# US 2023/0144014 A1 · Threshold matrix generating method

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- Number: US 2023/0144014 A1
- Document ID: US20230144014A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/147,512
- Filed: 2022-12-28
- Published: 2023-05-11
- Earliest claimed: 2020-07-29
- Assignees: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Junichi Nakagawa; Hirokazu Tanaka; Tsukasa Doi; Mayuko Yamagata; Satoshi Seki
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230144014A1

## CPC

- G06F 3/121: {Facilitating exception or error detection and recovery, e.g. fault, media or consumables depleted}
- H04N 1/4051: {producing a dispersed dots halftone pattern, the dots having substantially the same size (different sizes H04N1/4057)}
- G06F 3/1208: {resulting in improved quality of the output result, e.g. print layout, colours, workflows, print preview}
- G06F 3/1259: {Print job monitoring, e.g. job status}
- G06K 15/107: {Mask selection}
- G06F 3/1244: {Job translation or job parsing, e.g. page banding}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
- G06K: GRAPHICAL DATA READING (image or video recognition or understanding G06V); PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS

## Abstract

A first dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on a multi-valued grayscale value by using a first threshold matrix and a second dot pattern printed according to a result of quantization performed on multi-valued grayscale value by using a second threshold matrix are printed on a print medium in an overlapping manner. In order to generate the threshold matrices, a first initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a first grayscale value and a second initial pattern being a dot pattern corresponding to a second grayscale value lower than the first grayscale value are generated for pixel regions of the first and second threshold matrices. Then, thresholds of the first and second threshold matrices are set such that dot patterns having continuity with the first and second initial patterns are obtained at grayscale values between the first and second grayscale values.

## Claims

### Claim at position 1

-16. (canceled)

### Claim 17

An image processing apparatus for printing an image on a print medium by printing a first dot pattern and a second dot pattern on the print medium in an overlapping manner, the image processing apparatus comprising:
a first generation unit configured to generate the first dot pattern by quantizing multi-valued grayscale values by using a first threshold matrix;
a second generation unit configured to generate the second dot pattern by quantizing multi-valued grayscale values by using a second threshold matrix; and
a storage unit configured to storage the first threshold matrix and the second threshold matrix, wherein
the first threshold matrix and the second threshold matrix are generated according to a threshold matrix generating method and stored in the storage unit, the threshold matrix generating method including:
a dot pattern generating step of generating a first initial pattern that is a dot pattern corresponding to a first grayscale value and a second initial pattern that is a dot pattern corresponding to a second grayscale value lower than the first grayscale value for each of a pixel region of the first threshold matrix and a pixel region of the second threshold matrix; and
a threshold setting step of setting thresholds for each of the pixel regions of the first threshold matrix and the second threshold matrix based on the first initial pattern and the second initial pattern such that dot patterns having continuity with the first initial pattern and the second initial pattern are obtained at grayscale values between the first grayscale value and the second grayscale value.