Image processing apparatus and method

• US 20030095287A1
• Filed: 11/05/2002
• Published: 05/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Ouchi, Satoshi, Kobayashi, Koji, Miyagi, Noriko
• Granted Patent: US 7,403,310 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/2.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10008 from scanner, fax or copier
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20012 Locally adaptive
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20192 Edge enhancement; Edge preservation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30176 Document
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/002 Denoising; Smoothing noise processing or correction adapted to be used in an image pickup device containing and electronic image sensor H04N23/81, H04N25/60 - H04N25/67
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/003 Deblurring; Sharpening vibration or motion blur correction for cameras comprising an electronic image sensor H04N23/682
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/20 using local operators
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/73 Deblurring; Sharpening
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4092 Edge or detail enhancement
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6022 Generating a fourth subtractive colour signal, e.g. under colour removal, black masking

Abstract

An edge amount detector detects an edge amount from RGB signals, and a filter processor synthesizes an output for edge enhancement with an output for smoothing at a proportion based on the detected edge amount. Another edge amount detector detects an edge amount of a black component from CMY signals, and an ink generator/undercolor remover changes an ink generation rate according to the detected edge amount.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of adaptive processors each of which performs a predetermined adaptive processing in accordance with an edge amount of an image signal; and

an edge amount detector that detects the edge amount for each of the adaptive processors.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein signals input into the edge amount detectors have different characteristics, respectively.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input signals differ in spatial frequency characteristics.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the input signals differ in gamma characteristics.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein character portions of the input signals differ in line width.

6. An image processing method comprising steps of:

performing a plurality of predetermined adaptive processings in accordance with an edge amount of an image signal; and

detecting the edge amount in each of the adaptive processing steps.

7. The image processing method according to claim 6, further comprising making signals input into the edge amount detecting steps have different characteristics, respectively.

8. The image processing method according to claim 7, further comprising making the input signals have different spatial frequency characteristics.

9. The image processing method according to claim 7, further comprising making the input signals have different gamma characteristics.

10. The image processing method according to claim 7, further comprising making character portions of the input signals have different line widths.