Image processing method and apparatus
US6118547A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 17, 1997 |
| Grant date | Sep 12, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 17, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/40087
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Provided is an image processing apparatus in which high-quality image representation is possible at very low cost even if high image resolution is obtained. The apparatus includes a first halftone processor for pseudo-halftoning an 8-bit image signal to a 4-bit image signal, an image processor, which comprises a color correcting unit, a converter, a resolution converter, a spatial filter and a gamma corrector, for processing the 4-bit image signal, a second halftone processor for pseudo-halftoning the image-processed 4-bit image signal from the image processor to one bit, and a recorder for outputting an image based upon the 1-bit signal. In another aspect, the amount of calculation required for highly precise color correction processing inclusive of image-quality adjustment processing is large. This has made it necessary to rely upon hardware such as an ASIC, a consequence of which is higher cost. Accordingly, a first halftone processor converts input 8-bit data to 4-bit data and a color correcting unit performs color correction processing, using a LUT conversion, of the 4-bit data. Since the LUT is updated in dependence upon adjustment of image quality performed using a control p…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.