JPH0787305A - Image processing apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] When performing image scaling or resolution conversion,
It is possible to reduce the number of dots output. [Structure] When the main control unit 1 develops an original image to be printed on the memory 4 and prints it by the recording unit 2, if the recording resolution Pprn of the recording unit 2 is higher than the resolution Ppix of the original image, Pprn / Subtract Ppix to get j / n. Then, the original image is processed in units of n lines. At this time, the number of black pixels in each of the n lines is counted, and the larger the counted value is, the smaller the repeated output number is (the smaller the counted value is, the larger the repeated output number is). Output.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method,
More specifically, the present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and method for scaling original image data or changing resolution.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a printing apparatus or a facsimile apparatus having a printing mechanism for recording an image by scanning a recording head, a difference between the resolution of an input (received) image and the resolution of the recording head. In some cases, the input image itself is subjected to interpolation processing and thinning-out processing, and the image is recorded.

As the interpolation processing, generally, the same data is repeatedly output in accordance with the resolution ratio to print with the intended size and high resolution. It is also calculated from the data before and after.

The same processing is used when the original image is enlarged and output.

[0005]

However, some users have a desire to prioritize the running cost of the facsimile apparatus over the image quality, and a more economical recording operation is required.

Particularly, in the case of a facsimile apparatus having an ink jet type recording section, the amount of ink used is suppressed,
It is required to consider the fixability of the ink such as "bleeding" and "stickiness".

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an image that can suppress the number of dots to be output when performing image scaling or resolution conversion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus and method.

In order to solve this problem, the image processing apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in order to change the original image data by a predetermined ratio or change the resolution, an image processing apparatus that increases or decreases the number of dot components of the original image data according to the ratio and outputs the original image data is the original image data. Counting means for counting the number of significant dots in each line of the number of lines determined by the ratio in the image data, and detecting means for detecting the order of the number of significant dots in each line counted by the counting means, According to the order of magnitude of the ratio and the number of significant dots detected by the detection means, a calculation means for calculating the number of repetitions of each line, and individual line data of each line, the number of repetitions calculated by the calculation means. And output means for outputting according to.

Further, the image processing method of the present invention comprises the following steps. That is, in order to change the original image data by a predetermined ratio or change the resolution, an image processing method for increasing or decreasing the number of dots of the original image data according to the ratio and outputting the original image data is performed. The step of counting the number of significant dots in each line of the number of lines determined by the ratio in the image data, the step of detecting the order of the number of significant dots in each counted line, the ratio and the detected The method includes a step of calculating the number of repetitions of each line according to the order of the number of significant dots, and a step of outputting individual line data of each line according to the calculated number of repetitions.

[0010]

In the construction or process of the present invention, when the original image is scaled or its resolution is converted in accordance with a predetermined ratio, significant dots of each line in the number of lines determined by the ratio in the original image. Count the number. Then, the number of times of repeated output of each line is determined in accordance with the order and the ratio according to the counted number of significant dots, and the data of each line is output according to the determined number of repeated times.

[0011]

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

[Description of Apparatus Configuration] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a main control unit 1, which includes a microprocessor, a ROM storing the processing procedures (programs, etc.) shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, and a RAM used as a work area. And controls the entire facsimile machine. Reference numeral 2 denotes an inkjet type recording unit, the configuration of which is as shown in FIG. 7, and details will be described later. Reference numeral 3 is a reading unit for reading an original image, which is a CCD
It is composed of an image sensor, a document feeding mechanism, an image processing device, and the like, and optically reads a document, converts it into electrical image data, and further performs various correction processes to output high-definition image data. 4 is a memory, DRAM
Also, it is composed of an SRAM or the like, and is used to store image data output from the reading unit 3 and a buffer area used at the time of conversion processing, and further to store various information input by the user from the operation unit 6.

Reference numeral 5 is a display unit composed of an LCD, an LED and the like, and displays various information such as the current time. 6
Is an operation unit equipped with various operation keys, and is used when the user inputs various information (telephone number of the other party, transmission instruction, etc.). An external input / output unit 7 is composed of a serial input / output interface LSI, a parallel input / output interface LSI, and the like. Here, electronic computer 1
0 or the like can be connected, in order to input a control command of the facsimile machine, output a status notification of the facsimile machine to the electronic computer 10, and to capture and transmit the edited image sent from the electronic computer 10, or It is used when the transmitted image is transferred to the electronic computer 10 for editing.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a communication control unit, which is composed of an NCU, a modem, etc., and connects / disconnects the line 9 and a facsimile device, and transmits / receives image data to / from a partner communication device.

FIG. 7 shows a concrete structure of the recording unit 2 in the embodiment.

In the figure, the spiral groove 500 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in association with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013.
The carriage HC engaging with 4 has a pin (not shown) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. An inkjet cartridge IJC is mounted on the carriage HC. In the present embodiment, the ink jet cartridge IJC is integrally configured with a recording head IJH and an ink tank IT for ejecting an ink droplet from an ejection port by causing a state change in ink by using thermal energy, and is provided in a carriage. He is a disposable type person who can attach and detach. A paper pressing plate 5002 presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage. 5007 and 5008 are photocouplers,
It is a home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 is a suction unit that sucks the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through the in-cap opening 5023. 5017 is a cleaning blade.
Reference numeral 019 denotes a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these members are supported by the main body support plate 5018. Needless to say, a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this example instead of this form. or,
Reference numeral 5012 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves in accordance with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is movement-controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. .

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that the desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the area on the home position side. As long as the desired operation is performed at the timing, any of the above can be applied to this example.

[Explanation of Higher Resolution] Next, an outline of the operation in the embodiment will be briefly described. In order to simplify the description of the embodiment, an example will be described in which the resolution is increased or enlarged in the sub-scanning direction (hereinafter, these actions are simply referred to as “increasing the resolution”), but it is clear from the following description. It is possible to process in the main scanning direction under the same principle.

Normally, when the resolution of an image (an image sent via the line 9 or an image sent from the electronic computer 10) is increased in the sub-scanning direction, interpolation lines are added between the lines in the image. It is necessary to insert data and increase the total number of lines.

For example, when outputting with double the resolution in the sub-scanning direction, the same line data as the data of the immediately preceding line is inserted between each line in the original image.

Further, for example, in order to increase the resolution by 5/3, it is necessary to generate data for 5 lines from data for 3 lines. That is, two lines of data are newly created in three lines of the original image.

As a simple process, for example, when the inputted data of each line is a, b, c, a, a,
The same number of lines may be repeatedly output from the beginning such as b, b, c (c line only once) to generate data for the target number of lines.

However, in an environment where there is a demand not to use a recording agent such as ink so much (in order to effectively use the recording agent, or to avoid the influence of ink droplet bleeding such as in an ink jet printer), , The above process does not solve anything.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, 5 /
When the resolution is increased to 3 times, the black pixel ratio (hereinafter, black ratio) of each of three lines is examined, and among them, the line having the smaller black ratio (the number of lines to be added) is determined as the line to be repeatedly used To do. Incidentally, the black pixel here is for convenience, and accurately means a pixel to be output.

Now, as shown in FIG. 8, line data a,
b, c, and the black rate (= the number of bits of BR = “1”) of each line is “BR (b)> BR (a)> as shown in the figure.
Consider the case where there is a relationship of “BR (c)”. At this time, if the number of lines (= 2) newly added for increasing the resolution is selected from the one having a low black ratio, it is understood that the lines a and c correspond to this.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the line data having a low black ratio is preferentially used repeatedly.

A specific operation processing procedure in the embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. In this case, the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit (recording head IJH) 2 is Rprm, and
The sub-scanning resolution of the image data stored in the memory 4 is Rp.
An example will be described in which ix (where Rpix <Rprn) is set, and one page of image data stored in the memory 4 is converted into high resolution and is recorded by the recording unit 2. Further, it is assumed that various variables shown below are secured in the RAM in the main control unit 1.

First, in step S1, Rprn / Rp
ix is reduced to obtain a unit output line number j and a unit input line number n that satisfy Rprn / Rpix = j / n, and the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is determined whether or not the resolution conversion processing has been completed for all the line data forming one page of the image data. If it is determined that the resolution conversion processing has been completed, this processing is terminated. If it is determined that the process is incomplete, the processes of steps S33 to S11 are repeated.

In step S3, it is determined whether or not there are n or more line data that have not undergone the high resolution conversion process. This determination is "no" at the final stage of the page to be output, and if it is in the middle, "yes", that is, the process proceeds to step S4.

When the process proceeds to step S4, n line data is obtained from the memory 4 in the buffer area (area (not shown in the RAM 4)), and the content of the variable k is set to n (the number of lines to be processed is n). Meaning to). That is, resolution conversion is performed in units of n lines. In addition, Rp first
The reason for reducing ix / Rprn is to minimize the number of lines required by this reduction.

Next, in step S5, "jk" is calculated to calculate the unit shortage line number m. The unit shortage number m means the number of lines to be added, in the words described above.

On the other hand, in step S3, if the number of line data that has not been subjected to the high resolution conversion processing is less than n, the process proceeds to step S6 to acquire the remaining data in the buffer area and acquire the acquired line. Variable k
To. In step S7, the number of unit shortage lines m that satisfies m = j'-k is calculated from the integer j'obtained by rounding jxk / n.

Thus, step S5 or step S7
Upon completion of the process of, the process proceeds to step S8.

In step S8, BR (i) (i = 1 ... K) is calculated for each black rate of the k lines developed in the buffer area in step S4 or step S6. Then, the process proceeds to step S9, and the order of smaller black ratio for each line is obtained as O (i). For example, when the black ratio of the data of the first line in the buffer area is the second smallest, O (1) = 2.

At step S10, the number of repeated outputs C (i) of each line is obtained from the variables m and O (i).

For example, in the case of FIG. 8, lines a, b,
If c is in the buffer area, line a is 2
Since the line b is output once and the line c is output twice, C (1) = 2, C (2) = 1, and C (3) = 2.

When the number of repetitions C (i) of each line in the buffer area is determined in this way, the process proceeds to step S11 and each line is repeated by the determined number of times in an output buffer area (not shown) for one recording head. The data is transferred to a memory area having a number of lines (the number of nozzles) recorded in the scanning motion or more, and the process returns to step S2. However, at this time, when the output buffer area is full, the nozzles are driven by the scanning movement of the recording head and recording to perform printing.

Incidentally, for example, the number of nozzles of the recording head is 128.
Therefore, if the resolution is increased to 5/3 times as described above, the output line data will be expanded into the output buffer area in units of 5 lines. Therefore, the 126th to 128th
When the data of the second nozzle is developed, the data for two lines printed by the next scanning movement of the print head is developed at this point. For this reason, it is necessary to prepare an area for the output buffer area that is larger than one scan of the print head, but it is desirable to secure a memory capacity for two scans in order to simplify the design.

In the above processing, the flow chart of FIG. 3 shows the processing contents for obtaining the output count of each line in step S10. This will be described below.

First, in step S12, the unit shortage line number m calculated in step S5 or step S7 of FIG. 2 is divided by the number k of buffered lines in step S4 or step S6 of FIG. r
Ask for.

Next, in step S13, i = 1 to 1
The number of repetitions of all line data of k is C (i) =
Set to q + 1.

That is, when the resolution is increased to 5/3 times, the number m of unit shortage lines becomes "2", the quotient q becomes "0", and the remainder r becomes "2". The output counts C (i) (i = 1 ... K) of each line are all "1". When the resolution is increased to 7/3 times, the number of outputs of each line becomes "2" by the above processing.

Now, in the next step S14, the allocation based on the remainder r is performed. Specifically, the r number of repetitions C (i) is incremented by "1" from the line having the smallest order O (i) of the lines obtained above.

According to the procedure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment preferentially sets the sub-scanning resolution such as the image data stored in the memory 4 of FIG. 1 to the line data having a low black rate. By selecting and doubling, it is possible to increase the resolution while suppressing the amount of ink used.

[Explanation of Process for Lowering Resolution] The above process is as follows.
The resolution enhancement processing in the sub-scanning direction was described below, but the resolution reduction processing or image reduction processing (hereinafter, these actions are referred to as resolution reduction) will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of resolution reduction in the embodiment. Here, the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit 2 in FIG. 1 is Rprm, and the sub-scanning resolution of the image data stored in the memory 4 in FIG. 1 is Rpix (where Rpix> Rprn), and the sub-scanning resolution is stored in the memory 4. An example will be described in which one page of image data is converted into low resolution and is recorded by the recording unit 2.

First, in step S15, Rprn
/ Rpix is reduced, and the number of unit input lines j and the number of unit output lines n satisfying Rprn / Rpix = j / n
Is obtained and the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, it is determined whether or not the resolution reduction processing has been completed for all the line data forming one page of the image data. If it is determined that the processing has been completed, this processing ends. If it is determined that the process is incomplete, the process of step S17 and subsequent steps is advanced.

In step S17, it is determined whether or not there are n or more line data that have not undergone the low resolution conversion process. This meaning is the same as the resolution enhancement described above.

When it is determined that there are n or more unprocessed line data, the process proceeds to step S18, n line data are expanded in the buffer area, and k = n. Next, in step S19, the unit surplus line number m (the number of thinned lines) that satisfies m = k−j is calculated.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S17 that the number of line data that has not been subjected to the low resolution conversion processing is less than n, then step S20 and step S20.
Proceed to 21.

In step S20, all unprocessed line data are buffered, and the number of lines is set to k. Next, in step S21, the number of unit surplus lines m satisfying m = k−j ′ is calculated from the integer j ′ obtained by rounding j × k / n. When the processing of step S19 or step S21 is completed, step S2
Go to 2.

When the process proceeds to step S22, k buffered in step S18 or step S20 is stored.
For the line data of the book, the black run lengths BR (i) (i = 1
… Find k).

Next, in step S23, the order O (i) of each line data is obtained from the magnitude relation of the black rate BR (i) of each line data of i = 1 to k obtained in step S22. , And proceeds to step S24.

In step S24, the order O (i) obtained in step S23 among the lines of i = 1 to k buffered in step S18 or step S20.
The number of repetitions C (i) of m lines from the largest line (having many black pixels) is set to 0, and the number of repetitions of the other lines is set to "1".

Finally, in step S25, k buffered in step S18 or step S20 is stored.
The line data of the book are sequentially transferred from the head (i = 1) to the output buffer area by the number of repetitions C (i), and the process returns to step S16. At this time, when the data for one scan of the inkjet head is accumulated in the output buffer area, the recording process is the same as the resolution increasing process.

By the above processing, the facsimile apparatus of the embodiment thins out the sub-scanning resolution of the image data and the like stored in the memory 4 of FIG. The resolution is converted into a low resolution in accordance with the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit 2 in FIG. 1 having a resolution lower than that of the image data, and the converted data is output to the recording unit 2 to perform printing with a reduced ink usage amount.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the overall operation of the embodiment. Also in this case, the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit 2 is Rprn, the sub-scanning resolution of the image data stored in the memory 4 is Rpix (including Rpix = Rprn), and the enlargement / reduction rate rate at the time of recording is previously set by the user. Will be described by way of example when is set from the operation unit 6 in FIG.

First, in step S26, the sub-scanning resolution of the recording section 2 in FIG. 1 is multiplied by Rprn and a preset enlargement / reduction rate rate for recording to obtain a pseudo sub-scanning resolution R'prn of the recording section. Ask for.

Next, in step S27, the pseudo sub-scanning resolution R'prn and the sub-scanning resolution Rpi of the image data are set.
Compare x. If R'prn <Rpix is true, the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S28, the pseudo sub-scanning resolution R'prn is set to the sub-scanning resolution Rprn of the recording unit 2 in FIG.
Instead of n, the low resolution conversion processing shown in FIG. 4 is performed, and the pseudo resolution conversion processing ends.

On the other hand, if R'prn <Rpix is false,
It proceeds to step S29. In step S29, the pseudo sub-scanning resolution R'prn is replaced with the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit 2 in FIG. 1 by Rprn, the high resolution processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed, and the pseudo resolution conversion processing ends.

By the above step S shown in FIG. 5, the facsimile apparatus sets the sub-scanning resolution of the image data or the like stored in the memory 4 of FIG.
Then, the resolution is converted according to the sub-scanning resolution of the recording unit 2 in FIG. 1 and output to the recording unit 2, and enlargement / equal magnification / reduction printing is performed with the ink usage amount suppressed.

[Description of Other Embodiments] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of another embodiment relating to the processing for obtaining the number of repetitions of each line in FIG.

First, in step S30, m calculated in step S5 or step S7 of FIG.
The quotient q (q> 0) and the remainder r are obtained by dividing the number of lines buffered in step S4 or step S6 of k.

Next, in step S31, i = 1 to 1
The number of repetitions of all line data of k is C (i) =
q + 1 is set, and the process proceeds to step S32.

In step S32, the remainder r of m / k
Is negative (q> 0, the remainder r is negative in the case of resolution reduction), and the process proceeds to step S33.

In step S33, the number of repetitions C (i) of the absolute value | r | of r is reduced by 1 from the line data with the largest order O (i) among the line data of i = 1 to k.

On the other hand, if the remainder r of m / k is positive in step S32, the process proceeds to step S34.

In step S34, among the line data of i = 1 to k, the number of repetitions C (i) of r lines is incremented by 1 from the smallest order O (i).

A detailed portion of step S10 in FIG. 2 is shown in FIG.
If the procedure shown in FIG. 6 is changed to the procedure shown in FIG. 6, the same effect as the resolution conversion shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained without changing the flowchart of the high resolution conversion shown in FIG. Further, due to the above change, step S27 in FIG.
Even if the step S28 is deleted and the process of pseudo resolution conversion is simplified so that the process proceeds to step S29 after step S26, it is possible to realize enlargement / equal / reduced printing with reduced ink usage. The ROM capacity can be reduced as compared with the above embodiment.

In step S11 of FIG. 2, instead of recording each line data by the number of repetitions C (i),
It is effective for an all-black image etc. if the line data of all white is changed to C (i) -1 line (where C (i)> 0) is recorded each time each line data is recorded once. It is possible to realize enlargement / equal size / reduced printing with extremely small ink consumption.

Further, although the above embodiment has been described by taking the high resolution or the low resolution in the sub-scanning direction as an example, it goes without saying that the same principle can be applied to the main scanning direction.

In this case, as a processing unit, the black ratio for each column (vertical direction) in the original image data may be checked, and further, only the number of nozzles of the recording head may be focused on for processing. good.

Further, in the embodiment, the example in which the printing is performed while the recording head is scanningly moved has been described, but the invention can be applied to the case where the nozzles corresponding to the width of the recording paper are arranged side by side in advance. still,
In the above-described embodiments, the inkjet recording apparatus which forms recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy among the inkjet recording methods has been described as an example. , For example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796.
Preference is given to carrying out using the basic principles disclosed in U.S. Pat. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it is arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying at least one drive signal which gives a rapid temperature rise exceeding each boiling corresponding to the recorded information to the electrothermal converter, thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal converter, and This is effective because film boiling is caused on the heat acting surface, and as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) that correspond one-to-one to this drive signal. The growth of this bubble,
The contraction causes the liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make this drive signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be immediately and appropriately grown and contracted, so that liquid (ink) ejection with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved.

As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. still,
If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the temperature information rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed. As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the straight liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, the thermal action U.S. Pat. No. 4, which discloses a configuration in which the portion is located in the region of flexion
A configuration using the specification of 558333 and the specification of US Pat. No. 4,559,600 may be used.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-123670 discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure wave of thermal energy is absorbed. A configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461, which starts the configuration in which the opening corresponds to the ejection portion, may be adopted. Furthermore, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording device, the length is satisfied by the combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either the structure or the structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used.

In addition, by being attached to the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be replaced with a replaceable chip type recording head that enables ink supply from the apparatus main body or the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge-type recording head provided with an ink tank is used. Further, it is preferable to add recovery means, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. to the recording head because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specific examples of these are capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suctioning means for the recording head, an electrothermal converter, or separately a preheating means by a heating element or a combination thereof, and recording. It is also effective to perform a stable recording by performing a preliminary discharge mode in which another discharge is performed.

In the present embodiment described above, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens at room temperature, or a liquid, or the above-mentioned. In the inkjet method, since the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower, the temperature of the ink is controlled so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Any liquid may be used as long as the ink is liquid.

In addition, it is possible to prevent the temperature rise by positively using the heat energy as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to solidify the ink in a standing state for the purpose of preventing evaporation of the ink. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the thermal energy according to the recording signal and ejected as a liquid ink, or when the ink reaches the recording medium, it already begins to solidify, etc. It is also possible to use an ink that has the property of being liquid for the first time by heat energy as described above. In such a case, the ink is retained as a liquid or a solid in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. In this state, the electrothermal converter may be opposed to the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective method for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the recording device, in addition to one provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor and a computer,
It may be in the form of a copying machine combined with a reader or the like, or a facsimile machine having a transmission / reception function. Further, the present invention is applicable not only to the inkjet system utilizing thermal energy but also to the inkjet system requiring a piezo element or the like.

Further, not limited to the ink jet printer,
It can be applied to other printing methods such as thermal transfer and laser beam methods. If the thermal transfer recording method is applied, it is possible to reduce the power consumption because the rate of driving the heat generating resistance element is smaller, and in the case of the laser beam printer, it is possible to reduce the toner consumption amount. Will.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, an example of recording with a black single color has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any color may be used, and of course, in a color printer, the above processing is performed for each color component. May be.

Further, in the embodiment, an example in which the printing unit in the facsimile apparatus is adapted has been described, but from the point of the gist of the present invention, it is possible to perform the above processing on the host computer, for example. It goes without saying that it can be applied as an independent device interposed between the printer and the printer.

Therefore, the present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. The present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0088]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the number of dots to be output when performing image scaling or resolution conversion.

[0089]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of a resolution increasing process in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a detailed flowchart of the contents of step S10 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the details of the resolution reduction processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall processing contents related to the printing processing in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of determining the number of repetitions in another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of an inkjet printer to which an embodiment is applied.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of resolution enhancement processing in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 main control unit 2 recording unit 3 reading unit 4 memory 5 display unit 6 operation unit 7 external output unit 8 communication control unit 9 line 10 electronic calculator

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. The original image data is scaled by a predetermined ratio or the number of dots of the original image data is increased or decreased according to the ratio in order to change the resolution.
An image processing apparatus for outputting, the counting means for counting the number of significant dots in each line of the number of lines determined by the ratio in the original image data, and the number of significant dots in each line counted by the counting means. Detecting means for detecting the order of magnitude, according to the order of magnitude of the significant dots detected by the ratio and the detecting means, calculating means for calculating the number of repetitions of each line, and individual line data of each line And an output unit that outputs the output according to the number of repetitions calculated by the calculation unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lines include either horizontal lines or vertical lines of the original image data, or both. 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit preferentially reduces the number of times of repeating a line having a large number of significant dots. 4. The original image data is scaled by a predetermined ratio or the number of dots of the original image data is increased or decreased according to the ratio in order to change the resolution.
An image processing method for outputting, the step of counting the number of significant dots in each line of the number of lines determined by the ratio in the original image data, and the order of magnitude of the number of significant dots in each counted line. According to the step of detecting and the order of magnitude of the ratio and the number of detected significant dots,
An image processing method comprising: a step of calculating the number of repetitions of each line; and a step of outputting individual line data of each line according to the calculated number of repetitions. 5. The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein the line includes either a horizontal line or a vertical line of the original image data, or both. 6. The image processing method according to claim 4, wherein the calculation step preferentially reduces the number of times of repeating a line having a large number of significant dots.