US5233441A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method for representing halftone dots with dot envelope parameters
Assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
•
Filing: 1992-03-20
•
Granted: 1993-08-03
•
Expires: 2012-03-20
Abstract
Abstract A method is implemented in a halftone printing system that permits a halftone dot to be represented by an envelope that is formed from a combination of straight lines that are drawn from tangent points, on the outer periphery of the dot, through reference axis for the dot. The intersection points of the tangent lines on the reference axis define the size (density) of the dot. Storing the intersect points as sets of values for each size dot provides a unique representation set that is used to reconstruct a selected dot size for printing a halftone image.
Inventors
- 👤 John F. Hamilton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 07:59
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/40; H04N1/405; H04N1/4055; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0082; G06K2215/0094
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of forming halftone dots of different shapes and sized comprising the steps of: a) generating dot envelope parameters by forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the envelope of the dot, within one area of symmetry of the dot, to a reference axis for the dot; b) recording the size and type of dots with dot envelope parameters; c) responding to a request for a particular dot by selecting from said recording the dot envelope parameters; and d) printing such dot in accordance with the selected dot envelope parameters.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of forming halftone dots of different shapes and sized comprising the steps of: a) generating dot envelope parameters by forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the envelope of the dot, within one area of symmetry of the dot, to a reference axis for the dot; b) recording the size and type of dots with dot envelope parameters; c) responding to a request for a particular dot by selecting from said recording the dot envelope parameters; and d) printing such dot in accordance with the selected dot envelope parameters.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the number of lines are straight tangent lines having slopes equal to powers of 2.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 1 wherein the boundary points are on the outer surface of the envelope of the dot for dot sizes below 50% of the maximum dot area and are on the inner surface of the envelope for dot sizes above 50%.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) determining the intersect points of a number of tangent lines or curves drawn from boundary points on a dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) representing the dot with values assigned to intersect points.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
49 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) determining the intersect points of a number of tangent lines or curves drawn from boundary points on a dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) representing the dot with values assigned to intersect points.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
19 words
The envelope method according to claim 4 wherein the slope of the tangent lines are exact powers of two.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
46 words
The envelope method according to claim 4 or 5 and further comprising the steps of: i. determining the values of the intersect points for a plurality of dots of differing size; and ii. storing the values for each dot for selective reconstruction at a later time.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
73 words
The envelope method according to claim 4 or 6 and further comprising the steps of: i. determining a set of values of intersect points for each of a plurality of dots of differing size; ii. storing the sets of values of each dot for selective reconstruction; and iii. printing an image by accessing at least one set of stored values and by reconstructing the dot on a printing medium a plurality of times.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
99 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of tangent lines or curves drawn from boundary points on the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table, for each pixel of an image to be printed, a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size dot that when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
99 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of tangent lines or curves drawn from boundary points on the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table, for each pixel of an image to be printed, a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size dot that when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
95 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of lines drawn from boundary points of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size dot that when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
95 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of the intersect points of a number of lines drawn from boundary points of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size dot that when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
120 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the envelope of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size of the dot and reconstructing the dot envelope by repeating the envelope of one area of symmetry for all of the remaining areas of the symmetrical dot which when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
120 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the envelope of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for the dot; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size of the dot and reconstructing the dot envelope by repeating the envelope of one area of symmetry for all of the remaining areas of the symmetrical dot which when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
163 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the outside envelope of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for dot sizes below a selected size and by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the inside of the envelope within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference point for dot sizes above a selected size; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size of the dot and reconstructing the dot envelope by repeating the envelope of one area of symmetry for all of the remaining areas of the symmetrical dot which when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
163 words
An envelope method of halftone dot representation comprising the steps of: a) forming a table of intersect values for each size of dot desired to be formed, the intersect values being determined by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the outside envelope of the dot within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference axis for dot sizes below a selected size and by the position of a number of lines drawn from boundary points on the inside of the envelope within one area of symmetry of the dot to a reference point for dot sizes above a selected size; and b) performing image printing by selecting from said formed table a corresponding set of intersect values representing the size of the dot and reconstructing the dot envelope by repeating the envelope of one area of symmetry for all of the remaining areas of the symmetrical dot which when printed will visually represent the image.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for generating a halftone digital image, wherein said halftone digital image has pixels representing density values at corresponding locations in the halftone digital image comprising the steps of: a) storing sets of intercept values representing corresponding halftone dot sizes in a memory, wherein dot size corresponds to a density value and wherein said intercept values represent the intercept of tangent lines with a reference axis and the outer boundary; b) selecting from said memory, in response to a location of a pixel in the halftone digital image, a corresponding halftone dot pattern; and outputting the binary bits as a halftone digital image pixel value that represents the density value of the image pixel.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
115 words
A method for generating a halftone digital image, wherein said halftone digital image has pixels representing density values at corresponding locations in the halftone digital image comprising the steps of: a) storing sets of intercept values representing corresponding halftone dot sizes in a memory, wherein dot size corresponds to a density value and wherein said intercept values represent the intercept of tangent lines with a reference axis and the outer boundary; b) selecting from said memory, in response to a location of a pixel in the halftone digital image, a corresponding halftone dot pattern; and outputting the binary bits as a halftone digital image pixel value that represents the density value of the image pixel.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4097847A
Cited
US4321631A
Cited
US4345245A
Cited
US4627002A
Cited
US4937761A
Cited
US4916545A
Cited
US5129050A
Cited
US5097426A
Cited
US4912562A
Cited
US5119439A
Cited
US5150225A
Cited
US5167013A
Cited
US5138696A
Cited
US5175821A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1996-08-02 | 1997-02-01 | 1997-08-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2000-08-02 | 2001-02-01 | 2001-08-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2004-08-02 | 2005-02-01 | 2005-08-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |