Image Processing Apparatus That Reduces Memory Capacity for Aggregating Plurality of Document Images in One Sheet

• US 20150172508A1
• Filed: 12/17/2014
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions, Inc. (Kyocera Corporation)
• Inventors: Kimura, Kouichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,692,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/19 using multi-element arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/2104 for one or a few pictures
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/41 Bandwidth or redundancy reduction by scanning H04N1/17 ; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0081 Image reader H04N2201/0091 - H04N2201/0094 take precedence

Abstract

An image processing apparatus includes an image compressing unit, and a print-data generating unit. The image compressing unit divides the image of one page'"'"'s worth of the document into each band region by a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction and sets a rectangular region by a further division of each band region by a predetermined width in the main-scanning direction to generate rectangular compressed data. When the print-data generating unit generates the print data where a plurality of pages of document image are aggregated in one sheet, and an region in which the image does not exist occurs in a last page after the aggregation, the storing control unit complements the region in which the image does not exist in the rectangular compressed data storage unit using the white image data stored in the white image data storage unit.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus, comprising:

an image reading unit that includes a plurality of imaging elements disposed in a main-scanning direction and reads an image of one sheet'"'"'s worth of a document while moving in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main-scanning direction;

an image compressing unit that divides the image of one page'"'"'s worth of the document read by the image reading unit into each of band regions by a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction and sets a rectangular region by a further division of each band region by a predetermined width in the main-scanning direction to generate rectangular compressed data by the compression of each rectangular region using a predetermined method;

a rectangular compressed data storage unit storing the rectangular compressed data;

a storing control unit that causes the rectangular compressed data to be stored in a corresponding region in the rectangular compressed data storage unit;

a print-data generating unit that expands the rectangular compressed data stored in the rectangular compressed data storage unit to generate one sheet'"'"'s worth of print data; and

a white image data storage unit storing the white image data compressed in a predetermined compression format;

wherein

when the print-data generating unit generates the print data where a plurality of pages of document image are aggregated in one sheet, and a region in which the image does not exist occurs in a last page after the aggregation, the storing control unit complements the region in which the image does not exist in the rectangular compressed data storage unit using the white image data stored in the white image data storage unit.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a white image data generating unit that generates white image data having a predetermined number of different kinds of quality and sample rate in a size of the rectangular region and compresses the white image data using the predetermined method;

wherein

the white image data storage unit stores the white image data generated and compressed by the white image data generating unit.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a white image data change accepting unit that accepts a change of quality and sample rate of white image data generated by the white image data generating unit;

wherein

when the white image data change accepting unit accepts the change of the quality and sample rate, the white image data generating unit generates the white image data according to the quality and sample rate accepted by the white image data change accepting unit.

4. An image processing method, comprising:

reading an image of one sheet'"'"'s worth of a document while moving in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main-scanning direction using a plurality of imaging elements disposed in a main-scanning direction;

dividing the image of one page'"'"'s worth of the document read by the image reading unit into each of band regions by a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction and setting a rectangular region by a further division of each band region by a predetermined width in the main-scanning direction to generate rectangular compressed data by the compression of each rectangular region using a predetermined method;

storing the rectangular compressed data;

causing the rectangular compressed data to be stored in a corresponding region in the rectangular compressed data storage unit;

expanding the rectangular compressed data stored in the rectangular compressed data storage unit to generate one sheet'"'"'s worth of print data; and

storing the white image data compressed in a predetermined compression format;

wherein

when the expanding generates the print data where a plurality of pages of document image are aggregated in one sheet, and a region in which the image does not exist occurs in a last page after the aggregation, the causing the rectangular compressed data to be stored complements the region in which the image does not exist in the stored rectangular compressed data using the stored white image data.

5. A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing an image processing program for controlling an image processing apparatus, the image processing program causing the image processing apparatus to function as:

an image reading unit that includes a plurality of imaging elements disposed in a main-scanning direction and reads an image of one sheet'"'"'s worth of a document while moving in a sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main-scanning direction;

an image compressing unit that divides the image of one page'"'"'s worth of the document read by the image reading unit into each of band regions by a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction and sets a rectangular region by a further division of each band region by a predetermined width in the main-scanning direction to generate rectangular compressed data by the compression of each rectangular region using a predetermined method;

a rectangular compressed data storage unit storing the rectangular compressed data;

a storing control unit that causes the rectangular compressed data to be stored in a corresponding region in the rectangular compressed data storage unit;

a print-data generating unit that expands the rectangular compressed data stored in the rectangular compressed data storage unit to generate one sheet'"'"'s worth of print data; and

a white image data storage unit storing the white image data compressed in a predetermined compression format;

wherein

when the print-data generating unit generates the print data where a plurality of pages of document image are aggregated in one sheet, and a region in which the image does not exist occurs in a last page after the aggregation, the storing control unit complements the region in which the image does not exist in the rectangular compressed data storage unit using the white image data stored in the white image data storage unit.