Patent ID: 8482812

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: a first storage unit configured to store image data in order of the image data scanned in a main scanning direction, in a first storage device, a setting unit configured to sequentially move and set a matching pattern in the image data, wherein a length of the main scanning direction of the matching pattern region is longer than a length of the sub scanning direction of the matching pattern region, a transmission unit configured to transmit pixel information of the matching pattern region line by line in the main scanning direction, from the first storage device to a second storage device, and an object discrimination unit configured to reference the pixel information of the matching pattern stored in the second storage device and discriminate whether the matching pattern region is an object region based on the pixel information, wherein the object discrimination unit includes a first object discrimination unit and a second object discrimination unit, and wherein the transmission unit transmits the pixel information to be referenced by the first object discrimination unit from the first storage device to the second storage device, and if the matching pattern region is discriminated as an object region by the first object discrimination unit, the pixel information to be referenced by the second object discrimination unit is transmitted from the first storage device to the second storage device.