Abstract: An image processing method for automatically executing operation steps of repairing a defect of an image of a document which is read by a scanner and changing a background image in a short time and a recording medium for storing them. An image processing method comprising a step of separating background image data from said image data by processing by a maximum filter for comparing the brightness of each pixel constituting said image data with the brightness of peripheral pixels and replacing it with the maximum brightness; and a step of separating character and figure image data by subtracting the background image data obtained by the above step in (a) from the above image data.

Abstract: An image file for recording natural images, a generation method of the image file and an image display apparatus for displaying image data from this image file. The image file includes image data obtained by digitizing an original, and conversion tables for separating the color tones of the original into R, G and B and converting the changes of the color tones to input luminance-v-output luminance. The image display apparatus controls a color look-up table by the conversion tables read out from the image file, and displays the image data read out from the image file.

Abstract: An image display apparatus having a computer system and an image processor. The computer system includes: a personal computer having a CPU and a main memory; and input/output apparatuses such as magneto-optical disk drive, image scanner, full color printer, etc. The image processor which commonly uses a system bus of the computer system includes an independent dedicated image bus, a compression/expansion unit, an image memory read/write controller, image memories, and a video processor. Image data which is sent from the magneto-optical disk drive is decoded by the compression/expansion unit and is held in the image memories. The image data of the image memories is transferred to the video processor through a dedicated signal line and is displayed on a large screen projection display.

Abstract: A communication device having an automatic answering telephone function which can record a message spoken by a sender in a record/reproduction part when there is an incoming signal in an automatic answering mode and also which can interlacedly reproduce only head parts of messages when the received message is to be reproduced. The communication device, which further has a speech processing part for changing a speech rate while keeping a speech pitch constant, can reproduce a recorded message at a speech rate designated by a user and can transmit a rate-changed speech message.

Abstract: An image processing method for automatically executing operation steps of repairing a defect of an image of a document which is read by a scanner and changing a background image in a short time and a recording medium for storing them. An image processing method comprising:(a) A step of separating background image data from said image data by processing by a maximum filter for comparing the brightness of each pixel constituting said image data with the brightness of peripheral pixels and replacing it with the maximum brightness; and(b) a step of separating character and figure image data by subtracting the background image data obtained by the above step in (a) from the above image data.

Abstract: An image display apparatus having a computer system and an image processor. The computer system includes: a personal computer having a CPU and a main memory; and input/output apparatuses such as magneto-optical disk drive, image scanner, full color printer, etc. The image processor which commonly uses a system bus of the computer system includes an independent dedicated image bus, a compression/expansion unit, an image memory read/write controller, image memories, and a video processor. Image data which is sent from the magneto-optical disk drive is decoded by the compression/expansion unit and is held in the image memories. The image data of the image memories is transferred to the video processor through a dedicated signal line and is displayed on a large screen projection display.

Abstract: An operating system (OS) is divided into units (OS processes) which are concurrently executable. When the processors concurrently request the execution of one OS process, data indicating that the requested OS process is in a ready state is loaded into a memory. The other processors repeatedly make an access to the data during the course of the execution of the user's task to check to see whether the ready-state OS process is present or not. A processor when detecting the ready-state OS process ceases the execution of the user's program and executes that OS process.

Abstract: In a multi-computer system having input/output devices for common use, protection is made for the devices upon transferring of the input/output data by comparing a device identifying number or address signal and a number signal identifying a central processor unit which demands the transfer of data, thereby to determine on the basis of the result of the comparison whether the data transfer between the device and the central processor unit is allowable. When the transfer is not admitted, the input/output operation of the device is inhibited.