JP4914383B2 - Image processing apparatus and image storage method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image storage method, and more particularly to image processing that constitutes an image forming apparatus that is a digital multi-function peripheral (MFP) capable of storing image data in an image storage apparatus such as a hard disk. The present invention relates to an apparatus and an image storage method.

  Recent digital copying machines not only copy originals and distribute image data to an external PC via a network, but also read image data read by a scanner and image data input from an external PC via a network. Some have a function of accumulating in a large-capacity storage device such as a hard disk and reprinting or redistributing the accumulated image data.

  If the image data read by the scanner is 8-bit data of 600 dpi RGB signals, the data amount of the A3 size image is about 200 MByte, and the data amount becomes very large. For this reason, the image data is usually stored in the storage device after being subjected to compression processing such as JPEG. However, the compression rate of the stored image data cannot be increased so much that the image quality does not deteriorate when the image data is reprinted or redistributed. Therefore, if a large amount of images are to be stored, a large-capacity storage device is required, leading to an increase in cost. Conversely, if the capacity of the storage device is reduced, the free space of the storage device becomes insufficient as the number of stored images increases, so it is necessary to select and delete unnecessary images from the stored images There is a burden on the user. Also, once the stored image data is deleted, there is a possibility that if the user wants to reuse the image data at a later date, there is no original and the scanner cannot read it again.

  As a conventional technique related to a method for solving the above-described problem, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this conventional technique, a retention period of an image file recorded as attribute data of an image file is set, and when this retention period elapses, the image data is reduced in quality to reduce the data amount. This prior art also allows the user to select dot density (resolution), compression rate, and the like as processing contents for reducing the image quality during image accumulation.

As another conventional technique, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 2 is known. This prior art relates to a medical radiographic image filing device, and compresses and refils image data at a timing determined based on the elapsed time from the date of image capture, the search frequency of image data, and the like. That's it.
JP-A-8-212115 Japanese Patent No. 2838521

  The prior art described in Patent Document 1 described above requires the user to select a method for reducing the image quality for each image, and when a large amount of images are accumulated, the burden on the user becomes large. Create a point. In addition, this conventional technique provides a low image quality by a predetermined method (in the embodiment, a method for increasing the compression rate of JPEG compression) without the user selecting a method for reducing the image quality. When the conversion is performed, the image quality is greatly deteriorated depending on the type of the image, and the reusability of the stored image may be significantly impaired.

  The prior art described in Patent Document 2 described above can automatically determine the compression timing, but the only way to reduce the size of image data is to increase the compression rate. In a system in which various types of images are input as described above, as in the case of the prior art described in Patent Document 1, image quality degradation is increased depending on the type of image, and the reusability of stored images is increased. This may cause a problem that there is a case where the damage is significantly impaired.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and to achieve both the reusability of stored images and the securing of free space in the image storage device, and image storage. It is to provide a method.

In order to achieve the above object, a first means of the present invention is an image processing apparatus having an input means for inputting an image and a storage means for storing an image input by the input means. A storage control means for storing auxiliary information including the type of the image input means and the type of the document in the storage means together with the image , and an image which is the auxiliary information input by the input means based on the processing target image data information An image input means, an acquisition determination means for obtaining and determining the type of document from the storage means, and a processing means for reducing the amount of image data stored in the storage means, and the image data The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data to be processed stored in the storage means in the acquisition determination means at a predetermined timing and the corresponding attached data. If the type of input means that is the incidental information of the acquired image data to be processed is a scanner, the amount of data for the image data from the scanner is reduced by JPEG image compression. When the type of the input means is a PC instead of a scanner, for the image data input from the PC, the data amount is reduced by reducing the resolution, and the image data with the reduced data amount is stored in the storage means The data amount of the image stored in the storage means is reduced by being re-stored in the storage means.

According to a second means of the present invention, in the first means, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is input means that is supplementary information of the image data to be processed acquired by the acquisition determination means. When the type of the document is a scanner and the type of document is a photographic document, the image data of the photographic document is reduced by reducing the resolution in addition to the image compression by JPEG .

The third aspect of the present invention, in the first means, processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data, auxiliary information in which the input means of the image data to be processed that has acquired the acquisition determination means The type of the scanner is a scanner, and when the background removal is set in the image data from the scanner, the background removal is performed on the image data from the scanner .

According to a fourth means of the present invention, in the first means, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is an auxiliary information of the processing target image data acquired by the acquisition determination means. Of the image data stored in the storage means when the type is a scanner and the type of document is a text document, the image data that has been subjected to the process of reducing the data amount at the predetermined timing, The RGB image data of the text document is converted to grayscale image data at a second timing after that, and converted to the grayscale image data at a third timing after the second timing. The image data is binarized and MMR compression is performed .

According to a fifth means of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth means, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is based on a data amount that can be stored in the storage means. And determining whether or not to perform a process of reducing the data amount of the image stored in the storage means .

According to a sixth means of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth means, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is an elapsed time after the image is stored in the storage means. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not to perform processing for reducing the amount of image data .

According to a seventh means of the present invention, in any one of the first to sixth means, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data uses the data amount of the image stored in the storage means. Whether to reduce or not can be set in advance for each image data to be accumulated .

Further, the eighth aspect of the present invention includes an input means for inputting an image, in the method for storing an image in an image processing apparatus having a storage means for storing the image inputted by said input means, the image processing apparatus , together with the input image by the input means, the type of image input means, and storage control means for storing the supplementary information including the type of document in the storage means, based on the processing target image data information, input by the input means Acquisition determination means for acquiring and determining the type of image input means and document type of the image as the incidental information from the storage means, and processing means for reducing the amount of image data stored in the storage means; And the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is a processing object stored in the storage means in the acquisition determination means at a predetermined timing. When image data and corresponding incidental information are acquired, and the type of input means that is incidental information of the acquired image data to be processed is a scanner, image compression by JPEG is performed on the image data from the scanner. If the type of input means is a PC instead of a scanner, the amount of data is reduced by reducing the resolution for image data input from the PC. By re-storing the image data in the storage unit, the data amount of the image stored in the storage unit is reduced .

  According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both reusability of stored images and securing free capacity of a storage device that stores image data, and to reduce the amount of image data to be stored in an optimum manner for each image. Can do.

  Embodiments of an image processing apparatus and an image storage method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) including an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  An image forming apparatus that is a digital multi-function peripheral including an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 includes a reading device (scanner) 1, first and second image data processing devices 2 and 4, and bus control. Device 3, HDD 5, CPU 6, memory 7, plotter I / F device 8, plotter device 9, operation display device 10, line I / F device 11, external I / F device 12, and S . B. (South Bridge) 13 and ROM 14 are provided.

  In the above description, the reading device 1 is a scanner that generates and outputs 8-bit 600 dpi digital image data based on RGB signals from the density information of the original obtained by scanning the original. The first image data processing device 2 performs image processing, which will be described later, on the digital image data from the reading device 1 and outputs it. The bus control device 3 controls transmission / reception of various data such as image data and control commands necessary in the digital image processing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The second image data processing unit 4 performs image processing described later on the digital image data processed by the first image data processing device 2 and outputs the result. The HDD 5 is a storage device such as a magnetic disk device for storing digital image data and accompanying information of the digital image data.

  The CPU 6 is a microprocessor that controls the entire control of the digital multi-function peripheral including the image processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The memory 7 is a volatile memory used for temporarily storing programs and intermediate processing data when the CPU 6 controls the digital multi-function peripheral. The plotter I / F device 8 is a dedicated interface device that receives CMYK digital image data sent from the CPU 6 and outputs the digital image data to the plotter device 9. The plotter device 9 receives CMYK digital image data, and outputs the received image data to transfer paper by an electrophotographic process using a laser beam.

  S. B. Reference numeral 13 denotes a general-purpose circuit for a bridge function of a bus called South Bridge. The ROM 14 is a memory that stores a program when the CPU 6 controls the digital multifunction peripheral according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation display device 10 is a part that performs an interface between the digital multifunction peripheral and the user, and is composed of an LCD (liquid crystal display device) and a key switch, and displays various states and operation methods of the device on the LCD. Detects input from the key switch.

  The line I / F device 11 exchanges image data via a telephone line or the like between the digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) and the FAX 15 existing outside the digital multifunction peripheral. The external I / F device 12 inputs various control data and image data between the digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) and the PC 16 outside the digital multifunction peripheral via a network (Ethernet (registered trademark)). Output.

  When a user scans a document with the reading device 1, an image output from the plotter device 9 such as an image background removal function or a soft / sharp function (whether to make the image smoother) from the operation display device 10. It is possible to adjust the image quality of an image distributed to an external PC 16 or the like through a network. The image quality setting information is stored in the HDD 5 as one of the auxiliary information together with the image data. Then, the first image data processing device 2 performs image quality adjustment based on the image quality setting information described above, and outputs the image data subjected to image quality adjustment.

  Also, the HDD 5 stores image data obtained by performing processing by the first image data processing device 2 on the image data from the reading device 1. This image data is image data that has not been subjected to processing according to image quality setting information other than those described above. Therefore, the second image data processing device 4 can reuse the image stored in the HDD 5 with a setting different from the image quality setting information set when the document is scanned.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the first image data processing apparatus 2. The first image data processing apparatus 2 is configured to include each processing means of a scanner γ conversion 21 and a color conversion 22.

  In the above description, the scanner γ conversion 21 performs γ conversion on each 8-bit read image data based on RGB signals to adjust the gray balance and convert the gradation characteristics. The color converter 22 converts the input image data into RGB data in a color space having a predetermined characteristic and outputs the converted data. This color space is, for example, an Adobe-RGB space defined by Adobe.

  Image data based on a 600 dpi RGB signal output from the reading device 1 is compressed by a compression technique such as JEPG and stored in the HDD 5. In compression by JEPG, the compression rate and image quality are determined by the quality factor (Q value), and the larger the Q value, the better the image quality but the worse the compression rate. The image data processing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention compresses the image data output from the reading apparatus 1 at a low compression rate (for example, Q value = 90), and stores it in the HDD 5 while suppressing image quality deterioration. .

  The second image data processing apparatus 4 receives image data of 600 dpi RGB signals that have been subjected to decompression processing. Note that the compression and decompression processing by JPEG in the embodiment of the present invention is performed by the CPU 6 executing a program.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the second image data processing device 4. The second image data processing device 4 is configured to include processing means of a background removal process 31, a filter process 32, a magnification change 33, a color conversion 34, and a gradation process 35.

  In the above description, the background removal process 31 removes the background portion of the image when the background removal process is set. More specifically, the background removal process 31 removes only the low density portion of the image, as will be described later with reference to FIG. The filter process 32 performs smoothing for smoothing the picture portion of the image and edge enhancement for sharpening the character portion. The scaling unit 33 performs image enlargement / reduction processing for converting the output resolution and image size of the image data. The color converter 34 converts each 8-bit image data based on RGB signals into 8-bit data (only K signals for monochrome output) based on CMYK signals, which are the color space of the plotter device 9. The gradation process 35 is a pseudo halftone process such as a dither process or an error diffusion process in order to convert each 8-bit data by the CMYK signal into the number of gradations of the plotter device 9 (for example, 2 bits each by the CMYK signal). I do.

  In addition, when distributing as a color image to external PC etc. via a network, in the color conversion 34, it converts into RGB data, such as sRGB space, and distributes the RGB data. When the image is distributed as a monochrome binary image to an external PC or the like through the network, the color conversion 34 converts the image into a gray scale, and the gradation processing 35 performs pseudo halftone processing such as dither processing or error diffusion processing. Alternatively, simple binarization processing is performed and the monochrome binary image data is distributed.

  In addition to the image read by the reading device 1 and processed by the first image data processing device 2, the HDD 5 receives an image (image created by application software) input from an external PC 16 or the like through a network. Also, RGB image data is compressed and stored by a compression technique such as JPEG at a low compression rate (Q value = 90).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing input / output characteristics of the background removal processing 31. When the background removal process is set, the background removal process 31 outputs density “0” to a portion having a density lower than a predetermined density in the input image data. A process for removing only the density portion is performed.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a first operation example of processing for reducing the data amount of image data stored in the HDD 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be explained.

(1) First, since the date and time when the image data is accumulated in the HDD 5 is stored in the HDD 5 as one of the supplementary information together with the image data, the elapsed time from the accumulation time based on the date and time is determined in advance. It is determined whether or not T1 (for example, one month) or more has been reached. If the predetermined time T1 has not been reached, the processing here is terminated without doing anything. In other words, it is considered that the longer the elapsed time since the image data is accumulated, the lower the possibility that the accumulated image data is reused. For the data, the process of reducing the data size with emphasis on the image quality at the time of reuse is not performed (step S401).

(2) If it is determined in step S401 that the accumulated image data has been stored for a predetermined time T1 or longer, the image is read by the reading device 1 with respect to the accumulated image data. It is determined whether or not the image data is stored in the image data, that is, whether the image is image data read and stored by the reading device 1 or an image input from an external PC or the like through a network ( Step S402).

(3) If it is determined in step 402 that the stored image data is the image data read and stored by the reading device 1, the image data compressed by JPEG with Q value = 90 is once expanded. The Q value = 50 is compressed again by the JPEG compression technique, the compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here ends (step S403).

(4) On the other hand, if it is determined in step 402 that the stored image data is not image data read and stored by the reading device 1 but image data input from an external PC or the like through a network, The resolution of the image data is converted from 600 dpi to 300 dpi, the resolution-converted image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here is terminated. The resolution conversion in this process can be performed by operating only the magnification 33 of the second image data processing device 4 or by the CPU 6 executing a program (step S404).

  In the above-described processing, when graphic images and the like created by PC application software are stored in the HDD 5, if the compression rate of JPEG compression is increased for such images, compression noise may be generated when the images are output. Is conspicuous. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, image data input from a PC or the like and stored in the HDD 5 is reduced in resolution without reducing the compression rate of JPEG compression and increasing the image data. The amount of data is to be reduced.

  On the other hand, the image data input from the image reading apparatus 1 such as a scanner and stored in the HDD 5 is relatively inconspicuous even when compressed by JPEG, and the second image data processing is performed. By performing smoothing in the filter processing unit by the device 4, compression noise is also reduced. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the image data input from the image reading device 1 and stored in the HDD 5 is reduced by increasing the compression rate of JPEG compression. Yes.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, by performing the control as described above, it is possible to secure a free capacity of a storage device such as an HDD without impairing the reusability of the stored image data as much as possible.

  Note that, as in the determination process in step S401 in the above-described process, it is not a method of determining whether or not the elapsed time from the accumulation of image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined time, but whether the free space of the HDD is equal to or less than the predetermined capacity It may be determined whether or not, and only when the capacity is less than or equal to the predetermined capacity, the process of reducing the data amount of the image data after step S402 may be executed. Alternatively, it may be determined whether or not to execute the process of reducing the data amount of the image data based on both the free space of the HDD and the elapsed time since the image was accumulated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining a second operation example of the processing for reducing the data amount of the image data stored in the HDD 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be explained.

(1) First, similarly to the case described in the flow shown in FIG. 4, the date and time when the image data is stored in the HDD 5 is stored in the HDD 5 as one of the supplementary information together with the image data. It is determined whether or not the elapsed time from the accumulation time has reached a predetermined time T1 (for example, one month) or more. If the time has not reached the predetermined time T1, the processing here is performed without doing anything. The process ends (step S 501 ).

(2) If it is determined in step S501 that the accumulated image data has been stored for a predetermined time T1 or more, the image data is read by the reading device 1 with respect to the accumulated image data. Whether or not the image data is read and accumulated, that is, whether the image data is image data read and accumulated by the reading device 1 or image data input from an external PC or the like through a network. Determination is made (step S502).

(3) If it is determined in step S502 that the stored image data is image data read and stored by the reading device 1, it is determined whether the document type of the image data is a character document. In the digital copying machine or the like, the user selects a document type mode such as “character mode” or “photo mode” when reading a document from the reading device 1 which is a scanner. Are stored in accordance with the information (step S503).

(4) If it is determined in step S503 that the document type of the image data is a character document, the image data compressed by JPEG with Q value = 90 is expanded once, and compressed again with JPEG with Q value = 50. The image data is compressed by the technique, and the compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the process here is terminated (step S504).

(5) If it is determined in step S503 that the document type of the image data is not a character document but a document other than a character document, for example, a photographic document, image data compressed by JPEG with a Q value = 90 once. After decompression and resolution conversion from 600 dpi to 300 dpi, JPEG compression is performed again with a Q value = 70, the compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here ends (step S505, S506).

(6) On the other hand, if it is determined in step 502 that the stored image data is not image data read and stored by the reading device 1 but image data input from an external PC or the like through a network, The resolution of the image data is converted from 600 dpi to 300 dpi, and the converted image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the process here ends (step S 507).

  In general, the resolution of a character original is important, whereas the smoothness is important for a photo original. For this reason, in the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the compression rate of JPEG compression is increased without reducing the resolution for character originals, and the compression rate of JPEG compression is applied to photo originals. If it is increased, block noise is generated due to compression, and the smoothness of the image is lost. Instead, the amount of data is reduced by reducing the resolution.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a third operation example of the process for reducing the data amount of the image data stored in the HDD 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be explained.

(1) As in the case of the first operation example, first, the date and time when the image data is stored in the HDD 5 is stored in the HDD 5 as one of the supplementary information together with the image data. It is determined whether or not the elapsed time from time has reached a predetermined time T1 (for example, one month) or more. If the time has not reached the predetermined time T1, the process is terminated without doing anything. (Step 601).

(2) If it is determined in step S601 that the accumulated image data has been stored for a predetermined time T1 or longer, the image is read by the reading device 1 with respect to the accumulated image data. It is determined whether or not the image data is stored in the image data, that is, whether the image is image data read and stored by the reading device 1 or an image input from an external PC or the like through a network ( Step S602).

(3) If it is determined in step S602 that the stored image data is image data read and stored by the reading device 1, background removal is set as supplementary information of the stored image data. If the background removal is set, the image compressed by JPEG is once expanded and the background removal processing is performed. This background removal processing can be performed by operating only the background removal unit of the image data processing apparatus 2 (steps S603 and S604).

(4) After the process of step S604, the background-removed image is compressed again by the JPEG compression technique with a Q value = 50, and the compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the determination in step S603 is also performed. When the background removal is not set as the incidental information of the image data, the image data compressed by JPEG with Q value = 90 is once expanded, and again compressed with JPEG compression technology with Q value = 50, The compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the process here is terminated (step S605).

(5) On the other hand, if it is determined in step 602 that the stored image data is not image data read and stored by the reading device 1 but image data input from an external PC or the like through a network, The resolution of the image data is converted from 600 dpi to 300 dpi, and the image with the reduced data amount, which is the resolution-converted image data, is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the process here ends (step S 606).

  The image stored in the HDD 5 is an image that has not been subjected to background removal. If this image is compressed with a JPEG compression ratio increased, the image is generated around the character even after the background removal processing is performed. There is a possibility that noise called mosquito noise cannot be completely removed. For this reason, in the example described with reference to FIG. 6, when the background removal is set, the background removal processing is performed before the compression is performed by increasing the compression rate by JPEG. Prevents problems from occurring. In addition, the effect of increasing the compression rate can be obtained by performing compression using JPEG after removing the background.

  As described in the above processing, when the background removal process is performed on the accumulated image and the image is re-accumulated in the HDD 5, the accumulated image can be reused as an image without the background removal thereafter. However, since the process is performed only on an image having a long elapsed time since accumulation, a decrease in reusability can be minimized.

  FIGS. 8A and 8B are flowcharts for explaining a fourth operation example of processing for reducing the data amount of image data stored in the HDD 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. Next, this will be described. Note that the flow shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B shows a series of processes, and therefore the description will be continued without distinguishing the figure numbers in the following description. In this process, the processes from step S801 to S807 are the same as those in the second operation example in the embodiment of the present invention described with reference to FIG. 5 except for the process in step S804. That is, it is determined whether or not the stored image data is image data read and stored by the reading device 1, and whether or not the image read and stored by the reading device 1 is a character original is further determined. The determination is made (step S803), and only in the case of an image read and accumulated by the reading device 1 and a character document, unlike the second operation example, the processing as step S804 described below is performed.

(1) If it is determined in step S803 that the document type of the image data is a character document, first, whether the elapsed time since the image data was accumulated is T1 or more and less than a predetermined T2. If the elapsed time is equal to or greater than T2, it is determined whether the elapsed time is equal to or greater than T2 and less than a predetermined T3 (steps S808 and S809).

(2) If it is determined in step S808 that the elapsed time since the image data was accumulated is T1 or more and less than a predetermined T2, the image data is compressed by JPEG with Q value = 90. Is decompressed once with the Q value = 50 using the JPEG compression technique, the compressed image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here ends (step S810).

(3) If it is determined in step S809 that the elapsed time since the image data was accumulated is T2 or more and less than a predetermined T3, the image data is compressed by JPEG with a Q value = 50. Since this is a stored image that has been subjected to processing to reduce the data amount once by being compressed by the technique and re-stored, the color component of the image is discarded for this image, and the RGB image data is Processing for conversion to grayscale data is performed, the image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here ends (step S811).

(4) If it is determined in step S809 that the elapsed time since the image data was accumulated is T3 or more, the image data is compressed by JPEG with a Q value = 50 and then converted to grayscale data. Since this is an accumulated image that has been subjected to processing to reduce the amount of data twice and re-accumulated, this image is binarized by simple binarization processing or error diffusion processing, and then Then, compression processing suitable for the binary image such as MMR compression is performed, the image data is re-stored in the HDD 5, and the processing here ends (steps S812 and S813).

  Even if a gray scale or binarization is performed on a text document, the minimum necessary information remains, and by performing gray scale or binarization, the amount of image data can be greatly reduced. it can. On the other hand, if processing such as gray scale or binarization is performed on a photographic document or the like, the reusability is completely lost. For this reason, in the example described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B, the reusability and the free capacity of the image storage device are ensured by reducing the data amount of the image in stages according to the elapsed time only for the text document. It is possible to achieve both.

  In the embodiment of the present invention described above, it is possible for the user to select from the operation display device 10 for each image whether or not to perform the process of reducing the data amount of the accumulated image. In this way, it is possible to set whether or not to perform the process of reducing the data amount of the stored image for each image, so that important images that are reused over a long period of time are left without deterioration in image quality. Can do.

  Each process in the above-described embodiment of the present invention is configured by a program and can be executed by a CPU included in the present invention. These programs are stored in a recording medium such as an FD, CDROM, or DVD. It can be provided and can be provided by digital information via a network.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the amount of image data to be accumulated is reduced based on the image characteristic information and image quality setting information of the image data to be accumulated, so that the reusability of the accumulated image and the image data are stored. It is possible to achieve both the securing of the free capacity of the storage device to be performed.

  In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the processing means for reducing the data amount of the image to be stored is controlled based on the image characteristics and image quality setting of the image data to be stored. The amount can be reduced.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the degree of reduction of the data amount of the accumulated image is controlled based on the image characteristics and image quality setting of the image data to be accumulated. Can be reduced.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since the data amount is further reduced by different processing means for the stored image that has been re-accumulated once the data amount is reduced, the minimum reusability is achieved. As a result, the amount of image data can be greatly reduced.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since control is performed to reduce the data amount of the stored image based on what input means the stored image data is input by, the feature of the image The amount of stored image data can be reduced by an optimum method and degree suitable for the user.

  Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the control is performed to reduce the data amount of the product image based on the type of the original of the input image of the stored image data. The amount of stored image data can be reduced by an optimum method and degree.

  According to the embodiment of the present invention, the amount of image data is reduced after image processing corresponding to specific image quality setting information of accumulated image data is performed. Can be reduced.

  In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is determined based on the amount of data that can be stored in the image storage device that stores the image data, whether to perform the process of reducing the data amount of the stored image. The amount of image data can be reduced only when the free space of the image storage device is reduced.

  In addition, according to the embodiment of the present invention, since it is determined whether or not to perform the process of reducing the data amount of the accumulated image based on the elapsed time since the image was stored, the image The amount of image data can be reduced only for image data that has a long time since the image data was stored in the image storage device that stores the data.

  Also, according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to set in advance whether or not to reduce the amount of image data to be accumulated, so that important images can be left without deterioration of image quality. .

1 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a digital multifunction peripheral (MFP) including an image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a 1st image data processing apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd image data processing apparatus. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a first operation example of processing for reducing the data amount of image data stored in an HDD in the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a second operation example of processing for reducing the amount of image data stored in the HDD in the embodiment of the present invention. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a third operation example of processing for reducing the data amount of image data stored in an HDD in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the input / output characteristic of a background removal process. 10 is a flowchart (part 1) illustrating a fourth operation example of a process for reducing the amount of image data stored in the HDD in the embodiment of the present invention. 12 is a flowchart (part 2) illustrating a fourth operation example of a process for reducing the data amount of image data stored in an HDD in the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reading apparatus 2 1st image data processing apparatus 3 Bus control apparatus 4 2nd image data processing apparatus 5 HDD
6 CPU
7 Memory 8 Plotter I / F device 9 Plotter device 10 Operation display device 11 Line I / F device 12 External I / F device 13 B. (South Bridge)
14 ROM
21 Scanner γ conversion 22 Color conversion 31 Background removal processing 32 Filter processing 33 Scaling 34 Color conversion 35 Gradation processing

Claims (8)

In an image processing apparatus having an input unit for inputting an image and a storage unit for storing an image input by the input unit,
Storage control means for storing auxiliary information including the type of image input means and the type of document together with the image input by the input means in the storage means;
Acquisition determination means for acquiring and determining from the storage means the type of image input means of the image, which is supplementary information input by the input means, and the type of document , based on the processing target image data information ;
Processing means for reducing the amount of image data stored in the storage means,
The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data causes the acquisition determination means to acquire the processing target image data and corresponding incidental information stored in the storage means at a predetermined timing, and If the type of input means that is auxiliary information of the image data is a scanner, the amount of data for the image data from the scanner is reduced by JPEG image compression, and the type of input means is not a scanner but a PC. If the image data is input from the PC, the data amount is reduced by reducing the resolution, and the image data with the reduced data amount is stored again in the storage unit. An image processing apparatus for reducing the amount of data of a stored image. The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is a case where the type of input means, which is incidental information of the image data to be processed acquired by the acquisition determination means, is a scanner, and the type of document is a photographic document 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the amount of data is reduced by reducing the resolution in addition to the image compression by JPEG for the image data of the photograph original . The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is a scanner whose input means is ancillary information of the image data to be processed acquired by the acquisition determination means, and the background data is removed from the image data from the scanner. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when it is set, background removal is performed on the image data from the scanner . The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data is a case where the type of input means, which is incidental information of the image data to be processed acquired by the acquisition determination means, is a scanner, and the type of document is a text document. Among the image data stored in the storage means, the RGB image of the character document at a second timing after the image data that has been processed to reduce the data amount at the predetermined timing Converting the data into grayscale image data, binarizing the image data converted into the grayscale image data at a third timing after the second timing, and performing MMR compression; The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 . The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data determines whether to perform processing for reducing the data amount of the image stored in the storage means, based on the data amount that can be stored in the storage means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is an image processing apparatus. The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data determines whether or not to perform processing for reducing the data amount of the image based on an elapsed time since the image was stored in the storage means. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1 . The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data can set in advance for each image data to be accumulated whether or not to reduce the data amount of the image stored in the storage means. The image processing apparatus according to any one of 1 to 6 . In an image storage method in an image processing apparatus having an input unit for inputting an image and a storage unit for storing an image input by the input unit,
The image processing apparatus includes:
Storage control means for storing auxiliary information including the type of image input means and the type of document together with the image input by the input means in the storage means;
Acquisition determination means for acquiring and determining from the storage means the type of image input means of the image, which is supplementary information input by the input means, and the type of document , based on the processing target image data information ;
Processing means for reducing the amount of image data stored in the storage means,
The processing means for reducing the data amount of the image data causes the acquisition determination means to acquire the processing target image data and corresponding incidental information stored in the storage means at a predetermined timing, and If the type of input means that is auxiliary information of the image data is a scanner, the amount of data for the image data from the scanner is reduced by JPEG image compression, and the type of input means is not a scanner but a PC. If the image data is input from the PC, the data amount is reduced by reducing the resolution, and the image data with the reduced data amount is stored again in the storage unit. A method for storing an image, comprising reducing a data amount of the stored image .

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