JPH0750914B2 - Image processing device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus that obtains new image data by subjecting image data to certain processing.

"Prior Art" A copying machine was developed to copy an image on a document as it is onto a copy sheet. In recent years, however, the image has been scaled up and down as the needs diversify and the image processing technology improves. Not only this, a copying machine capable of performing various complicated image processing such as trimming and masking has been developed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-62885).

Such a copying machine has a block structure shown in FIG. 6, for example.

This apparatus is composed of an image reading section 1, an image processing section 2, and a recording section 3.

The image reading unit 1 includes a platen glass 5 on which a document 6 is placed.
An optical system 7 that irradiates an image on a document and guides the reflected light to the reading surface of the image sensor 8 is provided below. The image sensor 8 converts the optical image into an electric signal for each line and outputs the electric signal. This electric signal is converted into a digital image signal by an analog / digital (A / D) converter 9. The image processing unit 2 is a circuit that processes the signal such as enlargement and reduction. On the other hand, the recording unit 3 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 13 by the laser oscillation unit 12,
The developing device 15 develops this and transfers it to the copy paper 14. The copy paper 14 is supplied from the paper feed tray 16, passes through the transfer device 17, the conveyor belt 18, and the fixing device 19 and is discharged to the discharge tray 20. The driver 11 is a laser oscillator 12
Is a circuit for outputting an image signal at a predetermined timing.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" When a device such as that shown in FIG. 6 is used to read an image on a document and perform more complicated image processing, the image processing speed is higher than the image reading speed. It becomes slow, and a relatively large capacity memory for temporarily storing the entire read image signal is required. Further, the long copying time due to image processing reduces the efficiency of the copying work. For this reason, this type of apparatus is required to perform complicated image processing simply and at high speed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus capable of obtaining a copied image corresponding to the contour of a character or an image and performing bold character processing in real time. It is intended.

“Means for Solving Problems” In the present invention, a first level change detection unit that detects a rising edge of the level of image data that is sequentially input in the scanning direction,
A second level change detecting section for detecting a fall of the level of the image data, first level change information output from the first level change detecting section and second level change detecting section, and second level change information. A contour character forming means for forming a contour character of the original image based on the above, a second character of the original image is formed based on the second level change information output from the second level change detecting section and the image data. It comprises a bold character forming means and a selecting means for selecting an output of either the bold character forming means or the outline character forming means.

That is, in the present invention, by providing the outline character forming means and the bold character forming means, both the outline image forming circuit for forming the outline character and the line image variable circuit for forming the bold character can be shared by one circuit. Therefore, the circuit configuration can be simplified and the invention can be used for image processing of not only a large-sized facsimile apparatus but also a small-sized facsimile apparatus, so that versatility can be enhanced. Further, in the present invention, by providing the selection means for selecting the output of either the bold character forming means or the contour character forming means, not only can the switching between the bold character forming means and the contour character forming means be ensured, Switching between these can be done quickly. Furthermore, it is possible to perform image processing in real time with a circuit having a relatively simple configuration.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image processing apparatus of the present invention.

This circuit is a circuit incorporated in the image processing unit 2 of the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, and is composed of a level change detecting unit 21, auxiliary data creating means 25, a synthesizing circuit 33 and a selecting circuit 34.

The level change detection unit 21 receives the read image data 40 at the clock terminal CK as it is, and the second flip-flop 24 that receives the image data 40 at the clock terminal CK after inverting it by the inverter 23.
And have. The data terminals D of these flip-flops are connected so that a high level "H" signal is always input.

In addition, the auxiliary data creating means 25 has a reference clock signal 42
Counter 2 that accepts and counts the number of clocks
6, 29, registers 27, 31 for storing preset constants, the counters 26, 29 and registers 27, 31
There are provided two sets of comparators 28 and 32, which compare the outputs of the above and output a high level signal when they match each other, corresponding to the respective flip-flops 22 and 24 of the level change detection unit 21. The output signals 43 and 45 of the comparators 28 and 32 are connected to the reset terminals R of the corresponding flip-flops 22 and 24, respectively. Each of the counters 26 and 29 is a circuit that receives the output signals of the flip-flops 22 and 24 at the reset terminal R and clears the count value to zero when the signals become low level.

The synthesizing circuit 33 receives the outputs 41 and 44 of the two flip-flops 22 and 24 of the level change detection unit 21, and takes the logical sum of them to obtain the contour output OR circuit 35 and the second flip-flop.
It has a bold character output OR circuit 36 which receives the output 44 of 24 and the image data 40 and takes the logical sum of them.

The output signals 46 and 47 of both the OR circuits 35 and 36 are connected to the selection circuit 34 and one of them is output as a recording signal.

The image processing apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration operates as follows.

First, in the level change detection unit 21, the first flip-flop 22 detects a case where the image data 40 changes from white to black, and a second case when the image data 40 changes from black to white.
Of the flip-flop 24 of FIG.

For example, it is assumed that the character "A" shown in FIG. 2a is read by one line as indicated by the arrow 48 to obtain the image data 40. Here, if the image data 40 is high level “H” when it is black and low level “L” when it is white,
The image data 40 as shown in FIG. The image data 40 is actually input to the flip-flops 22 and 24 in synchronization with the reference clock signal 42 (FIG. 3b).

First, the operation of the first flip-flop 22 will be described. Since the high-level signal is always input to the data terminal D, the image data 40 input to the clock terminal CK is input.
Rises to a high level, the output 41 of this flip-flop 22 becomes a high level.

On the other hand, in the auxiliary data creating means 25, data designating how many clocks the width of the contour of the contour image corresponds is stored in the register 27. Further, the counter 26 receives the output signal 41 of the flip-flop 22 at the reset terminal R and starts counting the reference clock signal 42 (FIG. 3b) from the time when the reset terminal R becomes high level. When the count value matches the data stored in the register 27, the comparator 28 outputs the high-level signal 43 for one clock (FIG. 3d).

When this signal 43 is input to the reset terminal R of the flip-flop 22, the output of the flip-flop 22 is reset and goes down to a low level, and as a result, auxiliary data having a constant width starting from the level change point due to the rise of the image data 40.
41 (FIG. 3c) is obtained.

Regarding the second flip-flop 24, the image data 40 is inverted and input to the clock terminal CK thereof, so that
The output signal 44 changes to the high level at the trailing edge of the image data 40 shown in FIG. The subsequent operation is similar to that of the first flip-flop, and the comparator 32
The auxiliary data 44 output from the flip-flop 24 is switched to the low level at the rising edge of the signal 45 (FIG. 3f) output from (FIG. 3e). In this way, the auxiliary data 41 starting from the change point of the image data 40 from white to black
Then, the auxiliary data 44 starting from the change point of the image data from black to white and the image data 40 are input to the combining circuit 33.

The contour output OR circuit 35 takes the logical sum of the two types of auxiliary data 41 and 44 (FIG. 3c, e) and outputs the contour data 46 (FIG. 3g). As a result, it is possible to record an image in which only the outline of the character is surrounded by a black line having a constant width as shown in FIG. 2b.

On the other hand, the bold-character output OR circuit 36 uses one auxiliary data 44
And the image data 40 are ORed to output bold character data 47 (FIG. 3h). For example, when this processing is performed on the character shown in FIG. 4A, an image of a character whose width is wide in the horizontal direction (arrow 48 direction) is obtained as shown in FIG. 4B.

Note that, for example, when the image on the original is read while tilted as shown in FIG. 5A, the outline of the character is three-dimensionally drawn as shown in FIG. 5B using the contour output. You can also get an image.

The output signal of the synthesizing circuit 33 thus obtained is selected by the selecting circuit 34.
Any one of them is selected and transferred to the recording unit. This selection is made by an instruction from a control panel or the like (not shown). Further, the width of the contour and the width of the bold character can be changed by updating the data stored in the registers 27 and 31.

“Modification” The image processing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

More complicated image processing can be performed by creating two or more kinds of auxiliary data by the above method and combining them.
Therefore, two or more auxiliary data creating means may be provided. When reading an image with gradation, an appropriate threshold level is set according to the density, two or more level change points are set, different auxiliary data are created, and various output image data are generated. You may aim at conversion.
Further, the reading unit and the recording unit may be replaced with conventionally known devices having various configurations.

[Advantages of the Invention] According to the image processing apparatus of the present invention described above, a read image can be processed and recorded in real time by a circuit having a relatively simple configuration. In the present invention,
By providing the bold character forming means and the outline character forming means, both the contour image forming circuit for forming the outline character and the line image variable circuit for forming the bold character can be shared by one circuit. It can be simplified and can be used for image processing of not only large facsimile machines but also small facsimile machines, so that versatility can be improved. Further, in the present invention, by providing the selection means for selecting either the bold character forming means or the outline character forming means,
Not only can the switching between the bold character forming means and the outline character forming means be ensured, but also the switching between them can be promptly performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the image processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 are explanatory views showing the mode of image processing by the image processing apparatus of the present invention, respectively. Is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the circuit of the image processing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a copying apparatus suitable for carrying out the present invention. 21 ... Level change detection unit, 25 ... Auxiliary data creating means, 33 ... Combining circuit, 40 ... Image data, 41, 44 ... Auxiliary data.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A first level change detecting section for detecting a rising edge of a level of image data sequentially input in a scanning direction, a second level change detecting section for detecting a falling edge of a level of the image data, A contour character forming means for forming a contour character of an original image based on the first level change information and the second level change information output from the first level change detecting section and the second level change detecting block; Bold character forming means for forming a bold character of the original development based on the second level change information output from the level change detecting section and the image data, and any one of the bold character forming means and the outline character forming means. An image processing apparatus comprising: a selecting unit that selects the output of the image processing apparatus.