US6967745B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Image processing apparatus and method, and storage medium
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 2000-08-25
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Granted: 2005-11-22
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Expires: 2020-08-25
Abstract
Abstract When highly redundant information that expresses five tones using 4 bits is transferred to a printer in terms of a unit data length in data transfer, efficiency is very poor. Hence, multi-valued data is quantized to 5-valued data, which is output as a 4-bit code that can express five values. 4-bit codes for three bits are combined to be converted into an 8-bit code. The 8-bit codes are packed into data of a 16-bit unit, and the packed data is transferred to the printer.
Inventors
- 👤 Yuji Konno
- 👤 Hisashi Ishikawa
- 👤 Hiroshi Tajika
- 👤 Miyuki Fujita
- 👤 Norihiro Kawatoko
- 👤 Tetsuya Edamura
- 👤 Tetsuhiro Maeda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:41
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/46; H04N1/64; H04N1/648
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 25
Claim 1
Independent Claim
96 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a quantization section, arranged to quantize, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and output the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; a converter, arranged to combine and convert K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); and an output section, arranged to pack data converted by said converter into data of a predetermined number of bits, and output the packed data.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
96 words
An image processing apparatus, comprising: a quantization section, arranged to quantize, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and output the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; a converter, arranged to combine and convert K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); and an output section, arranged to pack data converted by said converter into data of a predetermined number of bits, and output the packed data.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the predetermined number of bits is equal to that data which is to be transferred to an image forming apparatus.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a controller arranged to compute a memory size that the image forming apparatus requires for a process, and to control said converter in accordance with the computation result.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein said controller controls said converter in a through pass state when the computed memory size required for the process is smaller than a memory size that the image forming apparatus can use.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said quantization section and said converter execute processes according to color components of the image data.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
51 words
The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein said quantization section quantizes image data of a color component in which a quantization error readily stands out to the N-valued data, and quantizes image data of a color component in which a quantization error hardly stands out to N′-valued data (where N′<N).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said converter does not convert the image data of the color component in which the quantization error hardly stands out.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
85 words
An image processing method, comprising the steps of: quantizing, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputting the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; combining and converting K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); packing data converted in the conversion step into data of a predetermined number of bits; and outputting the packed data.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
85 words
An image processing method, comprising the steps of: quantizing, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputting the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; combining and converting K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); packing data converted in the conversion step into data of a predetermined number of bits; and outputting the packed data.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 8 , wherein the predetermined number of bits is equal to that data which is to be transferred to an image forming apparatus.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method according to claim 9 , further comprising the step of computing a memory size that the image forming apparatus requires for a process, and controlling the conversion step in accordance with the computation result.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method according to claim 10 , wherein the control step includes the step of controlling the conversion step in a through pass state when the computed memory size required for the process is smaller than a memory size that the image forming apparatus can use.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method according to claim 8 , wherein the quantization step and the conversion step execute processes according to color components of the image data.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
55 words
The method according to claim 12 , wherein the quantization step includes the step of quantizing image data of a color component in which a quantization error readily stands out to the N-valued data, and quantizing image data of a color component in which a quantization error hardly stands out to N′-valued data (where N′<N).
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method according to claim 13 , wherein the conversion step includes the step of skipping conversion of the image data of the color component in which the quantization error hardly stands out.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
104 words
A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and comprising a computer program code for an image processing method, the method comprising the steps of: quantizing, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputting the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; combining and converting K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); packing data converted in the conversion step into data of a predetermined number of bits; and outputting the packed data.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
104 words
A computer program product stored on a computer readable medium and comprising a computer program code for an image processing method, the method comprising the steps of: quantizing, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputting the N-valued data as a K-bit code (where K is a natural number) that can express the N values; combining and converting K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number) into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); packing data converted in the conversion step into data of a predetermined number of bits; and outputting the packed data.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
92 words
An image processing apparatus comprising: a quantization section, arranged to quantize, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and output a K-bit code capable of expressing the N values; a converter, arranged to collect K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number), and convert the collected K-bit codes into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); and an output section, arranged to pack the L-bit code and the N-valued data into data of a predetermined number of bits, and output the packed data.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
92 words
An image processing apparatus comprising: a quantization section, arranged to quantize, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and output a K-bit code capable of expressing the N values; a converter, arranged to collect K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number), and convert the collected K-bit codes into an L-bit code (where L<M×K); and an output section, arranged to pack the L-bit code and the N-valued data into data of a predetermined number of bits, and output the packed data.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
103 words
A computer-readable storage medium comprising a program for implementing a printer driver, said driver comprising: a quantization module which quantizes, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputs a K-bit code capable of expressing the N values; a conversion module which collects K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number), and converts the collected K-bit codes into a L-bit code (where L<M×K); a packing module which packs the L-bit code and the N-valued data into data of a predetermined number of bits; and an output module which outputs the packed data.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
103 words
A computer-readable storage medium comprising a program for implementing a printer driver, said driver comprising: a quantization module which quantizes, in each pixel, multi-valued image data into N-valued data (where N is a natural number), and outputs a K-bit code capable of expressing the N values; a conversion module which collects K-bit codes for M pixels (where M is a natural number), and converts the collected K-bit codes into a L-bit code (where L<M×K); a packing module which packs the L-bit code and the N-valued data into data of a predetermined number of bits; and an output module which outputs the packed data.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
92 words
The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the image forming apparatus prints an image on the basis of data received from the image processing apparatus, and said image forming apparatus comprises: a separator, arranged to separate the received data into compressed code of a first predetermined number of bits and uncompressed code of a second predetermined number of bits; a restorer, arranged to restore the separated compressed code to a plurality of the uncompressed code; and a print section, arranged to print an image using the separated and restored uncompressed code.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the color component in which the quantization error readily stands out is a cyan, magenta, or black component.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the color component in which the quantization error hardly stands out is a yellow component.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2008-11-21 | 2009-05-23 | 2009-11-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2012-11-21 | 2013-05-23 | 2013-11-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2016-11-21 | 2017-05-23 | 2017-11-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |