Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Canon Kabushiki Kabushiki Kaisha

Ken-ichi Ohta

Masahiro Funada

Eiji Ohta

Shinichi Kato

Akihiro Usami

Yoichi Takaragi

Naoki Ito

Hidefumi Osawa

Tadayoshi Nakayama

Kitahiro Kaneda

Atsushi Matsumoto

Takuto Harada

Hiroshi Tanioka

Tomotoshi Kanatsu

Junichi Yamakawa

Reiji Misawa

Yushi Matsukubo

Yoshihide Terao

Tomohiro Akiba

Takashi Kawai

Yutaka Udagawa

Hirohiko Ito

Seita Shono

Mitsuru Uzawa

Yoshiko Horie

Shigeo Yamagata

Ritsuko Otake

Keiichi Iwamura

Yoshihiro Ishida

Junichi Hayashi

Hiroshi Kajiwara

Hirokazu Tamura

Takami Eguchi

Haruo Shimizu

Shigeo Fukuoka

Jun Tamaru

Yuki Matsumoto

An image processing apparatus includes a calculation unit configured to calculate an amount of a first coloring material in an area including a plurality of pixels; a determination unit configured to determine an allowable amount of a second coloring material in the area on the basis of the amount of the first coloring material, calculated by the calculation unit, and a limit of the amount of the coloring material; and a control unit configured to control an amount of the second coloring material in the area so as not to exceed the allowable amount of the second coloring material.

Image processing apparatus and method controlling the amount of transparent ink for recording

An image processing apparatus includes a calculation unit configured to calculate an amount of a first coloring material (at least one of cyan, magenta, yellow and black) in an area including a plurality of pixels; a determination unit configured to determine an allowable amount of a second coloring material, being substantially colorless and transparent, in the area on the basis of the amount of the first coloring material, calculated by the calculation unit, and a limit of the amount of the coloring material; and a control unit configured to control an amount of the second coloring material in the area so as not to exceed the allowable amount of the second coloring material.

Upon synthesizing objects, information bits indicating the types of objects are lost. To solve this problem, this invention provides an image processing apparatus having discrimination means for discriminating a type of object to be rendered, determination means for determining the presence/absence of synthesis of the discriminated object, synthesis means for synthesizing an object and information of the type of object in accordance with the determination result, and processing means for appending information indicating the type of synthesized object to a rendering result obtained by rendering the object to be rendered in units of pixels.

Image processing apparatus and method, and storage medium

According to this invention, encoded data of a target data amount is generated by one image input operation while both lossless encoding and lossy encoding are adopted. For this purpose, a first memory stores encoded data of a shorter encode length among encoded data generated by a first encoding unit which performs lossy encoding and encoded data generated by a second encoding unit which performs lossless encoding. A second memory stores encoded data from a second encoding unit. When an encoding sequence control unit determines that the encoded data amount in the first memory has exceeded the target data amount, the encoding sequence control unit discards data in the first memory, sets a quantization parameter for a higher compression ratio for the first encoding unit, and causes the first encoding unit to execute encoding. Encoded data before the encoded data amount is determined to have exceeded the target data amount is re-encoded by a re-encoding unit.

Image encoding apparatus and method, computer program, and computer-readable storage medium

This invention provides the following environment. That is, an original document file corresponding to a document to be copied is specified from image data of that document to be copied, and a print process is made based on the specified file so as to prevent deterioration of image quality. Also, when a document to be copied is not registered, a registration process is executed to suppress deterioration of image quality in an early stage. Furthermore, since the document is converted into vector data, re-use of such document is facilitated, and deterioration of image quality can be suppressed even when an image process such as enlargement or the like is made. To this end, when an original digital file cannot be specified, an apparatus of this embodiment executes a vectorization process (S), converts the obtained vector data into a data format that can be re-used by an application (S), and registers the converted file in a file server (S). With this registration process, since the location of the file is settled, that location information is composited on an image to be scanned using an identifier such as a two-dimensional barcode or the like (S), and the composite image can be printed (S). Even when the printed document is scanned again, a registered digital file can be easily specified.

Image processing method, system, program, program storage medium and information processing apparatus

It is required to protect the copyrights and the like of partial images which form respective parts of an image obtained by reading an image, exchanged using a print as a medium, by an image scanner or the like. Input image data is divided into a plurality of image regions having different features, digital watermarks, which are embedded in the detected image regions by embedding methods corresponding to the features of the image regions, are extracted, and the availability of the input image is checked on the basis of the extracted digital watermarks.

Image processing apparatus and method

A rasterizer generates bitmap images of RGB on the basis of object data inputted from a printer driver and stores the result in an image memory. The rasterizer brings attribute information representing attributes of the input object data into correspondence with each pixel of the generated bitmap images to store in an attribute map memory. An image processing unit converts RGB bitmap images stored in the image memory into binary bitmap data for each of YMCK colors which can be processed by an image forming unit. The contents of conversion processing such as dither matrix for binarization processing are switched on the basis of the attribute information retained in the attribute map memory.

Image processing method, system and apparatus, and storage medium

In order to produce a high-quality output of an image which is a mixture of images having different characteristics, there is provided an image processing apparatus having an image memory storing an entered color image and a feature detector, arranged for detecting a feature signal from the entered color image and storing the feature signal in the image memory. The feature signal represents a feature of the entered color image. An outputter is arranged for reading an image signal of the entered color image and the feature signal thereof out of the image memory, and outputting the image and feature signals as a recording signal. Processors are arranged for respectively processing one of a number of color components, which represent color image information, in accordance with the recording signal. The detection and storage in the image memory of feature signals and the readout of the image signal and associated feature signal from the image memory are performed in parallel.

Image processing apparatus and method based on feature of a color image

Stored digital data is searched for on the basis of an input image, difference information is extracted by comparing the retrieved digital data and the input image, and the difference information is composited to the digital data. Digital data generated by composition is stored. When no digital data is retrieved, the input image is converted into vector data, and the image that has been converted into the vector data is stored as digital data. Obtained region segmentation information and an input image are composited, the composite image is displayed on an operation screen of an MFP, and a rectangular block to be vectorized is designated as a specific region from the displayed region segmentation information. A user designates the specific region by designating rectangular blocks in an image using a pointing device.

Image processing method

This invention provides an image processing method which allows easy re-use of image information that is stored to minimize deterioration of image quality and the storage capacity. Storage means is searched for original digital data corresponding to each input image. If no original digital data is found, the input image is converted into vector data, and is stored as digital data in the storage means. A sheet including at least one of information associated with the found original digital data when the original digital data is found in the search step and information associated with digital data which is obtained by converting the image into the vector data in the vectorization step and is stored in the storage step when no original digital data is found in the search step is generated, thus providing a sheet that allows easy re-use.

Image processing method and image processing system

With a photocopier which stores original images read with a scanner in page memory, and prints later, in the event that judgment is made by a specified original judging unit that a specified original image is contained in an original document scanned for printing, the image signals stored in the memory are substituted with substitution image signals stored beforehand, and then output to a printer unit.

Image processing device having functions for detecting specified images

From inputted multilevel image data it is generated, for each pixel, image area information constituted by an image area component indicating whether the pixel exists in a character&#x2022;line drawing area or halftone area and an image area component indicating whether the pixel is chromatic or achromatic. The information is encoded by a lossless encoding unit on a block basis and stored, and an amount of code is monitored. When the amount of code exceeds a target amount, the lossless encoding unit performs encoding upon changing image area components, of subsequently input image area components, which coincide with a condition. The codes that have already been stored are temporarily decoded by a lossless code re-encoding unit, and the above image area components are changed. The resultant data is then re-encoded and stored.

Image processing apparatus and method for compression-encoding image area information

Conventionally, a color-image processing apparatus, such as a computer, or the like, cannot determine whether or not color-image data stored in an image storage device, such as a hard disk, or the like, is an image corresponding to a specific original. According to the present invention, a color-image processing apparatus includes a determination unit for comparing color-image data stored in an image storage device with a pattern stored in a pattern storage device. The color-image data stored in the image storage device is read with a predetermined timing, and determination by the determination unit is performed. The color-image processing apparatus is a computer, and the image storage device is a hard disk.

Color-image processing apparatus and method, and storage medium

This invention has as its object to provide an image processing apparatus, which can obviate the need for image re-input, can effectively generate encoded data that falls within a set size, and can minimize deterioration of image quality. To this end, an image processing apparatus according to this invention includes first discrimination unit for discriminating the type of image of each of a plurality of regions, which form image data input, second discrimination unit for discriminating if the image data is inputted by a continuous scan of images, selection unit for selecting an encoding method used in compression of each region on the basis of discrimination results of the first and second discrimination unit, first compression unit for compressing image data of each region using the encoding method selected by the selection unit, and second compression unit for compressing information that pertains to the type of image of each region.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Ken-ichi Ohta