COLOR COMPENSATION APPARATUS AND METHOD, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20100182619A1
• Filed: 12/23/2009
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: HP Printing Korea Co., Ltd. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KIM, Se-eun, KIM, Kyeong-man, OH, Hyun-soo
• Granted Patent: US 8,531,722 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 358/1.900
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6072 adapting to different types of images, e.g. characters, graphs, black and white image portions

Abstract

A color compensation apparatus, a color compensation method, an image forming apparatus, and a computer readable recording medium are provided. The color compensation apparatus includes a color scheme analyzing unit to classify an input image into one or more objects and to compute average color values for each of the classified one or more objects, a storage unit to store a color table proposed for color compensation, and a color compensating unit to compensate the average color values computed for each of the classified one or more objects using colors of the stored color table which match the computed average color values.

Claims

1. A color compensation apparatus comprising:

a color scheme analyzing unit to classify an input image into one or more objects and to compute average color values for each of the classified one or more objects;

a storage unit to store a color table proposed for color compensation; and

a color compensating unit to compensate the average color values computed for each of the classified one or more objects using colors of the stored color table which match the computed average color values.

2. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if a predetermined object among the classified one or more objects is represented by a single color, the color compensating unit converts an average color value of the predetermined object into a color matching the average color value, and compensates the color of the predetermined object.

3. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if a predetermined object among the classified one or more objects is represented by a plurality of colors, the color compensating unit compensates the plurality of colors of the predetermined object, taking into consideration an average color value of the predetermined object, a color matching the average color value and a color area of the matching color.

4. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stored color table comprises a plurality of colors for each color system, and the plurality of colors are proposed by a professional organization.

5. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the stored color table comprises a similar color range defined for each of the plurality of colors, and

the color compensating unit detects the color matching the computed average color value using a similar color range to which the computed average color value belongs.

6. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stored color table comprises a plurality of coloration schemes, of which each comprises a single main color and a plurality of sub-colors ordered by their priority and which are provided by a professional organization.

7. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the color scheme analyzing unit divides the classified one or more objects into a main object and a plurality of sub-objects according to importance, and computes average color values of the main object and the plurality of sub-objects, and

the color compensating unit detects colors matching the computed average color values of the main object and sub-objects using a coloration scheme with the highest similarity to the computed average color values among the plurality of coloration schemes.

8. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a similar color range is defined for each of the main color and the plurality of sub-colors which are contained in each of the plurality of coloration schemes, and

the color compensating unit detects the colors matching the computed average color values of the main object and sub-objects using a similar color range to which the computed average color values belong.

9. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the importance is a priority order which is previously set for each of the classified one or more objects.

10. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stored color table is capable of being updated.

11. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an input image converting unit to convert the input image into Commission Internationale de l'"'"'Eclairage (CIE) LCH color space,

wherein each of the average color values computed by the color scheme analyzing unit is at least one of an average lightness value, an average chroma value and an average hue value of each of the classified one or more objects.

12. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the color scheme analyzing unit classifies the input image into a background object, a text object, a graphical object and an image object according to characteristics of the input image.

13. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an output image generating unit to convert the compensated input image into color space suitable for an output format.

14. A color compensation method, comprising:

classifying an input image into one or more objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified one or more objects; and

compensating the average color values computed for each of the classified one or more objects using colors of a color table which match the computed average color values,

wherein the color table is stored for color compensation.

15. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein, if a predetermined object among the classified one or more objects is represented by a single color, the compensating comprises converting an average color value of the predetermined object into a color matching the average color value, and compensating the color of the predetermined object.

16. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein, if a predetermined object among the classified one or more objects is represented by a plurality of colors, the compensating comprises compensating the plurality of colors of the predetermined object, taking into consideration an average color value of the predetermined object, a color matching the average color value and a color area of the matching color.

17. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein the stored color table comprises a plurality of colors for each color system, and the plurality of colors are proposed by a professional organization.

18. The color compensation method according to claim 16, wherein the stored color table comprises a similar color range defined for each of the plurality of colors, and

the compensating comprises detecting the color matching the computed average color value using a similar color range to which the computed average color value belongs.

19. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein the stored color table comprises a plurality of coloration schemes, of which each comprises a single main color and a plurality of sub-colors ordered by their priority and which are provided by a professional organization.

20. The color compensation method according to claim 19, further comprising:

dividing the classified one or more objects into a main object and a plurality of sub-objects according to an importance, and computing average color values of the main object and the plurality of sub-objects,

wherein the compensating comprises detecting colors matching the computed average color values of the main object and sub-objects using a coloration scheme with the highest similarity to the computed average color values among the plurality of coloration schemes.

21. The color compensation method according to claim 20, wherein a similar color range is defined for each of the main color and the plurality of sub-colors which are contained in each of the plurality of coloration schemes, and

the compensating comprises detecting the colors matching the computed average color values of the main object and sub-objects using a similar color range to which the computed average color values belong.

22. The color compensation method according to claim 20, wherein the importance is a priority order which is previously set for each of the classified one or more objects.

23. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein the stored color table is capable of being updated.

24. The color compensation method according to claim 14, further comprising:

converting the input image into Commission Internationale de l′

Eclairage (CIE) LCH color space,

wherein each of the computed average color values is at least one of an average lightness value, an average chroma value and an average hue value of each of the classified one or more objects.

25. The color compensation method according to claim 14, wherein the classifying comprises classifying the input image into a background object, a text object, a graphical object and an image object according to characteristics of the input image.

26. The color compensation method according to claim 14, further comprising:

converting the compensated input image into color space suitable for an output format.

27. An image forming apparatus comprising a color compensation apparatus, wherein the color compensation apparatus comprises:

a color scheme analyzing unit to classify an input image into one or more objects, and compute average color values for each of the classified one or more objects;

a storage unit to store a color table proposed for color compensation; and

a color compensating unit to compensate the average color values computed for each of the classified one or more objects using colors of the stored color table which match the computed average color values.

28. A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program to execute a method, wherein the method comprises:

classifying an input image into one or more objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified one or more objects; and

compensating the computed average color values using colors of the stored color table which match the computed average color values,

wherein the color table is stored for color compensation.

29. A color compensation apparatus comprising:

a color scheme analyzing unit to classify an input image into a plurality of objects and to compute average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

a color compensating unit to compensate the average color values computed for each of the classified plurality of objects using colors of a color table which match the computed average color values; and

a storage unit to store the color table proposed for color compensation,

wherein the color table is received from an external source.

30. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the color compensating unit compensates by detecting colors similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects, setting the detected colors to target color values, and converting the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects using the target color values.

31. The color compensation apparatus according to claim 29, wherein the color compensating unit compensates by selecting a coloration scheme similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects, and converting the average color values using the selected coloration scheme for each of the classified plurality of objects.

32. A color compensation method, comprising:

classifying an input image into a plurality of objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

detecting colors similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

setting the detected colors to target color values; and

converting the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects using the target color values.

33. A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program to execute a method, wherein the method comprises:

classifying an input image into a plurality of objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

detecting colors similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

setting the detected colors to target color values; and

converting the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects using the target color values.

34. A color compensation method, comprising:

classifying an input image into a plurality of objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

selecting a coloration scheme similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects; and

converting the average color values using the selected coloration scheme for each of the classified plurality of objects.

35. The color compensation method according to claim 34, wherein the selecting is performed automatically.

36. The color compensation method according to claim 34, wherein the selecting is performed manually by a user.

37. The color compensation method according to claim 34, wherein the selecting is performed using a highest priority object of the classified one or more objects, the priority of the classified one or more objects being preset by a user.

38. The color compensation method according to claim 34, wherein the selecting is performed using a highest priority object of the classified one or more objects, the priority of the classified one or more objects being automatically preset.

39. A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program to execute a method, wherein the method comprises:

classifying an input image into a plurality of objects;

computing average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects;

selecting a coloration scheme similar to the average color values for each of the classified plurality of objects; and

converting the average color values using the selected coloration scheme for each of the classified plurality of objects.