JP2985303B2 - Recording device area recognition method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an area recognizing method in a recording apparatus such as a digital copying machine and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A specific structure of an image reading system in a digital copier or a facsimile image processing apparatus, particularly, a scanning unit is as shown in FIG.

[0003] This is a platen 1 on which a document 13 is placed.
A light source 15, a light guide member 16 including a rod lens array and the like, and a one-dimensional image sensor 10 such as a CCD are arranged below the lower part 2, and these constitute an integral scanning unit. In a process in which the scanning unit moves in parallel (in the direction of the arrow in the drawing) while the platen cover 14 is placed from above the document 13 to optically scan the document, the scanning unit corresponds to the amount of received light output from the image sensor 10. Based on the detection signal of each cell, image information of a predetermined pixel unit corresponding to a grayscale image, a diagram, a character, or the like drawn on the document 13 is generated. In this way, pixel information obtained by optically scanning and reading a document is sequentially subjected to correction processing, various pixel editing processing, and the like for each pixel, and then, for example, an image is reproduced on a print or display device.

In this type of image processing apparatus, FIG.
As shown in (1), among the images drawn in the document 13, special processing is performed only on the inner area Ei (hatched portion) of the closed loop image L in which one point inside is specified, for example, processing such as shading and coloring is performed. That do
A function of recognizing an image closed loop area for determining whether the pixel from which the pixel information is read is inside or outside the currently specified closed loop L is required. For this reason, for example, the function of recognizing the entire closed loop L region only by designating one inner point is more advanced than the function of drawing a closed loop with a marker and recognizing the closed loop region (AR function: Area Recognition). As the function, for example, an ADAR function (Advanced Area Recognition)
n), and is conventionally realized as follows.

As shown in FIG. 25, a plate-like input pad corresponding to each position of the original placement allowable area of the platen 12 is provided, and a registration position of the coordinate input device 18 (editor pad) (a registration position on the platen 12) is provided. In this state, an appropriate position of the input pad corresponding to the inner region of the closed loop image L of the document 13 is designated and input by touching the pen with the editor pen 19. Then, the information of the designated input position on the input pad is transmitted from the coordinate input device 18 to the image processing device, and the image processing device recognizes the designated position of the corresponding platen 12 in the document placement allowable area. In this state, the document 13 is transferred from the coordinate input device 18 onto the platen 12, and image information (for example, dot data) obtained by performing the document scanning by the scanning system is stored in the page memory. Then, area determination is sequentially performed for each dot starting from the designated position on the page memory where the image dot data is developed, and special processing such as coloring processing (white (Conversion of dots to black dots) is performed as processing on the page memory. Specifically, for example, CRT
C-LSI (for example, Hitachi product HD 63484)
And so on.

[0006]

However, CRTC-
Those that use a CRT controller such as an LSI
The CPU writes data to the VRAM and sends a command to the CRT controller to instruct, for example, to fill the area surrounded by the marker color of the VRAM.
The RT controller accesses the VRAM and performs calculations while viewing the data individually, thereby filling the inside of the closed loop. If the CPU sends a command to the CRT controller, nothing can be done until the processing is completed, As a result, there is a problem that it takes a long processing time, and further, there is a problem that the cost increases because an expensive CRT controller having high versatility is used.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to provide an area recognition method for a recording apparatus which can reduce processing time and cost.

[0008]

According to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a scanning timing which is controlled by a control means 1 and generates respective scanning timings of a pre-scan forward scan, a pre-scan back scan and a copy scan. Generating means 2 and input processing means 3 for taking in the area recognition color data extracted by the color separation circuit and performing input correction processing
A determination processing unit 4 for determining the inside and outside of the area from the captured data; an output processing unit 5 for outputting the determination result to a memory or a subsequent circuit; and a memory 6 for storing the determination result. .

The judgment processing means 4 performs an area judgment by the prescan forward scan, saves the result in the memory 6, reads out the contents of the memory 6 by the prescan back scan, and saves the judgment again in the reverse direction. And
Also, at the time of copy scanning, the area recognition color data is fetched again, the contents of the memory 6 are corrected with the fetched data, and output as area data.

[0010]

The present invention provides a prescan forward scan,
In each of the pre-scan back scan and copy scan, each area is determined, the area recognition color data is fetched in the pre-scan forward scan, the result is saved in the memory while the determination is made, and the memory is saved in the pre-scan back scan. The result is saved while reading and judging again from the reverse direction, the area recognition color data is fetched again at the time of copy scan, and the contents of the memory are corrected with the fetched data so that fine area recognition is performed. Since the area determination processing can be completed within the operation of the pre-scan and the copy scan, the time for the area determination is not separately required, and the processing time can be reduced.
Since an expensive circuit such as an RT controller is not required, the cost can be reduced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the entire configuration to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a one-dimensional full-color sensor of a document scanning section; and 20, a read signal output from the full-color sensor 10 in a time-division manner in units of cells is converted into color component data (green: G, blue) in predetermined pixels. : B, red: R) and efficiently outputs them, and the full color sensor 10 and the sensor interface circuit 20 constitute an image input unit. 50
Is a color separation circuit that generates density information and color information for each pixel from each color component data (GBR) from the sensor interface circuit 20 and further generates marker color information for designating a closed loop. A sub color flag SCF corresponding to the sub color “red” and a main color flag MCF corresponding to the main color “black” are generated. Reference numeral 70 denotes an area recognizing circuit. Based on the mark color information (ARCF1 and ARCF2) output from the color separating circuit 50, the area recognizing circuit 70 has a read-out pixel of a closed loop image on the original document specified by the marker. The inside or outside is determined, and the result is output for each pixel. The determination result here is that ARDT1 in the first AR area indicating the inside of the closed loop area specified by the first AR color marker, and ARDT2 in the second AR area indicating the inside of the closed loop area specified by the second AR color marker. Outside the area A indicating the outside of both the first AR area and the second AR area
There are three types of ROUT. 150 is a color separation circuit 50
A correction / filter circuit that performs various types of correction and filter processing on the density information D and color information (SCF, MCF) from the scanner 160. The density / color information (SCF, MCF) passed through the correction / filter circuit 150 Expand, shrink,
An editing / processing circuit that performs editing and processing such as color inversion. In the correction / filter circuit 150 and the editing / processing circuit 160, the area recognizing circuit 70 is designated by an area designated by a CPU (not shown). Judgment information (A
(RDFT1, ARDT2, AROUT).

As described above, the correction / filter circuit 1
The density information D and the color information (SCF, MCF) which have been subjected to various processes in the editing circuit 50 and the editing / processing circuit 160 are provided to specific image forming equipment via the interface circuit 230. The image forming apparatus includes a laser printer 240 for performing two-color reproduction and an image transceiver 270.
In addition, a system in which the density information D and the color information are provided to the computer 280 and stored in an auxiliary storage device (such as a magnetic disk device) of the computer 280, and the various devices use the information. Embodiments are also possible. When the laser printer 150 is connected, a two-color copying machine is configured as a whole, and when the image transceiver 270 is connected, a facsimile is configured as a whole.

The specific configuration of the editing / processing circuit 160 is, for example, as shown in FIG. In this example, the editing / processing circuit 160 performs a process such as conversion between a main color (black) and a sub-color (red), a color inversion circuit 190 that converts black characters into white characters, and a shading process. The editing / processing circuit 1 includes a shading circuit 200 for performing the processing and a negative / positive reversing circuit 210 for reversing the main color (black) or the sub color (red) and white.
The density data D, the sub color flag SCF, and the main color flag MCF supplied for each pixel are processed in series in each circuit. If the processing is not particularly necessary, the processing for the density data D is not performed by the corresponding circuit, and the data path is used as it is.

It is of course possible to include another processing circuit for editing and processing in the editing and processing circuit 160.
A CPU (not shown) for each processing circuit (the color inversion circuit 161, the whiteout circuit 190, the shaded circuit 200, and the negative / positive inversion circuit 210) of the editing / processing circuit 160 is used.
To the first area setting signal (closed loop area specified by the marker of the first AR color) AR1 and the second area setting signal (second AR
A closed loop area (AR2) specified by a color marker) and an out-of-area setting signal (outside area of both the first AR area and the second AR area) AROUT are provided. Further, the first area data ARDT1, the second area data ARDT2, and the out-of-area data AROUT are sent from the area recognition circuit 70 to each processing circuit. Note that out-of-area data A
ROUT is generated as a signal that becomes active when both the first area data ARDT1 and the second area data ARDT2 become 0. In each processing circuit, when an area setting signal is input from the CPU, only the area set based on the area data from the area recognizing circuit 70 is set, and data is passed for other areas.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the area recognition circuit 70. The area recognition circuit 70 includes an input / output processing unit 70-1 for performing input / output processing of first AR color data obtained through the color separation circuit 50, a determination processing unit 70-2 for performing area determination, and an input / output processing of second AR color data. Input / output processing unit 70-
3. It has a determination processing unit 70-4, and can recognize markers of two colors. In addition, the area recognition circuit 70
Controlled by the CPU 30 via the U interface 75,
An AR enable circuit 71, a line timing control circuit 72, a clock timing control circuit 73, a line counter 76, a determination address counter 74, and a page buffer address counter 77, which will be described later, are provided.

The input / output processing units 70-1 and 70-3 store the AR color data separated by the color separation circuit 50 in the line buffer 60 and perform input correction described later. The determination processing units 70-2 and 70-4 determine the inside and outside of the area in the pre-scan and the forward scan for the data written in the line buffer 60, and determine the determination result at the address specified by the determination memory address counter 74. Is stored in the line memory 61 for determination. That is, in the forward scan, while reading out the contents of the line memory 61 for determination sequentially, the determination process for the determination pixel is performed with reference to the data of one line before and the data next to one pixel, and the result is stored in the page buffer memory 62. Store. Next, the page buffer memory 6 is used during the back scan of the pre-scan.
2 is read and the determination is made again. Then, the content of the page buffer memory 62 is determined again with the AR color data obtained through the color separation circuit 50 at the time of copy scanning,
The result of the rough determination in the pre-scan is finely corrected in the copy scan, and fine area recognition is performed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the AR enable circuit of FIG. In the present invention, the result is roughly stored in the pre-scan and the result is stored, and the result of the pre-scan is corrected by the data read at fine intervals during the copy scan. If the position changes, it cannot be corrected. However, if the number of lines is counted as an address during copy scanning, the position will change depending on the magnification. Therefore, in the present invention, the distance per one clock is changed at the time of reduction magnification at a high speed and at the magnification magnification at a low speed, and the fact that the total number of motor clocks does not change depending on the magnification is used. The sub-scanning address is set. So 1
The motor clock of every / 16 mm passes through the inverter 80 and is divided by 16 by the frequency divider 88 to obtain an address signal of 1 mm unit. Then, scan 1 (forward scan of pre-scan) and scan 3 (copy scan) are selected by selectors 81 and 82 by a page synchronization signal (page sync, PS), and a motor clock signal is latched by a signal obtained through OR circuit 90. , The sub-scanning address is obtained. Further, the scan 2 (prescan back scan) signal is latched by the latch circuit 91 by the VVAD signal indicating the effective range of data, and the scan 2 signal is obtained.

Next, the outline of the area recognition algorithm will be described. In the present invention, it is possible to perform area determination for two colors, the first AR color and the second AR color, and set the AR mode from the CPU before the start of prescan. As shown in FIG. 6, the AR mode in the present invention is a free mode in which a closed loop area is recognized on the specified color image data and the color image data, and is surrounded by the specified color image data and the color image data. There are four AR modes: a fill mode for recognizing the image data area, a rectangular mode for recognizing the circumscribed rectangular area of the specified color image data, and a one-point instruction mode for recognizing an image closed lube area containing the specified color. The free mode is (00) and the fill mode is (0) in 2-bit data.
1), the rectangular mode is (10), and the one-point instruction mode is (1).
1), the default is (00), and the first AR
Different AR modes can be set for the two colors of the color and the second AR color.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the processing at the time of the forward scan of the pre-scan. The copy cycle starts from the pre-scan forward scan, and when the carriage advances to the position of the tip of the platen glass, the capture of AR color data and image data starts, and the page sync signal input to the area recognition circuit captures this data. It rises at the start time (of FIG. 7).
Thereafter, each time the carriage travels a certain distance, the inside / outside of one line area is determined from the AR color data and the image data by an algorithm described later, and the result is saved in the page memory (FIG. 7). Area). The above processing is performed until the carriage reaches the rearmost position (for example, 432 mm in the case of platen glass for A3 original) when the carriage takes in data from the leading end of the platen glass or until the page sync signal becomes LOW (FIG. 7). The position of the carriage is detected by counting the clock of the carriage motor after the rise of the page sync signal as described with reference to FIG. 5, and in this copying machine, the accuracy of the page memory in the sub-scanning direction is set to 1 mm, Each time the motor clock count becomes equivalent to 1 mm, the inside / outside determination of the area for one line in the main scanning direction is performed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the processing at the time of the back scan of the pre-scan. At the time of prescan back scan, the image data does not enter, and the result of the forward scan saved in the page memory is read from the rear end of the platen glass, and the judgment is made in the direction opposite to the forward scan. And save the result back to page memory. In this case, since input data such as AR color data does not come in, the determination from the last line (431) starts immediately after the back scan starts and the back scan signal rises (FIG. 8).
of). After that, unlike during forward scan,
The determination processing of each line is performed according to the internal processing timing regardless of the position of the carriage (FIG. 8). This processing is performed until the processing of all the lines is completed (FIG. 8). At the time of the back scan, the determination process proceeds regardless of the position of the carriage, so that the actual determination process ends earlier than the carriage returns to the leading end position of the platen glass as illustrated.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the processing at the time of the forward scan of the copy scan. At the time of copy scan, capture of AR color data and image data starts from the leading edge of the document (the rising edge of the page sync signal).
For each two lines (VVAD) of the input data, the inside / outside of the area is determined based on the AR color data and black image data and the determination result read from the page memory, and the result is output. VVAD is a signal indicating a valid range as image data in the sub-scanning direction. By such a process, the accuracy of the determination result at the time of the back scan is as coarse as 1 mm, but the reading at the time of the copy scan is fine, so that correction for smoothing the outline of the area is performed. In this case, the read line address of the page memory is different from the number of lines of the input data, and it is necessary to count the clock of the carriage motor from the rising edge of the page sync signal and increase the line address by 1 every 1 mm.

Also, a function such as "free registration" for adjusting the registration position to the leading end of the document even when the document is placed at an arbitrary position, "moving" for moving the registration to a designated position, or "centering" is selected. In this case, since the rising edge of the page sync signal is not always at the position of the line address = 0, which is the tip of the platen glass, from the end of the back scan of the prescan to the start of the forward scan of the copy scan (page sync). The read line address (A) of the page memory at the rising position of the page sync signal before the signal rises)
RSLA) is set from the CPU. Therefore, the read line address of the page memory is changed every time the carriage advances by 1 mm from the rising edge of the page sync signal.
ALSLA + 1, ALSLA + 2,..., And such a line address is maintained until the line address reaches 432 or the page sync signal becomes LOW.

Next, a basic determination algorithm will be described. The basic algorithm is common to all of the free-form mode, the painting mode, the rectangular mode, and the one-point pointing mode. First, the main scanning direction, the anti-main scanning direction, and the sub-scanning direction at the time of the prescan forward scan. From the input data, and saves the determination result in the page memory. At the time of the back scan of the pre-scan, the judgment result saved in the page memory is read, the judgment is made again from three directions of the main scanning direction, the anti-main scanning direction, and the anti-sub-scanning direction, and the judgment result is saved in the page memory. Finally, the input data and the determination result saved in the page memory at the time of the forward scan of the copy scan are finally determined from three directions of the main scanning direction, the anti-main scanning direction, and the sub-scanning direction to determine the inside / outside of the area. . As described above, in any scan, determination from three directions is basically performed, and determination from three directions is performed by two determinations of a primary determination and a secondary determination as described below.

FIG. 10 is for explaining the primary judgment. First, a primary determination is performed from two directions, a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction (or an anti-sub-scanning direction). That is, FIG.
As shown in (a), the primary determination result next to one pixel obtained by latching the primary determination result and the determination line memory 61
The determination of the determination pixel is performed based on the determination result of one line before read from the input data and the input data. As shown in FIG. The inside / outside of the area is determined with reference to the next determination result, and the result is written into the determination line memory 61.

FIG. 11 is for explaining the secondary judgment. The secondary determination is to determine the determination result of one line by adding information from the anti-main scanning direction to the result of the primary determination. In this case, since there is no input data from the anti-main scanning direction, the judgment line memory 6 which saves the result of the primary judgment.
1 is read again in the anti-main scanning direction in a manner opposite to that at the time of saving, thereby adding information from the anti-main scanning direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 11B, in order to make a determination based on the secondary determination result adjacent to the determination pixel by one pixel, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the primary determination result read from the determination line memory 61 and the secondary determination result are latched.
The determination is made based on the secondary determination result adjacent to the pixel, and the result is written to the determination line memory.

From such a determination algorithm, at least in the main scanning direction, reading of the line memory, determination,
In the sub-scanning direction, a processing time of 2VVAD for the primary determination and the secondary determination is required for 3 VCLK (VCLK: a signal indicating a period during which data of one image is determined) by writing in the line memory. Considering simplification and memory cost, the accuracy of judgment / output is determined by the main scanning direction = 4VCLK,
The sub-scanning direction is set to 2VVAD. Accordingly, the capacity of the determination line memory 61 required for the determination data to be 2 bits per color is 4672/4 × 2 × 2 = 116.
Since it is 8 words × 4 bits, an SRAM of 2K words × 8 bits is used. On the other hand, the accuracy of the page memory 62 for saving the determination result of the pre-scan is equivalent to 8 VCLK in the main scanning direction and 1 mm in the sub scanning direction in order to reduce the cost. As a result, the required capacity of the page memory 62 is 46
Since 72/8 × 432 × 2 × 2 = 246 K words × 4 bits, a DRAM of 256 K words × 4 bits is used.

The above-described algorithms for the primary determination and the secondary determination are basically based on the assumption that a marker color pixel and a non-density pixel (white pixel) adjacent to the marker color pixel are in a closed loop.
However, the specific determination result is "O" ...
Outside the image closed loop, "M" ... area including marker, "I"
... It is within the image closed loop. This determination result is handled as status information in the system. Finally, the pixels with the status “I” are inside the image closed loop specified by the marker, and the other pixels are outside the image closed loop.

Next, a case will be described with reference to FIG. 12 in which the sub-scanning direction is M lines and the main scanning direction is the Nth pixel (target pixel). For example, the determination at the time of the forward scan of the pre-scan is performed in the main scanning direction, as shown in FIG. 12A, by determining the image data (density data) of the target pixel, the marker color information, and the pixels further adjacent to the target pixel. That is, the main scanning direction determination result (temporary status) of the previous pixel (N-1) of the same line (M line)
The target pixel (the hatched portion in the figure) is determined based on the determination result of the same pixel (N-th) in the previous line (M-1). The determination result in the main scanning direction becomes a primary determination result and is stored in the memory as a provisional status (KS).
After the determination of each pixel in the main scanning direction is completed in this way, the determination from the opposite side, that is, the determination in the anti-main scanning direction is performed. As shown in FIG. 12B, the target pixel (hatched portion) is determined based on the determination result of the previous pixel (N + 1) on the same line as the target pixel, and the determination result is the secondary determination result. As a result, the temporary status (KS) of the target pixel stored in the memory is rewritten to status (S) information. In this way, the determination in both the main scanning direction and the anti-main scanning direction is sequentially performed for each line, and the determination for the back scan ends with the determination for the 0th line to 431th line.

At the time of the back scan of the pre-scan, in the main scanning direction, as shown in FIG. 12C, the pixel (N-1) before the same line (M line)
The target pixel is determined based on the main scanning direction determination result (temporary status) and the determination result of the pixel at the same position (Nth) in the previous line (M + 1 line). The determination result in the main scanning direction becomes a temporary status (KS), and the determination result stored in the memory is rewritten to the temporary status (KS). After the determination of each pixel in the main scanning direction is completed, the determination in the anti-main scanning direction is performed. As in the case of the forward scan, as shown in FIG. 12D, the same line of the target pixel determines the target pixel (hatched portion) based on the determination result of the previous pixel (the (N + 1) th). The determination result becomes a secondary determination result and becomes final status (S) information.

According to such a determination method, the main scanning direction and the anti-main scanning direction are determined at the time of forward scan and at the time of back scan, respectively, so that one pixel is determined from four directions of up, down, left, and right. And a highly accurate determination result can be obtained.

By the above determination, for example, FIG.
With respect to the closed loop as shown in (a), the status “M” is given to the pixel on the marker, the status “I” is given inside the area, and the status “O” is given outside the area. As shown in FIG. 13B, in the main scanning direction, for example, in the hatched portion, both the pixel at the same position one line before and the pixel one pixel before are both in status “M”.
Therefore, it is determined that the area is within the area, and the status “I”
, And the status “I” may be sequentially applied to the subsequent pixels. In this case, FIG.
As shown in (c), it is impossible for the status "I" to be attached to the first pixel in the anti-main scanning direction. Therefore, the status is rewritten to the status "O", and a correct determination is guaranteed.

Next, noise removal and link correction will be described. For example, in the case of the one-point instruction mode, it is not preferable to recognize even a small point such as dust.
Therefore, in order to recognize only those having a certain size or more as markers, for example, as shown in FIG. AND circuit 100 when continuous
And remove the noise. Of course, the present invention is not limited to three dots, and may be a case where two dots are continuous or a case where more dots are continuous. By such a process, it is possible to prevent an object having a size of, for example, 1 mm or less from being recognized as a marker. Also, as shown in FIG. 14B, in the sub-scanning direction, the lines are shifted by one line by the FIFOs 105 and 106 so that an output can be obtained when a plurality of lines are continuous.
By doing so, it is possible to prevent, for example, a marker of 1 mm or less in the sub-scanning direction from being picked up.

Also, a free mode, a filling mode,
In the case of the rectangular mode, if a marker of 1 mm or less is not recognized, a thick marker must be prepared. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14C, the latch circuits 111 and 112 shift one pixel at a time with respect to the main scanning direction, and the OR circuit 110 takes an OR of, for example, three pixels. For F, as shown in FIG.
By shifting the lines by IFOs 115 and 116 one by one and ORing several lines, it is possible to recognize a thin marker of 1 mm or less. As described above, in the present invention, the input / output unit of the area recognition circuit changes the correction method according to the AR mode, and performs input correction suitable for the mode.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 15A, even if it is intended to designate a closed loop area with a marker, if there is black image data below the marker, the AR color cannot be detected on the black image data. As shown in FIG. 15B, there is a case where the marker is interrupted and an incomplete closed loop cannot be detected. Therefore, free-form mode,
In the case of the filling mode and the rectangular mode, FIG.
The disconnection of the AR color data is corrected by simply taking the OR of 1 mm using the OR circuit of (d).

Next, the algorithm for determining the free mode will be described. In the free mode, the AR color detects an input area and a closed loop area based on the AR color. When a plurality of AR colors are adjacent to each other and intersect, a closed loop is detected using the outermost AR color data. For example, when there is AR color data as shown in FIG. 16A, first, in the forward scan of the pre-scan, as shown in FIG. 16B, a coarse area is recognized and stored in the page memory. In this case, an area surrounded by the AR color is detected when viewed from the three directions of the main scanning direction, the anti-main scanning direction, and the sub-scanning direction. Is incorrectly determined. However, at the time of the back scan of the pre-scan, as described above, the determination result at the time of the forward is read from the page memory, and the determination as viewed from the anti-sub-scanning direction is performed again to determine the inside / outside of the area. The erroneous determination of the portion is eliminated. However, since the accuracy of the pre-scan determination is coarse in units of 1 mm, the pre-scan is not output as it is, but is compared with read data at fine intervals at the time of copy scan. Fine area recognition can be performed.

The operation rule for determining the free mode is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the status “O” (outside the closed loop), “M” (on the AR color) of the secondary determination result one line before,
As shown in FIG. 17B, a combination of “I” (within a closed loop excluding the AR color) and the statuses “O”, “M”, and “I” of the primary determination result one pixel left, as shown in FIG. The adjacent primary determination result is “O”, and the determination result at the same position one line before is “M”
, The determination pixel is set to “O”, and as shown in FIG. 17C, the determination result of the immediately preceding line is “M”, and the primary determination result of the next pixel is “M”, the determination pixel is Is "I" and 1
If the judgment result before the line is “I”, and the primary judgment result next to the first pixel is “I”, the judgment pixel is “I”, the judgment result immediately before the line is “O”, and the primary result next to the pixel is When the determination result is “O” or “M”, the determination pixel is set to “O”, and the status of the determination pixel is sequentially determined.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the operation for determining the free mode.
Tables as shown in (a) to (e) are used.

At the time of the forward scan of the pre-scan In the case of the primary judgment, the AR color data = 1, that is, when the data on the marker comes in, the operation table of FIG. The status of the determination result, the status of the primary determination result left of one pixel is “O”, “M”,
Regardless of which of “I”, an operation for setting the status of the determination pixel to “M” is performed. When the AR color data = 0, that is, when no marker color is detected, the result of the secondary determination one line before is “O” or the primary determination one pixel left from the calculation table in FIG. When the status of the result is “O”, the judgment pixel is set to “O”;
If the status of the secondary determination result before the line and the status of the primary determination result one pixel left are “M” or “I”, the determination pixel is determined to be “I”. Therefore, when the line before or one pixel left is outside the closed loop, the judgment pixel is always outside.

In the case of the secondary judgment, the operation table shown in FIG. 18E is used. Since the secondary determination is performed in the anti-main scanning direction, the determination is made based on the status of the secondary determination result one pixel to the right and the status of the primary determination result of the determination pixel, and the status of the primary determination result of the determination pixel is “ If "O", the determination pixel is set to "O" regardless of the status of the secondary determination result to the right of one pixel, and 1 if the status of the primary determination result of the determination pixel is "M". It is set to “M” regardless of the status of the secondary determination result on the right of the pixel.
However, the status of the secondary judgment result for the right of one pixel is “O”
If the status of the primary determination result of the determination pixel is “I”, the status is rewritten as “O”.

At the time of the back scan of the pre-scan, the judgment result stored in the page memory is read and the primary judgment and the secondary judgment are performed. First, in the primary determination, when the content of the page memory is “M”, the operation table of FIG. 18A is used, and when the content of the page memory is “I”, the operation table of FIG. When the content of the page memory is "O", the operation table of FIG. 18C is used. FIG.
8 (a) and 8 (b) are the same as in the case of the forward scan of the pre-scan, but in the calculation table of FIG. 18 (c), when the contents of the page memory are "O", Regardless of the status of the secondary determination result and the status of the primary determination result left of one pixel, it is set to “O”. Therefore, a pixel determined to be “O” in the pre-scan forward scan is always determined to be “O” in the pre-scan back scan. The secondary determination uses the calculation table in FIG. 18E as in the case of the forward scan.

In forward scan of copy scan In the primary judgment, when the AR color data is 1, that is, when data on the marker comes in, the status is always set to "M" by using the operation table of FIG. If the AR color data is 0, that is, there is no marker color, the content of the page memory is "M", and the image data is 1, the calculation table of FIG. Status, 1
It is set to "O" only when the status of the primary determination result on the left of the pixel is both "O", and is set to "M" otherwise. Also, A
When the R color data is 0, the content of the page memory is “M”, and the image data = 0, the calculation table in FIG.
Only when the secondary determination result of the previous line is “O” or the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is “O”, the determination pixel is “O”, and the other secondary determination results of the previous line are In the case where the status of the primary determination result on the left of one pixel is “M” or “I”, the determination pixel is determined to be “I”. AR color data = 0 and page memory content is "I"
18B, the operation table shown in FIG. 18B is used. When AR color data = 0 and the content of the page memory is "O", the operation table shown in FIG.
All are set to “O” using the calculation table of (c). In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG. 18E is used as in the case of the prescan.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining the algorithm for determining the filling mode. In the filling mode, the AR color data area and the black or red image data area surrounded by the AR color data are set as the area filled with the AR color. For example, as shown in FIG. 19A, the image data is filled with the AR color data. And FIG. 19 (b)
Are recognized. In this case, the area filled with the marker is different from the area where the marker color is detected.
It is not known whether the color detected when the color image is filled with the blue marker is blue, the color of the original document image, or the composite color of the marker and the document image. Therefore, in the filling mode, the AR color data area and the black or red image data area surrounded by the AR color data are set as the area filled with the AR color. In this case, when the detection is performed in the free mode, it is recognized as shown in FIG. 19 (c), and when this is ANDed with the image data, the result is as shown in FIG. 19 (d). You can see that it is.

The calculation rule for determining the paint mode is AR
The status is defined as “M” on the color, “I” inside the filled area (except on the AR color) and “O” outside the filled area, and is determined using the calculation table in FIG. 18 similarly to the free mode. I do.

At the time of forward scan of pre-scan In the primary judgment, when AR color data = 1, FIG.
18A, the operation table of FIG. 18B when the AR color data = 0 and the image data = 1, and the operation table of FIG. 18C when the AR color data = 0 and the image data = 0. Is used. 2
The next determination uses the calculation table in FIG.

At the time of the back scan of the prescan In the primary judgment, when the content of the page memory is "M", FIG.
When the contents of the page memory are “I”, the operation table of FIG. 18B is used, and when the contents of the page memory are “O”, the operation table of FIG. 18C is used. The secondary judgment is shown in FIG.
The operation table of (e) is used.

In the forward scan of the copy scan, in the primary judgment, when the AR color data = 1, the calculation table in FIG. 18A shows that the AR color data = 0, the image data = 1, and the content of the page memory is “M”. In the case, the operation table of FIG. 18B is used, and when the AR color data = 0, the image data = 1, and the content of the page memory is “I”, the operation table of FIG.
When the R color data = 0 and the image data = 1 and the content of the page memory is "O", the operation table of FIG. 18C is used. When the AR color data = 0 and the image data = 0, the operation table of FIG. Use a calculation table. The secondary determination uses the calculation table in FIG.

FIG. 20 is a diagram for explaining the determination algorithm in the rectangular mode. In the rectangular mode, a rectangular area that can be detected only by the forward scan and a rectangular area that can be detected only by the back scan are different, so a page memory is always required. That is, FIG.
When AR color data such as 0 (a) is detected, an area indicated by oblique lines in FIG. 20 (b) is recognized in the forward scan of the pre-scan, and the determination result is further determined from the back scan direction. By determining the inside / outside, a hatched area as shown in FIG. 20D is determined. However, as described above, this area is not output as it is because the accuracy of the pre-scan determination is coarse, and is the data captured during the forward scan of the copy scan.
The determination result of 0 (d) is corrected, and a fine area determination as shown in FIG. 20 (c) is performed.

The rectangular mode determination algorithm is as follows.
Two statuses are defined, "M" on the AR color, "I" inside the rectangular area (except on the AR color), "O" outside the rectangular area, and "O"("O") which may be "I". (It exists only in the primary judgment, and is determined as "O" or "I" in the secondary judgment.)
Is defined as “O ′”, and the determination is performed using an operation table as shown in FIG.

At the time of the forward scan of the pre-scan In the primary judgment, when the AR color data = 1, FIG.
Is used, and the determination pixel is set to “M” regardless of the status of the secondary determination result one line before and the status of the primary determination result left of one pixel. AR color data = 0
In the case of, the operation table shown in FIG.
If the status of the secondary determination result before the line is “O”, it is determined to be “O” regardless of the status of the primary determination result one pixel left, and the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “M”. , "I", if the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is "O" or "O '", the status is determined as "O'", and the status of the secondary determination result one line before is "M". ",
When the status of the primary determination result of “I” and one pixel left is “M” and “I”, the determination pixel is “I”.

In the secondary determination, the operation table shown in FIG. 21E is used, and the area determined to be "O '" is rewritten to "O" or "I", as shown in FIG. The area is determined by the secondary determination.

At the time of the back scan of the prescan In the primary judgment, when the content of the page memory is "M", the operation table of FIG. 21A is used, and when the content of the page memory is "I", The calculation table of FIG. 21C is used. In the calculation table of FIG. 21C, if the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is “I”, the status is “I” regardless of the status of the secondary determination result one line before, and FIG.
In (b), the missing part ("O") of the rectangular area is rewritten with "I". When the content of the page memory is "O", the operation table of FIG. 21B is used. In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG.

In forward scan of copy scan In the primary judgment, when AR color data = 1 and the content of the page memory is "M" or "I", judgment is made using the operation table of FIG. All pixels are set to “M” and AR color data 1
When the content of the page memory is "O" in FIG.
The calculation table of (d) is used. In the case of "O" and "M" according to the status of the one line previous secondary determination result regardless of the status of the one pixel left primary determination result. Is determined to be replaced with “M”, and in the case of “I”, replaced with “M”. When the AR color data = 0 and the page memory is “M” or “I”, the operation table in FIG. 21C is used. When the AR color data is 0 and the page memory is “O”, the operation table in FIG. The operation table of (b) is used. In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a determination algorithm in the one-point instruction mode. In the one-point instruction mode,
A closed loop is detected from the binarized data of the image, and a white image area adjacent to the AR color data in the closed loop and the AR
The color area is detected as the inside of the area. In the case of the one-point instruction mode, the area that can be detected only by the forward scan and the area that can be detected only by the back scan are different from each other, as in the case of the rectangular mode. Is determined again to determine the inside / outside of the area. That is, when the AR color exists in the closed loop image data as shown in FIG. 22A, the hatched area determined by the image data and the AR color as shown in FIG. Recognized,
Next, by the determination of the back scan, the white area in FIG. 22B is detected as the inside of the area, and the area as shown in FIG. 22D is determined. Then, in the forward scan of the copy scan, the determination result of the pre-scan is corrected, and a fine area is determined as shown in FIG.

The status defined in the case of the one-point instruction mode is as follows: the area including the AR color in the image closed loop is “I”;
The image area is defined as “M”, the area outside the image closed loop is defined as “O”, and the area within the image closed loop but not including the AR color is defined as “O ′”, and the determination is performed using the calculation table shown in FIG.

At the time of the forward scan of the pre-scan In the primary judgment, when the image data = 1, the conversion table of FIG. 23A is used, and all the judgment pixels are set to "M". When image data = 0 and AR color data = 1, FIG.
The calculation table of (b) is used, and the determination pixel is set to “I” unless one of the status of the secondary determination result one line before and the status of the primary determination result to the left of the pixel is “O”. 23 when image data = 0 and AR color data = 0
The calculation table of (c) is used, and when the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “I”, the determination pixel is “I” unless the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is “O”. If the status of the primary determination result one pixel to the left is “I”, it is determined that the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “I” unless the status is “O”. In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG. 23D is used.

At the time of the back scan of the prescan In the primary judgment, when the content of the page memory is "M", the operation table of FIG. 23A is used, and all the judgment pixels are set to "M". 23 is "I"
The operation table of FIG. 23B is used, and in the case of the page memory “O”, the operation table of FIG. 23C is used. For the secondary determination, the calculation table in FIG. In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG. 23D is used.

At the time of forward scan of copy scan In the primary judgment, when image data = 1, FIG.
Using the operation table of (a), all the judgment pixels are set to “M”, and when the image data = 0 and the content of the page memory is “I”, the operation table of FIG. Unless the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “O” and the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is “O”, all the determination pixels are “I”. When image data = 0 and the page memory is not “I”, FIG. 23C is used,
If the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “I”, the determination pixel is “I” unless the status of the primary determination result one pixel left is “O”, and the primary determination result one pixel left is Is “I”, the determination pixel is “I” unless the status of the secondary determination result one line before is “O”. In the case of the secondary determination, the calculation table of FIG. 23D is used.

As described above, in the present invention, a plurality of AR modes are provided, which can be arbitrarily selected only by changing the algorithm (selection of an operation table), and can independently recognize an area for two designated colors. , You can select a different area recognition mode for each specified color,
For example, the first AR color is blue, the free mode is set, and the second AR
For example, it is possible to set the R color to green and set a rectangular mode.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, the accuracy of area determination can be improved without increasing the memory capacity, and the area determination processing is completed within the prescan and copy scan operations. Since the time for the area determination is not separately required, the processing time can be shortened, and an expensive circuit is not required, and the productivity can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an area recognition circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a specific configuration of an area recognition circuit and an editing / processing circuit.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an area recognition circuit.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an AR enable circuit of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an AR mode.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining processing at the time of a forward scan of a pre-scan;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining processing during a back scan of a pre-scan;

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining processing at the time of forward scan of copy scan.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a primary determination.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating secondary determination.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating determination of an Mth pixel in the sub-scanning direction and an Nth pixel in the main scanning direction.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an area recognition method.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating input correction.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the connection correction.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a free mode.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a determination method.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an operation table used in a free mode.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a painting mode.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a rectangular mode.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an operation table used in the rectangular mode.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a one-point instruction mode.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a calculation table used in the one-point instruction mode.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating a conventional scanning optical system and area recognition.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a conventional editor pad.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control means, 2 ... Scan timing generation means, 3 ... Input processing means, 4 ... Determination processing means, 5 ... Output processing means, 6 ...
memory.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for performing color separation from read image data, capturing area recognition color data, and performing area recognition, wherein a scan that generates scanning timings of a pre-scan forward scan, a pre-scan back scan, and a copy scan. Timing generating means and pre-scanning forward scan synchronized with a timing signal from the scanning timing generating means for coarsely recognizing the area recognition color data;
There uptake at intervals, the results while determining regions saved in the memory, the back scan prescan, the Foix
Read the contents of the memory saved at the time of code scan from the reverse direction and save the result in the memory while judging the area,
An area recognition method for a recording apparatus, comprising: determination processing means for correcting the contents of the memory saved at the time of the back scan with the area recognition color data captured at fine intervals during the copy scan.