US8175155B2 — Image processing apparatus, image processing meth…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 140 words

An image processing apparatus which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said apparatus comprising: an extracting unit arranged to extract an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; a variation calculation unit arranged to calculate signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculate a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; an N-ary conversion unit arranged to convert the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated by said variation calculation unit; and a determination unit arranged to determine an attribute of the image area based on the N-ary data obtained by said N-ary conversion unit.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 140 words

An image processing apparatus which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said apparatus comprising: an extracting unit arranged to extract an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; a variation calculation unit arranged to calculate signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculate a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; an N-ary conversion unit arranged to convert the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated by said variation calculation unit; and a determination unit arranged to determine an attribute of the image area based on the N-ary data obtained by said N-ary conversion unit.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 53 words

The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: an adjusting level deciding unit arranged to decide an adjusting level associated with an image adjusting process from the variation; and an image correction unit arranged to execute the image adjusting process based on the adjusting level decided by said adjusting level deciding unit.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 81 words

The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said variation calculation unit (i) extracts, in the image area, four pixel lines including the pixel to be processed, (ii) calculates, in each pixel line, signal value difference between two pixels putting the pixel to be processed as a center, (iii) specifies, from the four pixel lines, a pixel line having a largest absolute value of signal value difference, and (iv) specifies, as the variation, the largest absolute value of signal value difference.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 55 words

The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the N-ary data includes a plurality of values having zero as a center, and wherein said determination unit determines the attribute of the image area by using a variation time count being the number of sign changes in the N-ary data converted by said N-ary conversion unit.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 58 words

The apparatus according to claim 4 , further comprising: a variation time count calculation unit configured to calculate, as the variation time count, the number of sign changes in the N-ary data converted by said N-ary conversion unit, wherein said determination unit determines the attribute of the image area by using the variation and the variation time count.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 61 words

The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein said N-ary conversion unit converts the signal value differences into ternary data indicating any of “−1”, “0” and “1”, by using a first threshold and a second threshold, and wherein said variation time count calculation unit calculates, as the variation time count, a number of times that consecutive ternary data intersects with “0”.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 14 words

The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the N-ary data is ternary data.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 76 words

The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein said N-ary conversion unit (i) specifies a first threshold and a second threshold, (ii) specifies a larger difference between the first threshold and the second threshold when the variation is more than a predetermined value and a smaller difference when the variation is equal to or less than the predetermined value, and (iii) converts the signal value differences between the first threshold and the second threshold into “0”.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 27 words

The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the variation is a maximum value of the signal value differences of pixels surrounding the pixel to be processed.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 103 words

The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein said determination unit (i) determines the attribute of the image area as a halftone, when the variation time count is equal to or more than a third threshold, (ii) determines the attribute of the image area as a thin line, when the variation time count is equal to or more than a fourth threshold and is less than the third threshold, and (iii) determines the attribute of the image area as a bold character, when the variation time count is equal to or more than a fifth threshold and is less than the fourth threshold.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 32 words

The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein said determination unit determines the attribute of the image area as a picture, when the variation time count is less than a fifth threshold.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 120 words

An image processing method, which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said method comprising the steps of: extracting an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; calculating signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculating a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; converting the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated in said variation calculation step; and determining an attribute of the image area based on the N-ary data obtained in said converting step.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 120 words

An image processing method, which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said method comprising the steps of: extracting an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; calculating signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculating a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; converting the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated in said variation calculation step; and determining an attribute of the image area based on the N-ary data obtained in said converting step.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 137 words

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing, in executable form, a program for causing a computer to implement an image processing method, which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said method comprising the steps of: extracting an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; calculating signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculating a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; converting the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated in said variation calculation step; and determining an attribute of the image data based on the N-ary data obtained in said converting step.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 137 words

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing, in executable form, a program for causing a computer to implement an image processing method, which determines an attribute of an image including a pixel to be processed, said method comprising the steps of: extracting an image area having a predetermined size and including the pixel to be processed; calculating signal value differences between signal values of pixels in the image area, including the pixel to be processed, and calculating a variation of signal values from the calculated signal value differences; converting the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or greater than three) by using at least one threshold corresponding to the variation calculated in said variation calculation step; and determining an attribute of the image data based on the N-ary data obtained in said converting step.

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 159 words

An image processing apparatus comprising: an extracting unit arranged to extract an image area having a predetermined size and including a pixel to be processed; a variation calculation unit arranged to calculate absolute values of signal value differences between signal values of pixels selected in the image area, and acquire, as a variation of signal values, the largest absolute value of the calculated absolute values; an N-ary conversion unit arranged to convert the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or more than three) by using at least two thresholds corresponding to the variation acquired by said variation calculation unit; an adjusting level deciding unit arranged to decide an adjusting level of an adjusting process for the pixel to be processed based on the N-ary data; and an image correction unit arranged to execute an image correcting process for the pixel to be processed based on the adjusting level decided by said adjusting level deciding unit.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 159 words

An image processing apparatus comprising: an extracting unit arranged to extract an image area having a predetermined size and including a pixel to be processed; a variation calculation unit arranged to calculate absolute values of signal value differences between signal values of pixels selected in the image area, and acquire, as a variation of signal values, the largest absolute value of the calculated absolute values; an N-ary conversion unit arranged to convert the signal value differences into N-ary data (N being equal to or more than three) by using at least two thresholds corresponding to the variation acquired by said variation calculation unit; an adjusting level deciding unit arranged to decide an adjusting level of an adjusting process for the pixel to be processed based on the N-ary data; and an image correction unit arranged to execute an image correcting process for the pixel to be processed based on the adjusting level decided by said adjusting level deciding unit.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 30 words

The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the adjusting process includes at least one of an edge emphasis process using a filter, a substitution process, and an achromatization process.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2015-05-08	2015-11-07	2016-05-08	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2019-05-08	2019-11-07	2020-05-08	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2023-05-08	2023-11-07	2024-05-08	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, image processing program, and storage medium

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