Patents by Inventor Yuuichi Tsunematsu

Yuuichi Tsunematsu 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: 8810877
    Abstract: For the problem of blurring at a boundary in a scanned illustration, a method of separating and vectorizing color regions accurately is realized by identification of a labeled region corresponding to the blurring and combining processing with another neighboring region. An image input unit, a color region dividing unit dividing an input image into the color regions, a labeling unit providing an individual label to the color region, a labeled region shape analysis unit obtaining labeled region shape information including information representing a shape feature of a labeled region which is the color region provided with the label, a micro-region determination unit determining whether the labeled region provided with the label is a micro-region or not according to the labeled region shape information, and a micro-region combining unit combining the region determined to be the micro-region with a neighboring region, are comprised.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuuichi Tsunematsu, Xiaoyan Dai
  • Patent number: 8774524
    Abstract: An image region extracting unit binarizes image data inputted from an image inputting unit and labels the binarized image data based upon a feature value of a pixel to be segmentized into a plurality of image regions. A contour connection determining unit 104 determines whether or not connection points connecting contour lines of the respective image regions extracted by a contour extracting unit each other exist. A contour modifying unit, when it is determined that the connection points exist by the contour connection determining unit, connects the contour lines each other at the connection points to modify the contour line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8675256
    Abstract: The cluster of a background is specified among a plurality of clusters classified by clustering processing, and a label area whose size is less than a first threshold value is combined with adjoining another label area which is not the cluster of the background among label areas to which the same label number is given by labeling processing. Then, whether the label area is combined with the adjoining another label area based on characteristic quantity obtained from the label area is determined, and combining, vector data is generated based on the label area after combining the label area when determined as the label area being combined.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8553985
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus which performs boundary line extraction for raster image data, comprises: a detection unit configured to detect a color region formed from a plurality of pixels having an 8-neighbor connection in the image data; a determination unit configured to determine whether the 8-neighbor connection in the color region detected by the detection unit is to be modified to a 4-neighbor connection, in accordance with a connection state of pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection and pixels surrounding the pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection; a modification unit configured to modify the 8-neighbor connection in the color region, a modification of which is determined by the determination unit, by converting a pixel value of a pixel neighboring the pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection; and an extraction unit configured to extract a boundary line from image data modified by the modification unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8520951
    Abstract: The present invention enables mixture of a core line vectorization process and a outline vectorization process, and comprises: inputting an object image of a vectorization process; extracting a core line of the object image; computing an original line width for every pixel of the core line acquired by the extracting; judging whether every section is indicative of an equal-width line or indicative of a surface figure by using the line width value for every pixel of the core line acquired by the estimating, the every unit delimiting the core line acquired by the extracting between two points of intersections and endpoints; separating a surface figure from the object image on the basis of a judging result of the judging; and approximating functionally the core line judged to be the equal-width line at the judging and a outline of the surface figure separated at the separating, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 27, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8488190
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus for processing input image data selects, as a comparative cluster to be compared with a pixel of interest in the input image data, a cluster for which an absolute value of a difference between a component sum of the pixel of interest and a component sum of a representative value of the cluster is not more than a first threshold value. And the apparatus calculates a color distance between the pixel of interest and the representative value of each of the comparative clusters. The apparatus classifies the pixel of interest to a cluster corresponding to a minimum value of the color distances, if the minimum value of the color distances is not more than a second threshold value and generates a new cluster to which the pixel of interest is to be classified, if all the color distances are larger than the second threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Date of Patent: July 16, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8422774
    Abstract: Vectorization of an image in which a monospaced line and surfaces coexist without generation of a gap in a boundary between the monospaced line and the surfaces or between the surfaces, is realized. Separation processing of the monospaced line and the surface is executed for each color region. After the separation, a pixel position where the monospaced line is located is filled with color information of an adjacent surface. Boundary-sharing type vectorization processing is executed for data which is obtained by filling the monospaced line. Further, vector data expressed by a core line and a line width is generated based on the monospaced line obtained by separation processing of the monospaced line and surface. A vectorization result of the monospaced line extracted according to each color, and a vectorization result of a boundary line of the surface generated from data after a monospaced line region is filled are outputted.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2011
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8401325
    Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a thinning process unit which extracts a core line by applying a thinning process; a line width estimation unit which estimates an original line width of each pixel of the core line; a core line division unit which divides the core line; a monospaced line determination unit which determines, based on line width information, whether or not each of core lines divided by the core line division unit is a monospaced line; a connection relation information generation unit which generates connection relation information with another core line in association with each of the core lines; and a core line modification unit which modifies the core lines, based on pieces of line width information of core line pixels, a monospaced line determination result, and pieces of connection relation information generated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Patent number: 8395819
    Abstract: An image processing device including a registration unit that registers plurality pieces of style information is provided. In the device, one object or a plurality of objects is extracted from image data. By comparing the extracted objects with objects included in the plurality pieces of style information that are registered on the registration unit, style information to be output is selected. An object which is not included in the selected style information is selected among the extracted objects as an output object. An electronic file in which the selected output object is recorded on a page description part, and the selected style information is recorded on a style description part, is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2013
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20120051653
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus which performs boundary line extraction for raster image data, comprises: a detection unit configured to detect a color region formed from a plurality of pixels having an 8-neighbor connection in the image data; a determination unit configured to determine whether the 8-neighbor connection in the color region detected by the detection unit is to be modified to a 4-neighbor connection, in accordance with a connection state of pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection and pixels surrounding the pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection; a modification unit configured to modify the 8-neighbor connection in the color region, a modification of which is determined by the determination unit, by converting a pixel value of a pixel neighboring the pixels connected by the 8-neighbor connection; and an extraction unit configured to extract a boundary line from image data modified by the modification unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2011
    Publication date: March 1, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20110235903
    Abstract: Vectorization of an image in which a monospaced line and surfaces coexist without generation of a gap in a boundary between the monospaced line and the surfaces or between the surfaces, is realized. Separation processing of the monospaced line and the surface is executed for each color region. After the separation, a pixel position where the monospaced line is located is filled with color information of an adjacent surface. Boundary-sharing type vectorization processing is executed for data which is obtained by filling the monospaced line. Further, vector data expressed by a core line and a line width is generated based on the monospaced line obtained by separation processing of the monospaced line and surface. A vectorization result of the monospaced line extracted according to each color, and a vectorization result of a boundary line of the surface generated from data after a monospaced line region is filled are outputted.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 17, 2011
    Publication date: September 29, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20110229026
    Abstract: An image region extracting unit binarizes image data inputted from an image inputting unit and labels the binarized image data based upon a feature value of a pixel to be segmentized into a plurality of image regions. A contour connection determining unit 104 determines whether or not connection points connecting contour lines of the respective image regions extracted by a contour extracting unit each other exist. A contour modifying unit, when it is determined that the connection points exist by the contour connection determining unit, connects the contour lines each other at the connection points to modify the contour line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2011
    Publication date: September 22, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20110128586
    Abstract: The cluster of a background is specified among a plurality of clusters classified by clustering processing, and a label area whose size is less than a first threshold value is combined with adjoining another label area which is not the cluster of the background among label areas to which the same label number is given by labeling processing. Then, whether the label area is combined with the adjoining another label area based on characteristic quantity obtained from the label area is determined, and combining, vector data is generated based on the label area after combining the label area when determined as the label area being combined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2010
    Publication date: June 2, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20110002018
    Abstract: For the problem of blurring at a boundary in a scanned illustration, a method of separating and vectorizing color regions accurately is realized by identification of a labeled region corresponding to the blurring and combining processing with another neighboring region. An image input unit, a color region dividing unit dividing an input image into the color regions, a labeling unit providing an individual label to the color region, a labeled region shape analysis unit obtaining labeled region shape information including information representing a shape feature of a labeled region which is the color region provided with the label, a micro-region determination unit determining whether the labeled region provided with the label is a micro-region or not according to the labeled region shape information, and a micro-region combining unit combining the region determined to be the micro-region with a neighboring region, are comprised.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2010
    Publication date: January 6, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuuichi Tsunematsu, Xiaoyan Dai
  • Publication number: 20100231995
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus for processing input image data selects, as a comparative cluster to be compared with a pixel of interest in the input image data, a cluster for which an absolute value of a difference between a component sum of the pixel of interest and a component sum of a representative value of the cluster is not more than a first threshold value. And the apparatus calculates a color distance between the pixel of interest and the representative value of each of the comparative clusters. The apparatus classifies the pixel of interest to a cluster corresponding to a minimum value of the color distances, if the minimum value of the color distances is not more than a second threshold value and generates a new cluster to which the pixel of interest is to be classified, if all the color distances are larger than the second threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2010
    Publication date: September 16, 2010
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20100172595
    Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image processing apparatus comprising: a thinning process unit which extracts a core line by applying a thinning process; a line width estimation unit which estimates an original line width of each pixel of the core line; a core line division unit which divides the core line; a monospaced line determination unit which determines, based on line width information, whether or not each of core lines divided by the core line division unit is a monospaced line; a connection relation information generation unit which generates connection relation information with another core line in association with each of the core lines; and a core line modification unit which modifies the core lines, based on pieces of line width information of core line pixels, a monospaced line determination result, and pieces of connection relation information generated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 14, 2009
    Publication date: July 8, 2010
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20090316217
    Abstract: An image processing device including a registration unit that registers plurality pieces of style information is provided. In the device, one object or a plurality of objects is extracted from image data. By comparing the extracted objects with objects included in the plurality pieces of style information that are registered on the registration unit, style information to be output is selected. An object which is not included in the selected style information is selected among the extracted objects as an output object. An electronic file in which the selected output object is recorded on a page description part, and the selected style information is recorded on a style description part, is output.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2009
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu
  • Publication number: 20090274394
    Abstract: The present invention enables mixture of a core line vectorization process and a outline vectorization process, and comprises: inputting an object image of a vectorization process; extracting a core line of the object image; computing an original line width for every pixel of the core line acquired by the extracting; judging whether every section is indicative of an equal-width line or indicative of a surface figure by using the line width value for every pixel of the core line acquired by the estimating, the every unit delimiting the core line acquired by the extracting between two points of intersections and endpoints; separating a surface figure from the object image on the basis of a judging result of the judging; and approximating functionally the core line judged to be the equal-width line at the judging and a outline of the surface figure separated at the separating, respectively.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2009
    Publication date: November 5, 2009
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Yuuichi Tsunematsu