JP3787464B2 - Image processing apparatus and method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Description

（但しx％4，y％4は各々4で割った余数）
本実施形態では以上説明したようにして、FPXイメージの各データに対してディザ処理を施す。
【００５９】
以上説明したように本実施形態によれば、受信したFPXデータが著作権を有している場合には1ビットの最低階調によるディザ処理を施すことにより、出力画像の階調数を低減する。従って、著作権を有する画像データを第三者が無断で印刷出力することを防ぐことができる。
【００６０】
尚、著作権を有する画像データを著作権者の許可を得て印刷出力する際には、例えばFPXデータの拡張プロパティに格納されている著作権情報において、印刷許可を示す情報が著作権者によって付加されれば良い。そして該印刷許可情報が付加されていれば、本実施形態のディザ処理の際に著作権無しの画像データと同様に扱うこととし、即ち4ビット階調のディザ処理を行えば良い。
【００６１】
＜第２実施形態＞
以下、本発明における第2実施形態について説明する。尚、第2実施形態において上述した第1実施形態と略同様の構成については同一符号を付し、その説明を省略する。
【００６２】
上述した第1実施形態においては、印刷しようとするFPXデータが著作権を有する画像データであった場合に最低階調数のディザパラメータによるディザ処理を施す例について説明したが、第2実施形態においてはこのディザ処理に変えて誤差拡散処理を施すことを特徴とする。
【００６３】
図9は、第2実施形態におけるコントローラ200の詳細構成を示すブロック図である。
【００６４】
220は誤差拡散マトリクス設定部であり、ホストコンピュータ502から入力される4ビット誤差拡散、2ビット誤差拡散、1ビット誤差拡散などの各誤差拡散モードに対応する誤差拡散パラメータ、または判定部203から入力される階調低下命令信号Detに対応する誤差拡散パラメータを誤差拡散パラメータ保持部221から選択し、誤差拡散テーブル223を作成して格納する。尚、第2実施形態における階調低下処理の詳細については後述する。
【００６５】
221は誤差拡散パラメータ保持部であり、上記誤差拡散モードに対応した、例えば、誤差拡散パラメータ1(221a)、誤差拡散パラメータ2(221b)、誤差拡散パラメータ3(221c)として保持しておく。222は誤差拡散処理部であり、色変換部206によって変換されたCMYK形式の印刷情報に対して、誤差拡散テーブル223を参照して誤差拡散演算を行い、誤差拡散モードに対応した階調数の印刷情報に変換する。
【００６６】
次に、図10のフローチャートを参照して、第2実施形態におけるコントローラ200の動作を詳細に説明する。尚、図10のフローチャートにおいて、上述した第1実施形態で示した図5と同様の処理については同一ステップ番号を付し、その説明を省略する。また、図10のフローチャートに示す処理を実現する制御プログラムもROM217に格納されており、CPU216により実行される。
【００６７】
図10において、ステップS507で印刷データがFPXデータであると判断された場合には、拡張プロパティより著作権データを取出し(ステップS508)、色変換部206においてCMYK形式の色データに変換(ステップS509)した後、誤差拡散処理部222で誤差拡散テーブル223を使用した誤差拡散演算を行なうことにより誤差拡散された色データに変換し(ステップS1010)、ステップS504に戻る。
【００６８】
また、ステップS511において印刷データが色変換モードデータでないと判断された場合には、誤差拡散モードデータであるか否かを判断し(ステップS1013)、誤差拡散モードデータである場合には誤差拡散マトリクス設定部220において、誤差拡散モードに対応する誤差拡散パラメータにより誤差拡散テーブルを作成し(ステップS1014)、ステップS504に戻る。
【００６９】
一方、ステップS513において誤差拡散モードデータでないと判断された場合には、ステップS515に進んで文字，図形等のマスクデータであるか否かを判断する。
【００７０】
次に、図11のフローチャートを参照して、第2実施形態における誤差拡散処理部222の動作について詳細に説明する。図11に示すフローチャートは即ち、上述した図10に示すステップS1010の詳細である。尚、第2実施形態で説明するFPX画像データは、最高解像度600dpi、標準解像度300dpi、低解像度150dpi、最低解像度75dpi、の4種の解像度画像データを記憶しており、各解像度の画像をサブイメージと称することとする。
【００７１】
図11において、まずステップS1101で誤差拡散パラメータ保持部221より4ビット階調用の誤差拡散パラメータをロードする。次に、FPXデータの拡張プロパティに格納されている著作権情報を獲得し(ステップS1102)、印刷しようとするFPXデータが著作権を有する画像であるか否かを判断する(ステップS1103)。ステップS1103で著作権を有すると判断された場合には、判定部203から誤差拡散マトリクス設定部220へ階調低下命令信号Detを出力し(ステップS1104)、誤差拡散パラメータ保持部221より1ビット階調用の誤差拡散パラメータをロードする(ステップS1105)。
【００７２】
一方、ステップS1103において、印刷しようとするFPXデータが著作権を有していないと判断された場合にはステップS1104，S1105の処理は行わない。
【００７３】
次に、FPXサブイメージを読み出し(ステップS1106)、全てのFPXサブイメージを読み出したか否かを判断する(ステップS1107)。全てのFPXサブイメージを読み出していないと判断された場合には、読み出されたFPXサブイメージに対して誤差拡散マトリクス設定部220で設定された誤差拡散テーブル223による誤差拡散処理を行い(ステップS1108)、ステップS1106に戻る。一方、ステップS1106において、全てのFPXサブイメージの読み出し終了と判断された場合には、本実施形態の誤差拡散処理を終了する。
【００７４】
次に、第2実施形態における誤差拡散処理について、図12及び図13を参照して詳細に説明する。本実施形態の誤差拡散処理においては、比較器を用い、誤差拡散モードに応じた階調出力を行うが、ここでは判定部203により階調低下命令信号Detが出力され、1ビット階調による出力を行うものとする。
【００７５】
図12は誤差拡散処理部222の詳細構成を示すブロック図である。同図において、701は誤差バッファであり、FPXイメージデータの各画素の処理過程で生じた誤差を蓄積するため、ラインバッファにより構成される。702は重畳誤差演算器であり、誤差拡散テーブル223のデータW(m,n)と誤差バッファ701に保持された誤差データE(m,n)との積和演算を行うことにより、重畳誤差を算出する。703は加算器であり、重畳誤差演算器702で算出された重量誤差N(m,n)と、色変換部206で変換されたFPXイメージデータの注目画素値F(m,n)を加算する。704は比較器であり、加算器703から出力された値T(m,n)と誤差拡散テーブル223から出力された閾値Thとを比較する。705は減算器であり、加算器703の出力値T(m,n)から比較器704の出力値G(m,n)を減算することによって、注目画素に対する誤差E(m,n)を算出する。
【００７６】
図13は、誤差拡散処理の一例を示すフローチャートであり、上述した図11に示すステップS1108の詳細である。
【００７７】
図13において、まずFPXイメージデータから1データを取り出し(ステップS1301)、全てのデータを取り出したか否かを判断する(ステップS1302)。ステップS1302で終了していないと判断された場合には、取り出したFPXイメージデータの描画位置を算出し(ステップS1303)、重畳誤差演算器702において該描画位置に対応する重畳誤差N(m,n)を演算する(ステップS1304)。
【００７８】
ここで重畳誤差は、注目するデータの描画位置を(m,n)、描画位置に対応する誤差バッファ701に保持された誤差データをE(m,n)、誤差拡散テーブルの大きさをi×j、誤差拡散テーブルデータをW(m,n)とすると、次式により求められる。
【００７９】
N(m,n)＝ΣΣW(i,j)×E(m-i,n-j)／ΣW(i,j)
次に、ステップS1304において算出した重畳誤差N(m,n)とイメージデータを加算することによって、T(m,n)を求める(ステップS1305)。次にステップS1305で算出したT(m,n)と、誤差拡散テーブル223より取り出した閾値Thの値を比較し(ステップS1306)、T(m,n)の値がThより大きいと判断された場合、FPXイメージデータの描画位置G(m,n)に1(ON)を設定し(ステップS1307)、T(m,n)の値がThより小さいもしくは同じであると判断された場合、FPXイメージデータの描画位置G(m,n)に0(OFF)を設定する(ステップS1308)。そして誤差E(m,n)を算出し(ステップS1309)、誤差バッファを更新(ステップS1310)した後、ステップS1301に戻る。そして、ステップS1302において全てのFPXイメージデータの処理が終了したと判断された場合には処理を終了する。
【００８０】
尚、ステップS1309における誤差E(m,n)の算出は、次式によって行われる。
【００８１】
E(m,n)＝G(m,n)−T(m,n)
以上説明した様に第2実施形態によれば、第1実施形態と同様に、受信したFPXデータが著作権を有している場合には1ビットの最低階調による誤差拡散処理を施すことにより、出力画像の階調数を低減する。従って、著作権を有する画像データを第三者が無断で印刷出力することを防ぐことができる。
【００８２】
【他の実施形態】
尚、上述した各実施形態においては、入力データをRGB形式、出力をCMYK形式として説明したが、L*a*b*，XYZ等のあらゆる色空間表現において本発明は適用可能である。
【００８３】
また、上述した各実施形態においては、ディザ処理および誤差拡散処理を、複数の解像度を構造化したファイルフォーマットであるFPXデータを対象として行なう例について説明したが、その他のファイルフォーマットに対しても適用可能である。
【００８４】
また、上述した各実施形態においては、著作権を有する画像データについて、その階調をディザ処理又は誤差拡散処理によって低下させる例について説明したが、もちろん他の階調低下処理を適用することも可能である。
【００８５】
また、ディザ処理及び誤差拡散処理が4ビット階調，2ビット階調，1ビット階調のパラメータを使用する例について説明したが、もちろん任意階調による処理が可能である。
【００８６】
また、各実施形態においては著作権を有する画像データに関して、ディザ処理等の画像処理を施す例について説明したが、本発明は著作権画像に限定されず、無断盗用を禁止すべき画像全般について、適用可能である。即ち、該画像の拡張プロパティ情報において無断出力禁止等の情報が付与されていた場合に、上述した著作権画像と同様の処理を行なうようにすれば良い。
【００８７】
また、本発明は、上述した各実施形態を組み合わせて達成される場合にも適用できることはいうまでもない。
【００８８】
尚、本発明は、複数の機器（例えばホストコンピュータ，インタフェイス機器，リーダ，プリンタなど）から構成されるシステムに適用しても、一つの機器からなる装置（例えば、複写機，ファクシミリ装置など）に適用してもよい。
【００８９】
また、本発明の目的は、前述した実施形態の機能を実現するソフトウェアのプログラムコードを記録した記憶媒体を、システムあるいは装置に供給し、そのシステムあるいは装置のコンピュータ（またはＣＰＵやＭＰＵ）が記憶媒体に格納されたプログラムコードを読出し実行することによっても、達成されることは言うまでもない。
【００９０】
この場合、記憶媒体から読出されたプログラムコード自体が前述した実施形態の機能を実現することになり、そのプログラムコードを記憶した記憶媒体は本発明を構成することになる。
【００９１】
プログラムコードを供給するための記憶媒体としては、例えば、フロッピディスク，ハードディスク，光ディスク，光磁気ディスク，ＣＤ−ＲＯＭ，ＣＤ−Ｒ，磁気テープ，不揮発性のメモリカード，ＲＯＭなどを用いることができる。
【００９２】
また、コンピュータが読出したプログラムコードを実行することにより、前述した実施形態の機能が実現されるだけでなく、そのプログラムコードの指示に基づき、コンピュータ上で稼働しているＯＳ（オペレーティングシステム）などが実際の処理の一部または全部を行い、その処理によって前述した実施形態の機能が実現される場合も含まれることは言うまでもない。
【００９３】
さらに、記憶媒体から読出されたプログラムコードが、コンピュータに挿入された機能拡張ボードやコンピュータに接続された機能拡張ユニットに備わるメモリに書込まれた後、そのプログラムコードの指示に基づき、その機能拡張ボードや機能拡張ユニットに備わるＣＰＵなどが実際の処理の一部または全部を行い、その処理によって前述した実施形態の機能が実現される場合も含まれることは言うまでもない。
【００９４】
本発明を上記記憶媒体に適用する場合、その記憶媒体には、先に説明したフローチャート（図5,図6,図7,図10,図11,図13）に対応するプログラムコードを格納することになる。
【００９５】
【発明の効果】
以上説明したように本発明によれば、無断出力が禁止された特定画像データの印刷出力を防止することができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明にかかる一実施形態におけるカラーLBPの概要構成を示すブロック図、
【図２】プリンタエンジンの詳細構成を示すブロック図、
【図３】光学ユニットの詳細構成を示すブロック図、
【図４】本実施形態におけるプリンタコントローラの詳細構成を示すブロック図、
【図５】プリンタコントローラの動作を示すフローチャート、
【図６】本実施形態におけるディザ処理を示すフローチャート、
【図７】本実施形態におけるディザ処理を示すフローチャート、
【図８】ディザ処理を模式的に示す図、
【図９】第2実施形態におけるプリンタコントローラの詳細構成を示すブロック図、
【図１０】第2実施形態におけるプリンタコントローラの動作を示すフローチャート、
【図１１】第2実施形態における誤差拡散処理を示すフローチャート、
【図１２】第2実施形態における誤差拡散処理部の詳細構成を示すブロック図、
【図１３】第2実施形態における誤差拡散処理を示すフローチャート、
【図１４】 FlashPix画像ファイルの論理構造を示す図、
【図１５】 FlashPix画像ファイルの論理構造を示す図、
【図１６】 FlashPix画像ファイルを構成する階層画像例を示す図、
【図１７】 FlashPix画像ファイルのサブイメージのタイル分割を説明する図、
【図１８】 FlashPix画像ファイルのImage Contents Property Setの論理構造を示す図、
【図１９】 FlashPix画像ファイルのSubimage Headerの論理構造を示す図、
【図２０】従来の画像データフォーマットの一例を示す図、である。
【図面の簡単な説明】
100 プリンタエンジン
200 プリンタコントローラ
201 ホストインタフェース（ホストＩ／Ｆ）
202 受信バッファ
203 判定部
204 色変換モード設定部
205 色変換パラメータ保持部
206 色変換部
207 色変換テーブル
208 ディザマトリクス設定部
209 ディザパラメータ保持部
210 ディザ処理部
211 ディザテーブル
212 オブジェクト生成部
213 オブジェクトバッファ
214 レンダリング部
215 ビットマップバッファ
216 中央演算処理装置（ＣＰＵ）
217 リードオンリメモリ（ＲＯＭ）
218 ランダムアクセスメモリ（ＲＡＭ）
219 操作パネル
220 誤差拡散マトリクス設定部
221 誤差拡散パラメータ保持部
222 誤差拡散処理部
223 誤差拡散テーブル
701 誤差バッファ
702 重畳誤差演算器
703 加算器
704 比較器
705 減算器[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method, and a recording medium, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and method for controlling output of a specific image, and a recording medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As computer output devices, information recording devices using an electrophotographic method such as a laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as “LBP”) have become widespread. These information recording apparatuses are a factor that rapidly expands the field of desktop publishing (DTP) due to many advantages such as high-quality printing results, quietness and high speed. Furthermore, with the improvement in performance of the host computer and the controller that is the image generation unit of the printer, it has become possible to easily handle color images as processing targets. Accordingly, electrophotographic color printers have also been developed, and printing of color images as well as conventional printing of monochrome images is becoming widespread.
[0003]
In addition, the types of devices that output image data, such as photographic images input from an image scanner or a digital camera, are output to a color printer or displayed on a monitor. As described above, as image data is used for various purposes, a data format in which image data with a plurality of resolutions is structured and handled is becoming widespread. Recently, FlashPix (registered trademark of Eastman Kodak Company, USA) is attracting attention as a data format.
[0004]
The FlashPix file format is described below in comparison with the conventional image format.
[0005]
<Conventional image format>
An example of a conventional image format is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 20, conventional image files are roughly divided into an image header portion and an image data portion. In general, the header portion stores information necessary for reading data from the image file and additional information explaining the content of the image. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the image format identifier indicating the format name in the image file, the file size, the width / height / depth of the image, the presence / absence of compression, color palette information, resolution, image degree, and storage of image data Information such as the offset to the position is stored. On the other hand, the image data portion is a portion where actual image data is sequentially stored.
[0006]
As typical examples of such an image format, the BMP format of Microsoft, the GIF format of Compuserve, etc. are widely used.
[0007]
<FlashPix format>
In the FlashPix format described below, the image attribute information and image data stored in the image header portion in the above-described conventional image format are further structured and stored.
[0008]
14 and 15 show the logical structure of the FlashPix format. In the figure, each property and data in a file is accessed by storage and stream corresponding to MS-DOS directory and file. In FIGS. 14 and 15, a portion indicated by a double line is storage, and a portion indicated by a single line is a stream. Image data and image attribute information are stored in the stream portion. Image data is hierarchized at different resolutions, and images of the respective resolutions are referred to as Subimages, which are indicated by Resolution 0, 1,... In FIG. For each resolution image, information necessary for reading the image is stored in the Subimage Header, and image data is stored in the Subimage data. Property set (Property Set) is defined by classifying attribute information according to its purpose and contents. Summary Info. Property Set, Image Info. Property Set, Image Contents Property Set, Extension list Property Set is there.
[0009]
[Description of each property set]
● Summary Info. Property is not specific to FlashPix but is an essential property set in Microsoft structured storage, and stores the title, title, author, thumbnail image, etc. of the image file.
[0010]
Image Contents Property Set is an attribute that describes a method for storing image data. An example of this is shown in FIG. This attribute includes the number of layers of image data, the width and height of the image with the maximum resolution, the width, height, color configuration for each resolution image, and the quantization table and Huffman table when using Jpeg compression. Describe the definition of.
[0011]
Image Info. Property Set stores various information that can be used when using an image, for example, how the image is captured and how it can be used. Examples of information that can be stored as Image Info. Property Set are listed below.
[0012]
・ Information on how to capture and / or generate digital data (File Source)
・ Copyright information (Intellectual Property)
・ Information (Content description) about the contents of the image (person, place, etc. in the image)
・ Camera information
・ Information on camera settings (exposure, shutter speed, focal length, flash usage, etc.) at the time of shooting (Per Picture camera settings)
・ Digital camera characterization
-Information such as film manufacturer name, product name, type (negative / positive, color / black and white) (Film description)
-In the case of scanned images, information about the scanner and software used, and the person who operated it (Scan device)
● Extension list Property Set is an area used when adding information not included in the basic specification of FlashPix.
[0013]
The FlashPix Image View Object shown in FIG. 15 is an image file that stores a viewing parameter and image data used when displaying an image. The viewing parameter is a set of processing coefficients that are stored in order to apply image rotation, enlargement / reduction, movement, color conversion, and filtering processing when displaying an image. Source / Result FlashPix Image Object is a substance of FlashPix image data, Source FlashPix Image Object is essential, and Result FlashPix Image Object is optional.
[0014]
Source FlashPix Image Object stores original image data, and Result FlashPix Image Object stores an image obtained as a result of image processing using viewing parameters.
[0015]
Source / Result desc. Property set is a property set for identifying the above-described image data, and stores an image ID, a property set that cannot be changed, a last update date and time, and the like.
[0016]
The Transform Property Set stores an affine transformation coefficient for rotation, enlargement / reduction, and movement, a color transformation matrix, a contrast adjustment value, and a filtering coefficient.
[0017]
[Handling of image data]
Next, handling of image data will be described.
[0018]
The FlashPix image format includes multiple resolution images divided into tiles. FIG. 16 shows an example of an image file composed of a plurality of images having different resolutions. In FIG. 16, the maximum resolution image is composed of X0 × Y0 in columns × rows, and the next largest image is X0 / 2 × Y0 / 2. Reduce each one and repeat until both columns and rows are 64 pixels or less. As a result of such hierarchization, the header information and the image data described in the section of the conventional image format are required for the image attribute information “the number of hierarchies in one image file” and the images of the respective hierarchies. Become. For information on the number of layers in a single image file, the width and height of the image with the maximum resolution, or the width, height, color composition, and compression method of each resolution, see the Image Contents Property shown in Figure 18. Described in Set.
[0019]
Furthermore, the image of each resolution layer is divided into tiles of 64 × 64 pixels as shown in FIG. If the image is divided into tiles of 64 × 64 pixels sequentially from the upper left part of the image, some of the tiles at the right and lower ends may be blank depending on the image. In this case, a 64 × 64 pixel tile is constructed by repeatedly inserting the rightmost image or the lowermost image, respectively. In FlashPix, the image in each tile is stored in any of JPEG compression, single color, and non-compression methods. Here, JPEG compression is an image compression method internationally standardized by ISO / IEC JTC1 / SC29, and the description of the method itself is omitted here. The single color is a method of expressing the value of one tile with one color without recording the value of each pixel only when all the tiles are configured with the same color. This method is particularly useful for images generated by computer graphics.
The tile-divided image data is stored in the Subimage data stream, and the total number of tiles, tile size, data start position, and compression method are all stored in the Subimage header. An example of the Subimage header is shown in FIG.
[0020]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, with the spread of FlashPix and other formats that handle image data of multiple resolutions in a structured manner, taking advantage of this feature, for example, image data shot by the user himself / herself is published on the Internet, and the image is displayed. Selective output of image data is possible such that a third party who browses displays low-resolution image data on a display device such as a monitor, and outputs image data of the highest resolution to an output device such as a color printer. It is possible.
[0021]
On the other hand, for example, there is a problem that even image data having copyrights can be stolen without permission by a third party via the Internet.
[0022]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image processing apparatus and method for preventing printing output of specific image data for which unauthorized output is prohibited.
[0023]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a means for achieving the above object, an image processing apparatus of the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
[0024]
  That is,Receiving means for receiving image data from the information processing apparatus;
Copyright information determination means for determining whether copyright information is included in an extended property included in the image data received by the reception means;
When it is determined that the copyright information is not included in the copyright information determination unit, the pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation is performed on the image data received by the reception unit;
When the copyright information discriminating unit determines that the copyright information is included, and when the print permission information is added to the copyright information included, it is received by the receiving unit. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on the obtained image data;
Received by the receiving means when the copyright information discriminating means determines that the copyright information is included, and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information. Pseudo gradation processing means for performing pseudo gradation processing of a second bit gradation smaller than the first bit gradation on the obtained image data;It is characterized by having.
[0025]
For example, the pseudo gradation means can perform pseudo gradation processing with a plurality of kinds of gradations, and when the image data is determined to be a specific image by the determination means, the image data is for low gradation. The pseudo gradation processing is performed.
[0026]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, an example in which the present invention is applied to a 600 dpi color LBP will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a color printer having an arbitrary recording density without departing from the spirit of the present invention. And an image processing apparatus such as a color facsimile apparatus.
[0027]
<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a color LBP in an embodiment according to the present invention.
[0028]
In the figure, a color LBP 501 receives code data and image data described in a printer description language (PDL) sent from a host computer 502 which is an external device, and forms a color image on a recording medium based on the data. To do.
[0029]
More specifically, the color LBP 501 includes a printer controller (hereinafter simply referred to as “controller”) 200 and a printer engine (hereinafter simply referred to as “engine”) 100. Based on the data input from the host computer 502, the controller 200 creates multi-value image data of magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) for one page. The engine 100 forms a latent image by scanning the photosensitive drum with a laser beam modulated in accordance with the multi-value image data generated by the controller 200, develops the latent image with toner, and transfers it to a recording paper. Recording is performed by a series of electrophotographic processes in which the toner on the recording paper is fixed. The engine 100 has a resolution of 600 dpi.
[0030]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the engine 100. Hereinafter, the operation of the engine 100 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0031]
In FIG. 2, the engine 100 rotates the photosensitive drum 106 and the transfer drum 108 in the direction of the arrow in the drawing by driving means (not shown). Subsequently, charging of the roller charger 109 is started, and the surface potential of the photosensitive drum 106 is charged almost uniformly to a predetermined value. Next, the recording paper 128 stored in the recording paper cassette 110 is supplied to the transfer drum 108 by the paper feed roller 111. The transfer drum 108 has a derivative sheet stretched on a hollow support, and rotates in the direction of the arrow at the same speed as the photosensitive drum 106.
[0032]
The recording paper 128 fed to the transfer drum 108 is held by a gripper 112 provided on a support body of the transfer drum 108, and is sucked to the transfer drum 108 by a suction roller 113 and a suction charger 114. At the same time, the support 115 of the developing unit is rotated so that the developing unit that first forms a latent image is opposed to the photosensitive drum 106 among the four developing units 116Y, 116M, 116C, and 116K supported by the support 115. In addition, 116Y is a developing unit containing yellow (Y), 116M is magenta (M), 116C is cyan (C), and 116K is black (K).
[0033]
On the other hand, the engine 100 detects the leading edge of the recording paper 128 adsorbed on the transfer drum 106 by the paper leading edge detector 117 and transmits a control signal to the controller 200. When receiving the control signal, the controller 200 outputs a video signal to the laser driver 102 in the optical unit 118.
[0034]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the optical unit 118 shown in FIG. The laser driver 102 causes the laser diode 103 to emit light in response to the video signal, and a laser beam 127 is emitted. The laser beam 127 is deflected by a rotating polygon mirror 104 that is rotationally driven in the direction of an arrow by a motor (not shown), passes through an imaging lens 105 disposed on the optical path, and scans on the photosensitive drum 106 in the main scanning direction. A latent image is generated on the drum 106. At this time, the beam detector 107 detects the scanning start point of the laser beam 127 and generates a horizontal synchronization signal.
[0035]
The latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 106 is developed by a developing device, and then transferred to a recording paper 128 adsorbed by the transfer drum 108 by a transfer charger 119. At this time, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 106 without being transferred is removed by the cleaning device 125. By repeating the above operation, a color toner image is transferred onto the recording paper 128. The recording paper 128 to which all toner images have been transferred is peeled off from the transfer drum 108 by the separation claw 121 through the separation charger 120 and sent to the fixing device 123 by the transport belt 122. At this time, the surface of the transfer drum 108 is cleaned by the transfer drum cleaner 126. The toner image on the recording paper 128 is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 123 and melted and fixed to form a full color image. Then, the recording paper 128 on which the full color image is recorded is discharged to the paper discharge tray 124.
[0036]
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration example of the controller 200, and the operation of the controller 200 will be described with reference to FIG.
[0037]
In the figure, 201 is a host interface (hereinafter referred to as “host I / F”), which communicates with the host computer 502 to receive print information such as code data and image data described in PDL. Here, in the present embodiment, image data (for example, having the structure shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15) conforming to a hierarchical data format in which multiple resolution image data such as flashPix is structured and handled is referred to as FPX data. Consider a case where FPX data is received as print information from the host computer 502 and printed out.
[0038]
A reception buffer 202 holds input print information. A determination unit 203 acquires copyright information from the extended property information included in the FPX data input from the host computer 502, and determines whether to perform gradation reduction processing on the image data of the FPX data. .
[0039]
Reference numeral 204 denotes a color conversion mode setting unit, which displays color conversion parameters corresponding to color conversion modes such as standard color, high gloss color, low gloss color, and high definition color input from the host computer 502 from the color conversion parameter holding unit 205. The color conversion table 207 is created and stored. Reference numeral 205 denotes a color conversion parameter holding unit which holds, for example, color conversion parameter 1 (205a), color conversion parameter 2 (205b), and color conversion parameter 3 (205c) corresponding to each of the color conversion modes. A color conversion unit 206 converts RGB format FPX data input from the host computer 502 into CMYK format by performing interpolation processing with reference to the color conversion table 207.
[0040]
A dither matrix setting unit 208 is a dither parameter corresponding to a dither mode such as 4-bit dither, 2-bit dither, or 1-bit dither input from the host computer 502, or a gradation lowering instruction signal input from the determination unit 203 A dither parameter corresponding to Det is selected from the dither parameter holding unit 209, and a dither table 211 is created and stored. Details of the gradation reduction process will be described later.
[0041]
Reference numeral 209 denotes a dither parameter holding unit which holds, for example, dither parameter 1 (209a), dither parameter 2 (209b), and dither parameter 3 (209c) corresponding to the dither mode. A dither processing unit 210 converts the CMYK format data converted by the color conversion unit 206 into the number of gradations corresponding to the dither mode by performing a comparison operation with reference to the dither table 211.
[0042]
An object generation unit 212 converts information (PDL) such as FPX data input from the host computer 502 into an object. Here, the FPX data is converted into a CMYK format object converted by the color conversion unit 206 and the dither processing unit 210. Reference numeral 213 denotes an object buffer, which stores one page of objects converted by the object generation unit 212. A rendering unit 214 performs a rendering process based on the object for one page stored in the object buffer 213, and converts it into a bitmap to be rendered. A bitmap buffer 215 stores the bitmap generated by the rendering unit 214 and sends the bitmap data to the printer engine 100.
[0043]
A central processing unit (CPU) 216 controls various processes of the controller 200 via a CPU bus (not shown) according to a control program stored in the ROM 217 in advance. Reference numeral 217 denotes a ROM (Read Only Memory) which stores various control programs 217a including a program shown in the flowchart of FIG. Reference numeral 218 denotes a RAM (Random Access Memory), which stores data for the CPU 216 to control various processes according to the control program stored in the ROM 217, the color conversion mode 218a, the dither mode 218b, and the like. Also used as a work area. 219 is an operation panel, which is composed of a CRT, LCD, etc., and has a display unit that displays the operation status and operating conditions of the device by the CPU 216, and an input unit that is composed of a keyboard, a touch panel, etc., and inputs operator instructions. ing. That is, the operator can directly perform various settings for the color LBP 501 by operating the operation panel 219.
[0044]
Next, the operation of the controller 200 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Note that the control program for realizing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is stored in the ROM 217 as described above, and is executed by the CPU 216.
[0045]
In FIG. 5, the printer status is initialized as the color LBP 501 initialization process, and then the buffer is initialized (step S501). At this time, the color conversion table 208 is created and stored based on the initial value of the color conversion mode. Next, print data is received from the host computer 502 (step S502) and held in the reception buffer 202 (step S503). Then, data for one processing unit is extracted from the reception buffer 202 (step S504), and it is determined whether or not all data has been extracted (step S505). If it is determined in step S505 that the processing has not been completed, it is determined whether or not the data processing for one page has been completed (step S506).
[0046]
If it is determined in step S506 that one page has not been completed, it is determined whether the print data is FPX data (step S507). If it is FPX data, the copyright data is extracted from the extended property. (Step S508). The color conversion unit 206 converts the FPX color data in the RGB format into color data in the CMYK format by performing an interpolation operation with reference to the color conversion table 207 (step S509), and the dither processing unit 210 compares it with the dither table 211. By performing the calculation, the color data is converted into dithered color data (step S510), and the process returns to step S504.
[0047]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S507 that the print data is not FPX data, it is determined whether the print data is color conversion mode data (step S511). If the print data is color conversion mode data, the color conversion mode setting unit 204 is determined. In step S512, the color conversion table 207 is created using the color conversion parameters corresponding to the color conversion mode (step S512), and the process returns to step S504. If it is determined in step S511 that the data is not color conversion mode data, it is determined whether the print data is dither mode data (step S513). If the print data is dither mode data, the dither matrix setting unit 208 determines. Then, a dither table is created with the dither parameters corresponding to the dither mode (step S514), and the process returns to step S504.
[0048]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S513 that the data is not dither mode data, it is determined whether the data is mask data of characters, figures, etc. (step S515). If it is mask data, an object of mask data is created. (Step S516), the process returns to step S504. If it is determined in step S515 that the data is not mask data, data processing corresponding to the type of data is performed (step S517), and the process returns to step S504.
[0049]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S506 that the data processing for one page has been completed, a bitmap development process is performed based on the object held in the object buffer 213 (step S518), and the printer engine 100 And print processing is executed (step S519). If it is determined in step S505 that all data has been completed, the printing process is terminated.
[0050]
Next, the operation of the dither processing unit 210 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 is the details of step S510 shown in FIG. 5 described above. The FPX image data described in the present embodiment stores four types of resolution image data of a maximum resolution of 600 dpi, a standard resolution of 300 dpi, a low resolution of 150 dpi, and a minimum resolution of 75 dpi. I will call it.
[0051]
In FIG. 6, first, a dither parameter for 4-bit gradation is loaded from the dither parameter holding unit 209 in step S601. Next, the copyright information stored in the extension property of the FPX data is acquired (step S602), and it is determined whether or not the FPX data to be printed is an image having a copyright (step S603). If it is determined in step S603 that the copyright is held, the determination unit 203 outputs a gradation lowering instruction signal Det to the dither matrix setting unit 208 (step S604), and the dither parameter holding unit 209 outputs a 1-bit gradation signal. Dither parameters are loaded (step S605).
[0052]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S603 that the FPX data to be printed does not have a copyright, the processes in steps S604 and S605 are not performed.
[0053]
Next, FPX sub-images are read (step S606), and it is determined whether all FPX sub-images have been read (step S607). If it is determined that not all FPX sub-images have been read, dither processing is performed on the read FPX sub-image using the dither table 211 set by the dither matrix setting unit 208 (step S608). Return to S606. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S606 that reading of all the FPX sub-images has been completed, the dither processing of the present embodiment is terminated.
[0054]
Next, the dither processing of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the dither process of the present embodiment, a comparator is used to perform gradation output according to the dither mode. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the dither process, and details of step S608 shown in FIG. 6 described above. Here, it is assumed that the gradation reduction command signal Det is output by the determination unit 203 and output is performed with 1-bit gradation.
[0055]
In FIG. 7, first, one data Data is extracted from the FPX image data (Step S701), and it is determined whether or not all data is extracted (Step S702). If it is determined in step S702 that the processing has not ended, the drawing position of the extracted FPX image data is calculated (step S703), and dither table data Dith corresponding to the drawing position is extracted (step S704).
[0056]
Next, the FPX image data Data extracted in step S701 is compared with the value of the dither table Dith extracted in step S704 (step S705), and if it is determined that the value of Data is larger than the value of Dith, the data drawing position Is set to 1 (ON) (step S706), and the process returns to step S701. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S705 that the value of Data is smaller than or equal to the value of Dith, 0 (OFF) is set as the data drawing position (step S707), and the process returns to step S701. If it is determined in step S702 that all the FPX image data has been processed, the process ends.
[0057]
FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the dither processing shown in FIG. 7, where P (x, y) is each pixel of the FPX image, D (x, y) is each threshold value of the dither table, and T (x, y) Indicates each pixel of the FPX image after dithering. In FIG. 8, as a result of the dither processing, T (1,0), T (1,1), T (1,2), T (2,1), T (2,2), T (2,3 ), T (3,1) is actually rendered data. The data value T (x, y) at each drawing position (x, y) can be obtained by the following equation when the cycle unit of the dither table is 4 × 4.
[0058]

(However, x% 4 and y% 4 are the remainders divided by 4, respectively)
In the present embodiment, as described above, dither processing is performed on each data of the FPX image.
[0059]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the received FPX data is copyrighted, the number of gradations of the output image is reduced by performing dither processing with a minimum gradation of 1 bit. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the third party from printing out copyrighted image data without permission.
[0060]
When printing copyrighted image data with the permission of the copyright holder, for example, in the copyright information stored in the extension property of the FPX data, information indicating the print permission is displayed by the copyright holder. It only has to be added. If the print permission information is added, the dithering process according to this embodiment is handled in the same manner as non-copyrighted image data, that is, a 4-bit gradation dithering process may be performed.
[0061]
Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same reference numerals in the second embodiment denote the same components as those in the first embodiment described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.
[0062]
In the first embodiment described above, an example in which dither processing is performed using a dither parameter with the minimum number of gradations when the FPX data to be printed is copyrighted image data has been described. In the second embodiment, Is characterized by performing error diffusion processing instead of the dither processing.
[0063]
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the controller 200 in the second embodiment.
[0064]
220 is an error diffusion matrix setting unit, which is input from an error diffusion parameter corresponding to each error diffusion mode such as 4-bit error diffusion, 2-bit error diffusion, 1-bit error diffusion, or the like input from the host computer 502 or input from the determination unit 203. The error diffusion parameter corresponding to the gradation lowering instruction signal Det is selected from the error diffusion parameter holding unit 221, and the error diffusion table 223 is created and stored. The details of the gradation reduction process in the second embodiment will be described later.
[0065]
Reference numeral 221 denotes an error diffusion parameter holding unit which holds, for example, error diffusion parameter 1 (221a), error diffusion parameter 2 (221b), and error diffusion parameter 3 (221c) corresponding to the error diffusion mode. An error diffusion processing unit 222 performs error diffusion calculation on the CMYK format print information converted by the color conversion unit 206 with reference to the error diffusion table 223, and has the number of gradations corresponding to the error diffusion mode. Convert to print information.
[0066]
Next, the operation of the controller 200 in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the flowchart of FIG. 10, the same steps as those in FIG. 5 described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same step numbers, and the description thereof is omitted. Further, a control program for realizing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is also stored in the ROM 217 and executed by the CPU 216.
[0067]
In FIG. 10, when it is determined in step S507 that the print data is FPX data, copyright data is extracted from the extended property (step S508), and the color conversion unit 206 converts the data into CMYK format color data (step S509). After that, the error diffusion processing unit 222 performs error diffusion calculation using the error diffusion table 223 to convert the color data into error diffused color (step S1010), and the process returns to step S504.
[0068]
If it is determined in step S511 that the print data is not color conversion mode data, it is determined whether it is error diffusion mode data (step S1013). If it is error diffusion mode data, an error diffusion matrix is determined. The setting unit 220 creates an error diffusion table using the error diffusion parameters corresponding to the error diffusion mode (step S1014), and returns to step S504.
[0069]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S513 that the data is not error diffusion mode data, the process proceeds to step S515 to determine whether the data is mask data of characters, figures, or the like.
[0070]
Next, the operation of the error diffusion processing unit 222 in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 11 shows the details of step S1010 shown in FIG. 10 described above. The FPX image data described in the second embodiment stores four types of resolution image data of a maximum resolution of 600 dpi, a standard resolution of 300 dpi, a low resolution of 150 dpi, and a minimum resolution of 75 dpi. It shall be called.
[0071]
In FIG. 11, first, in step S1101, an error diffusion parameter for 4-bit gradation is loaded from the error diffusion parameter holding unit 221. Next, the copyright information stored in the extension property of the FPX data is acquired (step S1102), and it is determined whether or not the FPX data to be printed is an image having a copyright (step S1103). If it is determined in step S1103 that the copyright is held, the gradation reduction command signal Det is output from the determination unit 203 to the error diffusion matrix setting unit 220 (step S1104), and the error diffusion parameter holding unit 221 outputs a 1-bit scale. The adjustment error diffusion parameter is loaded (step S1105).
[0072]
On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1103 that the FPX data to be printed does not have copyright, the processes in steps S1104 and S1105 are not performed.
[0073]
Next, FPX sub-images are read (step S1106), and it is determined whether all FPX sub-images have been read (step S1107). If it is determined that not all FPX sub-images have been read, error diffusion processing is performed on the read FPX sub-image using the error diffusion table 223 set by the error diffusion matrix setting unit 220 (step S1108). ), And returns to Step S1106. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1106 that reading of all FPX sub-images has been completed, the error diffusion processing of this embodiment is terminated.
[0074]
Next, error diffusion processing in the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In the error diffusion processing of the present embodiment, a comparator is used to output gradation according to the error diffusion mode. Here, the determination unit 203 outputs the gradation reduction command signal Det, and output by 1-bit gradation. Shall be performed.
[0075]
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the error diffusion processing unit 222. In the figure, reference numeral 701 denotes an error buffer, which is composed of a line buffer for accumulating errors generated in the process of each pixel of FPX image data. 702 is a superposition error calculator, which performs a sum-of-products operation on the data W (m, n) of the error diffusion table 223 and the error data E (m, n) held in the error buffer 701, thereby calculating a superposition error. calculate. Reference numeral 703 denotes an adder that adds the weight error N (m, n) calculated by the superposition error calculator 702 and the target pixel value F (m, n) of the FPX image data converted by the color converter 206. . A comparator 704 compares the value T (m, n) output from the adder 703 with the threshold value Th output from the error diffusion table 223. 705 is a subtracter that calculates an error E (m, n) for the pixel of interest by subtracting the output value G (m, n) of the comparator 704 from the output value T (m, n) of the adder 703. To do.
[0076]
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the error diffusion processing, and details of step S1108 shown in FIG. 11 described above.
[0077]
In FIG. 13, first, one piece of data is extracted from the FPX image data (step S1301), and it is determined whether all data is extracted (step S1302). If it is determined in step S1302 that it has not been completed, the drawing position of the extracted FPX image data is calculated (step S1303), and the superposition error N (m, n) corresponding to the drawing position is calculated in the superposition error calculator 702. ) Is calculated (step S1304).
[0078]
Here, the superposition error is the drawing position of the data of interest (m, n), the error data held in the error buffer 701 corresponding to the drawing position is E (m, n), and the size of the error diffusion table is i × j, where the error diffusion table data is W (m, n), the following equation is obtained.
[0079]
N (m, n) = ΣΣW (i, j) × E (m-i, n-j) / ΣW (i, j)
Next, T (m, n) is obtained by adding the overlay error N (m, n) calculated in step S1304 and the image data (step S1305). Next, T (m, n) calculated in step S1305 is compared with the threshold value Th extracted from the error diffusion table 223 (step S1306), and it is determined that the value of T (m, n) is greater than Th. If the FPX image data drawing position G (m, n) is set to 1 (ON) (step S1307) and it is determined that the value of T (m, n) is smaller than or equal to Th, FPX The image data drawing position G (m, n) is set to 0 (OFF) (step S1308). Then, error E (m, n) is calculated (step S1309), the error buffer is updated (step S1310), and the process returns to step S1301. If it is determined in step S1302 that all the FPX image data has been processed, the process ends.
[0080]
Note that the calculation of the error E (m, n) in step S1309 is performed by the following equation.
[0081]
E (m, n) = G (m, n) −T (m, n)
As described above, according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, when the received FPX data has a copyright, by performing error diffusion processing with the lowest gradation of 1 bit. Reduce the number of gradations of the output image. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the third party from printing out copyrighted image data without permission.
[0082]
[Other Embodiments]
In each of the above-described embodiments, the input data is described in the RGB format and the output is in the CMYK format. However, the present invention can be applied to all color space expressions such as L * a * b * and XYZ.
[0083]
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which dither processing and error diffusion processing are performed on FPX data that is a file format in which a plurality of resolutions are structured has been described. However, the present invention is also applicable to other file formats. Is possible.
[0084]
In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which the gradation of copyrighted image data is reduced by dither processing or error diffusion processing has been described. Of course, other gradation reduction processing can also be applied. It is.
[0085]
In addition, although an example in which dither processing and error diffusion processing use parameters of 4-bit gradation, 2-bit gradation, and 1-bit gradation has been described, of course, processing with arbitrary gradation is possible.
[0086]
Also, in each embodiment, an example of performing image processing such as dither processing on copyrighted image data has been described, but the present invention is not limited to copyrighted images, and for all images that should be prohibited from unauthorized theft, Applicable. In other words, when information such as unauthorized output prohibition is added to the extended property information of the image, the same processing as that for the copyright image described above may be performed.
[0087]
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case where the above-described embodiments are achieved in combination.
[0088]
Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, interface device, reader, printer, etc.), a device (for example, a copier, a facsimile device, etc.) composed of a single device. You may apply to.
[0089]
Another object of the present invention is to supply a storage medium storing software program codes for implementing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and the computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus stores the storage medium. Needless to say, this can also be achieved by reading and executing the program code stored in the.
[0090]
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.
[0091]
As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.
[0092]
Further, by executing the program code read by the computer, not only the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized, but also an OS (operating system) operating on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that a case where the function of the above-described embodiment is realized by performing part or all of the actual processing and the processing is included.
[0093]
Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, the function expansion is performed based on the instruction of the program code. It goes without saying that the CPU or the like provided in the board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the functions of the above-described embodiments are realized by the processing.
[0094]
When the present invention is applied to the above-mentioned storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the above-described flowcharts (FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, and 13). become.
[0095]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent print output of specific image data for which unauthorized output is prohibited.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a color LBP in an embodiment according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the printer engine;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of the optical unit;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a printer controller in the present embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer controller;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing dither processing in the present embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing dither processing in the present embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing dither processing;
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a printer controller in the second embodiment;
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the printer controller in the second embodiment;
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing error diffusion processing in the second embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of an error diffusion processing unit in the second embodiment;
FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing error diffusion processing in the second embodiment;
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the logical structure of a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the logical structure of a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a hierarchical image constituting a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining tile division of a sub-image of a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a logical structure of an Image Contents Property Set of a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the logical structure of the Subimage Header of a FlashPix image file;
FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional image data format.
[Brief description of the drawings]
100 printer engine
200 Printer controller
201 Host interface (Host I / F)
202 Receive buffer
203 Judgment part
204 Color conversion mode setting section
205 Color conversion parameter storage
206 Color converter
207 color conversion table
208 Dither matrix setting section
209 Dither parameter holding section
210 Dither processing section
211 Dither table
212 Object generator
213 Object buffer
214 Rendering part
215 Bitmap buffer
216 Central processing unit (CPU)
217 Read-only memory (ROM)
218 Random Access Memory (RAM)
219 Control panel
220 Error diffusion matrix setting section
221 Error diffusion parameter holding unit
222 Error diffusion processor
223 Error diffusion table
701 Error buffer
702 Overlay error calculator
703 Adder
704 comparator
705 subtractor

Claims (12)

Receiving means for receiving image data from the information processing apparatus;
Copyright information determination means for determining whether copyright information is included in an extended property included in the image data received by the reception means;
When it is determined that the copyright information is not included in the copyright information determination unit, the pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation is performed on the image data received by the reception unit;
When the copyright information discriminating unit determines that the copyright information is included, and when the print permission information is added to the copyright information included, it is received by the receiving unit. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on the obtained image data;
Received by the receiving means when the copyright information discriminating means determines that the copyright information is included, and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information. An image processing apparatus comprising: pseudo gradation processing means for performing pseudo gradation processing of a second bit gradation smaller than the first bit gradation on the image data . The receiving means receives image data of a format having a plurality of images having different resolutions hierarchically,
The pseudo gradation processing means includes:
When the copyright information discriminating unit discriminates that the copyright information is not included, the pseudo-scale of the first bit gradation is applied to a plurality of images included in the image data received by the receiving unit. Processing
When the copyright information discriminating unit determines that the copyright information is included, and when the print permission information is added to the copyright information included, it is received by the receiving unit. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on a plurality of images included in the image data,
Received by the receiving means when the copyright information discriminating means determines that the copyright information is included, and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pseudo gradation processing of the second bit gradation is performed on a plurality of images included in the image data . Receiving means for receiving image data of a format having a plurality of images of different resolutions hierarchically from the information processing apparatus;
Extraction means for extracting data of one processing unit from the image data received by the reception means;
Copyright information determination means for determining whether or not the data extracted by the extraction means has a copyright based on data in an extended property included in the image data received by the reception means;
When the copyright information discriminating means discriminates that copyright information is not included, the pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation for a plurality of images included in the data extracted by the extracting means And
When it is determined that the copyright information is included by the copyright information determination unit, and when the print permission information is added to the included copyright information, it is extracted by the extraction unit. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on a plurality of images included in the data,
When it is determined that the copyright information is included by the copyright information determination unit, and when the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information, the extraction unit extracts the copyright information. An image processing apparatus comprising: pseudo gradation processing means for performing pseudo gradation processing of a second bit gradation smaller than the first bit gradation on a plurality of images included in the data . The pseudo gradation processing means includes:
Loading means for loading parameters for determining gradation when performing pseudo gradation processing;
Processing means for performing pseudo gradation processing of gradation based on the parameters loaded by the loading means for a plurality of images included in the data extracted by the extraction means;
The loading means is when the copyright information determining means determines that copyright information is included, and when the printing permission information is not added to the included copyright information, The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a parameter for the second bit gradation is loaded . 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a print output unit that prints out a plurality of images obtained by performing the pseudo gradation processing by the pseudo gradation processing unit. 6. Image processing device. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first bit gradation is four . The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second bit gradation is 1. 7. A receiving step of receiving image data from the information processing apparatus;
A copyright information determination step of determining whether copyright information is included in the extended property included in the image data received in the reception step;
When it is determined that the copyright information is not included in the copyright information determination step, the pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation is performed on the image data received in the reception step,
When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determining step, and when printing permission information is added to the included copyright information, it is received in the receiving step. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on the obtained image data;
When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determining step, and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information, it is received in the receiving step. And a pseudo gradation processing step of performing pseudo gradation processing of a second bit gradation smaller than the first bit gradation on the image data . The receiving step receives image data of a format having a plurality of images having different resolutions hierarchically,
  The pseudo gradation processing step includes
  When it is determined that the copyright information is not included in the copyright information determination step, the first bit gradation pseudo-level is applied to a plurality of images included in the image data received in the reception step. Processing
  When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determining step, and when printing permission information is added to the included copyright information, it is received in the receiving step. Performing pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation on a plurality of images included in the image data,
  When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determining step, and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information, it is received in the receiving step. 9. The image processing method according to claim 8, wherein the pseudo gradation processing of the second bit gradation is performed on a plurality of images included in the image data. A receiving step of receiving image data of a format having a plurality of images of different resolutions hierarchically from the information processing device;
  An extraction step of extracting one processing unit of data from the image data received in the reception step;
  A copyright information determination step of determining whether the data extracted in the extraction step has a copyright based on data in an extended property included in the image data received in the reception step;
  When it is determined that the copyright information is not included in the copyright information determination step, the first bit gradation pseudo gradation processing is performed on a plurality of images included in the data extracted in the extraction step. And
  When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determination step, and when the print permission information is added to the included copyright information, it is extracted in the extraction step. The pseudo gradation processing of the first bit gradation is performed on a plurality of images included in the acquired data. Done
  When it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determining step, and when the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information, it is extracted in the extracting step. And a pseudo gradation processing step of performing pseudo gradation processing of a second bit gradation smaller than the first bit gradation on a plurality of images included in the data. The pseudo gradation processing step includes
  A loading step of loading parameters for determining gradation when performing pseudo gradation processing;
  A plurality of images included in the data extracted in the extraction step, a processing step of performing pseudo gradation processing of gradation based on the parameters loaded in the loading step,
  In the case where it is determined that the copyright information is included in the copyright information determination step and the print permission information is not added to the included copyright information, the loading step is performed as described above. 11. The image processing method according to claim 10, wherein a parameter for the second bit gradation is loaded. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for causing a computer to execute the image processing method according to claim 8 .

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