Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for compensating for dirt or etched areas on a document platen

US5214470A · kind A · utility

51Cited by
8References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateApr 9, 1992
Grant dateMay 25, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 9, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04N1/4097
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus are provided for detecting the presence of dirt or abrasions or etched areas on a document platen and for preventing these defects from being reproduced as unwanted spots on output copies. The platen is first scanned without a document placed thereon and an electronic image is generated and stored which contains information on the location of a dirt spot or inherent defects such as etched marks. Upon the initiation of a scanning mode with a document placed on the platen, the scanned electronic document image is subjected to a logical XOR process to correlate the previously stored spot location with the same location on the document image which is generated and stored. Once the spot location is determined, the spot is erased. A further logical step is used to determine whether the spot lies wholly or partially within any informational areas of the document image. To the extent there is such an overlap, the spot is restored to black in the overlapping areas.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.