Patent ID: 6212303
Filing Date: 2001-04-03
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
A method of processing non-transposed image data derived from scanning a document using a document scanner, with the image data presented in the form of successive non-transposed scan lines of pixels, with said scan lines of pixels including a first non-transposed scan line of pixels and a last non-transposed scan line of pixels to be processed from scanning said document, said method comprising the steps of:(a) splitting each non-transposed scan line of pixels into a plurality of processing channels; with a predetermined number of pixels being located within each of said processing channels, and with each of said processing channels having overlap pixels assigned thereto at the time of said splitting, with said overlap pixels being located between extremities of said processing channels; and(b) initiating thresholding of the pixels in said processing channels in parallel after a predetermined number of successive non-transposed scan lines of pixels has been generated but before the entire document has been scanned using the document scanner with said thresholding using said overlap pixels when thresholding pixels in a processing channel near the extremities thereof;said method also including the step of:(c) compressing the thresholded pixels in each of the processing channels in parallel along a direction which is perpendicular to said successive non-transposed scan lines of pixels through using reference rows which are parallel to target rows of thresholded pixels, with each said target row of thresholded pixels having only one pixel from each one of said successive scan lines of pixels, with said splitting and compressing steps, in addition to said thresholding step, being initiated after said first scan line of pixels is generated but before said last line of pixels is derived from said scanning said document using the document scanner.