US6324309B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image processing apparatus
Assignee: Sharp Corp
•
Filing: 1998-06-23
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Granted: 2001-11-27
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Expires: 2018-06-23
Abstract
Abstract An image processing apparatus includes a pixel number transforming section for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each being represented by a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation or a decrimation on a pixel. It further includes a region decision value extracting section for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to, based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block composed of the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being considered to be the target pixel. A controller controls a sequential order of a filtering process and pixel number transformation process to be applied to a region, based upon the transformation increasing or reducing a number of pixels in a region. Finally, a region decision value transforming section is included for calculating a region decision value of each region processed with the pixel number transforming process by an interpolation or a decrimation of the region decision value as extracted from the input image data.
Inventors
- 👤 Mitsuru Tokuyama
- 👤 Masatsugu Nakamura
- 👤 Mihoko Tanimura
- 👤 Masaaki Ohtsuki
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 21:43
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T3/00; G06T3/40; G06T3/4007; G06T7/00; G06T7/10; G06T7/11; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/10; G06T2207/10004; G06T2207/10008; G06T2207/30; G06T2207/30176
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 33
Claim 1
Independent Claim
172 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs, based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block including the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being separately considered as the target pixel; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, by an interpolation of the region decision value extracted from the input image data.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
172 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs, based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block including the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being separately considered as the target pixel; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, by an interpolation of the region decision value extracted from the input image data.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
45 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising: region segmentation image processing means for segmenting image data into a plurality of regions based on the region decision value of each pixel of the image data, to image process each region.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
57 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein: said region decision value extraction means extracts the region decision value of the region that the target pixel belongs to, using a region segmentation table having two input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in the block.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
54 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 , wherein: said region segmentation image processing means includes a region segmentation filter for segmenting the image data into a plurality of regions based on the region decision value of each pixel of the image data, to apply a filtering process to each region.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 4 , wherein: said region segmentation filtering means processes a character region of the image data with an enhancement filtering process, by increasing a number of pixels.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
55 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 4 , wherein, the control means controls the region segmentation filter such that when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is applied to the region before the pixel number reducing process is applied.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
55 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 4 , wherein, the control means controls the region segmentation filter such that when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number increasing process, the filtering process is applied to the region after the pixel number increasing process is applied.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
62 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein: when the region decision value, as extracted from the input image data, indicates a probability that the target pixel belongs to each region, said region decision value transforming means performs an interpolation of the region decision value by one of a primary interpolation method and an Nth order interpolation method.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
52 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein: when the region decision value, as extracted from the input image data, specifies a region that the target pixel belongs to, said region decision value transforming means performs the interpolation of the region decision value by a nearest interpolation method.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
49 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 4 , wherein: said region segmentation image processing means further includes a γ-transformation section for applying a γ-transforming process to the image data processed with the pixel number transforming process and the filtering process, based on the region decision value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
50 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 10 , wherein: said region segmentation image processing means further includes a pseudo-halftone processing section for applying a pseudo-halftone process to the image data to which the γ-transforming process has been applied by said γ-transformation section using the region decision value.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
49 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 11 , wherein: said region segmentation image processing means further includes an image editing section for applying an image editing process to the image data processed with the pseudo-halftone process by said pseudo-halftone processing section using the region decision value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
43 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 11 , wherein: said region segmentation image processing means further includes a quantization-restoring section for restoring the image data processed with the pseudo-halftone process by said pseudo-halftone processing section using the region decision value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
86 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 3 , wherein: said region decision value extraction means computes a difference in density between pixels with respect to each combination of two adjacent pixels in a predetermined direction in a block composed of a target pixel and adjacent pixels, and computes a sum of the differences in the predetermined direction, and carries out these operations in each of a plurality of directions, thereby obtaining a minimum value among the resulting values as a degree of discreteness.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 14 , wherein: the plurality of said directions are different from one another by 45°.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
55 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, the control means controls a region segmentation filter such that when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is applied to the region before the pixel number reducing process is applied.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
55 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 , wherein, the control means controls a region segmentation filter such that when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number increasing process, the filtering process is applied to the region after the pixel number increasing process is applied.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
55 words
The image processing apparatus as set forth in claim 16 , wherein, the control means controls a region segmentation filter such that when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number increasing process, the filtering process is applied to the region after the pixel number increasing process is applied.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
156 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
156 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
201 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, wherein when the extracted region decision value indicates a probability that the target pixel belongs to each region, said region decision value transforming means performs an interpolation of the region decision value by one of a primary interpolation method and an Nth order interpolation method.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
201 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, wherein when the extracted region decision value indicates a probability that the target pixel belongs to each region, said region decision value transforming means performs an interpolation of the region decision value by one of a primary interpolation method and an Nth order interpolation method.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
231 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, wherein said region decision value extraction means computes a difference in density between pixels with respect to each combination of two adjacent pixels in a predetermined direction in a block composed of a target pixel and adjacent pixels, and computes a sum of the differences in the predetermined direction, and carries out these operations in each of a plurality of directions, thereby obtaining a minimum value among the resulting values as a degree of discreteness.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
231 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, wherein said region decision value extraction means computes a difference in density between pixels with respect to each combination of two adjacent pixels in a predetermined direction in a block composed of a target pixel and adjacent pixels, and computes a sum of the differences in the predetermined direction, and carries out these operations in each of a plurality of directions, thereby obtaining a minimum value among the resulting values as a degree of discreteness.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
182 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after pixel number transformation processing of the region, wherein, when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is applied before the pixel number reducing process is applied to the region, and vice versa, if a pixel number increasing process is applied; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
182 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: pixel number transforming means for processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; region decision value extraction means for extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; control means for controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after pixel number transformation processing of the region, wherein, when a pixel number transformation to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is applied before the pixel number reducing process is applied to the region, and vice versa, if a pixel number increasing process is applied; and region decision value transforming means for calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
153 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs, based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block including the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being separately considered as the target pixel; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, by an interpolation of the region decision value extracted from the input image data.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
153 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs, based on characteristic amounts representing characteristics of a block including the target pixel and a plurality of pixels around the target pixel, each pixel of the image data being separately considered as the target pixel; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation, by an interpolation of the region decision value extracted from the input image data.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
137 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after a pixel number transformation of the region, dependent upon the pixel number transformation of the region increasing or reducing the number of pixels in the region; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
160 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after pixel number transformation processing of the region, wherein, when the pixel number transformation process to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is performed prior to the pixel number reducing process, and vice versa if a pixel number increasing process is applied; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
Claim 33
Independent Claim
160 words
A method of image processing, comprising: processing input image data composed of a plurality of regions, each region including a plurality of pixels with a pixel number transformation, by performing an interpolation on a pixel; extracting a region decision value of a region that a target pixel belongs to with a region segmentation table having input parameters of characteristic amounts of a maximum density difference and a degree of discreteness in a block that includes the target pixel and surrounding pixels; controlling whether a filtering process is to be applied to a region before or after pixel number transformation processing of the region, wherein, when the pixel number transformation process to be applied to a region is a pixel number reducing process, the filtering process is performed prior to the pixel number reducing process, and vice versa if a pixel number increasing process is applied; and calculating a region decision value of each pixel processed with the pixel number transformation.
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