Patent ID: 8200030

Claim:
A method of converting a bit-plane image, the method comprising: separating an input image into n bit-plane images, wherein n is a positive integer; generating conversion processing units by binding “a” pixels, which are included in at least one lower bit-plane image having bits less than a predetermined number from among the n bit-plane images and are adjacent in one of a row direction and a column direction, wherein “a” is an integer greater than or equal to 2; and converting pixel values of each pixel in each conversion processing unit by accumulating each pixel value from an initial pixel to a b-th pixel from among the “a” pixels in each conversion processing unit in a first direction selected from among a positive direction and a negative direction, and accumulating each pixel value from a (b+1)-th pixel to a last pixel in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, in each conversion processing unit, wherein “b” is an integer less than “a”.