Patents by Inventor Nao Kaneko

Nao Kaneko 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: 9144998
    Abstract: The invention relates to a printing method of creating an image on a medium by discharging a plurality of colored inks each containing a colorant and clear ink containing no colorant from a nozzle toward the medium. Further the colored inks are discharged from the nozzle toward a unit region defined in the medium by an amount determined on the basis of respective amounts of cyan ink and magenta ink included in the colored inks to be discharged to the unit region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuaki Sakurada, Nao Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20140253621
    Abstract: The invention relates to a printing method of creating an image on a medium by discharging a plurality of colored inks each containing a colorant and clear ink containing no colorant from a nozzle toward the medium. Further the colored inks are discharged from the nozzle toward a unit region defined in the medium by an amount determined on the basis of respective amounts of cyan ink and magenta ink included in the colored inks to be discharged to the unit region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 5, 2014
    Publication date: September 11, 2014
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Kazuaki SAKURADA, Nao KANEKO
  • Patent number: 8675255
    Abstract: A second chromaticity feature is corrected and approximated to a first chromaticity feature, a new limit value for an ink amount is determined based on the second chromaticity feature after the approximation, optimization is performed by designating an ink amount which is equal to or less than the newly determined limit value when an ink amount reproducing a hue value represented by a lattice point is determined by the optimization of the ink amount with the use of an object function for evaluating image quality when the designated amount of ink is made to adhere to a first print medium, the ink amount determined by the optimization is converted with a conversion relationship based on the first chromaticity feature and the second chromaticity feature, and a profile for a second print medium, for which the converted ink amount has been defined, is created.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masami Fukuda, Nao Kaneko
  • Patent number: 8634117
    Abstract: A second chromaticity value feature is corrected and approximated to a first chromaticity value feature, a new limit value for an ink amount is determined based on the second chromaticity value feature after the approximation, optimization is performed by designating an ink amount which is equal to or less than the newly determined limit value when an ink amount reproducing a hue value represented by a lattice point is determined by the optimization of the ink amount with the use of an object function for evaluating image quality when the designated amount of ink is made to adhere to a first print medium, the ink amount determined by the optimization is converted with a conversion relationship based on the first chromaticity value feature and the second value chromaticity feature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masami Fukuda, Nao Kaneko
  • Patent number: 8610952
    Abstract: Provided is a printing control device capable of: a reception process of receiving designation of a printing medium; an adjustment process of adjusting a printing apparatus in accordance with a printing result of a first test pattern; a color conversion table generation process of generating a color conversion table for the designated printing medium; and a profile generation process of generating a device profile of the printing apparatus on the basis of a colorimetric value of a second test pattern by performing color conversion on data, which represents the second test pattern, through the color conversion table, and by causing the printing apparatus to print the second test pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2013
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masami Fukuda, Nao Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20120243011
    Abstract: A second chromaticity feature is corrected and approximated to a first chromaticity feature, a new limit value for an ink amount is determined based on the second chromaticity feature after the approximation, optimization is performed by designating an ink amount which is equal to or less than the newly determined limit value when an ink amount reproducing a hue value represented by a lattice point is determined by the optimization of the ink amount with the use of an object function for evaluating image quality when the designated amount of ink is made to adhere to a first print medium, the ink amount determined by the optimization is converted with a conversion relationship based on the first chromaticity feature and the second chromaticity feature, and a profile for a second print medium, for which the converted ink amount has been defined, is created.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2012
    Publication date: September 27, 2012
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masami Fukuda, Nao Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20120224199
    Abstract: A second chromaticity value feature is corrected and approximated to a first chromaticity value feature, a new limit value for an ink amount is determined based on the second chromaticity value feature after the approximation, optimization is performed by designating an ink amount which is equal to or less than the newly determined limit value when an ink amount reproducing a hue value represented by a lattice point is determined by the optimization of the ink amount with the use of an object function for evaluating image quality when the designated amount of ink is made to adhere to a first print medium, the ink amount determined by the optimization is converted with a conversion relationship based on the first chromaticity value feature and the second value chromaticity feature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2012
    Publication date: September 6, 2012
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masami Fukuda, Nao Kaneko
  • Publication number: 20120218574
    Abstract: Provided is a printing control device capable of: a reception process of receiving designation of a printing medium; an adjustment process of adjusting a printing apparatus in accordance with a printing result of a first test pattern; a color conversion table generation process of generating a color conversion table for the designated printing medium; and a profile generation process of generating a device profile of the printing apparatus on the basis of a colorimetric value of a second test pattern by performing color conversion on data, which represents the second test pattern, through the color conversion table, and by causing the printing apparatus to print the second test pattern.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 28, 2012
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masami FUKUDA, Nao KANEKO
  • Patent number: 7961352
    Abstract: A printing control device which performs printing control for printing by using color materials of a plurality of types, includes: acquiring unit that acquires a color material set which is a combination of the color materials used for printing; and creation unit that creates a color conversion profile which prescribes conversion rules for converting image data expressed by a first color space into image data expressed by a second color space which differs from the first color space and which is a color space expressed by a color material amount set which is a combination of usage amounts for the respective color materials constituting the color material set.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 14, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai, Takashi Ito
  • Patent number: 7952757
    Abstract: A system is configured to calculate an evaluation index of sample ink amount data from a color difference evaluation index and an image quality evaluation index and create a profile on the basis of a sample with a high rating value. When the image quality evaluation index is predicted, the image quality evaluation index corresponding to any sample ink amount data is estimated based on a profile produced on the basis on actual evaluation. A printer driver is configured to create a plurality of profiles by using different indices in this system and to perform color conversion by using the plurality of profiles. The plurality of profiles are appropriately selected according to the user's needs, printing conditions, and type of printing object image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 31, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai
  • Patent number: 7880929
    Abstract: An image data conversion apparatus for embedding a second image into image data corresponding to a first image, comprising an embedded image acquisition unit that acquires a second image for embedding in the first image, an embedment area acquisition unit that receives a location of an embedment area where the second image may be embedded in the first image, an ink set memory unit that stores a first and second set of inks and associated quantities, wherein the second set of inks and may be substituted for the first set of inks, and an ink amount data conversion unit that converts the image data into converted ink quantity data that corresponds to the image data such that the second image embedded in the first image can be observed by making a differentiation between portions of the first image where the first and second set of ink are used.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yuko Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 7672016
    Abstract: A color patch that was printed based on a plurality of test ink quantity sets prepared in advance is image inputted; a graininess index is calculated based on the inputted color patch image; the graininess index on a printing medium obtained when printing is performed according to an arbitrary ink quantity set is predicted based on a graininess profile produced based on the corresponding relationship between the test ink quantity set and the graininess index.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2010
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai
  • Publication number: 20080246982
    Abstract: A printing control device which performs printing control for printing by using color materials of a plurality of types, includes: acquiring unit that acquires a color material set which is a combination of the color materials used for printing; and creation unit that creates a color conversion profile which prescribes conversion rules for converting image data expressed by a first color space into image data expressed by a second color space which differs from the first color space and which is a color space expressed by a color material amount set which is a combination of usage amounts for the respective color materials constituting the color material set.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 19, 2008
    Publication date: October 9, 2008
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai, Takashi Ito
  • Publication number: 20080170269
    Abstract: An image data conversion apparatus for embedding a second image into image data corresponding to a first image, comprising an embedded image acquisition unit that acquires a second image for embedding in the first image, an embedment area acquisition unit that receives a location of an embedment area where the second image may be embedded in the first image, an ink set memory unit that stores a first and second set of inks and associated quantities, wherein the second set of inks and may be substituted for the first set of inks, and an ink amount data conversion unit that converts the image data into converted ink quantity data that corresponds to the image data such that the second image embedded in the first image can be observed by making a differentiation between portions of the first image where the first and second set of ink are used.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 14, 2008
    Publication date: July 17, 2008
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Nao KANEKO, Yuko YAMAMOTO
  • Publication number: 20070291312
    Abstract: A system is configured to calculate an evaluation index of sample ink amount data from a color difference evaluation index and an image quality evaluation index and create a profile on the basis of a sample with a high rating value. When the image quality evaluation index is predicted, the image quality evaluation index corresponding to any sample ink amount data is estimated based on a profile produced on the basis on actual evaluation. A printer driver is configured to create a plurality of profiles by using different indices in this system and to perform color conversion by using the plurality of profiles. The plurality of profiles are appropriately selected according to the user's needs, printing conditions, and type of printing object image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 14, 2007
    Publication date: December 20, 2007
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai
  • Publication number: 20070229574
    Abstract: A color patch that was printed based on a plurality of test ink quantity sets prepared in advance is image inputted; a graininess index is calculated based on the inputted color patch image; the graininess index on a printing medium obtained when printing is performed according to an arbitrary ink quantity set is predicted based on a graininess profile produced based on the corresponding relationship between the test ink quantity set and the graininess index.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Inventors: Nao Kaneko, Yoshifumi Arai