User interactive copy processing for selective color conversion or adjustment without gradation loss, and adjacent non-selected-color areas are not affected

• US 6,476,793 B1
• Filed: 05/15/1996
• Issued: 11/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Mikami, Fumio, Hara, Kenji, Motoyama, Eiichi, Arai, Koji, Yamagata, Shigeo
• Primary Examiner(s): Saras, Steven
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bell, Paul A.
• Application Number:
  US08/647,726
• Time in Patent Office: 2,365 Days
• Field of Search: 345/600, 345/601, 345/593, 345/594, 348/32, 348/34, 348/453, 348/576, 348/577, 348/538, 348/649, 348/650, 348/651, 348/652, 358/518, 358/1.9, 358/519, 358/520, 358/521, 358/523, 382/162, 382/164, 382/167
• US Class Current: 345/589
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 5/02 characterised by the way in which colour is displayed details of colour display specific for CRTs G09G1/28; specific for flat matrix panels other than liquid crystal displays G09G3/2003; specific for liquid crystal displays G09G3/3607
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/62 Retouching, i.e. modification of isolated colours only or in isolated picture areas only

Abstract

A more-natural-looking video is reproduced and a video data having a desired color tone is formed by preserving the tone of a video as an original in color conversion at a desired ratio. To this end, a criterion color register stores color information (hue, chroma and density) for determining whether input pixel data is eligible for conversion, a target color register stores color information indicative of a target color, and a preservation degree register stores a preservation degree that determines the degree of preservation in color conversion. A color determination section determines whether the input pixel data is eligible for conversion, and the determination result is output to a color converter section. The color converter section performs color conversion to eligible pixel data according to the information stored in the criterion color register, target color register and preservation degree register, with the result of the color conversion being output.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a first specifying unit, that specifies a color to be converted among a plurality of colors on a color image;

a second specifying unit, that specifies a color after color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;

a third specifying unit, that specifies a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after color conversion;

a fourth specifying unit, that specifies a criterion range in color conversion; and

a processor, that processes a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion,

wherein at least one of chroma and brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range, and each of said first specifying unit, said second specifying unit, said third specifying unit, and said fourth specifying unit is specified in accordance with a user'"'"'s instructions.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said first specifying unit and said second specifying unit comprise a digitizer.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of said first specifying unit and said second specifying unit comprise a color palette.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein information on the color palette is stored in detachable memory means.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display unit for displaying process results by the processing means.

6. The video processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said display unit presents as multiple images the image that are processed at a plurality of degrees of color change.

7. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

specifying a color on a color image to be converted;

specifying a color after color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;

specifying a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after the color conversion;

specifying a criterion range on a color image to be converted; and

converting a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion,

wherein at least one of chroma and brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range, and each of said first, second, third, and fourth specifying steps are specified in accordance with a user'"'"'s instructions.

8. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein each of said color-specifying steps are performed using a digitizer.

9. The image processing method according to claim 7, further comprising the step of presenting process results obtained in said converting step, using a display.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the display presents as multiple images the images that are processed at a plurality of degrees of color change.

11. The image processing method according to claim 7, wherein said first and second specifying steps are performed using a color palette.

12. The image processing method according to claim 11, wherein information on the color palette is stored in a detachable memory of an image processor that performs said image processing method.

13. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a first specifying unit, that specifies a color to be converted among a plurality of colors on a color image;

a second specifying unit, that specifies a color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;

a third specifying unit, that specifies a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after color conversion;

a fourth specifying unit, that specifies a criterion range in color conversion; and

a processor, that processes a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion,

wherein at least one of the chroma and the brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range, and

wherein each of said first specifying unit and said second specifying unit comprise a color palette, and information on the color palette is stored in a detachable memory.

14. An image processing method comprising the steps of:

specifying a color on a color image to be converted;

specifying a color after color conversion corresponding to the color to be converted;

specifying a degree of preservation in color conversion from the color to be converted to the color after the color conversion;

specifying a criterion range on a color image to be converted; and

converting a hue of the color to be converted to a hue of the color after color conversion; and

presenting process results obtained in said converting step using a display, wherein the display presents as multiple images the images that are processed at a plurality of degrees of color change, and

wherein at least one of the chroma and the brightness of the color to be converted is converted in accordance with the degree of preservation in color conversion and the criterion range.