Patent EP-1215919-A2 (EP)
Inventor: ARAKAGE KAZUMI
IPC: H04N7/26
Filed: 1997-11-07
Abstract: A method of compressing first data representing a picture,
comprises the steps of
   quantizing the first data into quantization-resultant
data;   generating information in response to the
quantization-resultant data, the information corresponding to
a predetermined special effect on a picture represented by the
quantization-resultant data, the information being changeable
between first and second different states;   converting the quantization-resultant data into
conversion resultant-data being changeable among a
predetermined number of different states;   run-length encoding the conversion resultant-data into
encoding-resultant data;   multiplexing the conversion-resultant data and the
information into multiplexing-resultant data of a first
predetermined code having a set of different first code words,
wherein second code words selected from among the first code
words are assigned to the conversion-resultant data and also
the first state of the information, while a third code word
selected from among the first code words and differing from the
second code words is assigned to the second state of the
information; and   compressing the multiplexing-resultant data into
compression-resultant data of a second predetermined code,   wherein the first data represent characters, the first
data have segments each corresponding to a pixel, and the method
further comprises the steps of:   quantizing every 1-pixel-corresponding segment of the
first data into a 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the second
data is changeable among a first predetermined number of
different states corresponding to different luminance levels
respectively;   generating information of a predetermined special effect
with respect to the characters in response to the second data,
the information having pieces each corresponding to a pixel and 
each representing whether or not the corresponding pixel should
be a portion corresponding to the special effect;   converting every 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the
second data into a 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the third
data, wherein every 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the third
data is changeable among a second predetermined number of
different states corresponding to different luminance levels
respectively;   multiprexing every 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the
third data and every 1-pixcel-corresponding piece of the
information of the special effect into a 1-pixcel-corresponding
segment of fourth data, wherein 1-pixcel-corresponding segment
of the fourth data is changeable among a third predetermined
number of different states, and wherein one of the different
states of every 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the fourth
data is assigned to a 1-pixcel-corresponding piece of the
information of the special effect which represents that a
corresponding pixel should be portion corresponding to the
special effect while others of the different states of every
1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the fourth data are assigned
to every 1-pixcel-corresponding segment of the third data and
a 1-pixcel-corresponding piece of the information of the
special effect which represents that corresponding pixel should
not be a portion corresponding to the special effect; and   compressing the fourth data into fifth data of a
predetermined code.