Image processor for an improved tone level expression

• US 5,383,033 A
• Filed: 10/23/1992
• Issued: 01/17/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nippon Steel Corporation
• Inventors: Takahashi, Yasuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): BRINICH, STEPHEN M
• Application Number:
  US07/965,791
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 358/429, 358/465, 358/455-459, 382/50-53
• US Class Current: 358/3.03
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4051 producing a dispersed dots halftone pattern, the dots having substantially the same size different sizes H04N1/4057
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4052 by error diffusion, i.e. transferring the binarising error to neighbouring dot decisions

Abstract

An image processor comprises means for determining generation of a dot by a dither method when an inputted data is a low gray level region not larger than a first threshold, means for generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when the inputted data is in a high gray level region larger than a second threshold, and means for generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when the inputted data is in a region higher than an intermediate gray level region larger than the first threshold and not larger than the second threshold, and for generating no dot and distributing an error the portion by which the inputted data exceeds the first threshold in a peripheral area as error, so that different tone level processing is performed in accordance with the gray level of the inputted data.

Claims

1. An image processor for presenting tone level expression on the basis of continuous-tone image data applied thereto, said processor comprising:

a plurality of dot generating means for generating a dot on the basis of the image data in different modes, respectively, to be used when a tone represented by the image data is in a gray level region between a high level region and a low level region; and

means for comparing a fixed first value with a second value generated in a predetermined way, when the tone represented by said image data is in the gray level region; and

selecting one of said plurality of dot generating means depending on a result of the comparison.

2. An image processor according to claim 1, wherein said second value is generated at random in a range from a zero tone level to a highest tone level.

3. An image processor according to claim 1, wherein said second value is generated in accordance with a dither matrix.

4. An image processor for presenting tone level expression on the basis of continuous-tone image data applied thereto, said processor, comprising:

means for determining generation of a dot by a dither method when said image data is in a low gray level region not larger then a first threshold;

means for generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when said image data is in a high gray level region larger than a second threshold, which is larger than said first threshold; and

means for comparing said first threshold with a third threshold, which is produced by a predetermined process, when said image data is in an intermediate gray level region larger than said first threshold and not larger than said second threshold, generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when said first threshold is larger than said third threshold, and generating no dot and distributing a portion of the error exceeding said first threshold in peripheral areas as an error when said first threshold is not larger than said third threshold.

5. An image processor according to claim 4, wherein said third threshold is generated at random in a range from a zero tone level to a highest tone level.

6. An image processor according to claim 4, wherein said third threshold is generated in accordance with a dither matrix.

7. An image processor according to claim 4, wherein, when said image data is in the low gray level region, generation of the dot is determined through comparison with a threshold of a dither method, and the error is distributed in the periphery area when said image data including an error distributed from a periphery is negative.

8. An image processor according to claim 7, wherein said threshold of the dither method is determined by the same process as said third threshold.

9. An image processor for presenting tone level expression on the basis of continuous-tone image data applied thereto, said processor, comprising:

means for determining generation of a dot by a dither method when said image data is in a low gray level region not larger than a first threshold;

means for generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when said image data is in a high gray level region larger than a second threshold, which is larger than said first threshold; and

means for comparing said first threshold with a third threshold which is generated by a predetermined process when said image data is in an intermediate gray level region larger than said first threshold and not larger than said second threshold, and generating a dot and distributing an error in a peripheral area when said third threshold is in a region higher than said intermediate gray level region, and for generating no dot and distributing an error portion by which said image data exceeds said first threshold when said third threshold is in said low gray level region.

10. An image processor according to claim 9, wherein said third threshold is generated at random in a range from a zero tone level to a highest tone level.

11. An image processor according to claim 9, wherein said third threshold is generated in accordance with a dither matrix.

12. An image processor according to claim 9, wherein, when said image data is in the low gray level region, generation of the dot is determined through comparison with a threshold of a dither method, and the error is distributed in the periphery area when said image data including an error distributed from a periphery is negative.

13. An image processor according to claim 12, wherein said threshold of the dither method is determined by the same process as said third threshold.