Xerox Corporation

Eastman-kodak Company

Other

James C Stoffel

Jagdish C Tandon

Ned J Seachman

William Kingsley

John F Moreland

Joseph Anthony Manico

Dale Frederick McIntyre

Majid Rabbani

Paul W Jones

Roger Guy Markham

Chris W Honsinger

Pierre A Lavallee

Douglas G Wiggins

Robert F Allis

Roland J Handy

Abd-el-Fattah A Ibrahim

To R Hsing

Ronald G Matteson

Narayan K Kadekodi

Jack R Hauber

Chander B Ramchandani

A method and apparatus for developing an unprocessed photosensitive media and providing a visual receipt of the images developed. The apparatus includes a mechanism for moving a strip of photosensitive media along a processing path; a mechanism for applying a coating of a developing solution on the photosensitive media so as to develop any exposed image presented on the photosensitive media; a scanner for scanning the photosensitive media after the images have been developed so as to provide a digital record of the images; an order mechanism for allowing a consumer to place a photofinishing order; and a printing mechanism for printing a customer order receipt of the photofinishing order.

Method and apparatus for photofinishing a photosensitive media and/or ordering of imaging products

The method and system embeds digital meta-data into an original image in such a way that the meta-data can be completely removed at a later time to allow loss less recovery of the original image. The loss less recovery of the original image allows for a digital signature of the image to be embedded in the image itself and later recovered and used to verify the authenticity of a received image.

Lossless recovery of an original image containing embedded data

A color spatial filter for ink jet color printers, especially four color CYMK printers. The printer includes an enhanced print mode and associated logic circuitry which examines and corrects black pixel coloring to increase black picture quality and reduce intercolor bleeding. This is accomplished by examining a surrounding neighborhood of pixels around each pixel as they flow to a color swath print buffer and selecting a method of correcting the representation of each pixel, based on a set of predetermined rules, to produce black by choosing either K, a slow-drying high density ink, or CYM, a fast-drying ink having low intercolor bleeding to thereby control bleeding characteristics that provide the best copy quality images. A lookup table may be used for greater gradations of black representation. Alternatively, printing may be performed using a color printer having two black inks, each with different drying rates and picture qualities. In this case, the filter examines the color space pixel planes and enhances the image by updating the color space pixel planes with CYMK.sub.1 K.sub.2 based on each pixel and its associated neighborhood of values.

Color spatial filtering for thermal ink jet printers

A method and apparatus for fabricating long full width scanning arrays for reading or writing images. For this purpose, smaller scanning arrays are assembled in abutting end-to-end relationship, each of the smaller arrays being provided with a pair of V-shaped locating grooves in the face thereof. An aligning tool having predisposed pin-like projections insertable into the locating grooves on the smaller scanning arrays upon assembly of the smaller arrays with the aligning tool is used to mate a series of the smaller arrays in end-to-end abutting relationship, there being discretely located vacuum ports in the aligning tool to draw the smaller arrays into tight face-to-face contact with the tool. A suitable base is then affixed to the aligned arrays and the aligning tool withdrawn.

Method for fabricating full width scanning arrays

Method and apparatus for fabricating full width scanning arrays

A combined raster input and output scanner employing spaced document reading and copy printing arrays at a common read/write station. The document to be read and the copy to be printed are disposed in back to back relation and fed simultaneously to the read/write station between the document reading and copy printing arrays. The image reading array is a monolithic full line chip having dual staggered rows of image sensors with individual lenslets for focusing each sensor onto a scan line at the read/write station. To reduce cost, a minimum number of image sensors with relatively wide spacing therebetween is used. To offset loss of resolution, the reading array is movable between a first reading position where one-half of the document line is scanned and a second reading position where the remainder of the line is scanned. The copy printing array comprises a full line of ink jet nozzles, the number and disposition of the ink jet nozzles corresponding to the image sensors, the copy printing array being similarly movable between first and second copy printing positions concurrently with the reading array to thereby print the line in similar half-line increments.

Raster input/output scanner

Apparatus and method are described for a data communication network which has topological independence, low variance service time distributions, potentially guaranteed maximum time to transmit, easy expansion and high error tolerance. The network access control is fundamentally a permit (token) based system. This yields highly efficient utilization of the channel and powerful control over priorities on access to the network. In addition, a contention based scheme is provided to enable error recovery, startup, and restart to be fast and reliable.

Bandwidth efficient multipoint data communication system

A multi-mode scanner having a first automatic simplex scan mode, a second automatic duplex scan mode, and a third manual simplex scan mode, the scanner including a pair of scan stations for scanning opposing sides of a document, automatic document feeder means for separating a document to be scanned from a document supply and transporting the document to the first one of the scan stations where one side of the document is scanned in the first mode, and thereafter inverting the document and transporting the inverted document to the second one of the scan stations where the opposite side of the document is scanned in the second mode; a platen for manually accepting a document to be scanned in the third mode, and a movable scan carriage positionable in accordance with the mode selected having presettable optics to convey image rays from either the first or second scan station or from the platen to a scanning array.

Multi-mode scanner

An image input terminal (IIT) with automatic document handler for feeding documents to be scanned into registered position on the IIT platen. The IIT includes a pair of multi-element scanning arrays with cooperating scan lamp and optics on a movable carriage disposed in scanning relationship with the platen. Analog image signals generated by the scanning arrays are initially processed in separate channels and then combined into a serial stream. The stream of analog image signals may optionally be thresholded or screened to provide binary level image signals or converted to multi-bit gray scale. A control system including microprocessor provides timing and control signals for synchronizing operation of the scanning carriage, document handler, and image signal reading and processing together with electronic crossover between arrays to avoid loss of data, automatic signal gain and deletion of bad image signals or pixels. On board array alignment apparatus permits adjustment of array focus, skew, height, position and overlap.

Multiple mode raster scanner

An adaptive thresholder of the fractional average context type for processing image pixels in which an offset potential, which is used in conjunction with the image potentials of the nearest neighbor pixels to provide an updated threshold potential, is obtained on a pixel by pixel basis as a function of the pixel white peak and black valley potentials. The white peak and black valley potentials are compared with the image potential of each pixel being processed and with predetermined minimum white and maximum black potentials to provide updated white peak and black valley potentials for use in updating the offset potential during processing of each pixel.

Adaptive thresholder

Scanning apparatus having at least one self scanned array; a multispeed transport for carrying documents to be scanned past a scanning slit where the moving document is scanned line by line by the array at high speed on the assumption that most documents are composed of lines or text; processing the image signals produced by a line processing means; while scanning, using halftone and continuous tone detectors to look for halftone and continuous tone images respectively; where halftone images are detected, rescanning the line at low speed and processing the resulting image signals by a halftone processing means and thereafter reverting to high speed scanning; and where continuous tone images are detected, rescanning the entire document page at low speed and processing the resulting image signals by a continuous tone processing means and thereafter reverting to high speed scanning. Optionally, to enhance system operation, sub-sampling of the document being scanning when scanning at high speed may be performed.

Image scanning apparatus and method

An adaptive thresholder for processing image pixels. A portion of the image pixel line or lines is examined and the maximum and minimum pixels in the line portion determined. The maximum and minimum pixels are differenced, and the resulting difference signal compared to a constant representing the minimum desired change in background level. Where the difference signal is larger, a new threshold is thereafter used. To determine the new threshold level, the difference signal is multiplied by a factor representing the amount of change in threshold for a given event and the result subtracted from the previously determined maximum pixel. The subtracted output is brought within predetermined maximum and minimum threshold constraints to provide the new threshold.

A high density charge coupled device imaging array 58 with a bilinear array 60, 62 of photosites on a single integrated circuit chip is utilized in an image scanning configuration. Offset photosites 60a, 62a in two rows are coupled via transfer gates 64 to storage register 72 and then to two shift registers 74, 76, and via transfer gates 66 directly to two shift registers 68, 70 in a quadrilinear array. The output of these four shift registers 68, 70, 74, 76 are multiplexed to generate a single output pulse train representative of the information scanned.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

James C Stoffel