Patents by Inventor Kiyoto Kosaka

Kiyoto Kosaka 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: 9544457
    Abstract: According to the present embodiment, an image-reading apparatus determines any one or both of the type of document and the shape of a document, selects any one or both of an appropriate document tilt detection method and an appropriate document position detection method according to any one or both of the determined type of document and the determined shape of a document, and detects any one or both of the tilt of the document and the position of the document by the selected detection method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2017
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Tomoaki Wada, Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Publication number: 20160286080
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a presumed background region extractor for extracting a presumed background region presumed to include an image of a background from an input image, a threshold value determination module for determining a threshold value based on pixels in the presumed background region, an edge pixel extractor for using the threshold value to extract edge pixels from the input image, and a document region detector for detecting a document region from the edge pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Publication date: September 29, 2016
    Inventors: Ryo Hayashi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Masayoshi Hayashi
  • Publication number: 20160277613
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a color component image generator for extracting a particular color component from an input image to generate a color component image, an expanded-color-component image generator for expanding particular pixels in the color component image to generate an expanded-color-component image, an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from the expanded-color-component image, and a document region detector for detecting a document region from the edge pixels.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Publication date: September 22, 2016
    Inventors: Ryo Hayashi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Masayoshi Hayashi
  • Patent number: 9420137
    Abstract: An image-reading apparatus according to the present invention reads one or more documents to acquire a read image, detects edge coordinates of a document image closest to an outer edge of the read image in a plurality of certain directions, and regionally divides the read image in the certain directions based on any one or both of a region of the read image in which no edge coordinates are detected and the edge coordinates of an edge end of the detected document image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Kiyoto Kosaka, Kazuaki Umi, Hiroyuki Kameda
  • Patent number: 9241086
    Abstract: An image-reading apparatus includes a case constituted to shut off ambient light and including an opening on a bottom surface thereof, an image capturing unit capturing an image of a medium in the case through the opening, a plurality of light sources disposed in the case to emit light to the opening, and an image-processing unit performing image capturing by the image capturing unit, and performing composition process on plural image data captured by the image capturing unit. The light sources emit light in a direction to form shadowed areas outside of different edges of the medium when the medium is smaller than an area of the opening, and the image-processing unit extracts the edges based on the shadowed areas in the image data and crops the medium from the image data based on the extracted edges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Masayoshi Hayashi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Ryo Hayashi
  • Patent number: 9160884
    Abstract: There are provided an image processing apparatus, line detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can precisely detect boundaries of a document from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image, a line candidate detector for extracting a line candidate from the extracted edge pixels by using Hough transformation, and a line detector for detecting a line from edge pixels within a predetermined distance from the line candidate by using the least square method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka, Hiroyasu Goto
  • Publication number: 20150256697
    Abstract: An image-reading apparatus according to the present invention reads one or more documents to acquire a read image, detects edge coordinates of a document image closest to an outer edge of the read image in a plurality of certain directions, and regionally divides the read image in the certain directions based on any one or both of a region of the read image in which no edge coordinates are detected and the edge coordinates of an edge end of the detected document image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 18, 2014
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventors: Kiyoto KOSAKA, Kazuaki UMI, Hiroyuki KAMEDA
  • Publication number: 20150256696
    Abstract: According to the present embodiment, an image-reading apparatus determines any one or both of the type of document and the shape of a document, selects any one or both of an appropriate document tilt detection method and an appropriate document position detection method according to any one or both of the determined type of document and the determined shape of a document, and detects any one or both of the tilt of the document and the position of the document by the selected detection method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 16, 2014
    Publication date: September 10, 2015
    Inventors: Tomoaki WADA, Kiyoto KOSAKA
  • Patent number: 9092869
    Abstract: Provided are an image processing apparatus, a region determining method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can appropriately determine a cutting off region from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image, a region detector for detecting a subject region surrounded by connected edge pixels among the edge pixels, a straight line detector for detecting a plurality of straight lines within the subject region, a rectangle region detector for detecting a rectangle region formed of four straight lines where two straight lines each are substantially at right angles to each other among the plurality of straight lines, and a region determination module for determining the rectangle region as a cutting off region from the input image when the rectangle region and the subject region are substantially the same.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2015
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Patent number: 8897574
    Abstract: There are provided an image processing apparatus, line detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can precisely detect boundaries of a document from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image which includes a document, a grouping unit for forming mutually adjoining edge pixels in the extracted edge pixels into a group, and an approximated line detector for detecting a line which connects edge pixels which are positioned at the two ends in a horizontal direction and vertical direction among edge pixels which are included in the group as a line which approximates an end of the document.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka, Hiroyasu Goto
  • Publication number: 20140294303
    Abstract: Provided are an image processing apparatus, a region determining method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can appropriately determine a cutting off region from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image, a region detector for detecting a subject region surrounded by connected edge pixels among the edge pixels, a straight line detector for detecting a plurality of straight lines within the subject region, a rectangle region detector for detecting a rectangle region formed of four straight lines where two straight lines each are substantially at right angles to each other among the plurality of straight lines, and a region determination module for determining the rectangle region as a cutting off region from the input image when the rectangle region and the subject region are substantially the same.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Publication date: October 2, 2014
    Applicant: PFU LIMITED
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Patent number: 8849042
    Abstract: There are provided an image processing apparatus, rectangle detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can precisely detect boundaries of a document from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image, a line extractor for extracting a plurality of lines from the extracted edge pixels, a rectangle candidate extractor for extracting a plurality of rectangle candidates each of which is comprised of four lines, and a rectangle selector for, for each of the plurality of rectangle candidates, finding a number of edge pixels within a predetermined distance of each side of the rectangle candidate, using a distribution of edge pixels as the basis to find a corner likeness of each corner, and using the number of edge pixels and degree of corner likeness as the basis to select a rectangle from the plurality of rectangle candidates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka, Hiroyasu Goto
  • Patent number: 8830534
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus, includes an image-scanning unit, and an image processing unit, wherein when the image-scanning unit continuously scans a plurality of documents, the image-scanning unit continuously scans the documents and parallel the image processing unit executes image processing on the scanned documents.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Yuichi Okumura, Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Patent number: 8812521
    Abstract: An image file sorting method is executed by an image file sorting device, including a storage unit, a control unit, and an image reading unit, wherein the storage unit includes a sorting condition storage unit that stores a sorting condition to specify a sorting destination of an image file. The method includes a sorting keyword extracting step of extracting a sorting keyword from a marker portion of the image file read by the image reading unit, a sorting destination deciding step of deciding the sorting destination of the image file by collating the sorting keyword extracted by the sorting keyword extracting step and the sorting condition stored in the storing condition storage unit, and an image file sorting step of sorting the image file into the sorting destination decided by the sorting destination deciding step.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Hidenori Yamamoto, Koichi Kitagawa, Yasunori Taniguchi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Satoshi Kubo
  • Patent number: 8576462
    Abstract: An apparatus includes: a light source opposite to one surface of a medium; a backing member opposite to another surface of the medium and including a backing surface opposite to the another surface of the medium; an imaging unit opposite to the one surface of the medium and at a position different from the light source in a conveyance direction, and to pick up an image of the medium and the backing surface on which a shadow of the medium is formed due to light from the light source; and a processor to generate image data including the image of the medium and the backing surface based on a result by the imaging unit, wherein the backing surface is inclined with respect to the conveyance direction, and a gap between the path and the backing surface decreases from a light source side toward an imaging unit side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2013
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Shingo Kanaya, Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Patent number: 8570595
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a control unit and an output unit. The control unit includes an image output unit that arranges an image read by reading processing in an area shifted in a certain direction in a display area in which read image on which reading processing is performed by an image reading apparatus is displayed, and outputs the image to the output unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2013
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Yasuhito Nagakoshi, Kiyoto Kosaka, Yuichi Okumura
  • Patent number: 8531726
    Abstract: An image read processing device connected to a scanner reading an image of a document comprises at least a memory and a controller. The memory comprises a setting information recording unit that records a setting information with an application to start up depending on a document size defined there. The controller comprises a scanner controlling unit that controls the scanner, a document size checking unit that checks the document size of the image read out by the scanner according to the control of the scanner controlling unit, and a start-up application determining unit that determines the application depending on the document size checked by the document size checking unit, based on the setting information recorded in the setting information recording unit and starts up the application.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 10, 2013
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventors: Kiyoto Kosaka, Naoyoshi Kiku
  • Patent number: 8451497
    Abstract: An image processor comprising a control unit, wherein the control unit includes a determining unit that determines a reading mode suitable for a document based on image data corresponding to the document read by an reader; and a converting unit that converts the image data according to the reading mode. The determining unit includes a color detecting unit that detects color information based on the image data; a color determining unit that determines whether the reading mode is a color mode based on the color information; a background detecting unit that detects a background of the document; a background removing unit that removes the background; a gray detecting unit that detects a size of an area of a portion which is not removed in the image data as gray information; and a gray determining unit that determines whether the reading mode is a gray mode based on the gray information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 28, 2013
    Assignee: PFU Limited
    Inventor: Kiyoto Kosaka
  • Publication number: 20130121595
    Abstract: There are provided an image processing apparatus, rectangle detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can precisely detect boundaries of a document from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image, a line extractor for extracting a plurality of lines from the extracted edge pixels, a rectangle candidate extractor for extracting a plurality of rectangle candidates each of which is comprised of four lines, and a rectangle selector for, for each of the plurality of rectangle candidates, finding a number of edge pixels within a predetermined distance of each side of the rectangle candidate, using a distribution of edge pixels as the basis to find a corner likeness of each corner, and using the number of edge pixels and degree of corner likeness as the basis to select a rectangle from the plurality of rectangle candidates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Publication date: May 16, 2013
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka, Hiroyasu Goto
  • Publication number: 20130120806
    Abstract: There are provided an image processing apparatus, line detection method and a computer-readable, non-transitory medium that can precisely detect boundaries of a document from a read image. The image processing apparatus includes an edge pixel extractor for extracting edge pixels from an input image which includes a document, a grouping unit for forming mutually adjoining edge pixels in the extracted edge pixels into a group, and an approximated line detector for detecting a line which connects edge pixels which are positioned at the two ends in a horizontal direction and vertical direction among edge pixels which are included in the group as a line which approximates an end of the document.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Publication date: May 16, 2013
    Inventors: Hirokazu Kawatani, Kiyoto Kosaka, Hiroyasu Goto