JPH1115958A - Image input device, its method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide image input device and method capable of efficiently inputting required image data even when the image reading capacity of an image reader does not correspond to required resolution. SOLUTION: When a scanner device 10 does not correspond to specified reading resolution, the attributes of image reading conditions other than reading resolution stored in an image reading condition storing part 4 are referred to, and in the case of specifying picture quality prior to others, image reading is executed by changing the reading resolution to a value higher than required resolution and resolution conversion processing corresponding to the changed resolution is executed by a resolution conversion processing part 6. Consequently required image data can be efficiently inputted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image input apparatus, an image input method, and a storage medium for reading an image using an image reading apparatus in which the reading resolution can be specified only in steps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional general flat-bed type scanner device, an image reading resolution is specified by, for example, 1 DPI from a low resolution of about 50 DPI (dot per inch) to a high resolution of about 800 DPI.
Most can be specified in increments. The reading of the image at the designated resolution is realized by mechanical control and hardware control.

However, in a low-priced drum-type scanner device, at least the reading resolution in the horizontal direction is often fixed, and at most corresponds to the reading resolution in an integer ratio of the basic resolution.

For this reason, it is common to use a basic reading resolution of a drum-type scanner device that is an integer ratio of the one according to a presumed purpose of use.

Therefore, when an image is read at a resolution not assumed in advance, the image is read at a resolution close to a desired resolution, and the read image is further subjected to a resolution conversion process by a software method. It has become.

[0006]

However, in the prior art as described above, when it is desired to read an image at a resolution other than the resolution that can be read by the scanner device,
Since the resolution conversion processing is performed by a software method, image quality may be degraded. At this time, if priority is given to image quality, it is sufficient to specify a reading resolution higher than the desired resolution. However, the transfer time of the read data from the scanner device, the software processing time at the time of resolution conversion, and the required memory May be increased.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to efficiently input desired image data even when the image reading capability of the image reading device does not correspond to a desired resolution. It is an object of the present invention to provide a possible image input device and an image input method.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image input apparatus, comprising: an apparatus capacity storage unit for storing an image reading ability of an image reading apparatus including a reading resolution; Reading condition designating means for designating a plurality of image reading conditions including resolution; and a device capability storage means for determining whether an image can be read by the image reading device at a reading resolution designated by the reading condition designating device. Determining means for determining based on the reading resolution stored in the reading condition specifying means; and when the determining means determines that image reading at the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying means is impossible, the reading condition specifying means determines The reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying means based on image reading conditions other than the specified reading resolution. Reading condition changing means for changing the resolution to a value readable by the image reading device; and image reading processing for the image reading device based on the plurality of image reading conditions including the reading resolution changed by the reading condition changing device. And reading execution means for executing

Preferably, a resolution conversion process corresponding to the reading resolution changed by the reading condition changing means is further performed on the image data read by the image reading device by the reading executing means. It is characterized by having a resolution conversion means for applying.

Preferably, in one of the first and second aspects, one of the plurality of image reading conditions specified by the reading condition specifying means is whether or not to increase the speed at which the image reading device reads an image. When the reading speed of the image is specified to be high, the reading condition changing unit sets the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying unit to a high resolution readable by the image reading apparatus. The resolution is changed to the resolution of the image, and if the image is not specified at a high speed, the resolution is changed to a low resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus.

Preferably, one of the plurality of image reading conditions specified by the reading condition specifying means is a specification relating to image reading quality of the image reading apparatus. The condition changing unit changes the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying unit to a high-resolution resolution readable by the image reading device, when the image reading quality is specified to be high quality, If the image is not designated as high quality, the resolution is changed to a low resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image input method comprising: a device capability storing step of storing an image reading capability of an image reading device including a reading resolution; A reading condition specifying step for specifying a reading condition; and a reading resolution stored in the device capability storing step for determining whether or not an image can be read by the image reading device at the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step. A reading step other than the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step when it is determined that image reading at the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step is impossible. Based on the image reading conditions of A reading condition changing step of changing the reading resolution designated in the step to a resolution readable by the image reading device, and the plurality of image reading conditions including the reading resolution changed by the reading condition changing step. A reading execution step of causing the image reading device to execute an image reading process.

Preferably, a resolution conversion process corresponding to the reading resolution changed in the reading condition changing step is performed on the image data read by the image reading device in the reading executing step. It is characterized by including a resolution conversion step to be performed.

Preferably, in one of claims 5 and 6, one of the plurality of image reading conditions specified in the reading condition specifying step is whether or not to increase the speed at which the image reading device reads an image. , And
The reading condition changing step changes the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step to a high-resolution resolution that can be read by the image reading device, when the image reading speed is specified to be high. If the image is not specified at a high speed, the resolution is changed to a low resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus.

Preferably, in one of claims 5 and 6, one of the plurality of image reading conditions specified in the reading condition specifying step is a specification relating to image reading quality of the image reading apparatus. In the condition changing step, when the image reading quality is specified as high quality, the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step is changed to a high resolution resolution readable by the image reading device, If the image is not designated as high quality, the resolution is changed to a low resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention provides a storage medium characterized by storing the image input method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 as a program.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

In the following embodiment, an example in which the image input processing of the present invention is applied to a computer system for realizing the image input processing on a host computer will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image input apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

This apparatus is schematically constructed by connecting a scanner 10 as an image reading apparatus to a computer 1 by a bidirectional centronics interface or the like.

Here, the computer 1 includes an image processing unit 2
, A control unit 8 and a data transmitting / receiving unit 9. The computer 1 also includes an operation unit (not shown) that allows the user to perform various operations required for image reading such as designation of image reading conditions.

The image processing section 2 performs the image input processing according to the present invention under the control of the control section 8 according to the flow charts of FIGS. 3 to 7 which will be described later. An image reading condition storage unit 4, an image reading condition change storage unit 5, a resolution conversion processing unit 6,
An image storage unit 7 is provided.

Here, the scanner capability storage unit 3 of the image processing unit 2 stores the image reading capability (readable resolution, read gradation, readable range, read image type, etc.) of the connected scanner device 10. Things.

The image reading condition storage unit 4 stores image reading conditions (reading resolution,
The reading quality designation, reading speed designation, reading range, reading image type, etc.) are stored.

The image reading condition change storage section 5 stores the reading resolution which is one of the changed image reading conditions when the image reading at the reading resolution designated by the user is impossible with the scanner device 10. Is what you do.

When the image cannot be read at the reading resolution designated by the user, the resolution conversion processing unit 6 responds to the changed reading resolution for the image data read at the changed reading resolution. A resolution conversion process is performed.

The image storage unit 7 stores image data read by the scanner device 10.

The controller 8 controls the entire computer 1, generates an instruction to be issued to the scanner 10, and analyzes a code sent from the scanner 10.

The data transmission / reception section 9 enables transmission / reception of data to / from an external device through a bidirectional Centronics interface or the like. In the present embodiment, it is connected to the scanner device 10 and performs various data communications with the scanner device 10.

The scanner device 10 reads an image in response to an instruction from the connected computer 1 or returns its own image reading ability, responds to a status, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of the reading resolution, which is one of the image reading capabilities of the scanner device 10 in the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the resolution of the scanner device 10 is determined by a combination of (horizontal resolution, vertical resolution) (9
0 DPI, 90 DPI), (180 DPI, 180 DP
I) (360 DPI, 360 DPI), (200 DP
I, 180 DPI), (200 DPI, 360 DPI)
At five different resolutions.

As described above, the scanner device 10 can read only at a stepwise resolution. Therefore,
If reading is performed at a resolution other than the resolution shown in FIG. 2, it is necessary to perform resolution conversion processing by software. This resolution conversion processing is performed by the resolution conversion processing unit 6 of the image processing unit 2 in the present embodiment.

Next, the operation of the image input processing in the image input apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

FIGS. 3 to 7 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the image input processing in the present embodiment.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, first, when the image input apparatus is activated, the image processing unit 2 is initialized (S21), and then the scanner capability shown in the flowchart of FIG. The scanner capability setting process of the scanner device 10 is performed by the setting process routine (S22).

In the scanner capability setting process in step S22, as shown in the flowchart of FIG.
The control unit 8 controls the scanner device 10 via the data transmitting / receiving unit 9.
A command for inquiring about the reading capability (capability) is issued (S31). Then, the control unit 8 receives the reading capability information returned from the scanner device 10 in response to the inquiry (S32). Next, the control unit 8
The received read capability information is stored in the scanner capability storage unit 3, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 3 (S33).

It should be noted that the reading capability information of the scanner device 10 includes not only the readable resolution information shown in FIG.
Reading gradation (number of gradations per pixel), readable range (number of vertical and horizontal pixels), reading image type (RG
(B color, monochrome) and the like, and such capability information is also stored in the scanner capability storage unit 3.

Next, an image reading condition setting process designated by the user is performed by the image reading condition setting process routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 (S2).
3).

In the image reading condition setting process of step S23, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5, first, the user designates the image reading resolution, quality and speed as image reading conditions (S4).
1, S42, S43). Here, the user can specify “90 DPI, 180 DPI, 200D
PI and 360 DPI ”can be specified. Also, as the reading quality, for example, "high quality",
Either "normal" or "draft" can be specified. Further, as the designation of the image reading speed, it is possible to designate whether or not to perform high-speed reading with speed priority. Note that the reading quality deteriorates in the order of “high quality”, “normal”, and “draft”.

When these image reading conditions are designated, these conditions are stored in the image reading condition storage section 4 (S44), and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

After the image reading conditions are set, the control section 8 determines whether or not the user has given an instruction to start reading (S24). If the reading start instruction has not been issued, the determination in step S24 is repeated until the instruction is issued. If it is determined in step S24 that the reading start instruction has been issued, the readable resolution information of the scanner device 10 stored in the scanner capability storage unit 3 and the read-specified resolution stored in the image reading condition storage unit 4 By comparing the information and determining whether the resolution designated for reading is included in the readable resolution information, it is determined whether the scanner device 10 can read at the resolution designated for reading (S25). ).

In the scanner device 10 of the present embodiment, for example, when the image reading condition is specified at 200 DPI,
As shown in FIG. 2, the resolution in the horizontal direction satisfies the reading ability, but does not satisfy the reading ability in the vertical direction.

In such a case, the determination in step S25 is NO, and the control unit 8 performs a reading condition changing process according to a reading condition changing process routine shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 (S26).

In the reading condition change processing routine of step S26, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, first, the specified reading quality information is taken out from the image reading condition storage unit 4, and the quality is determined from the reading quality information. It is determined whether it is draft, normal or high quality (S51).

If the reading quality is set to "normal" in this step S51, the designated speed designation information is further taken out from the image reading condition storage section 4, and from the speed designation information, the reading speed is increased. It is determined whether or not the reading is designated (S52).

If it is determined in step S52 that the high-speed designation is made, a resolution lower than the designated reading resolution is set and stored in the image reading condition change storage unit 5 (S53). Return to the main routine.

If it is determined in step S52 that the high-speed designation is not made, a resolution higher than the designated reading resolution is set and stored in the image reading condition change storage unit 5 (S54). Return to the main routine.

If it is determined in step S51 that the document is a "draft", the process proceeds to step S53.
If it is determined to be “high quality”, the above step S
Proceed to 54 and return to the main routine of FIG.

In the scanner device 10 of the present embodiment,
For example, when the image reading condition is specified at 200 DPI, the vertical reading capability is not satisfied as shown in FIG.

In this case, if the quality designation is “draft”, the vertical resolution is changed to 180 DPI, and if the quality designation is “high quality”, the vertical resolution is changed to 360 DPI.
It will be changed as PI. Also, if the quality designation is “normal”, it is further determined whether or not speed priority is given, and if speed priority is given, it is changed to 180 DPI,
If the priority is not given to the speed, the resolution is changed to 360 DPI.

After performing the reading condition changing process,
The control unit 8 reads the image of the scanner device 10 under the conditions stored in the image reading condition change storage unit 5 (S27), stores the image read result in the image storage unit 7, and stores the result in the flowchart of FIG. The resolution conversion processing is performed according to the resolution conversion processing routine shown (S28).

In the resolution conversion processing routine of step S28, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 7, first, the resolution stored in the image reading condition storage unit 4 and the resolution stored in the image reading condition change storage unit 5 are stored. The resolution is compared with the resolution (S61). If the resolution stored in the image reading condition change storage unit 5 is larger, the image data stored in the image storage unit 7 is extracted, and a thinning process is performed on the image data. Is performed (S62).

In the thinning-out processing in the present embodiment, thinning-out is performed by deleting 360 pixels to 200 pixels in the vertical direction of the image data, that is, deleting 4 pixels out of 9 pixels.
This thinning may be performed by simply deleting data, or by performing a logical sum or a logical product of a pixel to be deleted and upper and lower pixels. If the image is a multi-valued image, a linear conversion process may be performed.

Next, the image data subjected to the resolution conversion processing is stored again in the image storage unit 7 (S64), and the process returns to the main routine.

If it is determined in step S61 that the resolution stored in the image reading condition storage unit 4 is smaller, the image data stored in the image storage unit 7 is extracted, and the image data is interpolated. (S63) After performing the processing of step S64, the process returns to the main routine.

In the interpolation processing in the present embodiment, interpolation is performed by adding a ratio of 180 to 200 to pixels in the vertical direction of image data, that is, adding one pixel out of nine pixels.
In this interpolation processing, data may be simply added, or a logical sum or a logical product of pixels above and below the position to be added may be used. If the image is a multi-valued image, linear interpolation processing may be performed.

When the resolution conversion processing routine is performed as described above, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 3, the image input processing ends.

On the other hand, YE is determined in step S25.
In the case of S, the scanner device 10 reads an image under the conditions set in the image reading condition storage unit 4 (S
29) The image reading result is stored in the image storage unit 7, and the image input processing ends.

As described above, in the present embodiment, even if the scanner device 10 does not support the designated reading resolution, the scanner device 10 refers to the attributes of the image reading conditions other than the reading resolution, and For example, when giving priority to the image quality, the reading resolution is changed to a higher resolution than the desired resolution to read the image, and the resolution conversion processing according to the changed resolution is performed. When the reading speed is prioritized, the image is read by changing the reading resolution to a lower resolution than the desired resolution, and a resolution conversion process according to the changed resolution is performed. Thereby, desired image data can be input efficiently.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. Further, needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying an operation program to a system or an apparatus. In this case, the effect of the present invention can be enjoyed by reading the program from a storage medium storing the operation program according to the present invention into a system or an apparatus.

[0062]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Referring to attributes of image reading conditions other than the reading resolution, for example, when giving priority to image quality, the reading resolution is changed to a higher resolution than desired, and the image is read. In the case of giving priority, by changing the reading resolution to a value lower than the desired resolution and reading the image, even if a resolution that cannot be read by the image reading device is designated, the desired image data can be efficiently retrieved. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image input device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a readable resolution of a scanner device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overall procedure of an image input process according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a scanner capability setting process according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of an image reading condition setting process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a reading condition changing process according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a resolution conversion process according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Computer 2 Image processing part 3 Scanner capability storage part 4 Image reading condition storage part 5 Image reading condition change storage part 6 Resolution conversion processing part 7 Image storage part 8 Control part 9 Data transmission / reception part 10 Scanner device

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus capability storing means for storing an image reading capability of an image reading apparatus including a reading resolution; a reading condition specifying means for specifying a plurality of image reading conditions including a reading resolution; Determining means for determining whether or not an image can be read by the image reading device at the determined reading resolution based on the reading resolution stored in the device capability storage means; and determining the reading condition by the determining means. When it is determined that the image reading at the reading resolution specified in the step (c) is impossible, the reading specified by the reading condition specifying unit is performed based on image reading conditions other than the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying unit. Reading condition changing means for changing the resolution to a resolution readable by the image reading device, An image input apparatus characterized by having a reading execution means for executing an image reading process on the image reading apparatus based on the plurality of image reading conditions including the modified reading resolution by the reading condition changing means. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a resolution conversion unit configured to perform a resolution conversion process corresponding to a reading resolution changed by the reading condition changing unit on the image data read by the image reading device by the reading execution unit. 2. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein: 3. One of the plurality of image reading conditions specified by the reading condition specifying unit is a specification of whether to increase the speed of reading an image by the image reading apparatus. Changes the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying means to a high resolution that can be read by the image reading device, and specifies the high speed when the speed at which the image is read is specified to be high. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein, if not performed, the resolution is changed to a low resolution that can be read by the image reading device. 4. One of the plurality of image reading conditions specified by the reading condition specifying unit is a specification relating to image reading quality of the image reading apparatus, and the reading condition changing unit sets the image reading quality to If high-quality has been specified, the reading resolution specified by the reading condition specifying means is changed to a high-resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus, and if high-quality has not been specified, 3. The image input device according to claim 1, wherein the resolution is changed to a low-resolution resolution readable by the image reading device. 5. A device capability storing step of storing an image reading capability of an image reading device including a reading resolution; a reading condition specifying step of specifying a plurality of image reading conditions including a reading resolution; A determination step of determining whether an image can be read by the image reading device at the determined reading resolution based on the reading resolution stored in the device capability storage step; and determining the reading condition by the determination step. If it is determined that image reading at the reading resolution specified in the step (a) is impossible, the reading specified in the reading condition specifying step is performed based on image reading conditions other than the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step. The resolution is read by the image reading device. A reading condition changing step of changing the resolution to a retrievable resolution; and reading the image reading device to execute an image reading process based on the plurality of image reading conditions including the reading resolution changed by the reading condition changing step. And an execution step. 6. A resolution conversion step of performing a resolution conversion process corresponding to the reading resolution changed in the reading condition changing step on the image data read by the image reading device in the reading execution step. The image input method according to claim 5, wherein: 7. One of the plurality of image reading conditions specified in the reading condition specifying step is a specification of whether or not to increase the speed of reading an image by the image reading device. Changes the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step to a high resolution that can be read by the image reading apparatus, and specifies the high speed when the image reading speed is specified to be high speed. 7. The image input method according to claim 5, wherein, if not performed, the resolution is changed to a low resolution resolution readable by the image reading device. 8. One of the plurality of image reading conditions specified in the reading condition specifying step is a specification relating to image reading quality of the image reading apparatus, and the reading condition changing step includes the step of changing the image reading quality. If high quality has been specified, change the reading resolution specified in the reading condition specifying step to a high-resolution resolution that can be read by the image reading device,
7. The image input method according to claim 5, wherein if the image is not specified as high quality, the resolution is changed to a low resolution resolution readable by the image reading device. 9. A storage medium storing the image input method according to claim 5 as a program.