Image analysis – Image transformation or preprocessing – Changing the image coordinates
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-23
2001-11-27
Boudreau, Leo (Department: 2721)
Image analysis
Image transformation or preprocessing
Changing the image coordinates
C382S173000, C382S279000, C358S525000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06324309
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatuses for use in scanners, digital copying machines, facsimiles, etc., designed for processing image data obtained by scanning a document image, the image data being composed of a plurality of regions (for example, character region, photographic region and screen region), each being represented by a plurality of pixels. The image processing apparatuses processes the image data with a pixel number transformation by performing an interpolation or a discrimination on a pixel and recognizing each region of the image data to process the image data according to each region so as to output a magnified or resolution-converted document image.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, image processing apparatuses have been known for processing an image of a mixed type of a line image region and an halftone image region by identifying a line image region and a halftone image region based on a feature amount of the image in a vicinity of a target pixel to be processed to process the image in the line image region in a different manner from the image in the halftone region.
The described image processing apparatuses are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No 137378/1989 (Tokukaihei 1-137378) which includes space filtering devices for space-filtering an image input in which a line image region and a tone image region are mixed; binarization devices for binarizing an output from the space filtering device, wherein a feature amount of an image in a vicinity of a target pixel to be processed is extracted so as to switch the space filtering device and the binarizing device based on the feature amount as being extracted, and the space filtering device and the binarizing device are switched based on the feature amount as extracted. Furthermore, according to the image processing device of the described publication, as shown in
FIG. 1
, of the described publication the device for binarizing the feature amount extraction data is switched to a multiplexer provided in a pre-stage.
However, the described image processing device does not take the variable magnification process of resolution conversion into consideration both in the device for extracting the feature amount and the device for altering the binarizing device based on the result of extraction of the feature amount. Namely, the image processing device is arranged so as to perform a predetermined image process irrespectively of the magnification factor or the resolution conversion factor.
Furthermore, the image processing apparatus cannot be applied to the processing of the image after the magnification process or the resolution conversion as the apparatus is not provided with a circuit for carrying out a magnification process or a resolution conversion process of feature extraction data. Therefore, in the described image processing apparatus, segmentation of the image data processed with the magnification process or the resolution conversion cannot be performed with high precision in consideration of the magnification factor or the resolution conversion factor. For the above reasons, the image processing apparatus has a drawback in that the filtering process of the binairizing process after the magnification or the resolution conversion are lowered, which causes a degrading of a quality of the resulting processed image.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus which permits an improved quality of an image by segmenting image data processed with a pixel number transforming process with high precision.
In order to achieve the above object, the image processing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including:
pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions each being represented by a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation by performing an interpolation or a decrimation on a pixel;
region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region a target pixel belongs to based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block composed of the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being considered to be the target pixel; and
region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation by performing an interpolation or a decrimation on the region decision value as extracted from the input image data.
According to the described arrangement, the region decision value transforming means processes the region decision value as extracted from the input image data by the region decision value extraction means by performing an interpolation or a decrimation on the region decision value, to obtain the region decision value of each pixel of the input image data processed with the pixel number transformation. As this permits the region segmentation image processing means to segment the image data into a plurality of regions as processed with the pixel number transformation with high precision, an optimal image process can be applied for each region (for example, filtering process, &ggr;-transformation, pseudo-halftone process, editing process and quantization-restoring process, etc.). Therefore, an improved quality of the image processed with the pixel number transformation process can be achieved.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention, reference should be made to the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
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Nakamura Masatsugu
Ohtsuki Masaaki
Tanimura Mihoko
Tokuyama Mitsuru
Boudreau Leo
Patel Kanji
Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
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