Image color registration sensor calibration

#1. Field of Invention

#This invention generally relates to detecting and maintaining good image registration in color image processing.

#2. Description of Related Art

#The invention will be described in relation to the following drawings, in which reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

#FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of an image processing apparatus that incorporates the image registration control systems and methods in accordance with this invention;

#FIG. 2 shows one exemplary embodiment of an image forming device incorporating one exemplary embodiment of the image registration control systems and methods of this invention;

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one exemplary embodiment of an image processing apparatus 200 incorporating the image registration control systems and methods in accordance with this invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an image data source 100 and an input device 120 are connected to the image processing apparatus 200 over links 110 and 122, respectively. The image data source 100 can be a digital camera, a scanner, or a locally or remotely located computer, or any other known or later developed device that is capable of generating electronic image data. Similarly, the image data source 100 can be any suitable device that stores and/or transmits electronic image data, such as a client or a server of a network. The image data source 100 can be integrated with the image processing apparatus 200, as in a digital copier having an integrated scanner. Alternatively, the image data source 100 can be connected to the image processing apparatus 200 over a connection device, such as a modem, a local area network, a wide area network, an intranet, the Internet, any other distributed processing network, or any other known or later developed connection device.

#It should also be appreciated that, while the electronic image data can be generated at the time of printing an image from an original physical document, the electronic image data could have been generated at any time in the past. Moreover, the electronic image data need not have been generated from the original physical document, but could have been created from scratch electronically. The image data source 100 is thus any known or later developed device which is capable of supplying electronic image data over the link 110 to the image processing apparatus 200. The link 110 can thus be any known or later developed system or device for transmitting the electronic image data from the image data source 100 to the image processing apparatus 200.

#The input device 120 can be any known or later developed device for providing control information from a user to the image processing apparatus 200. Thus, the input device 120 can be a control panel of the image processing apparatus 200, or could be a control program executing on a locally or remotely located general purpose computer, or the like. As with the link 110 described above, the link 122 can be any known or later developed device for transmitting control signals and data input using the input device 120 from the input device 120 to the image processing apparatus 200.