Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Mitsuaki Nakamura

Yoshihiro Kitamura

Hiroshi Akagi

Keisuke Iwasaki

Kazuyuki Nako

Hisashi Saiga

Yuji Sawada

Masashi Hirosawa

A network terminal of the present invention includes: a synchronization information frame receiving section for receiving a synchronization information frame from a master terminal; a network information managing section for maintaining the network by being synchronized with the synchronization information frame; a synchronization information frame missing detection section for detecting the missing of the synchronization information frame from the master terminal; a priority list storing section for storing a priority list which defines a synchronization information frame transmission start time in such a manner as to differentiate synchronization information frame transmission start times between the network terminals; and a synchronization information frame transmission section for, in a case where the network terminal acts as a new master terminal of the network system, periodically outputting a synchronization information frame, from the synchronization information frame transmission start time in accordance with the priority list, synchronization information frame transmitting section starting to output the synchronization information frame after the missing of the synchronization information frame is detected.

Network terminal, network system, method of controlling network terminal, and program

In an image processing device, in order to display an image on a display device having nonlinear gradation characteristics, first, a contrast estimation unit () estimates the contrast of the image represented by the image data () input from an image input device. Next, a luminance correction unit () subjects the pixel data constituting the image data () to a luminance conversion process on the basis of the estimated contrast and the gradation characteristics. Furthermore, the pixel data may sometimes be subjected to a sharpening process. The level of the sharpening performed for one or a plurality of character regions in the image represented by the image data () is higher than that for the pixel data of the pixels in remaining regions other than the character regions in the image. The image data () comprising the pixel data subjected to these processes is supplied to the display device. Therefore, the visibility of the image displayed on the display device can be improved.

Image processing device and image processing method

A one-dimensional image synthesizing unit,images an subject, and produces a plurality of image-to-be-combined signals expressing images-to-be-combined having overlapped regions. A central processing unit,first obtains matching of images of the subject for each of adjacent images-to-be-combined for all image-to-be-combined signals by center and large block matching processes, and detects the deviations of overlapped regions from the obtained matching. Next, in a small block matching process, on the basis of the deviations of the overlapped regions, a plurality of reference blocks and search regions are made to correspond to each other and are set in the respective overlapped regions, and the deviations of the images of the subject are detected in a unit of each search region in more detail than the deviations detected by the large block matching process. Finally, each of the images-to-be-combined is partially geometrically deformed so as to cancel the deviation of the image of the subject, the reference block and the search block are made coincident with each other, and all image-to-be-combined signals are combined to superimpose the respective images-to-be-combined, so that combined image signals are obtained.

Image synthesizing device and method

A character recognition method for recognizing characters on an article having multiple character-bearing areas, such as a license plate, first involves obtaining image data from an image of the article. The method then assigns at least one parameter to a selected character-bearing area on the article. The method then attempts to obtain a correct frame which expresses the correct positional relationship between the selected character-bearing area on the article with other character-bearing areas of the article, and then uses that correct frame to perform character recognition with respect to each of the character-bearing areas of the article. To obtain the correct frame, the invention compares the image data of the article with plural candidate frames. The plural candidate frames are calculated using the predetermined positional correlation between (1) the selected character-bearing area &lsqb;as represented by the at least one parameter&rsqb; and (2) other character-bearing areas of the article.

Character recognition using candidate frames to determine character location

In forming a panoramic picture image by compositing picture images dividedly imaged, the invention corrects deviations of images of an object at overlap regions caused by a difference in fields of view of imaging means or movement of an object to be imaged in which a picture image forming apparatus includes a picture image inputting device, a frame memory for storing divided picture images inputted from the picture image inputting device, a picture image position calculating unit for calculating positions of compositing the divided picture images, a picture image parallax sampling and processing unit for sampling parallax information among picture images from picture images including parallaxes in the overlap regions among contiguous divided picture images, an intermediate picture image forming and processing unit for forming a plurality of intermediate picture images from the picture images including the parallaxes and a picture image composition and processing unit for compositing a panoramic picture image from the divided picture images where the deviations of images in the overlap regions are corrected by the picture image parallax sampling and processing unit and the panoramic picture images are composited performing an interpolation by the intermediate picture images formed by the intermediate picture image forming and processing unit.

Picture image forming apparatus

It is possible to clearly extract objects such as characters and line figures by eliminating the effect of shading from an input image containing self-shaded objects and/or vaguely contoured objects together with distinctly contoured object and thereby to extract all objects clearly and completely. A sample point setting portion sets sample points, a sample point shade calculating portion determines an optical density of shading at each sample point according to an optical density distribution of pixels in a reference block including the sample point at the center thereof. A shade calculating portion determines shade densities at the other points than the sample points and generates shade image, a shade removing portion generates a shade-removed image by removing the shading effect from the input image by using the shade image. A quantizing portion binarizes the shade-removed image and an image output portion outputs the obtained binary image.

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Tenri, Japan

Mitsuaki Nakamura