Image-processing method, image-processing apparatus, and image-processing program product

• US 20040264801A1
• Filed: 04/16/2004
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Imai, Toshie, Tomiyama, Tadao
• Granted Patent: US 7,457,465 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/274
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/00 Image enhancement or restoration
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/56 relating to colour
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/62 Text, e.g. of license plates, overlay texts or captions on TV images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6072 adapting to different types of images, e.g. characters, graphs, black and white image portions

Abstract

Image data by which an image is represented with a plurality of pixels are acquired, a portion being image data characterizing an artificial image is extracted from the image represented by the acquired image data, and prescribed image processing is performed by excluding the image data of the portion extracted from said acquired image data in the artificial-image extracting procedure. Accordingly, the image processing can be performed without being affected by the artificial image.

Claims

1. An image processing method comprising:

an image-data acquiring procedure acquiring image data by which an image is represented with a plurality of pixels;

an artificial-image extracting procedure extracting a portion being image data characterizing an artificial image from the image represented by said acquired image data; and

an image processing procedure excluding the portion of the artificial image extracted from said acquired image data in the artificial-image extracting procedure and performing prescribed image processing.

2. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said artificial-image extracting procedure includes extracting a portion consisting of a plurality of successive pixels of a prescribed specific color.

3. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said artificial-image extracting procedure includes extracting a portion consisting of a plurality of successive pixels of the same color.

4. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said artificial-image extracting procedure includes extracting a plurality of portions, as prospective artificial images, each consisting of a plurality of successive pixels of a prescribed specific color, and extracting the prospective artificial images as the portions being image data characterizing the artificial images if ordinates or abscissas of their edges are coincident.

5. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said image processing procedure grasps tendencies of gradation of the image based on said image data and, when the tendencies of gradation is not in accord with prescribed desirable tendencies of gradation, revises the tendencies of gradation of the image by revising the gradients of each pixel.

6. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said image processing procedure includes backlight-revising processing increasing brightness of a darker part of the image.

7. An image processing method as set forth in either of the procedures in claim 1, wherein the image processing method comprises a backlight-image-checkup procedure determining whether the image data acquired in said image data acquiring procedure is of backlight or not by using prescribed algorithm, and said artificial-image extracting procedure and image-processing procedure are given to the image data which are determined to be of backlight in the backlight-image-checkup procedure.

8. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1;

wherein the image processing method comprises a procedure for determining the kinds of images which determines whether an image represented by the image data acquired in said image-data acquiring procedure is a natural image or not, and

wherein said artificial-image extracting procedure and image processing procedure are applied to the image data which is determined to be the natural image in said procedure for determining the kinds of images.

9. An image processing method as set forth in claim 1;

wherein said artificial-image extracting procedure calculates the quantity of a characteristic of the artificial image from the acquired image data characterizing the artificial image; and

wherein the image represented by the image data is extracted as an artificial image when the calculated quantity of the characteristic is close to the reference quantity of the characteristic stored in a prescribed storage medium in advance.

10. An image processing apparatus acquiring image data by which an image is represented with a plurality of pixels and performing image processing, comprising:

an artificial-image extractor extracting a portion being image data characterizing an artificial image from the image represented by said acquired image data; and

an image processor excluding the image data of the portion extracted from said acquired image data by the artificial-image extractor and performing prescribed image processing.

11. An image-processing program product acquiring image data by which an image is expressed with a plurality of pixels from a prescribed storage medium and processing the image data, comprising:

an image-data acquiring procedure acquiring image data by which an image is expressed with a plurality of pixels;

an artificial-image extracting procedure extracting a portion being image data characterizing an artificial image from the image represented by said acquired image data; and

an image processing procedure excluding the image data of the portion extracted from said acquired image data by the artificial-image extracting function and performing a prescribed image processing.