The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 28, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 04, 1997
Mamoru Tanaka, Tokyo, JP;
Hiroshi Inoue, Yokohama, JP;
Masaaki Imaizumi, Tokyo, JP;
Toshiaki Shingu, Kawasaki, JP;
Masamichi Ohshima, Yokohama, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
In an image processing method and apparatus, image data having multi-value levels for one pixel is input, and the input image data is quantized such that an output area of one pixel is adapted to an output device in which an output area of one pixel changes depending on the position of the pixel. A quantizing process executes an arithmetic operation based on an algorithm of a neural network on the basis of a value obtained by multiplying an output value by a weight corresponding to an area of each pixel. Therefore, even if pixels have different maximum luminances, the different numbers of bits, and different color expression capabilities, an optimum half-tone process can be performed by an algorithm based on a cellular neural network, and a high-quality image can be obtained.