Image processing apparatus
AssigneeMinolta Co., Ltd.
InventorAtsushi Ishikawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Dot characteristic points are first extracted from M-level image data by the dot characteristic point extracting device. A dot area identifying device subsequently identifies a dot area based on the results of the extraction carried out by the dot characteristic point extracting device. When the image attribute determination is completed, a parameter setting unit sets N-level conversion parameters based on the results of the determination carried out by the dot area identifying device. Consequently, N-level conversion takes place using the N-level conversion parameters appropriate for a dot area. Therefore, N-level conversion in which the occurrence of moire is prevented may be carried out regarding dot areas.
Claims14
An image processing apparatus that carries out image processing on M-level image data in accordance with image attribute, the image processing apparatus comprising:
- a dot characteristic point extracting device that extracts dot characteristic points from the M-level image data;
- a dot area identifying device that determines whether a target pixel belongs to a dot area based on the results of the extraction carried out by the dot characteristic point extracting device;
- an N-level conversion unit that converts the M-level image data into N-level image data (M>N);
- and
- a parameter setting unit that sets the N-level conversion parameters used by the N-level conversion unit based on the results of the determination carried out by the dot area identifying device.
An image processing method for carrying out image processing on M-level image data in accordance with image attribute, the image processing method comprising the steps of:
- extracting dot characteristic points from the M-level image data;
- determining whether a target pixel belongs to a dot area based on the dot characteristic point extraction result;
- setting N-level conversion parameters based on the dot area determination result;
- and
- converting the M-level image data into N-level image data (M>N) using the set N-level conversion parameters.
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an input unit that inputs M-level image data;
- a dot characteristic point extracting device that extracts dot characteristic points from the M-level image data;
- a dot area identifying device that determines whether a target pixel belongs to a dot area based on the results of the extraction carried out by the dot characteristic point extracting device;
- an N-level conversion unit that converts the M-level image data into N-level image data (M>N);
- a parameter setting unit that sets the N-level conversion parameters used by the N-level conversion unit based on the results of the determination carried out by the dot area identifying device;
- and
- an output unit that outputs an image based on the N-level image data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.