Patent Document ID: 20120114230
Application ID: 13290804
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. An image processing apparatus capable of dividing a document image into block images, each including a predetermined number of pixels, and determining whether an attribute of each of the divided block images is a character, the image processing apparatus comprising: a smoothing unit configured to smooth each block image to generate a smoothed block image; a color distribution acquiring unit configured to acquire a color distribution characteristic amount of the smoothed block image; an edge acquiring unit configured to acquire an edge characteristic amount of each block image; a color distribution determination unit configured to determine whether the attribute of each block image is a character based on the color distribution characteristic amount acquired by the color distribution acquiring unit; an edge determination unit configured to determine whether the attribute of each block image is a character based on the edge characteristic amount acquired by the edge acquiring unit; a determination unit configured, if the color distribution determination unit determines with high reliability that the attribute of a particular block image is a character, to determine the attribute of the particular block image is a character, and if the color distribution determination unit determines with not high reliability that the attribute of the particular block image is a character, to determine the attribute of the particular block image as a determination result by the edge determination unit; and a color assigning unit configured, if the attribute of the particular block image is determined as the character by the determination unit, to assign a plurality of colors that are representative of the particular block image to the particular block image, and if the attribute of the particular block image is determined as not being the character by the determination unit, to assign a single color that is representative of the particular block image to the particular block image.