US7177462B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus and color image determination method thereof
Assignee: Minolta Co Ltd
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Filing: 2005-06-30
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Granted: 2007-02-13
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Expires: 2025-06-30
Abstract
Abstract The inventive image processing apparatus takes steps of 1) dividing an image to be processed into numerals of blocks; 2) determining whether a block is a color block or not; 3) determining whether the image is a color image or not based on the rate of color blocks to the entire blocks. Thereby, valid color pixel rate can be obtained at blocks belonging to a color region even though an image is almost monochrome but partially colored. Accordingly, the inventive image processing apparatus can appropriately determine whether the image is a color image or not.
Inventors
- 👤 Yoshihiko Hirota
- 👤 Katsuhisa Toyama
- 👤 Shoji Imaizumi
- 👤 Hideyuki Hashimoto
- 👤 Kazuhiro Ishiguro
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:18
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04N; H04N1/00; H04N1/46; H04N1/56
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
139 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first threshold for some pixels differs from the first threshold for other pixels.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
139 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first threshold for some pixels differs from the first threshold for other pixels.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
34 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first threshold of pixels farther from a center of the image is higher than that of pixels closer to the center of the image.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
130 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; means for adjusting the first threshold; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
130 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; means for adjusting the first threshold; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
135 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case the saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold and the brightness of it is below a second threshold.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
135 words
An image processing apparatus including: first determination means for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel; means for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; counting means for counting the number of color pixels for each block; second determination means for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting means; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first determination means determines a pixel as a color pixel in case the saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold and the brightness of it is below a second threshold.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
23 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the second threshold for some pixels differs from the second threshold for other pixels.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
34 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the second threshold of pixels farther from a center of the image is higher than that of pixels closer to the center of the image.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 4 , further including means for adjusting the second threshold.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
23 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the second threshold is lower than the brightness of pixels on a base portion.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
147 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, the color pixel determination unit determining a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first threshold for some pixels differs from the first threshold for other pixels.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
147 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, the color pixel determination unit determining a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the first threshold for some pixels differs from the first threshold for other pixels.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
34 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first threshold of pixels farther from a center of the image is higher than that of pixels closer to the center of the image.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
141 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, the color pixel determination unit determining a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; a threshold adjusting unit for adjusting the first threshold; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
141 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel, the color pixel determination unit determining a pixel as a color pixel in case saturation of the pixel exceeds a first threshold; a threshold adjusting unit for adjusting the first threshold; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks; a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
144 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks: a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the color pixel determination unit determines a pixel as a color pixel in case the saturation of the pixel exceed a first threshold and the brightness of it is below a second threshold.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
144 words
An image processing apparatus including: a color pixel determination unit for determining whether or not a pixel included in an image is a color pixel; an image dividing unit for dividing the image into a plurality of blocks: a counting unit for counting the number of color pixels for each block; a color image determination unit for determining whether or not the image is a color image based on the counting result by the counting unit; and a saturation data extracting unit for extracting saturation data based on difference values of maximum values and minimum values of an R datum, a G datum and a B datum of each pixel, wherein the color pixel determination unit determines a pixel as a color pixel in case the saturation of the pixel exceed a first threshold and the brightness of it is below a second threshold.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the second threshold for some pixels differs from the second threshold for other pixels.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
34 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the second threshold of pixels farther from a center of the image is higher than that of pixels closer to the center of the image.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
18 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 12 further including a threshold adjusting unit for adjusting the second threshold.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
23 words
An image processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the second threshold is lower than the brightness of pixels on a base portion.
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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) | 2010-02-12 | 2010-08-14 | 2011-02-13 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2014-02-12 | 2014-08-14 | 2015-02-13 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2018-02-12 | 2018-08-14 | 2019-02-13 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |