JPS6356762A - Image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute the inverting processing without an error even when an inverting designating area is overlapped by detecting the presence and absence of overlapping of the inverting designating area, and preventing processing of re-inverting concerning the overlapped part. CONSTITUTION:First, the presence and absence of the overlapping an inverting designating area 2a set at the outer circumference of a body face 1 of a character A and an inverting designating area 1b set at the outer circumference of the body face 1 of a character B are detected. The detection is obtained by deciding whether or not the relation of a P4+P3'>L is established to a width P4 of the right direction of the area 2a, a with P3' of the left direction of the area 2b and an interval L of both body interfaces. When it is decided that the inverting designating area is overlapped, P4 is changed to L and P3' is changed to '0'. After processing in such a way in the upper and lower directions, the inverting processing is executed, then, the inverting designating area is never overlapping, and therefore, the erroneous inverting processing is not executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Commercial Application] The present invention relates to an image processing method for supplying an image signal converted into a digitized image via a bitmap memory to a printing section of a blinker or a screen of a display device.

- Prior Art For example, in a word processor, drawn images such as documents and drawings are displayed on a display device such as a cathode ray tube display, and an operator performs various processes and edits on the images to be transferred to a recording device. Work is underway to print it out.

The signal processing inside this device uses code data that is a combination of codes corresponding to characters and figures.

Then, this code data is converted and image data is sent to a display device or a recording device.

Normally, the number of recording pixels of a recording device is several times larger than the number of display pixels of a display device, so recording signals are created and processed separately from display signals. For example, for each line,
Image data for recording is formed from the code data corresponding to the characters, etc., and sent to the recording section of the recording device. In this way, it has been common practice to form recording image data for each section of the image to be recorded and to repeatedly send it to the recording section.

However, in recent years, bitmap memories have come to be manufactured and sold at a practical price, and bitmap memories are prepared on the recording device side, and code data is received from the host side such as a word processor, and the recording device side receives code data from the host side such as a word processor. It has become possible to create image data. Furthermore, if this bitmap memory is made to have a large capacity corresponding to one page of a recorded image, it becomes possible to form and edit various complex images bit by bit for the entire screen.

However, in this case, in reality, complicated processing is required in which various image data are formed from a large amount of code data, and further processing and editing are performed on the data. Furthermore, while it is possible to provide many functions that could not be performed with conventional recording devices, it is not allowed to impair the high speed of its processing.

At present, individual specific methods of image processing using such a bitmap memory have not yet been sufficiently developed.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" Here, we will consider a case where an image corresponding to a character is written on a bitmap memory and an area of a constant width around it is inverted.

FIG. 7 illustrates this state.

FIG. 7a shows an example of inverting the frame-shaped parts 2a to 2C on the outer periphery of the body phene 1 of characters rAJ, rBJ, and rCJ from white bits to black bits.

Here, when such reversal processing is executed at around j for each frame, the character spacing becomes close and the reversal designated areas 2a to 2c overlap, as shown in Figure 7. A problem arises.

That is, first, the inversion designated area 2a is inverted,
Next, when the next reverse specified area 2b is reversed, the two reverse designated areas 2a and 2b overlap, and 2ab is double reversed, and as a result, the state returns to the state where no reverse process was performed. It turns out.

The present invention has been made with the above points in mind, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image processing method that can smoothly perform error-free reversal processing even when reversal designated areas overlap. be.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The image processing method of the present invention is for forming an image corresponding to a recorded image by supplying an image signal to a bitmap memory, in which a plurality of inversion designations on the bitmap memory are performed. The present invention is characterized in that it detects whether or not a part of the area overlaps, and performs re-inversion prevention processing on the overlapping area.

As described above, by detecting overlaps in the designated areas to be reversed in advance before performing the reversal process, and performing re-inversion prevention processing on those areas, all the designated reversal areas can be reliably reversed. can be processed.

Embodiment" (Schematic configuration of apparatus) Hereinafter, a detailed explanation will be given taking as an example the case where the present invention is applied to a laser beam printer.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the laser beam printer.

This apparatus is comprised of an image supply device 21, a recording section 22, a power source 23 for driving these, and a panel 24 through which an operator manually issues recording operation instructions.

The image supply device 21 includes a host interface (1/F)'J connection terminal 26 for receiving signals for recording a predetermined image from a host computer, etc., and a LAN connection for connecting to a local area network, etc. A terminal 27 is provided.

The recording unit 22 is a device that records an image corresponding to an image signal on a recording paper 29, and receives an image signal 31 and an operation command 34 from the image supply device 21, and also receives a synchronization pulse 32 for recording operation. and a status signal 33 are output to the image supply device 21.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of essential parts of the recording section 22 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG.

Here, the laser beam 52 emitted from the laser oscillator 51 passes through a polarizer 53 , a laser beam modifier 54 , and a polarizer 55 , is reflected by a polygon mirror 56 , passes through a lens 57 , and passes through the outer periphery of a photosensitive drum 58 . reach the surface. Second
An image signal 31 (bit stream) from the image supply device 21 shown in the figure is inputted from a terminal 61 to the laser beam modulator 54, and the polarization plane of the laser beam passing through the modulator 54 is converted into an image signal by, for example, an electro-optic effect. Rotate the fields accordingly.

By this so-called electric shutter action, the black and white binary image signal is converted into an optical on/off signal for a laser beam, and the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 58 is irradiated with the optical on/off signal. The polygon mirror 56 is rotated at a constant speed by a motor 62, and after reflecting the laser beam 52, it is caused to scan in the direction of an arrow 63 (this direction is referred to as the main scanning direction). That is, while the image signal for one line is converted into an optical bit string and irradiated in a direction parallel to the rotation axis 64 of the photosensitive drum 58, the photosensitive drum 58 is moved in the direction of the arrow 65 (this direction is referred to as the sub-scanning direction). Rotate to.

In this way, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be recorded is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 58.

This electrostatic latent image passes through a developing device 66 as the photosensitive drum 58 rotates in the direction of an arrow 65. Here, toner is deposited in accordance with the electrostatic latent image. When the recording paper 29 is fed in the direction of the arrow 68 by a recording paper transport mechanism (not shown), the toner attached to the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 58 is transferred onto the recording paper 29 by the action of the transfer device 690. The recording paper 29 is further fed in the direction of the arrow 68 and subjected to processes such as fixing to obtain a recorded matter.

Note that the laser beam 52 is scanned in the direction of the arrow 63 with a width exceeding both ends of the photosensitive drum 580. Therefore, the transfer timing of the image signal 31 is determined by detection pulses that detect the passage of the laser beam from the scan start sensor 71 and the scan end sensor 72.

The specific configuration of the image supply device 21 shown in FIG. 2 is shown in a block diagram in FIG.

This circuit connects a microprocessor (CPU) 37 connected to a CPU bus 36 and an interface (
1/F) 38-40, memories 41-44, and control blocks 46-49.

The interface includes a control I/F38 and a panel I/F38.
There are F39 and recording section 1/F40.

The control I/F 38 is a circuit that receives code data manually input from a host computer (not shown) in accordance with, for example, the RS 232C standard. Further, the panel 1/F 39 is a circuit that relays an instruction signal 39a manually input from the panel 24 (FIG. 2) operated by the operator. And the recording section r
/F40 is a circuit that relays signals such as those explained in FIG. 2, which are exchanged between the image supply device 21 and the recording section 22.

The memory includes a character button memory 41, a bitmap memory 42, and a random access memory (RAM).
43 and a program memory 44. The character stamp memory 41 is a so-called font memory, and is a circuit that, when a character code 41a is entered manually, outputs a corresponding character stamp or graphic stamp 41b. The bitmap memory 42 is a circuit that stores, for example, one page of an image to be recorded on the recording paper 29 in the recording section 22 (FIG. 2) in a bitmap format.

The random access memory 43 stores various data for the operation of the microprocessor 37 and the control I/F 38.
This circuit is used to store code data manually input from the computer. Furthermore, the program memory 44 is a circuit that stores programs for the operation of the microprocessor 37.

ill? As a wholesale block, image handler 46
, a memory controller 47, a parallel I/O controller (PIO) 48, and a DMA controller (
DMAC) 49 is available. Image handler 46 is a circuit that generates an image to be written to bitmap memory 42. The memory controller 47 is a circuit that controls access timing and addresses to the bitmap memory 42.

The PIO 48 is a circuit that performs IO control to send parallel data manually input from the outside to the CPU bus 36 from an input/output terminal (not shown). The DMAC 49 is a known direct memory access control circuit, and is a circuit for controlling data transfer.

The controller B45 is composed of the CPl] 37, the RAM 43, the program memory 44, the PIO 48, and the DMAC 49, and outputs the character bang 41b from the character bang memory 41 and generates various images in the image handler 46. control, processing, and writing into the bitmap memory 42. The controller unit 45 also transmits an image signal corresponding to the recorded image from the bitmap memory 42 to the recording unit 22 via the recording unit I/F 40.
(Fig. 2). The image handler 46 receives this command and performs the transfer process.

(Writing of character images) First, code data is input from the host computer, word processor, etc. via the control 1/F 38 (FIG. 4). This code data also includes code data corresponding to the elf format (page orientation). The CPlj 37 (FIG. 4) decodes this code data, creates an intermediate code suitable for image format processing, and stores it in the RAM 43 (FIG. 4).

If this intermediate code is, for example, a character code, that is, text data, it is composed of codes indicating its writing position coordinates, vertical and horizontal sizes, font memory address, presence or absence of decoration, and the like. When performing inversion processing around characters,
This intermediate code includes a reversal instruction.

The CPU 37 (FIG. 4) reads this intermediate code, activates the image handler 46, and writes the image onto the bitmap memory 42 while controlling the write address using the memory controller 47.

(Reversal processing) Here, when performing reversal processing on the designated reversal area,
The image handler 46 (FIG. 4) performs processing using a circuit as shown in FIG. 5, for example. That is, the image handler 46 performs read-modify-write access to the bitmap memory 42, reads out the signal 42a corresponding to the inversion designated area, and executes the exclusive OR game) 46a.
Perform rewriting through .

The contents of the reversal instruction signal 46b when a reversal instruction is given are “
1" and "0" otherwise, the inversion process is executed as shown in the following table.

Table (Detection and Processing of Overlapping Specified Reverse Areas) FIG. 6 shows a conceptual diagram of characters to be processed and images around them.

Further, FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of the processing flow of the present invention.

In FIG. 6a, on the outer periphery of the body face 1 of the character rAJ, there is an inversion designation area 2a with a width of P1 bits above, P2 bits below, P3 bits on the left, and P4 bits on the right.
is set. In addition, on the outer periphery of the body face 1 of the letter rBJ, there is a P1 bit on the top, a P2 bit on the bottom,
An inversion designation area 2b with a width of D 3 /bit on the left and P4' bit on the right is set.

Here, the distance between the body face of the character rAJ and the body face of the character rBJ is "L", and L<P4+P3
The reversal designation areas 2a and 2b partially overlap each other due to the relationship '.

Here, in the flowchart of FIG. 1, first, it is detected whether or not the reversal designated areas 2a12b overlap. this is,
This is performed by determining whether the relationship P4+P3'>L holds true (step 2).

If the designated areas to be reversed do not overlap, no special processing is necessary, and the process proceeds to another step (step ■).

In addition, if it is determined that there is an overlap of the inversion designated areas, P
4 is changed to "L" and P3' is changed to 0" (step ■). As a result, as shown in FIG.
The width of the character rBJ widens to the right, and the left side of the inversion designation area 2b' on the outer periphery of the body face of the character rBJ is completely cut off.

Furthermore, such inversion designated areas may overlap in the vertical direction as well. Therefore, in the flowchart of FIG. 1, the upper width PM of the inversion designation area for other characters (not shown) is determined, and this is compared with the distance M between that character and the character of FIG. , ■, and ■ are performed (steps ■, ■, ■).

When the reversal designated areas 2a/, 2b' are newly set by the above process and the reversal process is performed on them, the reversal designated areas do not overlap at all, so erroneous reversal processing will not be performed by re-inverting. It disappears.

"Variation" The image processing method of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

When the reversal designated areas overlap, one of them may be reduced by the amount of overlap and the other may be left as is, or the overlap may be detected after reversal processing, and re-inversion processing may be performed on the reversed portion.

1''Effects of the Invention'' According to the image processing method of the present invention described above, even when the reversal designated areas overlap, the reversal process can be performed without error.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the image processing method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of a laser beam printer to which this is applied, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main part of the recording section, and FIG. The figure shows a detailed block diagram of the image supply device.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a circuit for inversion processing, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of an image for explaining the image processing method of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the overlapping of designated areas for reversal. 1...Character body face, 2a, 2b
, 2a', 2b...Reverse designated area. Applicant: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. Representative
Patent Attorney Ume Yu Yamauchi 1st
Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an apparatus that supplies an image signal to a bitmap memory to form an image corresponding to a recorded image, the presence or absence of overlap in some areas of a plurality of inversion specified areas on the bitmap memory is detected, and this overlap is detected. Regarding the part
An image processing method characterized by performing re-inversion prevention processing.