Fuji Photo Film Company, Limited

Hideaki Kimura

Osamu Shimazaki

Hitoshi Urabe

Hiromi Yazawa

Tadashi Miyakawa

Masahiro Inoda

Hisashi Kudo

Haruo Aoki

Motoaki Matsumoto

The image processing apparatus of the present invention determines the number of surrounding pixels to be averaged and their locations, determines a weighting coefficient based on the density and contrast levels of an input image data derived from a continuous tone image, and performs an averaging operation on the input image signal by performing a weighting operation using the averaged result of the surrounding pixels, the input image data, and the weighting coefficient. Therefore, the image processing apparatus of the present invention is capable of reducing the noise level over a wide range of image types, from shadow regions with high density. Further to highlight regions with low density, and images reproduced by this apparatus do not exhibit a deterioration of the sharpness of image boundaries in the high density regions, images characterized by a gradual change in the density level do not turn out having an unnatural quality.

Image processing apparatus

A preamplifier providing adequate boost even to weak and small input currents, and thus achieving favorable gain and signal-to-noise ratio. An input current is converted to a voltage, which is provided to a differential amplification section. A phase-adjusted version of that voltage signal also is provided to the differential amplifier, the differential amplifier thus outputting an amplified signal based on the phase difference between its inputs. The preamplifier may be incorporated on a single chip, using MOS transistors or gallium arsenide techniques. A level clamping device may be provided in the event that the input current exceeds a predetermined value. The inventive preamplifier also may be incorporated advantageously into a waveform shaping circuit.

Preamplifier, and waveform shaping circuit incorporating same

An image of an original is recorded on a recording medium such as a film based on image signals produced from the original by scanning the original at a predetermined sampling pitch in a main scanning direction and also scanning the original in an auxiliary scanning direction transverse to said main scanning direction. Image information is read from the original at a sampling pitch which is N times (N is a positive integer) larger than the predetermined pitch in the main scanning direction, and image information is read from the original on at least every Nth scanning line across the auxiliary scanning direction, to produce image signals. The image signals are then processed in an image processing mode for sharpness emphasis, for example. The processed image signals are extracted repeatedly N times and recorded on the recording medium in a main scanning direction thereof. Processed image signals on N scanning lines are also extracted which include at least the processed image signals corresponding to an Nth scanning line, and recorded on the recording medium in an auxiliary scanning direction thereof.

Method of and apparatus for recording image

An image signal representing image information containing a periodic pattern is processed before it is broken up into halftone dots. First, the image information is averaged to generate an unsharpness signal, and then the unsharpness signal is processed for edge sharpness to generate a sharpness signal. Thereafter, a halftone-dot image is generated from the sharpness signal. More specifically, the sharpness signal Sij* is generated from a first unsharpness signal Uij which is produced by averaging the image information and a second unsharpness signal Uij which is produced by averaging the first unsharpness signal Uij, according to the equation:

Method of and apparatus for smoothing an image having a periodic pattern

An image scanning reading and recording apparatus delivers an original bearing an image to a reading position, scans the original with a first light beam to read the image to produce image information, processes the image information according to prescribed image recording conditions to produce an image signal, modulates a second light beam with the image signal to produce a halftone dot signal, and applies the halftone dot signal to a photo-sensitive medium to record the image thereon. An original feeding mechanism is coupled to the image scanning reading and recording apparatus. The image scanning reading and recording apparatus includes a control unit connectable to an additional memory for storing image recording conditions for originals stored in the original feeding mechanism. The orginal feeding mechanism successively feeds the originals to the image scanning reading and recording apparatus, and identifies the originals as they are fed. The contol unit selects those of the image recording conditions stored in the additional memory which correspond to the orginal identified by the identifying means and records the image on the photosensitive medium according to the selected image recording conditions.

Image scanning reading and recording system

A method and process for processing picture image signals detects color separation signals of a color original image and then respectively converts these color separation signals into digital color separation signals. These digital color separation signals are then multiplied by predetermined coefficients and the results of these multiplications are sequentially accumulated for equalizing the levels of the digital color separation signals at a grey point of the original image so as to thereby obtain digital color separation signals which are converted to equivalent neutral densities. Hue signals of yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta, and red which divide a color space into six hues are obtained from the digital color separation signals which are converted to the equivalent neutral densities. The hue signals are multiplied by predetermined color correction coefficients and the results thereof accumulated for color correction signals on yellow, magenta, and cyan. The digital color separation signals which are converted to the equivalent neutral densities are added to the color correction signals so as to thereby obtain selective color correction signals for recording the original image.

Method and apparatus for processing picture image signals

A non-linear analog-to-digital converter in which an output of a non-linear analog-to-digital conversion circuit is applied to a look-up table memory. The contents of the look-up table are adjusted to compensate for variance in the conversion circuit or to provide a different conversion.

Method of nonlinear A/D conversion

It will be said that a method for changing a sharpness intensifying coefficient with parameters of two signals, i.e. a sharp signal and an edge signal has not been established up to these days in spite of existing these two signals which are considered as parameters in the sharpness intensifying process. In order to intensify sharpness of a picture image to be processed, a difference between a sharp signal and an unsharp signal of the picture image is first obtained as an edge signal and the thus obtained edge signal is then multiplied by a coefficient for determining the degree of the sharpness intensification thereby to obtain a sharpness intensifying signal. The sharpness intensifying signal is added to the sharp signal in the adder, whereby sharpened signal is outputted from the adder.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hideaki Kimura