Patent ID: 8744201

Claim:
An image encoding apparatus comprising: a scan converter for receiving a data block including a plurality of pieces of data set to correspond to pixel positions of a segmented image block, and scanning each piece of data in the received data block in a scan order represented in an order of a pixel position of the pieces of data; a scan state holder for accumulating non-zero information of each piece of data in the received data block in accumulated non-zero information obtained by accumulating non-zero information of each piece of data in a previously received data block for each pixel position, and updating and holding the accumulated non-zero information for each pixel position; and a scan order holder for searching for the updated accumulated non-zero information for every pixel position in the scan order, and when there is a part of the scan order where a value of the updated accumulated non-zero information is ascending, determining and holding a new scan order used in a following data block by replacing a scan order of two ascending pieces of accumulated non-zero information; wherein a plurality of the scan converters are provided, in which a first scan converter is configured to receive a preceding data block and a second scan converter is configured to receive a following data block, the scan state holder sequentially updates accumulated non-zero information based on the preceding data block, and when the scan order holder partially determines a new scan order for a following data block based on a part of the updated accumulated non-zero information the scan state holder acquires data corresponding to a pixel position associated with the determined new scan order, from the following data block and updates accumulated non-zero information in the pixel position associated with the new scan order, and the scan order holder partially re-determines a new scan order for a following data block based on the updated accumulated non-zero information in the pixel position associated with the new scan order.