JPH0758944A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image processor capable of rotating image information enlarged and smoothed with high accuracy fitting in the direction of a sheet set on a recording part. CONSTITUTION:Encoded image information stored in a code storage part 1 is expanded by an expander 2, and is enlarged and smoothed with high accuracy by an enlarging interpolation processing part 3. while, a control part 9 generates rotation instruction information according to a sheet set signal from the recording part 7. Smoothed image information 80a is rotatably processed by a 90 deg. rotary processing part 5 according to the rotation instruction information from the control part 9. Rotatably processed image information 81a is recorded on image memory 6 once, and is printed out from the recording part 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing device,
In particular, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus capable of outputting high-quality image data that has undergone enlargement interpolation according to the direction of a recording sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when outputting low-resolution image data to a high-resolution output device, the low-resolution image data is enlarged and output.

For example, even in a facsimile machine, C
The image data sent according to the CITT recommendation, that is, in the G3 standard facsimile apparatus which is generally used at present, 8 pixels / mm × 3.85 lines / mm (standard) and 8 pixels / mm × 7. 7 lines / m
Two resolutions of m (high resolution) are used.

On the other hand, in recent facsimile machines, apparatuses having higher resolution and higher linear density have appeared.
For example, in a G3 facsimile machine, 16 pixels / mm ×
There are 15.4 lines / mm, and G4 facsimile machines have 200 dpi, 240 dpi, and 300 dpi.
And with multiple resolutions of 400 dpi.

Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus having such a plurality of resolutions is equipped with a recording apparatus having a higher resolution, and when recording image information having a resolution lower than that resolution, the image information is enlarged and recorded. I am trying. This is because if the high resolution image recording apparatus does not enlarge the low resolution image information and directly records it, the image is reduced and recorded.

For example, 8 pixels / mm × 3.85 lines /
When image information sent at a resolution of mm (standard) is recorded by a recording device of 400 dpi, the main scanning direction is reduced to about 1/2 and the sub scanning direction is reduced to about 1/4. Therefore, 8 pixels / mm x 3.85 lines / mm
When recording image information sent at a resolution of 400 dpi with a recording device of 400 dpi, the received image information should be enlarged about twice in the main scanning direction and about four times in the sub scanning direction. Will be required.

As prior art which discloses that image information of low resolution is enlarged and recorded by a high resolution recording apparatus,
For example, JP-A-62-25565 and JP-A-62-6.
No. 0358 is available.

[0008]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has a problem that high-precision interpolation processing cannot be performed and unnaturalness remains in diagonal lines of an image. Further, in these prior arts, since the data array direction is determined regardless of the orientation of the recording paper, if the orientation of the recording paper and the data array direction do not match, the expected printout will occur. There was a problem that I could not.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to provide an image processing apparatus capable of outputting image data which has been subjected to high-precision enlargement interpolation processing in accordance with the orientation of the recording paper. To provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a (2n + 1) line buffer (where n is a positive integer) for storing code data expanded by a decompressor, and 2n + 1) A register matrix for storing (2n + 1) × (2n + 1) pixel data extracted from the line buffer, and an expansion interpolation process for expanding / smoothing a pixel of interest in the register matrix with reference to peripheral data Section, an m line buffer for storing the enlarged and smoothed image data for m lines (m is a multiple of 8), and m × extracted from the m line buffer.
A feature is that a rotation processing unit that rotates the m pixel data so as to match the orientation of the recording paper set in the image recording apparatus and an image memory that stores the rotation-processed image data are provided. is there.

[0011]

According to the present invention, the decompressed image data is subjected to high-precision enlarging and smoothing processing in the enlarging / interpolating processing unit, and then automatically in a direction suitable for the orientation of the paper set in the image recording apparatus. It is rotated and output. As a result, it is possible to reduce printing errors due to the orientation of the paper set in the image recording apparatus.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a facsimile apparatus incorporating an image information processing apparatus including the enlargement / smoothing processing means of the present invention. The following example expands
Although the smoothing processing means is applied to a facsimile machine, the present invention is not limited to this.

In FIG. 4, 71 is a panel for instructing the facsimile apparatus to operate, 72 is a CPU for controlling the overall operation of the facsimile apparatus, 73 is a ROM containing a program executed by the CPU 72, and 74 is used by the program. This is a work area RAM. Further, 75 is an image reading device which reads a transmission original and outputs binary image data, 76 is a compressor which converts the binary image data output from the image reading device 75 into code data, and 77 is a partner facsimile device. It is a communication control device that transmits and receives code data.

Further, 78 is a storage memory for storing the code data output from the compressor 76 and the code data received from the partner facsimile machine, and 79 is the storage memory 7.
A decompressor for reading the coded data from 8 to decompress it into binary image data, an image information correction circuit 80 for enlarging and interpolating the binary image data output from the decompressor 79, and 81 for the direction of the recording paper. A rotation processing unit for rotating the output data of the image information interpolating device 80, and reference numeral 82 denotes the rotation processing unit 80.
It is an image recording device for recording binary image data rotated by. A bus 83 connects the above-mentioned components.

The decompressor 79 decompresses the code data in the storage memory 78 and outputs the decompressed image information 79a to the image information correction circuit 80. The image information correction circuit 80 uses the image information 79a.
Is expanded and interpolated, and the image data 80a corrected with high accuracy is output. Next, the rotation processing unit 81 obtains information 82a regarding the direction of the recording sheet from the image recording device 82, and rotates the input image data 80a so as to match the setting direction of the recording sheet. As a result, even if the direction of the recording paper set in the image recording device 82 is different from the expected direction, the image data can be printed clearly on the recording paper.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the functions of the essential parts of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a code storage unit, 2 is a decompressor, 3 is an expansion interpolation processing unit, and 4 is an m line buffer (here, m). Is 8
Multiples of), for example, 16 line buffer (m = 16),
Reference numeral 5 is a 90 ° rotation processing unit that rotates 16 × 16 pixels by 90 °, 6 is an image memory, and 7 is a recording unit. Further, 8 is an address control unit for controlling addresses of the 16-line buffer 4 and the 90 ° rotation processing unit 5, 9 is a paper detection signal from the recording unit 7, and operates the 90 ° rotation processing unit 5 or A function for determining whether to leave the operation inactive, a function for obtaining the output page head signal, the output line head signal, the one-pixel output signal, etc. to control the expansion interpolation processing unit 3 and a function to control the operation of each block. And the like. When the image rotation device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-250898 previously filed by the present applicant is used as the 90 ° rotation processing unit 5, a dedicated image processing processor, shift register, or the like can be used. Instead, there is an advantage that the 90 ° rotation processing can be performed by simply writing and reading access to the image memory, and an advantage that high-speed processing can be performed.

Here, the code storage unit 1 corresponds to the storage memory 78 of FIG. 4, the enlarged interpolation processing unit 3 corresponds to the image information correction circuit 80, and the 16-line buffer 4 and the 90 ° rotation processing unit 5 rotate. It will be apparent that the image memory 6 and the recording unit 7 correspond to the processing unit 81 and the image recording device 82.

Next, the operation of the function of determining the necessity of rotation in the control unit 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S1, the control unit 9 takes in the paper detection signal from the recording unit 7. In steps S2 to S6, the paper size and the setting direction are detected from the paper detection signal. Here, A3, B4, and A4 indicate the sizes of the sheets, S indicates that the sheets are set in the horizontal (transverse) direction, and L indicates that the sheets are set in the vertical (longitudinal) direction. Therefore, in step S2, A3, B4, A4S and A4
It is determined whether or not all the L sheets are set, and in step S3, it is determined whether the A3, B4, and A4S sheets are set and the A4L sheet is not set. Indicates. The same applies to steps S4 to S6.

If the determination in step S2 is affirmative, it means that all four types of paper have been set.
The process proceeds to step S9 and ends without performing any rotation processing. If the determination in step S3 is affirmative, A4
Since the L paper is not set, the process proceeds to step S7, it is determined whether the image data is other than A4L, and A4L
If not, the process proceeds to step S9. However, A4
If it is L, the process proceeds to step S10 and the image data is set to 9
Process to rotate 0 °. If step S4 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined whether the image data is other than A4S.
9. If it is A4S, the process proceeds to step S10 to rotate the image data by 90 °. If the determination in step S5 is affirmative, the sheets of A4L and A4S are not prepared, and therefore the process proceeds to step S9 and is output without rotation processing. In this case, recording is performed on A3 or B4 paper which is larger than A4. Further, when the determination in step S6 is affirmative, the sheets of all sizes have not been set, so step S6
In step 11, the control unit 9 stops the operation of the apparatus and issues a warning that, for example, no paper is set, and ends the processing. The operation shown in the above flowchart is an example, and various modifications can be made.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the encoded data is output from the code storage unit 1, the decompressor 2 decompresses the data, and the expansion interpolation processing unit 3
Send to. As will be described later in detail, the enlargement / interpolation processing unit 3 enlarges the input image data 79a to a set magnification, and performs interpolation processing (smoothing processing) and outputs it. Subsequently, the image data 80a that has been subjected to the enlargement and interpolation processing is transferred to the 16-line buffer 4 and is subjected to rotation processing in the 90 ° rotation processing unit 5. The 90
The rotation processing unit 5 executes the rotation operation only when the rotation instruction signal is received from the control unit 9 according to the direction of the recording paper, and when the rotation instruction signal is not received, the input image data is transferred to the image memory 6 as it is. . As described above, the image data 81a arranged in the direction that matches the direction of the recording paper is stored in the image memory 6, sent to the recording unit 7, and printed out.

As is clear from the above description, the image data 80 which has been subjected to the high-precision enlargement interpolation processing by the enlargement interpolation processing unit 3
Since a is automatically rearranged and output in the direction of the recording paper set in the recording unit, correct printing can be performed even if the direction of the recording paper is different from the planned direction. .

A block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. This embodiment is different from the block diagram of FIG. 1 in that 16 line buffers 4a and 4b are provided and
The point is that while the image data is being fetched in the 6-line buffer, the image data is output from the other 16-line buffer and the rotation processing unit 5 performs the rotation processing. According to this embodiment, the processing speed can be almost doubled as compared with the first embodiment.

Next, the configuration of the image information correction circuit 80 or the enlarged interpolation processing section 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of a specific example of the image information correction circuit 80. The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 indicate the same or equivalent items.

In FIG. 5, 11 is a multiplexer (M
UX), and selects one from the three data of the image data 79a, white (“0”) data 18 and previous line data 12a input from the decompressor 2 or 79, and outputs it to the line buffer 12. To do. The line buffer 12 is a (2n + 1) line buffer (n is a positive integer), and in this specific example, 7 line buffers (n = 3).
An example of is shown. The line buffer 12 stores image data of a line to be corrected and three lines before and after the line.

Reference numeral 13 is a (2n + 1) × (2n + 1) register matrix for storing pixels around the target pixel of the line to be corrected. In this embodiment, a register matrix of n = 3, that is, a 7 × 7 register matrix is shown, and 49 pixels around the target pixel are stored. Reference numeral 14 denotes an enlargement processing block for performing enlargement processing of k × l (k is an enlargement ratio in the main scanning direction, and 1 is an enlargement ratio in the sub-scanning direction). ing. The enlargement processing block 14 includes 1 × 1 to 6
Enlargement up to × 6 and smoothing processing can be performed.

Reference numeral 15 is a register for setting the enlargement ratio in the main scanning direction, and 16 is a register for setting the enlargement ratio in the sub-scanning direction. The control circuit 17 receives the image data input to the multiplexer 11, that is, the most significant bit plane 3
a, a selection signal 17a2 for selecting the white data 18 and the previous line data 12a, and a selection signal 17b1 for selecting one of the enlargement ratios in the enlargement processing block 14
, 17c1 and designated positions 17b2, 17c2 used during smoothing processing.

The preceding line data 12a is 7-bit data obtained by extracting 1-bit data for each line from the 7-line data stored in the line buffer 12. Further, 18 is the white (“0”) data.

Next, a specific example of the configuration of the main part of the control circuit 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. Figure 6
Shows a control unit in the sub-scanning direction, and FIG. 7 shows a control unit in the main scanning direction. Note that the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 6 and FIG. 4 in FIG.

In FIG. 6, 31 is a sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register which is cleared by the output page head signal 36 sent from the image recording device 6, 32 is an adder, 3
3 is an enlarged block in the sub-scanning direction block position counter,
Reference numeral 34 is a comparator.

The adder 32 adds the enlargement value preset in the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio register 16 and the value stored in the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 31, and the integer part of the addition result is the sub-scanning direction. The enlargement block selection signal 17b1 is sent to the enlargement processing block 14 (see FIG. 4). The fractional part of the addition result is stored in the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 31.

For example, the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio register 1
If the enlargement value preset to 6 is 4.4 times, the enlargement ratio work register 31 in the sub-scanning direction is initially cleared to 0, so the adder 32 outputs 4.4 in the first addition. However, 4 in the integer part is the enlargement block selection signal 1 in the sub-scanning direction.
It is sent to the enlargement processing block 14 as 7b1.
On the other hand, the decimal part 0.4 is stored in the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 31.

Next, since the second addition result is 4.8, the integer part 4 is the sub-scanning direction enlarged block selection signal 17
It is sent to the enlargement processing block 14 as b1 and the fractional part 0.8 is the enlargement ratio work register 31 in the sub-scanning direction.
Stored in. Thereafter, the same operation is performed, and the adder 32
The values of the integer part output from are 4, 4, 5, 4,
4, ...

Since the enlargement processing block 14 selects the enlargement block in the sub-scanning direction according to the data of the integer part, the image data is subjected to the enlargement processing of about 4.4 times on average.

Next, the structure of the control unit in the main scanning direction will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 51 is a main scanning direction enlargement ratio work register, 52 is an adder, 53 is a main scanning direction enlargement block block position counter, and 54 is a comparator.

Main scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 51
Is cleared by the output line head signal 37 sent from the image recording device 6. The enlargement ratio in the main scanning direction is preset in the enlargement ratio register 15 in the main scanning direction.
Since the operation of the adder 52 is the same as the operation of the adder 32, the description thereof will be omitted.

Next, with respect to the operations of the sub scanning direction enlargement block block position counter 33, the main scanning direction enlargement block block position counter 53, and the comparators 34 and 54 of FIGS. 6 and 7, refer to the data example of FIG. And explain. Reference numeral 57 in FIG. 8 indicates an example of data temporarily stored in the register matrix 13, and reference numeral 58 indicates a designated position of a designated magnification.

An output line head signal 37 sent from the image recording device 6 is input to the sub scanning direction enlarged block in-block position counter 33, and one pixel is input to the main scanning direction enlarged block in-block position counter 53. The output signal 55 is input.

Now, assuming that the integer part 17c1 in the main scanning direction is "2" and the integer part 17b1 in the subscanning direction is "4", as shown in FIG.
Is magnified twice in the main scanning direction and four times in the sub scanning direction. The designated positions for the enlargement process and the smoothing process are the intra-enlargement block block position 17b2 and the main-scanning direction enlargement block block position 17c2 in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring to FIG. 7, since the integer part 17c1 is "2", 2 is input to the A terminal of the comparator 54. When the one-pixel output signal 55 is input, the main scanning direction enlargement block intra-block position counter 53 counts up, and the count output is output as the main scanning direction enlargement block intra-block position 17c2. In this specific example, when the count output becomes 2, the comparator 54 outputs the coincidence signal 17a.
Since 3 is output, 0 and 1 are sequentially output as the position 17c2 in the main scanning direction enlarged block block, and the output is 0, 1 of the designated position in the main scanning direction as shown in FIG. It becomes 1.

Similarly, 0, 1, 2, 3 is output as the position 17b2 in the sub-scanning direction enlarged block block of FIG. 6, and as shown in FIG. 8, the address of the designated position in the sub-scanning direction is obtained. It becomes 0-3.

Next, the overall operation of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. First, before the enlargement process is started, the multiplexer 11 of FIG. 5 selects the white data 18, and the white data is stored in all of the 7-line buffers 12. That is, the 7-line buffer 12 is cleared.

When performing the enlargement processing, the enlargement ratio register 15 in the main scanning direction and the enlargement ratio register 16 in the sub-scanning direction.
The enlargement ratio is set to the start signal 23a
Input to 7. Then, the multiplexer 11 sequentially reads the input image data 3a into the 7-line buffer 12 according to the input image data selection signal 17a2.

Input image data 3 to 7 line buffer 12
When a is stored for 4 lines, the enlargement process is started.
FIG. 9A shows a state in which 7 lines of image data including 3 lines of white data are stored in the 7 line buffer 12.

Immediately after the start of the operation, the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 31 is cleared by the output page head signal 36, and the main scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 51.
Is cleared by the output line head signal 37.

Next, the operation start signal is input to the adder 52 shown in FIG. Accordingly, the adder 52 adds the enlargement ratio set in the main-scanning-direction enlargement ratio register 15 and the value of the main-scanning-direction enlargement ratio work register 51, and the integer part 17 thereof.
c1 is sent to the enlargement processing block 14 as an enlargement block selection signal in the main scanning direction. The operation start signal is also input to the adder 32 shown in FIG. Accordingly, the adder 32 adds the enlargement ratio set in the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio register 16 and the value of the sub-scanning direction enlargement ratio work register 31, and the integer part 17b1 thereof is used as the sub-scanning direction enlargement block selection signal. Send to the enlargement processing block 14.

When the enlargement processing block 14 receives the enlargement block selection signals 17b1 and 17c1 in the main and sub-scanning directions, the enlargement processing block is selected. For example, if the enlargement block selection signals in the main and sub-scanning directions are 2 and 4, respectively, the enlargement processing block 14 selects a 2 × 4 enlargement processing block.

Next, when one-pixel output signals 55 as shown in FIG. 10 are successively input to the main scanning direction enlarged block intra-block position counter 53, the main scanning direction enlarged block intra-block position 17c2. Is 0, 1, 2 and 1
When the number becomes 2, the comparator outputs the coincidence signal 17a3.

This signal 17a3 serves as a trigger signal for the adder 52 and also as a clear signal for the main scanning direction enlargement block intra-block position counter 53. Therefore, when the coincidence signal 17a3 is output, the adder 52 performs an addition operation, and the main scanning direction enlarged block intra-block position counter 53 is cleared.

On the other hand, the output line head signal 37 is inputted to the sub scanning direction enlarged block intra-block position counter 33 of FIG. 6, and the counter 33 counts up. The counter 33 outputs the count value as an intra-enlargement block block position 17b2 in the sub-scanning direction and an adder 34
It is cleared by the coincidence signal 17a2 from. Comparator 3
The coincidence signal 17a2 of 4 becomes a trigger signal of the adder 32.

The coincidence signal 17a3 of the comparator 54 is the 7-line buffer 12 and the register matrix 1
It is also input to 3. Then, the 7 line buffer 1
2 shifts each 1 bit for 7 lines in parallel. By this shift, the 7-bit data 12a is moved to the beginning of the 7-line buffer 12 through the multiplexer 1.
The state at this time is shown in FIG. 9 (c).

At the same time as the above operation, new 7-bit data is taken into the register matrix 13 and old 7-bit data is erased. This state is shown in FIG.
It is shown in (b). As a result, the pixel of interest is changed from d4 to d5.

When the above operation is repeated and the processing for one line is completed, the multiplexer 11 shown in FIG.
The selection signal 17a2 is input to. When the selection signal 17a2 is input, the multiplexer 11 selects the input image data 3a for a certain period. As a result, the input image data 3a is fetched by the 7-line buffer 12 for one line. At this time, the oldest one line of image data in the 7 line buffer 12 is erased. This state is shown in FIG.
It is shown in (d).

Next, the enlarging / smoothing processing applied in the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of the enlargement / smoothing processing device, in which 61 has a target pixel 61a in the center (1 + 2n) × (1 + 2n) (n is a positive integer).
Register matrix, 62 is a pattern detection unit for detecting a pattern of pixels around the pixel of interest 61a, and 63 is an enlargement process corresponding to the enlargement ratio in the main / sub scanning direction and a smoothing process corresponding to the pattern. -It is a smoothing processing unit.

The enlargement / smoothing processing unit 63 receives the enlargement ratios 17c1 and 17b1 in the main / sub-scanning direction and the enlargement block inside positions 17c2 and 17b2 in the main / sub-scanning direction. The enlarging / smoothing processing unit 63 determines the pixel of interest 61a.
Is enlarged to a size corresponding to the enlargement factors 17c1 and 17b1, and each position of the enlarged pixels, that is, the pixel designated by the positions 17c2 and 17b2 is interpolated or not interpolated. Make a decision.

For example, when the enlargement factors 17c1 and 17b1 are 2 and 4, respectively (that is, a magnification of 2 × 4), as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) to 12 (e), the pixel of interest 61a is selected. Is enlarged by 2 × 4 times, and it is determined whether or not to interpolate for each of the eight pixels generated by this enlargement. The technical meaning of FIG. 12 will be described later in detail.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S1, the pattern detection unit 62 determines that the connection pattern of the peripheral black pixels of the target pixel 61a is 1: 1.
It is detected whether or not it is one of the four directions. If this determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S2 and the pixel of interest 61
It is detected whether the connection pattern of the peripheral black pixels of a is in any one of the eight directions of 1: 2. Also, step S3
Then, the connection pattern of the black pixels around the attention pixel 61a is
It is detected whether or not the direction is one of eight directions of 1 to n (n = 3, 4, ...).

That is, if the connected pattern of the black pixels around the target pixel 61a belongs to, for example, the patterns of (a) to (e) of FIG. 12, any of the steps S1 to S3 becomes affirmative, and the process proceeds to step S5. move on. Note that the pattern shown in FIG. 12 is only an example, and it is clear that there are many similar patterns.

When all of the above steps S1 to S3 are negative, the routine proceeds to step S4, where it is decided not to interpolate.
Then, the process proceeds to step S8, and it is determined whether or not all the positions of the designated magnification of one target pixel have been processed.

On the other hand, when any of the steps S1 to S3 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S5, and the designated position (17c1, 17b1, 17c2, 17b) of the designated magnification is set.
In 2), determine whether interpolation is necessary.
First, it is determined whether or not the interpolation at the designated position (0,0) (see 58 in FIG. 8) is necessary. If this determination is negative,
The process proceeds to step S6 and the process of not interpolating is performed. On the contrary, if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S7 and the process of interpolation is performed.

Next, in step S8, it is determined whether or not all the positions of one target pixel have been interpolated. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S9 and the position is counted up. , The next designated position (0, 1) is designated. Then, returning to the determination in steps S1 to S3, it is determined again in step S5 whether or not the interpolation of the designated position (0, 1) is necessary. When the above process is repeated and the determination in step S8 is affirmative, step S1
The process proceeds to 0, and it is determined whether or not all the processing of the input pixel data has been completed. When this determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S11, the pixel of interest is moved to the next pixel of interest,
The same process as above is repeated.

As a result of repeating the above processing, if the judgment in step S10 becomes affirmative, the enlarging / smoothing processing is ended. In the process of step S5, interpolation is performed according to the designated magnification, the designated position, and the connection pattern.
It is executed by an algorithm that decides not to. The description of the specific contents of this algorithm is omitted.

According to this embodiment, when the peripheral pixels of the target pixel correspond to, for example, the patterns of (a) to (e) in FIG. 12, the designated position where the target pixel 61a is shaded is Will be interpolated. Therefore, the diagonal portion of the image data is smoothed, and the quality of figures such as characters can be improved.

Next, the operation of the second enlargement / smoothing process will be described.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In step S11, the same processing as that in steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 13 is performed, that is, the peripheral pixels of the target pixel are one-to-one four-direction black pixel connection patterns or one-to-two.
8 direction black pixel connection pattern, ..., or 1 to n
It is detected whether the black pixel connection pattern is in the eight directions. Also,
The processes of steps S12, S13, S14, and S15 are the same as the processes of steps S4, S5, S6, and S7 of FIG.

In step S16, the peripheral pixels of the target pixel are one-to-one four-direction white pixel connection pattern, one-to-two eight-direction white pixel connection pattern, ... Or one-to-n eight. It is detected whether the white pixel connection pattern in the direction.

When the determination in step S16 is negative, the process proceeds to step S17, and the pixel of interest is not deleted at all, and the process proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, if the result at step S16 is affirmative, then the processing advances to step S18, at which the designated position (1
7c1, 17b1, 17c2, 17b2), it is judged whether or not it is necessary to delete. Then, if this determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S19, and the process of not deleting is performed, and if the determination is affirmative, step S20 is performed.
Then, the process of deleting is performed.

Next, in step S21, it is determined whether or not all positions of the designated magnification of one target pixel have been processed. If the determination is negative, step S22
Proceeding to step, the designated position is counted up.
Then, the process returns to step S11 and the above process is repeated.

When the above-mentioned processing is repeated and all the processing at the designated position is completed, the affirmative decision is made in step S21 and the operation proceeds to step S23.

Now, the operation of steps S16 to S20 until the step S21 becomes affirmative will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 15A, when the peripheral pixels for the target pixel 61a are one-to-one connected white pixels, the pixel at position (0,0) is deleted. Also, the same figure
In the case of white pixel connection in (b), positions (0,0) and (0,
The pixel of 1) is deleted. In addition, (c), (d), (e)
In this case, the pixels at the positions shown in the figure are deleted.

The process of step S18 is executed by an algorithm for deciding whether to delete or not depending on the designated magnification, the designated position and the connection pattern.
The description of the specific contents of this algorithm is omitted.

According to the present embodiment, by deleting the pixels, the corners of the oblique portion of the character or the like can be deleted and smoothed, and the thickened line by the interpolation processing of steps S11 to S15 is changed to the steps S16 to. It can be finely corrected by the process of S20. Therefore, high-quality graphic data such as characters can be provided.

Next, the third enlargement / smoothing process will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. The feature of this embodiment lies in that in the second enlargement / smoothing process, step S31 is performed.
The feature is that S34 to S34 are added, and the other steps are the same as those of the second enlargement / smoothing process.
Only 1 to S34 will be described.

In step S31, one to one to one of black pixels
It is determined whether the connection of the pair n is a pattern that deteriorates the image. Then, if it is a pattern that deteriorates the image image, the process proceeds to step S16 without interpolation (step S32). On the other hand, when step S31 is negative, the process proceeds to step S13.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17A, when the reference pixel of the pixel of interest 61a has a black 3 × 3 connection pattern, the other peripheral pixels, that is, the pixels 61b, 61c and 61d are selected. See also, if these pixels 61b, 61c, and 61d are all white pixels, the pixel of interest 61a is interpolated. That is, the process proceeds from step S31 to S13.

On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 17B, if any one of the pixels 61b, 61c and 61d is a black pixel, the pixel of interest 61a is not interpolated. To That is, the process proceeds from step S31 to S32. This is because if the interpolation is performed, the white pixel of the target pixel 61a is crushed and the image is deteriorated.

In step S33, one to one to one of the white pixels
It is determined whether the connection of the pair n is a pattern that deteriorates the image. If it is a pattern that deteriorates the image image, the pattern is not deleted (step S34) and the process proceeds to step S21. On the other hand, when step S33 is negative, the process proceeds to step S18.

For example, as shown in FIG. 17C, when the reference pixel of the pixel of interest 61a has a white 2 × 2 connection pattern, the peripheral pixels 61b to 61d other than those pixels are referred to.
If all are white pixels, the process proceeds to step S21 without deleting black pixels. This is to prevent the isolated black pixels from disappearing. The pixels 61b to 6
If any one of 1d is a black pixel, the process of step S18 is performed.

According to the third enlargement / smoothing process, it is possible to prevent the crushing of the white pixels and the disappearance of the black pixels. Therefore, it is possible to perform the smoothing process which does not deteriorate the image. is there.

Next, the enlargement / smoothing process of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In step S41, it is determined whether the black pixel has a one-to-one four-direction connection pattern in the specified direction. If this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S13. On the other hand, if the result is negative, the process proceeds to step S42.

In step S42, it is judged whether or not the black pixel has a connecting pattern in the 8 directions of 1 to 2 to 1 to n in the specified direction of the specified position. If the judgment is negative, the process proceeds to step S43. On the other hand, when this judgment is affirmative, the routine proceeds to step S44, where it is judged whether or not it is the orthogonal angle pattern. When this determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S45 to perform a process of not interpolating. When the pattern is not the orthogonal angle pattern, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, the same interpolation process as described above is performed.

According to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, when the peripheral black pixel has an orthogonal angle pattern with respect to the target pixel 61a, steps S13 through S13 for the target pixel 61a are performed. Only the one-to-one interpolation processing in S15 is performed. That is, the interpolation process is weakened.

According to the present embodiment, since the interpolation processing can be weakened, it is possible to perform the smoothing processing in which a right angle portion of a figure such as a character is kept in balance with the surroundings.
It has been revealed by the study of the present inventor that if the right angled portion is stored at a right angle, the right angled portion is overexpressed in a sharper shape than in the surrounding area and gives a feeling of strangeness.

Each of the above-described embodiments has 2 × in the main / sub-scanning direction.
Although the description has been given of the example in which the enlargement is performed four times, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to the case where enlargement is performed 1 × 1 to 6 × 6.

[0086]

According to the present invention, after the image data is enlarged and smoothed with high accuracy, the image data is automatically rotated so as to match the orientation of the paper set in the recording device. Therefore, there is an effect that a high quality image can be printed clearly according to the orientation of the set paper.

Further, it is possible to reduce printing errors due to the orientation of the paper set in the recording device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an operation of outputting a rotation instruction signal.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a facsimile apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an enlargement / smoothing processing apparatus used in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a portion that performs processing in the sub-scanning direction in the control circuit of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a portion that performs processing in the main scanning direction in the control circuit of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram explaining the technical meaning of main and sub-scanning direction enlarged blocks in-block positions.

9 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of FIG.

10 is a timing chart of signals of main parts of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic function of the image data enlargement / smoothing processing device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of first interpolation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a first interpolation operation.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a second interpolation operation.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of deletion in the second interpolation.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a third interpolation operation.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a pattern that deteriorates an image in the third interpolation.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a fourth interpolation operation.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of an orthogonal angle pattern in the fourth interpolation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Code storage unit, 2 ... Decompressor, 3 ... Enlargement interpolation processing unit, 4
16 line buffer, 5 ... 90 ° rotation processing unit, 6 ... Image memory, 7 ... Recording unit, 8 ... Address control unit, 9 ... Control unit, 79 ... Decompressor, 80 ... Image information correction circuit, 81 ... Rotation process Part, 82 ... Image recording device.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical display location // G06T 1/60 G06F 15/64 450 D (72) Inventor Kenichi Sonobe 3 Iwatsuki-shi, Saitama Prefecture Chome 7-1 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomokazu Kaneko 3-7-1 Fuchu, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture Fuji Cerox Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsuhisa Suzuki 3 Chome, Iwatsuki City, Saitama Prefecture 7-1 Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A (2n + 1) line buffer (where n is a positive integer) for storing code data decompressed by a decompressor and a (2n +) line buffer extracted from the (2n + 1) line buffer.
1) A register matrix that stores (2n + 1) pixel data, an enlargement interpolation processing unit that enlarges and smoothes a pixel of interest in the register matrix with reference to peripheral data, and the enlargement and smoothing processing. Image data for m lines (m
Is a multiple of 8), and a rotation processing unit for rotating the m × m pixel data extracted from the m line buffer so as to match the orientation of the recording paper set in the image recording apparatus. And an image memory for storing the image data subjected to the rotation processing. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the m line buffer has two stages, and while the image data is being loaded into one m line buffer, the image data is output from the other m line buffer. Then, the image processing apparatus is characterized in that the rotation processing unit performs the rotation processing.