Patent ID: 6016363
Filing Date: 2000-01-18
Classification: G11B,H03M,H04N

Abstract:
A system constituted by a combination of encoding processing and decoding processing,wherein an integral body of information is formed of a plurality of pixel data each defined by a plurality of bits, a data block containing same continuous pixel data is compressed as one unit of compression, the encoding processing comprising:first encoding for specifying the data block of the one compression unit in the integral body of information;second encoding for generating a compressed unit data block based on a coding header, a number of pixels followed, and pixel data, wherein no bits are assigned to the coding header when a number of the same continuous pixel data is equal to or less than a first predetermined number, and at least two bits but less than a prescribed number of bits are assigned to the coding header when the number of the same continuous pixel data is greater than the first predetermined number but less than a second predetermined number, wherein the number of pixels followed indicates the number of the same continuous pixel data, and wherein the pixel data indicates the same pixel data in the data block of the one compression unit;third encoding for constituting the coding header by a specific number of bits which indicates that the same pixel data continues up to an end of a finite length data line on which the integral body of information is arranged;fourth encoding for adding dummy bit data to the data block of the one compression unit so that a total bit length of at least one data block of the one compression unit becomes a multiple of eight bits, if the total bit length is not a multiple of eight when generation of the data block of the one compression unit on the data line is completed,and wherein a bit train compressed in unit of the data block of the same continuous pixel data in the integral body of information is expanded, the decoding processing comprising:first decoding for detecting the coding header from the data block of the one compression unit in the integral body of information;second decoding for immediately fetching a predetermined number of bits as the number data of the pixels followed, when no bits are assigned to the coding header detected by the first decoding;third decoding for detecting, from the data block of the one compression unit, the number data of the pixels followed in accordance with a content of the coding header, when prescribed bits are assigned to the coding header detected by the first decoding;fourth decoding for determining a content of the pixel data in an uncompressed data block of the one compression unit in accordance with a remainder of the data block of the one compression unit, from which removed are the coding header detected by the first decoding step and the number data of the pixels followed detected by either the second decoding step or the third decoding;fifth decoding for arranging bit data of the content determined by the fourth decoding, by a number indicated by the number data of the pixels followed detected by either the second decoding or the third decoding, so as to restore a pattern of uncompressed pixel data of the one compression unit; andsixth decoding for arranging, up to the end of the data line, a content of bits subsequent to the coding header, when the integral body of information is arranged on the data line of a finite bit length, and when the coding header includes a specific number of bits indicating that the same pixel data continues up to an end of the data line, whereinsaid integral body of information includes a specific header comprising information of a size of said integral body of information.