JP2003143419A - Picture processing apparatus and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture processing apparatus which performs a high-speed and accurate color-correction and color-conversion. SOLUTION: The picture processing apparatus 11 has a data reserving portion 1B for reserving as intermediate data the depictive data to be depicted in response to a plurality of graphic data; an edge generating means included in a rendering portion 1C and for so deriving each graphic data from the reserved intermediate data as to acquire every graphic data its edges, each of which has the width equal to the one of a predetermined scanning line; a graphic-overlap excluding processing means included in the rendering portion 1C and for excluding the overlaps of the edges present among the respective generated graphic data; a sort-processing means included in the rendering portion 1C and for performing a sort-processing to the edge string from which the overlaps of the edges have been excluded; the rendering portion 1C; and a color correcting and color converting portion 1I for performing a color- correction and color-conversion to the depictive color of each edge of the edge string subjected to the sort-processing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method for processing and outputting image data sent from a personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in an image processing apparatus mounted on a printing apparatus such as a laser printer, input print information is divided into a plurality of pages in order to enable processing with a smaller amount of memory. A method is adopted in which the image data is divided into partial areas and converted into bit map image data which can be printed by the printing device for each partial area.

In this method, it is necessary to save the input print information for one page because it is impossible to know where on the page the drawing data is drawn unless all the print information for one page is inspected. There is.

Generally, in order to save one page of print information, it is converted into intermediate data which can be converted into bitmap image data relatively easily. On the other hand, in image output devices such as laser beam printers, the image output speed tends to increase year by year. In order to make the bitmap image data follow the output speed of the image output device, the output image is once compressed and compressed. A technique of forming a decompressed image by hardware that converts the bit map image data and decompresses the compressed bit map image data in synchronization with the output of the image output device is used.

Further, the technology for expressing documents has been soaring year by year, and rendering with logical operation (Raster Opera
tion, hereinafter referred to as "ROP". ), High-precision color correction
There is a growing need to support color conversion.

Under such circumstances, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-2000
Japanese Patent Publication No. 52601 discloses an example of color correction / color conversion when generating bitmap image data from an intermediate code. According to this technique, the intermediate code expressed in the RGB color system is converted into a raster in which a drawing discrimination flag for discriminating a drawing object is added to each bit.
As a result, the intermediate code converted into the raster is converted from the RGB color system to the CMYK color system on the basis of the drawing discrimination flag added to each bit, so that the color reproducibility is optimized. Color adjustments can be made.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-51636 discloses an example of color correction / color conversion when generating bitmap image data accompanied by ROP processing. According to this technique, binary rendering and multi-valued rendering are switched depending on whether or not the print data is ROP, and further color correction / color conversion processing is switched. As a result, R
By performing binary rendering in a region where no OP is performed, the processing speed can be improved and the ROP can be handled correctly. Furthermore, since color correction / color conversion processing is switched, it is possible to perform optimum color adjustment so that color reproducibility is improved.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-51651 discloses an example of color correction / color conversion when generating bitmap image data accompanied by ROP processing. According to this technique, the color values added to the print data are subjected to color correction / color conversion processing to be binarized, and then CMYK.
Perform ROP processing. As a result, color correction based on the input color value
Since color conversion processing is performed, good ROP processing can be performed.

Further, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-111805, as a method of processing a logical operation, when performing a predetermined logical operation between a base graphic and an additional graphic, the base graphic data and the additional graphic data are scan line by scan line. From the above, each of the filled line segments is determined, and logical operation combined data is generated for the color data to be colored in the line segment. According to this method, it is possible to perform processing with a small memory and at high speed, as compared with the case where a logical operation is conventionally performed after generating raster data.

[0010]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
The techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 000-52601 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-51636 require color correction / color conversion for raster data after rendering.

For example, when generating raster data of 600 dpi, the number of pixels required for A4 size paper is 496 pixels vertically.
0 pixels wide and 7015 pixels are required, totaling 347
It is necessary to perform color correction and color conversion on 94400 pixels.

However, in the technique disclosed in the above publication, it is necessary to perform color correction / color conversion for all pixels, and the color correction / color conversion processing seriously affects the overall processing speed.

Further, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-51651 requires color correction / color conversion before ROP processing, and when the color correction parameters are different between the drawing objects to be ROP processed, it is accurate. There is a problem that it is impossible to perform a proper ROP process.

Further, in the technique disclosed in 2001-111805, color conversion from RGB space to CMYK space is performed for all logically output data that is an output result, and the time required for color conversion is Has the problem of becoming longer.

The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an image processing method for performing color correction / color conversion processing only on a minimum number of pixels and for performing accurate ROP processing. And a device.

[0016]

The present invention has been devised in order to achieve the above object, and an intermediate data saving processing means for saving drawing data to be drawn as intermediate data according to a plurality of graphic data. An edge generation unit that extracts each graphic data from the intermediate data stored in the intermediate data storage processing unit and acquires an edge to which drawing color information is added for each predetermined scan line width for each graphic data, and an edge generation unit. Figure overlap elimination processing means for eliminating the overlap of edges between each piece of figure data generated in step 1, and edge sort processing means for performing a sorting process on the edge sequence from which overlap has been eliminated by the figure overlap elimination processing means, and edge sort processing A color correction unit that performs color correction processing on the drawing color of each edge of the edge sequence that is sorted based on the color correction unit And a conversion unit that performs color space conversion with respect to the edge of the drawing color was.

According to the present invention as described above, it is necessary to perform redundant color correction / color space conversion by performing color correction / color space conversion after performing a logical operation between the edges to which the drawing color information is added. Furthermore, it becomes possible to perform accurate logical operation processing.

According to the present invention, the input means for inputting the drawing data defined in the first color space, the intermediate code generating means for generating an intermediate code from the drawing data input by the input means, and the intermediate code generating means. A rendering means for converting the intermediate code generated by the means into data in a format suitable for the output device; and a first logical area specifying an area in which a predetermined logical operation exists when the intermediate code generating means generates the intermediate code. First additional information creating means for creating additional information of the intermediate code and a part of the intermediate code from the first color space to the second color space by referring to the first additional information created by the first additional information creating means. A first color conversion means for converting to the second color conversion means, and a second addition by specifying an area in which the intermediate code of the first color space that remains without color conversion when performing the color conversion by the first color conversion means Create second additional information to create information A second color conversion for converting the first processed color space into the second processed color space by referring to the second additional information created by the second additional information creating means. And means.

Further, there is a step of inputting drawing data defined in the first color space, a step of generating an intermediate code from the input drawing data, and a predetermined logical operation when the intermediate code is generated. Specifying a region to be created and creating first additional information; converting a part of the intermediate code from the first color space to the second color space by referring to the first additional information; When a part of the code is converted from the first color space to the second color space, the second additional information is created by specifying the area where the intermediate code of the first color space that remains without color conversion exists. And the rendering of converting the intermediate code into data of a format suitable for the output device, and referring to the second additional information, the area left uncolor-converted from the first color space to the second And a step of converting the color space into the color space.

According to the present invention as described above, the area in which the logical operation exists in the drawing data is specified as the first additional information, and the drawing data in which the logical operation does not exist is color-converted in advance at the stage of the code data before rendering. By performing the conversion, the conversion from the first color space to the second color space can be performed at high speed.

[0021]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the internal structure of the image processing apparatus of this embodiment. That is, the image processing apparatus 11 first causes the data input unit 12 to
Data sent from a higher-level device such as a personal computer is input, and in some cases, a plurality of data is stored, and adjustments are performed so that the subsequent processing can be performed smoothly.

Next, this data is sent to the print information interpretation unit 13
Are classified into characters, graphics, images, etc. Each classified data is sent to the data conversion / generation unit in charge of each processing together with necessary information.

First, in the case of a character, the data is passed to the character generator 14. The character generation unit 14 conforms to the coordinate space of the output data from the passed data and the outline format data stored in the character data storage unit 19 existing inside the image processing apparatus 11 before the data input. Generate character outline data.

When the print information analysis unit 13 classifies the data as graphics data, a data string representing coordinate values is passed to the graphics conversion unit 15. The graphics conversion unit 15 converts the passed data into data adapted to the coordinate space of the output data.

Thereafter, the figure division conversion unit 17 divides the set into a plurality of simple figure sets that are closer to the output data than the input stage. This is represented by a set of geometric data such as triangles and trapezoids.

When the print information interpretation unit 13 classifies the image as an image, the data is image conversion unit 1.
Sent to 6. In the image conversion section,
Reduction and adjustment of the color space are performed. At the same time, the contour data for expressing the contour shape of the image is generated.

When these processes are performed, next, characters,
The graphics and image outline data are transmitted to the clip processing unit 1A. The clipping process is, for example, a process of cutting out a graphic protruding from a page, or a process of cutting out a graphic in a preset free-form area.

Then, the clipped drawing data is transmitted to the data storage unit 1B. Data storage unit 1B
Then, the graphic shape, the contour shape of the image, and the like are converted by the rendering unit 1C into intermediate data suitable for output to the data output unit 1G, and stored in the intermediate data storage area 1E.

On the other hand, the image data output from the image conversion unit 16 is compressed by the image compression unit 1D by a predetermined compression method, and is stored in the compressed image data storage area 1F by the data storage unit 1B.

By repeating the above processing until the input of print information for one page is completed, the intermediate data and compressed image data for one page are saved.

The intermediate data and the compressed image data saved by the above processing are instructed by the data output command analyzed by the print information interpreting unit 13 to be in a data format suitable for the data output unit 1G in the rendering unit 1C. After the conversion, it is transmitted to the data output unit 1G.

In the rendering unit 1G, the data output unit 1
When converting to a data format suitable for G, ROP processing is performed by the logical operation drawing unit 1H if necessary, and when the data format suitable for the data output unit 1G is determined, the color correction / color conversion unit 1I After the color correction / color space conversion processing is executed in step 1, the generated data is transmitted to the data processing unit 1G.

In the image processing apparatus 11 of this embodiment, the format of output data is an edge array for each scan line.
That is, the edge array for the height of the page is sequentially output from the rendering section 1C to the data output section 1G. Further, since it is possible to output for each scan line, it is possible to store a plurality of lines and then transmit the data.

The intermediate data and the compressed image data created in the data storage unit 1B and the relationship between them will be described with reference to FIG. The intermediate data shown in FIG. 2 indicates the format of data for storing the outline information of the figure and the like. The intermediate data is roughly divided into two areas, a header section and a data section.

The header portion is data added to each figure, and is composed of four areas. The first area represents link information, and is used to combine figures having the same start scan line position (sub-operation position or Y coordinate value) of the figure data represented by the data section in a list structure. used.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, the figure A and the figure C are spread from the same Y coordinate value 50 in the direction in which the Y coordinate value decreases. At this time, the graphic C and the graphic A are linked by the link information as shown in FIG.

The second area is a drawing order ID and represents the drawing order. In the example of FIG. 3A, figures A to B,
The drawing shows the case of drawing in the order of C and D. In this case, ID number 0 is stored in figure A, 1 is stored in B, 2 is stored in C, and 3 is stored in D.

The third area represents attribute information.
In this area, for example, "characters", "graphics", and "images" are distinguished from each other with respect to graphic types, and "rectangle", "trapezoid", and "straight line" are distinguished as graphic shapes.

The fourth area represents the logical operation drawing attribute. In this area, for example, by designating a logical sum, a logical product, an exclusive logical sum, etc., it becomes possible to perform a logical operation with a graphic already drawn and draw the result.

The fifth area stores a color value or an ID number for identifying an image. When the graphic type indicated by the attribute information of the third area is "character" or "graphics", the color value is stored in this area. When the graphic type is "image", an ID number for identifying the image is stored in this area.

On the other hand, the data section stores information indicating the position / outline of the figure. Here, the format shown in FIG. 4 is used, assuming that all graphic shapes are represented by “straight line”, “rectangle”, and “trapezoid”.

When the figure shape is "rectangle", the format is represented by "height" and "start / end point coordinates". The Y coordinate value is
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, since the figures are linked by the Y coordinate value, they are represented by a table based on the Y axis value.

When the figure shape is "straight line", the format is represented by "height", "start point coordinate" and "tilt". Of these, the "tilt" is the X when the Y coordinate is decreased by one.
Indicates the moving distance of coordinates.

When the figure shape is a "trapezoid", it is expressed as if there are two "straight lines" of the figure shape shown above on the left and right, and "height""starting point coordinate of the left side""inclination of the left side".
It is represented by "start point coordinate of right side" and "tilt of right side".

In the present embodiment, all the figures are represented by the three figure shapes shown here, but the present invention is not limited to this. As a method of expressing the position and outline of a figure,
As shown in the method described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-171564, there is also a method in which a figure is expressed as a set of edge sequences and each edge is expressed by a variable-length cell that represents a position or run length. is there.

Next, the compressed image data will be described. The compressed data is code data obtained by compressing the input image data by a predetermined compression method. This data is stored as compressed image data in the compressed image data storage area 1F shown in FIG.

When the graphic type is "image", the image ID number is represented in the fourth area of the intermediate data. One compressed image reference data is specified from this ID number. The compressed image reference data is composed of five areas.

That is, the first is an area for storing the same image ID number as that stored in the fourth area of the intermediate data, and the second is the width size of the image before compression. The third is an area for storing the height size of the image before compression, the fourth is an area for storing the start address of the compressed image data,
The fifth is an area for storing the size of the compressed image data.

By interposing this compressed image reference data between the intermediate data and the compressed image data, the compressed image data can be decompressed and expanded from the intermediate data, and the compressed image data can be regenerated. Even if the data size or storage location is changed by performing a predetermined process such as compression, it is only necessary to rewrite the compressed image reference data without rewriting the intermediate data.

Next, an example in which the above intermediate data is stored will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the examples in FIGS. 3 and 5 show a case where all graphic types are “graphics”. If the figure type is "character", it is assumed that there is no difference in the image processing apparatus of the present invention. Also,
When the figure type is "image", the outline shape is
Since there is no difference from "graphics" and "characters", the description thereof is omitted here.

First, in FIG. 3A, figures A to B,
Four graphics drawn in the order of C and D are shown on the graphs of the X and Y axes. That is, FIG. 3A shows the drawing result finally output by the output device.

The figure A has a trapezoidal shape (in the above intermediate data, a triangle is represented as a trapezoid), and the remaining 3
It is assumed that the two figures have a rectangular shape. Also,
The difference in color is represented by the difference in hatching. FIG. 3B is a diagram in which the link information in the intermediate data is simulatedly added to these four figures.

Here, in the data storage method in the image processing apparatus of this embodiment, when the start coordinates for drawing figures are on the same Y axis, the figures are linked to each other. At this time, based on the drawing order of the figures, new ones are always connected from the beginning of the link.

For example, in FIG. 3B, the figure C is drawn after the figure A. In this case, when the link is traced from the position 50 in the Y coordinate table, the graphic C appears first, and the graphic A appears next.

Further, in the figure, the Y coordinate table is expressed in the form of coordinate values written in the rectangular symbol, but this table has an array structure, in which the first linked graphic is stored. The format may be such that the address of the recording medium is written.

In order to clarify the above-mentioned link relationship based on the drawing order of the figures, the Y axis is taken as the vertical axis and the time (drawing order) axis is taken as the horizontal axis in FIG. 3C. Show things. This drawing shows that the figures A, B, C, and D are drawn in the order based on the drawing order.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a storage state of the intermediate data of the above-mentioned figures A, B, C and D. In FIG. 5, intermediate data is stored in the order of figures A, B, C, and D in a recording medium such as a memory or an HDD. However, this data order does not need to be continuous on the recording medium, and it does not matter if they are stored randomly.

Here, details of the data content of the graphic A will be described. Since the figure A is located at the end of the figure list having the Y coordinate value of 50, the information "no link" is stored in the first area of the header portion of the intermediate data.
Usually, the link information is expressed by address information of a recording medium such as a memory, so that "no link" can be expressed by reserving a value of 0 or the like.

Next, the second area is the drawing order I of the figure.
This is an area representing D, and the number 0 is stored because the figure A is the figure drawn first.

Next, the third area is an area showing the attribute of a graphic, and the fact that the graphic type is "graphics" and the graphic shape is "trapezoid" is stored.

Next, the fourth area is an area showing a logical expression at the time of drawing a logical operation, and it is stored that the logical expression is "PUT". “PUT” is a designation not to perform logical operation drawing, and “OR”, “AND”, etc. are stored when performing logical operation.

Next, the fifth area is an area showing a color value, and the color value with which the figure A is filled is stored. In FIG. 5, the color value is illustrated as a value α.

Since the figure shape of the figure attribute is "trapezoid", the data portion of the intermediate data is composed of five areas, and "height" is 20 and "starting point coordinate of left side" is 60.0, respectively. , "Left side slope" is stored as 0.0, "right side start point coordinate" is stored as 60.0, and "right side slope" is stored as 1.0. This value is such that the figure A has a triangular shape and the height is 2
It is 0, the X coordinate of the vertex is 60, the left side is a vertical side, and the right side is inclined at 45 degrees.

The figures B, C and D are rectangular,
Similarly, data is stored. For figure C,
The link information is set to point to the graphic A.
Usually, this link information is represented by the start address of the data of graphic A. Further, in the figure C, "OR" is designated as "designation of logical operation drawing".

As described above, the drawing data for one page is stored in the intermediate data storage area 1E and the compressed image data storage area 1F shown in FIG. 1 according to the format of the intermediate data and the compressed image data described above. .

Then, in response to a data output command from the print information interpretation unit 13, these data are converted into output data by the rendering unit 1C. Hereinafter, this rendering process will be described.

The rendering process described here shows the case where the graphics type is "graphics".
The same process is performed for "character". Also,
As for the “image”, since the image shape itself to be drawn can be operated in the same manner as “character” or “graphics”, the description thereof will be omitted here.

The rendering process performed by the rendering unit 1C of the image processing apparatus 11 of this embodiment mainly includes an edge generation process, an edge overlap eliminating process, and an edge array sorting process.

First, the outline of the rendering process for outputting the edge array for each line will be described using a specific example. When the figures A to D shown in FIG. 3 are used, the processing is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 6A is the same as that shown in FIG. 3A and shows a figure for one page, and intermediate data corresponding to this figure is stored in the recording medium as actual data.

The rendering process is started from the one having the largest Y-axis value among all the figures registered with the Y-axis as a reference. In the case of FIG. 6, starting from a Y-axis value of 50,
Thereafter, the result is output as 49, 48, and the process ends when the Y-axis value becomes 0. In the example described here, the Y-axis is traced back from the larger one to the smaller one, but if the intermediate data and the processing method etc. are mirror-inverted and processed in relation to the Y-coordinate, the Y-axis It is also possible to process from the smaller side to the larger side.

Further, in order to make the description of the rendering process that follows easy to understand, the list connected by the links between the figures in the intermediate data will be called a figure list. In addition, a list connected by links between figures to be output at the time of drawing is called a drawing list.

The lists represented by arrows in FIG. 3 are all graphic lists, and the lists represented by bold arrows in FIG. 6 correspond to drawing lists.

In FIG. 6A, from the drawing section shown on the right side of the graph to the drawing section, the sections are divided when the drawing list is different in each section. In the drawing section, the figure C and the figure A are connected in this order to the drawing list,
Processing is performed on these two figures.

In the drawing section, graphic C, graphic B, and graphic A
However, the processing is performed on these three figures by connecting to the drawing list. Similarly, processing is performed on three figures D, C and B in the drawing section, and processing is performed on two figures D and C in the drawing section. This is shown in FIG. 6 (B) (C) (D).
FIG. 4B illustrates a drawing section, a drawing section, and a drawing section, respectively.

Further, paying attention to the drawing section, Y
For coordinate value 50, add 1 edge in order of figure C and figure A.
When the processing of this line is completed, one edge is generated again in the order of the figure C and the figure A for the Y coordinate value 49. In this way, for each line, the graphics connected to the drawing list are operated from newest to oldest in the drawing order to generate an edge corresponding to the Y coordinate value at the time of drawing. To do.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which an edge is generated. FIG. 7A shows a part of the upper part of the figure A. FIG. 7B shows the content of the intermediate data of the graphic A in which the Y coordinate value changes as it is processed from 50 to 48.

First, for the Y coordinate value 50, the intermediate data of the figure A in the initial state is referred to. As a result, it is possible to extract an edge having a start point of 60 and an end point of 60 in the X direction. After this output, the left and right inclinations of the trapezoid are added to both sides and the height is subtracted by 1, respectively. This result becomes the intermediate data of the figure A having the Y coordinate value 49 in FIG.

When the Y coordinate value is 49, an edge having a starting point of 60 and an ending point of 61 in the X direction can be extracted from the contents of the intermediate data. In this way, by rewriting the internal value of the intermediate data for each line,
It is possible to output for each line.

The "trapezoid" and "rectangle" shown here
Since a "straight line" has a value of "height", the value of "height" is subtracted after processing a certain line. As a result, when the value of "height" becomes 0, the process for this figure ends. When the processing for a graphic is completed, the graphic is removed from the drawing list. Also,
When all the processing for a certain Y coordinate is completed, the next Y
With reference to the graphic list of coordinates, a new drawing list is created from the two lists.

For example, immediately before shifting from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B, the processing of the line whose Y coordinate value is 41 is finished. Next, on the line with the Y coordinate value of 40, there is a graphic list in which the graphic B is connected.

Here, the new drawing list is created from the drawing order of each figure linked to the two lists. In the example of FIG. 6, first, the drawing order ID (No. 2) of the graphic C is extracted from the drawing list.

Next, the drawing order I of the figure B from the figure list I
D (No. 1) is taken out and compared. As a result, since the ID value of the graphic C is larger, the drawing list is updated so that the graphic B is connected next to the graphic C.

Next, the drawing order ID (No. 0) of the figure A is extracted and compared. As a result, since the ID value of the graphic B is larger, the drawing list is updated so that the graphic A is connected next to the graphic B. That is, two graphics are referenced from the beginning of each of the two lists, and processing is performed so that the larger drawing order ID is connected to the list first. As a result, the drawing list is always created so that new ones are combined first based on the drawing order.

By the above processing, edges for new to old ones are created for each Y coordinate value based on the drawing order. These edges are sorted and output in the X-axis direction after the overlap is eliminated. Further, if necessary, a logical operation is performed between the edges when eliminating the overlap.

Here, the processing for eliminating the overlapping of figures is as follows:
The method is the same as that described in JP-A-10-177657, and the details are described in this document. The processing will be described below based on a specific example.

FIG. 8 shows a state of the overlap elimination processing of figures. FIG. 8 exemplifies a case where the drawing list with the Y coordinate value of 30 in FIG. 6C is processed. This line is connected to the drawing list.
In this order, edge D, edge C, and edge B are generated,
Overlap removal processing is performed for each edge.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the edges D, C and B and the result. As shown at the bottom of the figure, three edges which do not overlap each other are the output results. Become. Explaining the coordinates of the edge, the edge D is X
The starting point in the direction is 30, the ending point is 59, the edge C has a starting point in the X direction of 20, and the ending point is 39, and the edge B has a starting point in the X direction of 10 and an ending point of 49.

In eliminating the overlapping of figures, the concept of a mask representing the area where the figures should be cut out is introduced.
In the present invention, all figures are represented by edges, so masks are also represented as edges. Here, it is called a mask edge for the sake of explanation.

First, the overlap of the edges D is eliminated, but the mask edge is not set as an initial value. Therefore, the edge D becomes the output result as it is. The output result is
It is stored in a work array prepared in advance. The array format shown here is the edge start point, end point, color, and
It shall consist of attribute values.

The attribute value is configured such that the edge distinguishes "graphics", "characters", and "images" as graphic types. Similar to the intermediate data described above, when the attribute value is “image”, the color value represents the image ID number.

Following the processing of the edge D, a mask edge is created from the start point and end point of the edge D in the X direction. That is, the mask edge is generated as an edge having a start point of 30 and an end point of 59. The difference between this mask edge and the edge B to be processed next is calculated.

The mask edge has a start point of 30 and an end point of 59.
On the other hand, the start point of the edge B is 20, and the end point thereof is 39. From these values, the start point and the end point of the edge excluding the overlap are 20, and 29, respectively. This result is also stored in the working array.

Here, since the edge C is designated as a logical operation drawing by referring to FIG. 5, it is necessary to change the color value according to the logical operation. Since the logical operation is logically operated with the figure drawn below the target edge (edge C in this case), the color value is changed to the logical operation result with the color value of the edge drawn below. . For example, since the edge B is drawn below and the logical operation designation of the edge C is “OR”, the drawing color value of the edge C is γor
Change to β.

Next, the mask edge is changed to the sum area with the area of the edge B. That is, the start point of the mask edge is changed to 20, and the end point thereof is changed to 59. Similar to the case of the edge B, the edge C which is the next processing target is also obtained as a difference from the mask edge.

In this way, the processing for sequentially eliminating the overlap is performed, and the output result for the input is generated on the spot (see FIG. 8B). Further, since the generated array is not subjected to color correction / color conversion processing, color correction / color conversion processing is performed on the color values recorded in the array. When the figure type is “image”, color correction / color conversion processing is performed on the referenced image.

Since the created array is stored depending on the drawing order, the overlap removal processing is performed for all the edges of one line, and then the sorting processing is performed in the X-axis direction to obtain a normal bitmap. It can be changed to a raster scan order data array in the same way as a pixel array such as an image.

Conventionally, the color correction / color conversion processing is executed by expanding the intermediate data into a band buffer into a bit map image, and compared with the band buffer used in that case, the color value is determined for each edge. Recorded in
It is possible to perform color correction / color conversion processing with a significantly reduced number of times of color correction / color conversion. Further, since the logical operation processing is executed before the color correction / color conversion, it is possible to perform the accurate color correction / color conversion processing.

9 and 10 show flowcharts of the rendering process outlined above. The rendering process outputs an edge array for each scan line, and further, the edge array is sorted in the X-axis direction from small coordinates to large coordinates.

In the flowchart of FIG. 9, first, the graphic list corresponding to the maximum value of the Y coordinate is set as the initial value of the drawing list (step S101). Next, the edge counter "EC" stored in the output edge array is initialized to 0 (step S102). Here, the edge can be expressed as a list instead of an array, but since the edge array does not exceed the width of the page at the maximum, a fixed array of page width is prepared. And

Next, it is checked whether or not the drawing list is empty (step S103). If not empty, then FIG.
The processing shifts to the subroutine described in. This subroutine will be described later.

If the drawing list is empty, color correction / entry conversion processing is executed on the color values of the edge array (step S108), and the edge array is output (step S10).
4). The case where the drawing list is empty means that there is no figure corresponding to the Y coordinate value to be output. In this case, the edge counter “EC” remains 0 and the output result is And When the result is returned from the subroutine, there is at least one edge, and this is the output result.

Next, it is checked whether or not the current Y coordinate value is the minimum value (step S105). When this determination condition is a positive result, the rendering process is ended for the entire page. On the other hand, when the result is negative, the Y coordinate value is decremented by 1 (step S106).

Subsequently, a drawing list update process is performed (step S107). The drawing list update process refers to a process of generating a new drawing list from the current drawing list and the figure list corresponding to the current Y coordinate value. After this, again
The process proceeds to the process of initializing the edge counter "EC" to 0, and thereafter, the above process is repeated in the same manner.

The subroutine shows the processing when a graphic is linked to the drawing list. First of all,
The first figure in the drawing list is set as the figure to be processed (step S201).

Next, one edge of this processing target graphic is generated (step S202). Next, a process of eliminating the overlap is performed for this edge, the result of eliminating the overlap is stored in the output edge array, and 1 is added to the edge counter "EC" (step S203).

Next, it is judged whether or not the drawing of the figure having the edge is completed (step S204). This decision is
As described using FIG. 4, it can be determined, for example, by whether or not the height of the “rectangle”, “straight line”, and “trapezoid” is zero. If the result of this determination is affirmative, the process target graphic is deleted from the drawing list (step S205).

The method of deleting a figure from the drawing list is 1
A process for newly setting a link between the previously linked figure and the next linked figure is performed. On the other hand, in the case of a negative result, it is determined whether the processing target graphic is the end of the drawing list (step S206).

This determination can be made based on whether or not there is a graphic linked next. If the result of this determination is affirmative, it means that all the edges for one line have been generated, so the edge array is sorted (step S20).
7). The sorting process may be performed by sorting “EC” edge counters from the beginning of the edge array. As the key used for sorting, for example, the starting point coordinates of the edge can be used.

On the other hand, if it is determined in the above determination process that the processing target graphic is not the end of the drawing list, the processing target graphic is set to the next drawing in the drawing list (step S2).
08), the edge generation processing and the subsequent steps are repeated in the above-described processing.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
First, internal processing of general image processing will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. In this flowchart, it is assumed that the image processing apparatus is incorporated in a printing device such as a printer and is operating. First, a page description language (PDL) is transmitted from a client device such as a PC (personal computer). : Page Descr
iption Language) and receives this data (step S1101). Here, the input data are all R
It is assumed that it is defined in the GB color space.

Next, after the PDL is analyzed, it is converted into an intermediate code suitable for conversion into output data page by page (step S1102). Next, the data format is converted into a data format suitable for the output device (step S1103).
Here, this conversion process is called a rendering process. At the time of this rendering processing, the attribute information regarding the figure is viewed, logical operation processing is performed as necessary, and the result is output.

Next, color conversion from RGB to CMYK is performed on this output result (step S1104). Finally, the color conversion result data is output to the output device (step S1105). In the above processing, the intermediate code is generally generated for one page, but the subsequent processing may be performed for each partial area of the page.

FIG. 12 is a processing flow chart for explaining the image processing method of this embodiment. Although the internal processing flowchart is used here for the sake of easy understanding of the present embodiment, the processing of each step may be realized as an image processing apparatus having a block configuration.

First, as in the case of FIG. 11, the PDL is input (step S1201). Next, while generating the intermediate code (step S1202), the first color conversion area information generation (processing by the first additional information creating means) is performed (step S1202a). The data obtained by generating the first color conversion area information will be referred to as first color conversion area information (first additional information).

In the process of generating the first color conversion area information, when the predetermined logical operation processing is required at the time of rendering processing, the area is limited in view of the position and size of the intermediate code and the logical operation type. Generate information. The process of generating the first color conversion area information and its data format will be described later. These two processes are performed until all the data for one page is converted into the intermediate code.

Next, referring to the two data of the intermediate code and the first color space area information, the first code is set for the intermediate code.
RGB / CMYK conversion is performed (step S1203).
At the same time as this color conversion, second color conversion area information generation (processing by the second additional information generation means) is performed (step S120).
3a). In the color conversion shown in step S1204, RGB is converted to CMYK only when the first color conversion region information is viewed and it is determined that the first color conversion region information is not involved in the logical operation at the time of rendering. Therefore, for the intermediate code of the entire page,
As a result of performing the color conversion shown in step S1203, the color is partially CMYK or RGB.

In the second color conversion area generation, among these, RG
Information for limiting the area including the B graphic is generated. The data obtained by generating the second color conversion area will be referred to as second color conversion area information (second additional information). The process of generating the second color conversion area information and its data format will be described later.

Next, rendering processing is performed (step S1204). The rendering result is also partially CMYK
Or RGB. Second RGB / CMY
In the K conversion (step S1205), only the RGB data portion is converted into CMYK by referring to the second color conversion area information. Finally, the data is output to the output device (step S
1206).

FIG. 13 shows the format of the intermediate code used in this embodiment. All graphic shapes are represented by trapezoids. First, the trapezoidal shape will be described. FIG.
(A) shows a trapezoidal data structure.

That is, YMIN is the Y coordinate of the lower base of the trapezoid, YMAX is the Y coordinate of the upper base of the trapezoid, and X1 is Y.
The X coordinate value of the left hypotenuse at the minimum coordinate value is X2
Is the X coordinate value of the right hypotenuse in the Y coordinate minimum value,
DX1 represents the increment value of the X coordinate value when the Y coordinate value of the left hypotenuse increases by 1, and DX2 represents the increment value of the X coordinate value when the Y coordinate value of the right hypotenuse increases by 1. Further, ID represents the drawing order of figures, and NEXT represents the link data used to manage the trapezoid in a list structure. The shape of a graphic is represented by these data, and information such as the color to be colored in this graphic is stored in another area as a table according to the ID number.

FIG. 13B shows the data format of the attribute information of the figure that can be searched from this ID. ID is Fig. 13
(A) represents the drawing order associated with the ID described inside. AT represents an attribute value. For example, a value of 0 represents graphics or characters, and a value of 1 represents an image. COLOR represents a color value, but when the figure is an image, that is, when the value of AT is 1, it represents the address of a pixel column forming the image. CSPACE represents a color space. When the value is 0, it is RGB, and when the value is 1, it is CM.
Represents YK. CODE represents a logical operation code, AND
It can be represented by a code number indicating an operation designated by OR, NOT, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 14 shows a usage example of the intermediate code explained in FIG. FIG. 14A shows the case where the graphic A, the graphic B, and the graphic C are drawn in this order. Further, it is assumed that the graphic A and the graphic C are designated with the overwriting drawing as the logical operation code, and the graphic B is designated with the logical operation code corresponding to AND.

FIG. 14B particularly shows the value of each data field of the intermediate code for the graphic B. In the figure, in order to understand the data type, coordinate values are represented by values such as "Y1" and "X1", and COLOR is "α", CO
Although DE is "AND", the numerical values corresponding to these are actually stored. Although nothing is written in NEXT, the next trapezoidal address on the same line is actually stored. Links between trapezoids on the same line are always sorted and linked according to the X coordinate of the lower base.

FIG. 14C shows a state in which figures A to C are linked and connected. First, a variable indicating a trapezoidal address is prepared for the Y line where a graphic exists, and these variables are connected. In the figure, Y
1, Y3 and Y7 correspond to this. Each address variable points to figure B, figure A, and figure C. Furthermore,
The NEXT variable inside each graphic stores the identifier which is the end of the list, because there is no graphic connected to the same line next. In the figure, a vertical line is drawn at the tip of the arrow. Normally, a value 0 or the like can be used for this identifier if it is an address.

Next, the rendering process for converting the intermediate code into the output data format will be described. Rendering is performed for each line, and each line is output as an array of edges. For example, in the case of FIG. 14A, the edge arrangement is output for the 13 scan lines Y0 to Y12.

FIG. 15 shows the data structure of this edge. In the figure, SX represents the starting point X coordinate of the edge, and EX represents the ending point X coordinate of the edge. Also, AT, COLOR, and C
SPACE stores the same value as the trapezoidal attribute data in the intermediate code.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of the rendering process for generating this edge data. The data shown in FIG. 16 represents the case where the processing of the scan line corresponding to Y = Y4 in FIG.

When Y = Y4, there are two graphic edges, graphic A and graphic B. FIG. 16A shows the positional relationship and the vertical relationship between these two edges. As a result,
Since the drawing of the figure B is instructed to perform the AND operation, the result of calculating the rendering result between the edges is
It outputs three edges, p, q, and r. FIG. 16 (B)
Represents the three results of p, q, and r.

Next, generation of color conversion area information for speeding up color conversion and its structure will be described. FIG. 17
Shows the case where the same figures A, B, and C as in FIG. 14 are drawn. The first color conversion area information in the figure is the data generated by the first color conversion area information generation (step S1201) in FIG. This information is set to a value of 1 for each scan line when the line is an area for performing a predetermined logical operation. As an initial value, the value 0 is set for all lines.

FIG. 17 shows the case where only the graphic B performs the logical operation, and the value 1 is set in the portion corresponding to the scan line in which the graphic B exists in the first color conversion area information. .

In the figures A, B, and C, the description of RGB or CMYK represents the color space after the processing by the first RGB / CMYK conversion processing (step S1201) shown in FIG. .

The graphic C is the value 1 in the first color conversion area information.
Does not apply to the set line. Therefore, since it does not participate in the logical operation processing, it is converted into CMYK on the intermediate code.

Further, the second color conversion area information in the figure is shown in FIG.
This is the data generated by the second color conversion area information generation (step S1203). This data is the first RG
At the same time that the B / CMYK conversion process is performed, the value 1 is set for each scan line when the figure exists in the RGB space. As an initial value, the value 0 is set for all lines.

In the case of FIG. 17, since the graphics A and B are converted into RGB, the value 1 is set in the portion corresponding to the scan line in which the graphics A and B exist in the second color conversion area information. .

First RGB / CMYK conversion (step S1
As a result of performing step 204), CMYK figures and RGB figures are mixed on the intermediate code. Therefore, the rendering result also includes CMYK and RGB for each edge.

FIG. 18 shows the result of the rendering process when Y = Y7. On the line Y = Y7, the figure C
Edges are CMYK, and the edges of the figure A are output as RGB. As described above, for the scan line including the RGB output, each edge is inspected and color-converted by the second RGB / CMYK conversion (step S1206).

Whether or not the line includes the RGB output can be determined by the second color conversion area information. By the above processing, the CMYK output result can be finally obtained.

Hereinafter, the second color conversion area information generation (shown in the processing flowchart 20 of the first color conversion area information generation (step S1201 in FIG. 12) and the intermediate code generation (step S1202 in FIG. 12) shown in FIG. The second RGB / CMYK conversion (step S120 in FIG. 12) in the processing flowchart 21 of step S1203 in FIG. 12 and the first RGB / CMYK conversion (step S1204 in FIG. 12).
Details of the processing flow 6) will be described.

First, the processing flow of the first color conversion area information generation and the intermediate code generation shown in FIG. 19 will be described. Figure 1
In FIG. 9, the flow for one trapezoid obtained by analyzing the PDL is shown.

First, one trapezoid of the PDL analysis result is input (step S1301). Next, the trapezoid is registered as an intermediate code (step S1302). Next, it is determined whether or not the trapezoidal drawing attribute is drawing performed with a predetermined logical operation (step S1303). As a result, in the case of the predetermined logical operation drawing, information that the logical operation exists from MINY to MAXY of the trapezoid is set in the first color conversion area information (step S1304).

In the case of the logical value table for each scan line as shown in FIG. 17, the value corresponding to the line from MINY to MAXY is changed to 1. As described above, the above processing is repeated until the processing for one trapezoid is completed and the analysis of PDL for one page is completed.

Next, the processing flow of the second color conversion area information generation and the first RGB / CMYK conversion shown in FIG. 20 will be described.
The process shown in FIG. 20 is started after the generation of the intermediate code for one page is completed.

First, the intermediate code is decoded and one trapezoid is input (step S1401). Next, with reference to the first color conversion area information, it is inspected whether or not there is an area for logical operation in the range from MINY to MAXY of this trapezoid (step S1402).

Next, as a result of this inspection, it is determined whether or not a trapezoid exists inside the area where the logical operation is performed (step S14).
03). If it is determined that the trapezoid is inside, the trapezoid may be involved in the logical operation, and therefore, information that the RGB region from MINY to MAXY of the trapezoid exists is set in the second color conversion region information (step S1404). ).

In the case of the logical value table for each scan line as shown in FIG. 17, the value corresponding to the line from MINY to MAXY is changed to 1. In the determination of step S1403,
When the trapezoid does not participate in the logical operation, the color of the trapezoid is CMYK
(Step S1405).

The trapezoid can be determined as a graphic or a character or an image by referring to the attribute value. If the trapezoid is graphics or characters, RGB value is C
Convert to MYK value. If the trapezoid represents the outline of the image, the pixel data of the image is converted into CMYK. With the above processing, the processing for one trapezoid is completed.

Then, it is judged whether or not there is an uninvestigated trapezoid in the intermediate code (step S1406), and if there is an uninvestigated trapezoid, the processes from the trapezoid input (step S1401) are repeated.

Next, the processing flow of the second RGB / CMYK conversion shown in FIG. 21 will be described. FIG. 21 shows the second RGB.C to be performed for the result for each scan line output by the rendering process (step S1205 in FIG. 12).
This corresponds to the MYK conversion (step S1206 in FIG. 12) processing.

First, the process for the Yn-th scan line is started, the second color conversion area information is referred to, and it is investigated whether or not the RGB data is included in this line (step S1501).

In the case of the logical value table for each scan line as shown in FIG. 17, when the value is 1, RGB data is included. If it is determined from this result that the RGB data is not included (Yes in step S1502), Y
Since all the data of n lines have been color converted to CMYK,
Data is output (step S1507), and the process ends.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the RGB data is included, the edge array which is the output result of that line is investigated.

First, one target edge is input (step S1503). Next, it is determined whether or not it is RGB by referring to the attribute value inside the edge (step S
1504). If the result of determination is that the edge is RGB,
The edge color is converted to CMYK (step S150).
5).

As shown in FIG. 15, it is possible to determine whether the edge is a graphic or a character or an image by referring to the attribute value. When the edge is a graphic or character, the RGB value is converted into a CMYK value. If the edge represents the outline of the image, the pixel data of the image is converted to CMYK.

Next, it is determined whether or not there is an unexamined edge in the rendering result of the Yn line (step S1).
506) If there is an unexamined edge, the processing from the edge input (step S1503) is repeated. If there is no unexamined edge, the Yn line data is output (step S1507), and the process ends.

Further, in order to perform processing more efficiently, FIG.
Second RGB / CMYK conversion (step S1204)
Then, while performing the second color conversion area information generation (step S1203), the graphic data on the intermediate code may be divided into an RGB area and a CMYK area. Figure 2
2 shows this example, and FIG.
An example in which three figures B and C are drawn is shown.

Of these, when the figure B is instructed to perform a predetermined logical operation, all the three figures are on the scan line in which the figure B exists.
In the color conversion processing (step S1204 in FIG. 12), the color space is not converted and remains in the RGB space.

The area where the figure B exists is Y = Ya to Y.
= Yb ', so both figure A and figure B have Y = Y
Divide into two at b'and re-register. FIG. 22B shows
The figure A and C are shown after being divided and re-registered.

Thus, by dividing and re-registering the intermediate code, the second RGB.
The color conversion area in the CMYK color conversion can be limited to a smaller area, and as a result, the overall processing speed can be increased.

[0159]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. That is, in the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, when the overlap between the graphic data is eliminated and the edge row in a predetermined scan line unit is output, the edge rows are arranged in the raster scan operation order and the compression processing is performed cheaply. At the same time, redundant processing can be eliminated and efficient processing can be performed.

Further, since the data portion not involved in the logical operation is color-converted in advance at the stage of the code data before rendering, it is possible to speed up the processing as a whole.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing formats of intermediate data, compressed image reference data, and compressed data.

FIG. 3 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of a storage form of intermediate data.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of a data part of intermediate data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 2) showing an example of a storage form of intermediate data.

FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating an example of rendering processing.

FIG. 7 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of rendering processing.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of processing for eliminating overlap between figures.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a rendering process.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a rendering process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a general image processing method.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an image processing method of this embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a format of an intermediate code used in this embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a usage example of an intermediate code.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a data structure of an edge.

FIG. 16 is a conceptual diagram of rendering processing for generating edge data.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a drawing state of a figure.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a result of a rendering process when Y = Y7.

FIG. 19 is a processing flowchart of first color conversion area information generation and intermediate code generation.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing second color conversion area information generation and first RGB · C.
It is a processing flowchart of MYK conversion.

FIG. 21 is a processing flowchart of second RGB / CMYK conversion.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating division of graphic data.

[Explanation of symbols]

1B ... Data storage section, 1C ... Rendering section, 1D ... Image compression section, 1E ... Intermediate data storage area, 1F ... Compressed image data storage area, 1G ... Data output section, 11 ...
Image processing device, 12 ... Data input unit, 13 ... Print information interpretation unit

Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C087 AA15 BC05 BD13 BD36                 2C262 BA01 BA02 BA05 BA07 BA09                       BC11 BC19 DA03                 5B057 AA11 CA01 CA08 CA12 CA16                       CB01 CB08 CB11 CE17 CE18                       CH08                 5C077 MP08 PP19 PP32 PP33 PP37                       PQ12                 5C079 HB01 HB03 HB12 LA36 MA11                       NA03 NA06

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An intermediate data saving processing means for saving drawing data to be drawn according to a plurality of graphic data as intermediate data, and extracting each graphic data from the intermediate data saved in the intermediate data saving processing means, For each of the graphic data,
Edge generation means for acquiring edges to which drawing color information has been added for each predetermined scan line width, figure overlap elimination processing means for eliminating edge overlap between pieces of figure data generated by the edge generation means, and the figure overlap An edge sort processing unit that performs a sorting process on the edge sequence from which overlap has been eliminated by the elimination process unit, and a color that corrects the drawing color of each edge of the edge sequence that has been sorted based on the edge sort processing unit. An image processing apparatus comprising: a correction unit; and a conversion unit that performs color space conversion on a drawing color of an edge corrected by the color correction unit. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the graphic overlap elimination processing unit masks the graphic data drawn in a lower layer side with respect to the drawing data drawn in layers according to a predetermined drawing order. The contour data representing at least the contour of the upper-layer graphic data is created by tracing back the drawing order for each graphic data, and each graphic data is the graphic data excluding the area of the contour data created for each graphic data. An image processing device, characterized in that 3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the unit of the scan line width processed by the edge generation unit is one scan line. 4. An intermediate data saving processing means for saving drawing data to be drawn according to a plurality of graphic data as intermediate data, and extracting each graphic data from the intermediate data saved in said intermediate data saving processing means, For each of the graphic data,
Edge generation means for acquiring edges for each predetermined scan line width, graphic overlap elimination processing means for eliminating the overlap of edges between the graphic data generated by the edge generation means, and overlap by the graphic overlap elimination processing means. Edge sort processing means for performing a sorting process on the removed edge sequence; color correction means for performing correction on the drawing color of each edge of the edge sequence sorted based on the edge sort processing means; A conversion unit for performing color space conversion on the drawing color of the edge corrected by the correction unit, and conversion to a data array in raster scan order based on the edge sequence whose color space has been converted by the conversion unit and printout An image processing apparatus comprising: a data output unit. 5. An input means for inputting drawing data defined in a first color space, an intermediate code generating means for generating an intermediate code from the drawing data input by the input means, and the intermediate code generating means. Rendering means for converting the generated intermediate code into data in a format suitable for the output device, and when generating the intermediate code by the intermediate code generating means,
First additional information creating means for creating a first additional information by specifying an area in which a predetermined logical operation exists, and referring to the first additional information created by the first additional information creating means, the intermediate A first color conversion unit that converts a part of the code from the first color space to a second color space; and a first color conversion unit that remains without color conversion when the color conversion is performed by the first color conversion unit. Referring to the second additional information creating means for creating the second additional information by specifying the area in which the intermediate code of the color space exists, and the second additional information created by the second additional information creating means. An image processing apparatus, comprising: a second color conversion unit that converts the data after the rendering processing from the first color space to the second color space. 6. The image processing device according to claim 5, wherein the first color space is an RGB space, and the second color space is a CMYK space. 7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the rendering processing by the rendering unit extracts shape data from each of the background graphic and the additional graphic for each scan line, and determines a filled line segment for each scan line. Then, if necessary, perform predetermined logical operation processing,
An image processing apparatus, which is a process of outputting a line segment group for each scan line. 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first additional information created by the first additional information creating means includes a graphic for performing a predetermined logical operation process for each scan line. The second additional information created by the second additional information creating means is information that specifies whether or not a graphic in the RGB color space exists for each scan line. Image processing device. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the data in units of graphics forming the intermediate code exists in an area including a predetermined logical operation process and an area not including the predetermined logic operation process. An image processing apparatus comprising: a re-registration unit that re-registers an intermediate code for each figure by dividing it into a region including a predetermined logical operation process and a region not including the predetermined logic operation process. 10. A step of inputting drawing data defined in a first color space, a step of generating an intermediate code from the input drawing data, and a predetermined logical operation when the intermediate code is generated. Creating a first additional information by specifying an area in which there is an area, and converting a part of the intermediate code from the first color space to the second color space with reference to the first additional information. And a part of the intermediate code from the first color space to the second color space.
A step of creating second additional information by specifying a region in which the intermediate code of the first color space that remains without color conversion exists when converting the intermediate code to the output device. A step of converting a region remaining without being color-converted from the first color space to the second color space by referring to the second additional information after performing rendering for conversion into format data; An image processing method comprising: