of a page description language PDL is read. In the next step S12, the PDL read in step S10 is analyzed. In step S12, object information is acquired from the PDL data. Object information consists of types such as images, characters, and graphics. If the object is an image, scaling matrix, color space (CMYK, RGB, etc.), data source description format, image property information such as bit depth, data source, BBox (maximum drawing area) information, clip information, drawing Image information such as shape information is included.

  In the next step S14, it is determined whether or not it is an image object based on the information analyzed in step S12. If it is determined in step S14 that the object is an image object, the process proceeds to a collection process step S16 described later. If it is determined in step S14 that the object is not an image object (such as a character), the process proceeds to a flash processing step S18 described later. When the flash processing step S18 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S20, where it is converted into an output format in the intermediate format, and further proceeds to step S22, where data in the intermediate format is output.

  When the process of the collection process step S16 or step S22 ends, the process proceeds to step S24, and it is determined whether or not the process of all PDL data is completed. If it is determined that the processing of all PDL data has not been completed, the process returns to step S10, and the next PDL data is read. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S24 that the processing of all PDL data has been completed, the flow proceeds to a flash processing step S26, a flash process is performed so as to output to the spool unit 26, and the process ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of the collection process.
In the collection process, first, in step S181, it is determined whether an image is being collected. Whether or not the image is being collected is determined by whether or not the image collecting flag is ON.

  If it is determined in step S161 that the image is not being collected, the process proceeds to step S162, and image characteristic information, that is, scaling matrix, color space (CMYK, RGB, etc.), data source description format, bit depth, etc. are stored. To do. In step S163, the image collecting flag is turned ON.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S161 that the image is being collected, the process proceeds to the combination possibility determination step S164 described later. When the process of the connection possibility determination step S164 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S165.

  In step S165, it is determined whether or not the combination flag is ON. If it is determined in this step S165 that the combination flag is not ON, the flow proceeds to the flash processing step S166, and the flash processing is performed.

  After the image collection flag is set to ON in step S163, the flash process is performed in step S166, or if it is determined in step S165 that the combination flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S167. In step S167, the image information, that is, the data source, BBox (maximum drawing area) information, clip information, drawing shape information, and the like are stored, and the process ends (proceeds to step S24 in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the flash process.
Here, the flash process is a process for discharging data stored in the buffer. First, in step S181, it is determined whether an image is being collected. In step S181, if it is determined that the image is not being collected, that is, if it is determined that the image data is not stored in the buffer, the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S181 that the image is being collected, the process proceeds to step S182. In step S182, all stored image information is combined. The join order is the saved order, and the join order is also saved. In the next step S183, the image combined in step S182 is subjected to image processing. The image processing grasps the state of the combined data source by statistical processing, and performs edge processing, filter processing, and the like according to the state of the data source.

  Note that when images are processed without being combined, image processing is performed for each data source, so edge processing, filtering processing, and the like are performed according to each state. Instead, different image processing results are obtained.

  In the next step S184, the data source image-processed in step S183 is decomposed. The division is performed in the same order as the join order. By disassembling, the above-described print data generation unit 28 can perform parallel processing using the cache of the CPU 16, so that the processing speed can be increased. The decomposition may be performed with the same image area as the received PDF decomposition, or may be a different image area. The processing speed can be further increased by decomposing into smaller image areas than the received PDF.

  In the next step S185, the output format is converted into an intermediate format for each decomposed data source. In the next step S186, the intermediate format data converted in step S185 is output. Further, in the next step S187, the information stored in the buffer is discarded, and in the next step S188, the image collecting flag is turned OFF and the processing is ended.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the details of the combination possibility determination process.
In steps S1651 to 165n, it is determined whether or not conditions 1 to n for combining the image collected this time with the image previously stored in step S162 satisfy the conditions 1 to n. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, Condition 1 is whether the enlargement / reduction / rotation matrices are equal, Condition 2 is whether the color spaces (CMYK, RGB, etc.) are the same, and Condition 3 Is whether or not they are adjacent to each other in the device space strip, and condition n is whether the description format (frame sequential, dot sequential, etc.) of the data source is the same, bit depth (1 bpp to 8 bpp, etc.), etc. is there.

If all of the conditions of steps S1651 to 165n are satisfied, the process proceeds to step S168, and the join possibility flag is set to ON. Set to OFF.
It should be noted that the condition for whether or not to join can be arbitrarily changed.

Next, an operation example of the image processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart described above.
For example, it is assumed that the image is originally one image but is divided into three images in order. Since the read image is determined to be an image object in step S14, the process proceeds to collection processing step S16. Initially, since the image collection flag is OFF, it is determined No in step S161, the image characteristic information is stored in step S162, the image collection flag is turned on in step S163, and the image information is stored in step S167. Is done.

When the second image is read, in the collecting process step S16, it is determined in step S161 that the image is being collected, and in step S164, it is determined whether or not the image can be combined. Since the first image and the second image are originally one image, in Steps 1651 to 165n, the conditions 1 to n are satisfied, and the process proceeds to Step S169, where the combination flag is turned ON. If the combination flag is ON, the process proceeds to step S166 and image information is stored.
The third image is combined and stored in the same manner as the second image.

  Next, for example, if a character object is read, it is determined No in step S14, and the process proceeds to flash processing step S18. In the flash processing step S18, all the image information from the first to the third stored in step S182 are combined. In step S183, image processing is performed on the data source of the images combined in step S182. In the next step S184, the data source is decomposed. The decomposition may be divided into three as in reading, but may be divided into different numbers. In the next step S185, each decomposed data source is converted into an intermediate format and output in the next step S186. The order of the output images is the same as the order of the input images.

  When the flash process is completed for the image in this way, the character object is output in an intermediate format in steps S20 and S22. In this way, the characters of the image are output and the order of reading is maintained.

  If an image having different image characteristics is read after the third image, either condition is not satisfied in the combination determination step S164, so the combination determination flag is turned off in step S168, and No is determined in step S165. Then, the process proceeds to the flash processing step S166. In the flash processing step S167, as in the case where the character object is read, all the image information from the first to the third is combined (step S182), and image processing is performed on the combined data source. (Step S183, the image-processed data source is decomposed (Step S184), converted into an intermediate format and output (Steps S185 and S186). The next loaded image is output after is output, and the reading order is maintained.

8 and 9 show a comparative example.
In this comparative example, input data composed of a page description language is not converted into an intermediate format, but input data is converted into a page device bitmap by a conversion unit (decomposer) 100, and then image processing is performed by an image processing unit 102. It is like that. In the conversion unit 100, a 1-bit tag bitmap indicating an image area is attached to a portion where an image is formed. In FIG. 8, although the upper image and the lower image have different image characteristics, the boundaries are in contact with each other, so that the image is recognized as one image without being distinguished by the tag bitmap. The image is processed as one image by the unit 102. For this reason, unintended image processing such as a change in color between the upper and lower images is performed.

  FIG. 9 shows a case where there is a clip or a painted object on one image. In this case, two images are recognized by the tag bitmap, and separate image processing is performed.

  On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, even if the images overlap, it is determined whether the images can be combined based on the image characteristics, and the images are distinguished. Further, even if the images are divided, if the image characteristics are the same, it is determined that the images are the same.

  Further, in the method of the above comparative example, when the rotation matrix is included in the input data, the rotation matrix is generated from the divided image. Therefore, a calculation error occurs in the rotated image, and the terminal is dusty. Cause malfunctions. On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the image processing is performed with the rotation matrix as it is, so that a calculation error is prevented from occurring.

  Furthermore, in the comparative example, image processing is performed at the resolution of the device, whereas in the embodiment, image processing is performed at the resolution of the data source, so that the processing amount is small and the processing is fast.

10 Image processing device 16 CPU
18 Storage Unit 24 Intermediate Data Generation Unit 26 Spool Unit 28 Print Data Generation Unit 32 Coupling Unit 34 Image Processing Unit

Claims (6)

Receiving means for receiving images;
A combination unit that combines the plurality of images when receiving the image divided into a plurality of images by the reception unit;
Image processing means for image processing the images combined by the combining means;
Dividing means for dividing the image processed by the image processing means;
An image processing apparatus.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image divided by the dividing unit is converted into an intermediate format.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising conversion means for converting the image divided by the dividing means into print data.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the combining unit combines the plurality of images when the plurality of images received by the receiving unit satisfy a predetermined condition.   5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an order of images to be combined by the combining unit is stored, and the output order of images to be divided by the dividing unit is made the same. A reception step for receiving images;
A combination step of combining the plurality of images when receiving the plurality of images divided by the reception step;
An image processing step for image processing the images combined in the combining step;
A dividing step of dividing the image processed by the image processing step;
A program that is executed by a computer.