Patents by Inventor Michihiko Yamada

Michihiko Yamada has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10031435
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image onto a print medium based on input image data. The image forming apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set, based on component values of multiple colors acquired for each pixel of the image data, a limiting value on a toner amount to use in the image formation for each pixel, and an image forming unit configured to form an image onto the print medium with an amount of toner less than or equal to the set limiting value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20180088482
    Abstract: An image formation apparatus includes an image bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and a developing agent bearing member configured to carry a developer used to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member. The image formation apparatus forms an image by using the electrostatic latent image formed on the image bearing member. The image formation apparatus further includes an obtaining unit configured to obtain the information about a rotation speed of the image bearing member and a rotation speed of the developing agent bearing member; a determination unit configured to determine, according to the obtained information, a color conversion table used to transfer and record the input image data; and an image formation unit configured to convert a signal of the input image data according to the determined color conversion table and form an image with the converted signal value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20170353627
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an adjustment unit, an acquisition unit, and a forming unit. The adjustment unit is configured to adjust an output value corresponding to an input value including a predetermined value in a first lookup table storing the output value corresponding to the input value. The acquisition unit is configured to acquire a second lookup table by adjusting the first lookup table through adjustment of the output value by the adjustment unit. The forming unit is configured to form an image using color-adjusted image data generated by performing color adjustment on image data to be processed using a color conversion table generated based on the second lookup table acquired by the acquisition unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 30, 2017
    Publication date: December 7, 2017
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20170102632
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image onto a print medium based on input image data. The image forming apparatus includes a setting unit configured to set, based on component values of multiple colors acquired for each pixel of the image data, a limiting value on a toner amount to use in the image formation for each pixel, and an image forming unit configured to form an image onto the print medium with an amount of toner less than or equal to the set limiting value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Publication date: April 13, 2017
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 9436142
    Abstract: An application amount of developer on a printing medium on which a page that is to be processed has been formed is obtained based on image data that includes a plurality of pages, and based on the image data, a coverage ratio of the developer on a printing medium on which a predetermined page has been formed is obtained. Then, setting temperatures of the heater that respectively correspond to the application amount and the coverage ratio are obtained, and the temperature of the heater is controlled based on the measured actual temperature of the heater and the obtained setting temperatures of the heater, thereby performing control to subject the printing medium on which the page that is to be processed has been formed to fixing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2016
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20160246225
    Abstract: An actual temperature of a heater is measured, and the temperature of the heater is controlled. Based on image data that includes a plurality of pages, an application amount of developer on a printing medium on which a page that is to be processed has been formed is obtained, and based on the image data, a coverage ratio of the developer on a printing medium on which a predetermined page has been formed is obtained. Then, setting temperatures of the heater that respectively correspond to the application amount and the coverage ratio are obtained, and the temperature of the heater is controlled based on the actual temperature that has been measured and the setting temperatures of the heater, thereby performing control to subject the printing medium on which the page that is to be processed has been formed to fixing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 9407793
    Abstract: For enabling unified color processing to be performed even in the case of performing different color processing on a specific color, an image processing apparatus having a color conversion unit configured to perform color conversion using a LUT for defining conversion from an input color to an output color, comprises: an input unit configured to input an image that is to be a target of color conversion; an accepting unit configured to accept designation of a specific color; and a generation unit configured to register an output value corresponding to the specific color at an unused grid point in the LUT, and generate a specific color-associated LUT, wherein, if the specific color is used in an image input by the input unit, the color conversion unit performs color conversion using the generated specific color-associated LUT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2016
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20150256717
    Abstract: For enabling unified color processing to be performed even in the case of performing different color processing on a specific color, an image processing apparatus having a color conversion unit configured to perform color conversion using a LUT for defining conversion from an input color to an output color, comprises: an input unit configured to input an image that is to be a target of color conversion; an accepting unit configured to accept designation of a specific color; and a generation unit configured to register an output value corresponding to the specific color at an unused grid point in the LUT, and generate a specific color-associated LUT, wherein, if the specific color is used in an image input by the input unit, the color conversion unit performs color conversion using the generated specific color-associated LUT.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2015
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 8982407
    Abstract: The prior art has such a problem that image quality degrades because dots are conspicuous in the case where the size of each dot is not so small and the black or white dots are regularly aligned, in particular, in a bright part close to white or in a dark part close to black. It is determined whether a black or white pixel exists at a point-symmetric position with respect to a notice pixel using pattern matching for a binarized image and in the case where a pixel exists at the point-symmetric position, the notice pixel is replaced with a specific output pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 8836965
    Abstract: In the event that the printing operations of a printing job have been interrupted by an interruption cause, and the cause of interruption for the interruption job is removed, resuming of the printing operations of the interrupted job is enabled with a resuming method corresponding to a user request, received from a user via a user interface, for a selection option that has been selected from multiple selection operations relating to resuming methods of the printing operations. This enables job resuming processing of a job regarding which printing has been interrupted to be suitably executed even under a printing environment such as a POD environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michihiko Yamada, Kazuhiko Ushiyama
  • Publication number: 20140036278
    Abstract: The prior art has such a problem that image quality degrades because dots are conspicuous in the case where the size of each dot is not so small and the black or white dots are regularly aligned, in particular, in a bright part close to white or in a dark part close to black. It is determined whether a black or white pixel exists at a point-symmetric position with respect to a notice pixel using pattern matching for a binarized image and in the case where a pixel exists at the point-symmetric position, the notice pixel is replaced with a specific output pattern.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2013
    Publication date: February 6, 2014
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 8482787
    Abstract: The present invention provides an Image processing apparatus, etc. by which a user is able to set which of graphics, etc. and characters are enlarged to be printed on a priority basis. An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of separating a character object from a graphic object included in an image and adjusting sizes of the character object and the graphic object according to a priority of an object designated by a user. The adjusting step enlarges the size of a high-priority object and reduces the size of a low-priority object. Furthermore, the adjusting step includes the step of automatically adjusting the sizes of the character object and the graphic object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20120262740
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprising a receiving unit that receives a print command, an analyzing unit that analyzes the received print command, a converting unit that converts the received print command into CMYK when the analysis by the analyzing unit shows that a spot color is designated for the received print command, and an image forming unit that prints an image of the converted CMYK onto a recording paper and prints an image of CMYK obtained based on one of the received print commands for which no spot color is designated onto the recording paper.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2012
    Publication date: October 18, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Patent number: 7982888
    Abstract: A job processing method for a print system (1000) adapted to be able to perform a processing concerning a job to be processed by a print apparatus (100), the method comprising the steps of: enabling (s1207) by using a user interface (204) an input of an instruction for performing both a first operation and a second operation, the first operation being an operation that needs to perform a first print-processing (operation 3 of FIG. 30B) for a first number of sets and needs to perform a first-processing (operation 4 of FIG. 30B), the second operation being an operation that needs to perform a second print-processing (operation 5 of FIG. 30B) for a second number of sets using print data which is used in the first print-processing and does not needs to perform the first-processing, and enabling (s1212) both the first operation and the second operation by using the print apparatus (100) after receiving the instruction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 19, 2011
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Michihiko Yamada, Kazuhiko Ushiyama
  • Publication number: 20090207424
    Abstract: The present invention provides an Image processing apparatus, etc. by which a user is able to set which of graphics, etc. and characters are enlarged to be printed on a priority basis. An image processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of separating a character object from a graphic object included in an image and adjusting sizes of the character object and the graphic object according to a priority of an object designated by a user. The adjusting step enlarges the size of a high-priority object and reduces the size of a low-priority object. Furthermore, the adjusting step includes the step of automatically adjusting the sizes of the character object and the graphic object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 9, 2009
    Publication date: August 20, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20090043808
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a segmentation unit configured to segment input image data into a plurality of objects, a generation unit configured to generate data having a format including the image data and metadata for the image data, and a registration unit configured to register, in the metadata, an identifier for a user with respect to either of the image data or the object based on a user instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 6, 2008
    Publication date: February 12, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Michihiko Yamada
  • Publication number: 20070201071
    Abstract: A job processing method for a print system (1000) adapted to be able to perform a processing concerning a job to be processed by a print apparatus (100), the method comprising the steps of: enabling (s1207) by using a user interface (204) an input of an instruction for performing both a first operation and a second operation, the first operation being an operation that needs to perform a first print-processing (operation 3 of FIG. 30B) for a first number of sets and needs to perform a first-processing (operation 4 of FIG. 30B), the second operation being an operation that needs to perform a second print-processing (operation 5 of FIG. 30B) for a second number of sets using print data which is used in the first print-processing and does not needs to perform the first-processing, and enabling (s1212) both the first operation and the second operation by using the print apparatus (100) after receiving the instruction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2007
    Publication date: August 30, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michihiko Yamada, Kazuhiko Ushiyama
  • Publication number: 20070109586
    Abstract: In the event that the printing operations of a printing job have been interrupted by an interruption cause, and the cause of interruption for the interruption job is removed, resuming of the printing operations of the interrupted job is enabled with a resuming method corresponding to a user request, received from a user via a user interface, for a selection option that has been selected from multiple selection operations relating to resuming methods of the printing operations. This enables job resuming processing of a job regarding which printing has been interrupted to be suitably executed even under a printing environment such as a POD environment.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 10, 2006
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Michihiko Yamada, Kazuhiko Ushiyama