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:
Apr. 09, 2002
Filed:
Jan. 21, 1999
Hideo Kumashiro, Fukuyama, JP;
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
An image processing apparatus capable of reducing a nonuniform pitch in the sub scanning direction of an image, caused such as by unstable paper feed of a printer, for example, is formed as described below. An adder adds the density value of one pixel of an input multi-valued image and a diffused error output from an error weighting filter. A comparator compares an output from the adder and a corresponding threshold of a variable threshold matrix, and outputs the result as a binary image. The variable threshold matrix is formed of two sub matrices with a size of 3×3 connected in a main scanning direction, and an average value of thresholds in one sub matrix is larger than another. Accordingly, a line component vertical to the main scanning direction is added in an output image. This line component masks a nonuniform pitch in the sub scanning direction.