Color Conversion Apparatus for Metallic Tone Reproduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current color representation technologies, such as electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, face challenges in accurately reproducing metallic colors as they fail to account for the directional changes in color tone, leading to discrepancies when viewed from different angles due to limited color measurement directions.
Innovation Solution
A color conversion apparatus that accepts plural colorimetric values measured in multiple directions (15°, 45°, and 110°) and converts them to values indicating the amounts of toners like silver, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and special color toners, using a color conversion model to determine optimal toner amounts for accurate color reproduction across various viewing angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If color measurement is performed in limited directions, then the measurement process is simple and fast, but the color reproduction accuracy in metallic colors deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends color measurement from a single direction (traditionally 45°) to multiple directions (15°, 45°, and 110°) by adding angular dimension. This multi-directional measurement approach captures the directional color characteristics of metallic toners, enabling accurate color reproduction while maintaining measurement efficiency through automated multi-angle measurement
2Manufacturing precision
If color measurement is performed in multiple directions, then the color reproduction accuracy of metallic colors is improved, but the measurement process complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The color measurement apparatus is designed with multi-functionality to handle both conventional single-direction measurements and advanced multi-directional measurements. The system can selectively perform measurements at 15°, 45°, and 110° directions using the same hardware platform, making the complex multi-directional measurement capability available without requiring separate dedicated systems for different measurement needs
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional colorimetric values are used without directional consideration, then the processing is simple, but the accuracy in reproducing metallic color tones deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms conventional single-value colorimetric measurements into multi-dimensional color data by measuring at multiple angles (15°, 45°, 110°). The color conversion apparatus processes these multi-directional measurements and converts them into toner amount values that account for directional color characteristics, thereby improving metallic color reproduction accuracy while maintaining relatively simple processing through established color conversion models
Data Source
AI summary
A color conversion apparatus includes an accepting unit and a converter. The accepting unit accepts plural colorimetric values obtained by measuring a target color image in plural directions. The converter converts the plural colorimetric values accepted by the accepting unit to color values including a value indicating a coloring-material amount of a luster coloring material and a value indicating a coloring-material amount of a coloring material other than the luster coloring material.