Image Processing Apparatus Background Noise Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image processing technologies fail to effectively remove background-area noise during binarization of documents with background noise, leading to unnecessary noise remnants.
Innovation Solution
An image processing apparatus that includes a filtering unit to suppress background noise, a threshold setting unit to determine a binarization threshold, a background noise determination threshold setting unit to identify and set a tone value for background noise, and a binarization processing unit to execute background noise reduction and binarization, using a low-pass filtering process and discriminant analysis to smooth noise and set appropriate thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional binarization is applied to documents with background noise, then processing speed is maintained, but background noise remains in the output image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary actions by performing filtering processing and background noise reduction processing before binarization. The filtering unit smooths the input image data to suppress background noise, and the background noise reduction processing unit further reduces noise based on histogram analysis, preparing the image for accurate binarization without carrying forward noise artifacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the binarization process into multiple distinct processing stages: filtering processing to smooth the image, histogram generation to analyze density distribution, background noise reduction processing to remove noise based on histogram peaks, and final binarization. This segmentation allows each stage to address specific aspects of noise removal and image quality improvement.
2Reliability
If filtering processing is applied to suppress background noise, then noise reduction is achieved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively processing only the background noise components identified through histogram analysis. The background noise reduction processing unit targets specific density ranges corresponding to noise peaks in the histogram, rather than processing the entire image uniformly, thus reducing unnecessary computational overhead while maintaining noise removal effectiveness.
3Reliability
If multiple processing stages are implemented for noise reduction, then noise removal effectiveness improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multi-functionality by designing processing units that perform multiple functions. The filtering unit both smooths the image and suppresses noise, the histogram generation unit analyzes density distribution and identifies noise characteristics, and the background noise reduction processing unit removes noise while preserving important image features. This multi-functional design reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each processing step.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing apparatus includes a filtering processing unit that executes a filtering process to suppress background noise of input image data; a threshold setting unit that sets a binarization threshold for the input image data; a background noise determination threshold setting unit that determines that a tone value at which the number of pixels of background noise of the input image data reaches a peak is a background peak tone value and that sets, as a background noise determination threshold, a tone value having a density higher than a density of the background peak tone value and having a number of pixels within a specific range of percentages, of the number of pixels at the peak; a background noise reduction processing unit that executes a background noise reduction process on the input image data and a binarization processing unit that executes a binarization process on the input image data.