Image Processing Apparatus Black White Line Thickening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing apparatuses face issues with blurring or breaking of thin lines and white areas during printing, requiring separate thickening processing for both black and white lines/characters, which complicates the system configuration.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus with a conversion unit that swaps signal values between white and black pixels, an adjustment unit for thickening black lines, and an output unit to invert pixel values after thickening, allowing for simultaneous thickening of both black and white lines/characters with a simpler configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If separate thickening processing is performed for both black and white lines/characters, then both black and white lines/characters can be thickened to prevent blurring and breaking, but the system configuration becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies inversion by converting white pixels to black pixels and black pixels to white pixels, allowing the existing black line thickening module to process white lines/characters. This is achieved through a conversion unit that inverts pixel values before processing, and another conversion unit that inverts them back after processing, enabling a single thickening module to handle both black and white line thickening without requiring separate dedicated modules for each color.
2Reliability
If a module for determining white areas and a module for thickening white lines is added, then white lines/characters can be thickened, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universality by making the line thickening module color-agnostic. Through pixel value conversion, the same thickening module that originally only processed black lines can now process both black and white lines/characters. The conversion unit transforms white pixels into black pixels temporarily, allowing the universal thickening module to handle both color types with a single configuration, eliminating the need for separate white line thickening modules.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an image processing apparatus including an image processing unit that generates a binary image in which the width of a black line has been changed, the binary image constituted by black and white pixels. The image processing apparatus includes a first replacement unit that replaces a white pixel in a first binary image by a black pixel and replaces a black pixel in the first binary image by a white pixel, to generate a second binary image, and a second replacement unit that replaces, in the second binary image in which the width of a black line has been thickened by the image processing unit, a white pixel by a black pixel and replaces a black pixel by a white pixel.