Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Size – resolution – or scale control
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-09
2001-01-09
Coles, Edward L. (Department: 2722)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Size, resolution, or scale control
C358S001180, C358S448000, C358S453000, C358S538000, C345S440000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06172766
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus for processing an image in accordance with an attribute of a drawing object, and to a storage medium which stores program codes realizing such a method.
2. Related Background Art
An example of the structure of a conventional image processing apparatus is shown in FIG.
9
. Reference numeral
801
represents a printer driver, and reference numeral
802
represents a rasterizer for rasterizing a drawing object generated by an application program and received from a system. Reference numeral
803
represents an image buffer used for configuring a print image of a rasterized drawing object. Reference numeral
804
represents a color conversion unit for converting a logical color of the contents in the image buffer into a physical color to be printed out with a printer. Reference numeral
805
represents a dot pattern coding unit for converting color converted data into a print dot pattern to be printed with the printer and coding the print dot pattern. Reference numeral
806
represents a printer command addition unit for adding a command to the dot pattern code to allow the printer to receive the dot pattern code.
In the apparatus shown in
FIG. 9
, the printer resolution is sufficiently higher than that of the rasterized image, and each rasterized pixel is expressed by a plurality of print dots. Each pixel can therefore have a broad color expression.
Data generated by various applications are constituted of a plurality of drawing objects in one page. Each object has one of the following attributes:
i) Image;
ii) Graphics;
iii) Text.
In each page, each drawing object is rendered at the same resolution. Means for the rendering (color conversion process, rendering resolution, and dot pattern formation) is designed to balance all object attributes.
The above conventional apparatus has been found, however, unsatisfactory in the following points:
(1) If the whole area of a page is rasterized at a high resolution in order to maintain a high grade of a text, it takes a long time to perform a color conversion process in the rasterizing process, and a use amount of a memory increases.
(2) A density pattern method is known as a method for efficiently utilizing a resolution of a printer. With this method, a plurality of dots are processed by dividing them into groups so that a gradation representation performance can be improved. However, if the rasterizing resolution is lowered, the qualities of graphics and texts are considerably degraded although images are less affected. Specifically, there are two types of drawing objects, one (text, graphics) giving prominence to a resolution and the other giving prominence to a gradation (color representation).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to form an output image of a high quality by processing an image in accordance with the attribute of each drawing object.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention achieving the above object, an image processing method for developing a drawing object, converting the drawing object into a code representative of a pattern for each set of a plurality of dots, and outputting the code to an output device, is provided, the method comprising the steps of: judging whether the drawing object is a resolution prominent object; developing a drawing object which is not the resolution prominent object at a first resolution to convert into the code; developing the resolution prominent object at a second resolution higher than the first resolution; deriving an edge portion from an image developed at the second resolution, for each of blocks constituted of the plurality of dots, and converting the edge portion into an edge pattern code for each set of the plurality of dots; and outputting the code and the edge pattern code to the output device.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5832184 (1998-11-01), Konno et al.
patent: 5940080 (1999-08-01), Ruehle et al.
patent: 6025927 (2000-02-01), Honma
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Coles Edward L.
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Wallerson Mark
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