Minolta Company, Ltd.

Katsuhisa Toyama

Yoshihiko Hirota

Kazuhiro Ishiguro

Hideyuki Hashimoto

Kaoru Tada

Shoji Imaizumi

Jiro Goto

Osamu Yamada

Hiroyuki Suzuki

Takayuki Nabeshima

Hiroshi Sugiura

Hiroyuki Ideyama

Akinori Yoshida

Koji Naito

Tatsuji Hirakawa

Naohiro Yonezu

An image processing apparatus includes a detecting unit that detects pieces of additional information embedded in image data, an analyzing unit that analyzes the detected pieces of additional information, and an embedding unit that (a) updates, when the analyzing unit analyzes that any of the detected pieces of additional information includes predetermined information, the predetermined information included in the piece of additional information, and embeds the updated predetermined information into image data at a location where the predetermined information is originally embedded, or (b) embeds, when the detected pieces of additional information do not include the predetermined information, a new piece of additional information including updated information, into the image data at a location that does not overlap locations where the detected pieces of additional information are embedded, the updated information being equivalent to the predetermined information.

Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus, information embedding method, and information embedding program

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.

Image processing apparatus, image forming apparatus and color image determination method thereof

An image formation apparatus includes a scanner unit entering image data, a printer unit printing out input image data, a signature information detection unit detecting additional information including destination information from the image data, and a communication processing unit transmitting information related to printing of image data to the detected destination. Additional information including destination information is detected from the image data. Information related to printing of image data is transmitted to the destination detected from the image data. Accordingly, information related to printing when image data is printed is audited at the destination side.

Image formation apparatus limiting print operation according to additional information embedded in input image data

A plurality of image forming apparatuses connected with one another via a network each have a power management table A and a power management table B. Each image forming apparatus uses the power management table A to cumulate power amounts consumed therein by each user group, transmits cumulating results (the contents of the management table A) to other image forming apparatuses. The image forming apparatus receives the contents of the power management table A from the other image forming apparatuses, obtains a sum of consumption power amounts of each user group, using the received contents and the contents of its own power management table A, and updates relevant fields in the power management table B. The image forming apparatus prohibits execution of a new job submitted by a group whose consumption power amount is equal to or greater than a maximum power amount.

Image forming apparatus, power consumption restriction system, power consumption restriction program, and power consumption restriction method

In a client personal computer, when a user starts a remote copy program, the initial remote copy and setting screens are displayed on a screen. Together with this display, power consumption information and status information describing the operating state of each image processing device such as printers and scanners are collected over a network. This information is updated as necessary. The power consumption is estimated for each combination of image processing devices cooperatively processing a job based on the collected information. The combination having the least power consumption among the possible combinations is displayed on a screen. When a user presses the start key, operation specification information including specification for cooperatively executing a job are transmitted to each selected image processing device. In this way, the combination having the least power consumption is selected when a plurality of image processing devices connected on a network cooperatively process a job.

Method for managing image processing devices on a network

An image processor receives color image data and converts them to image data of cyan, magenta, yellow and black necessary for image forming. The received color image data are subjected to color aberration correction, and various image data processing is performed on the image data after the color aberration correction in order to improve the precision of image processing on a color document image. The image data processing includes, for example, a specified color document is decided, automatic color selection and magnification change.

Color image processor

In a digital full color image processor, color data are obtained by reading a color image with a color image sensor. An image forming mode of the color image such as background level and magnification is specified, and the image forming mode is changed according to the specified image forming mode when the color data is processed. A reference value for area discrimination is changed according to the image forming mode. Then, an area such as a black portion or a dot area in the color data is discriminated for image processing of the color data with the reference value, and the color data is processed according to the area discrimination.

In a network system being composed of server apparatuses and a client apparatus, the client apparatus requests the server apparatuses to publish functions they can provide by using the function information requesting unit, receives information on such functions from the server apparatuses by using the function information receiving unit, generates the guidance menu based on the received information by using the guidance menu generating unit, and displays the guidance menu by using the displaying unit. Each server apparatus manages jobs requested by the client apparatus by assigning priorities to the jobs by using the job management unit, and searches a job having the highest priority at intervals and executes the job by using the job controlling unit.

Client-server system with effectively used server functions

In a digital full color copying machine, image signals of red, green and blue are converted to a value signal, and histograms of the value signal for chromatic dots and achromatic dots respectively are generated. Then, a document type, such as a color standard document, a color photograph document, a color standard document having a colored background, a black-and-white standard document, or a black-and-white photograph document, is determined automatically based on the histograms. Background level of a copy is controlled automatically at an appropriate level both for a color document and for a black-and-white document having a white background according to the document type by gradation correction of the value signal. Thus, background processing is performed irrespective of a color document or a black-and-white document.

Image forming apparatus for distinguishing between types of color and

When a monochromatic image is reproduced, a user can select desired mixing coefficients of red, green and blue in order to control gradation data for the reproduction of a monochromatic image as well as a monochromatic reproduction color. When a document is automatically determined not to be a color document, the mixing coefficients of red, green and blue are changed according to the type of the document. If a monochromatic copy mode is selected, the mixing coefficients can be set manually. Preferably, in order to help a user to select mixing coefficients, a plurality of images of monochromatic colors of various mixing coefficients of red, green and blue can be printed on a single sheet of paper.

Image reproducing apparatus for forming either of a color image or a

An image reading apparatus comprises a photoelectric converter including three linear image sensors of red, green and blue aligned in parallel to each other along a main scan direction. When a document is scanned, a document is read by the photoelectric converter by moving it relative to the document. The moving direction is set to be a first direction, for a prescan and a second direction reverse to the first direction, for a normal scan. Analog output signals of the first to third linear image sensor are converted to digital signals. In a prescan, a selector exchanges the digital signals of the first and third linear image sensors, while in a normal scan, the selector does not exchange them. Then, a line correction section receives the digital signals of the first and third linear image sensors from the selector and the digital signals of the second linear image sensor from the analog-to-digital converter and outputs the digital signals of the first to third linear image sensors by delaying outputs of the digital signals with delay times determined in correspondence to spacial distances between positions of the three linear image sensors and a scan speed along the moving direction. Thus, image data can be read without shifts of output timings of the image data of red, green and blue.

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Toyokawa, Japan

Katsuhisa Toyama