JP2018152113A - Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processing apparatus capable of synthesizing group elements so as to finally output color intended by a user even in the case of performing flattening in a middle of a group.SOLUTION: An image processing apparatus for generating a raster image from an inputted drawing instruction includes: intermediate data generation means (200) for generating intermediate data from the drawing instruction; rendering means (201) for rendering the intermediate data to generate the raster image; and synthesis means (202) for cooperating with the intermediate data generation means and the rendering means to synthesize the intermediate data. The image processing apparatus is characterized with that a processing procedure of the synthesis means is switched on the basis of an execution state showing whether the synthesis means has processed up to which object, and a synthesis method of groups in the drawing instruction (S1908 and S1909).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 19

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a program for generating a raster image. In particular, the present invention relates to image processing that involves composition, and is suitable for rendering raster images.

  The compositing process in rendering is a process of composing the front image and the back image to form an image of the composite result. As an example, the Porter-Duff rule described in Non-Patent Document 1 systematizes twelve compositing operators and supports transparent composition. As another example, Non-Patent Document 2 defines a method of transparently combining a set of consecutive objects, called Transparency Groups of PDF (Portable Document Format). The set of continuous objects (referred to as “group” in this specification) can have another group as an element. A group having another group as an element means that the group has a nested structure. In this specification, a group element is referred to as a “group element”.

  Further, as a technique related to rendering, when a memory area for storing intermediate data overflows, a technique for reducing the data size by temporarily rendering the intermediate data at the time of the overflow is known ( (See Patent Document 1). In this specification, reducing the data size by combining processing among these techniques is referred to as “flattening”.

JP 2011-61555 A

T.A. Porter and T. Duff: “Composing Digital Images”, Computer Graphics, Vol. 18, no. 3, ACM 1984. Adobe Systems: "Document management-Portable document format-Part 1: PDF 1.7", ISO 32000-1, 2008.

  As described above, when a memory area for storing intermediate data overflows, a technique for reducing the data size by rendering the intermediate data at the time of overflow once is known. However, when flattening images that have groups, the composition processing of groups that should be combined together may be performed step by step, and a color different from the color intended by the user is output. There was a case.

  An object of this invention is to provide the apparatus for solving the above-mentioned subject.

  The present invention is an image processing device that generates a raster image from an input drawing command, and generates intermediate data from the drawing command and intermediate data generating means for generating the raster image by rendering the intermediate data. A rendering unit; a synthesizing unit that synthesizes the intermediate data in cooperation with the intermediate data generating unit and the rendering unit; an execution status indicating to which object the synthesizing unit has processed; and the drawing command The processing procedure of the synthesizing means is switched based on the group synthesizing method.

  According to the present invention, even when flattening is performed in the middle of a group, the group elements can be combined so that the color intended by the user is finally output.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus 100 in Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data flow in the image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of processing executed by an intermediate data generation unit 200 according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of input data 203 according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which an area is divided for each overlapping range of an object and a BackGround in the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the area | region list | wrist 600 in Example 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of a composite stack in Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the Fill table 800 in Example 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a composition operator 709 in Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of raster image generation processing executed by the rendering unit 201 according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of a synthesis node synthesis process executed by the synthesis unit 202 when flattening is not performed in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of a reference count 803 update process according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of intermediate data 205 (particularly a composite stack) when there is a group in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of group processing when flattening is not performed in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of a composite stack or the like when a group node is a group start in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of a composite stack and the like when a group node is a group end in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of intermediate data 205 (particularly a composite stack) when flattening is performed in the middle of a group in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart of group processing when flattening is performed in the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of a synthesis node synthesis process executed by the synthesis unit 202 when flattening is performed in the first embodiment. It is a figure showing the appearance of a synthetic stack etc. when performing flattening in Example 1. It is a figure showing the appearance of a synthetic stack after flattening in Example 1.

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

[Example 1]
(Configuration of the image processing apparatus 100)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The image processing apparatus includes an input unit 101, an interpretation unit 102, a raster image processing unit 103, and an output unit 104. The input unit 101 receives input data from an external device connected to the image processing apparatus 100. The interpretation unit 102 interprets the input data received by the input unit 101, extracts drawing commands, and sorts the drawing commands in the drawing order from the back to the front. The input data in the first embodiment is PDL data described in PDL (Page Description Language). A preferred format of the input data is a PDF described in Non-Patent Document 2, and a suitable drawing command is an object of the PDF. The raster image processing unit 103 generates a raster image based on the drawing command extracted by the interpretation unit 102. The output unit 104 performs image processing such as halftone processing on the raster image generated by the raster image processing unit 103 to generate output data, and outputs the generated output data.

  The image processing apparatus 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment is an MFP (Multi Function Printer), and the output unit 104 outputs output data by printing on a recording sheet. The input unit 101, the interpretation unit 102, the raster image processing unit 103, and the output unit 104 are realized by loading various programs into a RAM (Random Access Memory) and executing the loaded programs by the CPU. Further, the raster image processing unit 103 may be realized by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) for generating a raster image instead of the CPU.

(Data flow in the image processing apparatus 100)
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data flow in the image processing apparatus 100. The raster image processing unit 103 includes an intermediate data generation unit 200, a rendering unit 201, and a synthesis unit 202. The intermediate data generation unit 200 generates intermediate data 205 from the drawing command 204. The rendering unit 201 renders the intermediate data 205 to generate a raster image 206. The intermediate data generation unit 200 and the rendering unit 201 perform intermediate data combining processing using the combining unit 202 in each process.

(Processing in the intermediate data generation unit 200)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of processing executed by the intermediate data generation unit 200. In step S300 (hereinafter, “step S300” is abbreviated as “S300”, and other steps are also abbreviated in the same manner), it is determined whether or not the data size of the intermediate data 205 is equal to or larger than a predetermined threshold value. If it is determined that the data size of the intermediate data 205 is greater than or equal to the threshold value, in step S301, the intermediate data 205 is combined using the combining unit 202, and the flattened raster image is used as a new drawing command. If it is determined that the data size of the intermediate data 205 is not equal to or greater than the threshold value, or if the intermediate data 205 is combined in S301, then in S302, one of the drawing commands 204 is extracted. Next, the drawing coordinates of the object are calculated from the extracted drawing command in S303, and the Fill information of the object is generated in S304. In the calculation of the drawing coordinates of this object, conversion from the page coordinate system to the output coordinate system is performed. If the object is a vector format, the coordinates of the contour of the object are obtained in the output coordinate system. In step S305, the intermediate data is updated based on the object coordinate information and the fill information. If intermediate data has not yet been generated, new intermediate data is generated. In step S306, it is determined whether all drawing commands 204 have been extracted. If it is determined that all drawing commands 204 have not been extracted, the process returns to S300. If it is determined that all the drawing commands 204 have been extracted, the process is terminated.

(Intermediate data)
Hereinafter, the intermediate data 205 will be described in detail.

  4 is a diagram showing an example of the input data 203, FIG. 4 (a) is a perspective view showing a three-dimensional relationship, FIG. 4 (b) is a sectional view, and FIG. 4 (c) is a top view. is there. In this example, the objects 400 to 402 overlap with the BackGround 403. The intermediate data 205 is divided into areas for each overlapping range of the object and BackGround.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where the intermediate data 205 is divided into regions. Referring to the top view 5 (a), it can be seen that the region is divided into five regions 500-504. For example, the area 500 is an area formed by overlapping the object 400, the object 401, and the BackGround 403. FIG. 5B shows which objects and BackGround overlap each of the areas 500 to 504.

  Hereinafter, the data structure of the intermediate data 205 will be described.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the data structure of the area list 600. The area list 600 is data for managing information on the divided areas, and the information corresponding to each area is connected in a list structure. In the preferred embodiment, there is one region list 600 per page of input data 203. In the area list 600 of FIG. 6, the information corresponding to the areas 500 to 504 is connected in a list structure. The information includes drawing coordinates 601 and a composite stack pointer 602. The drawing coordinates 601 are indicated by XY coordinates (the upper left is the origin) of the output coordinate system, and in a preferred embodiment, the maximum and minimum values of the Y coordinates in the region, and the X coordinates at each Y coordinate. Expressed by maximum and minimum values. The composite stack pointer 602 is data used to refer to the composite stack. In the preferred embodiment, the information contained in the region list 600 is sorted in ascending order according to the minimum Y coordinate of the drawing coordinates 601.

  FIG. 7 shows the data structure of the composite stack. The composite stack is data for managing information related to overlap, and there is one composite stack for each divided area. For example, the composite stack 700 is a composite stack corresponding to the area 500 and is referred to from the composite stack pointer 602 corresponding to the area 500.

  Furthermore, the composite stack has a stack structure having composite nodes as stack elements. Each composite node is data having information corresponding to an overlapping object or BackGround. For example, the synthesis stack 700 has three synthesis nodes 705 to 707. The composition node 705 corresponds to the object 400, the composition node 706 corresponds to the object 401, and the composition node 707 corresponds to the BackGround 403. Note that the composite node is stacked on the stack in the order in which the object and BackGound overlap, and the back side is the top of the stack (that is, the composite node on the back side is stacked last). Each composition stack always has one or more composition nodes.

  The composition node is composed of a Fill identifier 708 and a composition operator 709. The Fill identifier 708 is associated with the Fill identifier 801 in the Fill table 800. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of the fill table 800. The fill table 800 includes three column items, a fill identifier 801, fill information 802, and a reference count 803. The Fill information 802 is data of an object and BackGround color, and is, for example, a monochrome RGB value, gradation, image data, or the like. The reference count 803 is a value obtained by counting how many synthesis nodes are referenced.

  The composition operator 709 is an operator that specifies what composition is performed in each overlap. In FIG. 7, the composition operator 709 is represented as “OP”, but the specific internal structure of the composition operator 709 is shown in FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9A, the composition operator 709 includes a color operator 901, a transmission operator 902, and a transparency 903. A color operator 901 specifies how to calculate the color of the synthesis result. The transparency operator 902 specifies how to calculate the transparency of the synthesis result. Transparency 903 represents the degree of transparency of the object or BackGround. In a preferred embodiment, the color operator 901 and the transparency operator 902 are specified in the Non-Patent Document 1 Composing Operators or the Non-Patent Document 2 PDF blend mode. The transparency 903 takes any value in the range of 0 to 1, with 0 being completely transparent and 1 being opaque (no transmission). In FIG. 9B, examples of the composition operator 709 of the composition nodes 705 to 707 are shown as composition operators 904 to 906, respectively. Note that the color operator 901 and the transparency operator 902 need not be specified for the backmost composite node, such as the composite operator 906.

(Raster image generation processing)
Hereinafter, a process in which the rendering unit 201 generates the raster image 206 by rendering the intermediate data 205 will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart of raster image generation processing executed by the rendering unit 201. First, in S1000, one scan line is selected. In the preferred embodiment, selection is made in the order of the main scanning direction from the scan line passing through the page origin. Next, the process proceeds to S1001. In step S <b> 1001, information on the area on the scan line is acquired from the area list 600. Next, the process proceeds to S1002. In S1002, a composite stack referenced by the composite stack pointer 602 included in the acquired information is acquired. Next, the process proceeds to S1003. In step S <b> 1003, the synthesis node included in the obtained synthesis stack is synthesized using the synthesis unit 202. When the composition in S1003 is completed, only one composition node remains in the composition stack. Next, the process proceeds to S1004. In S1004, a raster image is generated by writing to the memory address of the output destination in accordance with the Fill information 802 corresponding to the only one remaining synthesis node. Here, the Fill information 802 corresponding to the composite node can be acquired from the Fill table 800 by searching the items of the Fill identifier 801 for information that matches the Fill identifier 708. When writing according to the Fill information 802 corresponding to the composition node, for example, if the Fill information 802 is a single color value, the color value is written as it is. For example, if the Fill information 802 is image data, the image data is subjected to enlargement / reduction processing to the output resolution, and after the enlargement / reduction processing, clipping processing is performed before writing. Next, the process proceeds to S1005. In step S1005, it is determined whether information on all the regions on the scan line has been acquired. As a result of the determination, if not acquired, the process returns to S1001, and if acquired, the process proceeds to S1006. In step S1006, it is determined whether all scan lines have been selected. If all the scan lines have not been selected as a result of the determination, the process returns to S1000, and if all the scan lines have been selected, the process ends.

(Raster image generation process-Composite node composite process)
FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process for synthesizing the synthesis nodes included in the synthesis stack using the synthesis unit 202 in S1003. It should be noted that the push and pop operations in the stack are performed on the node existing at the top of the stack. In addition, data storage to temporary data is performed by overwriting. First, in S1100, it is determined whether or not there are two or more composite nodes in the composite stack. As a result of the determination, if there are two or more composite nodes in the composite stack, the process proceeds to S1101, and if there are no two composite nodes in the composite stack, the process ends. In S1101, a composite node is popped from the composite stack and stored as temporary data Dest. Next, the process proceeds to S1102. In S1102, the composite node is further popped from the composite stack and stored as temporary data Src. Next, the process proceeds to S1103. In S1103, it is determined whether or not the temporary data Src is a group node (the group node will be described in detail later). As a result of the determination, if Src is a group node, the process proceeds to S1104; otherwise, the process proceeds to S1105. Here, it is assumed that there is no group node (S1103 → S1105). If Src is not a group node, in S1105, the combined result of Src and Dest is calculated according to the combined operator 709 of Src and Dest, and the calculated result is stored as temporary data Res. Next, the process proceeds to S1106. In S1106, the reference count 803 for the composite node stored as Src is updated. Next, the process proceeds to S1107. In step S1107, the reference count 803 for the composite node stored as Dest is updated. Next, the process proceeds to S1108. In step S1108, it is determined whether or not the fill information of the node stored as Res exists in the fill table 800. As a result of the determination, if the Fill information of the node stored as Res is in the Fill table 800, the process proceeds to S1110. If the Fill information of the node stored as Res is not in the Fill table 800, the process proceeds to S1109. In S 1109, the Fill identifier, the Fill information, and the reference count corresponding to the node stored as Res are added to the Fill table 800. Next, the process proceeds to S1110. In step S1110, the composite node stored as Res is pushed into the composite stack. Next, the process returns to S1100. If it is determined in S1100 that there are no two or more composite nodes in the composite stack, that is, if only one composite node remains in the composite stack, the process ends. When the process ends, the temporary data stored as Src, Dest, Res is discarded.

(Raster image generation process-Composite node composite process-Reference count update process)
FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the update processing of the reference count 803 in S1106 and S1107. First, in S1200, the corresponding reference count 803 is decreased by one. Next, the process proceeds to S1201. In step S1201, it is determined whether the reference count has become zero. If the reference count is 0 as a result of the determination, the process proceeds to S1202, and if the reference count is not 0, the process is terminated. In step S1202, the corresponding items of the fill identifier 801, the fill information 802, and the reference count 803 are deleted from the fill table 800 for each row, and the process ends.

(Group description)
Hereinafter, the group will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a group, FIG. 13A is a perspective view, and FIG. 13B is a cross-sectional view. In this example, three objects 1300 to 1302 on the BackGround 1303 are group elements constituting the group 1304.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the structure of the composite stack in the example of FIG. The group element is sandwiched between special composite nodes (referred to herein as “group nodes”) called group start (Grp Start) and group end (Grp End). At this time, the group start is on the back (top of the composite stack) side, and the group end is on the front (bottom of the composite stack) side. The group start is set with the group operator Grp OP, and the group operator designates a group synthesis method. The group synthesis method in the first embodiment assumes a total of 4 (= 2 × 2) methods depending on whether it is Isolated or Non-Isolated, and Knockout or Non-Knockout. The respective synthesis methods are defined in the PDF Transparency Groups of Non-Patent Document 2.

(Raster image generation process-Composite node composite process-Group node process)
If it is determined in S1103 in FIG. 11 that Src is a group node, the group node is processed in S1104, and the process returns to S1100. FIG. 15 is a detailed flowchart of S1104. First, in S1500, it is determined whether or not the group node is a group start. As a result of the determination, if the group node is a group start, the process proceeds to S1501. If the group node is not a group start (that is, the group node is a group end), the process proceeds to S1507. In S1501, it is determined whether or not the synthesis method is Knockout with reference to the group operator. As a result of the determination, if the combining method is Knockout, the process proceeds to S1502, and if the combining method is not Knockout, the process proceeds to S1503. In step S1502, group elements other than the forefront of the group are deleted. Next, the process proceeds to S1503. In step S1503, it is determined whether the synthesis method is Isolated with reference to the group operator. As a result of the determination, if the combining method is Isolated, the process proceeds to S1504, and if the combining method is not Isolated, the process proceeds to S1505. In S1504, a completely transparent composition node is created and pushed to the composition stack. Next, the process proceeds to S1506. On the other hand, if the result of determination in S1503 is that the composition method is not Isolated, a composite node for a copy of Dest is created and pushed to the composition stack in S1505. Next, the process proceeds to S1506. In step S1504 or S1505, when a composite node is pushed to the composite stack, in step S1506, Dest is pushed to a temporary stack called a group stack, and the process ends. The group stack is empty in the initial state. If it is determined in S1500 that the group node is not a group start (that is, the group node is a group end), Dest is pushed to the composite stack in S1507. Next, the process proceeds to S1508. In step S1508, the composite node is popped from the group stack, the popped composite node is pushed to the composite stack, and the process ends.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the state of the composite stack and the like when the group node is a group start in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 16 shows a state in which processing flows from the left to the right in the figure. In the example of FIG. 16, it is assumed that the group combining method is Knockout and Isolated. Since the group combining method is Knockout, the combination node 1601 and the combination node 1602 which are group elements other than the forefront of the group are deleted. Since the group composition method is Isolated, a composition node 1603, which is a completely transparent composition node, is pushed to the composition stack. Further, the composite node 1604 stored as Dest is pushed to the group stack (S1500 → S1501 → S1502 → S1503 → S1504 → S1506).

  FIG. 17 is a continuation of FIG. 16 and shows the state of the composite stack and the like when the group node is not the group start (that is, the group node is the group end). FIG. 17 also shows a state in which processing flows from the left to the right in the figure as in FIG. The synthesis node 1600 and the synthesis node 1603 are synthesized according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, and referring to FIG. 17, the synthesis node 1700 as the synthesis result is stacked on the synthesis stack. At the time of the synthesis, the group start stored as Src is overwritten and disappears. After the synthesis node 1700 is popped to Dest, since Src is a group end, it is pushed to the synthesis stack again. Then, the synthesis node 1604 loaded in the group stack is popped from the group stack and pushed into the synthesis stack (S1101 → S1102 → S1103 → S1104, S1500 → S1507 → S1508).

  The subsequent synthesis process is as shown in FIG. A series of composition processing is realized by the processing flow described so far, except when flattening is performed.

(Flattened)
Hereinafter, flattening will be described.

  As described above (Chapter “Processing of Intermediate Data Generating Unit 200”), if it is determined in S300 of FIG. 3 that the data size of the intermediate data 205 is equal to or larger than the threshold, flattening is performed using the synthesizing unit 202. Flattening is a process of compositing a composite node that is the intermediate data 205 at the time of determination in S300. By deleting items of the Fill information 802 that are no longer referred to in the first embodiment from the Fill table 800, Realize data size reduction.

  Flattening may be performed even when the intermediate data 205 is generated only halfway through the group. FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of intermediate data 205 (particularly, a composite stack) when flattening is performed in the middle of a group. In the example of FIG. 18A, there are three objects 1801 to 1803 in the group element of the group 1800. Here, when flattening is performed immediately after the generation of the intermediate data 205 up to the object 1802, what kind of object the object 1801 is and how it overlaps is unknown at the time immediately after the generation. FIG. 18B is a diagram showing a composite stack of the intermediate data 205 at the time point. A method of synthesizing so that the final intended color is output even when flattening is performed when the intermediate data 205 is generated only halfway through the group will be described below.

  FIG. 19 is a flowchart of group processing when flattening is performed. The group processing method is determined according to the flow shown in FIG. S1900 to S1906 are the same as when flattening is not performed (FIG. 15). However, in S1907, Src (that is, group start) is also pushed to the group stack, which is different from FIG.

  Here, FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of a synthesis node synthesis process executed by the synthesis unit 202 when flattening is performed. S2000 to S2010 are the same as when flattening is not performed (FIG. 11). However, when it is determined in S2000 that there are not two or more composite nodes, it differs from FIG. 11 in that it is determined in S2011 whether the group stack is empty. As a result of the determination in S2011, if the group stack is empty, the process ends. If the group stack is not empty, the process proceeds to S2012. The case where the group stack is not empty means that flattening is performed in a state where the intermediate data 205 is generated only halfway through the group. At this time, in S2012, the composite node is popped from the group stack and stored as Dest. Next, the process proceeds to S2013. In S2013, it is determined whether Dest is a group start. As a result of the determination, if Dest is a group start, the process proceeds to S2014. If Dest is not a group start, the process proceeds to S2015. In S2014, Dest is changed to a special composition node called group restart. Group restart is one of the group nodes. The group restart is also a set with the group operator, and the group operator in the set is set to the same group operator as the group start. Next, the process proceeds to S2015. In step S2015, Dest is pushed to the synthesis stack. Next, the process returns to S2011.

  Returning to the description of FIG. If it is determined in S1900 that the group node is not a group start, the process advances to S1908. In step S1908, it is determined whether the group node is a group restart. As a result of the determination, if the group node is a group restart, the process proceeds to S1909. In S1909, it is determined whether there are two or more group elements and the combining method is Knockout. As a result of the determination, if there are two or more group elements and the combining method is Knockout, the process proceeds to S1902. Otherwise, the process proceeds to S1906. By the processing branching of S1908 and S1909, only when necessary, a synthesis node (completely transparent or a copy of Dest) divided according to whether it is Isolated or Non-Isolated is pushed to the synthesis stack. If it is determined in S1908 that the group node is not a group restart (that is, the group node is a group end), the process proceeds to S1910. Here, S1910 and S1912 are the same as the processes when flattening is not performed (S1507 and S1508 in FIG. 15). However, in S1911, it is different from FIG. 15 in that the group start that is stacked at the top of the group stack is popped and discarded.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a state of a composite stack and the like when flattening is performed in the flowcharts of FIGS. 19 and 20. In this example, it is assumed that the group combining method is Knockout and Isolated. Since the group combining method is Knockout, the combining node 2101 that is a group element other than the forefront of the group is deleted (S1901 → S1902). Since the group composition method is Isolated, the composition node 2102 which is a completely transparent composition node is pushed to the composition stack (S1903 → S1904). Further, the composition node 2103 stored as Dest and the group start 2104 stored as Src are pushed to the group stack (S1906 → S1907). Thereafter, the synthesis node 2100 and the synthesis node 2102 are synthesized, and the synthesis node 2105 as a result of the synthesis is pushed into the synthesis stack (S2000 →... → S2010). As a result, since there is only one composite node in the composite stack, all elements in the group stack are pushed into the composite stack. At this time, the group start 2104 is changed to the group restart 2106 (S2000 → S2011 → S2012 → S2013 → S2014 → S2015).

  FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the state of the synthesis stack and the like when the generation of the intermediate data 205 is completed following the process of FIG. 21 and the rendering unit 201 performs the synthesis process. Since the generation of the intermediate data 205 has been completed, the group end 2200 and the synthesis node 2201 are stacked on the synthesis stack. Since there are two or more group elements and the group combining method is Knockout, the combining node 2105 which is a group element other than the forefront of the group is deleted (S1908 → S1909 → S1902). Further, since the group composition method is Isolated, the composition node 2102, which is a completely transparent composition node, is pushed again into the composition stack (S 1903 → S 1904). Then, the composite node 2103 stored as Dest and the group restart 2106 stored as Src are pushed to the group stack (S1906 → S1907). Thereafter, the synthesis node 2201 and the synthesis node 2102 are synthesized, and the synthesis node 2203 as a result of the synthesis is pushed into the synthesis stack (S2000 →... → S2010). When the group end 2200 is reached, the synthesis node 2203 stored as Dest and the synthesis node 2103 in the group stack are pushed into the synthesis stack (S1910, S1912). At this time, the group restart 2106 in the group stack is popped from the group stack and discarded (S1911).

  As described above, even if flattening is performed in the middle of a group by switching the compositing process procedure according to the execution status of flattening and the group compositing method, it was finally intended It can be combined so that colors are output.

[Example 2]
When the group composition method is Isolated, a color space for performing composition processing may be designated by a group operator.

  In addition, since the flowchart demonstrated in FIG.19 and FIG.20 can be synthesize | combined so that the color which was intended even if it is a case where flattening is not performed, also in the case where flattening is not performed, You may use the synthetic | combination process of these flowcharts.

[Other Examples]
An object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the system or apparatus (specifically, CPU or MPU) stores the program code. This can also be achieved by executing read. 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.

  As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a flexible disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD-R, magnetic tape, nonvolatile memory card, ROM, DVD, or the like is used. I can do it.

  In addition, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also the OS running on the computer performs one of the actual processing based on the instruction of the program code. Part or all may be performed. The case where the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing of the OS is also included in the scope of the present invention.

  Furthermore, the program code read from the storage medium is written in the memory provided in the function expansion board inserted into the computer or the function expansion unit connected to the computer, and then the process is executed based on the instruction of the program code. May be. In addition, the CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit may execute part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the execution processing of the CPU provided in the function expansion board or function expansion unit. Such cases are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  Further, the program code for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments may be executed by one computer (CPU, MPU) or may be executed by cooperation of a plurality of computers. Further, the program code may be executed by a computer, or hardware such as a circuit for realizing the function of the program code may be provided. Alternatively, a part of the program code may be realized by hardware and the remaining part may be executed by a computer.

Claims (12)

An image processing apparatus that generates a raster image from an input drawing command,
Intermediate data generating means for generating intermediate data from the drawing command;
Rendering means for rendering the intermediate data to generate the raster image;
A synthesizing unit for synthesizing the intermediate data in cooperation with the intermediate data generating unit and the rendering unit;
An image processing apparatus, wherein the processing procedure of the combining means is switched based on an execution status indicating to which object the combining means has processed and a group combining method in the drawing command.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising output means for outputting the generated raster image.   The execution status indicates whether or not the intermediate data generation means is executing the synthesis means, or whether or not the intermediate data generation means is executing the synthesis means. 2. The image processing apparatus according to 2.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group combining method is determined based on whether or not Knockout is performed.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the group combining method is determined based on whether or not the group is isolated.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the group combining method is determined based on whether or not there are a plurality of elements in the group.   The combining means determines whether or not to determine whether or not the group combining method is Isolated based on determination of whether or not the group combining method is Knockout and whether or not the group includes a plurality of elements. The image processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image processing apparatus is switched.   The information relating to the group stored as temporary data by the synthesizing unit is increased only by one for the group by switching the processing procedure. The image processing apparatus according to item.   The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drawing command is extracted from PDL data, and the PDL data is expressed in PDF.   6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the group composition method is Isolated, a color space for performing composition processing is designated. An image processing method for generating a raster image from an input drawing command,
An intermediate data generation step of generating intermediate data from the drawing command;
A rendering step of rendering the intermediate data to generate the raster image;
A synthesis step of synthesizing the intermediate data in the intermediate data generation step and the rendering step;
An image processing method, wherein the processing procedure in the synthesis step is switched based on an execution status indicating which object has been processed in the synthesis step and a group synthesis method in the data.   A program for causing a computer to function as the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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