Patent ID: 7099041
Filing Date: 2006-08-29
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An image data background determining apparatus, comprising: an image data acquisition unit for acquiring image data expressing in multiple tones an image in picture elements in a dot matrix arrangement; a frequency distribution charting unit for charting frequency distributions by totaling the picture elements of the image data acquired by the image data acquisition unit as classified by tone level; a background determination unit for computing a statistical quantity representing the characteristic of a reference area demarcated by dividing the frequency distributions based on a predescribed tone level and, if that statistical quantity is a sufficient value to indicate the presence of a background, determining that the image has an area constituting a background; an image data designating unit for designating the image data acquired by said image data acquisition unit to be either color image data or monochrome image data; and a tone setting unit for setting a tone to demarcate said reference area in response to the designation by said image data designating unit; wherein said background determination unit computes the relative frequencies of said reference area and, if either each or the total of the computed relative frequencies is at or above a prescribed threshold, determines that there is an area constituting a background in the image; and wherein said background determination unit computes representative values of said reference area, and determines whether there is an area constituting a background in the image by combining the representative values.