JP2005222346A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor and image processing method that can accurately decide the kind of an object. <P>SOLUTION: In the image processing method of discriminating the kind of an object to be drawn and drawing the object according to the discriminated kind of the object, the drawn object is discriminated not by a command instructing image drawing, but with the kind of the object specified by an external program. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, for example, an image processing apparatus and method for performing drawing processing according to the type of object to be drawn.

  Various types created and / or edited by application software due to the spread of recent color printers such as workstations (WS), personal computers (PCs), and laser beam printers (LBP) and inkjet printers (IJP) Color documents are now printed out.

  However, in order to easily obtain the color print output desired by the user, the following problems must be solved.

  (1) The color reproduction range (gamut) is different between a monitor such as a CRT on which a user creates and edits a color document and a printer. In general, the color reproduction range of the monitor is wider than the color reproduction range of the printer, and the printer cannot reproduce all the colors represented by the monitor. For this reason, color space compression processing (color space matching) is required, and several methods have been proposed for color space compression. However, it is difficult for the user to determine which method is appropriate.

  (2) Although related to (1) above, the monitor color is expressed by RGB additive color mixing, and the printer color is CMYK subtractive color mixing. The mixed color obtained by the printer may be different.

  (3) Recent printers have high resolution, for example, 1200 dpi or 600 dpi, and require much higher-definition printing than previews on a monitor of about 72 dpi, and appropriate halftoning (binarization, Multi-value quantization, quantization, etc.) must be selected.

  (4) An electrophotographic printer typified by LBP may have a slightly different color due to system changes or engine differences. Several methods for controlling the color difference have been proposed, but they are effective for one type of object (data), but may have side effects on another type of object (data).

  The color document includes various objects having different characteristics, such as text, graphics, and images. For example, text includes alphanumeric characters indicated by 1 byte and 2-byte kanji characters, and an image has pixels arranged two-dimensionally and has different color information for each pixel. The image may be compressed for efficiency. Graphics are represented by lines, polygonal outlines, and internal regions.

  In order to realize good color reproduction in the print output, a process for solving the above problem is required according to the characteristics of each object. As a specific solution, there is a technique for discriminating the type of object indicated by the command according to the format of the drawing command (see Patent Document 1).

According to this technique, all objects based on text commands issued by application software are drawn as text objects.
JP-A-7-236066

  However, in the conventional method, since the types of various objects are determined based on only the drawing command passed to the printer driver, there are cases where accurate object identification cannot be performed. A specific example of text drawing will be shown below.

  FIG. 1 exemplifies a text drawing processing flow from an application to a printer driver in a printing system in which the Microsoft® Windows® series is operating. As shown in FIG. 1, if an application performs text drawing on GDI (Graphics Device Interface, hereinafter referred to as GDI), and GDI instructs the printer driver to draw the text, the printer driver can be correctly identified as a text object. .

  On the other hand, FIG. 2 shows that the application draws text on the GDI as in FIG. 1, but the GDI has a very large font point and instructs the printer driver to draw graphics. In such a case, the printer driver erroneously determines what should be determined as a text object as a graphic object.

  In FIG. 3, when the application draws text, the character shape is extracted as a bitmap and image drawing is performed. Therefore, the GDI receives the image and performs image drawing to the printer driver. In such a case, the printer driver erroneously determines what should be determined as a text object as an image object.

  The present invention is for solving the above-described problems individually or collectively, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus and method for accurately determining the type of an object.

  The present invention has the following configuration as one means for achieving the above object.

  An image processing method according to the present invention is an image processing method for identifying a type of an object to be drawn and performing drawing according to the identified type of the object, and without using a command for instructing drawing of the object. The drawing object is identified by the type of the object specified by the program.

  In addition, a command for instructing drawing is input, the drawing object is identified by the type of object designated by an external program, regardless of the type of object to be drawn instructed by the input command, and the identified object Drawing is performed according to the type.

  An image processing apparatus according to the present invention is an image processing apparatus that identifies a type of an object to be drawn and performs drawing according to the identified type of the object. It has an identification means for identifying a drawing object according to the type of object specified by the program.

  And an input means for inputting a command for instructing drawing, and a drawing means for drawing an object to be drawn instructed by the input command in accordance with the type of the identified object. The drawing object is identified by the type of object specified by an external program regardless of the type of the object to be drawn specified by the command.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform image processing for accurately determining the type of a drawing object.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the following, an example in which the present invention is applied to a color printer will be described, but it is needless to say that the present invention can be similarly applied to a monochrome printer.

<First Embodiment>
[Constitution]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the host computer system according to the first embodiment.

  In FIG. 4, the host computer 502 outputs print information including print data and a control code to the printing apparatus 100. The host computer 502 is configured as a host computer system that combines a keyboard 2100 that is an input device, a mouse 2110 that is a pointing device, a display monitor 2200 that is a display device, and the like, such as the Windows (R) series of Microsoft Corporation. A basic operating system (OS) is running.

  With regard to the host computer 502, focusing only on the functional part related to the present embodiment, and broadly classifying the functions on the basic OS, the application software 2010, the graphic subsystem 2020 as image information processing means, the spool subsystem 2030, and And a user interface processing unit (UI) 2040.

  The graphics subsystem 2020 includes a graphics device interface (GDI) 2021 that is a part of the functions of the basic OS, and a printer driver 2022 that is a device driver dynamically linked from the GDI 2021. .

  A major role of the printer driver 2022 is to convert an instruction called as a GDI drawing instruction (function) from the application software 2010 into a page description language (PDL). The printer driver 2022 requests color processing from the color management system (CMS) module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 in accordance with the mode designated by the user and the type of GDI rendering command. .

  The spool subsystem 2030 is a subsystem unique to the printer device located at the subsequent stage of the graphic subsystem 2020. The spool file 2031 (actually, a hard disk or the like) as data storage means, and the PDL code stored in the spool file 2031 And a process monitor 2034 for monitoring the progress of processing in the printing apparatus 100.

  The UI 2040 displays various menu buttons and the like on the display monitor 2200 and analyzes user actions via the keyboard 2100 and the mouse 2110 in order to determine print quality control parameters using a function provided by the basic OS. .

  Although the names and functional frameworks of the above-described configurations (modules) may be slightly different depending on the basic OS, any module capable of realizing each technical means may be used. Will not affect the implementation of For example, the spooler and the spool file 2031 can be realized by incorporating processing into a module called a print queue in other OSs.

  In general, the host computer 502 including these functional modules refers to hardware configured by a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a hard disk drive (HDD), various input / output control units (I / O), and the like (not shown). Software such as a basic OS controls the hardware, and the process of the application software 2010 and the processes of the subsystem operate as function modules based on the basic OS.

[Printer Driver Processing]
The processing executed by the printer driver 2022 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the user gives an instruction to start printing from certain application software 2010 running on the host computer 502, a print dialog for setting printing control parameters is displayed on the display monitor 2200 by the UI 2040 (S4000). Then, various settings such as an output printer, recording paper size, number of copies, and print quality are made by the user on the print dialog, and printing is instructed (S4010).

  When printing is instructed, drawing data indicating an image created and edited by the application software 2010 is passed as a print job to the printer driver 2022 via the GDI 2021, and the printer driver 2022 initializes the print job ( S4020).

  Next, the printer driver 2022 initializes the print job for each page (S4030), and then performs drawing (S4040). Details of the drawing will be described later.

  After drawing in units of pages, post-processing such as page break is performed (S4050). If there is still a page to be printed in step S4060, the process returns to step S4030 to process the next page. After proceeding to step S4070 to perform post-processing of the print job, the print processing is terminated.

  Hereinafter, the drawing process shown in step S4040 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an interface between the escape command and each drawing command (text command, image command, graphics command) between the application 2010, the GDI 2021, and the printer driver 2022.

  Here, the application 2010 will be referred to as an application for the sake of simplification of description. However, the application 2010 may actually be other than an application as long as it is a module that can request drawing to the GDI. Even a part of a module provided as a printer driver may be used.

  The escape command 5010 means that the GDI 2021 calls an escape command processing function DrvEscape or DrvDrawEscape implemented in the printer driver 2022. When the application issues an escape to the GDI 2021, the GDI 2021 is bypassed, and the escape code and data are passed to the printer driver 2022 as they are.

  The name of the escape command processing function is DrvEscape or DrvDrawEscape in Windows (R) NT / Windows (R) 2000, but is Control in Windows (R) Me / 98/95 / 3.1. Although these names and functions differ slightly depending on the basic OS, the basic concept is the same.

  The DrvEscape function is called as follows, for example. Only the main parameters are introduced here.

DrvEscape (p1, p2, p3, p4, p5)
Parameter p1: Escape code.

  Parameter p2: size of input data.

  Parameter p3: input data.

  Parameter p4: output data size.

  Parameter p5: output data.

  A text command 5020 means that the GDI 2021 calls a text processing function DrvTextOut implemented in the printer driver 2022. When an application draws text on the GDI 2021, the GDI 2021 often calls a printer driver text command (DrvTextOut function). At this time, as illustrated in FIG. 2, there is not necessarily a pair between the application 2010 and the GDI 2021, and between the GDI 2021 and the printer driver. A text command 5020 means a call by the GDI 2021 of a text processing function (DrvTextOut function) implemented in the printer driver 2022.

  The name of the text processing function is DrvTextOut in Windows (R) NT / Windows (R) 2000, but is ExtTextOut in Windows (R) Me / 98/95 / 3.1. Although these names and functions differ slightly depending on the basic OS, the basic concept is the same.

  For example, the DrvTextOut function is called as follows. Only the main parameters are introduced here.

DrvTextOut (p1, p2, p3, p4, p5, p6)
Parameter p1: Variable name in which character string information is stored. Contains a string.

  Parameter p2: Variable name in which font information is stored. Includes character size.

  Parameter p3: Variable name in which the character decoration area is stored. In case of NULL, there is no decorative line.

  Parameter p4: Variable name in which the character background area is stored. In the case of NULL, the character background is transparent.

  Parameter p5: Variable name in which the character color is stored.

  Parameter p6: Variable name in which the character background color is stored.

  Similar to the text command, the image command 5030 means a call by the GDI 2021 of an image processing function (DrvCopyBits, DrvBitBlt, DrvStretchBlt function, etc.) implemented in the printer driver 2022, and the graphics command 5040 is implemented in the printer driver 2022. The GDI 2021 calls a graphics processing function (DrvStrokePath, DrvFillPath, DrvStrokeAndFillPath function, etc.).

  The printer driver 2022 performs color adjustment and color matching processing according to the type of each drawing object corresponding to each of these commands. Then, the drawing process is performed by converting the color information subjected to the color matching process into a PDL command.

  Hereinafter, the drawing process in step S4040 will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts in FIG.

  Next, the escape command processing unit 5010 shown in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, four escape codes that can be recognized between the application 2010 and the printer driver 2022 are defined.

#Define UNKNOWN_OBJ0x2410
#Define TEXT_OBJ0x2411
#Define IMAGE_OBJ0x2412
#Define GRAPHIC_OBJ0x2413
These values have no particular meaning, and any values may be defined as long as they do not overlap with the escape codes already defined in GDI or general applications.

  When the escape code is TEXT_OBJ (S7010), TEXT_OBJ is assigned to the drawobj variable (S7020). This drawobj variable is retained during the print job. The initial value is UNKNOWN_OBJ. When the escape code is IMAGE_OBJ (S7030), IMAGE_OBJ is assigned to the drawobj variable (S7040). When the escape code is GRAPHIC_OBJ (S7050), GRAPHIC_OBJ is assigned to the drawobj variable (S7060). When the escape code is UNKNOWN_OBJ (S7070), UNKNOWN_OBJ is substituted into the drawobj variable (S7080). In cases other than the above escape codes, processing unrelated to the present embodiment is performed (S7090).

  Next, the text command processing unit 5020 of FIG. 6 will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, it is evaluated whether or not the drawobj variable is equal to UNKNOWN_OBJ (S8010). If equal, it is regarded as a text object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S8020). When the drawobj variable is other than UNKNOWN_OBJ, it is evaluated whether the value is equal to GRAPHIC_OBJ (S8030). If equal, it is regarded as a graphic object, and the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 are requested to perform color processing (S8040). When the drawobj variable is other than GRAPHIC_OBJ, it is evaluated whether the value is equal to IMAGE_OBJ (S8050). If they are equal, it is regarded as an image object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S8060). After finishing the above color processing, text drawing processing is performed (S8070).

  Next, the image / command processing unit 5030 in FIG. 6 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, it is evaluated whether or not the drawobj variable is equal to UNKNOWN_OBJ (S9010). If they are equal, it is regarded as an image object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S9020). When the drawobj variable is other than UNKNOWN_OBJ, it is evaluated whether the value is equal to GRAPHIC_OBJ (S9030). If equal, it is regarded as a graphic object, and the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 are requested to perform color processing (S9040). When the drawobj variable is other than GRAPHIC_OBJ, it is evaluated whether the value is equal to TEXT_OBJ (S9050). If equal, it is regarded as a text object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S9060). After the above color processing is completed, image drawing processing is performed (S9070).

  Next, the graphic command processing unit 5040 of FIG. 6 will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, it is evaluated whether or not the drawobj variable is equal to UNKNOWN_OBJ (S10010). If equal, it is regarded as a graphic object, and the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 are requested to perform color processing (S10020). When the drawobj variable is other than UNKNOWN_OBJ, it is evaluated whether or not the value is equal to TEXT_OBJ (S10030). If they are equal, it is regarded as a text object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S10040). When the drawobj variable is other than GRAPHIC_OBJ, it is evaluated whether or not the value is equal to IMAGE_OBJ (S10050). If they are equal, it is regarded as an image object, and color processing is requested to the CMS module 2023 and the color adjustment module 2024 (S10060). After finishing the above color processing, graphic drawing processing is performed (S10070).

  How the object of the printer driver 2022 is identified when the application 2010 issues a drawing command to the GDI 2021 will be described with reference to a time-series transition state example shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 11010, the application 2010 notifies the printer driver 2022 that all the following drawing are text objects using escape. That is, the escape code TEXT_OBJ reaches the printer driver 2022. For this reason, until the next escape is issued (S11040), the printer driver 2022 determines that the rendering of S11020 and S11030 is a text object. If S11010 is not designated, the printer driver 2022 may determine that S11020 is a graphic object as shown in the example of FIG. S11030 is the same as the example of FIG. Although the application 2010 performs image drawing, the bitmap to be drawn is text, so the printer driver 2022 is instructed to be regarded as a text object.

  In step S <b> 11040, the application 2010 notifies the printer driver 2022 that all the following drawing are image objects using escape. That is, the escape code IMAGE_OBJ reaches the printer driver 2022. Therefore, until the next escape is issued (S11060), the printer driver 2022 determines that the rendering in S11050 is an image object.

  In step S <b> 11060, the application 2010 notifies the printer driver 2022 that the following drawing is a graphic object using escape. That is, the escape code GRAPHIC_OBJ reaches the printer driver 2022. Therefore, until the next escape is issued (S11080), the printer driver 2022 determines that the drawing in S11070 is an image object.

  In step S11080, the application 2010 notifies the printer driver 2022 not to determine the subsequent drawing using escape. That is, the escape code UNKNOWN_OBJ reaches the printer driver 2022. Therefore, the printer driver 2022 determines that the drawing in S11090 is a graphic object because the drawing is a graphic command.

(Other embodiments)
Note that the present invention can be applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, and a printer), and a device (for example, a copying machine and a facsimile device) including a single device. You may apply to.

  Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium (or recording medium) in which a program code of software that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is recorded to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or CPU) of the system or apparatus. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by the MPU) reading and executing the program code stored in the storage medium. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention. Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an operating system (OS) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.

  Furthermore, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion card inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function is determined based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the expansion card or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.

Drawing Example 1 from GDI to Printer Driver in Print Processing Drawing process example 2 from GDI to printer driver in print process. Drawing 3 from the GDI to the printer driver in the printing process The host system block diagram in this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of print processing by a printer driver. The block diagram of an application, GDI, and a printer driver. The processing flow figure of the escape command which shows 1st embodiment of this invention. The processing flow figure of the text command which shows 1st embodiment of this invention. The processing flow figure of the image command which shows 1st embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a processing flow diagram of a graphic command showing the first embodiment of the present invention. Example of transition state of drawing process.

Claims (9)

  An image processing method for identifying the type of an object to be drawn and performing drawing according to the identified type of object, depending on the type of object specified by an external program, regardless of a command for drawing the object An image processing method characterized by identifying a drawing object.   A command for instructing drawing is input, the drawing object is identified by the type of object specified by an external program, regardless of the type of object to be drawn instructed by the input command, and the type of the identified object is determined. An image processing method characterized by performing drawing in response.   The image processing method according to claim 1, wherein the drawing processing includes color processing.   An image processing apparatus that identifies the type of an object to be drawn and performs drawing according to the identified type of object, depending on the type of object specified by an external program, regardless of a command for drawing the object An image processing apparatus having an identification unit for identifying a drawing object.   An image characterized by identifying a drawing object by an input means for inputting a command for instructing the drawing and an object type designated by an external program, regardless of the type of the object to be drawn instructed by the input command. Processing equipment.   The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein the drawing processing includes color processing.   A program characterized in that, when identifying the type of an object to be drawn, a drawing object is identified by the type of object specified by an external program, without using a command for instructing the drawing of the object.   An image processing program, wherein the program includes at least a code for inputting a command for instructing a type of a drawing object, a code for a step for inputting a command for instructing a drawing, and a drawing instructed by the input command. What is claimed is: 1. A program comprising: a code for identifying a type of an object to be processed; and a code for performing a drawing in accordance with the identified type of object.   A medium on which the program according to claim 7 or 8 is recorded.

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