JPH0591325A - Printing processing method for picture data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically repair the disconnection part of picture data like a read ruled line in a facsimile equipment. CONSTITUTION:Each time an isolated segment A in picture data of a noticed line (n) is detected, the presence or the absence of a close segment B which has the start in a position, which is separated from the end of the isolated segment A in the main scanning direction by the prescribed number SM of picture elements or less, on a preceding line (n-1) or a next line (n+1) is discriminated; and in the case of the presence of the close segment B, black picture elements are added to the end of the isolated segment A to extend this segment so that the isolated segment A and the close segment B overlap. The noticed line (n) is successively scanned to repeat this processing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of printing image data used in a facsimile machine, and more particularly, to automatically repair broken lines of image data such as read ruled lines. Relating to those having features.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), an image data read process of a facsimile machine is performed on an image drawn on a transmission original P conveyed in the sub-scanning direction T1. The data D is emitted by the line light source L, and the reflected light is C
A line sensor S composed of a solid-state image sensor such as a CD receives a signal corresponding to the amount of reflected light in the main scanning direction T2, and the obtained electric signal is subjected to black and white binarization to obtain image data for each line. It has become. Therefore, when the transmission document P is sub-scanned so that the drawn ruled line D is parallel to the reading direction of the line sensor S, (a) of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 13, the line sensor S reads the nth line as one black pixel, and the normal image data shown in (a ′) of FIG. 13 is obtained.

However, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), a transmission document P having a ruled line D is read with a slight inclination and read by a facsimile apparatus, or the transmission document P is drawn even if the reading state is normal. If the ruled line D is inclined, the read lines by the line sensor S are n−1 and n.
13B, the proportion of black in one pixel is lower than the threshold value in the portion of the center of the ruled line D that straddles the n−1th line and the nth line, as shown in (b ′) of FIG. As you can see, the part that was identified as a white pixel was cut off.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 13 (c),
When the inclination of the ruled line with respect to the reading direction of the line sensor S further increased, the frequency of breaks in the ruled line also increased as shown in (c ′) of FIG.

Therefore, when the image data read in the normal state shown in FIG. 13A is printed out,
Normal printout is performed as shown in (a) of FIG. 14 (L1 has a line width of 0.3 mm and L2 has a line width of 0.15 mm). However, in (b) and (c) of FIG. When the image data read in the state shown is printed out,
As shown in (b) and (c) of FIG. 14, the thin ruled lines are cut off, which significantly deteriorates the print quality of the image information.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above circumstances, and improves the print quality by automatically repairing broken portions of image data such as read ruled lines. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for printing image data.

[0007]

According to the present invention proposed to achieve the above object, every time an isolated line segment in image data of a line of interest is detected, the isolated line segment is moved from the end to the main scanning direction. The presence or absence of a near line segment having a start end on the previous line or the next line within a predetermined number of pixels is determined, and when there is a near line segment, the isolated line segment and the adjacent line segment are overlapped so as to overlap each other. The process of adding a black pixel to the end of the minute and performing extension processing is repeatedly executed while sequentially scanning the line of interest. Here, the isolated line segment is made up of a succession of black pixels of a predetermined number or more in the image data of the target line and is isolated from the previous line and the next line.
A line segment made up of a series of black pixels in a book, and an adjacent line segment is also a line segment made up of a predetermined number or more of black pixels.

[0008]

In the present invention, in the image data of the line of interest,
Every time an isolated line consisting of a succession of a predetermined number of black pixels and consisting of one black pixel isolated from the previous line and the next line is detected, a predetermined pixel from the end of the detected isolated line segment in the main scanning direction The presence / absence of a near line segment consisting of a succession of a predetermined number or more of black pixels having a start end on the previous line or the next line in the number is determined. Then, as a result of the determination, when there are adjacent line segments, a process of adding a black pixel to the end of the isolated line segment and performing extension processing is performed so that the isolated line segment and the adjacent line segment overlap each other. Are sequentially changed and executed repeatedly. Therefore, even if the ruled line of the read image data is interrupted, the restoration process is automatically performed, so that the printing quality can be improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing the outline of the image data print processing method according to the present invention. The operation will be described with reference to the schematic diagrams of the image data shown in FIGS. An isolated line segment A from the beginning of the image data of the line of interest n (one line segment whose number of continuous black pixels is LM or more, as described later)
It is determined whether or not (see (a) of FIG. 2). As a result of this determination, when the isolated line segment A is not detected in the attention line n, the processing of the attention line n is ended, the attention line n is moved up by one line, and the same processing is repeated. On the other hand, when the isolated line segment A is detected as a result of the discrimination,
Each time, from the end E of the isolated line segment A, the adjacent line segment B having a start end on the previous line (n-1) or the next line (n + 1) within the predetermined number of pixels SM (as described later, the number of continuous black pixels is It is determined whether or not there is one line segment equal to or larger than LM (see (b) of FIG. 2). As a result of this determination, if the adjacent line segment B corresponding to the isolated line segment A is not detected, the process returns to the above. On the other hand, as a result of the discrimination, when the close line segment B is detected on the previous line (n−1) or the next line (n + 1), the isolated line segment A and the close line segment B are overlapped so as to overlap each other. A black pixel is added to the end E of the line segment A and extension processing is performed (see (c) of FIG. 2). When the processes 1 to 3 are completed for the line of interest n, the line of interest n is moved up by one line, and the same process is performed.
Repeatedly for the image data of pages. (These are steps 100 to 105 in FIG. 1).

Thus, according to the processing method of the present invention,
When an isolated line segment A and a proximate line segment B that are considered to have broken ruled lines are detected, extension processing is automatically performed so as to overlap them, so that the ruled lines are interrupted and the image quality deteriorates. Can be effectively prevented.

The above is the outline of the operation of the method of the present invention. Next, the flowchart of FIG. 3 showing in detail the operation of the above-described discriminating process of the isolated line segment A and the adjacent line segment B,
The operation of the method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the schematic processing diagrams of the image data shown in FIGS. Glitch processing, which will be described later, is performed on the image data for one page, and thereby the isolated points of the image data are removed. The minimum value LM of the number of continuous black pixels of the isolated line segment A and the adjacent line segment B and the maximum number of pixels SM between the isolated line segment A and the adjacent line segment B are set. The number of consecutive black pixels on the line of interest n is counted (see (a) of FIG. 4), and it is determined whether or not the count value L1 exceeds the set value LM. As a result of this determination,
As shown in FIG. 4A, if the count value L1 is equal to or larger than the set value LM, the determination processing (step 205) is performed to determine whether the continuous black pixel is one isolated continuous black pixel. However, as shown in FIG. 4B, the count value L1 ′
Does not exceed the set value LM, it is determined that the continuous black pixel cannot be an isolated line segment, and the process proceeds to the next isolated line segment determination process (step 212). Of the L1 continuous black pixels determined by the above process,
The number of continuous black pixels isolated from the previous line (n-1) and the next line (n + 1) (the upper and lower and diagonally upper and lower diagonal pixels are white) is counted from the terminal E side ((a in FIG. 5). )), It is determined whether or not the count value L2 of the number of continuous black pixels exceeds the set value LM. As a result of this determination, as shown in FIG. 5A, if the count value L2 is greater than or equal to the set value LM, the continuous black pixel of L1 detected by the above process is set as the isolated line segment A, and rear,
The process proceeds to the process for determining the adjacent line segment (step 207), but as shown in FIG. 5B, when the count value L2 ′ does not exceed the set value LM, the continuous black pixel is an isolated line segment. When it is determined that the line segment cannot be obtained, the process proceeds to the next isolated line segment determination process (step 212). From the end E of the isolated line segment A obtained by the above process, the previous line (n-1) or the next line (n + 1)
The number S1 of pixels up to the start end of the upper continuous black pixels is counted (see (a) and (b) of FIG. 6), and it is determined whether or not the count value S1 is less than or equal to the set value SM. As a result of this determination, as shown in FIG. 6A, the end E of the isolated line segment A
To the start value P of continuous black pixels on the previous line to the count value S
1 is less than or equal to the set value SM, or, as shown in FIG. 6B, the count value S1 ′ from the end E of the isolated line segment A to the start end N of the continuous black pixels of the next line is the set value SM. If it is less than or equal to:
9), as shown in FIG. 6C, the count value S1 ″ from the end E of the isolated line segment A to the start P of the continuous black pixels of the previous line (n−1) is the set value SM. If it exceeds, it is determined that the line segment cannot be a near line segment and the process proceeds to the next isolated line segment determination process (step 212) In the above process, continuous black pixels are detected on the previous line or the next line. If it is, the number of continuous black pixels is counted (see (a) of FIG. 7), and the count value L3
Is greater than or equal to the set value LM. As a result of this determination, as shown in FIG. 7A, the previous line (n-1)
7 is greater than or equal to the set value LM, or as shown in FIG. 7B, the consecutive black pixel number L3 ′ in the next line (n + 1) is greater than or equal to the set value LM. , The continuous black pixel is set as the adjacent line segment B corresponding to the isolated line segment A, and the process proceeds to the image data extension process (step 211).
(C), if the number L3 ″ of continuous black pixels in the previous line (n−1) is smaller than the set value LM, it is determined that the line segment cannot be a neighboring line segment, and the next isolated line is determined. If the proximity line segment B is detected by the above process, the isolated line segment A and the previous line or the next line are detected as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. Black pixels are sequentially added to the end E of the isolated line segment A so that the adjacent line segment B of the line overlaps by α pixels (two pixels in this embodiment), and one isolated line is obtained by the series of these processes. The process of repairing the disconnection between the segment A and the adjacent line segment B is completed.After that, the count value of the black pixels is reset, the process returns to the above process, and the same process is repeated until the process of the attention line n is completed. In this way, when the processing of the line of interest is completed, the line of interest number After incrementing n by 1, the process is returned to the above process, and the same process is repeated until the processing of the image data for one page is completed (above, refer to steps 200 to 214 in FIG. 3).

9 (a) and 9 (b) show the manner in which the interruption of the ruled line is restored by the printing process of the present invention, and the read image data is shown in FIG. 9 (a). Even if the wire is disconnected at C1 and C2 as shown in FIG. 9, the print processing of the present invention causes the print output to be overlapped as shown in FIG. It 10 (a) and 10 (b) also show how the interruption of the ruled line is restored by the print processing method of the present invention, and when the inclination of the ruled line is larger than that in the case of FIG. However, it can be seen that even the broken portion of the ruled line is effectively repaired.

Incidentally, when the broken line portion is longer than the set value SM, or when the line segment close to the isolated line segment A is shorter than the set value LM and cannot be discriminated as the close line segment B,
Although the ruled line extension process of the present invention is not performed, it is possible to perform an effective disconnection repair process that matches the image data by appropriately adjusting the set values LM and SM. Further, in the above description, the set value L of the isolated line segment A is
Although M and the set value LM of the adjacent line segment B are the same, they can be set to different values as necessary.

Lastly, a glitch process which is executed in advance in performing the above-described printing process of the present invention will be described. Here, the glitch (GRITTY) means (a) in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the image data of the ruled line K straddling the nth line and the (n + 1) th line of the read line is read, the line width is slightly reduced due to the variation of the line width of the ruled line K. 11B shows a phenomenon in which white pixels are mixed (read as white pixels) as shown in FIG. 11B (W1 to W3 in the figure). When such a glitch occurs, the black pixels are originally continuous. White pixels are mixed in the ruled line K that should be present, and the ruled line K is broken. Therefore, even if the ruled lines K are continuous, the isolated line segment A or the adjacent line segment B may be formed, but if a glitch occurs, the number of continuous black pixels is less than a predetermined number of pixels, so that the isolated line segment A or the adjacent line segment B is not formed. It often happens that the printing process of the present invention is not performed effectively.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11B, if the continuous black pixel on the line of interest n is one isolated line segment, the isolated points W1, W2 and W3 are determined. A glitch process for changing the pixel is performed so as to match the preceding and succeeding pixels, and the image data of the ruled line K from which the isolated points of the white pixels are removed is obtained by this glitch process as shown in FIG. After that, the printing process of the present invention is performed.

In the above description, the glitch processing when the continuous black pixel is one isolated line segment has been described. However, unlike such processing, for example, the continuous black pixel has one isolated black pixel. If the line segment is not a broken line, isolated points W1 and W
2. Referring to the pixels before and after and W3 and above and below, if there are three or more black pixels, the pixel is replaced with a black pixel, and if there are two black pixels and two white pixels, the pixel is not replaced and is left as it is. If the state is maintained and conversely the number of white pixels is 3 or more, it is also possible to perform a glitch process for replacing the pixel with a white pixel.

[0017]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the image data print processing method of the present invention, since the ruled lines and the like described in the transmission original are read with an inclination, the obtained image data is obtained. Even if there is a break, the extension processing is automatically performed so as to repair the broken part, so that the printing quality of the recording paper can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a print processing method for image data according to the present invention.

2 (a) to (c) are explanatory views schematically showing a schematic operation of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating in detail a method of printing image data according to the present invention.

4 (a) and (b) are for distinguishing an isolated line segment,
It is explanatory drawing which showed the operation | movement which calculates | requires the continuous black pixel number typically.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are for discriminating an isolated line segment.
It is explanatory drawing which showed typically the operation | movement which calculates | requires the isolated continuous black pixel number.

6 (a) to 6 (c) are diagrams for discriminating adjacent line segments;
It is explanatory drawing which showed typically the operation | movement which determines the presence or absence of the black pixel within a predetermined range from an isolated line segment.

7 (a) to 7 (c) are diagrams for discriminating adjacent line segments.
It is explanatory drawing which showed the operation | movement which calculates | requires the continuous black pixel number typically.

8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams schematically showing extension processing when an isolated line segment and an adjacent line segment are detected.

9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams showing how ruled lines are restored when image data is printed according to the present invention.

10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams showing how ruled lines are restored when the print processing of the present invention is applied to image data.

11A to 11C are explanatory diagrams of a glitch and a glitch process.

12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams of a method of reading image data described in a transmission document.

13 (a), (a ') to (c), (c') are diagrams for explaining the principle of interruption of image data when a ruled line is read with an inclination.

14A to 14C are explanatory diagrams showing a state in which image data is interrupted when a ruled line is read while being inclined.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A ... Isolated line segment B ... Proximity line segment n ... Line of interest n-1 ... Previous line n + 1 ... Next line

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Whenever an isolated line segment in image data of a line of interest is detected, a proximity line segment having a start end on a previous line or a next line within a predetermined number of pixels in the main scanning direction from the end of the isolated line segment. If there is a near line segment, so that the isolated line segment and the near line segment overlap,
A method for printing image data in which black pixels are added to the end of an isolated line segment and extended processing is performed repeatedly while sequentially scanning the target line.