Patent ID: 9008456
Filing Date: 2015-04-14
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. An image processing apparatus comprising a CPU operable as units comprising: a smoothing processing unit which performs smoothing processing on image data; a thinning processing unit which performs thinning processing on the image data; an edge direction determination unit which determines an edge direction with respect to each pixel of the image data; and a blending processing unit which decides a pixel value of each pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at a same time, wherein the blending processing unit decides a pixel value of a target pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at the same time based on a combination of whether the thinning processing is performed or not and whether the smoothing processing is performed or not on the target pixel by using pixel values of the target pixel and a surrounding pixel of the target pixel, change amounts in pixel value due to the smoothing processing, change amounts in pixel value due to the thinning processing, and the edge direction which is determined with respect to the target pixel, wherein when the target pixel is not thinned nor smoothed, the blending processing unit decides an original pixel value of the target pixel as the pixel value of the target pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at the same time if a pixel value of the surrounding pixel which is adjacent to the target pixel in the edge direction and a pixel value of the surrounding pixel which is adjacent to the target pixel in an opposite-edge direction are nearly the same as the pixel value of the target pixel, wherein when the pixel values of the target pixel and the surrounding pixels which are adjacent to the target pixel in the edge direction and the opposite-edge direction are not approximately the same and a surrounding pixel which is thinned and smoothed is adjacent to the target pixel in the edge direction, the blending processing unit decides the pixel value of the surrounding pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at the same time as well as the pixel value of the target pixel, and wherein the blending processing unit (1) decides the original pixel value of the target pixel as the pixel value of the target pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at the same time and (2) decides a value obtained by adding a change amount in pixel value of the surrounding pixel due to the thinning processing and a change amount in pixel value of the surrounding pixel due to the smoothing processing to an original pixel value of the surrounding pixel as the pixel value of the surrounding pixel when the thinning processing and the smoothing processing are realized at the same time.